Under a cloudy sky, in a cold that felt as though it could snow at any moment, Rei’s entourage traveled by carriage from Gilm toward the Forest of Magic to begin Gamelion Hunting.
“There are quite a lot of people out here.”
One of the former Mobile Unit men muttered as he looked out the window of the box carriage.
His gaze fell upon several adventurer parties. Some were small groups of three, while others were large parties of nearly ten members.
Rei’s group was comprised of Rei himself, Lento, and the members of the former Mobile Unit—Johanna and three men—totaling six people. With the addition of Seto, they were certainly on the larger side in terms of headcount.
Of course, their combat potential was far higher than their numbers suggested, but that went without saying.
Lento, sitting in the back of the carriage, spoke up in response to the man’s observation.
“Well, Rei solved the mystery of why Gamelions were so scarce this year. It was all because of that dungeon.”
“Hey, Lento. Just to be clear, that’s not a proven fact yet, okay?”
“Not necessarily. I heard that parties out Gamelion Hunting over the last few days have actually been encountering them, and many have already made kills. Given that, I think it’s safe to say what Rei told the guild was correct.”
“Guruuu!”
Walking alongside the carriage, Seto must have been happy to hear Rei being praised. It let out a delighted trill.
Johanna couldn't remain silent at Seto's display; she turned a longing gaze toward the gryphon outside the window, her desire to pet it practically radiating from her eyes.
Since this was a frequent occurrence, everyone inside the box carriage directed lukewarm stares at her. Among them, Lento’s gaze toward Johanna was particularly intense—a fact understood by everyone except Lento and Johanna themselves.
“H-Hey! Can someone swap with me soon!?”
The small sliding door leading to the coach box opened, and one of the former Mobile Unit men called out while shivering.
Being stationed on the coach box to handle the horses meant the man was directly exposed to the biting winter air. No matter how much winter gear he wore over his armor, it was a different story when the rest of the party was sheltered inside the box carriage.
The other two men made sour faces at the request.
Rei was the group’s primary combatant and their benefactor in this hunt. Johanna was unlikely to take over as the driver, as she wouldn't be able to watch Seto while focusing on the horses. Lento had organized this entire outing and certainly wouldn't want to be separated from Johanna.
Inevitably, the task of heading to the driver's seat fell to one of the remaining two men.
The two exchanged silent glances for a moment until one of them finally let out a sigh and stood up. The visible relief on the face of the man staying behind suggested that their wordless negotiation had reached a conclusion.
“Fine. I’ll swap with you. Get back in here.”
“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.”
After the brief exchange, the man stepped out through the door to the coach box.
Watching the scene unfold, Rei directed a somewhat exasperated look toward Lento.
(He really didn't have to choose such a thorny path.)
From what Rei could see, it was clear that Johanna didn't dislike Lento. However, that was strictly a lack of dislike; she didn't harbor any romantic feelings toward him. Even if she felt some affection for him, it was likely only the fondness one had for a friend.
Furthermore, on the off chance that Johanna and Lento did get together, Lento was guaranteed to have a difficult time given Johanna’s personality and her obsession with Seto.
(Still, Johanna’s family owns a fairly large merchant company. If Lento marries her, he’d certainly be marrying into money. Not that Lento is actually aiming for that... probably.)
Lento’s gaze toward Johanna was far too passionate for him to be targeting her for her fortune. Anyone looking at Lento’s desperate attempts at courtship would find it hard to believe he had an ulterior motive.
While Rei pondered these things, the carriage continued straight toward the grasslands where Gamelions were known to appear every year.
“There really are a lot of people here.”
“I told you that on the way here, didn't I? News of Rei’s report has spread, and plenty of people are coming out now to hunt Gamelions,” Lento replied as he climbed down from the carriage.
Across the grasslands where the creatures frequently appeared, several parties were already active, visible even from a distance. Rei’s group had overtaken many parties on the road because they were traveling by carriage, yet many others had already arrived and were searching the area.
Normally, Gamelion Hunting required bringing handcarts or similar equipment to transport the heavy carcasses. In that regard, Rei’s entourage had a massive advantage thanks to Rei and his Item Box.
“Alright, Seto and I will head into the sky for some scouting. If we find a target, I’ll come back and let you know. That sound good?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. That would be a huge help.”
Lento, who had been looking for an opportunity to speak to Johanna, answered Rei’s question.
He had tried to talk to her several times during the journey, but he had barely managed to get a word in. Or perhaps, considering they had exchanged at least a few sentences, one could say he had put up a good fight.
(No matter how you look at it, he’s up against impossible competition.)
Johanna’s eyes were fixed on Seto, not Lento. Because she was so enamored with the gryphon, she often unintentionally tuned Lento out whenever he tried to strike up a conversation.
“Guruuu?”
What’s wrong? Seto trilled. Rei stroked the gryphon's head.
“It’s nothing. Come on, help me find a Gamelion.”
“Guruuu!”
Leave it to me! Seto trilled confidently. Rei climbed onto Seto's back, ignoring Johanna’s envious stare as he gave the gryphon a light pat.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Gurululululuuu!”
Seto let out a loud trill and, after a few steps of a head start, flapped its wings and soared into the sky.
