After finishing his explanation about the People of the Hundred Faces at Augusto's mansion, Rei immediately departed Gauche once more and headed for their village.
As expected, the guards at the main gate pulled displeased faces when he exited, but with the lord's orders still in effect, they had no grounds to refuse him.
Once outside Gauche, Rei mounted Set and took to the night desert sky.
Just as when he had flown from the village to Gauche, the moon poured its gentle light over the desert below.
Looking down from above, the words "deathly silence" seemed to suit the night desert perfectly.
Of course, that was only because he was riding Set high above the ground.
In reality, the desert teemed with life — even in an environment that seemed impossible for any living creature to survive.
Moreover, monsters capable of enduring the desert's harsh conditions roamed the sands, so the place was never truly devoid of creatures.
Even Rei, who had only been in Gauche for a relatively short time, understood this well.
(Even the desert inside the Dungeon had quite a few monsters, too. ...Then again, was that precisely because it was inside a Dungeon?)
Stroking Set's neck, Rei surveyed his surroundings.
Despite having flown for only a few minutes since leaving Gauche, the village of the People of the Hundred Faces was already visible on the ground below.
"Looks like we didn't get lost."
"Gururu!"
Set growled as if to say, "Obviously!"
It was a village that took less than two hours to reach on foot, even accounting for the time spent stopping to talk along the way. For Gryphon Set, a distance like that could be covered in mere minutes, just as they had now.
...Rei had realized this firsthand on the way from the village to Gauche. He had always known that Set's flight speed was orders of magnitude faster than ground travel, but flying over the desert was still vastly different from walking through it — especially walking through the desert at night.
That was precisely why he had accepted when Daridora asked him to return to Gauche the following morning.
Of course, the thought of Resonance had also crossed his mind, which was another reason he agreed.
(The Sand Ship can only be used in the desert, so I should take advantage of it while I can. Still, being able to cover this distance without getting lost is... yeah, I'm glad.)
Truth be told, Rei and Set got lost quite often. The fact that flying was so much faster than walking was probably a major reason — they covered distances too quickly to track landmarks.
As he mulled this over, Set began descending toward the ground.
"The Barrier situation needs to be dealt with, too. Actually, can it even be dealt with? I heard that barriers and the like generally aren't deployed unless it's on the scale of a city."
No matter how valuable a village with an oasis was, it was meaningless if it couldn't be defended. If they went to the trouble of acquiring the village and relocating people there, only for monsters or Bandits — Sand Bandits, in this region — to attack and destroy it, the money invested and, more importantly, human lives would be lost.
In a place like Gauche, money was certainly important, but above all, the desert environment meant the population was small. Human life had to be prioritized to a certain degree.
Those who could live in a village and use the oasis for agriculture were especially rare, skilled technicians. Letting them die when it could be prevented was absolutely not an option.
"Normally, building a fence or something would give you a certain level of security, but... this is a desert."
Sandsnakes and other monsters that moved underground were by no means rare in the desert. A village in such a place without any countermeasures for subterranean threats was essentially laying out a feast and saying, "Help yourselves."
When the People of the Hundred Faces lived there, they had managed with a Barrier created by an Artifact. But when Rei had slashed through that Barrier with Death Scythe, he had destroyed the Artifact itself.
Rei didn't consider it his mistake, since the village would never have been found as long as that Barrier existed. Even so, knowing that utilizing the village came with an inconvenience — and a nearly critical one at that — did give him some pause.
"You got here pretty fast! I thought it would take a bit longer."
Zarust, who had been keeping watch on the surroundings, approached Rei immediately after he landed and called out to him.
"Hm? Just you, Zarust? Where's Narcus?"
"Yeah, Narcus is keeping watch a short distance away. It's a small village, but it's impossible for just the two of us to cover the entire perimeter. We needed to keep watch over as wide an area as possible, so we split up."
"Isn't that a bit reckless, considering a powerful monster might attack?"
"Well, yeah. But it's only for the short time until you and Set get back. If we get attacked, we can manage for that long."
Zarust spoke with light confidence. In truth, he was confident that he could survive whatever came his way.
...Of course, as a result, the village would inevitably suffer some damage.
While they were talking, Narcus also appeared, having likely noticed Rei and Set's arrival.
"Looks like you made it back safe."
He was relieved to see Rei because, even knowing his strength, anything could happen in the night desert.
Rei understood that Narcus wasn't questioning his abilities by saying so, and he spoke without taking any offense.
"Now that both of you are here, let me brief you. ...Ah, Set. Keep watch on the perimeter."
"Guru!"
Before starting his explanation, Rei called out to Set. Set gave a short purr and headed toward the square at the center of the village.
Being at the village's center, he couldn't directly see the surroundings from there. But in exchange, by using his olfactory and auditory senses, along with his ability to detect presences and magical power, he could keep watch over an area the size of this village without any issue.
Narcus understood this as well, which was surely why he had come over to Rei.
"Anyway, I explained the situation regarding the People of the Hundred Faces and this village to Augusto and Daridora. Once they contact Lyubrand, they'll send people tomorrow for the investigation and to dispose of the bodies."
The swift response seemed to be faster than expected. Both Zarust and Narcus showed a hint of surprise.
