"Ooooooooooooooh!"
The exclamation of astonishment slipped from Daskar's mouth as he stepped out of the Guild and entered the stage, which was completely concealed by Marina's Spirit Magic.
It was Daskar's first time seeing the Crystal Dragon's corpse.
And not just any corpse—it was one that Marina had decorated, giving it a vivid, lifelike quality... a sense of dynamism, as though it might spring into motion at any moment.
Because of that, the impact on Daskar was apparently quite strong, which was precisely why he looked so genuinely delighted from the bottom of his heart.
"See? I told you it would be fine, didn't I?"
Marina said to Rei with evident satisfaction as she watched Daskar.
Rei had not particularly doubted Marina's skill.
That said, he had been at least slightly anxious.
Rei had been surprised by the corpse's dynamism when he first saw it, but he hadn't expected Daskar to feel the same way upon seeing the same thing.
"Right. As expected of Marina."
Marina nodded with satisfaction at Rei's impressed response.
For Marina, words of gratitude from Rei—her beloved—were something she was glad to hear no matter how many times they came.
Even so, she hadn't been letting her joy show on her face...
"Ahem."
An unmistakable cough came from nearby, quite deliberately.
Who had made that cough required no thought to figure out.
Rei and Marina were in conversation, and Daskar was captivated by the decorated Crystal Dragon's corpse.
The only person who would cough under such circumstances was Worker, the Guild Master.
Marina apparently understood that he had seen through to what she was feeling.
Tingeing her beautiful features a faint red, she called out to Worker.
"What is it?"
"No, it's nothing. I was simply a little surprised to see such an unexpected sight, that's all."
"Oh? And what kind of unexpected sight would that be?"
"That would be the Crystal Dragon's corpse, of course. I saw it once in the Guild warehouse, but seeing it decorated like this anew—it would be more unreasonable not to be surprised."
"...I see."
Worker's words were obviously a deflection, but if Marina said anything further here, it would without a doubt backfire on her.
That was precisely why Marina didn't pursue the matter any further.
"Still, Spirit Magic really is remarkable. ...But there are people trying to get inside—is that all right?"
At the direction of Worker's gaze, the adventurers were apparently already somewhat drunk, what with the Festival.
Several adventurers were charging at whatever covered the stage, only to be blown back.
Through Marina's Spirit Magic, the barrier covering the stage had a one-way mirror property: Rei and his group could see the other side, but those on the other side could not see them.
Because of that, the sight of adventurers charging in and getting blown back was a somewhat amusing spectacle.
That said, the fact that they were drunk was probably a factor, but seeing them repeatedly body-slamming the barrier and getting thrown back, Worker was naturally concerned about whether they might get injured.
...Though that wasn't out of concern for the adventurers themselves, but rather a dislike of losing labor for the work starting tomorrow.
The Expansion Construction was already busy enough as it was.
Under such circumstances, having people get drunk, do something stupid, and injure themselves was far from entertaining for Worker.
"It's fine. These little ones are making sure there are no problems on that front."
Who the phrase "these little ones" referred to—rather, what it referred to—required no thought. The spirits.
"Hmm, then I can rest easy. ...Lord Daskar, is it about time? We cannot keep the area closed off indefinitely, you see."
Worker called out to Daskar, who was still gazing at the Crystal Dragon's corpse.
However, Daskar was no longer exclaiming in wonder as he had at first.
By now, he was examining the Crystal Dragon's corpse with serious focus, even reaching out to touch it and confirm its texture.
At Worker's words, Daskar snapped back to himself.
"Hmm, right. We cannot stay like this forever. We need to prepare for the ceremony."
At the word "ceremony," Rei showed a faint look of displeasure.
Passing the Promotion Exam and becoming an A-Rank Adventurer was fine.
Making a grand public announcement of it was, by now, something he could tolerate.
But... whenever words like "ceremony" were used, he couldn't help but recall various things from his time in Japan, and his enthusiasm evaporated.
Graduation ceremonies and entrance ceremonies... even if it didn't go that far, there were the long-winded speeches by teachers at school assemblies.
The agony of having to sit and listen to all of it.
Granted, for this particular ceremony, Rei was one of the main figures, so he wouldn't have to just sit there silently and listen to speeches.
Moreover, Daskar, as the lord of Gilm, understood adventurers' personalities well.
Given that, he certainly wouldn't do something like droning on with a long speech.
"Rei, Marina, come with me. A brief ceremony to announce the Promotion Exam results... calling it that is a bit grandiose, but I'll speak about it."
At Daskar's words, Rei and Marina descended from the stage.
In front of the Guild, a simple platform had been erected before the stage.
Around that platform, knights stood as guards, while guild staff and adventurers explained to the crowd what was about to happen, ensuring no disturbances would occur.
The Guild was located facing the main thoroughfare—a place wide enough that several carriages could pass each other without issue.
Despite that, many people had stopped there and were waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Of course, those who had stopped were not particularly fond of ceremonies.
However, if Daskar was going to appear at this ceremony, it was no surprise that many would stop for it.
Daskar was beloved by many as the lord of Gilm.
Because of that, when Daskar was going to participate in this ceremony, those who wished to see him were by no means few.
And when people knew that a large crowd was gathering, passersby would naturally take an interest as well.
Beyond that, the large stage covered by something that blocked the view of what lay within naturally piqued many people's curiosity about what was there.
