Rei looked ahead to where the Gamelion had collapsed onto the ground.
Under the combined assault of the group led by Lento and Johanna, the creature’s life had finally flickered out.
The battle had followed a steady rhythm: Lento would intercept the Gamelion's attacks with his shield, and Johanna’s team would strike during the resulting openings.
Because he had blocked nearly every blow from its fangs, ears, and tail, Lento’s metal shield was now covered in deep gouges and even showed signs of warping.
"Ugh, man. I’ll have to take this to a blacksmith for repairs... actually, at this rate, it might be faster to just buy a new one," Lento muttered, looking down at his shield with a fed-up expression.
"This thing is incredible," one of the male members of the former Mobile Unit said, sounding impressed. "When we fought alongside those guys from Beast’s Fang, we mostly just focused on dodging. I didn't realize it actually had this much raw power."
The Gamelion was nearly three meters long, its massive frame packed with dense muscle.
The sheer weight behind its strikes was evident from the state of the metal shield.
"Since Lento drew all the aggro, we barely took any damage. ...Thanks."
"Haha, I’m a tank, remember? This was nothing."
Lento grinned back at Johanna’s words of gratitude.
He couldn't hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He had clearly achieved his goal of showing her his best side.
To Lento, the point of this Gamelion hunting trip—even more than the meat—was to prove his worth to Johanna. Having succeeded, it was only natural for him to be in high spirits.
"No injuries, then. Excellent coordination," Rei remarked as he approached the Gamelion.
"Well, of course. Aside from Lento, the rest of us served in the same unit. Teamwork was hammered into us whether we liked it or not."
"...That’s for sure. During the drills with Rei-san, if we didn't have our coordination down, we would've just been hunted one-sidedly."
"Honestly, needing more coordination in training than in an actual life-or-death battle is... well, I have my doubts about that logic."
"Fufu, you might be right. To be honest, the training sessions were many times harsher than real combat."
As Johanna and the others spoke, Lento turned an exasperated look toward Rei.
Despite the freezing winter sky, steam was rising from Lento’s body after his intense exertion, which only added a quiet persuasiveness to his disbelief.
"Rei, what on earth kind of training were you putting them through?"
"It really wasn't anything I’d call 'that' strict, you know?"
"That’s a lie!"
Rei muttered his defense while storing the Gamelion carcass into his Misty Ring, only for Johanna and the others to shout their objections in perfect unison.
The seamless timing of their denial expressed their shared trauma better than any explanation could. Rei simply shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unbothered.
"Good grief. I didn't expect my former subordinates to gang up on me like this."
"...It's only natural. If you're going to call that training 'not strict,' we have no choice but to disagree," one of the former Mobile Unit men muttered feelingly.
"Rei, seriously... what kind of training did you actually do?"
Rei shook his head at Lento’s question, looking as though he had a perfectly clear conscience.
"I didn't think it was that bad. Besides, don't you think it's better for training to be harder than the real thing? It means you can survive a battle without even having to push yourself as hard as you did in practice."
"I... can't really argue with that, but still..."
"Right? ...Anyway, that’s two—well, technically one and a half Gamelions. Do you want to keep looking? I think the guild set a limit on how many a single party can hunt now that they're in season, right?"
At Rei's question, Lento looked up.
The sky was a dull, winter gray. The clouds looked heavy enough to drop rain or snow at any moment.
"The limit is five, so I’d like to bag at least two or three more. But it wouldn't be a joke if we got caught in a storm on the way back to Gilm. What do you think?"
"I'm sure Seto-chan would be fine even in the snow."
"Johanna, I'm not talking about Seto. I'm talking about us," the former Mobile Unit man sighed.
Johanna’s obsession with Seto was famous among the former unit members, so they let the comment slide without further argument.
"Well then, shall I go find us another one?"
"Please."
Lento bowed his head. Rei gave a casual wave and shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. As long as I'm compensated properly, I don't mind a little extra work."
Anyone who knew Rei’s usual personality would have been at least slightly surprised by that statement.
That was just how much he had enjoyed the cheese Lento provided. To Rei, a bit of trouble was a small price to pay for another taste. He had found that much value in it.
(I thought the process for making cheese was mostly the same... I wonder how they got such a different flavor?)
Of course, Rei didn't know the specifics of cheesemaking. At most, he’d seen a documentary back in Japan or made cottage cheese once in a school home economics class by adding lemon to milk. He couldn't begin to guess how Lento’s cheese became so rich and addictive.
(Maybe they use monster ingredients? ...Yeah, that actually seems quite plausible.)
He satisfied himself with that thought.
"Alright, I'm heading back to where Seto is. Wait here for a bit."
"Ah, Rei-san. Should we stay here? Or head back to the cart?"
"Oh... right. Go back to the cart. If I'm riding Seto, there won't be anyone left to guard it. You guys must be tired from the fight, so take your time. Monsters aren't likely to attack a spot that reeks of Seto anyway."
With that, Rei left Lento and the others and took off running toward the cart. He intentionally chose not to mention the fact that he had nearly been robbed by other adventurers.
"Whoa... as expected of Rei-san. He isn't just fast; he’s a blur."
