"First off, I suppose introductions are in order, aren't they?"
After settling into a conveniently empty seat in the Guild's tavern, the woman asked the clerk to bring over whatever food was available, then turned to Rei.
All around them, the voices of those who had already finished their work and were now drinking and carousing filled the air. Many were making noise — some out of the joy of finishing a job, others from the frustration of a failed request.
Precisely because it was such a place, the conversation between Rei and the woman likely wasn't reaching anyone else's ears.
"I'm Lindy. D-Rank Adventurer."
And you? — prompted by that look, Rei opened his mouth as well.
"A-Rank Adventurer, Rei. If I mention I go by the alias Crimson, would that be easier to place?"
"......Huh?"
Hearing Rei's words, Lindy was at a loss.
She wondered if perhaps she had misheard something amid the noise of the tavern's carousing patrons.
But deep down, Lindy understood that what she had just heard was no mishearing.
Even so, clinging to the hope that it was, she hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Umm, Crimson Rei? From what I'd heard, you were supposed to be a B-Rank Adventurer......"
"That would've been correct until recently. But I became an A-Rank Adventurer a few days ago."
Strictly speaking, he had already passed his Promotion Exam before the Festival, but Rei hadn't been publicly announced as an A-Rank Adventurer until Daskar presented him on stage during the Festival. In that sense, it was true that not much time had passed since his promotion.
At any rate, perhaps sensing that alone wasn't persuasive enough, Rei pulled his Guild Card from his Misty Ring and set it on the table. One glance would confirm he was an A-Rank Adventurer.
......Of course, even then, a suspicious person might wonder whether the card was a forgery — or, if genuine, whether it had been stolen from its owner.
"If you still can't believe it after seeing this, how about stepping outside the Guild for a moment? Seto's out there — my partner — so it'll be obvious right away. I mentioned coming here by flying through the sky, didn't I?"
The fact that he, the adventurer bearing the alias Crimson, had Gryphon Seto as his Tamed Monster was widely known. That was precisely why showing Seto would make his identity as Rei unmistakable.
"No, it's fine. ......It's fine. I've understood more than enough that you're Crimson Rei-san."
"Hey, you don't have to change the way you speak. I'm not great with stiff language."
"Is that...... really okay?"
Lindy gave Rei a look that questioned whether that was truly fine, but as far as Rei was concerned, he didn't particularly mind either way. After all, his own status as an Adventurer hadn't changed, so a casual tone was perfectly acceptable to him.
Of course, that assumed Lindy was a friendly party. If she had been hostile from the start, Rei's attitude would have been quite different.
"Now then, leaving the speech thing aside — are you convinced that I stopped by the orphanage before coming to Egginis?"
"Yes. So...... you received a letter from Anne-san for Golias-san. ......Knowing Anne-san's personality, I don't think she'd introduce Golias-san so easily."
"She must have felt that indebted to me."
"Indebted?"
Sensing her confusion at the word, Rei explained how he had saved Camila and given them wolf meat and pelts, as well as a Fang Boar.
Hearing his account, Lindy was stunned to learn just how dire the orphanage's situation had become — though she made sure to thank him again for the matter with Camila first.
"But...... why? When I was there, the orphanage wasn't exactly wealthy, but we never worried about meals."
"From what I heard, the president of the merchant guild that had been funding the orphanage changed, and the support was cut off."
"No way......"
Lindy stared in shock.
Since it was summer, they could still scrape by even without enough money. But summer was already waning. Autumn would come next, and then winter. When winter arrived, they would naturally need to keep warm — and enough firewood to last an entire winter cost a considerable sum.
If it were Rei, he had various Magic Items to fall back on, and could even go gather firewood from the forest himself. But for the people at the orphanage, that would be far more difficult.
Lindy understood this all too well, which was exactly why the news hit her so hard.
"For now, at least they have the Fang Boar, so I think they've gained a little breathing room as far as food goes."
The Fang Boar Rei had left behind was a fairly large specimen. Butchering it would be no small effort, and if done poorly, the usable meat would shrink. Of course, if there was still meat left on the bones, they could simply cook them as-is and eat normally, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a problem.
"Even so...... this is rough. I'd want to give them money if I could, but we don't have that kind of surplus either. And a small amount would only cover a day or two of food at most."
A D-Rank Adventurer was someone who had moved past being a beginner and earned the title of veteran. This was around the point where one finally started to gain some financial breathing room — but even so, earning enough for the several dozen people at the orphanage to survive the winter was another matter entirely.
There were other Adventurers from the orphanage as well, but only a moderate number. Many had moved elsewhere to work, away from Egginis.
And even setting out to become an Adventurer, reaching D-Rank — being called a veteran or full-fledged — was no easy feat. Not to mention that the life of an Adventurer naturally carried danger. Among those from the orphanage, just like Lindy, several had died in the middle of requests.
Let alone......
"If Golias-san were here, he might have been able to do something about this......"
