"Ahahahahahaha! Seto, Seto, over here, over here!"
"Grrrrr"
As Rei stepped out into the yard, the sight of the children playing with Seto caught his eye.
This town was, so to speak, a rural one. Because of that, there was no struggle to find housing like there was in Gilm.
...Although, in Gilm right now, many people had come seeking work due to the Expansion Construction, and that was indeed the cause of many being unable to find lodging and struggling as a result.
Because this town was in the countryside, each plot of land was reasonably spacious. Moreover, this orphanage in particular was built with an especially large yard. In one corner, presumably to grow whatever food they could, there were vegetable plots of a decent size as well.
"Ah, mister!"
As Rei was gazing out over the yard, Camila noticed his presence.
That said, the first to notice Rei's presence was, naturally, Seto. But since he was currently playing with the children, he had been focused on that and simply hadn't reacted.
"Looks like the others have gotten used to Seto too, huh?"
"Yeah. Seto is gentle despite how he looks."
"...I think he looks cute, myself."
From Rei's perspective, Seto had an adorable appearance. Even in Gilm, many people doted on Seto, finding him endearing. Judging from that experience, Rei still felt that Seto was cute in appearance as well.
"Grrr"
Carrying a child on his back, Seto approached Rei and Camila, purring. Are we leaving already? In response to Seto's question, Rei shook his head.
"No, I'm having Anne write a letter. Once I receive it, we'll head for Egginis."
"Eh? You're leaving already!?"
A voice of surprise slipped from Camila's mouth. Like Anne, whom he had been speaking with earlier, Camila probably thought Rei would stay here for a while longer. At the very least, he expected him to stay overnight.
"Yeah. Our destination is Egginis, after all. If we travel riding Seto, we can move quite fast."
"But you might run into monsters and stuff?"
"I'm a Gilm adventurer, and an A-Rank Adventurer at that, you know? Any monsters that show up around here, I can take down easily. Actually, they weren't monsters, but I effortlessly killed the wolves that attacked you kids, right?"
"Well, that's..."
Having actually witnessed how quickly Rei dispatched the wolves, Camila couldn't argue back. No, in truth, he understood that Rei had killed the wolves, but naturally, he hadn't been able to see exactly how Rei had moved to do it.
"Well, that's how it is. Sorry. I'm sure you wanted to play with Seto more, but give it up for now. I know it's not much of a replacement, but I've given the meat and pelts from the wolves you kids fought to Anne and the others, so I think you'll be able to eat your fill today."
"Waaah!"
Hearing Rei's words, the children all raised their voices in delight. Being able to eat their fill was apparently that joyful for the orphanage children.
Indeed, from what Rei could see, while the children weren't so emaciated as to be skin and bones, many of them were thin. Even so, the fact that they were not in a dangerous state—that they had enough energy and stamina to play with Seto—was largely because the orphanage staff, starting with Anne, had been reducing their own portions and giving that share to the children.
Naturally, children and adults ate different amounts. What amounted to one serving for Anne and the others would be two servings for a child... or perhaps one and a half. Also, unlike adults, children's bodies were still developing, so they needed to eat properly.
Of course, if they gave all their food to the children, Anne and the others would starve. That was why they surely ate at least a minimum amount.
"For now, want to eat these?"
Unable to bear watching the children who somehow looked hungry, Rei took out sandwiches from his Misty Ring. These were sandwiches that Rei himself had judged to be delicious, so there was no doubt about the taste.
The children were surprised that Rei had suddenly pulled sandwiches out of thin air, but even more than that, their eyes were drawn to the sandwiches themselves.
"Here, go ahead and eat."
When Rei said that, many of the children reached for the sandwiches all at once. Watching this, Rei thought to himself—maybe I should have made them wash their hands first?—but in this world, washing hands before meals wasn't all that common. In that sense, even if some bacteria entered their bodies, it wouldn't cause them to feel sick.
(Come to think of it, I remember seeing something about how in Japan, since people started being so thorough about sterilization and all that, overall resistance to germs has dropped. In that sense, maybe this is fine as is?)
Whether that was truly correct or not, Rei didn't know. However, if what Rei had seen was fact, then as long as they would continue living at the orphanage, it was certain that having somewhat sturdier bodies was better. Since none of them had hands that were decisively caked with mud, he decided to say nothing.
"IT'S SO DELICIOUUUUUUUS!"
Such a scream erupted from the mouths of the children. Having tasted various dishes and developed a refined palate, even Rei found these sandwiches delicious. Naturally, for children who didn't usually eat as well as Rei did, it wouldn't be strange for them to find it delicious enough to feel like they were eating it for the first time.
"Hey, calm down. Don't eat in such a rush and choke on it."
Saying that, he brought out fruit water and distributed it to the children. That too was welcomed with joy by the children.
For the children, fruit water itself was something they could occasionally drink, and if they received fruit for some reason, it wasn't uncommon for them to turn it into fruit water so everyone could enjoy it together. However, the fruit water that Rei handed to the children was cold, every single one of them.
Naturally so, since he had bought out the entire stock of chilled fruit water from a stall that used a Magic Item for cooling and stored it in his Misty Ring.
