"Haa, haa, haa..."
When Rei stored the corpse into his Misty Ring, Marina, who had just been screaming with hostility, took several deep breaths as if to suppress the surge of emotion within her. After a full few minutes had passed, she finally appeared calm and waved her hand lightly.
At that, the tornadoes and water balls behind Marina dissolved from those phenomena back into spirits and vanished somewhere.
(The wind aside, where did the water from the water balls go?)
Watching Marina just now, Rei found himself wondering that.
Though he also figured voicing the question here wouldn't serve much purpose.
It was precisely because they were spirits, because it was Marina, that he could simply accept it and move on.
"Fuu... I'm sorry. I lost my composure a little."
"A little?"
The one who made that quip was Elena.
If it had been Daskar instead of Elena, his dark history would have been dredged up right then and there.
"You're right. Calling it 'a little' might be a stretch. Anyway, I'm fine now, so please don't worry."
For someone who had generated tornadoes and water balls from behind their back while still seated in a chair to say such a thing, it was hard to take them at their word.
Hard as it was, no one present was in a position to press Marina any further on the matter.
Elena turned her gaze toward Rei.
No, not just Elena. Daskar too—and even Ara and Daskar's subordinates were all looking at Rei.
Naturally, Rei understood what those looks meant.
The cause of Marina's outburst—Rei glanced at the Misty Ring on his right arm.
(Defilement, or the corpse itself. Or perhaps the corpse that defilement was in the process of transforming. I don't know which it reacted to, but there's no doubt that was the cause.)
If that was the case, then it fell to Rei, the one who had taken the corpse out, to ask.
From Marina's behavior just now, Rei could more or less grasp the reason.
Marina just now... had appeared to feel an instinctive disgust toward defilement.
Of course, Rei had explained the situation to her, and Marina had prior knowledge of what defilement was.
Even so, that intense disgust from earlier seemed almost instinctive, transcending any matter of knowledge.
"So, Marina. It looks like you've calmed down—can you explain what happened?"
In response to Rei's question, Marina hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"First, I need to make this clear: what happened just now wasn't so much me acting on my own—the emotions of the spirits were transmitted to me. I know it sounds like an excuse, but I am more skilled than other Spirit Mages."
"I'd expect as much."
Rei agreed curtly.
Though only Rei had spoken aloud, none of the others raised any objection to Marina's claim.
Anyone living in Gilm would learn, whether they wanted to or not, just how special Marina was as a Spirit Mage.
To Rei, it sometimes seemed like there was nothing Marina couldn't do.
That was how powerful and versatile her Spirit Magic was.
Sensing Rei's regard, Marina floated her usual smile, rich with feminine charm, and continued.
"That's precisely why I sometimes receive strong influence from the spirits. Mind you, that sort of thing rarely happens. But right now was different. The spirits felt an intense disgust toward defilement."
Those were words Rei could more or less have predicted.
The Chief of the Fairy Dwelling had harbored the same intense disgust toward defilement.
Of course, the Chief's aversion was partly instinctive, but more accurately, it stemmed from knowing as fact what defilement could bring about.
In contrast, the spirits rejected defilement not from such a clearly articulated reason, but from instinct—understanding what kind of existence it was and rejecting it outright.
(Defilement is said to be a corrupt form of mana, and spirits and mana are closely related... right? Well, it's called Spirit Magic, so that's probably the case.)
Rei couldn't use Spirit Magic himself, but he had seen several people who could over the course of his journey.
More than that, right before his eyes was Marina, a Spirit Mage of unparalleled skill.
That Spirit Magic and mana were deeply connected was easy enough to understand.
"So the spirits detest defilement too. I don't mean this in a bad way, but that's actually quite valuable information."
Daskar, who had been watching the exchange between Rei and Marina, murmured that.
At his words, Marina directed a dissatisfied look at him.
To Marina, spirits were beings close to her.
And he had just called it "valuable information" that they had learned about something that provoked such intense disgust in those dear companions.
To Marina, that single phrase was absolutely intolerable.
However, setting aside Marina's feelings, there was no doubt that this matter held great significance for Daskar.
He had heard through Rei from the Chief of the Fairy Dwelling that defilement, in the worst case, could destroy the entire continent.
But that was information he had not confirmed himself—intelligence delivered by someone else, uncertain intelligence whose accuracy he could not verify.
Of course, that didn't mean he disbelieved the information from the Chief.
Even so, information he could see and confirm with his own eyes was undeniably more trustworthy.
Moreover, the Chief's information had been fragmentary at best; he had not been given detailed knowledge about defilement.
This was precisely because it was Daskar—or more accurately, because the ones who had brought that information were Rei and Nielson—that Daskar had been willing to entertain the account at all.
If the bearers of this information had been strangers rather than Rei and Nielson, Daskar probably would never have believed what they told him about defilement.
In that sense, Rei's efforts on behalf of Daskar's—no, Gilm's—sake up to now had finally paid off.
Not that Rei himself had any such intention.
He had simply acted as he saw fit, nothing more.
"For now, I understand that the spirits detest defilement. In that case, taking out the corpses here is definitely off the table."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't. Even in that brief span, look what happened. If we were to keep those corpses—the defilement-corrupted corpses—out for any length of time, there's no telling what might happen to my house."
