After the trouble in front of the lord's manor, Rei returned to the city without any further issues.
The sheer number of people working on the expansion construction was so large that, from what he could see, there was barely any room to walk.
(No, hasn't the number of people really increased compared to before? ...Well, it's autumn, so maybe it can't be helped.)
For many merchants, the goal was likely to stock up on goods in Gilm before winter set in.
If purchasing took too long, there was a high chance snow would start falling while they were still in the city.
Of course, a little snow wouldn't make it impossible to leave Gilm right away.
Even so, snow meant cold, and more importantly, it would accumulate on the highways.
Once the snow piled up in earnest, traveling by carriage wouldn't be impossible, but it would certainly be difficult. If it was only a light dusting, carriages could move with relative ease, but the snow could still cause the wheels or the horses pulling them to slip.
To avoid such situations, they probably wanted to buy their goods and get out of Gilm as quickly as possible.
Others working on the expansion construction were buying souvenirs to take home for the winter. And among those planning to spend the winter in Gilm, some were likely trying to stock up on necessities a little early.
(Yeah, it's great seeing everyone so busy. ...It's pretty much certain that people will be dispatched from the Royal Castle about the defilement, but I wonder how that's going to play out.)
Once snow fell, travel would naturally become more difficult.
Moreover, in the frontier where Gilm was located, it wasn't uncommon for winter-specific monsters to appear.
If that was the case, even if someone was sent from the Royal Castle, they would need to arrive before the snow fell—meaning there was no time to waste on selecting personnel.
(Since there's a high chance of personal gain, I bet a lot of people want to come to Gilm themselves. But who will they choose? That's bound to involve all sorts of scheming and backroom deals.)
Rei was walking through the city, lost in such thoughts, when—
"Hey, is it true that Rei has come back to Gilm!?"
The voice reached his ears, and his pace faltered for just a moment.
Fortunately, no one seemed to notice his reaction. But this was Gilm, a city full of skilled adventurers.
It wouldn't be strange if someone had recognized him from that single moment of hesitation.
...Though, to such a person, the Dragon Robe's concealment effect wouldn't mean much. Even if they couldn't identify him from his hooded face or the robe itself, it wouldn't be surprising if they saw through it and recognized him as Rei simply from the way he moved.
There was a chance that someone like that was watching him right now and could see through his identity. Trusting that he hadn't been spotted by anyone that perceptive yet, Rei strained his ears to listen.
"It seems to be true. Word is that someone saw a fairly large monster descending into the Noble District. In the current situation, only Rei would do something like that, right?"
"Hold on. That'd be the Crimson who took down the Crystal Dragon, right? I only recently arrived in Gilm, but how is it that a monster—even if it's a Tamed Monster—can enter the city without going through any procedures?"
"Hmm? If you just got here, you probably wouldn't know. Rei... or rather, Rei and Seto are special existences in a lot of ways. They say this expansion construction relied entirely on Rei at first, too. Because of that, they say he's been allowed to enter the city without going through entry procedures."
That's wrong.
Rei reflexively almost said so to the people listening in, but if he were to speak up here, he would be identified as Rei, and it would definitely cause trouble.
Since he'd already had a close call in front of the lord's manor earlier, he decided to keep his mouth shut.
...In reality, the reason he could enter Gilm directly without procedures was precisely because of the Crystal Dragon incident.
Of course, it was also true that his significant contributions to the expansion construction had been a major factor.
Suppressing the urge to retort to what he was overhearing, he pretended to browse the merchandise at a nearby shop while continuing to listen.
"The Noble District, huh. I was hoping to get him to sell me some dragon materials... I guess that's out of the question."
"Impossible."
"Hey, you don't have to be that blunt..."
The merchant who had been speaking asked his companion, hoping for at least some kind of hint, but the one he asked could only shake his head.
"Impossible is impossible. Even up to now, quite a few people have tried to open negotiations with Rei, but I've never heard of a single one succeeding. The man himself seems to dislike having negotiations thrust on him, so he doesn't come back to Gilm very often either."
"Is that so? I wanted to meet and talk with him at least once. Even putting aside the dragon materials, there's nothing to lose from being acquainted with an alias-holding adventurer."
"That's true, but... in that case, you'd be better off trying someone other than Rei."
"Huh? Why? Rei, the one bearing the Crimson alias, has been getting quite famous these past few years. That's exactly why I'd like to meet him sooner rather than later."
"But Rei doesn't follow merchant common sense. He'll flat-out tell people he doesn't like that he doesn't like them, and deals won't succeed so easily. Since he has the combat power to back it up, threats won't work on him either. Oh, of course, I have no intention of doing anything like that."
Not knowing who might be listening, the man hurriedly added that disclaimer.
In truth, that judgment was, in a sense, entirely correct. ...At the same time, in another sense, it was completely wrong.
After all, Rei was standing right there, listening to every word.
Precisely because he heard those words, Rei memorized the merchant's face and resolved never to do business with him. Then he walked away.
What remained were only the merchant who had just arrived in Gilm and the one explaining things with a knowing look.
Unaware that he had just made a fatal mistake, the latter continued his explanation with a knowledgeable air.
