"We'll be moving out soon. Keep a sharp eye out for monsters."
"Understood!"
The soldiers of the subjugation force replied in unison to Ranga's command.
Several hours had passed since the Goblin attack. Fortunately, that had been the only assault, and the rest of the night had passed without incident. Having finished a simple breakfast, the subjugation force was preparing to leave the forest immediately and return to Gilm.
Naturally, they were taking the captured members of the Bloody Blade with them.
"So, I just need to deliver this letter?"
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
While Ranga addressed the members of the subjugation force, one of the knights handed Rei a letter.
It was a formal report regarding the incident. Since Rei had his partner Set with him, he had been asked to fly ahead and deliver it to Daskar in Gilm.
"I'm not worried about you, Rei, but I’ll say it anyway just in case: please be careful."
"What’s with the roundabout warning? I get it. I’ll make sure it reaches Lord Daskar, so you can leave it to me—rest assured, you're in safe hands."
"That’s true. Since I’ve left it to you, Rei, even if we were on a mud boat, I suspect it would turn into a warship before we knew it."
"Keep talking."
Rei exchanged words with the knight with a smile. He gave a light wave back to Ranga, who was waving from a distance, and then straddled Set’s back.
After a few steps of a run-up, Set soared into the sky. As the knight looked up from the ground, an envious expression flickered across his face.
Since flight was a privilege reserved for the likes of a Dragon Knight, the fact that Rei could soar through the sky whenever he pleased on Set made him an object of great envy for the knight.
The fact that he had dreamed of becoming a Dragon Knight since he was a child was undoubtedly part of the reason for his jealousy.
(Someday, I too...)
He whispered his dream in his heart before being snapped back to reality by a fellow knight's call.
Now was not the time to indulge in longings; his duty was to escort the captured members of the Bloody Blade back to Gilm.
"...Alright."
Muttering to steel himself, the knight returned to Ranga and the others.
Flying above the highway, Rei spotted a group of nearly twenty people below.
"I hope it’s not more bandits."
With that thought, he took a closer look and saw one person waving their hands frantically toward the sky.
He immediately recognized the excited figure.
It was Mirene, the Leader of the Scorching Wind—a woman whose favorability toward Set was likely the highest in all of Gilm.
"Ah... I see."
He remembered her mentioning they would be doing a Goblin Remnant Hunt and let out a soft mutter.
"Guru?"
Set, who usually spent its time lying near the Guild or playing with adventurers and townspeople while Rei was busy with things like combat training for the newcomers, let out a curious trill.
Rei gently stroked Set's neck and spoke with a wry smile.
"No, their target is likely the Goblins we defeated last night... Though, since they were Goblins, I imagine there are still other survivors out there."
Rei said something that might have annoyed anyone else—that he hoped there were more for them to find—and then asked Set to descend, as he couldn't simply ignore them now that they had been spotted.
"Gurululululu!"
Letting out a loud cry, Set flapped its wings and descended toward the ground.
Watching Set's descent, Mirene's excitement skyrocketed, while Sulnin let out a heavy sigh and Ekryl wore a wry smile.
Among the other adventurers acting as part of the Goblin Remnant Hunt, those who had spent at least a year in Gilm all wore smiles as they looked at Rei and Set, some even giving small waves.
In contrast to the veterans, about half of the rookies who had been mobilized for this Goblin subjugation as part of their combat training were likely newcomers to Gilm. They watched the descending Set with looks of shock, fear, and awe.
"It's fine. Set-chan is cute, gentle, and very friendly."
"...I heard that it’s quite ferocious when it’s actually fighting monsters, though."
"Hey, I'm trying to calm them down, so don't say unnecessary things."
"Set-chan is cute, isn't it? I want a tamed monster like that too. But the difficulty of a tame is..."
"How about summoning magic then?"
"Enough, settle down. That Gryphon is a monster famous in Gilm for being friendly. As long as you don't mess with it, there won't be any problems."
"There was some firm chairman who messed with Set and ended up ruined, though."
"I told you to stop saying unnecessary things!"
While that exchange occurred within the group of adventurers, Set landed, walked a few steps, and came to a halt.
"Set-chaaan!"
Leaving Mirene, who came charging out from the group of adventurers, to occupy herself with Set, Rei headed straight toward Sulnin and the others.
Watching a few others follow Mirene toward Set, Rei raised a hand to greet Sulnin.
"You're on a Goblin Remnant Hunt, I take it?"
"Yes. And what have you been up to since Lord Daskar summoned you yesterday, Rei-san?"
"I was sent as reinforcements for a bandit subjugation. That's finished, so I was on my way back to Gilm to report, but..."
As Rei trailed off, looking slightly hesitant, Sulnin wore a puzzled expression.
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah... no, it's just... well. After we defeated the bandits, we camped out on the spot... and a group of Goblins attacked us during the night."
"I see."
At the mention of Goblins, their intended target, Ekryl—who had been watching Mirene frolicking with Set with exasperation—turned her gaze toward Rei. So did Grusso, Courage, and Konomiru, who were bewildered by the sight of a Mirene so different from the strict instructor they had known since yesterday, along with the other adventurers.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under their collective gaze, Rei continued.
"Naturally, it wasn't just me; Set and the bandit subjugation force were there too. Since the opponents were Goblins, we ended up overwhelming them. It's possible we might have completely wiped out the local remnants."
"Ah... well, I suppose we can't tell you not to fight back when you're attacked."
