Basking in the spring sunlight streaming from the sky, two creatures were in flight off the coast of Emocion.
There was Set the Gryphon and Shen the Icebird. As usual, Rei was mounted on Set’s back, but Hendeka—the tamer who had tamed Shen—was nowhere to be seen.
This was only natural; Shen was only about a meter long. It simply wasn't large enough to carry Hendeka, especially while he was wearing his leather armor.
In truth, even if Hendeka had been present, he would have been of little use, as he possessed no means of attacking the Lemures from the air while it remained submerged.
(Though, he might have been helpful if only to give Shen direct orders.)
"Kiki!"
"Guruuuu."
While they soared through the sky, Rei glanced at Shen, who seemed to be engaged in something resembling a conversation with Set.
Perhaps it was because Hendeka wasn't there to guide it, but the bird had been chirping incessantly at Set for some time now. For his part, Set didn't seem to mind the attention and responded with friendly purrs.
"…Sigh. Well, I suppose we’ll see what kind of impact Shen’s presence has soon enough."
Muttering to himself, Rei turned his gaze toward the harbor.
In the distance, several ships were attempting to weigh anchor and set sail, taking advantage of the fact that Rei was currently acting as bait to draw the Lemures away.
A moment later, Rei felt Set tilt his body sharply.
"It's here! Shen, find its location! Set, focus on evasion like usual!"
"Kikikii!"
"Guru!"
Both Shen and Set chirped in acknowledgement. Simultaneously, Rei withdrew his Death Scythe from the Misty Ring, ready to intercept any incoming seawater spears.
A split second later, a seawater spear lanced through the exact spot Set had occupied moments before. In rapid succession, a second, third, and fourth spear materialized from the waves, each one intent on skewering the Gryphon.
"Set, to the right!"
The Lemures had clearly grown accustomed to fighting Set over the past few days. As if anticipating the Gryphon’s evasive maneuver, a seawater spear erupted from the right and curved mid-air, its tip aiming true.
The attack was well-timed and precise. Had Set been alone, the monster might have succeeded in boxing him in with a barrage of spears, eventually scoring a hit. However, Set was not alone. Rei was perched on his back, and he was more than ready.
"Hah!"
With a sharp shout, Rei swung the Death Scythe's blade, shattering the spear that threatened to impale them in a single strike.
He reined in the scythe’s momentum and brought it back to a ready position, immediately scanning the ocean surface from his perch. As expected, only the undulating waves met his eyes; the Lemures remained completely invisible.
"Kii, kikikiki?"
Shen seemed equally unable to locate their foe. The Icebird let out a high-pitched cry, looking around in clear confusion.
Observing this, Rei noticed a strange inconsistency.
(Are the seawater spears only targeting Set...?)
Scanning the area more carefully, he realized it was true. Every spear launched so far had been aimed exclusively at the Gryphon. Shen, flying nearby, wasn't being targeted at all.
While Shen was occasionally forced to dodge because it was in the general vicinity of the attacks, the Lemures was clearly ignoring the bird to focus its malice on Set.
(Why? I assumed it would prioritize anything in the sky... The main difference between the two is that one is a natural monster and the other was created via Beast Magic. Is it sensing that somehow?)
While Rei pondered the mystery, Set continued to weave through the air with effortless grace, dodging the relentless barrage of seawater spears.
After days of this routine, both sides had clearly adapted. The spears’ trajectories were sharper and more predatory than before, while Set had refined his movements, dodging with the bare minimum effort required. Whenever the spears converged in a massive saturation attack, Rei stepped in.
"Flying Slash!"
A wave of force erupted from the Death Scythe as Rei swung it, shearing through several seawater spears at once to clear an escape route for Set and Shen.
In the corner of his eye, Rei saw several more ships departing the harbor. He continued to evade the spears, focused on buying as much time as possible for the vessels to reach safety.
He wasn't merely playing defense, either. He strained his eyes to see through the water and even experimented by lashing the surface with fire, but the Lemures remained unphased, continuing its relentless assault of spears.
"With so little to go on, it's impossible to tell where it actually is... take that!"
As Set banked to the side, Rei swung his scythe again, crushing a cluster of spears.
He continued to fending off the underwater assailant for some time, until he noticed a ship moving that was different from the merchant vessels leaving the port.
This ship was also attempting to depart while Rei distracted the monster, but it hadn't paid for the privilege. It was likely owned by a captain or merchant who wanted to save money by piggybacking on the safety Rei provided. Since Rei’s contract was a personal one and didn't involve the city or the guild, there was no official rule stopping them.
(Though their reputation as merchants is going to take a nosedive.)
Rei suspected the ship had only arrived in the city recently. He had heard from the captain who hired him about another ship that had tried to save a few coins the same way. That ship had run into trouble and been forced back to port, only to be ostracized by the local trade community for trying to buy safety with someone else’s money.
Just as Set banked again to avoid a spear, Rei saw something that caused his train of thought to screech to a halt.
It was another ship—one he recognized. It wasn't one of the merchant vessels, but the ship purchased by the group of adventurers who had hassled him previously.
"Tch. So they're using me as a decoy while they try to find the Lemures themselves."
Rei spat a curse and shattered another spear with his scythe.
