After finishing his discussion with Orban, Rei decided to head back to his room.
Orban had likely wanted to talk a bit more, but the fact that they wrapped things up after covering only the essentials was surely a reflection of how swamped he was.
Case in point—there was normally light food available, things like sandwiches that could be casually picked at, but today there was nothing.
They had been attacked through a completely unexpected method: golems burrowing into the Fusetsu hideout from underground. As the man leading Fusetsu, it was only natural that Orban had a great deal on his mind regarding the current situation.
That was precisely why Orban was so busy right now.
(Come to think of it, he seemed to have dark circles under his eyes. He probably hasn't slept at all, or only got very little.)
Rei and his group had managed to get some sleep, even if it was only toward morning.
But Orban and the others had likely been so busy dealing with the aftermath of last night that they hadn't even had time to rest.
(Hm? But...)
Rei suddenly found something odd and turned his gaze toward Nina, who was walking beside him.
Even Orban showed signs of fatigue and appeared to have dark circles under his eyes, yet Nina showed no signs of exhaustion whatsoever.
"Is something the matter?"
Nina apparently noticed Rei's stare and asked curiously, looking back at him.
If it had been anyone other than Rei, it wouldn't have been strange for her to assume they were simply captivated by her beauty. But Rei had companions like Elena, Marina, and Vihera—women of overwhelming beauty.
...In reality, there were also companions like Byune and Ara beyond those three, but perhaps Nina didn't know about them, or even if she did, she didn't count them when it came to beauty.
Given that Rei kept such women close to him, the possibility that he was simply entranced by her looks wasn't something Nina could imagine.
"No, it's just that you've been working without rest since last night, right? Despite that, you don't seem tired at all."
"Is that so? Well, women have all sorts of secrets. Not letting fatigue show on one's face is one of them."
Nina said this with a smile.
Whether she truly wasn't tired, or whether she was exhausted and it simply didn't show on her face—Rei couldn't tell. But from her current demeanor, he could at least tell she wasn't completely drained.
When someone was truly exhausted, even if it didn't show on their face, it would affect some part of their movements.
Since Rei didn't know everything about Nina, he couldn't definitively say she wasn't tired.
"I see, that's good then. You hold an important position for Fusetsu, right? It seems like you won't end up so exhausted you can't move at all, so that's a relief."
"I'm glad you care that much about Fusetsu. There are people in the organization who sometimes fail to understand the importance of negotiation."
"Yeah... well, I imagine there are people like that."
Rei also knew that some people believed it was better to demonstrate strength through force rather than negotiation.
While that wasn't entirely wrong, refusing to engage in any form of negotiation whatsoever made it highly likely that enemies would multiply without end.
Unless something extraordinary happened, eventually being cornered was a certainty.
"Thanks to negotiations, many people have been saved, but there are also many who can't understand those circumstances... I apologize. I'm about to start complaining."
Nina apologized for nearly venting to Rei.
While she might grumble to fellow Fusetsu members, the fact that she almost instinctively started complaining to Rei—even though it didn't show on her face or in her attitude—was proof that she was considerably fatigued.
"Don't worry about it. These things happen... Alright, we're almost there."
Sensing that the room they were borrowing was close, Rei spoke up.
The layout featured similar-looking corridors repeating endlessly, but even so, after passing through the same areas multiple times, Rei could more or less get his bearings.
Nina also understood from their surroundings that they were close to the room, so she nodded readily.
"You're right. In that case, Lord Rei, please don't go out today and take your time resting. It would be problematic if you couldn't perform at your full strength during tonight's assault due to lack of sleep."
Hearing that, Rei couldn't exactly shake his head in refusal.
It was obvious she was saying this out of concern for his condition.
However... even if he was going to rest, there was something he needed to do first.
"In that case, would it be all right if I go see Seto before heading back to the room? I heard he also played a big role in last night's incident, so I want to praise him. Besides... Seto will be happy to see me."
Nina naturally understood what Rei meant by "last night's incident."
The original plan for the assault had been to use golems to launch a surprise attack from underground, followed by a two-pronged operation striking from the surface entrance.
But the one who prevented that was Seto.
Given that, there was no doubt that Seto wanted Rei to praise him for what he'd done.
It was precisely because Rei had been with Seto for so long—ever since he was born through Beast Magic—that he could predict what the gryphon was hoping for.
"I see. I don't think that would be a problem. Shall we head to the surface first, then?"
"Please."
And so, Rei and Nina made their way toward the surface.
"Gururururu!"
Perhaps sensing Rei's presence as he emerged above ground, Seto's happy purring reached Rei's ears even though he had only just climbed the stairs.
Guided by Seto's cries, Rei stepped out of the building, and Seto immediately came over.
Purring happily, Seto rubbed his face against Rei.
"Seto, looks like you've been doing well. We were saved thanks to you yesterday. Thank you."
"Guruu!"
Seto purred and narrowed his eyes in pleasure as Rei stroked him.
Seto had the lower body of a lion—a feline—but watching him purr like that made even the eagle upper body seem almost cat-like.
As Rei continued petting Seto, the gryphon finally calmed down somewhat and stopped frolicking.
"You've settled down, huh... Seto, I have business tonight, so I won't be able to walk around outside with you. Sorry about that."
