"Rei, your timing was rather unfortunate."
Having seen Viscount Sargail leave, Elena stepped out into the courtyard and brushed back her golden hair as she spoke.
From Elena's perspective, she likely felt that if Rei had returned just fifteen minutes—no, ten minutes—later, he never would have crossed paths with Viscount Sargail.
"Yeah. I should've come back a little later. But I talked with him briefly when we met at the lord's manor, and he wasn't that unpleasant for a noble, so it's fine."
Having dealt with the noble who had harassed him in front of the Guild warehouse, Rei may have graded Viscount Sargail more leniently as a result.
For Rei, that part didn't really matter either way.
However, if he had to talk to someone regardless, it was definitely easier to deal with a friendly counterpart.
In that sense, it was probably fortunate for Rei that the person meeting with Elena had been Viscount Sargail.
...If it hadn't been Viscount Sargail but the one who harassed him at the Guild, there was no doubt it would have become a major incident.
Though whether Elena would even grant an audience to such a person was a separate matter entirely.
Before Elena could even be consulted, Ara would refuse the meeting.
For Ara, she could not permit a meeting with anyone who might bring disadvantage to Elena.
Naturally, such individuals concealed their true intentions, but Ara, deeply devoted to Elena, was somehow able to see through their motives.
To be precise, she was only sometimes able to do so—it wasn't a guarantee.
"Mm. I know Viscount Sargail as a Noble Faction noble. There's no doubt he's not the kind of noble you'd dislike. In that sense, it may have been lucky for you."
"Well, is it right to just write that off as luck?"
Rei muttered the question, but even as he did, he could understand that Elena's words were by no means wrong.
Because he had encountered Viscount Sargail here, Rei had ended up being solicited about selling the Crystal Dragon materials he had been avoiding.
He had immediately refused and managed to push the matter onto the Guild, but the fact that Sargail was the first to open negotiations would surely raise the Viscount's reputation.
(Well, it's better than the guy who harassed me at the Guild getting a better evaluation. ...Ah, but that guy did make contact with me, so in that sense, does that mean he negotiated with me? Whether you can call that a negotiation is another matter, though.)
In Rei's mind, that encounter was closer to intimidation, false accusations, and nitpicking.
He couldn't possibly consider it a negotiation.
Whether the other party saw it that way was a different story, of course.
He didn't think they had the brains to realize it, but he couldn't deny the possibility that, prompted by a subordinate's advice, they might start claiming to be "the first person to negotiate with Rei."
"For the time being, what will you do now, Rei?"
Elena's words carried the wish that he would stay the night if possible.
Rei understood that, but he shook his head apologetically.
"Sorry, but with the defilement matter, it's better to inform the Chief as soon as possible."
He had given a brief explanation about the defilement.
However, that explanation had been only a simple one, so Elena probably didn't realize the situation could escalate to the worst-case scenario of the continent's destruction.
"I see. If you say so, I can't ask you to do anything unreasonable."
Elena said so in response, but contrary to her tone, a lonely hue lingered in her expression.
Noticing this, Ara fixed Rei with a gaze that seemed to ask, "Is there really nothing you can do?" ...But Rei, aware of how Elena and Ara felt, understood yet had no intention of staying at Marina's house.
Wouldn't it be fine to at least stay for dinner?
The thought had crossed his mind, but Rei had sprinted here at full speed when entering Marina's house.
Given that the lookouts stationed outside had seen him in such a state, if he lingered now, someone might force their way into Marina's house without any prior arrangement.
If he hadn't shown himself so openly—even through the robe—and had instead returned by carriage or something similar, the watchers would have been suspicious but not certain, and perhaps this wouldn't have been an issue.
Then again, thinking about how he had arrived here, that was a moot point now.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. If you say so, then you must."
As Rei listened to Elena's words, Nielson suddenly burst out from inside the Dragon Robe.
"Hey, Rei! If we head back to the Fairy Dwelling like this, I won't have gotten to play to my heart's content!"
Nielson naturally couldn't come out of the Dragon Robe while Viscount Sargail was present, but even after he had left, she still hadn't emerged for some reason.
Why she chose to come out now, Rei couldn't say, though he thought perhaps she had been sleeping.
When Rei was speaking with Viscount Sargail, there had been nothing in particular for her to do, and the inside of the Dragon Robe was kept at a comfortable temperature.
Given that, it wouldn't have been strange for her to doze off.
"You say that, but since we've finished our business, heading back as soon as possible is the right call, isn't it? I'm also curious about what happened with the defilement the Chief was processing."
Due to a slight mistake by Nielson—whether it was truly slight, Rei couldn't tell—it was certain that processing the defilement sealed inside the flower-shaped jewel would require some time.
Exactly how much time it would take, unfortunately, Rei didn't know.
Even so, considering the current situation, returning to the Fairy Dwelling as quickly as possible was undoubtedly the right move.
"Knowing the Chief, there's a chance she might see through it if we don't return immediately after finishing our work and instead take our time playing."
"Th-That's..."
Because she knew the Chief's power, Nielson couldn't immediately deny Rei's words.
