The conversation with Lenora didn't take long.
More accurately, Lenora had work to do, so she couldn't afford to linger in idle chat with Rei — that was the reality of it.
And so, after wrapping up their exchange, Lenora departed.
Had Rei returned to Gilm for good, there would have been a proper sit-down to cover all manner of topics. But since his return this time was solely to collect the Crystal Dragon materials, and he'd likely be leaving Gilm by tomorrow, Rei could accept that only a rough summary had sufficed.
(It's a shame the magic stone analysis isn't finished yet. Well, given how little time has passed, maybe it can't be helped.)
It hadn't actually been that long since Rei asked the Guild to dissect the A-Rank monster's corpse — or rather, since he'd returned from the Forest of Magic after finishing his promotion exam.
After the exam ended, there had been a relentless flood of events one after another, so to Rei, it felt as though the promotion exam had taken place ages ago.
Truly, a lot had happened... no, that wasn't quite right. Considering the bandit disappearances in Egginis and the matter of Golias, it wasn't that a lot had happened — it was that a lot was still happening, here and now.
Given that, Rei couldn't help but find it a little odd that he was standing around lost in thought.
"Well then, I'll be on my way. I'm counting on you for the Crystal Dragon dissection."
"Ooh, leave it to me. Next up... let's see, I'm thinking of starting on the head soon, so it'll take some time. Come back in about ten days."
"...That's a long time again."
Ten days was unexpected, even for Rei.
The Foreman, however, explained the reasoning behind it.
Dragon materials were all extremely rare, but among them, the head held particular significance.
While it naturally fell short of the magic stone, it could easily be called one of the most important parts besides that.
Moreover, the Crystal Dragon was a completely unknown entity.
It required careful dissection, and Rei was convinced once he understood that reasoning.
It wasn't as though Rei was rushing the Crystal Dragon's dissection to begin with.
Under the circumstances, the fact that careful work would take time was perfectly acceptable to him.
"For that reason, the head dissection needs to proceed quite carefully."
"I understand why. But then why are you only getting to the Crystal Dragon's head now?"
"First, we need to dissect the other parts and learn what kind of creature the Crystal Dragon actually is."
Rei could dissect monsters to a certain extent, but that was exactly it — only to a certain extent.
Compared to when he first arrived in this world, his technique had clearly improved. Even so, measured against professionals like the Foreman and his team, Rei's dissection skills were obviously inferior.
Given that, he simply took the Foreman at his word.
"I see. Then do your best with it."
"Ooh, leave it to me."
"At any rate, I'll leave these here. Use them for a feast to shake off the fatigue."
So saying, Rei produced various dishes and alcohol from his Misty Ring.
Rei himself didn't particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol, but it was appreciated as a gift and, depending on its potency, could double as a disinfectant, so he kept a fair amount stored in his Misty Ring.
He brought out a selection of it, and upon seeing the bottles, the Foreman laughed with genuine delight — from the bottom of his heart.
"Ooh, leave it to me!"
The words themselves were identical to what he'd said mere seconds ago, but the enthusiasm behind them was clearly on another level.
Why is that? Rei wondered.
It wasn't as though this was the first time Rei had given food or alcohol to the Foreman.
And since the Guild had essentially confined them to this warehouse, alcohol and food were already being provided to keep them as comfortable as possible.
Even so, the Foreman's delight came from the fact that among the alcohol Rei had brought out, there was his favorite drink.
Naturally, that had been a semi-accidental occurrence.
After all, when Rei picked which alcohol to bring out, he mostly chose at random.
But even if it was by chance — no, precisely because it was by chance — the Foreman rejoiced at finding his favorite drink and showed renewed enthusiasm for the task of dissecting the Crystal Dragon.
"Ooh, everyone! We're going to dissect this Crystal Dragon carefully and thoroughly — but as fast as we can manage!"
Caught off guard by the Foreman's sudden shout, those working on the Crystal Dragon's dissection were startled... and then resumed their work with renewed desperation.
Leaving the now-motivated Foreman and his team behind in the warehouse, Rei stepped outside.
The adventurer standing guard at the warehouse entrance when Rei had arrived now looked at him with surprise.
"You're done already? I figured you'd be inside a lot longer."
"Finished what I came for. After that, there's nothing left for me to do — the rest is in the Foreman's hands."
"I... see."
The Adventurer Man's complicated expression likely stemmed from sheer disbelief that anyone could walk out of that warehouse so casually with the Crystal Dragon's corpse right there inside.
He had seen the Crystal Dragon's corpse when it was displayed in front of the Guild.
The impact of that moment would probably stay with him for the rest of his life.
The man, like anyone the Guild entrusted with guarding this site, was a High-Rank Adventurer of considerable ability.
He also had years of experience fighting all manner of monsters while active in Gilm.
There had been multiple occasions where he'd discovered unknown monsters and reported them to the Guild.
Even so, the Crystal Dragon existed on an entirely different level.
He hadn't seen it since the dissection began inside the warehouse, but when he thought about how he might react to seeing the Crystal Dragon taken apart... a flicker of unease crept in.
Could he truly stand before the sight of that very creature — the one that had dealt him such an overwhelming shock — being dismantled, and feel nothing at all?
"Well then, I'll leave the security here to you. I should get going. I imagine the next time I come by will be in about ten days."
