Covered head to toe in Aerowing meat, bone, and viscera, Set—whose five senses were sharp—found the situation unbearable.
As Set gazed toward Rei with a sad purr, Rei silently took the Dagger of Flowing Water from the Misty Ring.
An ordinary adventurer would carry a leather waterskin... and those with wagons or the like often kept barrels of water on hand.
In a forest, there was a chance of finding a river, but that wasn't guaranteed.
And humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, and other rare races all fundamentally needed water to survive.
The reason he said "fundamentally" was that among the rare races, there were some that didn't require water at all.
Regardless, carrying water was essential for any adventurer.
In that regard, Rei was a fairly rare existence.
Since he possessed the Misty Ring, he could carry as many water barrels as he wanted.
And it was indeed a fact that several water barrels were stored inside the Misty Ring.
However... when Rei needed water, what he typically used was a Magic Item called the Dagger of Flowing Water.
It was originally a dagger with the ability to manipulate water as a weapon according to the owner's will, but since Rei specialized in the fire attribute, despite having enough magic power to fully restore the World Tree, he could only produce a trickle of water.
But the water created using Rei's magic power was delicious enough to be called Celestial Nectar.
It could easily be called one of the finest waters in all of Elgin.
Rei poured that water over Set without any hesitation.
If someone who knew how delicious the water from Rei's Dagger of Flowing Water was had seen this, they would have screamed.
(Come to think of it, if I sold this water, I'd never have to worry about money. ...Well, I've never tested how long it maintains its taste, so I don't know.)
The feathers, blood, fragments of meat, bone, and viscera stuck in Set's fur gradually washed away. They washed away, but... Set purred with a disappointed tone.
That was because the water flowing from the Dagger of Flowing Water could only be described as a trickle, and it was nowhere near enough to wash Set's body, which exceeded two meters in height.
What was needed in this situation was not the quality of the water, but the quantity.
Realizing this, Rei splashed water on Set while looking troubled and spoke up.
"Hey, Set. At this rate, we'll never get you properly washed. I heard there's a spring or river between the Protective Barrier and the Barrier of Lost Ways. Want to go look for it?"
"Gururu?"
Set tilted its head as if asking, does it really exist?
Normally, that would be a gesture one could call adorable, but unfortunately, Set was currently covered in Aerowing remains.
Even tilting its head in this state had an almost eerie quality to it.
But Rei showed no sign of fear at Set's appearance and continued speaking.
"Jusura said she was kidnapped while napping at a place like that, so I'm sure it exists. I don't know where exactly, though."
"Gurururu! ...Gyan!"
Set had purred as if to say leave it to me!, but the next moment, a scream rang out.
It had used the Sense of Smell Enhancement skill, but since it used it here—a place where Aerowing remains were scattered—it must have screamed from an unexpectedly foul stench.
(It tried to smell water and smelled blood instead, huh. ...Its sense of smell is sharp enough as it is. The Aerowing couldn't beat Set at all in a normal fight, but to think it would land a revenge hit here of all places. Well, I'm sure Set isn't happy about it.)
Even if someone told Rei that the fragments of their own corpse had damaged Set's sense of smell, Rei wouldn't be pleased at all.
For one thing, if you were dead, even if you got a revenge hit in, that was the end of it.
(I guess it really comes down to surviving yourself, huh.)
Surviving yourself was what gave things meaning.
That was an irrefutable fact in Rei's mind.
"Gururu..."
"Ah, sorry. Let's move away from here a bit, then. Also, if we're looking for a river, there's another method besides the smell of water: listening for the sound of water. ...Well, that won't work without flowing water, so finding a spring or something would be difficult."
"Guru!"
As if trying to make up for the earlier failure, Set let out an energetic cry.
Then, to try to pick up the sound of water, it closed its eyes and focused its hearing.
(Set has the Sense of Smell Enhancement skill, but it doesn't have a Hearing Enhancement skill, so from here on it's entirely dependent on raw ability. Still, if I consider that it's Set's raw ability, I'm not worried.)
So as not to disturb Set while it concentrated on listening, Rei silently watched over it.
When he turned his gaze toward the Aerowing remains scattered around, insects had already gathered there... including giant bugs about ten centimeters long, as well as swarms of small ants.
(The fact that they don't seem afraid of Set probably means they don't have very high intelligence. No, wait—the lack of developed intelligence means they're wild, and in that case, wouldn't it be strange for them not to sense Set as a threat?)
For the insects, Aerowing meat and viscera were nothing short of a feast.
Especially since the meat had been smashed to pieces, they didn't need to bother tearing off small bits, which must have been a help to the smaller bugs.
(I just hope they don't eat the Aerowing meat and turn into monsters.)
The only things increasing in number were insects; no animals were present.
This was probably because most animals in the area felt fear toward Set.
"Guru!"
The sound of Set's cry reached Rei's ears as he watched a line of small ants carrying fragments of meat one after another.
Considering the happy tone in that cry, Rei could tell that Set had probably heard the sound of water or something.
"Did you hear the sound of water?"
"Guru!"
As if to say that's right, Set purred and tugged Rei's Dragon Robe with its beak, indicating it wanted to hurry up and go.
Set probably didn't want to linger here where Aerowing meat fragments were scattered.
(There's a saying about a "lake of wine and a forest of meat," but while there's no lake of wine here, it's definitely a forest of meat.)
Looking at the sight of Aerowing viscera hanging from a nearby tree branch, Rei left the area together with Set.
"Guru... Gurururu..."
