Set swallowed the Goblin Leader's Magic Stone without a moment's hesitation, and Vihera was naturally surprised.
That utter lack of hesitation indicated it had swallowed Magic Stones countless times before.
"Huh? Just now... that wasn't my imagination, right?"
Vihera asked as if to confirm what she had just witnessed, and Rei nodded in response.
As he did, he stroked Set's head. The gryphon purred happily, having gained a new skill — or more precisely, having leveled up its Sense of Smell Enhancement.
"Sense of Smell Enhancement leveled up, huh? Good job, Set. It's a pretty handy skill to have."
Rei murmured thoughtfully, recalling the several times Sense of Smell Enhancement had helped them in the past.
Most recently, during the assassination incident in Gauche.
When searching for the base of the assassins known as the People of the Hundred Faces, Set's Sense of Smell Enhancement had been indispensable.
In terms of pure ability, it probably wasn't an extraordinarily powerful skill on its own.
But Set already possessed exceptionally sharp senses as a gryphon.
Among those senses, its sense of smell was naturally outstanding, and Sense of Smell Enhancement — which sharpened that already excellent olfactory ability — was an understated yet practical skill.
...Though the downside was that encountering foul odors while the skill was active dealt greater damage.
"Wait a minute. Don't just come to an understanding between yourselves, Rei and Set. Explain it to me properly too. From what I just heard, it sounded like it learned a skill by swallowing a Magic Stone... or was it enhanced?"
Vihera asked, clearly bewildered.
Naturally. Swallowing a Magic Stone was an act completely outside the bounds of common sense, and acquiring a skill from doing so was something she couldn't begin to comprehend.
"For now, drink this and calm down."
He poured cold fruit water from a canteen retrieved from his Misty Ring into a cup and offered it to Vihera.
It was fruit water purchased in Gilm, but it proved effective enough.
After accepting it and taking a sip, then another, Vihera eventually regained her composure.
If she had been an ordinary person, something like this wouldn't have been enough to calm her down.
Unfortunately — or perhaps fortunately — Vihera was by no means someone who fell within the range of ordinary.
Like Elena and Marina, she possessed the abilities and temperament worthy of being called a heroine.
That was likely why she could settle down simply from drinking some fruit water.
"...So, you're going to explain, right? That's why you showed me all this in the first place."
Having calmed down, Vihera gently stroked the head of Set, who was nuzzling against Rei.
Set purred happily at her touch.
No matter what Set was, she would never reject it.
That was the sentiment Vihera's attitude conveyed, and Set understood it perfectly.
"Yeah, of course. ...Now, where should I start. Right, let me ask you this first. Do you know the name of a sorcery called Beast Magic?"
"Beast Magic? No, I've never heard of it. And sorcery? Not magic?"
"Yeah, sorcery. At least when Beast Magic was created, magic didn't exist yet — only sorcery did."
Sorcery and magic were words that referred to the same phenomenon.
However, a great deal of time had passed since the word "sorcery" fell out of use and "magic" came into common practice.
Of course, the word "sorcery" itself still existed today, but it was more of a term that only appeared in historical contexts.
"In other words, Set has something to do with this Beast Magic?"
"Yeah. The Zephyle Clan, led by the Majin Zephyle. You've heard that name before too, right?"
"Of course. There's no one who doesn't know Zephyle's name... anyone who's studied even a little history would know it."
"Thought so. Well, when I died in my original world, Zephyle's soul saved me and sent me to this world."
"...Huh?"
At those words coming so suddenly from Rei's mouth, Vihera could barely manage that single response.
It was that difficult to process what Rei had said so casually.
Seeing her reaction, Rei offered a more detailed explanation.
"Zephyle and the others were a gathering of geniuses. You know that, right?"
"Yes. They were a group of people called geniuses even among those called geniuses, right?"
"Right. And what Zephyle created was Beast Magic — a sorcery that uses the caster's magic power to create magical beasts... monsters. Monsters created through Beast Magic can absorb the Magic Stones of other monsters, thereby learning new skills."
"Monsters... Magic Stones... growth?! W-Wait, could that mean—!"
Hearing Rei's explanation, the legends of the Zephyle Clan flashed through Vihera's mind.
It was said that the familiars they commanded could single-handedly face an entire army... no, they possessed enough power to destroy an entire nation.
Vihera had assumed those stories had simply grown exaggerated over time, like folklore and old tales passed down through generations.
But could it be...?
As Vihera turned her gaze toward him, Rei nodded.
"Probably... no, it's definitely true. Fortunately or unfortunately, Set isn't quite that powerful a monster yet."
Stroking Set gently, a wry smile formed on Rei's lips.
"It's about Beast Magic too, but I was sure you'd latch onto the fact that I'm from a different world."
"That surprised me too, but... if you say it's because it's you, I can accept it."
"No, because it's me—"
Rei tried to voice words of denial, but the countless things he had done so far flashed through his mind, and he found himself unable to say anything.
"Ah, yeah. Well, if you're not bothered by that, then I won't say anything more about it."
"Right. Honestly, I'm curious about this different world of yours, but... even if I hear about it, there's no way to go there, is there? In that case, it's only natural to focus my attention on something I'm more interested in right now."
Vihera said this with a smile, then looked at Set.
"Guruu?" Set, finding itself under Vihera's gaze, tilted its head slightly and purred as if asking, "What is it?"
That cuteness was enough to charm anyone who saw it — or so both Rei and Vihera thought.
"...So, is there anything else you haven't told me yet?"
Having lost to Set's cuteness, Vihera asked while stroking its pleasantly soft fur, and Rei retrieved Death Scythe from his Misty Ring.