"Guruu."
Seto let out a disappointed cry at Rei's words.
At Seto's reaction, the two gatekeepers looked like they wanted to say something... but perhaps because Nina was nearby, they remained silent.
The gatekeepers had spent a good amount of time with Seto, and they had even fought alongside him last night.
Though they had initially been frightened by his presence, by now they had grown fond of him.
Even so, they said nothing because Nina, a senior member, was close by.
She wasn't their direct superior, but they still couldn't afford to make a poor impression in front of her.
If she saw them acting strangely, there was a chance they would face some form of punishment later.
To avoid that, they needed to stay quiet and not make waves.
"But in exchange, I'll have Seto accompany me for tonight's business."
"Guruu? Gurururururu!"
Seto showed obvious delight at Rei's words.
He hadn't known whether he would be able to go along with Rei on his business, but now he heard from Rei's own mouth that they could go together.
There was no way Seto, who loved Rei, wouldn't be thrilled.
"Eh? Lord Rei, are you serious?"
Watching the exchange between Rei and Seto, Nina asked this upon hearing that Rei planned to bring him along.
But Rei looked at her as if to say What are you talking about? and spoke.
"It's outside, not inside the hideout, so bringing Seto is obvious, isn't it?"
From Rei's perspective, Seto's size made it impossible for him to fight alongside them inside the Fusetsu hideout, but this time they were the ones launching the assault.
Given that, Seto being there with them was simply a matter of course.
Rei naturally knew Seto's abilities better than anyone.
Even if the target of their assault tried to flee the estate, Seto would have no trouble tracking them down.
Additionally, Seto would undoubtedly be a powerful asset in defeating enemies positioned outside the estate, or in dealing with whatever reinforcements might arrive.
That was exactly why Rei intended to bring his partner along for the assault.
"If anything, I'd be more surprised if you thought I wouldn't bring Seto along for tonight's... er, for tonight's business."
Rei nearly said "assault" but managed to cover it up.
If he let the word slip in this situation, there was no telling how the information might leak.
It was true that there were currently no outsiders visible in the vicinity.
Just as Rei had quickly learned by asking the residents when he first came to the Slum District, the fact that this was the Fusetsu hideout was common knowledge among those who lived there.
Because of that, people didn't approach the area around this building unless they had specific business.
What's more, information about last night's assault had naturally spread throughout the Slum District, and it was easy to imagine that Fusetsu was on edge because of it.
Under such circumstances, anyone who deliberately approached this area for no meaningful reason would be none other than someone with a death wish.
Or perhaps those trying to gather even the slightest scrap of information about Fusetsu or Rei to sell to the Dolan Workshop.
Fortunately, perhaps because it was only the day after the incident, there was no one here attempting such a thing right now.
(No, precisely because it's the day after, it wouldn't be strange for someone like that to be here... Well, I'll set that aside. It's easier not having to stay vigilant.)
As if to gloss over his near-slip, Rei spoke again.
"You understand Seto's abilities well enough yourself, don't you, Nina? In that case, there's no option of not bringing him along... Am I wrong?"
"That's..."
Nina could also see the reason in Rei's words.
She knew full well how capable Seto was from last night's events, and she was one of those who had gathered intelligence on Rei and Seto in the first place.
"It seems you're convinced. Then Seto will be joining us today too."
"Guruu!"
Seto purred happily upon learning from Rei's words that he would be going along.
Rei stroked him.
Watching the pair, Nina let out a sigh as if giving in.
The fact that having Seto along would help in many situations was surely also a factor here.
After all, Seto could fly.
When launching an assault, the ability to fly carried enormous significance.
...Normally, flying Seto over a city would be more than enough to get them caught by the guards.
However, many of Egginis's current guards had been bought by the Dolan Workshop—or by those behind it.
Not all of them had been bribed, and there were still guards who acted according to their own sense of justice, but such people were naturally treated as unwelcome.
And in terms of influence, those who had been bought held the greater power. In that sense, the guard force could no longer be relied upon.
But thanks to that, even if Rei flew freely over Egginis on Seto's back, there was little the guards could actually do about it.
They could probably try to use it as a pretext to capture him, but the problem was that being able to take such action and actually being able to capture Rei were two entirely different things.
Egginis had its share of decent adventurers, but none who could handle Rei.
If this were Gilm—Rei's base, a frontier that naturally attracted numerous skilled adventurers (though many low-rank adventurers had also gathered for the expansion construction)—there would be a fair number of alias holders and A-Rank Adventurers besides Rei, some of whom could potentially deal with him one-on-one.
Or even if they couldn't handle Rei individually, there were those who might be able to suppress him by acting as a group.
...However, capturing Rei also meant capturing Seto.
At that point, they would be making enemies of the Seto Enthusiasts.
And among Seto's enthusiasts, there were many influential adventurers.
There were also those who owned shops.
If asked whether they would go so far as to make enemies of such people just to deal with Rei... under normal circumstances, they would never do such a thing.
Unless there was a compelling reason they absolutely had to—even something like the city of Gilm potentially collapsing—it would be a different story.
Such a pair—one person and one creature that could almost be called a walking disaster—continued to play together happily.