Rei, having witnessed the events that unfolded in front of the treatment center, considered what he should do next.
Judging from Marina's demeanor, simply leaving and heading home was not an option.
Moreover, given that she had looked at him with a meaningful gaze, he figured she likely had some intent behind it... but he could not fathom what that intent was.
"Well, should I head to the shop? ...Ah, could that be it?"
Muttering those words to himself, a possibility occurred to him.
This was not the first time he had visited Marina while she was working at the treatment center.
And every time he did, they had gone to a shop nearby.
Perhaps that glance earlier had been meant to convey exactly that.
Thinking so, Rei headed toward the shop.
It was a establishment that primarily served light meals and tea—what Rei would call a café.
...Though, back when Rei was in Japan, he had never really gone to cafés.
This was not because there were no cafés in his vicinity.
However, considering the fairly steep price of a single cup of black tea, Rei figured it was cheaper and easier to just buy something to drink at a supermarket.
The fact that he was a high school student with little allowance played a significant role in that as well.
For that reason, the truth was that since coming to Gilm, Rei had far more opportunities to use shops like this one that resembled cafés.
"Cough... cough... damn it... hey, what the hell are you looking at!"
The man, whose coughing fit had finally subsided, shouted at the surrounding onlookers, his irritation plain to see.
To him, the current situation was a thorough humiliation.
Not just partially, but completely.
He had been confident in his own strength, and his opponent was neither a warrior nor a healing mage.
That was what he had heard, and without investigating any further, he had headed to the treatment center... and the result was this.
Honestly, no matter what he said here at this point, it would only bring him further shame.
He understood that perfectly well, but even so, he could not help but want to vent his frustration on someone else.
If he stayed here any longer, he too might get dragged into trouble.
Deciding he wanted no part of that, Rei swiftly left the scene.
(Tails... are there still some?)
As he made his way toward the shop, he faintly furrowed his brows beneath his hood.
The gazes tracking him from the Guild... the number of tails had decreased considerably.
However, there was no doubt he could still feel a fair number of eyes on him.
(Instead of bothering with me, they should be searching for more suspicious people.)
That was what Rei thought, but since the tails' employers were undoubtedly searching for him, the ones tailing him now could be said to possess considerable skill.
Though, that was precisely what made things troublesome for Rei.
Because if Rei went to the shop and talked to Marina there, they would think him even more suspicious.
Marina was a well-known figure in Gilm.
Of course, those like the men who had just harassed Marina—people who had only recently arrived in Gilm—might not know the detailed circumstances surrounding her... but that was limited to people like those men.
Those who had been in Gilm since before the expansion construction naturally knew about Marina.
Even those who had come to Gilm after the expansion construction began would know about Marina, provided they were the type to gather information properly.
And the ones pursuing Rei right now... would certainly know about Marina as well.
Under those circumstances, what would happen if someone presumed to be Rei made contact with Marina?
They would conclude that the person was almost certainly Rei.
At the very least, if Rei were in the position of the pursuer, that was how he would interpret it.
Given that, he needed to do something before reaching the shop, but...
(What should I do? Just run and shake off the tails? That could work, but then they'd still know I'm suspicious for trying to shake them off.)
Even if they couldn't identify him as Rei, the act of shaking off the tails would make it obvious that he didn't want to be followed.
In which case... that thought triggered another idea.
(Wait? If I'm not found while meeting Marina, then it doesn't matter even if they know I'm Rei, right? Of course, if I'm spotted moving through town afterward, I might be considered even more suspicious... but at that point, I just need to enter Marina's property.)
By entering Marina's property, it would become certain that he was Rei.
However, in that situation, it wouldn't matter if they knew.
From Marina's house, he could ride Seto and leave Gilm directly.
In other words, once he entered Marina's house, anyone wanting to contact Rei would find it virtually impossible.
In that sense, exercising his abilities here would certainly solve everything.
"Alright."
With that decided, things were simple.
There was still a fair distance to the shop, but he judged it better to shake off the tails as quickly as possible and broke into a run.
Naturally, he sensed several presences behind him grow agitated, but Rei had no intention of paying them any mind.
There were quite a few people walking through the street, but Rei slipped through the gaps between them.
The tails, having identified Rei as a suspicious person from the moment he exited the Guild building, must have been individuals of considerable skill.
However, perhaps because they never expected Rei to suddenly break into a sprint, their pursuit was delayed completely.
A few seconds.
In terms of time, that was all it was, but giving Rei a few seconds was far too costly.
Moreover, while it wasn't to the point of having no room to walk, there were still a considerable number of pedestrians.
Rei, who had planned from the start to slip through the gaps between them, managed to move through with ease thanks to his innate physical ability, but the tails, caught off guard by the few seconds of delay and the crowd density, could not react in time.
Since he had fled like this, it was probably easy for them to guess that the person wearing that robe had been Rei.
However, even if they reached that conclusion in this situation, it was already too late.
Some tried desperately to continue pursuing Rei, while others, judging they had completely lost him, went to report to their employer.
Each took the action they deemed appropriate.
While the tails were taking those actions, Rei had already concluded that he had completely shaken them off, using back alleys and gaps between buildings to move about.
