On the morning after camping in the desert, Rei finished getting ready and stepped out of his Magic Tent just as the four members of Sand Dust Claw were coming down from the Sand Ship.
...That's right — while Rei had his Magic Tent, Sand Dust Claw had discarded some of their luggage, including their tent, when fleeing from the Sand Lizardmen. That left them with no place to sleep.
Rei had offered to go back and retrieve it, but they told him the tent had been used as a shield against a trident thrust and was ruined, and besides, they had no idea where they'd lost it. That killed any desire Rei had to go searching.
At first, Rei considered letting them into his Magic Tent, but before he could say anything, Howl apologetically asked if Rei might lend them a room on the Sand Ship instead. Rei readily agreed.
And so the four members of Sand Dust Claw spent the night aboard the Sand Ship.
Naturally, there was some concern about the ship being stolen, but none of Sand Dust Claw's members were mages. While they might have been able to handle common Magic Items, none of them possessed the magical power needed to move something as large as a Sand Ship.
If they'd had a Magic Stone, things might have been different — but having discarded their luggage, that wasn't an option either.
Of course, the bigger reason was that having seen Rei's strength and with Set present, no one could imagine them attempting something as foolish as stealing the ship.
"Rei, good morning."
The first to greet Rei was Kaldina, the sole woman of Sand Dust Claw.
As a fellow spear user who had witnessed his skill up close, and given that he was a high-ranking adventurer and Alias Holder, she held a certain fondness for him — though it was less romantic interest and more deep admiration for someone far stronger than herself.
"Yeah, good morning. You were inside the Sand Ship — did you have any trouble sleeping?"
"No. As you'd expect of a high-performance Magic Item, it was much better than sleeping in a tent. Well, the rooms were completely empty so it was basically a bare inn, but still far more comfortable than sleeping outside."
For a moment, Rei wondered if she was just flattering him for lending out the ship, but the other three looked more energetic and vibrant than they had yesterday.
As Kaldina said, they must have gotten plenty of rest.
Hearing this, another possible use for the Sand Ship came to mind.
(I see — so it works perfectly well as makeshift lodging. It has multiple rooms, and if I furnished them with beds and such...)
The Sand Ship had seemed like a Magic Item of little use to Rei, who operated out of Gilm, since it could only travel over sand. But as a pure replacement for a tent, it might actually be serviceable.
Unlike a normal tent, it had sturdy construction, so there was no need to worry about drafts.
Of course, it wasn't as comfortable as the Magic Tent Rei used, but it was undeniably a more comfortable living space than an ordinary tent.
Naturally, it had several drawbacks as well.
The biggest was, unsurprisingly, the sheer size of the thing.
Large enough to accommodate nearly fifty people, it couldn't simply be deployed anywhere.
Taking out the Sand Ship in the middle of a town or beside a main road would definitely draw attention.
And drawing attention meant there was no guarantee that people harboring unsavory ideas — bandits included — wouldn't come after it...
(It seems usable enough, but it'd probably invite a lot of trouble. Plus there's the issue of keeping watch.)
With a tent, if something — or someone — attacked, you could step outside immediately and intercept them.
But with the Sand Ship, you had to exit the room, make your way to the deck, and from there climb down to the ground.
(Should I think of it more as a portable fortress? ...No, fortress is a stretch. Still, it's definitely sturdier than a tent, and you wouldn't have to worry about nighttime threats. ...More like a mobile hotel, I guess?)
With this new perspective on the Sand Ship's value, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps he should hold off on selling it for a while.
At the very least, he'd need to weigh his options after returning to Gilm.
(Well, since I mostly act solo, I doubt there'll be many occasions to use the Sand Ship as a hotel substitute.)
If it were just Rei sleeping somewhere, the Magic Tent was more than sufficient, and for defense, there was Set.
Moreover, using the Sand Ship as a mobile hotel naturally required Rei and his Misty Ring.
Rei acting solo, and Rei possessing a mobile hotel — when it came to practical applications, the Sand Ship remained cumbersome for him to own.
Even so, the reason Rei began leaning toward keeping the Sand Ship was the realization that it could be useful when traveling with others, as was the case now.
...Of course, while Rei was currently acting solo, once he returned to Gilm and Vihera and Byune came back, they would be traveling together again.
(Two people would fit in the Magic Tent easily enough, though.)
Thinking this, he also felt that perhaps it was about time to properly form a party.
Right now, they were acting together as solo adventurers cooperating with each other, but looking ahead, forming a proper party would be more convenient.
"Rei, shall we eat soon? We should reach Gauche by morning, but I'd still like to have a proper meal."
Brought back to his senses by Kaldina's words, Rei took out food from his Misty Ring beside the Sand Ship and began his meal.
Just like at last night's dinner, the four members of Sand Dust Claw drank water produced from the Dagger of Flowing Water and marveled at its taste, and were similarly impressed by dishes that would normally be impossible to obtain while traveling through the desert — but to Rei, this was close to routine.
"What's important when fighting with a dual-wielding style?"
Rei asked Howl, who was eating a skewer of grilled Orc meat.
Last night, he had experimented with the Twin Spear Style using Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, but he was still far from mastering it.
If asked which was stronger — Rei using the Twin Spear Style, or Rei wielding either Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear alone — even Rei himself would immediately answer the latter.
However, Rei firmly believed that was only for now.