"Huh? Oh, right. Got it. That works for us."
The adventurer snapped back to reality at Rei's words and gave his reply.
A companion shot him a concerned glance, as if to ask if he was all right, but Rei departed without paying particular mind to the adventurer's state.
Naturally, he pulled up the hood of his Dragon Robe, making sure his face stayed hidden.
"Well, all that's left is to head back... though I'm a little late realizing what a problem that is."
He muttered to himself with a troubled expression as he walked along the main street after leaving the Guild.
When leaving Marina's house, Elena had let him ride in her carriage, and he'd gotten out without incident.
But Elena herself was currently somewhere else in town — maybe looking around, maybe already back at Marina's house, or perhaps occupied with something else entirely. In any case, she wasn't here.
Which meant Rei would have to enter the Noble District alone and make his way back to Marina's house — and that brought back the exact problem that had made riding in Elena's carriage necessary in the first place.
In other words: Rei, wearing something that looked like an ordinary robe thanks to the Dragon Robe's concealment function, walking through the Noble District alone, would stand out — and not in a good way.
If that happened, the adventurers patrolling the Noble District would almost certainly find him suspicious.
When he'd left Marina's house for the Guild, he hadn't given a single thought to how he'd get back.
(Maybe I should just keep walking as far as I can, and if someone stops me, show my face and make a run for Marina's house?)
He considered it, but while that might work on the main streets, running through the Noble District would draw attention without fail.
Once someone recognized him as Rei, simply walking would guarantee that someone would call out to him.
He understood that well enough. But given the situation, he figured it couldn't be helped.
(That means I need a different approach... Oh, right. I'm going back to Marina's house anyway, so I just need to travel with Marina. She might be able to do something with Spirit Magic.)
Whether Spirit Magic could actually prevent others from recognizing Rei as Rei, he didn't know.
But his guess was that a Spirit Magic user of Marina's caliber could manage most things.
Having witnessed the versatility of Marina's Spirit Magic time and again, he held an optimistic belief that it would probably be fine.
And so, Rei headed for the clinic to find Marina.
That said, if anyone discovered he was Rei, it would unquestionably cause trouble.
Under those circumstances, he couldn't exactly drop by the clinic as casually as he usually did.
(Though waiting for Marina to finish work isn't great either... I wonder how many patients there are.)
It went without saying, but Marina was an indispensable person at the clinic.
After all, she could heal injuries in the blink of an eye using Recovery Magic through Spirit Magic — no potions or medicinal herbs required.
Those capable of using Recovery Magic were few, and mages themselves were a rarity.
Because of that, Marina served as a tremendous asset at the clinic.
During the Expansion Construction, most of the duties Rei had handled could now be managed by other adventurers. But the clinic without Marina would be unable to treat injured patients the way it always had.
That was exactly why if Rei, face hidden, asked to see Marina at the clinic, it would raise suspicion — and depending on the circumstances, it wouldn't be odd for the Guards to be called.
If he showed his face, the staff would recognize him as Rei, but then they'd be startled, and someone might even cry out. And once word spread, it wouldn't be strange for people desperate to negotiate with Rei over Crystal Dragon materials to swarm the clinic.
(Hmm, what should I do? Maybe it's better not to visit the clinic and just wait outside? That's suspicious in its own way, though.)
A hooded figure with their face hidden, loitering in front of the clinic.
By any reasonable standard, that was plainly suspicious.
And the people working at the clinic — even setting Marina aside — were mostly highly valuable personnel.
If it seemed that such individuals might be at risk, it would only be natural for someone to report it.
Had this been during the festival, like when the Crystal Dragon's corpse was on public display, no one would have paid him much mind.
But the festival had ended days ago.
No one was still riding the afterglow.
Under those conditions, Rei waiting outside the clinic with his face obscured by a hood would stand out.
On top of that, it was still summer.
Though late summer was giving way to autumn, daytime temperatures still hovered near thirty degrees and sometimes climbed higher.
That was precisely why walking around in a hood would draw attention.
Thanks to the Simplified air conditioner function, wearing the hood was no bother at all. But the only one who knew that was Rei, who was actually wearing the Dragon Robe — to everyone around him, it was a mystery.
"Even so, relying on Marina is the only real option."
If he could make contact with Vihera or Byune, who were working in the Treant Forest, turning to them would have been a viable alternative.
But unfortunately, precisely because they were working in the Treant Forest, there was no telling when Vihera and the others would return to Gilm.
If that was the case, then it was obvious that Rei was better off relying on Marina than Vihera.
(For now, I'll go to the clinic. If that doesn't work out, I can always wait near the Main Gate for Vihera to come back.)
With that decided, Rei set off toward the clinic where Marina worked.
The streets were full of people going about their jobs, walking with purpose. But among them were some who happened to have the day off, or whose work had ended early and now had time to spare.
A few among those individuals were adventurers of considerable skill, or alchemists... and from the way Rei carried himself, some could read his level of expertise, while others could see through the Dragon Robe's concealment effect and recognize it for the extraordinarily valuable Magic Item it truly was.
Even so, the adventurer, wanting nothing to do with trouble, didn't call out to Rei... but an alchemist, spotting Rei as someone in possession of a Magic Item that piqued his interest, took a step forward.