Though he couldn't have heard the click of Rei’s tongue, one of the adventurers on the deck happened to look up. Even from this distance, Rei could see the look of pure mockery in the man’s eyes as he stared up at the Gryphon.
"Ki? Kikikii!"
Shen, with its keen avian vision, also noticed the man’s mocking expression and let out an agitated cry.
Rei wasn't pleased, but he couldn't stop them. Since they weren't allies, they were technically rivals, and in the world of adventurers, using a rival to your advantage was common practice.
(Still... that’s a hell of a gamble they’re taking.)
"Guruuuuuu!"
A seawater spear shot upward toward Set, bending at a sharp angle to strike from the front.
By flapping his wings and responding to Rei’s weight shifts, Set evaded the projectile by performing a tight, corkscrewing roll.
It was a maneuver that would have sent a lesser rider plummeting into the ocean, but Rei held on with his legs, his movements perfectly synchronized with the Gryphon’s. Because the Lemures was focused entirely on Set, Shen had fortunately remained outside the attack range, keeping a safe distance from the Gryphon.
Set pulled out of the barrel roll and flapped his wings to stabilize, turning back toward the source of the spears. Rei looked down at the ocean again, only to be interrupted by a chorus of panicked shouts.
"U-Uwah! Uwaaaaaah!"
"Hey, plug the hole! We're going to sink!"
"Shut up! If you're so worried about it, you do it!"
"Dammit, no choice! I'm heading for the bilge—you guys keep a lookout!"
The shouts were coming from the adventurers' ship. It seemed a stray attack intended for Rei had struck the hull. They were scrambling to make emergency repairs, but it was clear to Rei that the vessel was doomed.
Rei glanced at the frantic men and braced himself for the next spear, but the ocean remained still.
Thirty seconds passed without another attack. Rei realized the encounter was over for the day and stored the Death Scythe back in the Misty Ring.
"Phew. Is that it for today? In the end, we’re no closer to finding the Lemures' true form. I’ll need to figure out a more fundamental solution."
"Hey! Rei! You can fly, can't you? Help us!"
The man who had been mocking Rei moments ago was now screaming up at him from the deck of the listing ship.
"Guru?"
Set turned his head and purred, asking how they should respond.
Rei looked at the Gryphon, then down at the ship as it slowly but surely began to settle into the water. He let out a long sigh.
"Take us down there for a moment."
"Guruuu!"
Set chirped and flapped his wings, descending to hover just alongside the sinking vessel. Rei called out to the adventurers from Set’s back.
"I can't just 'help' you. Besides myself, Set can only carry the weight of a woman or a child. There’s no way he can lift a group of grown men in full plate armor."
"What?! Then why did you come over here? To gloat?! Are you getting your revenge just because we tried to outplay you?!"
"You're the ones who called me over. Besides, you’re the ones who sailed into the middle of a monster attack to use me as a decoy. Don't you think it’s a bit much to demand I save you now that it’s backfired?"
"Like I care! Just get us out of here!"
"…Sigh. Fine. Stay put. I’ll go find a party with a Magic Item Ship. If we get two or three of them out here, you can transfer over."
The adventurers all sagged with relief at the suggestion. However, one of them immediately piped up with a loud shout.
"Wait a second! If we move to other ships, what happens to this one?"
"It sinks, obviously. It’s already halfway there."
"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on! Do you have any idea how much money we spent on this ship?! We can't just abandon it!"
"..."
Rei wasn't the only one stunned into silence; even the man’s companions looked at him with disbelief.
In a way, Rei felt it was lucky that only one of them was insane enough to say such a thing.
"Right... well, in that case, why don't you just stay with the ship? I’m not going to force you to leave. I’ll go call for the Magic Item Ships now. Anyone who actually wants to survive should get ready to evacuate. If you want to go down with the ship like that guy, feel free."
"O-Oh, right."
The other adventurers responded with hesitant nods, clearly embarrassed by their comrade’s outburst. Rei gave Set a nudge.
"Let’s go, Set."
"Guruuuuu!"
"Hey! Wait! You’re helping us, but you’d better promise to pay for the ship you sank!"
"Like I'd care, you moron. You chose to bring a ship into a combat zone while using me as a decoy. Why should I be the one to pay for it? If you’re going to be like that, maybe I should charge you five light gold coins for the rescue fee instead?"
"Wha—?!"
Sensing that Rei was entirely serious, several of the other adventurers lunged forward to cover the man’s mouth.
"Don't mind him! He's always had a habit of confusing his delusions for reality! We aren't asking for a single copper in compensation, we swear! Just please, bring help!"
The man who had earlier looked at Rei with mockery was now screaming in a blind panic.
He knew that if Rei abandoned them, they would likely drown. No matter how close to the harbor they were, swimming back while wearing heavy armor and gear was a death sentence.
"Sigh. Whatever. Just get ready. And for your sake, make sure he doesn't say anything else stupid."
With that, Rei flew toward a group of Magic Item Ships nearby.
The crews of those ships had seen the vessel sinking from a distance and were already moving in to assist. With Rei’s coordination, the adventurers were rescued without further incident.
As for the man who had demanded compensation, the moment the rescue ships arrived, he shoved his own companions aside to be the first one off the sinking wreck. After the rescue, he found himself so thoroughly ostracized by the other adventurers in Emocion that he was forced to flee the city shortly thereafter.