For the time being, Rei stored only the parts of the Crystal Dragon's head that the Foreman had cleared him to take into his Misty Ring.
The Foreman had said the remaining dissection would be finished in a few days, so figuring he could come back for the rest later, Rei exited the Guild—only to find...
"I told you, I can't let you through!"
"Don't mess with me! Do you know who I—oh, there he is. Rei!"
I walked right into that.
Seeing the scene before him, that was his honest thought.
Spread out in front of Rei were the adventurers guarding the warehouse and a man who appeared to be a noble, flanked by several retainers.
What had been going on here required no deliberation to figure out.
Word that Rei had returned to Gilm over the business with Seto had spread, and someone hoping to make contact had come all the way to the Guild warehouse.
That in itself wasn't particularly unusual.
The fact that Rei had slain the Crystal Dragon, that its dissection was being conducted at the Guild warehouse, and that Rei—having returned to Gilm under those circumstances—would show up at said warehouse were all logical conclusions anyone could draw.
But just because you could reason it out didn't mean you'd actually go and storm the warehouse. Back when the Crystal Dragon's dissection had first begun, those who tried had been collectively reprimanded by the Guild, Daskar, and the heads of major trading companies, which put an end to such behavior.
They had likely realized that forcing their way into the warehouse yielded no benefits.
That was exactly why no one had been barging in anymore, and yet...
(So there are nobles like this too, huh.)
The man clearly believed his orders should be obeyed as a matter of course.
Looking at someone with that attitude, Rei reflected that there was a world of difference between him and Viscount Sargail, whom he had encountered at the lord's manor, despite both being nobles.
In a sense, Sargail was a noble through and through, and Rei had initially suspected he might be the same sort of noble as the one currently making a scene.
But upon actually speaking with him, Sargail turned out to leave a favorable impression.
Of course, the possibility that he had only behaved that way because they were inside the lord's manor couldn't be entirely dismissed.
Even so, there was no doubt he left a better impression than the man currently causing a ruckus in Rei's line of sight.
"Sorry. He showed up out of nowhere demanding we bring Rei out and started making a fuss. ...What do you want to do?"
One of the adventurers hired as a warehouse guard came over and asked.
Since the other party claimed to be a noble, however nominally, the guard probably felt he couldn't just use force to settle things.
Too soft.
That crossed Rei's mind for a moment, but ruthlessly resorting to force against a noble was something only Rei could get away with.
Expecting other adventurers to do the same was out of the question.
The guards here were reliable, highly skilled adventurers hired by the Guild, but that was a separate matter.
"Not sure what you're asking me. Having him carry on like this is bad... no, I suppose it's already too late for that."
This location was set a reasonable distance away from the populated areas within the Guild.
Given that, even if a commotion broke out, word that Rei was currently here wouldn't spread so easily.
But with the Crystal Dragon's dissection taking place here, there were naturally those trying to gather intelligence about the site.
Yes—for instance, like at Marina's house, where someone might be keeping watch for any sign of trouble.
"Too late? What are you talking about?"
"Never mind. For now—"
"Don't ignore me! Do you have any idea who I am!"
The noble was evidently offended that Rei was completely disregarding him and chatting with the adventurer guards.
He shouted irritably.
Judging from his expression, it seemed he had never been treated this way before; his face was flushed with anger.
(No, I suppose it's not that it's never happened. More likely, in those cases the other party held a higher title than him.)
For nobles who prided themselves on bloodline and family status, being treated that way by someone of higher rank was simply something they couldn't complain about.
"Are you listening to me?!"
"No, I'm not. Sorry, but I don't like people like you. So I won't be agreeing to any Crystal Dragon trade. Conversation's over."
"Wh..."
It was a response entirely unexpected for the man.
He must have assumed his words would be obeyed without question.
Or at the very least, he apparently believed negotiation would be on the table.
Why on earth he thought that, Rei had no idea.
Anyone who knew Rei's reputation shouldn't have expected him to negotiate with someone like this.
It was fairly well-known that Rei didn't hesitate to use force against nobles, nor did he show them any deference.
Whether the man didn't know that, dismissed it as rumor, or believed Rei wouldn't dare do anything to him—Rei couldn't tell.
But ultimately, Rei had no need to concern himself with the reason.
"Well then, keep up the good work with the guarding. I know it's a pain dealing with people like him."
Leaving the dumbfounded noble behind, Rei called out to the adventurer guards and turned to leave—but...
"Seize him!"
The noble suddenly barked.
Naturally, even ordered to capture Rei, the adventurers guarding the warehouse weren't about to comply.
They knew Rei's strength, and more importantly, there was no way they wanted to follow the orders of a noble like this.
The adventurer guards might be off the hook, but the noble's soldier retainers were another story.
They weren't employed by the Guild—they were employed by the noble, and that meant they had no choice but to obey.
Still, unlike the noble, they seemed to fully appreciate Rei's ability.
They approached Rei with timid, perhaps reluctant, expressions.
"Sorry, but we've got our orders. We'd appreciate it if you came quietly and followed our instructions."
One of the soldiers said as much, but Rei fixed him with a look of pure disbelief.