Marina said this in response to Rei's words, but in truth, that characterization was conservative.
If Marina were to let the spirits rampage, it wouldn't be just her house—the Noble District, or perhaps an even wider area, could suffer damage, and it wouldn't be surprising at all.
The mansions in the Noble District were, naturally, noble estates.
As such, it would not be unusual for those mansions to have defensive installations against attacks, including magic. But even with such measures in place, if the spirits went on a rampage, they would be meaningless.
Or perhaps Spirit Magic wielded by a Spirit Mage who happened to be nearby—though such people were exceedingly rare—might be able to manage something. But there was a clear gap in caliber between any ordinary Spirit Mage and Marina.
"Yeah, you're right. As Marina says, taking out the corpses here is something we should avoid."
Sensing the gravity in Marina's words, Rei said as much and turned his gaze to his right arm.
There, the Misty Ring—something he would call his partner in a different sense than Seto—was fitted in place. But right now, it frightened him slightly.
Marina's words and behavior had made him all too aware of what would happen if he produced the corpse here.
"Even so, I can't afford to pass up the opportunity to see defilement with my own eyes. Given my position, simply letting that chance slip away is not an option."
For Daskar, this was a chance to observe the defilement he had only heard about firsthand.
He had already sent a preliminary report to the Royal Castle, but if he could actually observe defilement directly, he would be able to send a follow-up with concrete findings.
"If you don't mind the Noble District being wiped off the map, then by all means, do it here."
"No, I have no such intention."
Daskar replied to Marina instantly.
Having witnessed her behavior just moments ago, he was in no state of mind to attempt something like that here.
In the first place, if the Noble District were annihilated because of his own judgment, that alone could deal a fatal blow to Gilm.
Given that, he couldn't very well conduct a thorough observation of defilement here.
"Rei, my apologies, but could you come to the lord's manor? Ideally, it would be best to confirm the defilement outside Gilm, but given the current situation, that's not feasible."
"Understood. There are quite a lot of people around Gilm, after all. If we were to do something out in the open, there's no denying the risk that curious or suspicious people might come investigate."
If they were truly to confirm it in an unpopulated area, they would need to travel a considerable distance from Gilm.
Considering Seto's flight speed, they could reach such a place in a matter of minutes, but...
"Oh, in that case, why not use the Seto Cage? With that, even Daskar should be fine, I'd think."
"Moving that conspicuously would definitely draw attention."
Rei understood what Marina was getting at, but if it were just him and Seto traveling, that would be one thing—using the Seto Cage would allow them to be clearly tracked from the ground.
"Even so, anyone who tried to give chase... well, it's not like there wouldn't be any, but catching up to Seto would be difficult. And if needed, I could interfere with Spirit Magic. It's not like I can go with you, after all."
If Marina were to see the defilement, it wouldn't be surprising if she half-rampaged again from the spirits' disgust.
In other words, Marina couldn't accompany them outside Gilm.
That was precisely why she was offering to hinder anyone who tried to chase Seto from here.
Daskar, who initially hadn't been keen on the idea, pondered this after hearing Marina's explanation.
He had originally planned to view the defilement-corrupted corpses in the lord's manor courtyard.
But he had only suggested that because there was no other suitable location; it didn't absolutely have to be the lord's manor.
Rather, considering the danger of defilement, it would be better to observe the corrupted corpses somewhere other than the lord's manor if at all possible.
The real problem was Daskar, as Gilm's lord, leaving the city without a proper escort. But considering that Rei would be with him, there was probably no need to worry.
"Wait a moment, Lord Daskar!"
When the discussion shifted toward heading outside Gilm, the one who put a halt to it was one of the men who had accompanied Daskar as his subordinate.
"Whatever the circumstances, I think undertaking such a reckless course of action is unwise. If you head outside Gilm, the danger would be considerable."
That was a perfectly reasonable objection.
Anyone observing the situation would likely agree with the man who had cautioned Daskar.
Daskar himself knew the warning came from genuine concern, so he nodded before speaking.
"Rei—the bearer of the Crimson alias, a Dragon Slayer, and an A-Rank Adventurer—is with me, you know? Seto is here too. Even if a monster from the surrounding area appeared, it wouldn't be able to harm me."
"That's..."
The man who had stopped Daskar turned his gaze toward Rei.
Indeed, considering Rei's abilities and track record, his strength was beyond question.
As Daskar had just laid out, simply listing the titles of Crimson, Dragon Slayer, and A-Rank Adventurer was enough to convey that.
But even so, Daskar's subordinate did not quietly back down.
This was the frontier.
It was entirely possible—even unsurprising—for a B-Rank Monster to appear just outside Gilm.
If something were to happen to Daskar, the lord of Gilm, what would become of everything?
It would surely be difficult for Gilm to carry on as it had before.
There was no doubt that some noble would try to meddle with Gilm.
Depending on the circumstances, there was even a possibility that the very type of noble Rei despised would come.
That was why, in this situation, the man couldn't simply nod in agreement...
"Hmm, then I shall go as well."
So declared Elena.