From the village chief's words, Rei understood why this village was so welcoming toward him.
Even if Rei accepted the village chief's request, there was no way he would receive a reward commensurate with the danger involved.
A two-headed boar, roughly the same size as Seto—around three meters in length.
And it wasn't just one, but five that had been spotted near the village.
That maximum of five was only the count of those that had wandered close to the village; there was no guaranteeing that others hadn't simply stayed further back.
Of course, just because it was the same size as Seto didn't mean it possessed the same level of strength. It was impossible to rule out entirely, but the chances of that were terrifyingly low.
Even so, compared to monsters that typically appeared in the frontier like Goblins and Orcs, it undoubtedly possessed overwhelming strength.
A subjugation request for such a creature would naturally demand a corresponding reward.
If Rei were a typical adventurer, the reward the village could offer would hardly be satisfactory.
However... Rei was not an ordinary adventurer.
Fortunately, Rei had never encountered a massive boar-type monster with two heads.
...Yes. Fortunately.
An ordinary adventurer would want to avoid fighting an unknown monster as much as possible. There was no way of knowing what properties the creature possessed or what special abilities it might have.
But Rei was different.
While dealing with an unknown monster would certainly be troublesome, Rei still had a reason to fight.
Specifically: the magic stone.
Seto and Death Scythe, both created through Beast Magic, were strengthened by the magic stones of monsters. However, there was a drawback—a magic stone from the same type of monster could only be used once.
Additionally, while this was merely a tendency with various exceptions, the higher the rank of the defeated monster—the stronger the foe—the more likely it was that a skill would be acquired or strengthened.
Considering those circumstances, the two-headed boar was undoubtedly a welcome existence for Rei.
"Village Chief, you want to request me to subjugate the two-headed boar, right? But you can't offer that much in terms of reward."
"...Yes, that would be the case."
As the village chief, he had originally wanted to broach the topic more indirectly. His plan had been to host Rei with a feast, have the village's beauties entertain him, and then bring up the matter.
Of course, even the village's beauties were only considered such within the context of this village. Compared to Elena, Marina, and Vihera—each a different type, but all fitting the description of rarely-seen beauties worthy of historical mention—they were overwhelmingly inferior.
Whether Rei, who knew those three, would react the way the village chief imagined when approached by local beauties was, frankly, questionable at best.
At any rate, for the village chief who had been trying to steer the conversation in that direction, the words that came out of Rei's mouth were undoubtedly quite unexpected.
That said, the fact that Rei had brought up the topic himself allowed the chief to harbor a glimmer of hope that perhaps...
"Since you mentioned this village has no Guild, I'll say this just in case—if I defeat the two-headed boar, the magic stone, materials, and everything else like the meat would become mine. Do you understand that?"
In places with a Guild, it was common knowledge that a monster defeated by an adventurer became that adventurer's property. If they couldn't defeat it alone or with just their party, they would give a share to those who helped them.
However, in this village without a Guild, there was a possibility that such common knowledge from Guild-affiliated areas might not be known.
Thinking that, Rei asked just to be sure, but...
"That would be fine. For our part, we simply want the two-headed boars approaching this village to be gone. We have the forest, so we don't lack for meat. Going deeper in means you can't come back, but the people of this village understand that much."
At the village chief's explanation that going deeper meant not being able to return, something clicked in Rei's mind.
The depths of the forest are probably the Smog Panther's territory.
As if reading Rei's thoughts, Nielson tapped his body from inside the Dragon Robe.
"Village Chief, this village clearly doesn't have much leeway either, so instead of money, I want information as my reward."
"Information...?"
Rei's proposal of wanting information instead of money was likely a surprise to the village chief as well. However, it was certainly more helpful for him.
"I don't mind, but we may not have the information you want to know. Is that still acceptable?"
"Yeah. What I want to know about is the depths of the forest. Specifically, information about the Smog Panther that has settled there."
"That is... no, I don't mind. However, I must warn you—the monsters inhabiting the depths of the forest are not limited to the Smog Panther. It's said that other monsters that drifted from the frontier also live there."
"From the frontier? I see, then it makes sense that there would be monsters that normally wouldn't inhabit a place like this."
What Rei and the others called the frontier was merely a designation decided by the people of the Mireana Kingdom. Given that, it would not be strange for monsters to settle in areas not far from the frontier.
After all, monsters had no concept of whether somewhere was a frontier or not. They likely did have a concept of territory, but ultimately, that was the extent of the difference.
If that's the case, then perhaps the two-headed boars are also monsters that came from the frontier. They lost to the Smog Panther and were driven out, ending up near this village. If you think about it that way, it fits together... right?
Whether Rei's prediction was correct, he honestly could not say for certain. However, as long as Rei found it convincing, that was good enough for now.
Besides, if there are unknown monsters other than the Smog Panther and the two-headed boar, that's all the more welcome for me.
As long as he could obtain magic stones usable for Beast Magic, Rei had no problem with there being numerous monsters. He would even welcome it.
"That's fine with me. Ah, also, if you have surplus food, I'd appreciate it if you could provide meals for today and early tomorrow morning. As for lodging... if that's not possible, I'll prepare it myself."