Perhaps the Chief might.
She sometimes found herself thinking exactly that.
"If the Chief found out about something like that, what do you think she'd do when we got back to the Fairy Dwelling?"
"Let's head back, Rei. Since we've properly completed our work, we don't have the luxury of playing around here!"
At Rei's words, Nielson immediately retracted her previous statement.
She must have been that afraid of the Chief's punishment.
"Again... the Chief really is frightening, isn't she."
Elena, watching Nielson, was surprised that she could elicit such a reaction from her.
Elena didn't know everything about Nielson either.
However, Nielson had stayed at Marina's house before.
Given that, she could understand Nielson's personality to some extent.
Nielson's personality was simply that easy to read, so it was only natural.
For Nielson to be this frightened meant the Chief was truly that terrifying.
That was likely her reasoning, but Rei shook his head in response.
"It's not like she's particularly strict, you know? She treats me fairly politely."
"That's because you're Rei, isn't it!?"
Nielson shouted, looking as though she couldn't accept it at all.
There was a clear difference in the Chief's attitude toward Rei and toward Nielson.
Nielson couldn't accept that, but for Rei, his view was simply that it was the way things were.
The biggest factor was probably that Rei was a benefactor to the Fairy Dwelling.
He had defeated those who tried to attack the Fairy Dwelling, provided numerous Smog Panther magic stones, and handed over a considerable amount of other materials to the Chief as well.
Toward such a Rei, Nielson's personality was exactly that of a mischievous fairy through and through.
And yet, the fact that she was being educated as the Chief's successor was also a significant factor in this case.
For those reasons, it was only natural that the Chief's attitude differed between Rei and Nielson.
(Though probably, there's also the distinction between insider and outsider.)
No matter how much benefit Rei brought to the Fairy Dwelling, he was still an outsider—not a fairy.
On the other hand, despite her mischievous and troublesome personality, Nielson was an insider—someone who could only be described as the Chief's successor.
For those reasons, Rei's understanding was that it was natural for the Chief to treat them differently.
Whether that was actually correct, even Rei didn't know.
"Well then, with that settled, Nielson and I are heading off. I can't say for sure whether the Chief knows anything about what's happening here. But considering the situation, there's no doubt it's better to move as quickly as possible."
"Mm. If that's what you've decided, I won't say anything more."
It was clear that Elena was disappointed Rei was leaving immediately, but since they conversed fairly frequently through the Paired Orbs, she let him go without further protest.
Above all, this wasn't a final farewell by any means.
He would definitely be back before long.
Given that, while it was regrettable that Rei was leaving now, it wasn't something she couldn't endure.
"Well then, Seto."
"Grrr."
At Rei's words, Seto stood up with a purr... and then rumbled toward Ielo, who looked disappointed that his friend was leaving again.
What exactly that meant, Rei couldn't tell.
However, it was an undeniable fact that Ielo perked up a little upon hearing Seto's cry.
(Just like I can talk with Elena and the others through the Paired Orb, Seto can talk with Ielo through one too.)
Accepting that, Rei mounted Seto's back as the gryphon finished saying goodbye to Ielo.
"Ah, wait a minute!"
Seeing Rei climb onto Seto's back, Nielson flew up to his shoulder, not wanting to be left behind.
When traveling within Gilm, she needed to stay inside the Dragon Robe, but Seto would fly directly from Marina's house to escape the city.
In other words, being outside the Dragon Robe shouldn't have been a problem, but...
"No, that won't work. That's a big problem."
As Rei muttered, there was a problem in a different sense.
The fact that Rei was currently at Marina's house was, naturally, known to those watching the premises.
Given that, it wouldn't be surprising if more capable individuals had been dispatched as reinforcements.
Since they would need to spot Rei and Seto traveling through the sky, it wouldn't be unusual for there to be someone with exceptional eyesight, or someone who could enhance their vision through Skills or Magic Items.
What would happen if they spotted Nielson perched on Rei's shoulder at a time like that?
Personality aside, appearance-wise Nielson was a fairy straight out of a storybook.
If they saw such a Nielson sitting on Rei's shoulder, it would inevitably become a problem—Rei was traveling with a fairy.
When he explained this, Nielson slipped back into the Dragon Robe with a reluctant expression.
...Nielson had initially resisted, but casually dropping the Chief's name was probably what sealed it.
Thus, though reluctantly, Nielson retreated into the Dragon Robe.
"Good grief, I barely got to play at all in the end."
"Really? At the lord's manor, until Lord Daskar arrived, you were flying around the room pretty freely and eating food from the stalls, weren't you? I'd think you could be somewhat satisfied with that."
"Oh, come on... I could have played so much more, you know? But since you said you were heading back... oh, but I do need to explain things to the Chief quickly, so we really do have to hurry back. Yes."
Midway through speaking, she must have thought that perhaps the Chief was watching this very scene.
Nielson hurriedly added that.
"That's right. The Chief is probably waiting too. ...Well then, Elena. Until next time."
"Mm."
After exchanging those brief words, Ara, without saying a word, gave Rei a small bow.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Rei mounted Seto and soared into the sky.