Rei — or more precisely, Death Scythe — and Set finished absorbing their magic stones and were walking toward the house Elena and the others had borrowed.
Even so, Set still hadn't quite shaken off its disappointed expression, and from Rei's perspective, it seemed to be lacking its usual energy.
Was it that disappointed about not absorbing the Aerowing's magic stone? ...Well, I can understand.
Just like Death Scythe's Flying Slash, several of Set's skills were wind attribute. Wind Arrow and Tornado were among them.
Wind Arrow had low power but excelled in attack speed, and since it was an arrow made of wind, it was difficult for enemies to see. Though Set possessed many skills, Wind Arrow could be considered one of its more frequently used ranged attacks.
And above all, there was Tornado.
The technique that had earned Rei the alias "Crimson" — Fire Whirlwind. That attack, which seemed capable of sweeping away everything in the vicinity, had as its starting points Rei's Flame Magic and Set's Tornado skill. By pouring in Rei's skills and a large amount of mana, the two would grow and fuse, ultimately becoming a tornado of fire... Fire Whirlwind.
In other words, strengthening Tornado would also lead to strengthening Fire Whirlwind.
That was precisely why Set had wanted the Aerowing's magic stone — but the prospect of raising the level of his own Flying Slash was equally tempting to Rei, and in the end, Set had yielded and given up the stone.
"Guruuu..."
That Rei's — Death Scythe's — Flying Slash would become more powerful was, of course, not something Set opposed. If anything, it welcomed the idea. That its beloved Rei would grow stronger was naturally a joy for Set, and it had no complaints about that.
Even so, the desire to have absorbed the Aerowing's magic stone itself was something that undeniably remained within Set.
Reaching out, Rei gently placed his hand on the head of Set, who was walking beside him.
"Hey, there are still Aerowings in the forest, so let's look forward to exploring it this afternoon. Alright?"
"Gurururu."
Perhaps Rei's words had lifted its spirits somewhat, Set purred with more energy than it had mustered a few seconds prior.
Rei then pulled a sandwich from the Misty Ring and handed it over.
Hardly any time had passed since lunch, but even so, one or two sandwiches posed no obstacle to Set's appetite. It happily finished the sandwich Rei had given it... and having nearly bounced back to full energy, began walking alongside Rei with a spring in its step.
I'm the one who gave it the sandwich, so maybe I shouldn't be saying this — but didn't its mood fix way too easily?
Rei understood that Set was weak to food, but seeing its mood restored by a single sandwich still made him slightly uneasy. What if, someday, it got lured away by food and ended up in serious trouble?
...But it wasn't as though Set accepted food from just anyone. It used its five senses, Sixth Sense, and mana detection ability to judge whether someone was friendly. Against those who approached with hostility — or with the intent to use Set or Rei for their own purposes — it would never act affectionately, grow attached, much less accept food.
"Guruu, Gururuu... Gururuu?"
Set had been purring contentedly, but as they neared the house Elena and the others had borrowed, it suddenly directed its gaze forward.
Reflected in that gaze were two small figures approaching straight toward it.
One was Poro, running along the ground with its nine tails streaming in the wind. The other was Ielo, flying through the air while flapping its wings vigorously. Both were closing in on Set at full speed.
One running on the ground, one flying through the air. Normally, the one in the air would be faster — but in this particular case, it was Poro on the ground that held the advantage in speed.
And yet... the one who ultimately reached the goal — Set's back — first was Ielo.
For Poro, running on the ground, to reach Set's back, it would have had to climb up from Set's legs or use Rei as a wall and execute a Triangle Jump. However, Rei's position wasn't suitable for that maneuver, leaving Poro with no choice but to climb up Set's body.
By comparison, Ielo only needed to land directly on Set's back. It did need to slow down before landing, but spreading its wings to catch air resistance made that easy.
As a result, despite Poro winning on speed, it was Ielo who claimed victory.
"Kyuuu! Kyuu, kyuu!"
"Porururu..."
In contrast to Ielo's triumphant purring, Poro wore a thoroughly dejected look. Having had confidence in its speed, it had probably never imagined it would lose. What played out there was a clear-cut picture of winner and loser.
"Gururururu."
Set rumbled at the two of them. It wasn't scolding them for racing to its back — rather, it was a cry that seemed to tell them to get along better. Sure enough, hearing that sound, Ielo and Poro ceased their competition and lay down peacefully together on Set's back.
Acting like the elder of the group.
In reality, Set was older than Ielo but younger than Poro... though neither Rei nor Set would ever know that. The fact that Poro was only slightly larger than a squirrel likely fueled the misconception.
"Poro suddenly bolted, so I wondered where it had gone..."
"Looks like it caught wind of Set and went with Ielo."
Emerging from the premises as they called out were Elena and As, each geared up well enough that "complete equipment" would be an apt description. Behind them, the figures of Marina, Vihera, Ara, and Byune came into view, similarly outfitted.
"Full preparation, huh," Rei muttered, surveying the six of them.
