It had been a few days after the garden party at the lord’s residence. Fortunately, Rei hadn’t been invited to any other events with nobles since then.

  「Pamidor, do you have any more cheap spears?」


  The bald man with a menacing face gave a sigh as he responded to Rei’s question.

  「You know. I’m happy for you to come over as a customer, but you can’t just only ask for cheap spears right? If you want those kind of things, go to a weapon shop instead of a blacksmith like me.」


  「A weapon shop, huh.」


  Rei gave a small sigh at Pamidor’s words.

  Most of the weapon shops in Gilm had used be in partnership with a company called Azoth Firm. Or rather, you could say they were under Azoth Firm’s control.

  The fact was, they had been ordered not to sell weapons to Rei during his dispute with the head of Azoth Firm at the time and they had followed the order, refusing to sell weapons to Rei.

  The problem had already been solved, but after information on the incident spread throughout the city, there had been a lot of push back from those who loved Set, not to mention Rei himself.

  Set had already become well known as a friendly Griffon in Gilm. To be exact……those who learned that the weapon shops had acted unreasonably against Set’s master were quick to respond and weapon shops had been hard pressed as a form of retaliation.

  All that had since gone completely after Galahad had taken over, or more precisely, stolen, Azoth Firm. However, Gilm’s weapon shops still treated Rei as a sore point, which made it awkward for him to visit any weapon shops.

  Also, as far as Rei knew, the weapons made by Pamidor were of high quality, which was one of the reasons why he stayed away from the other weapon shops.

  Pamidor smiled as he saw Rei give an involuntary sigh.

  Because of his villainous face, it made him look like a bandit or pirate giving a ferocious smile after finding his prey.

  「Well, you’re always welcome to come here.」


  「……It’s not me you’re after, but Set, isn’t it?」


  At Pamidor’s words, Rei turned to look outside.

  Outside, a 10 year old boy was playing with Set.

  The boy’s name was Kumito. Although he didn’t look anything like Pamidor, he was Pamidor’s only son.

  「No matter how many times I see him, he doesn’t look like your kid.」


  「You didn’t have to say that. ……Well, to be honest, I’m glad he doesn’t look like me. After all, my face does look like this.」


  Pamidor said that with a smile.

  He realised himself that he had quite the intimidating face.

  「Maybe you should stop shaving your head? It only serves to make you more intimidating. You might do that as an adventurer to intimidate bandits or monsters with some intelligence, but you’re just a blacksmith, right?」


  「Yeah, I guess so.」


  Pamidor nodded at Rei’s words.

  He had originally been a blacksmith of some renown in the Royal Capital. However, he had come to Gilm because he wanted to help the adventurers and residents who worked on the frontier rather than make decorative weapons that would never be used for the nobles who lived in the Royal Capital.

  Although he now had a good number of customers, when he first came to Gilm, he had been feared and avoided due to his intimidating face.

  Even so, he did he work well and earned the trust of those around him through his abilities.

  Even during the Azoth Firm incident that Rei had been involved in, he had openly defied the order not to sell weapons to Rei.

  However, he hadn’t been able to actively support Rei due to his concerns about his family.

  As a result, Rei had come to trust him and he had become Rei’s go to blacksmith.

  Pamidor replied to Rei.

  「When I first started training as a blacksmith, I made a small mistake that caused my hair to catch fire. I was burnt pretty badly. Fortunately, the blacksmith I studied under had a close relationship with a skilled mage who could use healing magic, so there were hardly any burn marks left. I stopped growing my hair out after that. It’s more of a habit now.」


  Pamidor shrugged his shoulders.

  「Are you planning to use any weapons other than spears? With your strength, you would probably manage with a sword or an axe.」


  「Even if you say that, my main weapon is my Death Scythe. As for spears, I only use them as throwing weapons when I need to attack from range.」


  「That scythe you have certainly is an extraordinarily high quality weapon, but it’s still a polearm, right? What do you do if someone gets close to you?」


  Pamidor asked with a concerned expression, but Rei just pulled out the Mithril Knife from the sheath on the left side of his waist as he stuck it out slightly from under his Dragon Robe.

  「I also have this. ……As you can see, this knife is made with Mithril. If I put my magic power into it, it’s a lot stronger than most weapons around.」


  「……Haah. Well, it can’t be helped. Here, take this with you.」


  WIth those words, Pamidor threw over a sheathed blade that was longer than a knife but shorter than a sword. It was a weapon often called a dagger.

  Holding the dagger in its rugged sheath, Rei asked Pamidor.

  「This is?」


  「Aren’t you B rank now? It’s to celebrate your promotion. You also said you’re heading for the Labyrinth City. I’ve heard that there are various unique monsters that appear in the dungeon there. You might have a lot of difficulty in stripping materials from the monsters with just the knife you normally use. Take it.」


  「……Is this reall okay?」


  「I said that it was to celebrate your promotion. Don’t make me embarrassed and just accept it quietly.」


  Pamidor looked away from Rei as he said taht.

  He was probably embarrassed, but to a casual passerby, his expression probably looked more like one of a bandit who didn’t care about whether someone lived or died.

  But to Rei, who had dealt a fair bit with Pamidor, he understood his true intentions as he pulled the dagger out of its sheath.

  It was a 30cm long blade. The thick blade reflected the light on it, revealing its sharp cutting edge.

  There were no decorations carved on the sheath, handle or blade, making it a functional blade designed for combat and stripping materials.

  It wasn’t a magic item, but if you considered it as an ordinary weapon, it was worth several silver coins. No, considering Pamidor’s skill as a blacksmith, its value might even reach a gold coin.

