「Guh……ahhhh. Damn it, just showing off that they can drink right now……those guys. Those drunkards are a disgrace.」


  Even as they left the guild and headed for Pamidor’s smithy, Brazos was still complaining. Rei and Freon looked at him in exasperation while Set walked behind them in a good mood.

  The reason why Set was in a good mood was simple. Because the number of adventurers who went to the guild in the evening was higher, the number of adventurers that came through was also higher. In other words, the number of adventurers who fed Set increased accordingly……as a result, Set was able to eat various things while waiting for Rei to come out.

  Some adventurers who were advocates of tamed monster discrimination, believing that monsters on the street were a danger, tried to pull out their swords and attack Set……however, they were all knocked to the ground with a sweep of Set’s tail. They were also beaten up by the adventurers around Set who were feeding him and thrown out of the place.

  ……In addition, the first person to attack the other adventurers was a female adventurer, the leader of a certain Scorching Wind.

  Because of that, Set was in a good mood as he rubbed his head against Rei, who was walking in front.

  「Mm? What’s wrong?」


  Rei spoke to Freon while stroking Set’s head.

  「So, Freon. Where is Pamidor’s smithy? I only know that it’s near the library.」


  「Ahh, it’s not that hard to find. Look, it’s over there.」


  Freon quickly looked towards a smithy on a side street one block away from the library on the main street. Although it was a small smithy, its location close to the main street wasn’t bad.

  At such a smithy, Brazos, who was still a little grumpy at not being able to drink, opened the door.

  「Pamidor, are you there?」


  「Ah? Coming in at this time. I’m closing shop soon!」


  As soon as he opened the door and asked, a voice shouted back from the smithy. Hearing that shouting voice, Brazos and Freon entered the smithy without worrying about it.

  As usual, Set lied down a short distance away from the smithy. Rei entered the smith, following after Brazos.

  An intense heat was felt as they entered the smithy. The furnace itself was at the back of the smithy, but the heat could be felt from the entrance.

  「I’m closing already. I’m finishing my work for the day.」


  Although he had been grumpy when Brazos had called out, Pamidor’s expression relaxed slightly when he saw Brazos.

  Pamidor looked to be in his thirties. He had enough muscle that he could be mistaken for a warrior. Together with his tall stature, it emphasized his presence. Also, he was bald, unnecessarily emphasizing his tough look further.

  With Rei’s sharp eyes, he had seen Pamidor relax a little……that wasn’t the case, it was just that the somewhat harsh atmosphere given off by the stern man softened slightly.

  ……Nevertheless, his looks combined with his atmosphere gave off an oppressive feeling. There was the possibility that if someone encountered him late at night in an empty street, they would scream and run away without a doubt.

  「Oh, it’s you Brazos. And Freon……who’s that kid?」


  「He’s Rei. He helped us on the Harpy request. It would have been difficult for me and Brazos to fight Harpies since they can fly in the sky.」


  「……Rei?」


  Hearing that name, Pamidor frowned slightly. However, he quickly shook his head and spoke with a serious expression.

  「So, since you’ve come here, is the thing with the Harpies done? How about the mine?」


  Pamidor caught both of Brazos’ shoulders. Rather than a blacksmith, he looked more like a bandit……rather, he looked like a bandit who had made a mountain his territory or a pirate who terrified the seas.

  However, whether it was Brazos or Freon, because they were familiar with the man called Pamidor, the answered with a calm expression.

  「There’s no more problems with the Harpies. As far as the mine is concerned, it will probably be reopened in the near future.」


  「……Speaking like that, there must be something else. Did something happen?」


  「Rather than saying it was there, it was created……or maybe not. Rei, please.」


  Rei nodded at Brazos’ words and took out the Flame Crystal from the Misty Ring. Pamidor saw the Flame Crystal and drew in a breath as he saw the magic metal. Despite seeing the item box, his eyes were only drawn to the Flame Crystal in Rei’s hands.

  「…………」


  They looked at each other for a minute or so. After staring intently……no, observing, for a while, he spoke up.

  「Flame Crystals, is it?」


  「Mm. Because of this, we had to pay a visit to the Margrave’s residence.」


  「The Margrave’s residence?」


  「That’s right. Actually, this Flame Crystal……Rei’s fire magic caused some sort of reaction and created this thing in the cave where the Harpies were nesting.」


  「……I see. So, it hasn’t been long since it was created.」


  While nodding at Brazos’ words, Pamidor looked towards Rei.

  He looked into Rei’s eyes, looking into the depths of the person called Rei. But soon, he stopped looking at Rei like that and struck Rei’s shoulder with a smile.

  「Kid, you’re not afraid to look at my terrifying gaze. Not bad.」


  「……Heh~. It’s unusual for Pamidor to say something like that after meeting for the first time.」


  Pamidor smiled at Freon’s words as she was watching.

  「Actually, I heard about a person called Rei not long ago. Did you get caught up with my kid recently?」


  「Ah, it’s about Kumito.」


  「That’s right. He told me about you from then. He can be a handful at times. He said you would stop by sometime and was looking forward to it. He had to leave for something earlier but he’ll be back soon so please wait for him.」


  At those words, Rei gave a small nod.