(As expected, news about Seto spreads fast. There are already quite a few people out searching.)
From what Rei could see, there were more people than usual walking busily through the streets.
Of course, not all of them were searching for Rei because of Seto's descent.
But even so, given the current situation, there was no doubt that a significant number of people had been mobilized to look for him.
Even so, the chances of being recognized as Rei—wearing what appeared to be an ordinary robe thanks to the Dragon Robe's concealment effect—amidst this crowd were slim, so he didn't expect to be found so easily.
(But what should I do? I can't move around carelessly like this. ...Should I just head back to Marina's house? If I do that, at least I'd avoid getting caught up in all this trouble.)
Marina's house was protected by Spirit Magic that prevented anyone with malicious intent from entering.
That said, it also meant that anyone without malicious intent could get in... but fortunately, Marina's name was well-known in Gilm.
Given that, entering her property without any prior arrangement would definitely cause problems later.
Because Elena was currently using it as her base, a fair number of people were actually coming and going from Marina's house as it was.
Even so, once inside, the number of people who would try to approach Rei with demands would drop significantly.
Moreover, if he stayed in his own room at Marina's house, surely no one would try to bring up business dealings with him in that situation.
Maybe that would be for the best.
Rei considered it, but immediately dismissed the idea.
That would be fine, but he remembered there was something else he needed to check first.
He needed to see how far the Crystal Dragon dissection at the Guild had progressed.
Not much time had passed since he last showed his face there.
In that sense, the dissection might not have progressed much yet... but since he didn't know when he'd next be able to come to Gilm, it was definitely better to confirm it himself.
Inside the Dragon Robe, Nielson squirmed restlessly.
She probably hadn't sensed what Rei was thinking, but as a fairy with intense curiosity, she likely wanted things to be as interesting as possible.
...However, Nielson's existence still couldn't be made known to anyone.
Even if Rei went to see the Crystal Dragon dissection, as long as guild staff were present, Nielson wouldn't be able to watch.
Even so, letting her peek a little without being noticed by those around them—
With that in mind, Rei headed toward the Guild.
As he made his way through the city, the Guild building eventually came into view.
As he approached, the number of adventurers increased proportionally.
However, most of them weren't true adventurers—people who had been in Gilm since before the expansion construction. The majority were those who had come seeking work because of the project.
(This is exactly the 'hiding a tree in a forest' situation.)
Many of those who weren't real adventurers but had temporarily become ones for the construction work naturally didn't bother with Metal Armor, so most were dressed in easy-to-move-in clothing.
Among them, since it was autumn, quite a few wore robes as protection against the cold.
Naturally, the robes they wore weren't the high-defense, expensive ones that real adventurers wore, but rather the kind sold in any ordinary shop.
Amidst all that, the Dragon Robe's concealment ability was extremely effective around the Guild, allowing Rei to blend in seamlessly with his surroundings.
That said, there were also adventurers at the Guild who had been active in Gilm since before the expansion construction.
Among them, there might be some who could see through the Dragon Robe's ability, and as a result, recognize Rei for who he was.
(It's safe for now, but if I linger here too long I might run into someone who sees through me. Let's head to the warehouse.)
Making that judgment, Rei turned toward the warehouse area.
Fortunately, there were so many people near the Guild that no one paid any attention to Rei moving about.
...Or perhaps, even if they knew where he was heading, they figured he'd just be turned away by the people stationed there and left him alone.
Currently, the Crystal Dragon was being dissected at the Guild warehouse.
Naturally, those who knew this were desperate to obtain that information—or perhaps, if things worked out, to get their hands on the Crystal Dragon's corpse itself. With such thoughts in mind, many people flocked to the warehouse.
To prevent such people from meeting the guild staff conducting the dissection, and to stop anyone from sneaking in and stealing Crystal Dragon materials, the Guild had posted skilled adventurers as warehouse guards.
These were people who, under normal circumstances, would never be assigned to warehouse guard duty.
For the Guild, if even a scrap of the Crystal Dragon materials they were holding in trust from Rei were stolen... no, not even materials—if so much as a piece of flesh were stolen—it would completely destroy their reputation.
That was why they were using talent for the warehouse guards that could normally have been assigned to the Treant Forest.
As Rei approached, adventurers deemed highly skilled by the Guild blocked his path.
"Hold up. From here on... or rather, the warehouse over there is off-limits to anyone without authorization."
The adventurers fixed serious gazes on Rei.
They probably hadn't seen through the Dragon Robe's concealment, but even so, they must have understood from his body movement that he was a skilled fighter.
Facing them, Rei pulled back his Dragon Robe hood.
With his face revealed, the adventurers recognized him and visibly relaxed.
The people present naturally knew what Rei looked like.
He was a famous figure in Gilm to begin with, and more importantly, when they were assigned to guard the warehouse, the Guild had told them to let Rei through if he showed up.
"What, it's just Rei. Don't scare me like that."
"Yeah, seriously. You came out of nowhere, and... well, you clearly looked like someone strong. I was worried about what we'd do if you turned out to be an enemy."
Rei apologized to the adventurers, telling them he was sorry.