"My, that goes for you too, doesn't it, Rei? ...Well, in your case, you never needed to prepare equipment in the first place." Marina told him, looking slightly envious. The others were directing similar gazes his way.
"Even if you say that. My weapon takes up space and is nothing but a nuisance if I carry it around normally."
Rei's Death Scythe had a shaft roughly two meters long, and its blade exceeded one meter. Walking around holding such a massive weapon would be extremely conspicuous. And no matter how light it was in Rei's hands, its sheer size made it naturally cumbersome.
Additionally, one of Rei's preferred attack methods was throwing spears — but he couldn't exactly go out of his way to carry those around either. If he did, he'd be lugging several to a dozen-odd spears with Death Scythe in hand — a look that could by no means be called appropriate for walking through inhabited areas.
"Hehe, that would be amusing in its own way, though. I'd love to see that side of you if possible. ...But spears and such would just get in the way during a fight, wouldn't they?"
Vihera herself wore light, thin garments as armor, so she likely had an aversion to heavy equipment. As, who likewise prioritized agility and wore only a leather chest plate rather than full leather armor, shared her sentiment.
As that exchange continued, Marina eventually spoke up.
"Now then, let's head to the forest soon. In the sense of investigating the abnormalities occurring there, I want to properly survey the surrounding area — even if it's within the labyrinth barrier."
"It's a bit late to say this now that we've prepared, but hasn't the World Tree's treatment been completed? If so, is there really a need for us to go out of our way to investigate and resolve those abnormalities? Won't they naturally sort themselves out as time passes?"
As Elena asked, sliding her fingers along the sheath where Mirage rested, Marina shook her head.
"Certainly, now that the World Tree has recovered, it might naturally heal given time. But it also might not. Given that uncertainty, I'd prefer to deal with these abnormalities now while we can."
No one objected. As — the only one among them who had just recently met Rei and the others — had originally come to investigate the forest's abnormalities, so if they could be resolved, he considered that the best possible outcome.
Marina looked around at everyone, confirmed that no one had any complaints, gave a small nod, and spoke.
"Then, shall we decide on the team formations?"
"...Team formations?" Rei muttered, wondering why such a term had come up.
Marina nodded as if it were obvious and continued.
"Understand? Almost everyone here possesses more than sufficient combat power."
At those words, nearly everyone present nodded in response. Rei, Elena, Vihera, and the like — those who had confidence in their own abilities. Ara also had a reasonable degree of confidence in terms of pure combat prowess. As, as a C-Rank adventurer, also had a fair amount of confidence in his abilities alongside Poro.
...Only Byune lacked confidence in her own fighting ability and remained silent.
Marina's words continued as she surveyed the group.
"With people of such strength present, moving together as one large group is inefficient. On the other hand, acting individually makes it difficult to communicate with others if something happens. Given that, it's better to split into groups of two or three."
"...Does that include me?"
The one who said that aloud was Rei. He himself had confidence in his combat power, and he also had Set by his side. The two of them alone would constitute more than sufficient force — that was certain.
Marina likely understood that as well. She looked toward Rei and Set, thinking for a moment. She knew there was no issue in terms of combat power. But in the event Rei became unable to move, even if Set came to notify someone, having no one who could communicate with it would be a painful loss.
Well, but would Rei actually get into some kind of trouble?
That was a thought born from knowing Rei's true strength. It wasn't that she thought he could beat anyone or anything. But even so, considering his strength, she didn't think that even a moderately strong monster appearing in this forest would pose any real problem.
Besides...
Noticing the gazes directed at her, she sought out their source. Since she was the one speaking, it was only natural that attention was on her — but two of those gazes were more intense than the rest.
Elena and Vihera.
They're probably thinking I'll use this opportunity to pair up with Rei.
As the Guild Master, as the Elder's granddaughter of this settlement, and as Marina — she considered what choice she would make... then finally turned toward Rei and spoke.
"That's right. If it's you and Set, getting through any problems that arise wouldn't be difficult. However, be careful not to go too high when flying. It's fine while you're inside, but if you go too high, you might come into contact with the labyrinth barrier deployed up there."
Well, Rei would probably just break through the labyrinth barrier as a matter of course, Marina added jokingly, and everyone who heard it let out a small laugh — because they understood that those words were true. But at the same time, they also understood that Rei would never do such a thing. He had come to treat the World Tree; there was no way he would jeopardize that.
"So with that, Rei, you're with Set. As for the remaining members..."
Marina's gaze turned toward the rest. Elena, Vihera, Ara, Byune, As, and herself.
Counting Poro, that's six people and one creature... in that case, two groups of three? Or three groups of two?
Marina hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided that covering as many directions as possible would be better, and chose three pairs.
"Elena and Ara, Vihera and Byune, and me with As. ...It's a bit safe, but how about these pairings?"
Those pairings were, exactly as Marina had described, appropriately called "safe." But at the same time, the combinations of Ara and Byune — who were accustomed to supporting Elena and Vihera respectively — could also be said to be well-suited for bringing out everyone's full potential.
Now, if I can coordinate well with As...
And so, the team formations were decided without issue.