"Man, there really is quite a difference between sea fish and river fish."
The moon hung large in the night sky, bathing the earth in gentle light. Ranga spoke with a satisfied grin as he bit into a skewer of grilled fish cooked over the campfire.
The meal was a treat from Rei, who had pulled a few fish from the massive stock he had purchased in Emosion. Since they were camping, he hadn't been able to prepare anything particularly elaborate, so he had settled for a simple recipe: seasoning them with salt and grilling them on skewers.
However, because time was frozen within the Misty Ring, the fish was as fresh as the moment it had been caught. That freshness made even a simple dish of grilled skewers enough to completely captivate the members of the subjugation force.
Most of the men were natives of Gilm, and even those who had come to the city as adventurers before joining the army, guard force, or knighthood had rarely—if ever—tasted sea fish. Even if they had encountered it before, it was usually in a form focused on preservability, like dried or salt-preserved varieties.
As a result, Ranga and the rest of the soldiers looked upon the sea fish as a rare delicacy, savoring every bite.
"Whoa, what the hell is this creepy thing? Are you sure this is actually edible?" one of the subjugation force soldiers shouted.
He was staring at a piece of overnight-dried octopus. It was certainly striking in appearance, and for someone unaccustomed to the sight, the initial shock was unavoidable.
But another soldier, a veteran in his forties, chimed in. "What are you acting so surprised for? It’s not like you don't eat monsters all the time. ...Mm, this is delicious. The more you chew, the more the flavor spreads. It really makes me want some booze."
"Just so we’re clear, I’m definitely not bringing out any alcohol," Rei said, his tone tinged with exasperation.
They were in the middle of a camping expedition. More importantly, just a short distance away, the survivors of the Bloody Blade—the very bandits who had been using this area as a base of operations until a few hours ago—sat bound with rope. Even if Rei's murderous intent and irritation had already broken their spirits, getting drunk in front of prisoners was out of the question.
The soldier who had grumbled about the drink likely knew that as well. He shrugged slightly and bit back into the overnight-dried octopus he had toasted over the fire.
"Still, an Item Box is incredibly convenient. I never thought I’d be eating fresh sea fish at a campsite."
"I was thinking the exact same thing. We get dispatched like this every so often, and while the first day is usually fine, by the second day, we’re stuck with hard-baked bread and dried meat."
"Hey, don't knock dried meat. It’s actually pretty good if you use it as a base for soup, you know? It all comes down to the skill of the cook... or so I’d like to say, but we can't exactly carry cooking utensils on these missions."
"True enough. If we had the spare weight for cooking gear, we’d rather carry more potions."
The soldiers chatted among themselves while eating around the campfire. Eventually, they rotated through their shifts—monitoring the Bloody Blade survivors and guarding the perimeter—and everyone finished their meals to prepare for the night.
Rei was exempted from the guard rotation, as he had been the most active participant in the day's events. Seto, however, remained vigilant, lying near the magic tent Rei had set up a short distance away, keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings.
And so, the night passed.
"...Hm?"
In the middle of the night, Rei suddenly snapped awake in the bed inside his magic tent. When he looked toward the entrance, he saw Seto poking its head inside.
"Guruuu."
"Yeah, I know."
Responding to Seto’s low, warning cry, Rei quickly dressed, donning his Sleipnir's Shoes and Dragon Robe. He pulled his pocket watch from the Misty Ring to check the time.
It was just past 2:00 AM. Even back in Japan, this was the dead of night. Naturally, very few people were awake in Elgin at this hour. Having lived in this world for over a year, Rei had fully adapted to its natural rhythms.
However, sensing that something was about to disrupt that peace, he finished his preparations in less than a minute and stepped outside. The campsite was eerily quiet, with most of the men deep in sleep. He could hear faint voices, likely the guards on the perimeter.
Rei and Seto walked toward the sounds. As expected, they soon found three subjugation force soldiers.
The guards spotted Rei at the same time he saw them. Surprised by his sudden appearance, they nearly leveled their spear tips at him, but they lowered their weapons the moment they recognized Seto.
"What are you doing up at this hour? Don't scare us like that."
"Yeah, you can leave the watching to us and go back to sleep."
"Though, if you've brought us some late-night refreshments, we won't complain."
Rei listened to their chatter but said nothing. Instead, he pulled a spear from the Misty Ring.
"Huh? Hey, what are you—"
Rei ignored the soldier’s question, took a few quick steps, and hurled the spear. It streaked through the air with a whistle, grazing the face of the stunned guard before plunging into the thicket behind them.
"Gyagyo!?"
A scream immediately erupted from the shadows. The guard, frozen by the spear that had just narrowly missed his cheek, spun around toward the source of the cry.
"Enemy attack!" another soldier shouted. He hadn't been the target of the throw, so he was faster to react. He pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew a long, hard blast.
The high-pitched sound pierced the night, forcibly waking the soldiers in their tents. The whistle served as a signal for the intruders as well. The bushes where Rei had thrown the spear shook violently, and a moment later, multiple small figures leaped out.
"Gururururuuu!"