  「Thank you very much.」


  「Hmph, you might have reached B rank, but I’ve heard there are many differences between a labyrinth city and other cities. You’ll have to move with caution. If it’s pure about combat strength, you and Set won’t have a problem. However, only cities with large dungeons are called labyrinth cities. Some of the monsters there will be quite powerful.」


  (He’s quite a tsundere even though he has that face.)

  Rei thought that in his mind without saying it out loud before replying.

  「I’ll take your advice then. I’ll be going to the Labyrinth City for a month……no, maybe two months? I’ll be back before winter though, so look forward to some souvenirs.」


  「Souvenirs, eh? Speaking of, the fish you gave me last time was delicious.」


  At the word souvenir, Pamidor recalled the dried fish he had received from Rei as a souvenir from Emoshion.

  It had a fishy smell, but after grilling it to eat, he thought it was an unusual dish that went really well with alcohol.

  Pamidor thought it wouldn’t be bad if Rei brought back more as a souvenir, but it wasn’t until an hour or so later after Rei left his smithy that he realised Rei was going to the Labyrinth City and not a port city.

  「It’s rare to see you here. Oh right, I know it’s a bit late, but congratulations on passing your rank up test.」


  Inside the guild master’s office, Marina gave Rei a seductive smile.

  Today, she was wearing a white party dress.

  White usually gave off a sense of purity, but when Marina wore it, it seemed to emphasise her sex appeal, which felt very strange to Rei.

  「Well, I made it somehow. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d make it to B rank, although it’s only provision B rank.」


  「Fufu~, I heard there was a lot of debate over Rei’s promotion. In fact, although your fighting skills are unquestionable, I heard that your etiquette was a major negative factor.」


  「……I guessed as much.」


  Knowing his own shortcomings, Rei gave a short nod.

  「So, what brings you here today? Don’t tell me you came here just to report your promotion? Of course, you’re more than welcome to do so. If you want, do you want to spend the night with me to celebrate?」


  Marina glanced at Rei invitingly.

  Even though she was sitting at her office desk organising documents……no, maybe because she was doing that, her invitation to Rei along with her voluptuous body and revealing dress stimulated Rei to the point where he thought she was a high class courtesan.

  Rei held his breath when he saw Marina like that, but he thought of Elena, he quickly shook his head as he resisted Marina’s temptation.

  「No, I just wanted to tell you that I’ll be heading to the Labyrinth City in a few days.」


  「Oh, you’re not obligated to tell the guild master where you’re going even if you are a B rank adventurer you know?」


  「That’s true, I might not be obligated to report to the guild master, but it’s different for one who has helped me out a great deal.」


  「……I see.」


  Marina nodded after some silence at Rei’s calm response.

  「Thank you for informing me. So, when do you plan to return?」


  She continued talking as if to hide her thoughts, but Rei didn’t seem to notice anything wrong.

  「Well, I’ll be back before winter, but I don’t know when.」


  Rei gave the same answer he had given Pamidor and Marina gave a small nod in response.

  「I see, I understand. Take care of yourself.」


  「I will. Look forward to some souvenirs.」


  「No more dried fish, okay?」


  Shaking Marina’s hand lightly, Rei left her office.

  Seeing him leave, Marina gently touched her cheek.

  Her cheeks were tinged with a light reddish hue which Rei hadn’t noticed due to Marina’s dark brown skin, characteristic to Dark Elves.

  「……I must be going crazy.」


  She no longer had the seductive expression she had earlier when Rei had been in the room.

  After leaving Marina’s office, he told Lenora and Kenny that he would be away for a while before leaving the guild. He promised them he would be back before winter as they watched him leave with concerned expressions.

  Kenny said that, as a guild employee, it was her duty to follow Rei to the Labyrinth City, but Lenora smacked her over the back of the head with a stack of documents, forcing her to shut up.

  It was already a familiar routine to Rei, so he left the guild without thinking about it any further.

  Behind him, Kenny immediately showed her zombie like immortality as she said she would see him off.

  「Gururu~」


  Rei understood what Set wanted to ask with that cry as he gave a small nod.

  「Yes, I’ve said goodbye to most of the places I needed to. ……It was a bit hectic at the Satisfied Stomach though.」


  Rei laughed lightly to himself. The place had been full of customers, so he just ate, paid his meal and said a few words to Hasta.

  「All that’s left……is here.」


  Rei muttered to himself as the Dusk Wheat came into view.

  It had been the inn he had stayed at for over a year now. It wasn’t like he wasn’t going to come back, but he still had a somewhat regretful feeling.

  It was one of the more premium inns in Gilm and had a price to match. But for Rei, it wasn’t a price he couldn’t afford, and more importantly, it was an inn that was worth the price.

  The rooms were spacious, the beds were always neat and clean, the food was delicious and the inn was filled with various magic items to make his stay more comfortable.

  Thinking of that, Rei parted ways with Set at the front of the inn before walking inside.

  「Rei-san, welcome back. ……You said this yesterday, but you plan to check out tomorrow, right?」


  He gave a small nod towards Lana, who was at the counter.

  「Yeah. I’m going to be away for quite a while starting from tomorrow. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but it might be all the way until winter. It wouldn’t be too nice to keep my room booked out all that time, so I’ll be checking out tomorrow as planned.」


  「Yes, I understand. Thank you very much for staying at the Dusk Wheat for the past year.」


  Rei smiled and shook his head as Lana gave a bow towards him.

  「I’ll rent a room here again when I get back from the Labyrinth City. After all, this inn is quite comfortable.」


  「Thank you very much. I will return the money you have left over when you check out tomorrow. ……I’ll make tonight’s meal a bit more luxurious as a token of appreciation for your stay here.」


  「I would appreciate that a lot.」


  Rei went back to his room with a smile.

  His dinner that night was certainly more luxurious than usual and filled his stomach with happiness.