Granted, among those paying attention to the stage, those who considered what this ceremony meant could vaguely imagine what might be on that stage, and among the well-informed, there were even some who speculated that the corpse of a new dragon species was there.
Because of that...
"That man's behavior is clearly off. Don't take your eyes off him even after the ceremony starts. If anything happens, knock him out immediately and drag him out. If that's not possible, just restraining him is fine."
At a spot slightly removed from the crowd, a man observing the situation gave instructions to a subordinate nearby.
They were subordinates of Egg, working behind the scenes.
For people like them, having a large crowd gathered before the ceremony began made their job considerably easier.
After all, with the Crystal Dragon's corpse about to be publicly unveiled, anyone trying to steal it would inevitably stand out.
Standing out—though that was something only discernible because they were professionals.
Because of that, whenever they spotted a suspicious presence, he issued instructions to his subordinates.
The subordinates, many of whom were accustomed to rough work, casually moved closer to the suspicious individuals so they could respond immediately if anything happened, just as ordered.
"Sigh."
A breath escaped the man's lips as he watched the crowd, and he looked up at the sky as if to rest his eyes.
Despite it being late summer, a blue sky spread overhead as though it were the height of summer, and the sun was making a fierce assertion of itself.
Fortunately, there were a few clouds, and thanks to them, every so often—truly only every so often—they softened the sunlight.
That said, that alone was hardly enough to do anything about the summer heat, and sweat was running down the man's face.
He rubbed his face, thinking it's hot, and was surprised by how much sweat accumulated on his palm.
Seeing that, he couldn't help but wonder what on earth he was doing.
"Here, drink this."
A wooden cup was suddenly held out to him.
He took it and brought it to his lips.
From the voice, he could tell it was a colleague who had brought it.
What passed down his throat was chilled Fruit Water.
In his current state, sweating profusely in this heat, that Fruit Water was incredibly delicious.
So much so that even after finishing the Fruit Water in the cup, he felt it wasn't enough.
"Is there no more?"
"Nope. It's this heat. The shops selling Fruit Water are booming, and it was all I could do just to buy this."
"...I see."
The man muttered, looking genuinely disappointed.
As someone who had originally lived in an organization of the Underground World, in the past it wouldn't have been strange for him to aggressively buy... no, seize it by force.
But as a subordinate serving under Daskar now, there was no way he could do such a thing.
Thinking such thoughts, the man shifted his gaze from the cup to his colleague.
"So, did you just come to bring me a refreshment? I'd appreciate it if you could switch places with me, honestly."
"That's not happening. I've got my own things to take care of. Besides, you're the one who asked Egg for this job, right?"
"Urk..."
With Egg's name invoked, he couldn't argue back here.
If he tried to object, it wouldn't be surprising if things became troublesome for him later.
"The ceremony should be starting soon. Just a little longer. That means this job is almost over too. Besides... you're getting some of Egg's treasured Alcohol afterwards, right? Then this job isn't all bad, is it?"
Hearing that, the man couldn't say anything more.
After all, his task was to stay in one place under this blazing sun, spot suspicious individuals, and direct his subordinates to mark them.
Naturally, that was quite a tedious job, and Egg had told him that as a token of appreciation, he would receive some of his treasured Alcohol when the work was finished.
Egg was undeniably a frightening figure when angered, but at the same time, he had the kind of personality that properly rewarded those who worked diligently.
Because they knew that, many of his people worked earnestly.
...Granted, those who couldn't grasp that much were never scouted in the first place, and those who were judged to have potential but turned out otherwise often found the worst futures awaiting them.
"Hey, that warrior-looking man over there. He's a bit suspicious. The way he moves his eyes is more like a thief—or something in that vein—than a warrior. Keep an eye on him, just in case."
Even while talking with his colleague, the man's gaze steadily picked out suspicious targets and issued instructions to his subordinates.
Watching his subordinates swiftly move toward the warrior-looking man he had indicated, the colleague who had brought the Fruit Water reasoned that he had been entrusted with this role precisely because he was this competent, and that was exactly why no one would take over when he asked to switch.
And so, the men chatted while occasionally spotting suspicious individuals and directing their subordinates accordingly.
Amidst that exchange, the colleague who had brought the Fruit Water suddenly had a question.
"Hey. What about that merchant-looking guy over there? Even from where I'm standing, he looks pretty suspicious."
The direction he looked as he said that was, true to his words, a merchant man.
He appeared to be in his thirties.
He repeatedly glanced at the stage, then averted his eyes in an exaggerated manner, as if to say I'm not looking.
It was a very obvious gesture, and yet the man found it strange that no subordinates had been assigned to watch that merchant.
But the man he asked simply nodded, indicating there was no problem.
"He's one of ours. We have him act that conspicuously to draw the attention of the suspicious people in the surrounding area."
"Is that so? ...I've never seen his face before."
He muttered that, but it wasn't as though he knew every single one of his colleagues.
Given that, it wasn't strange for there to be people he didn't recognize.
"He only joined recently, so it's not surprising his face isn't well-known. That's exactly why we have him doing this kind of work."
As the man muttered that, the crowd that had gathered around the stage suddenly stirred.
Looking toward the commotion, the man saw Daskar climb onto the platform and appear above the crowd, his head visible a few heads higher than the rest, and he thought to himself: It's finally starting.