A scythe and a spear — two long weapons with clearly different handling. They were difficult to master, but conversely, if he could master them, he was convinced it would become an extremely powerful form of attack.
(Though I've heard of dual-wielding with swords, I've never heard of a Twin Spear Style. Well, holding a spear — which is heavier than a sword — in one hand is already difficult, so I suppose that's only natural.)
With light daggers, plenty of people dual-wielded.
In fact, at the Gilm Guild, Rei had overheard several thieves boasting about it.
But with a long sword, the weight was on an entirely different level from a dagger.
Wielding a roughly two-kilogram weapon in one hand and swinging it freely...
...And with a spear or scythe, the weight was even heavier than a long sword.
Holding it in one hand — and not just holding it, but needing to move two different weapons freely and independently with the left and right hands.
Just how high that difficulty was, Rei understood better than anyone as he experimented with the Twin Spear Style.
That was precisely why he asked Howl, who was also a dual-wielding practitioner, whether there was even the slightest tip he could offer...
"What's important? Getting on your own flow."
What came back was a statement he couldn't make sense of.
"Flow?"
"Yeah. The flow that wells up from inside you... you could call it music. It's about riding that flow."
"...I don't really understand what you mean."
What came from Howl's mouth was completely incomprehensible.
Seeing Rei's confusion, Kaldina offered a wry smile and spoke up.
"You shouldn't pay it too much mind. Howl fights more by instinct than technique. Trying to convey that to someone else is pretty difficult."
"Hmph. I wouldn't say it's that simple."
Howl muttered with dissatisfaction at Kaldina's assessment, but unfortunately, the other two seemed to agree with her and merely nodded in silence.
"I was hoping to pick up some kind of tip for dual-wielding, if possible. I guess I'll have to teach myself this part."
"Howl isn't the only dual-wielder out there, you know? Gilm, where you're based, is full of skilled adventurers — surely there are some who dual-wield?"
"Hard to say."
Strictly speaking, he knew there were some.
But the biggest problem was that Rei's existence had become something quite special in Gilm.
Even if Rei approached a dual-wielding adventurer, whether they would readily share their techniques was questionable at best.
For that matter, Howl had at least tried to share what came from his instincts, but normally, an adventurer wouldn't teach the core of their advantage to a rival.
(I guess I'll have to learn on my own after all. ...If there were some kind of dojo, it might be a different story.)
Originally, Rei had never received formal training anywhere.
Even in Japan, he had lived a perfectly ordinary life for a country high schooler, having only done a bit of judo in class.
The only real difference from a typical high schooler was that, having roamed the mountains since childhood, he was accustomed to physical activity.
With only that much of a head start, Rei's current existence as the man called Crimson had been built upon his inhuman physical abilities and the combat skills honed through countless battles.
He also never neglected his daily training. Practicing with Death Scythe in the morning or evening was nothing unusual.
Even so, it seemed he would need a considerable amount of time to truly make the Twin Spear Style his own.
"Oh, that reminds me... changing the subject — do you know this monster?"
To shift the topic, Rei pulled the Coconut Crab monster's corpse out of his Misty Ring.
By now, they all knew Rei possessed an Item Box, but even so, having a massive monster corpse suddenly appear before their eyes was naturally startling.
"Th-this monster... is this a Pikurum?"
Odilon muttered in a somewhat fearful tone, and the other three nodded in response.
"Pikurum? Is that what this monster is called?"
"I don't think I need to ask, but... the one who defeated this Pikurum was..."
Meeting Odilon's inquiring gaze, Rei gave a small shake of his head.
"I didn't defeat it. ...Set did."
When Rei answered, everyone present turned to look at Set, who was lying down beside him.
All four members of Sand Dust Claw immediately wore expressions of understanding.
The monster known as Pikurum was feared throughout the desert for its strong defensive power and its variety of attack methods, including devastating claw strikes and magic.
But even so, if asked whether it could beat a Gryphon in a fight, every one of them would shake their head without hesitation.
"So, my question is — can this monster be eaten?"
"Ah... yeah. You can eat it. Actually, I've heard it's quite delicious. ...Unfortunately, I've never had it myself, so that's entirely secondhand."
"What about poison?"
"I've heard stories of people getting sick from eating too much of it, but I've never heard anything about poison."
"I see, so it is edible. ...Perfect — let's have this for breakfast. Fortunately, some parts are already cooked."
The source of the savory aroma was, needless to say, Set's Fire Breath.
The sections of carapace that had been heated during the battle with the Pikurum had turned red, filling the air with an appetizing smell.
Even with their stomachs somewhat filled from the grilled Orc skewers, it still made them want more.
It was a sight possible only because the Misty Ring stopped the flow of time for anything stored inside.
"Can we eat it too?"
Like the others, Howl had probably never eaten a Pikurum before.
That was why, when Rei said they could have some, he asked to confirm.
"Yeah, no problem. Come on, let's get it ready."
With that, Rei told them to stoke the campfire and placed the Pikurum's legs, claws, and body over the flames. Everyone ended up eating a meal that was nothing short of extravagant for breakfast.
"I can see it — I can see it! It's Gauche!"
Several hours after their Pikurum breakfast, Howl shouted from the deck of the Sand Ship as it glided over the sand.
Rei, who was operating the ship, also saw Gauche clearly displayed on the panel in the cockpit and let out a sigh of relief — he was finally back.