Rei caught a hint in Lindy's murmur.
Originally, Rei had come to the Guild to meet Golias — to deliver Anne's letter and gather information. But based on what Lindy had just said, Golias wasn't currently in Egginis.
That in itself wasn't particularly unusual. He could have accepted a request and left the city to obtain materials only found in distant places, or taken on an escort job somewhere far away.
But from the tone of Lindy's words, it didn't sound like any of those.
"Did something happen to Golias?"
"Right. ......If you're carrying a letter from Anne-san, then this isn't someone else's problem for you either, Rei."
No, it is someone else's problem. Rei had been about to say exactly that, but realizing it would only shut down the flow of information, he prompted Lindy to continue instead.
"About ten days ago, he said he had some errands to run, and then he disappeared right after. No contact at all since. Golias-san's party members have been searching everywhere, and Adventurers from the orphanage like me have been looking too, but......"
Her trailing off made it painfully clear that the search had yielded nothing.
(Ah, so that's why she reacted so strongly when I mentioned Golias's name.)
Recalling how Lindy had practically pounced when he'd uttered Golias's name inside the Guild, Rei nodded to himself in understanding.
"So he hasn't been found."
"No."
"......By the way, have any other Adventurers gone missing in Egginis recently? Or rather — it doesn't have to be an Adventurer. Anyone at all who's vanished?"
"Huh? Hmm, I'm not sure. Given the size of Egginis, keeping track of everything would be difficult."
"Then what about someone who tried to capture an illegal slave trader and got caught instead?"
Back in Gilm, there had been an organization from another country that tried to enslave people, taking advantage of the large crowds. Rei had ultimately dismantled the operation, but even on a smaller scale, it wouldn't be strange for someone in Egginis to attempt something similar.
"Slaves? If that were the case, they wouldn't need to come all the way to Egginis. A village with fewer people, somewhere like that, would be......"
Lindy wasn't wrong. She wasn't wrong, but that was in the case of ordinary circumstances.
"As something unique to Egginis, there are quite a few Alchemists skilled in Golem production here, wouldn't you say?"
"......I see."
Rei's words made it click, and Lindy nodded.
Between the confusion over Golias, she hadn't been able to think deeply about it. But calming down and considering it rationally, she realized that obtaining slaves in Egginis carried a very specific significance.
"That said, this is only one possibility. He might have disappeared for a completely different reason altogether."
Told that it might be something else entirely, Lindy shot Rei a resentful look. From her perspective, she had just found what looked like a lead on Golias — only to have the rug pulled out from under her.
"Golias being gone is honestly a problem for me too. As for information......"
"If there's anything I can help with, I'll tell you. What do you want to know?"
Rei considered her offer for a moment, then nodded and pulled out the letter.
"For now, read this. It was originally meant for Golias, but with him absent and you providing me with information, it makes more sense for you to read it."
"......Right. Understood."
She seemed uncertain whether she should really read a letter addressed to someone else, but deciding that with Golias absent there was no other choice, she unfolded it.
The contents matched what Rei had already told her. At the end, Anne had written that Rei had been a tremendous help and asked that Golias assist him in any way possible.
Lindy had already believed Rei's story based on his explanation and the A-Rank Guild Card, but seeing Anne's letter in her own hands gave her that much more confidence.
"I understand what's in the letter. So, you said you wanted information — what kind?"
"I'm not looking for anything classified, so relax. I'll have you look at Seto outside the Guild later, but for now — I need to know about inns with stables that can accommodate a Gryphon like him. I'm also planning to buy a Golem, so I'd appreciate recommendations for reputable shops or ones with high technical skill. And after that, just good restaurants."
"......Huh? Seriously?"
Having braced herself for Rei to ask for the kind of insider knowledge that ordinary people wouldn't have access to, Lindy was caught off guard by how mundane his requests were.
The only one that made sense to her was the Golem shops. As an Adventurer operating in Egginis, that sort of information naturally came her way.
......Though among the rumors, there were some deliberately planted to disparage rival shops, and others spread half in jest, so a degree of discernment was required.
"For Golem shops, I can share what's circulating among Adventurers. But it's all just rumor, so if you actually visit, it might not match what you've heard."
"I understand that."
A shop that had been doing careful, diligent work, only to be flooded with customers and let it go to their heads while their craftsmanship suffered — that sort of thing wasn't unique to Japan. It happened in Elgin too.
Judging which shops to trust was itself a skill — though whether "skill" was quite the right word was debatable.
"Right. As for inns, I only know slightly more than Anne-san would. ......It's not like I'd be staying at any fancy places anyway."
A mere D-Rank Adventurer like Lindy had no business at the kind of inns where Nobles or wealthy Merchants lodged. Escort work might have opened different doors, but clients in need of escorts would naturally hire higher-ranked, more capable Adventurers instead.
With those thoughts in mind, Rei ate a light meal while listening to what Lindy had to share.