Rei had fallen from an altitude of two hundred meters—twice the height at which Seto typically flew. Though somewhat tense about it, he used his Sleipnir boots several times midair to slow his descent, landing at his intended destination: the courtyard of Marina's house.
Despite the drop from two hundred meters, the sound of his landing didn't echo through the surroundings at all—a testament to Rei's high level of bodily control.
"Rei? You're back already?"
"Lord Rei?"
The voices belonged to Elena and Ara. From what Rei had seen while airborne, the two had been in the middle of a mock battle, but it seemed the match had concluded right around the time he touched down. Mirage, Elena's whip-sword, and Ara's Power Axe were each gripped in their respective owners' hands.
"Yeah, I had a bit of an urgent errand."
"In that case, I think you should have used the Paired Orb to contact me?"
"...Now that you mention it, that would have worked."
Hearing the words come so easily from Elena's mouth, Rei realized his mistake. That's right—he had the Paired Orb. If he had used it, he could have contacted Elena immediately, and more importantly, the Chief could have joined the conversation with Daskar.
That said, for something this serious, it was also true that discussing it in person was the better approach. Above all, if Elena had gone to meet Daskar, it would inevitably draw attention. Even sending Ara to bring Daskar to Marina's house would naturally attract notice. In the latter case, not only would it draw attention, but it would also mean interrupting Daskar's work.
While not to the same extent as the Guild, Lord Daskar was also extremely busy with various matters related to the expansion construction. No, not just the expansion construction—he had matters involving the Green People and the Lizardmen, spices, Sand Ships, and many other duties besides. Given all that, it was still necessary for Rei to go in person.
(Though, if I'm being truly honest about the best approach, I should have left my Paired Orb with the Chief and borrowed Elena's instead... that would have been the better move.)
There was no doubt that would have been the best course of action, but it simply hadn't occurred to him when he decided to go see Daskar. Thinking of it now, in this moment, was meaningless.
"I always thought of the Paired Orb as a Magic Item for when I talk to Elena and the others. ...By the way, there are no visitors today, huh?"
Rei asked as if to change the subject—though it was also something he genuinely wondered about. Nearly every day, there were people who requested meetings with Elena, and she accommodated them. Individuals who had come to Gilm with some degree of status, or those with close ties to the Noble Faction, or nobles residing in the Noble District—all acted this way to become even slightly more familiar with Elena, or to show off to those around them as if they had grown close to her.
The nobles in the Noble District likely wanted to demonstrate their closeness with Elena by meeting her repeatedly—not just once, but many times over. Since they weren't actually considerate of how Elena felt about such behavior, Rei couldn't help but wonder what she really thought about it all.
"Mm. It's not that there's any particular reason for it, just pure coincidence. That's precisely why I was doing a mock battle with Ara."
At Elena's words, Ara showed a slightly troubled expression. Of course, Ara had sworn loyalty to Elena. In that sense, she had no objection whatsoever to doing a mock battle with her. However... the gap in ability between Ara and Elena was simply too large.
This wasn't because Ara was weak. As the commander of Elena's Escort Knight Order, Ara was more than deserving of being called a formidable warrior. Her Herculean Strength, almost impossible to believe given her appearance alone, was so great that even an ordinary man couldn't match it. On top of that, her Power Axe was also a Magic Item. There were not many who could defeat Ara in a head-on fight.
...And yet, it was precisely here in Gilm that many of those rare individuals were gathered.
But while Ara was strong, Elena was stronger—so much so that in a mock battle between them, Ara's chances of winning were virtually nonexistent. That was a testament to just how powerful Elena truly was. Those who could fight a mock battle on genuinely equal terms with Elena would be, at most, Vihera or Rei. Marina could probably manage it as well, if she used her Spirit Magic.
"So, putting my matter aside, what is this urgent errand? Ah, of course, if it's something you can't tell me, I won't insist on hearing it."
There was no doubt that Elena and Rei were close. However, being close didn't mean they could tell each other everything. In fact, Elena, as part of the Noble Faction, likely had things she hadn't shared with Rei. Or, if she had heard things during meetings with visitors who came to see Marina—things she shouldn't relay to the Noble Faction—she wouldn't actually pass them along. This wasn't because she had any particular reservations about Rei; it was simply due to her position as the Princess General of the Noble Faction.
That was precisely why Elena had told him "if you can tell me."
Rei, being shown that level of consideration by Elena, hesitated over whether it would be better to at least explain the situation this time. Thinking about it normally, the defilement issue concerned not just this region, but this country—and in the worst case, this entire continent. Given that, it was only natural that he should brief Elena on the situation as well.
However, it was also Rei's opinion that for this matter, it would be better to speak to Daskar first.
As he wrestled with that dilemma...
"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Weren't you supposed to go see Daskar about the defilement?"
Nielson, who had arrived from the sky separately from Rei, took a bit longer but eventually reached Marina's courtyard and called out to them.
I messed up.
Rei thought that for an instant. He should have known that Nielson would jump off from Seto after him, but he had completely forgotten about it.