One of the former Mobile Unit men couldn't help but mutter as Rei vanished from sight in an instant. Though no one else spoke, they all shared the same sentiment.
(Just knowing that I won't have to face that guy as an enemy if a war breaks out makes the move from the Bestia Empire to the Kingdom of Mireana worth it.)
The three men reached the same conclusion simultaneously. Johanna, however, didn't feel quite as strongly—mostly because her primary motivation for being in Gilm was Seto.
"Well, we can't stand around here forever. Let's get back to the cart."
Everyone nodded at Lento’s suggestion and left the clearing where they had fought the Gamelion. Nearby lay several Goblin corpses the beast had mauled, and the air was thick with the scent of blood. If a monster caught the smell, it would surely investigate. Though, few monsters were desperate enough to actually enjoy the taste of a Goblin.
Given the location, it was best to move on quickly if they wanted to avoid a pointless fight.
"Hmm. Looking down from up here, there really are a lot of people out for Gamelions. I guess they're trying to make up for the late start by earning as much as they can while they can..."
Rei muttered as he looked down at the ground from Seto’s back.
He saw some parties moving with Gamelions loaded onto their carts, while others were already performing blood draining and Gamelion dismantling right where they had made the kill. He could even see some adventurers currently locked in combat.
"It’s definitely the peak of the season. And with this weather, it wouldn't be surprising if the real snow started any time now."
Rei looked up at the clouds. Unlike last year, the snow was late this year. Considering the Gamelion incident, that was a stroke of luck. Fighting a Gamelion in deep snow would be a nightmare.
Even on the prairie, the ground was underneath. If it snowed, it would turn into a muddy mess, making it impossible to keep your footing. There was also the risk of wet grass tangling around one's legs. Fighting an opponent as fast as a Gamelion in those conditions would be a struggle for anyone who wasn't significantly stronger than the beast.
Rei’s expression darkened for a moment, but he quickly cleared his face.
"Well, we've already secured enough Gamelion meat for our own use... no need to get too desperate."
"Guruuu!"
I want to eat Gamelion meat! Seto trilled.
Stroking the back of Seto's neck, Rei smiled.
"You're right. The dismantling at the guild should be mostly finished by now. Even if it isn't, we should go pick up a bit of our share for dinner."
"Gurururururuuu!"
Seto let out a cry of pure joy.
Hearing that sound, several Gamelions on the ground below sensed the danger and immediately bolted... but Rei and Seto didn't care. They were too busy dreaming of Gamelion meat.
It was delicious even as a simple steak, but additional prep like stewing brought out even more flavor. The sandwich using Gamelion meat they’d had recently was a perfect example.
Despite being a simple meal of meat between bread... or rather, because it was so simple, the quality of the ingredients shone through. Furthermore, if you steamed the meat to render off the excess fat instead of boiling it, it was exquisite when paired with a sweet and sour fruit sauce or a rich walnut sauce.
"Ah, man. Now I'm really craving Gamelion meat."
Just imagining the dishes made his stomach growl in protest.
"Gurururuu."
Rei wasn't the only one. Seto trilled a hungry response.
"For now, let's just have a snack to tie us over."
Rei pulled some dried Orc meat from the Misty Ring, gave some to Seto, and popped a piece into his own mouth. The concentrated umami spread across his tongue, momentarily silencing his grumbling stomach.
However, the relief was short-lived. If anything, the snack only served to sharpen his appetite.
"Mm, can't be helped. Let's have a little more."
"Guruu!"
Agreed! Seto trilled energetically.
Rei offered a small smile at his partner’s enthusiasm. Next, he pulled out a sandwich containing a chunk of stewed meat.
...The balance was objectively terrible, given the massive size of the meat relative to the thin slices of bread. But it was exactly that oversized filling that made it look so appetizing.
Because he had stored them in the Misty Ring immediately after they were made, the meat was still warm. Rei could feel the heat through the bread.
However, they were currently flying at an altitude of about a hundred meters in the middle of winter under overcast skies. Once removed from storage, the sandwiches began to cool rapidly.
"Whoops. The Dragon Robe's temperature adjustment function is great, but it's a shame it doesn't extend to the things I'm holding. It'd be nice if my food stayed warm too."
He gave one to Seto and bit into his own. Meat juices flooded his mouth. The freshly baked bread soaked up the savory liquid, while the crisp leafy vegetables added a satisfying crunch.
"Yeah, this is the stuff. ...The bread is still a bit thin for this much meat, but I'm not complaining."
"Gurururuu!"
Rei still had more than half of his sandwich left, but Seto had already finished its portion and was trilling for more.
Rei reached for another sandwich to satisfy his partner, but then he spotted something—a Gamelion moving on the ground below.
Fortunately, no other adventurers seemed to have noticed it yet. If they headed back now, Johanna and Lento’s group could be the first to reach it.
"Sorry, Seto. The next sandwich is on hold. Make do with this."
He handed the rest of his own sandwich to Seto, who trilled happily as if to say it didn't mind at all.
"Alright, let's head back to the cart. I want to grab that one before anyone else does."
"Gurururururuuu!"
Seto let out a high-pitched cry, flapped its powerful wings, and banked back toward the carriage.