After storing all the potions from the cart into his Misty Ring, Rei drank the tea the maid had prepared in the meantime. Once things had settled, he spoke up again.
"So, you didn't call me here just to hand over the potions, did you?"
"Hmm, why wouldn't I? Since you were rewarded with potions for defeating the Necro Golem, I don't think it's strange to call you here in order to hand them over."
Glancing at Dwanda, Rei stood up.
"In that case, that concludes our business. There's no reason for me to stay any longer, so I'll be taking my leave."
"Wait."
If he kept playing coy, Rei really would walk out.
Judging as much, Dwanda hurriedly called out to stop him.
From Dwanda's perspective, it almost seemed like Rei was wondering whether the man couldn't even manage some light banter—but that was precisely why letting the connection he had finally established with Rei slip away felt like such a waste.
"You probably already know this, but once this matter settles down, I plan to pass the position of guild master to my son."
"I already know that. And I'll tell you now: I'm an adventurer first and foremost. Being employed by your son isn't going to happen."
Dwanda had what he was about to say crushed before he could even get it out.
He had expected Rei to refuse, of course. But he'd figured the young man would at least hear the conditions out properly before declining.
For Rei to refuse this flatly—Dwanda couldn't quite accept it.
"Why? Your conclusion that you won't work for my son is fine. But even so, couldn't you at least hear the terms? There's a chance I might present conditions you could accept."
"Maybe so. But even if they were conditions I could accept, the chances of me actually agreeing to them are slim to none. I might be willing to work for someone on a short-term basis, but I have no intention of being permanently employed by the same person."
"...I see."
That explanation was, to some extent, understandable to Dwanda.
Among adventurers, some sought a stable life while others sought freedom from any kind of restraint. In that sense, Rei was likely a textbook example of the latter.
Even so, Dwanda still thought Rei could have at least heard the conditions.
"In that case, let me ask you this: you wouldn't enter a long-term arrangement with Robel... no, with Orban either, then?"
It was unfortunate that he couldn't hire Rei as an exclusive bodyguard, but if that was the reason, he wanted to confirm that Rei wouldn't be employed by Orban—and by extension, Robel, who was connected to Orban.
"Fundamentally, once this matter is resolved, I don't think I'll end up in any long-term employment arrangement. The reason I'm currently at the Fusetsu hideout is, ultimately, because of the Dolan Workshop situation."
Whether satisfied with those words or not, Dwanda nodded.
"I see. But... even so, if something else comes up after this incident, you would take a commission from me, wouldn't you?"
"I won't deny that. Or rather, isn't that obvious? Since it's someone who has already hired me once, the possibility of being hired again isn't strange at all."
As an adventurer, one tended to be somewhat cautious when working with a client for the first time.
Rei hadn't encountered such clients very often himself, but he'd heard stories—people making completely unreasonable accusations to declare a commission a failure, or making outrageous demands of adventurers.
In particular, for adventurers with attractive features, there were apparently those who would even force nighttime acts upon them.
In a sense, Rei also had attractive features, so it wouldn't be strange for him to be targeted by such people. Fortunately, though, that had never happened to him.
Of course, even if Rei were targeted, the only one who'd end up suffering a terrible experience would be the one doing the targeting.
The same could be said for Vihera and Marina, who partied with him.
In any case, putting those reasons aside, it was an undeniable fact that compared to a first-time client, an adventurer would feel far more at ease working for someone who had hired them before.
"If having hiring experience is what matters, then I should have effectively hired you during the Necro Golem incident as well, correct?"
"Well, if you ask whether or not you hired me, I won't deny it. I did receive compensation like this, after all."
The potions Rei had wanted—and high-quality potions at that, in considerable quantity—were more than sufficient as compensation.
If Rei had tried to purchase the potions he received today, they would have cost a considerable sum, of that there was no doubt. Even if he simply had the money, depending on the shop's inventory, there was a possibility he wouldn't be able to buy them all from a single store.
"Right? In that case, I can expect you to accept my commission next time something happens, can't I?"
"That's right. Between you and someone I don't know at all, I'd prioritize you, Dwanda."
That was what Rei told him, but that was only when comparing Dwanda to someone he was meeting for the first time. What he would do if the competing party was Orban or Robel was, naturally, something he left unsaid.
Dwanda seemed to catch that nuance, but he was at least satisfied that he'd managed to get Rei to say he would prioritize him to some degree.
(I still haven't met his son, so I can't really say...)
The son who would inherit the position of guild master from Dwanda. Rei had yet to meet him, so he didn't know what kind of person he was. But if he had to guess between competent or incompetent, he was sure the son was competent. Given Dwanda's personality, Rei couldn't imagine him handing over his position solely because the person was his own flesh and blood.
"Is that the end of our talk? In that case, I'll be taking my leave now, if that's alright?"
"Ah. I would have liked to discuss more with you, but given the current situation, I don't have that luxury."
Letting out a weary sigh, Dwanda directed his gaze toward the stack of documents on the table.
Even if he intended to pass the position of guild master to his son, the documents currently on the table still had to be processed by him—that was likely the source of his disappointment.
(It seems like a hassle, having to do paperwork like that when you become important. As an adventurer, I mostly don't have to deal with that kind of thing, so in that sense, my current situation is more carefree.)