And then—the word "defilement" that came from Nielson's mouth. Hearing the ominous connotation of that word, and above all the phrase "go see Daskar," Elena's beautiful features distorted slightly. She must have understood that this was a far more serious matter than she had anticipated.
"Is it something serious enough to warrant going to see Lord Daskar directly?"
"Looks like it. ...What will you do? If you're that curious, do you want to come to the lord's manor with me?"
Rei didn't mind if Elena listened in with him. So if Elena said she wanted to go to the lord's manor together, he was prepared to accept that without issue, but...
"No, I'll refrain."
The words that came from Elena's mouth caught Rei by surprise.
"Is that alright?"
Rei asked somewhat pro forma, but Elena nodded at his words.
"Mm. If Lord Daskar judges that it's better for me to hear it, then he will relay the information later. In that case, it's better that I don't go now."
"Understood. If you say so, I'll respect that. Then Nielson and I will head out. Seto will land shortly, so let him play with Ielo."
Elena nodded at those words, and Rei left Marina's house together with Nielson.
...That said, he naturally wasn't leaving through the front gate.
Marina's house was being watched carefully. Rei had confirmed this while falling from the air—he had spotted several such individuals. Given that, who entered and who left the house would naturally be tracked. Under such circumstances, even though the Dragon Robe helped him avoid standing out... no. If someone in the Noble District was seen wearing an ordinary-looking robe, it would naturally arouse suspicion. Moreover, the fact that Rei's Dragon Robe possessed such concealment effects was relatively well-known. That was precisely why, if such a person was seen coming out of Marina's house, there would naturally be many who grew suspicious.
To prevent that, he needed to move through somewhere other than the gate—a place not normally used for entry and exit.
Elena watched Rei's back as he headed in a direction away from the gate, but then noticed that Ara seemed to want to say something. Ara must have realized that Elena had noticed the meaning of her gaze. Eventually, she opened her mouth with a resolute look.
"Lady Elena, was that really alright?"
"About what?"
"About this thing called defilement. If Lord Rei is going so far as to go to the lord's manor, then it's undoubtedly an important matter. In that case, since Lord Rei gave you permission, wouldn't it have been better for you to go along with him?"
"I understand how you feel, Ara. However, for now it's better to wait and see. If there truly is something important, Rei wouldn't have asked whether you want to come along—he would have explained the situation."
At Elena's words, Ara was satisfied for the time being.
"Alright, there shouldn't be any problems here."
Having exited Marina's property, Rei quickly surveyed his surroundings. There was no sign of anyone conducting surveillance on Marina's house anywhere. This was a judgment he had made after having Nielson check the surroundings, so he wasn't being particularly cautious.
Once he had successfully left Marina's property, he wouldn't be viewed with much suspicion after that. Of course, the mere fact that there was someone in the Noble District wearing an ordinary-looking robe like Rei was already suspicious in itself. Precisely because it was the Noble District, one had to wear a somewhat lavish robe to avoid standing out.
"Hey, Rei. We're going straight to the lord's manor like this, right? Can't we stop by a food stall on the way?"
From inside Rei's Dragon Robe, Nielson made that request. While making sure not to arouse the suspicion of the people around them, Rei opened his mouth with a hint of exasperation.
"You... after the Chief said all that to you, I can't believe you..."
Seto had flown to Gilm, so not much time had passed since they left the Fairy Dwelling. And yet, for her to so easily forget the Chief's words and declare she wanted to act on her own whims was completely unexpected for Rei as well.
However, Nielson protested with a dissatisfied tone.
"What? It's not like I'm saying I won't report on the defilement. I'll explain everything properly, but I need to fill my stomach first, don't I? It would be embarrassing if my stomach growled while I'm explaining about the defilement, wouldn't it?"
Since Nielson was inside the Dragon Robe, he couldn't tell what kind of expression she was making. Even so, judging from her words just now, he could confidently guess that she was likely wearing the same dissatisfied expression as her tone suggested.
"Alright, fine. But where are you going to eat? Let me make this clear: eating inside the Dragon Robe is not allowed."
Rei didn't mind Nielson being inside the Dragon Robe. But eating and drinking inside it was truly problematic. For example, if she ate skewers inside the Dragon Robe—especially skewers slathered in tare sauce and grilled—it would be absolutely unbearable.
"Ehh... then where do you expect me to eat?"
"Somewhere out of sight. Though I don't know whether such a place even exists."
Gilm, in the midst of its expansion construction, currently had a large number of people gathered seeking work. So many that inns were running short. With that many people in Gilm, it was naturally not strange for there to be someone no matter where you went in the city.
A few seconds might be manageable, but if Nielson was going to eat something, it would take at least ten minutes. Keeping Nielson hidden for that long without anyone discovering her... was not impossible, but it was definitely a hassle. What's more, Rei was currently in a near-fugitive state due to the Crystal Dragon matter. He couldn't afford to wait leisurely while Nielson ate.
"For now... I'll buy something suitable, and we'll eat it at the lord's manor before meeting Lord Daskar."
In the end, that was how it turned out.