Normally, having a large scythe suddenly produced in front of you would be surprising, but Vihera, trusting Rei, stared at Death Scythe without any particular sign of surprise.
"What about Death Scythe?"
"Beast Magic is a sorcery that uses the caster's magic power to create monsters. Normally, the magic power would be completely exhausted once a monster was created... but if there was still magic power remaining, it also creates a Magic Item."
Rei figured it was probably because wasting such an enormous amount of magic power would have been a shame, and he suspected that the one who devised this mechanism was Takumu, who, like himself, came from Japan.
It was likely the result of thinking in game-like terms, he reasoned.
"So that Death Scythe is also..."
"Yeah. It was created by Beast Magic. That's precisely why this Death Scythe can also acquire skills from Magic Stones."
"Wait a minute. Then the magic Rei normally uses is also..."
Rei nodded at Vihera's questioning look and spoke.
"Yeah, Death Scythe has quite a lot of skills too. Since my attribute is fire, I can't use Wind-system magic like Flying Slash through it."
"...Hmm. That's a bit convenient. Hey, Rei. Could I use that sorcery called Beast Magic too?"
Vihera looked at Rei with expectant eyes, but he shook his head at her.
"Unfortunately, it's absolutely impossible with your magic power, Vihera."
Rei didn't know exactly how much magic power Vihera possessed.
Even so, with only enough magic power that she couldn't use ordinary magic, he didn't think she could possibly succeed at Beast Magic.
(Not just Magic Items, but Vihera really wants a familiar — her own monster like that, doesn't she.)
When he returned to Gilm and reunited with Vihera, he recalled her saying something along those lines.
But no matter how much Rei might want to let Vihera use Beast Magic, given that she lacked the magic power to create a monster in the first place, there was nothing that could be done. That was an unmistakable fact.
If she tried Beast Magic under current conditions, it would definitely end in failure.
With an almost inexplicable certainty, that conviction existed within Rei.
However, Vihera didn't know Rei held such conviction, so being told it was impossible so flatly didn't sit well with her.
"You wouldn't know unless I tried, right?"
"That's... something I do know. But setting that aside for now, you understand that Beast Magic is an extremely powerful sorcery, right?"
Though slightly displeased by Rei's sudden change of topic, Vihera endured it since the conversation was still about Beast Magic, and nodded.
"Right. Leaving aside monsters from legends, just looking at Set is enough to understand that perfectly."
An A-Rank monster gryphon alone was already overwhelmingly powerful, but what made Set even greater was that it wielded numerous skills and, above all, possessed absolute trust in Rei and could fully understand his words.
A gryphon capable of communication, firmly understanding Rei's will and acting accordingly.
There would be almost no one willing to make an enemy of such a creature.
Rei nodded in agreement with Vihera's words.
And then, he continued, "However..."
"If such a convenient and powerful sorcery exists, why do you think there's no one in this era who can use it? Well, excluding me, that is."
"Is that... the reason I can't use Beast Magic?"
Vihera asked in response to his words.
Rei nodded at her.
"Right. To use Beast Magic, a massive amount of magic power is absolutely necessary. Furthermore, if you want a Magic Item like Death Scythe, you need more than that massive amount... you need an enormous amount of magic power. Having said this much, you can figure it out without me spelling it out to the end, right?"
Told that it was impossible with her own magic power, Vihera wore a slightly disgruntled expression.
However, increasing one's magic power was extremely difficult.
While it could increase through some kind of trigger, what that trigger was varied from person to person, and the amount of magic power gained also differed between individuals.
Considering that, the possibility of Vihera becoming able to attempt Beast Magic in her current situation was low, but it wasn't entirely hopeless.
"Besides, Beast Magic can only be attempted once in a person's lifetime. Whether it succeeds or fails... it's just once. You can't exactly try it at a time like this, right?"
"...Right."
Vihera reluctantly voiced her acceptance.
Even so, she couldn't help thinking, if only... someday...
She wanted a monster like Set or Ielo as a companion, and it was also her true desire to command a being like the monsters Zephyle was said to have kept in legend.
But she also understood, from Rei's explanation, that it was impossible for her current self.
"Fine. It seems I have no choice but to give up for today. ...Oh, right. Then could it be that Ielo, the one Elena has with her, was actually created by Beast Magic?"
"No, Ielo is completely a child of the Black Dragon that Elena created using Dragon Language Magic. ...Well, if you ask whether it's similar to Beast Magic, it's definitely similar."
Beast Magic, which used magic power to create monsters, and Dragon Language Sorcery, which used the magic power of an Ancient Dragon — something that might be called dragon aura — to create familiars.
The two were similar in some ways yet different in many others.
(Well, they probably referenced this sort of thing when creating Beast Magic.)
If that were the case, it wouldn't be strange for the two to be similar.
"I see. Then I suppose what I should do is have an Alchemist create something like a Golem or Gargoyle for me."
"It's not my place to say since I was the one who suggested it, but I don't think you need to force yourself to make something like that. ...More importantly, after hearing my explanation, is that all you have to say?"
"Is that all? Was there something else?"
"No, I mean... do you not find it, like... disgusting or anything?"
Rei asked as though it were nothing, but in his heart, he harbored the anxiety of what would happen if Vihera rejected him.
However, when asked that, Vihera momentarily displayed a look of surprise as if caught off guard... and in the next instant, she gently pressed her lips against Rei's.
Then, several seconds later, after parting, she spoke.
"You're silly. I fell in love with you because you're you. Did you really think something like this would change my feelings?"
She said this with a smile.