"You're late!"
The one who barked those words at Rei as he stepped into the warehouse was, naturally, the Foreman.
But the Foreman was merely voicing what everyone else was thinking. The other guild staff members underscored the point, directing disgruntled looks Rei's way.
"Sorry." Facing their openly sour expressions, Rei offered an honest apology.
In truth, he could have brought the Crystal Dragon's corpse far sooner. The delay came simply because Rei had stood there, captivated by the sight of the corpse bathed in the dying sunlight. Part of it was consideration for the people gathered before the stage, but there was no denying that he, too, had been transfixed by the view.
Since that was the cause of the holdup, Rei felt it was only right for him—the one responsible—to apologize.
At his straightforward words, the Foreman said nothing more. The rest of the staff still looked displeased, but with the Foreman backing off, they clearly understood they couldn't press the issue further.
...Granted, the Foreman and his team were waiting in a state of full preparation, brimming with motivation to begin. Even so, ownership of the Crystal Dragon's corpse ultimately belonged to Rei. Since he had commissioned the Guild for the dissection, the Guild held a corresponding degree of authority over the process—but if Rei felt so inclined, he could always take his business elsewhere. To the Laurie Dissection Shop, for instance.
The Foreman absolutely wanted to avoid pushing too hard and ending up in that situation. An S-Rank monster—a new species of dragon that inhabited the Forest of Magic, no less. An opportunity to dissect such a creature might come once in a lifetime, if at all.
A considerable amount of time had passed since the Foreman had quit life as an adventurer to become a guild staff member. Forest of Magic monsters were one thing, but he had never dissected a new species of S-Rank dragon from that forest. There had been occasions when someone who'd obtained permission from the Guild Master or the lord to enter the Forest of Magic brought back a slain monster for dissection, but nothing like this.
"Enough. No need to waste time on pointless talk. So, Rei—I'll ask just to be sure, but you did bring the Crystal Dragon's corpse, right?"
"Yeah, of course. ...Though given the circumstances, you probably can't tell whether I actually have it or not."
The corpse was currently stored in his Misty Ring. As long as that was the case, there was no way for them to confirm he actually had it on him. Rei knew that perfectly well, which was why he didn't expect them to simply take his word for it.
"To put your minds at ease, I'll bring it out right now. Where should I put it, and how? Drop it in the wrong spot and it'll cause all kinds of trouble, right?"
The Crystal Dragon was massive. Its neck alone—which only represented a fraction of its overall size—was enormous, severed or not. That was precisely why he needed to confirm the placement before retrieving it from the ring.
"Set it down around the center of the warehouse. That way we can move around the corpse from all sides while we work."
"Got it."
Without any ceremony, Rei retrieved the Crystal Dragon's corpse from his Misty Ring and set it down at the warehouse's center.
A collective gasp rippled through the room.
They had seen it before, and some of the staff had even caught a glimpse of it on display at the stage today. Even so, seeing the Crystal Dragon's corpse up close like this clearly stirred something deep within them.
"Alright then. I'll leave the corpse in your hands."
"Understood. Don't worry about speed on the dissection—take your time and do it right."
"I intend to. With a specimen this massive, a careless dissection would be a criminal waste."
The Foreman vowed to bring the full weight of his skill to bear, and Rei nodded. For Rei's part, a slow and careful dissection was exactly what he wanted. After all, starting tomorrow, he'd be heading to Egginis for a while.
He planned to return to Gilm fairly frequently to collect the dissected materials, meat, and above all the magic stones. But even so, he wanted them to take their time and do a thorough job.
Fortunately, during the banquet earlier, the Foreman had mentioned that dragons—and high-rank monsters in general, or more precisely, monsters with high magical power—took a considerably long time for their materials to deteriorate after death, thanks to that inherent magical energy. Even so, Rei fully intended to return to Gilm often as a precaution and collect the Crystal Dragon's materials as they became available.
"Like I said at the banquet, I'm heading to Egginis tomorrow. I'm leaving the Crystal Dragon's dissection entirely in your hands, so don't let me down."
"Yeah."
That single word was all the Foreman gave in reply. But packed within that short response was every ounce of motivation the man could muster. Hearing it, Rei was confident the dissection was in good hands.
"Well then, I'll be off."
Having delegated the task, there was no reason for Rei to linger. If anything, staying would only get in the way. Fortunately, the sun had already set outside, and darkness had settled in. That said, tonight was a festival. Light from magic items and bonfires kept the streets fairly bright. Even so, he'd be harder to spot than during the day—and with the Dragon Robe's hood pulled up, harder still to recognize.
(Well, with Seto around, they'd probably find me anyway.)
The thought crossed his mind as he stepped out of the warehouse. One last glance inside showed the Foreman already assigning dissection roles to each staff member.
"Rei, got a message for you."
An adventurer called out to him as he emerged from the warehouse.
"A message? For me?"
"Yeah. From a woman named Ara. She's a companion of yours—said she's taking Seto with her."