Rei could appreciate once more that his current circumstances were blessed. Of course, most people would probably prefer a position like Dwanda's over being an adventurer.
"Good luck with your work."
Saying that, Rei rose from the sofa, left the room, and was guided out of the building by the maid.
"Now then, I've got the potions... I was thinking of buying a souvenir for Seto somewhere, but where should I go?"
Surveying his surroundings, Rei considered where to head next. Deciding to just wander somewhere at random, he set off.
As one would expect, though, Egginis was currently bustling with people busy cleaning up after the Necro Golem incident. If he went to an area that hadn't suffered damage, the shops would probably be open to some extent, but...
"Come on in, come on in! Today's fruit is delicious and cheap!"
Turning his gaze toward the voice that suddenly reached his ears, he spotted a shop desperately selling fruit.
Intrigued by the sight of someone pushing fruit so frantically, Rei approached.
The clerk must have noticed him coming. Perhaps judging that Rei was his customer, he called out as if to say there was no way he'd let a potential sale slip away.
"Welcome! How about it? The fruit this shop sells is delicious! And cheap! It's a great deal!"
He wanted Rei to buy something, no matter what.
Seeing the clerk's attitude, Rei had a question.
"Can I ask something? If the fruit here is as delicious as you say, I don't think you'd need to discount it that much."
"Ugh..."
The clerk's expression showed Rei's words had hit the mark.
Even so, apparently deciding it was better to say something, he explained with a reluctant look.
"The truth is, this fruit I stocked yesterday... it's sensitive to heat. It's been getting cooler lately, so I figured it would probably be fine, but it suddenly got hot a while ago, right?"
"That's..."
Hearing that explanation, Rei understood the reason the fruit at this shop was on the verge of spoiling.
The reason Egginis had suddenly become hot today was the magic Rei had used in his battle against the Necro Golem.
In other words, it was Rei's fault the fruit at this shop was going bad.
That said, it was also undeniably true that for Rei to defeat the Necro Golem, repeatedly casting Flame-system magic and burning everything to ash all at once had been his only option.
Given that was the case, it couldn't be helped if the temperature in Egginis rose as a side effect. It couldn't be helped... but still, knowing his own actions had damaged someone's merchandise, Rei couldn't say he felt nothing about it.
"This fruit is definitely sensitive to heat, but at the same time, it also has the property of becoming sweeter when the temperature rises. In other words, once it gets past a certain point, it's ruined. So with that in mind, could you buy some as a favor to me? Look, you can even have a taste first."
The clerk must have had considerable confidence in his fruit. He apparently figured that if Rei tasted it, there was no doubt he'd find it delicious.
Since he was going that far, Rei picked up a slice the clerk had cut and brought it to his mouth...
"This is... certainly delicious. It lives up to your claim."
The fruit that entered his mouth had a viscous texture, and a rich sweetness spread across his palate. Even so, it wasn't cloying; the sweetness faded from his mouth without leaving any residue behind.
"Right?"
Even with the Dragon Robe's hood up, his entire face wasn't hidden. The clerk must have understood that the smile on Rei's lips was that of someone who genuinely found the fruit delicious.
His tone was full of confidence.
"Yeah, it's delicious. But... even fruit this good becomes useless once it goes bad, huh."
"Exactly! So you'd think it's a waste, right? Such delicious fruit going to rot. That's why I want to do something to prevent that."
If Rei had nothing to do with the fruit going bad, he would have just thought the clerk's carelessness had led to this. But in this case, even though it was beyond anyone's control, it was undeniably Rei's fault.
Given that, Rei felt it would be a waste to let such delicious fruit rot.
"Understood. Then sell me all of this fruit in the shop. I'll buy everything."
"...Huh?"
At Rei's words, the clerk stared blankly for a moment, unable to grasp what had just been said.
This fruit was, true to its taste, somewhat expensive. Given that, the clerk had figured that even if Rei did buy some, one piece—or at best two or three—would be the limit.
And yet Rei had just said he would buy all the fruit in the shop.
Naturally, the clerk assumed Rei was making fun of him and spoke with an irritated look.
"Don't mess with me. If you had no intention of buying from the start, don't put on that kind of act. Get out of here."
Along with his irritation, he made a shooing gesture, as if to drive Rei away.
Rei didn't get angry at that.
Thanks to the Dragon Robe, the clerk couldn't identify him as Rei, so it wasn't unreasonable for him to be seen as a novice adventurer who had just started out. And what was needed to silence such a person was to show that he actually had money.
Rei took out a bag of gold coins from his Misty Ring and showed it to the clerk.
"Wouldn't this be enough to buy all of this fruit?"
"...Eh?"
Looking bewildered, the clerk glanced back and forth between the gold coins inside the bag and Rei.
He probably never expected that someone who looked like a novice adventurer would be carrying that many gold coins.
If Rei had shown him the Misty Ring, the clerk might have recognized him as Rei, but the act of pulling out the bag of gold coins was done inside the Dragon Robe, so the clerk couldn't see it.
Even so, in the end, Rei stored the purchased fruit into the Misty Ring one after another—and that ended up revealing his identity.