However, considering the current state of the village, acting sooner was undeniably the right call. When it came to cleaning up the bodies in particular, taking too much time could result in them turning into Undead, and given the daytime temperatures in the desert, decomposition and the resulting stench would set in quickly.
"So I'll be staying here tonight, but I need to head back to Gauche tomorrow morning. I have to bring the people who are coming to this village."
When Rei looked at them, silently asking whether they'd be fine without him tomorrow morning, Zarust and Narcus nodded as if it were obvious. Being asked to protect the village on their own for an entire day would be tough, but for just a few hours, there was no problem at all.
Rei felt reassured by their confident words.
"Alright then. Set and I will take the night watch. You two get some rest."
"Sorry about this. We'll leave it to you."
"Counting on you."
The two said briefly and headed toward a nearby house.
Whether fortunately or not, every house was currently vacant. Given that, there was no shortage of places to sleep.
...In exchange, they had to either find a spot free of corpses or clear one themselves.
After seeing the two off, Rei headed toward the square at the center of the village.
In that moonlit spot, Set was already lying down, having settled into a watch posture.
"Sorry, am I late?"
"Guru."
Set purred, as if to say it was fine.
It occurred to Rei that their exchange just now somewhat resembled that of a couple who had only just started dating.
"...Come to think of it, I haven't been in touch for the past few days. I wonder how Elena's doing."
For a moment, he considered using the Paired Orbs to contact Elena, but it was already the middle of the night. He took a pocket watch from his Misty Ring to check — past one in the morning.
Deciding that contacting her now would only be a nuisance, he dropped the idea.
...If Elena knew of Rei's consideration, she would probably scold him for it and tell him to contact her anytime, without worrying about such things.
He sat down next to Set, who was lying on the ground, and leaned his weight against Set's warm body. Thanks to the Dragon Robe, Rei didn't feel hot or cold, but leaning against Set like this, he could still feel the warmth of his body heat.
That was probably something unique to a Magic Item.
Following Set's lead, he closed his eyes and probed the surrounding presences. With Set around, he would know immediately if anyone approached from any direction.
Originally, Rei didn't need to do this at all — he could have rested in one of the houses, just like Zarust and Narcus. But being the strongest member of this unit — three people and one creature — he felt it was his responsibility to stay awake.
He could feel Set's heartbeat through his body, and before long, his consciousness began to slip toward sleep.
So much had happened in just one day.
Augusto and Daridora were attacked in the city, the research facility was raided, and he had gone to investigate and fought the People of the Hundred Faces. Once that was over, Set followed a scent and found this village — the headquarters of the People of the Hundred Faces — and Rei destroyed the Barrier created by an Artifact.
Then, the moment the village appeared, they were met with a battle against Resonance and his comrades.
After winning, they explored the village and found that everyone had taken poison and died.
To report what had happened, Rei flew back to Gauche, gave his explanation, and then returned to this village to stand watch.
(Clearly way too many events crammed into one day. It would've been nice if they'd at least spread out over a few days at a more relaxed pace.)
He knew he was being selfish, but with so many things happening in succession on a single day, he couldn't help but think so.
He wanted to just fall into a deep sleep right then and there.
Thinking such thoughts while feeling Set's body heat and heartbeat, Rei quickly shook off the weakness welling up inside him.
(This won't do. I need something to wake me up. ...Oh, that's right.)
A thought occurred to him, and Rei pulled himself away from Set.
Set whimpered softly, apparently disappointed to lose Rei's warmth.
"Sorry. I've got something I need to try."
He stroked Set and lowered his hood.
Instantly, the cold air of the desert night brushed against Rei's face.
"Whoa, it really is cold."
Even so, a smile surfaced on his face. It was cold — freezing, even — but as a way to fight off drowsiness, it was just right.
The temperature was around minus ten degrees Celsius, but Rei's body was one created by Zephyle and the techniques of his clan. At this level of cold, he felt it, but could manage just fine.
Besides, the only part that was cold was his face, where he had lowered the hood. His body was wrapped in the Dragon Robe, kept at a comfortable temperature — neither too hot nor too cold.
A little cold on his face was nothing to worry about — that was Rei's honest feeling.
Still feeling the chill, Rei looked around just in case.
"Set, nobody's watching us, right?"
"Guru."
Set nodded in response to Rei's words.
The only other people currently in the village were Zarust and Narcus, who were sleeping in one of the houses. Since those two were asleep, there was no way anyone could be watching them.
He had asked Set just in case because of a lingering "what if" feeling.
Certain from Set's response that no one was watching, Rei took out the items he wanted from the Misty Ring.
In his hand were two Magic Stones — Sand Lizardman Magic Stones.
These were the same items he had previously tried to absorb at Augusto's mansion but stopped midway through when he became convinced someone was watching them.
Judging that now was the perfect time, he tossed one Magic Stone into the air and, drawing Death Scythe which he had also retrieved, slashed through it in a single stroke.
"...No good, huh."
After waiting a while and confirming nothing happened, he tossed the other Magic Stone to Set, but that attempt also resulted in no skill acquisition.
Despite having built up his enthusiasm, this outcome left Rei just a little dejected.