Warm fruit water and cold fruit water. Though it was merely a difference in temperature, that alone brought a difference in the taste of the fruit water. Beyond that, the fruit water wasn't made from a single fruit but rather used multiple fruits blended together. Since the seller made their living selling fruit water, a blended fruit water was vastly different from ordinary fruit water.
"Yeah, it's good."
Rei too took a sip of the fruit water and murmured in satisfaction.
Snack time with sandwiches and fruit water was a happy time for the children as well. However, naturally, neither the sandwiches nor the fruit water was infinite. Once eaten and drunk, they would be gone.
Then, as if timing it perfectly, Anne appeared in the yard.
"Rei-san, here is the letter. If you show this to them, I believe they will cooperate with you."
"I see, understood. ...So, what's the name of that adventurer?"
Just knowing they were an adventurer from this orphanage wasn't enough to identify the person. Anne seemed to realize this immediately as well, and spoke as if embarrassed at having forgotten to mention it.
"In Egginis, several children who left this orphanage are doing reasonably well as adventurers... let's see. If you look for Golias, who was the leader-type among them, there should be no problem. He's a bit taller than you, Rei-san, and has green hair."
"Got it, Golias. With just that much to go on regarding his appearance, I don't think finding him will be difficult either. ...This is payment for the introduction."
"Eh? Kyaa!"
After receiving the letter and storing it in his Misty Ring, Rei pulled out a Fang Boar carcass.
Given that the Fang Boar was about chest-height on Rei, its weight must have been considerable. Which meant there was also plenty to eat. ...In exchange, since it was a raw carcass, they would have to butcher it themselves.
"I've already taught Camila and the others the basics of butchery, so ask them about it."
"...Hah! N-no, you can't! You've already given us so much, Rei-san! And now something like this..."
"Fang Boar meat is delicious, but there's plenty of meat out there that's even better. Besides, if I can gain a cooperating contact in Egginis, this level of expense is no problem. That said, it's this season. The meat will spoil if you don't eat it quickly, so you could turn it into dried meat or even sell it if you'd like."
Typical dried meat in this world was, as one would expect, made using salt. It was nothing like the dried meat seasoned with various spices that Rei's father used to eat back in Japan. In that sense, the taste was far inferior to eating it raw... but still, as a food source, it was perfectly edible.
"Are you sure? Such a fine and large one, for us..."
"No problem. And I know I keep saying this, but having someone trustworthy to tell me about a place I'm visiting for the first time is valuable. In that sense, you could call it a cheap purchase."
Calling the Fang Boar a cheap purchase was because Rei possessed that level of ability, but Anne didn't understand that part. Even so, having received it, she was determined not to waste even a little of it.
"Camila, Rei-san said you can butcher it. Is that true?"
"Eh? Ah, um..."
Camila, who had been staring at the Fang Boar that had suddenly appeared, showed a flustered look at Anne's words and turned his gaze toward Rei.
"I did teach him the basics, simply put. The rest is up to whether you want to try butchering it or not. Well, butchery is something you get used to the more you do."
Strong conviction was woven into Rei's words. In truth, Rei's own butchery skills had been terrible at first. His only experience had been killing and butchering the fighting roosters his father kept back in Japan. Chickens and monsters were obviously different, so he had struggled quite a bit at first, but even so, he had become reasonably skilled at butchery by now.
For that reason, there was no doubt that practice made perfect when it came to butchery. ...Though Rei had also received instruction from someone skilled at it.
"Thank you very much."
Anne bowed deeply.
With this Fang Boar, they could overcome their current situation. Of course, even if they managed to get through this situation, what to do after that was a separate matter. Even so, having gained a degree of breathing room was certain. In that case, all Anne could do was feel gratitude toward Rei.
"Don't worry about it. Seeing children go hungry leaves a bad taste in my mouth too. ...Let's go, Seto."
"Grrr"
At Rei's words, Seto approached, purring.
Right now, the children were distracted by the Fang Boar, so even as Rei and Seto tried to leave the orphanage, no one paid them any particular attention. ...In a way, Anne couldn't help but think that Rei had brought out the Fang Boar here precisely with this in mind.
Not all of the children had failed to notice Rei and Seto, but even so, whether they judged that stopping Rei and Seto would be pointless, they showed disappointed expressions but didn't speak up.
"Well then. I'll drop by again if I get the chance."
"Grr"
As if agreeing with Rei's words, Seto purred, and then Rei and Seto left the orphanage.
Behind them, Anne was still bowing deeply.
"Well, I've got the information. Let's leave town. In this town, Seto gets feared too."
"Grrr..."
At Rei's words, Seto wore a disappointed expression.
For the sociable Seto, setting aside hostile parties or those he disliked, being feared by people he wanted to approach friendly must have been troubling in various ways.
(I think he looks cute, though.)
To Rei, regardless of his size, Seto's appearance was adorable. Compared to his valor in battle, it was almost unbelievable. But that was something only Rei, who had been with Seto from the start, could say. To others, a gryphon was inevitably seen as a frightening opponent.
Even so, as the events at the orphanage showed, Seto wasn't feared just for his appearance alone—if people approached him, Seto would respond in kind and play together with them.
Seto had now become a mascot-like figure in Gilm, but when Rei first arrived in Gilm, many people had been afraid of him simply because he was a gryphon. The fact that things had reached the current state was a testament to Seto's docility.
...If they were hostile opponents, that would be a different story.