Even as Sulnin said that, he couldn't stop a wave of disappointment from spreading through the group as they realized their trip might have been for nothing.
"Everyone, do not forget the high breeding power of Goblins. It's true that Rei-san and his group might have defeated a significant number yesterday, but it would be premature to assume every single Goblin that fled the settlement has been dealt with."
"...Well, that's true enough. Those things multiply in the blink of an eye if you take your eyes off them."
A man in his late 20s thought to be part of the Guardian Unit along with Scorching Wind spoke up.
At those words, the rookie unit seemed to realize that their journey wasn't necessarily in vain. Their morale began to recover.
"I guess I can't say for sure that we wiped them all out. ...Oh, right. The one leading the fleeing Goblins was a Hobgoblin, so you should keep in mind that there might still be survivors related to that."
Recalling the human-sized Goblin that had been killed in a single blow by Eberogi, Rei spoke. The adventurers, including Sulnin, showed slight looks of surprise.
If the Goblins were being led by a Hobgoblin, they judged the situation to be significantly more troublesome.
In reality, the only Hobgoblin survivor to successfully flee the Goblin settlement had been the one killed by Eberogi... but there was no way for Rei to know that.
Regardless, thanks to his words, the group’s relaxed vigilance tightened back up. From the perspective of the veterans like Sulnin, they had no complaints.
"I understand. Thank you for the warning. ...Everyone, did you hear that? Our enemies are not just Goblins; there is a possibility that a Hobgoblin is present. Do not let your guard down."
Watching Sulnin address the members of the subjugation force, Rei shifted his gaze to Mirene, who was hugging Set with a look of pure bliss.
(Looking at this, would anyone actually believe Mirene is the leader of Scorching Wind?)
Probably not. While wearing a dry smile inwardly, Rei approached Sulnin again.
"Well then, I should be heading out... is that alright?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you for the information. It goes without saying for you, Rei-san, but please be careful."
"Yeah, though there probably aren't many opponents who can do anything to us while we're in the air. If there are, it would be someone targeting us from the ground with magic or a bow... but if I find someone like that, it looks like your party leader would probably cut them down before I could."
"Ah, hahaha. That sounds so plausible that I can't even deny it."
Sulnin spoke with a wry laugh, and Ekryl nodded silently beside him as if to say 'absolutely.'
Exchanging small smiles with the two of them, Rei walked over to Set.
"Hey, Mirene. You have your own job to do, don't you? Is it really okay to just keep fussing over Set?"
"Uuu... I know, I know, but..."
Still hugging the soft feathers of Set's neck, Mirene agonized to the point of torment... before finally, slowly, pulling away.
"Guru?"
Are you going already? Set tilted its head and stared at her with its round eyes. Mirene's fingers trembled as if she were suffering from withdrawal symptoms... but she clenched her hands tightly to sever her lingering attachment and averted her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Set-chan. I'm in the middle of a job right now, so let's play again when we meet back in Gilm."
"Gurululu."
Set let out a disappointed cry and lowered its gaze to the ground.
Judging that she wouldn't be able to stand it if she kept looking at the gryphon, Mirene ran back to her group as if fleeing.
Several tears spilled from her eyes as she went.
(...So her sense of duty as an adventurer managed to outweigh her affection for Set, huh.)
Rei muttered in his heart as he watched Mirene's retreating figure.
"Did you get enough play time with Mirene?"
"Guru!"
I wanted to play a bit more, Set cried. Rei scratched its head.
Playing with someone who showed it such intense affection was something Set enjoyed very much as well.
However, Rei continued to speak to Set apologetically.
"Sorry, Set. Right now, our priority is to get back to Gilm and let Lord Daskar know about the Bloody Blade business. And Mirene and the others have to go subjugate Goblins, too."
"Gurululu..."
Hearing Rei's explanation, Set looked down disappointedly.
It was understandable. After all, once they returned to Gilm, they would be heading out to the Bestia Empire soon, so they would be away from the city for another long stretch.
"Come on, you've still got me, right? I'll buy you some grilled skewers when we get back to Gilm."
"...Guru!"
Set hesitated for a few seconds at Rei's words, but eventually lay down on the ground in a position that was easy for Rei to mount.
"Sorry about that."
"Set-chaaan, see you later!"
Mirene's voice called out from a short distance as Set stood up with Rei on its back.
"Gurulululu!"
Set cried out in response to Mirene's voice, then after a few steps of a run-up, it flapped its wings and soared into the sky.
Rei took a quick glance at the ground as they rose and saw Sulnin grabbing Mirene—who looked like a mother being separated from her child—by the collar and dragging her away.
A while after parting from Mirene and the others, Gilm's city walls came into view at the end of Rei's aerial gaze.
"How about that? We arrived without any problems. We weren't even attacked by any monsters."
"Guru!"
Since I’m here, of course not! Set trilled. Rei stroked its neck with a smile.
In fact, they had spotted flying monsters several times, but all of them had quickly moved away as soon as they noticed Set's presence.
They must have understood that they stood no chance of winning.
"That's true, with Set around, I don't have to worry about that sort of thing."
As Rei said that, Set flapped its wings and began its descent toward the ground.
They landed in a spot away from the main gate and then headed toward the entrance, which was quite crowded as it was still before noon.
Since almost no one at the main gate was seeing Set for the first time, there was no particular commotion. After finishing the procedures, Rei and Set headed toward the Lord's mansion.