"I've no idea what you think of that noble, and frankly, I don't care. But that doesn't mean I have any obligation to humor your request either. If you're coming, then come—but since you're making an enemy of me, bring the appropriate resolve."
"Ugh..."
One of the soldiers fell silent at Rei's words.
He didn't fully grasp Rei's ability—but having heard the rumors, the rumors of the Crimson, it wasn't hard to imagine the kind of power he wielded.
Or that there was no conceivable way they could capture Rei with their own strength.
And yet... here, disobeying their noble employer's orders simply wasn't an option.
"D-damn it, let's go!"
The one who'd been talking with Rei shouted, and as if taking that as their cue, the rest of the soldiers swarmed him all at once.
"Get him! Teach him what it means to defy a noble!"
The noble roared, but the adventurer guards only cast pitying glances his way.
They knew full well just how powerful Rei was.
Against someone like that, they couldn't possibly believe soldiers of this caliber could accomplish anything.
Which meant they could already predict exactly what was about to happen.
And... precisely as the adventurers anticipated, the soldiers' movements as they tried to grab Rei were effortlessly read and evaded. They couldn't even lay a finger on him.
Even so, the fact that Rei didn't draw Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear, fighting barehanded instead, was surely out of pity for soldiers forced to follow a noble like that.
He dodged their lunging hands, tripping them as he slipped past, sending them sprawling over and over.
Naturally, after the same pattern repeated itself multiple times, the soldiers came to understand what Rei was doing.
But understanding it and being able to counter it were two very different things.
If the gap in ability hadn't been so vast, they might have found some way to respond.
But the gulf between Rei and the soldiers was overwhelming.
So overwhelming that no matter what the soldiers tried, they couldn't cope.
They knew it too. They knew it, yet still had no answer for Rei, so they kept trying anyway.
"Circle around him! Don't go one at a time—everyone attack at once! Even Rei can't deal with that!"
"You really think so? ...Well, if that's what you think, go ahead and try."
Rei called back to the soldier barking orders at his comrades.
Broadcasting your strategy to the enemy seemed like a questionable move.
After all, having heard that plan, there was no way he'd play along.
But for soldiers whose only means of relaying tactics was shouting, it couldn't be helped.
Every one of them had already been tripped more than ten times, and the damage was piling up across their bodies.
At this point, they had no choice but to try whatever they could—anything at all—to somehow bring Rei down.
(No matter how strong Rei is, if enough people pin him down, he can't do anything.)
They clung to that hope.
But hope was only hope.
Whether it could actually be realized was another matter entirely.
At the very least, the soldiers present here were in no position to capture Rei.
...And even if, by some fluke, they managed to pin down his limbs, they'd unquestionably be sent flying in an instant.
Based on appearance alone, Rei was quite small in stature—and was sometimes underestimated because of it—but contrary to his looks, he possessed incomparably monstrous strength.
If the soldiers managed to grab hold of his arms and legs, he would blow them off and be done with it before they could blink.
Several more minutes passed. Perhaps frustrated that the soldiers showed no sign of restraining Rei, the noble shouted in irritation.
"What are you doing! Can't you subdue a single adventurer?!"
At their employer's roar, the soldiers scrambled to pin Rei down, but...
"Come on, come on, tag—you're it... so to speak."
Evading their attacks, Rei still had the composure to banter.
(Though at this rate, this'll go on forever. Waiting for them to run out of stamina is a pain.)
The soldiers who couldn't capture Rei still appeared to have gone through proper military training, and they seemed to have plenty of stamina left.
Rei wouldn't have minded dragging it out until they collapsed from exhaustion, but...
"Ow!"
That slipped out of Rei's mouth.
It wasn't a soldier's punch—Nielson, hiding inside the Dragon Robe, had kicked him.
Whether she was telling him not to move so wildly while she was inside the robe, or telling him to stop wasting time on opponents of this level, or something else entirely—Rei couldn't tell.
But considering Nielson's temperament, wrapping this up quickly was definitely the right call.
If he carelessly soured Nielson's mood and an irritated Nielson decided to pull off some large-scale prank to blow off steam... that would unquestionably become a massive headache for him.
To prevent that, he needed to end this farce at once.
(Then again, these soldiers have already taken quite a beating.)
Tripped and sent tumbling to the ground by Rei over and over, some of the soldiers had even sprained ankles or wrists.
There were no severe injuries like broken bones, but even so, he wasn't inclined to keep attacking men who were only following orders. And if that was the case, the target of his counterattack was clear.
He activated the Eye of Nebula at his waist, generating an arrowhead from magic.
Then he hurled it at the noble who was still bellowing at the soldiers.
It was no grand motion—just a flick of the wrist.
That shot flew straight and—
"Gyah!"
—struck the screaming noble in the right shoulder, tearing a cry of pain from his lips.
The soldiers froze at the sudden scream, wondering what had happened, but Rei ignored them, generated another arrowhead, and threw it.
"GYAAH!"
An even louder scream than moments before ripped from the noble's throat.
Paying it no mind, Rei seized on the soldiers' paralysis and hurled arrowhead after arrowhead.
"S-st... stop, stop... please, stop, stoop it!"
The noble's wailing echoed across the grounds.