Seto lunged at the emerging shadows. With a powerful swing of its forepaw, it crushed the head of the first attacker to jump from the brush.
"Gugya!?"
Another shadow shrieked at the sight of its comrade’s decapitation, but Seto was already moving. Its forepaw swung again, shattering the head of the shouter, while its beak simultaneously pierced the skull of a third.
Despite losing three of their own in an instant, the creatures showed no fear. They poured out of the woods in a relentless swarm. As they entered the moonlight, the soldiers finally saw their attackers clearly.
"Goblins!? Dammit, what are they doing here?"
"The Bloody Blade bastards said it, didn't they? They were using monster-repelling magic items, but Goblins had been wandering in since yesterday. These things must be... gah!"
The soldier thrust his spear while shouting to his comrade. The sharp spear tip pierced the chest of a Goblin that had tried to slip past Seto to reach the campsite.
This is definitely strange, Rei thought as he drew the Death Scythe from the Misty Ring. The magic tent has its own monster-repelling effect... and while I knew it wouldn't cover the entire camp, why aren't the magic items the Bloody Blade used working either?
With a wide, horizontal sweep of the Death Scythe's blade, he bisected two Goblins at the waist. The heavy scent of blood filled the air. Had it been daylight, the sight of the severed torsos and spilling internal organs would have been gruesome.
Then again, nobody actually wants to see Goblin internal organs, he mused.
He sliced through a Goblin trying to dodge past him on his left, then reversed the momentum to drive the butt end of the scythe into the solar plexus of another on his right. With a surge of strength, he lifted the impaled creature and hurled it into another Goblin nearby.
"Gugya!"
As the two went down screaming, Rei glanced toward the camp. About ten Goblins were rushing his way, while others were engaging soldiers elsewhere.
I see. They’re not just coming from one side; they’re infiltrating the campsite from all around. Still, this is a lot of them for just the stragglers of a destroyed settlement.
The Goblins seemingly judged Rei to be too dangerous and tried to skirt around him to reach the heart of the camp. Rei, however, kept a close watch on the entire battlefield, moving swiftly to cut down any that crossed his path.
Wait, maybe the ones that attacked the camp this evening went and fetched reinforcements. This place has tents and supplies—it's a perfect spot for Goblins to squat.
Using his Sleipnir's Shoes, he kicked off the air, ran several paces through the sky, and landed right in the middle of the trees. He dropped directly into the heart of the Goblin group.
"Flying Slash!"
Despite their numbers, there was no commanding individual among them. The Hobgoblin that had led them had been killed by Eberogi earlier that evening. Ironically, that made them more of a nuisance; without a leader to order a retreat, they simply kept throwing themselves at the camp in a mindless frenzy.
It’s easier without a boss to coordinate them, but it means I have to keep hacking away until every last one is gone.
The Goblins were even more aggressive under the cover of night. Perhaps their earlier defeat had only served to whip them into a vengeful fury. Their numbers had likely swelled as scattered groups from the woods converged on the scent of blood.
"Power Slash!"
The force of the strike cut through five Goblins at once, along with several thin trees. The overwhelming smell of blood only seemed to drive the remaining creatures deeper into their madness.
"You’d all be running away if it were daytime... what a pain!"
The Death Scythe's blade flickered through the darkness, claiming lives with every swing. After several minutes of relentless slaughter, nothing remained in Rei’s immediate vicinity but Goblin corpses and the stench of blood.
"Well, for ferocity-boosted Goblins, that’s about all they’ve got."
He glanced toward Seto, who was busy annihilating another group some distance away. Usually, the two fought side-by-side, but Seto had clearly decided that separating would be more efficient this time. Its forepaws were literally pulverizing heads and tearing through torsos with every hit.
Satisfied, Rei moved to support the other soldiers who were still engaged in the fray.
"...It’s a miracle no one was killed," Ranga sighed as he approached Rei. The battle had finally ended; most of the Goblins were dead, and the few survivors had vanished back into the woods.
"Yeah. A few injuries here and there, but in the end, they were just Goblins," Rei replied with a small nod. He reached out to stroke Seto’s head, and the Gryphon narrowed its eyes, purring contentedly.
Watching the two of them—one man and one beast—Ranga felt the lingering tension of the battle finally begin to drain away.
"Well, we’ve driven them off. After a beating like that, I don't think they'll be coming back anytime soon. At least not tonight."
"Probably. However..."
"I know," Ranga cut him off. "I’m going to tighten the watch just in case. I can't be sure the Bloody Blade lot won't try to use the confusion to slip away."
The bound bandits had certainly been at risk during the raid, but the guards had successfully protected them while repelling the attackers. It was a safe bet, however, that some of the prisoners had considered making a run for it.
Rei nodded. He had already warned them that he would make them regret being born if they tried anything, but he understood that some might still gamble on a desperate chance.
"Fine, I’ll leave that to you. It’s still the middle of the night, so I’m going back to get some sleep. If anything else attacks, wake me up."
Ranga nodded, and Rei headed back to his magic tent.
Whether it was because of its built-in enchantments or simply luck, the tent remained untouched, having been completely ignored by the Goblins throughout the chaos.