"Ara, huh..."
It was likely Ara herself who had come to deliver it, but Rei could guess that the one behind the decision was Elena, who had attended his promotion ceremony.
"Normally, I wouldn't just hand Seto off to someone on the strength of a message alone..."
"Yeah, figured as much."
Leaving nothing but a message and taking Seto along. Since it was Ara this time, there was no real issue. But if it had been someone with malicious intent, things could have gone very differently. It wouldn't have been strange for them to claim they were "taking Seto" while actually plotting to keep him.
Granted, Seto was highly intelligent. If something like that happened, he'd probably judge the situation himself and either take down the offender or make his escape.
"Just to be sure—there weren't any problems, right?"
"If it's Ara, no problem at all. But if she asked you to pass along a message, shouldn't she have shown her face at the warehouse?"
"...The Foreman was, uh... a bit much."
At that, Rei had nothing to say. When he had stored the Crystal Dragon's corpse in his Misty Ring and returned to the warehouse, the Foreman had been visibly furious. Given that, it wasn't unreasonable for these adventurers to want to avoid the warehouse and the potentially irate Foreman inside it.
That said, Rei couldn't help thinking that as adventurers entrusted with guarding the place, that attitude was less than professional—and their performance reviews would probably take a hit for it. Or maybe, one way or another, they were simply a little drunk on the festival atmosphere.
Either way, if Ara had taken Seto, that was a relief. Not that it excused the lapse, but Rei had no intention of reporting the incident to the Guild.
He exchanged a few more words with the adventurers, then left the Guild grounds.
"Hm?"
Looking out at the main street, Rei let out a small sound of surprise. The stage that had until recently displayed the Crystal Dragon's corpse was gone without a trace. Though considering it was a stage constructed with earth magic, the same earth mage could probably dismantle it just as easily. The knights and adventurers who had stood guard during the display were already gone as well.
Rei pulled up the hood of his Dragon Robe and walked through the streets, making sure no one recognized him. Night had fallen, but it was still early evening. The festival was in full swing, with rows of food stalls still working desperately to draw in customers. Street performers plied their trade up and down the avenues.
Several stalls were ones Rei had never seen before. Tempting as they were, buying from a stall risked blowing his cover. A stall owner might keep quiet if Rei made a large purchase, but not every owner would be that discreet—and there was always the chance that other customers would recognize him. In daylight, that would be one thing. But at night during a festival, drunks were everywhere, and what a drunk might do was anyone's guess.
Between visiting a food stall and keeping his identity hidden, Rei chose the latter without hesitation.
...That said, the charred aroma of sauce drifting from the stalls was doing a number on his appetite. It wasn't the same sauce he'd known in Japan—not the kind used on takoyaki, okonomiyaki, or yakisoba—but even a different sauce had that same mouthwatering smokiness when it caramelized on a grill.
"I hope Marina's got something ready at home. ...It is a festival thrown for my sake, after all. Wouldn't be wrong to expect a decent meal, would it?"
Muttering to himself, he pressed on through the streets. As he went, the Noble District drew closer and foot traffic thinned. With fewer people around, a hooded figure in a worn-looking robe drew more suspicious glances.
Rei didn't have Seto with him, and the Dragon Robe's concealment effect made it appear to be nothing more than a cheap, ordinary robe. The area approaching the Noble District was home to wealthy merchants and other non-nobles of means. Someone dressed as shabbily as Rei currently looked, walking alone through such a neighborhood, was bound to raise eyebrows.
"Hey."
A sharp voice cut through the quiet. The kind of stern address aimed squarely at a suspicious character. Rei turned toward the speaker and found the man fixing him with a hard stare. He was clearly a guard for one of the nearby mansions, not part of the Noble District patrol. With the festival underway, it wouldn't be unusual for someone to use the commotion as cover for a burglary.
(Besides... a lot happened around here not too long ago, too.)
The thought of the massive underground space beneath that mansion flickered through his mind. Wanting no part of any trouble, Rei pulled back his hood.
That finally let the man get a clear look at his face. The sky was nearly cloudless, and the moonlight was bright enough for the man's eyes to register exactly who stood before him. As someone trusted to patrol this area, he was a reasonably skilled adventurer—and he knew of Rei. Recognition hit, and the man froze mid-step.
He had just realized exactly who he'd challenged.
"Ah... um, sorry. I never expected to run into Rei out here."
"Figured. I was hiding my face under the hood, so don't worry about it."
If the man had attacked outright, Rei would have defended himself. But the man had simply been doing his job—nothing more. Rei wasn't about to fault him for that. If their roles were reversed and Rei had spotted someone in a cheap robe walking alone through a high-end district at night, he'd have called out to them too.
The man offered his apology, Rei waved it off, and the guard returned to his patrol. Rei watched him go, then continued on toward Marina's house. But thanks to the festival, the Noble District had more patrols out than usual—and before the night was through, he'd be stopped a few more times yet.