Johanna and her companions—and even the other adventurers in the area—watched their departure. However, the looks from the other adventurers weren't filled with admiration, but rather with regret, sadness, envy, and even a touch of jealousy.
It was only natural. Only Rei and Seto could search for prey from above, giving them an overwhelming advantage. Furthermore, many of the people here were serious hunters who gathered every scrap of information they could find. They knew Rei had already defeated a massive number of Gamelions in the dungeon and deposited them at the guild.
You already hunted a mountain of them, so why are you here again? It was only natural for them to think that way.
“Well, in the end, it’s a matter of capability. In that sense, Lento was clever to bring the proposal to me. Though I wouldn't have agreed if it wasn't for that cheese,” Rei muttered atop Seto’s back, sensing the gazes directed at him from below.
“Guruuu?”
“No, it’s nothing. Let’s find ourselves a Gamelion.”
Rei stroked Seto as it tilted its head, then turned his gaze downward.
Despite the winter chill, the grass grew lushly as if the season meant nothing to it. While observing the verdant ground below, Rei searched for a target.
In some areas, several Gamelions were already in combat with adventurers, but he couldn't very well interfere in an ongoing fight. He searched for a Gamelion that hadn't been discovered yet.
“Looking at it like this, the dungeon really was the reason there were so few Gamelions this year.”
From high above, he could see a fair number of the creatures. It certainly wasn't the barren wasteland hunters had been complaining about previously.
“I guess the Gamelion season is finally starting in earnest. ...Well, it’s going to snow soon, so hunting them is going to become a lot more difficult once the real cold kicks in.”
“Guruuu.”
As Rei muttered to himself, Seto suddenly trilled. Following the gryphon's gaze, Rei noticed a single Gamelion curled up in a small grove within the grasslands.
He couldn't tell if it was sleeping or hiding, but the important thing was that no one else had found it yet.
(Still, to be sleeping while so many other Gamelions are fighting nearby... it’s either exceptionally bold or very confident in its own strength.)
If the Gamelion was truly powerful, it might be dangerous for Lento and the others to handle alone. Rei hesitated for a moment about whether to suggest it, but ultimately, the decision to hunt rested with them. Rei was only there as Scouting Personnel.
That said, he was on friendly terms with everyone in the group. If things truly turned dangerous, he intended to step in and help.
“Alright, let’s head back. Thanks for finding it, Seto.”
“Gurululuuu!”
When Rei stroked its back and offered his thanks, Seto let out a happy trill and turned back toward the carriage.
Since he had found a target shortly after ascending, they hadn't flown far. They reached the carriage almost immediately after descending.
“Ah, Rei-san. How was it? Since you’re back so soon, I assume you found one?”
Rei nodded at the question from one of the former Mobile Unit men. The others cheered happily—except for Johanna, who looked like she was suffering from a desperate need to pet Seto.
“There’s a grove a short distance to the west. A Gamelion is curled up inside. I don't know if it’s sleeping, but from what I saw from above, it hasn't been discovered by anyone else.”
“Then let’s go for that one! If it’s sleeping, we can launch a surprise attack. We should go before any other adventurers find it!”
Johanna, acting as the de facto leader of the party, made the decision. Since Rei was strictly there as Scouting Personnel and an outsider to the party, he didn't intend to question her judgment. If it had been an obviously flawed decision, he might have spoken up, but he had no objection this time.
(There really is a chance it’s just sleeping... and we'd definitely have the advantage if it is.)
Rei nodded, and the group was about to head toward the grove when Lento’s voice stopped them.
“Wait a second. If we all go, what happens to the carriage? Granted, there are other adventurers around, and I don't think any idiot would try to steal a carriage while Rei is here, but shouldn't we have a guard just in case? There’s no guarantee that monsters like Goblins won't show up.”
Everyone realized he had a point and turned their gazes toward the carriage.
The carriage the Mobile Unit members had received as a reward for the Civil Strife was not exactly high-performance. It wasn't poorly made, but its quality was only slightly above average. The same applied to the horses. If they were strictly trained warhorses, they could easily stomp a Goblin to death, but these were ordinary horses. If attacked, they would likely bolt.
...Though they did have enough courage to grow accustomed to the Gryphon Seto during the long journey from the Bestia Empire to Gilm. Still, there was a risk that they might lose the carriage entirely.
“You’re right. In that case... Seto, can I count on you?”
“Guruuu!”
Leave it to me! Seto trilled.
Seeing the gryphon's response, the others felt immediately assured of the carriage’s safety. If anyone were foolish enough to mess with a carriage guarded by a gryphon, they could be called a hero in a certain sense—albeit one possessed of nothing but reckless bravado.
With the carriage left in Seto's care, Rei guided the others toward the grove. After walking for about twenty minutes, their destination finally came into view.
“It’s right over there... or at least, it was.”
As he looked toward the grove, Rei heard the unmistakable sounds of combat and shook his head slightly.
“It seems we were a step too—whoa!”
Before he could finish his sentence, Rei reached out and caught something that came flying out from the grove. He hadn't swatted it away or dodged because the object was human-shaped.
“...It seems we might not be too late after all,” he muttered, lowering a small man who appeared to be a Mouse Beastman to the ground. The man was unconscious.