Seeing Rei's face, the adventurers guarding the warehouse let him through without hesitation.
Watching them step aside, Rei couldn't help but wonder, Are they not suspicious at all that I might be in disguise?
At any rate, he stepped inside the warehouse... and in that instant, Nielson, who had been quietly behaving herself inside the Dragon Robe until now, began to thrash about.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean, what's wrong? What about you? This overwhelming magical power... what in the world is in here!?"
Perhaps she had sensed the dragon's magical power through her innate fairy senses, because the moment Nielson emerged from the Dragon Robe, she shouted those words.
Wouldn't it be bad if Nielson was discovered?
Rei worried, but considering what was inside the warehouse, he understood exactly why she was reacting this way and accepted it.
"Didn't I tell you before? I defeated an unknown dragon... I tentatively named it the Crystal Dragon, but anyway, they're dissecting its corpse in this warehouse."
"Now that you mention it, I feel like I did hear something about that. Still, to think it would have such overwhelming magical power even as a corpse..."
She seemed to grasp what was inside the warehouse thanks to his explanation, but even so, expecting her not to be astonished was apparently asking too much.
"This... is a bit much. Rei, I'm going to rest for a bit."
Perhaps overwhelmed by the Crystal Dragon's magical power, Nielson slipped back inside the Dragon Robe.
Given that Nielson—and fairies in general—often acted out of curiosity, Rei wondered, Does she not want to see the Crystal Dragon's corpse?
He did wonder, but judging from her state, she didn't seem too keen on getting a closer look. Deciding there was no need to force her, he pressed deeper into the warehouse.
As he made his way toward the gathered crowd within the warehouse—the area where the Crystal Dragon was being dissected—someone noticed his presence right away.
"Oh, it's Rei. What's up? I think it's a bit early compared to when we agreed you'd come last time."
The Foreman, who was commanding the Crystal Dragon's dissection and sometimes even dissecting parts of it himself, called out to him.
To Rei, he was already a familiar face.
Without appearing particularly bothered, Rei waved and replied.
"There were some circumstances. The incident in Egginis is settled... settled? Well, I think it's safe to say it's settled, so I came here."
From Rei's words, the Foreman seemed to vaguely understand the situation and shot him a look of exasperation.
"So you went and caused trouble again."
"No, just to be clear, I'm not the one who caused it. The thing that rampaged in Egginis was the Necro Golem. I'm the one who defeated it, so if anything, I should be thanked, not blamed... I think."
The fact that he tacked on "I think" at the end suggested that even Rei had some reservations about the Foreman's assumption.
After all, due to the Necro Golem's rampage, the city of Egginis had suffered heavy destruction, and there had been many casualties.
If someone were to say that it was because Rei got involved that the situation had escalated to that point... it was, in fact, a truth he couldn't deny.
However, if Rei hadn't been involved in the Egginis incident, there was no doubt they would have still been sacrificing bandits and illegal slaves to create golem cores even now.
In that sense, it was certain that Rei's involvement had been the right outcome for many people.
Thanks to that, it was also true that various troublesome matters had fallen into Rei's lap.
"I see. So you definitely caused something. Though I did hear a bit about that when you came by last time."
"When I came by last time? Even though it was actually just a short while ago, it feels like it was much longer ago."
That was largely because the moment Rei had returned to Egginis after visiting this warehouse previously, he was attacked by assassins, and from there, events had unfolded at a breakneck pace.
Starting with that assassination attempt on the day he returned to Egginis, the situation had spiraled rapidly.
Because they were such densely packed days, time flew by fast. Personally, I'd like to enjoy a slower pace of life, though.
The phrase "slow life" briefly crossed Rei's mind, but he couldn't picture himself living that kind of lifestyle at all.
If he ever ended up in such a situation, he even found himself wondering what on earth would become of him.
Slow life, huh. Even if I hoped for one, I get the feeling trouble would come looking for me one way or another.
Judging from his past experiences, Rei couldn't help but think that was a certainty.
Up until now, he had been caught up in all sorts of trouble.
Among those incidents, there were many he had gotten involved in of his own accord, but there were also more than a few where trouble came looking for him even though he hadn't done anything.
If that was the case, even if Rei tried to lead a slow life, the possibility that trouble would seek him out for some reason or another couldn't be denied.
Based on his experiences thus far, that was how Rei felt.
"Can't be helped. It's Rei, I suppose."
"...I'm not too happy about being dismissed with just that."
Honestly, being written off with "it's Rei" was by no means something he welcomed.
But while Rei felt that way, he also understood that to others, it probably couldn't be helped.
"Really? But if something happens, there are probably plenty of people in Gilm who'd accept it with 'it's Rei,' you know?"
"Ugh..."
To the Foreman's words, Rei had no rebuttal.
In fact, he remembered being told something similar by several people.
Given that was the case, he had no choice but to accept that the phrase "because it's Rei" had spread.
"For now, I'll accept it with that."
It bothered him that Nielson, from inside the Dragon Robe, tapped his body as if to say the Foreman was right, but for the time being, he let the matter rest.
And then... Rei changed the subject.
No, to be precise, rather than changing the subject, that had been the main topic from the start.
Rei's gaze was directed at the Crystal Dragon's head inside the warehouse.
When Rei had previously returned to Gilm, he had been told to come back in about ten days because they would be dissecting the head, but his return was a bit earlier than promised.
