Once the incident with Lenora and Kenny more or less settled down, Lenora took over dealing with Rei in Kenny’s place.

Since Lenora was originally the one in charge of handling Rei anyway, this wasn’t particularly strange.

Meanwhile, behind the counters, Kenny was currently being scolded by a guild staff member, her and Lenora’s superior.

「I apologise for that, Rei. ……It’s been quite a while, are you looking to take on a request?」

「Eh? Ah……no, more importantly, is Kenny……」

「Are you looking to take on a request?」

Feeling momentarily overwhelmed by Lenora’s smile as she asked him again, Rei judged that talking any more about Kenny would lead to various bad outcomes and stated one of his reasons for coming to the guild.

「I wanted to ask about the Gamelion situation. Like if they can still be hunted, or if there’s any place with a lot of them.」

「Gamelions? Compared to last year, there aren’t very many of them around this year.」

「……You mean the number that have been hunted?」

Rei asked with a vague sense of foreboding at Lenora’s words, but Lenora shook her head.

「No, apparently even when people go to the places where Gamelions usually appear every year, there are hardly any. It’s not that there are none at all, but no matter how you look at it, it feels like there are fewer. They say they don’t really know what’s causing it, though……」

Lenora murmured regretfully.

Even as a receptionist at the guild, Lenora looked forward to the dishes made with Gamelion meat, which only appeared at this time every year.

Normally, many adventurers would go out to hunt Gamelions, but this year the number Gamelions that could be hunted were clearly low.

Because of that, the price of Gamelion dishes served in the city had skyrocketed, making them somewhat difficult for ordinary workers to afford.

Through various business efforts, the Dusk Wheat Pavilion hadn’t raised the price of Gamelion dishes by that much, so Rei was only just finding this out now.

Thinking back, he realised there had hardly been any stalls in the city serving Gamelion meat dishes.

「Is there any clear reason for it?」

「……Let’s see. If you’re asking if anything has happened recently, the only thing I can think of is the dungeon. Ah, do you know about it?」

「Yeah, I’ve heard about the dungeon. But the dungeon only appeared very recently, right? Gamelions start coming out in autumn, so wasn’t that long before the dungeon appeared?」

「I think so too, but when it comes to anomalies, that’s really the only thing I can think of. It’s possible that the signs of the dungeon forming affected the Gamelions.」

Rei tilted his head at Lenora’s words.

「Can something like that happen?」

「Well, I don’t know the exact details. This is purely a guess.」

Lenora bowed her head apologetically, but Rei shook his head, telling her not to worry about it.

In reality, regardless of whether he knew the reason or not, Rei’s intention to hunt Gamelions remained unchanged.

It might be true that their numbers had decreased, but as long as they weren’t completely gone, it was hardly a problem for Rei.

That was because Rei had Set, who could fly and search the ground from above. Furthermore, Set’s five senses were extremely sharp, so finding where the Gamelions were wouldn’t be a difficult task.

Gamelions themselves were a relatively high ranking monster at C rank and they had the combat power to match, but that was absolutely no problem for Rei.

(If they were all hiding in one place from the adventurers, I could probably take down a whole bunch of Gamelions at once if I could find where they are……well, it probably won’t be that easy. Besides, the dungeon takes priority……right?)

Rei thought to himself as he conversed with Lenora.

The adventurers in Gilm were generally quite skilled. For instance, even if they were the same rank as adventurers outside of Gilm, the abilities of those in Gilm were clearly higher.

Furthermore, the entire city of Gilm looked forward to Gamelion meat, which could only be hunted during this season.

Considering that, it was hard to imagine that they couldn’t find where the Gamelions were hiding.

(If so, is it the dungeon after all? Could it be that there are Gamelions inside the dungeon……? It’s not entirely unthinkable, is it?)

It was a bit hard to imagine that only Gamelions were inside the dungeon and no other monsters, but it was still a possibility…… Just as he thought that, Lenora called out to him.

「Rei?」

「Ah, no. I was just wondering if maybe there were Gamelions inside the dungeon, but there were only weak monsters in the new dungeon, right?」

「That’s right. Well, it’s not like they’ve investigated the entire dungeon, but according to the adventurers who checked inside, there was nothing like a Gamelion. Well, since those adventurers didn’t investigate the whole dungeon, I can’t say for absolute certain……」

As Lenora puzzled over the numerous difficult situations, such as the low number of Gamelions and the dungeon that had suddenly appeared, the guild staff member who had come out from behind the counters called out to her.

「Lenora, the Guild Master is calling for Rei. Sorry, but could you take him to her office?」

「……Rei? Well, considering the Guild Master has taken a liking to Rei, it’s not strange.」

「Ahhhhh! No, no, Lenora! If you let Rei meet the Guild Master, her sex appeal……her sex appeal will-!」

「Kenny. It seems you don’t know the meaning of the word reflection at all. Very well, since we’re here, let’s have a long talk.」

「Migyah!」

Leaving Kenny, who let out a scream befitting a cat Beastkin, Lenora invited Rei behind the counter and headed towards the stairs at the back.

「Is that okay?」

Instantly understanding what his words meant, Lenora let out a small sigh and spoke.

「It’s fine. Lately she’s been distracted by various things and making minor mistakes during work. It’s not strange for her to get scolded a little. No, I think it’s for the best.」

「……Well, if Lenora, her best friend, says so, I won’t worry about it then.」

Lenora stopped in her tracks at the words that came out of Rei’s mouth just as he set foot on the stairs leading to the Guild Master’s office.

「Best friend is a bit……I’d appreciate it if you could at least downgrade it to bad influence.」

Lenora directed an intense glare at Rei, making her usual cuteness seem like a lie.

Faced with such a Lenora, Rei reflexively nodded.