  「So, what did you all come here for in the end? You’re most welcome here if you want to sell the Flame Crystal. Um, Rei, was it? Just put the Flame Crystal on the work bench over there.」


  「I understand.」


  Following his instruction, Rei placed the Flame Crystal on the work bench close by. Pamidor spoke as he looked at the Flame Crystal in admiration.

  「So, is it okay to sell it to me?」


  「No, we would like to appraise it first. If you were going to buy it, how much would you pay?」


  「Hmm, that’s right. Considering this Flame Crystal……5 platinum coins……no, 3 platinum coins and 5 gold coins.」


  Freon’s eyes went round at the unexpected price while Brazos replied to Pamidor with a sigh.

  「Isn’t that a rip off? By my judgement it should be around 8 platinum coins.」


  「It definitely be worth that much when it was right after the Harpy problem came up……but as you know now, the amount of pure iron available is dropping. While that has risen in price, magic metals like Flame Crystal have fallen in price instead. In addition……」


  Pamidor was about to say something and turned to look at Rei for a moment. However, he quickly shook his head and went back to appraising the Flame Crystal.

  Brazos had a strange expression on his face but quickly went back to the Flame Crystal as well.

  「I have no complaints about the purity. I can feel that it fire magic power has soaked all the way into it. ……To create a Flame Crystal like this, did you use a very powerful fire magic?」


  「Ahh, it was amazing. He made 10 fireballs that were hot enough that the surrounding temperature rose rapidly. He threw them all into the cave.」


  Freon remembered the scene as she spoke and Pamidor frowned his eyes unintentionally.

  Blacksmiths used fire to make weapons and armour. In other words, he was also a specialist on fire. Pamidor was a blacksmith with a reputation among other smiths. He could understand how powerful Rei’s magic was with that alone. Moreover……


  「You threw 10 fireballs that were that hot into the cave? If that’s the case, when the fireballs chain exploded, there must have been no where for the heat to go……ahh, I see. That was why this Flame Crystal was created.」


  Actually, there was a second exit to the cave, so the amount of heat Pamidor was imagining didn’t all end up inside the cave. However, the amount of heat still exceeded Pamidor’s expectations. Everything considered, it was only possible with the extraordinary amount of magic power that Rei released in his magic.

  「……How about it, you really won’t sell it to me?」


  Pamidor spoke while looking at the Flame Crystal, but Brazos shook his head.

  「To tell the truth, Rei wants this Flame Crystal, he said he would buy Freon and my shares.」


  「This Flame Crystal? From what I can see, you don’t have the skills of a blacksmith……why would you want this?」


  With strength in his gaze, he stared at Rei, not permitting a superficial answer. Even though Pamidor looked at him like this, Rei didn’t feel mcuh pressure and spoke up.

  「I just completed a big request a while ago, I don’t have any money problems right now. In the future, there may be a time when I’ll need a magic item. Because of that I really want to keep such materials while I still can.」


  「……」


  Sill, Pamidor looked at Rei. However, he gave a sigh in amazement after a minute.

  「Haa, a kid who can match gazes with me. Your spirit is quite good.」


  He could guess Rei’s strength with a single look. He smiled and vigorously struck Rei’s shoulder.

  「However……Rei, did you offend some important person?」


  「What?」


  Rei asked Pamidor, who changed the subject abruptly.

  Rei had no clue, but that was because Pamidor hadn’t finished.

  「Actually, yesterday……no, the day before yesterday. I got a weird message. It said an adventurer called Rei might come to my smithy to repair or buy weapons and told me not do business with him if he did. It also came with a threat that my business would disappear from Gilm if I did.」


  A notice to weapons shops. Based on that alone, it was obvious who had issued the message. Rei could only think of one person who would do such an illogical thing. A few days ago, he had ordered Rei to hand over all his magic items. A power hungry elder who also ordered him to hand over Set.

  「Bolton, is it.」


  「Come to think of it, you did talk about it at the Margrave’s residence.」


  Freon frowned slightly as she spoke.

  「Well, I’ve told the Margrave already. I thought I threatened Bolton enough……really, I didn’t think he would still end up trying such an underhanded move.」


  「Going for the weak point, it’s the usual way the president of Azoth Firm, that cowardly man. Have you heard about the adventurers who had similar experiences after angering Bolton」


  At Freon’s words, Rei recalled the story Milein had told him.

  「That reminds me, I heard the story from Milein of Scorching Wind.」


  「You, you know a lot of people. Well, anyway, that’s the situation. Since you’ve offended Bolton, I don’t you’ll be able to buy weapons from now on……what will you do?」


  「……Well, what would I do? To be honest, I’m not bothered by it too much.」


  「What?」


  Not just Freon, Brazos and Pamidor also looked towards him. Rei explained as he took his Death Scythe from the Misty Ring.

  「As you know, my main weapon is this Death Scythe」


  「……This is……」


  Seeing the Death Scythe for the first time, Pamidor was astonished at the degree of perfection of the magic item.

  「Because this Death Scythe is maintained by my magic power, there’s almost no need for maintenance. The only other weapons I use are throwing spears and knives to strip materials……」


  Regarding those, he had quite a lot of them inside the Misty Ring.