As they walked through the forest, Set used its tail to knock off the pieces of meat and viscera clinging to its body.
Rei helped as well, removing the fragments of meat and viscera from spots that Set's tail couldn't reach.
Every now and then, bone fragments were tangled in Set's fur, so rather than doing it carelessly, he had to carefully comb through the fur. Otherwise, the bones could pierce Rei's hand or pull out Set's fur.
"Why are we even doing this?"
"Gururu."
In response to Rei's words, Set let out a small purr as if apologizing.
It was likely true that Set had been carried away by the power of Power Crush.
On top of that, it had combined the Bracelet of Herculean Strength with a falling strike, so reaching this state was, in a way, only natural.
Seeing Set looking sad, Rei realized that even though he hadn't intended it that way, his words could be taken as scolding. He hurriedly stroked Set.
...His hands were covered in blood and meat fragments, but without paying any mind to that at the moment, he called out to Set.
"Anyone can make mistakes, so don't worry about it. Besides, you thought that increasing Power Crush's level would benefit me, right? Then I'm not going to blame you for it."
Rei stroked the dejected Set's head while speaking to it, and for the next few minutes, he continued petting it. As they walked while being stroked, Set seemed to finally recover, and its stride began to brim with energy once more.
They walked for another ten-odd minutes. Eventually, the sound of flowing water reached Rei's ears as well.
"There's a river here."
"Guru!"
At Rei's murmur, Set purred happily.
And as they passed through the trees of the forest... the next moment, a river appeared before Rei and Set.
However, it wasn't particularly large.
The depth ranged from ankle-deep to knee-deep at most.
The distance to the opposite bank was about seven to eight meters.
It was a shallow river, not deep enough to dive into, but it was more than sufficient for washing Set's body.
"Guru..."
Set let out a slightly disappointed cry, perhaps because it had wanted to dive in and play if possible.
The appeal of diving and chasing fish was likely because Set was a Gryphon with raptor traits. Its fondness for fish might come from its lion... or more accurately, its feline traits.
"Come on, Set. You wanted to wash your body, right? Come over here."
Storing the Dragon Robe and Sleipnir boots in the Misty Ring, the now lighter Rei called out to Set.
"Gurururu!"
In response to Rei's call, Set immediately chose being washed by Rei over diving for fish and headed toward him.
Even though they had removed a fair amount of meat and viscera fragments during the walk, it still wasn't completely clean.
If Set charged at him in its current state, Rei would also end up with meat and viscera on his body... so he hastily scooped up river water and began washing Set.
"Gurururu!"
Perhaps because Rei's hands washing its body felt good, Set let out a happy cry.
Watching that, Rei noticed that a smile had unconsciously formed on his own lips.
Having someone happy about what you were doing was apparently just that satisfying.
"Come on, don't flail around too much. ...The blood's starting to clot around here. I'll pour a bit more water, so hold still."
"Guru!"
Set nodded, and perhaps as a result of that or perhaps due to its instinct as a Gryphon, it shook its body like a dog when wet.
Naturally, that meant the water splashed onto Rei, who was nearby...
"Whoa!"
Rei let out a small yelp at the large amount of water that hit him.
Still, thanks to the fact that it was currently spring, the river water wasn't that cold.
Today was sunny, and even in the forest it was a bit hot, so the water's coolness actually felt pleasant.
Even so, getting wet wasn't very amusing for Rei, so he scooped up river water and splashed it onto Set.
"Guru! ...Gurururu!"
Set was startled by the sudden splash of water, but the next moment, it slammed its forelegs onto the water's surface and splashed Rei back.
"Whoa, you got me, Set. Then take this!"
And so began a water-splashing match in the middle of the river.
The two of them—one person and one beast—splashed water at each other with abandon.
...Since both Rei and Set had physical abilities far surpassing those of an ordinary human, they dodged the water coming at them and tried to splash the other in a counterattack... which the other would then dodge, and so on. It was an exchange using physical abilities so advanced that it could hardly be called playful banter.
(Normally, isn't this the kind of thing you'd do with a lover?)
While playing... no, fighting with Set, a classic manga scene Rei had read back in Japan suddenly came to mind.
Instead of a river, the setting had been a beach or a pool, where lovers splashed each other with water in a cliché exchange of "Take that!" "Eek, you did that! Then take this—!" "Whoa, you're good."
(Why am I playing around like this with Set, of all partners? ...Not that I mind.)
Thinking such things while exchanging splashes, Rei suddenly noticed something at the bottom of the water... a small crab.
"Oh, a crab. Set, there's a crab."
"Guru?"
Interested by Rei's words, or perhaps just by the word "crab," Set temporarily stopped splashing Rei and approached.
It wasn't as if this was Set's first time seeing a crab.
When they had gone to the port town of Emotion, Set had eaten crab on several occasions.
(Well, I'm more of a shrimp person than a crab person.)
Looking at the small crab no bigger than a fingertip, Rei muttered to himself.
It was fine just looking at it, but when it came to eating, Rei far preferred shrimp over crab.
Above all, the texture of shrimp suited Rei's tastes, and if it was shrimp, he felt like he could eat as much as he wanted.
Because the texture was what he liked, Rei's preference was for larger shrimp; small shrimp, despite being shrimp, were not to Rei's liking.
(I want to eat fried shrimp.)
Thinking such thoughts, Rei enjoyed playing in the river with Set.
...Having completely forgotten about investigating the forest abnormality.
It would be a little while longer before the two of them—one person and one beast—remembered.