Because of that, the Crystal Dragon's head placed in the warehouse had not yet been completely dissected.
"So this is the Crystal Dragon's head."
"No, why are you looking at it in admiration? This is the monster you defeated, isn't it?"
Hearing Rei's words, the Foreman spoke in an exasperated tone.
However, Rei met the Foreman's gaze and replied.
"It is, but seeing the head mid-dissection like this, I'm struck once again by how impressive it is."
Parts of the head already had bone exposed, so it wouldn't be strange to be shocked by it.
Or perhaps one might feel sick at the sight of exposed bone, visible flesh, and torn skin.
But strangely, Rei found his eyes drawn to the sight.
Of course, that was surely because it was the head of a being called the Crystal Dragon.
If this had been a Goblin's head, for instance, he certainly wouldn't have been thinking what he was thinking now.
Seeing Rei's expression, the Foreman eventually nodded as if in understanding.
"I see. If you can look at it that way too, maybe you have a talent for dissection."
"...A talent for dissection? Me?"
Perhaps snapping back to reality from being told something so unexpected, Rei shifted his gaze from the Crystal Dragon's head to the Foreman.
To Rei, he couldn't possibly believe he had a talent for dissection.
In fact, he did dismember monsters from time to time, but even he understood that his technique was by no means good.
He had realized this firsthand recently when dissecting the monsters he defeated in the forest where the Smog Panthers lived.
And yet, for some reason, the words "talent for dissection" had come from the Foreman's mouth.
Taking that seriously would have been impossible.
However, toward Rei, who was looking at him with a surprised gaze, the Foreman explained after a moment's thought.
"Well, saying you have a talent might have been a bit much. But among adventurers, there are some who just can't help feeling sick and throwing up when they see a dissection site. Of course, once those types get used to it, it's no longer a problem."
"Ah, I see."
If that was what he meant, Rei could accept it.
When he was in Japan, he had helped with dissecting chickens.
Also, when an acquaintance who was a hunter killed a bear or a deer, Rei had helped with their dissection.
In the city, there were people who had never seen the dissection of an animal or a bird, and he'd heard that some genuinely believed fish swam in the ocean in the form of fillets.
In that sense, Rei had experience helping with dissection. His home had been near the mountains, and the mountains were his playground.
And in the mountains, it was not uncommon to find the corpses of animals that had died for one reason or another.
In that sense, it was certain that Rei had a certain level of resistance to dissection.
"It seems you understand."
"Yeah... At any rate, looking at it like this, the dissection of the Crystal Dragon's head is about eighty percent done. It hasn't progressed as far as I expected."
"That's to be expected. This is an unknown dragon, you know? We need to dissect it as thoroughly as possible. How the meat is attached where, what shape the skull is, what the structure of the head is like... there's too much to investigate. If anything, this pace is faster than expected."
"Is that so? Well, if you say it's an unknown dragon, I guess I have no choice but to accept that."
Rei had also been quite surprised when he first saw the Crystal Dragon.
He had learned a fair amount of information about dragons from the Monster Encyclopedia and books in the library.
Of course, he would probably still be inferior to a professional researcher, but as an adventurer—someone outside the field—he thought he was fairly knowledgeable about dragons. Yet even Rei had known absolutely nothing about the Crystal Dragon.
Dragons also appeared frequently in the fantasy manga, novels, games, and anime he had enjoyed when he was in Japan, but even with that knowledge, he couldn't have understood it.
In that sense, the Foreman's words about investigating an unknown dragon were perfectly understandable to Rei.
"Right, right. Come to think of it, do you know? About this Crystal Dragon... You idiot, do that more carefully over there!"
The Foreman, who had been about to tell Rei something, suddenly roared, perhaps because one of the people dissecting the Crystal Dragon's head had lost concentration and made a mistake.
Unlike when he was talking with Rei, the Foreman raised his voice in a shout like a craftsman scolding an apprentice.
"I'm sorry, Foreman. I'll be careful!"
The guild staff member who was scolded apologized and returned to the dissection work.
Originally, those here were members within the Guild who had been entrusted with dissection.
...Normally, guild staff members needed to do paperwork for the expansion construction, but naturally, those who specialized in dissection work were not good at that kind of task.
No, in reality, there might be some who were good at it, but those people were undoubtedly a minority.
That was exactly why the Guild had decided to entrust the dissection of the Forest of Magic monsters Rei had brought back to the Foreman and his team.
That was probably not a bad choice for either side.
After all, if the Foreman and his team did paperwork, it would be slow or contain mistakes, leading to all sorts of trouble.
In order to prevent such things, it was best to leave the dissection to the Foreman and his team's actual profession like this.
"So? What about this Crystal Dragon?"
"Hm? Ah... oh, right."
Perhaps because he had yelled at his subordinate, the Foreman had forgotten what he was about to tell Rei.
Still, he recalled it immediately and opened his mouth again.
"The name Crystal Dragon was apparently just a name Rei gave based on its appearance, so it wasn't an official designation, but the Guild has formally decided on the name Crystal Dragon."
"Is that so? ...To me, it's the same as before, so I don't think there's much of a difference. Still, it's good that a proper name has been decided."
Rei had been calling it the Crystal Dragon all along, but since that was a name he had temporarily given, naturally there were people who wouldn't recognize it.
Judging that such occurrences would decrease from now on, Rei felt relieved.