「A-Ah. I understand.」

Hearing Rei’s words, Lenora nodded with a smile so cheerful it made him want to ask what that glare from a moment ago was all about.

「As long as you understand. Now, shall we go meet the Guild Master?」

Saying that, Lenora walked up the stairs.

Rei followed after her without saying anything more.

(To an outsider, Lenora and Kenny just look like best friends…… Partners? A duo? That’s the only way they look to me.)

 

 

「Guild Master, I have brought Rei.」

「Yes, please come in.」

When Lenora knocked and called out, a voice answered from inside the office, and she opened the door.

Entering the office, Rei saw a figure looking over some documents at the desk in front of him.

Flowing silver hair, brown skin, and long ears. Well-defined features. Also, while looking at the documents with one hand, her other arm was tucked under her breasts, supporting her ample twin peaks.

Everything about her clearly revealed the race of the person in Rei’s line of sight.

The race known as Dark Elves.

Guild Master Marina Aris.

The heroine who managed the Gilm adventurers guild, where highly skilled adventurers gathered.

It was hard to imagine from her appearance, as she usually wore an evening dress, but she was also a highly skilled spirit magic user with enough ability to serve as Gilm’s Guild Master.

Also, setting aside her race, she was a person who exuded an intense sex appeal.

In particular, the party dress that left her back and shoulders bare, and her moist-looking eyes, only served to increase that allure.

Marina herself wasn’t deliberately doing anything in particular. Even so, the sex appeal that seemed to naturally emanate from her body made Rei feel a mature femininity different from Elena or Vihera.

If one were to describe it, Elena had a dignified beauty, Vihera had a healthy allure, and Marina had womanly charm that seemed designed to seduce men.

Looking at Marina, Rei directed his gaze at her while being careful not to let his mind be stolen by her sex appeal.

Rei aside, Marina was looked at him with an expression of shock.

「You……are you really Rei?」

He had heard those words from Min at the lord’s residence as well, so he immediately understood what Marina was talking about.

「Yeah, I got my hands on something good.」

Rei showed his right hand.

Sitting on his finger was the New Moon Ring, the cause of the commotion Kenny had stirred up just a moment ago.

To Kenny, it had looked like nothing more than an accessory, but to the eyes of Marina, who was both the Guild Master and a veteran adventurer, she immediately understood what it was.

「Heh. It seems you received something good. This is certainly something you would have wanted, isn’t it?」

The simple act of her smiling exuded an intense allure all on its own.

Rei nodded back at Marina.

When he first entered this office, Rei had almost been engulfed by her rich sex appeal, but after exchanging a few words, he was now able to interact with Marina normally.

Looking at Rei with satisfaction, Marina turned her gaze to Lenora, who was standing beside him.

「Lenora, thank you for your hard work. You can leave the rest to me. You may leave.」

「……Yes, understood. Excuse me then.」

Looking slightly dissatisfied, Lenora left the room without saying anything more.

For Lenora, who thought of Rei as a younger brother, she had wondered if leaving him alone with Marina was bad for his education, but she couldn’t exactly say that out loud.

It was also true that she respected Marina as the Guild Master, so she quietly left the room.

Watching Lenora leave, Marina placed the documents she was holding back on her desk and called out to Rei.

「Have a seat on the sofa for now. It’s hard to talk about various things while standing, isn’t it?」

「Talking about various things……the dungeon? If it’s about the Gamelions, I’d be happy with that too.」

Rei sat down on the sofa as he replied.

Marina, who sat down opposite him, crossing her legs as if to show off her voluptuous brown thighs.

She had her hands clasped under her breasts, which only emphasized their size and exposed the deep cleavage of the party dress she was wearing.

「Right. I’m also a bit disappointed about the Gamelions……but let’s leave that for later. First, the people who came from the Bestir Empire with you. It hasn’t been officially decided yet, but it seems most of the people who were your subordinates are going to become adventurers. It looks like a few of them want to join the knights though.」

「The knights? Not the guards?」

「Yes. They apparently tested their skills with the knight order, and since they were judged to have sufficient ability, they wanted to become knights. Well, unlike adventurers, knights don’t have irregular lifestyles.」

「In exchange, they can’t get rich quick though.」

Having said that much, Rei finally realised that Marina knew detailed information about the people he had brought with him this time.

「You found out quite quickly though. ……No, was it from Daska?」

「That’s right. As the Guild Master and the lord, it’s natural to share basic information, isn’t it? Besides, in this case, there are an especially large number of people who want to become adventurers. We can never have too many highly skilled adventurers.」

「……Well, true.」

Rei nodded back to Marina, thinking that it was obvious now that she mentioned it.

「It seems the explanations regarding their immigration have been properly completed, and they have currently been assigned rooms at the lord’s residence, you know that right?」

「I was wondering where they would be staying. Well, Daska said he was going to keep them under surveillance for the time being anyway, so considering that, it’s probably more convenient in various ways like this.」

「Probably. So……ah, right. If you don’t mind, could you show me that ring? A magic item that could hide your magic power would normally be unthinkable.」

「Yeah, I don’t mind.」

At Marina’s words, he took off the ring and handed it over.

The moment he took off the ring, Marina could feel the immense magic power from Rei that she had seen before, and she once again directed a look of surprise at the ring, which had the power to hide that magic power down to slightly above the level of an ordinary mage.

「This is amazing. Just who made a magic item with such ridiculous effect?」

「Apparently it’s a relic of an ancient magic civilisation.」

「……Heh. In the Bestir Empire?」

「Yeah.」

「Could it be that there are many such ruins over there?」

Marina murmured while gazing at the ring in her hand.

She probably wasn’t aware of it herself, but her glossy gaze was filled with an allure that could rival a prostitute’s.

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