Rei's Magic Tent could provide a more comfortable stay than an average inn. Given that, he thought there was no need to insist on lodging, but the village chief shook his head at Rei's words.
"No, since we've agreed the reward is information, please at least let us manage that much."
"You sure? If you're going to say that, then I'm fine with it."
Even as he said that, Rei did not expect this village to have any particular specialty dishes or ingredients, just as he had told Nielson earlier.
It would be nice if they proved my expectations wrong and actually had a dish you can only eat in this village, though.
While thinking it was probably unlikely, Rei headed toward the village along with the village chief and the other villagers.
The villagers were not yet fully at ease about Seto's presence, but they seemed to think it might be alright to relax somewhat if the village chief vouched for him.
At any rate, Rei figured that given enough time, their wariness would diminish somewhat due to Seto's friendly nature.
...The problem was that there wasn't enough time for that wariness to fade. Rei intended to head for the forest where the Smog Panther lived by tomorrow.
"Then, this way please. I'll introduce you to the villagers. By the way, may I ask your name? I am Niret, the village chief."
Once the village chief, Niret, introduced himself, Rei could not very well fail to respond. Moreover, although it was technically in the form of a personal request, Rei had accepted Niret's two-headed boar subjugation request.
"I'm Rei. I'm an A-Rank Adventurer."
A stir ran through them.
When Rei stated he was an A-Rank Adventurer, those around the village chief began to murmur. From Rei's small stature, they likely could not possibly believe he was an A-Rank Adventurer—standing at the pinnacle among adventurers.
In reality, S-Rank Adventurers existed above A-Rank. However, since S-Rank Adventurers were truly exceptional beings, to the general public, A-Rank Adventurers were perceived as the highest-ranking adventurers.
The villagers were surprised by Rei's words, but gradually the suspicion in their gazes grew stronger. From his appearance, they simply could not believe he was an A-Rank Adventurer.
"Village Chief."
Amidst that, one of the villagers called out to Niret without even trying to hide his suspicious demeanor, glaring at Rei.
The village chief approached that villager and asked, "What is it?"
"I can't believe a kid like that is an A-Rank Adventurer. Isn't he a fraud?"
"There's no way that's true. First of all, what would impersonating an A-Rank Adventurer accomplish? He said he didn't need the reward we offered. On top of that, he accepted our request, didn't he?"
"That's... true, maybe he's actually not going to fight the monster at all, and it's just for the lodging and meals..."
"You'd come all the way out here for that? Besides, look at the monster that Rei-san is leading. It's unmistakably a high-rank monster at a glance. Anyone commanding a monster like that couldn't be a fraud."
"Then, maybe that Rei guy only became an A-Rank Adventurer because the monster he's with is strong?"
"Supposing—and this is purely hypothetical—that your opinion is correct. Does that present any problem? As long as Rei-san commands that monster, that is his ability. Or is it not?"
"That's..."
The man, who simply could not accept Rei's ability due to his appearance, fell silent at the village chief's rebuttal.
No, you might think you're speaking quietly, but I can hear every word, you know?
The words between the village chief and the man were clearly audible to Rei, who was standing some distance away. If Rei were an ordinary person, he would never have been able to hear that conversation.
However, Rei's body was created using the fullest of the Zephyle Clan's technology. His five senses were sharp, and hearing a conversation at this distance was something he could do effortlessly.
That said, Rei did not particularly interject or make any comment about it.
For Rei, at minimum two types of unknown monsters—the Smog Panther and the two-headed boar—had been confirmed. It was impossible to deny the possibility that other unknown monsters existed in the depths of the forest.
That was why, even if the village chief nodded at the villager's opinion and cancelled the request, what Rei needed to do would not change.
Ah, but thinking about it that way, wouldn't refusing the request actually be more beneficial to that village? If I defeat the enemies on my own without a formal request, there'd be no need to pay a request fee—or rather, provide food and such.
As Rei was thinking that, the village chief suddenly struck the man beside him. It was not a light tap; it was a blow better described as a punch.
He glared at the man as if to say there was nothing more to discuss, then returned to Rei's side.
"I'm sorry, Rei-san. This village is the kind of village without even a Guild, so there are inevitably many people unaccustomed to adventurers. I sincerely apologize."
The manner in which the village chief apologized clearly suggested he knew Rei had overheard the earlier conversation between himself and the man. Rei could not understand how the chief had determined that, but he nodded for the time being.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm sure it happens a lot in villages like this."
"Thank you very much. Now, please head toward the village. There is no inn, so you'll be staying in the guest room of my house, is that alright?"
"You don't need to go that far for me. But I appreciate it for now."
And so Rei proceeded into the village along with the village chief, the other villagers, and Seto.
...The villager who had been struck by the village chief was left behind at the spot, but eventually he followed after the village chief's group.
He likely thought that if he did nothing, the way the other villagers looked at him would change. Or perhaps, unable to forgive Rei for subjecting him to such humiliation, he also wanted to keep watch to see if Rei would slip up in some way.
Without showing the slightest concern for the gazes that several villagers directed at him, Rei moved to act.