Since there was no sign of anyone pursuing him, he figured it was fine now.
...Or rather, if someone were still tailing him even in this situation, he had been prepared to knock that person unconscious, but fortunately, there was no need to worry about that.
Confirming he had shaken off his pursuit, Rei eventually arrived at the shop he had visited with Marina before.
"You're late."
"...I think you're the one who's too fast."
Entering the shop and looking around, he spotted Marina seated at one of the tables.
She called out to Rei with a dissatisfied expression.
Rei returned a remark as he took a seat at the same table.
A murmur rippled through the room.
This was a hideaway-like establishment, so the number of customers was never very large.
But even so, considering Gilm's current population, there was a fair number of patrons.
Among those customers, there were naturally some who already knew about Marina, as well as some who had witnessed the earlier commotion.
That was why they were surprised when Marina called out to Rei, and surprised again when Rei casually replied.
Both Rei and Marina were completely unconcerned with their surroundings, however.
When a clerk came to take their order, he ordered fruit water and some light fare, and just as they were about to begin talking... Marina chanted a short incantation and activated her Spirit Magic.
"For now, this means no one will be able to listen in on our conversation."
"That helps."
"So? Why is Rei, who was in the Fairy Dwelling, in Gilm? If Rei is in Gilm, it's definitely going to cause trouble, isn't it?"
"Correct. But even so, there's something I need to report to Lord Daskar."
As he explained that, something suddenly occurred to Rei.
The Marina sitting before him was a Dark Elf who had lived for hundreds of years.
Given that, perhaps she might know something about defilement.
"Marina, do you know about defilement?"
"Defilement? Hmm... I feel like I've heard about it somewhere, or maybe not... I can't quite recall the details."
"I see. I thought you might know about it."
"Judging from the flow of the conversation, you came to report to Daskar about this defilement? In the middle of all this, of all things?"
"Yeah. It's a little... no, it's apparently quite dangerous."
"That's right. The Chief said it's dangerous, so there's no mistaking it."
The one who interjected, following up on Rei's words, was Nielson, who had been inside the Dragon Robe.
Perhaps because she was making an effort not to be spotted by those around her, she did not emerge from the robe and instead showed only her face as she spoke.
"Oh, you were here too. Since Rei came back from the Fairy Dwelling, it's not strange that Nielson would be with him... So? I understand that this defilement is dangerous, but in what specific way is it dangerous?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know that either. However, according to the Chief, defilement is a bad magical power, and in the worst case, it wouldn't be surprising if this entire continent were destroyed."
At Rei's words, Marina wore an expression as if she could not comprehend what he was talking about.
She had been about to ask Rei what kind of joke this was, but seeing the seriousness in his expression, she understood that it was no joke at all.
"You're serious, aren't you?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Though we don't know exactly what this defilement is, either. We've only been told that it's dangerous."
"...I see. Then why don't you ask Grim... no, the Old Man about it?"
Marina had started to say Grimm's name but, perhaps because Nielson was present, covered it up with that substitution.
She didn't think Nielson knew Grimm's name, but it was likely a precaution on the off chance.
The fact that she used the term "the Old Man" showed she well understood the relationship between Grimm and Rei.
"Ah, I see. That's an option."
Grimm was someone who had been alive during Zephyle's era.
He had lived for a considerable number of years—though, since he was Undead, that expression was not strictly accurate—so there was a possibility he knew something about the matter of defilement.
What exactly defilement was.
If they could learn that, they might also find a way to deal with it.
Rei's demeanor seemed to say that getting caught up in the defilement turmoil was already a certainty, but for someone beloved by the goddess of trouble like himself, the prediction that he would be fully drawn into the defilement incident now that he was involved was not particularly difficult to make.
Moreover, depending on the situation, it was a threat that could destroy the entire continent.
If getting involved in that turmoil could reduce the damage caused by defilement even slightly, then opting not to participate was not a choice Rei could make.
"Right? You should ask him later... So, what are you doing tonight, Rei? Will you stay at my place?"
Normally speaking, if someone as beautiful as Marina asked whether they wanted to stay the night, many would imagine something suggestive and immediately nod.
However, Rei currently lived at Marina's house as a matter of course.
That said, since he was currently taking refuge in the Fairy Dwelling, the question of whether he would "stay over" in this case was likely asking whether he intended to return to the Fairy Dwelling.
"I'd like to if I could, but unfortunately I'm heading back to the Fairy Dwelling tonight. If I'm at Marina's house, there's no doubt that people wanting to see me will come knocking."
Seto's descent at Marina's house had already become quite the rumor.
Given that, those who thought Rei had returned would undoubtedly increase in number, hoping for an audience.
...Or perhaps if he sent Seto outside of Gilm for the time being, they might conclude that Rei had left.
Rei considered that, but immediately dismissed the idea.
First of all, Seto would not leave Gilm without Rei.
And secondly, while dropping from the sky by surprise was fine even without Rei on his back, if Seto flew out from Marina's house, it would be immediately obvious that Rei was not riding on his back.
A few other reasons came to mind, but for the time being, Rei rejected the idea based on those two.