Having absorbed the Lizardman Leader's Magic Stone, Rei and Set—along with Vihera, who had been watching—stored all the Lizardman corpses in the Misty Ring and headed straight for Gilm.
Naturally, they weren't walking. They flew through the sky on Set's back.
Just like when they departed from Gilm, Vihera clung to Set's right leg.
(Set's carrying me, and Vihera's holding on to Set. The end result—flying through the sky—is the same, but whether your own will is involved probably matters a lot. ...Well, there aren't many people who can pull that off in the first place.)
Gazing down at the green carpet of land below, Rei thought about Vihera beneath him—more precisely, beneath Set.
The grip strength to hang from Set with one hand for a decent stretch of time.
The delicacy to grip his right foreleg without causing him pain.
The deep trust that Set would save her in a crisis.
There were other qualities necessary for flying like this, but few people satisfied all of them the way Vihera did.
However, at that thought, Mirene and Yohanna's faces flashed through Rei's mind.
Two female adventurers who practically devoted their lives to doting on Set... If Set wanted it, they'd probably find a way to get their hands on not just Platinum Coins but even Light Gold Coins.
Their images came to mind, and he had no doubt that the moment they heard Vihera had flown through the sky clinging to Set, they'd demand to do the same.
Thinking about it that way, it was easy to imagine what would happen once they returned to Gilm.
(No, rather than worrying about riding Set, I think dealing with the problem of High-ranking Species appearing one after another takes priority.)
Goblin Leaders, Cobolt Leaders, Lizardman Leaders. And though Rei hadn't encountered them yet, Orc Leaders—High-ranking Species from multiple races.
If a High-ranking Species appeared for each individual race, it wouldn't be all that unusual.
But for High-ranking Species of multiple races to appear all at once like this—something clearly artificial was at work.
(Right now, they're only Leader-class High-ranking Species, so handling them isn't difficult. But if Generals or Mages... or worse, King-class High-ranking Species start showing up, this won't be a joking matter.)
Even a single pack led by an Orc King had required the Guild to form a Subjugation Force through an Emergency Request.
If Kings were produced among several other races simultaneously... that would clearly become more than the adventurers in Gilm alone could handle.
(Well, the reason the pack led by the Orc King was subjugated is probably also tied to the Orcs' breeding method of attacking women. If so, the other ones at risk would be Goblins.)
Both Orcs and Goblins were races consisting only of males that reproduced using females of other races—not necessarily humans.
Because of that, humans, who were the most numerous yet generally—excluding exceptions like adventurers—low in combat power, were the perfect prey.
That was precisely why Goblins and Orcs were recommended to be killed on sight.
...Of course, in the case of Orcs, the simple fact that their meat was tastier than that of other same-Rank monsters also played a part.
"Rei, I can see it!"
Rei, lost in thought on Set's back, snapped back to reality at Vihera's voice from below.
He turned his gaze toward the ground and spotted Gilm a short distance away.
Confirming this, Rei gently patted the Set's back beneath him.
Whether Set understood his intent from that or not, he immediately began descending toward the ground.
Merchants, adventurers, and other travelers walked along the road toward Gilm, but most of them already knew of Set's existence.
That was why hardly anyone who saw him was startled enough to cause a commotion or flee.
A very small number of people—those visiting Gilm for the first time—nearly caused a stir, but they were quickly explained to by those around them and felt somewhat reassured.
The fact that they couldn't feel completely at ease was probably because they still couldn't believe a Gryphon could be a Tamed Monster.
Rei paid the familiar scene no particular mind and landed on the ground.
Naturally, Vihera, who had been clinging to Set's leg, let go as they neared the ground and simultaneously untied the rope she had secured to him, landing smoothly.
The entire series of movements was executed so flawlessly that it surprised many onlookers.
"So, what's next? The Guild first?"
"Probably. I need to report that we took down the Lizardman Leader's pack. ...Ah, and I should probably report that adventurers were under attack too."
"Right. Though even if we don't say anything, those adventurers will probably report it themselves."
Exchanging brief conversation, Rei, Vihera, and Set completed their entry procedures at Gilm's main gate and entered the city.
Returning to the Guild, Rei and Vihera were about to part ways with Set at the entrance as usual—but before they could, Mirene and Yohanna, who had been lying in wait there, took Set away, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Since Set wasn't resisting and was actually rather pleased, Rei left him in their care without a fuss.
Of course, he only entrusted Set to them because he trusted that Mirene and Yohanna would never do anything Set disliked.
Entering the Guild, the two naturally made their way to Lenora.
"Ah, Rei-kun. You're back."
The first to notice Rei and Vihera approaching wasn't Lenora, but Kenny, who had been organizing documents beside her.
This was probably the true power of a maiden in love.
Lenora, alerted to Rei's presence by her friend's voice, smiled when she saw Rei and Vihera.
She understood that they were skilled adventurers, but even so, seeing them return safely brought her a sense of relief.
"Thank goodness, you're both safe. So, how did things go with the Lizardman pack?"
Rei nodded to Lenora, indicating there were no problems.
"Both the Lizardmen and the Lizardman Leaders were taken care of. Should I bring out the corpses?"
"No, this wasn't an Emergency Request, and I can't imagine Rei-san and the others lying about killing something you didn't kill."
"Right. But I haven't done any Subjugation Proof Part stripping yet. There were a lot of corpses, so I just tossed them all into my Item Box. ...Including the Cobolts."
The Cobolt pack led by a Cobolt Leader had also been defeated, and those corpses were still in the Misty Ring as well.
Dismantling and stripping all of them would certainly take a considerable amount of time.
(I should put out a request for that.)
Since something similar had happened before, Rei reached that conclusion without any hesitation.
However, he wouldn't be making the request right away.
For one thing, the Guild was extremely busy dealing with the monster pack situation, and there was simply no way they had anyone available to dismantle and strip dozens—or even close to a hundred—monsters.
Well, adventurers who had just been born in Gilm and recently registered couldn't accept requests that took them outside the city yet, so they could be asked.
But entrusting such work to adventurers who had never done dismantling or stripping before would make the odds of failure far higher.
Of course, considering the number of monsters in the Misty Ring, even if some failures occurred, it wouldn't be a problem for Rei.
If dismantling or stripping failed, those materials would naturally become unsellable... but then again, Rei, who enjoyed hunting Bandits, was never short of money.
Even so, he had no intention of needlessly reducing the funds he could obtain.
"Um, if possible, it would be helpful if you could leave that for later..."
Perhaps Lenora had been thinking the same thing as Rei, because she said as much.
The combat power of Rei, Set, and Vihera—two people and one griffon—was extremely important to Gilm.
With multiple enemies... multiple monster packs still out there, they wanted Rei ready to move at any time.
Rei understood that and nodded in agreement.
"That's the plan. But... I'd like to accept a subjugation request for an Orc Leader pack if there is one."
To Rei, Orcs were literally delicious opponents.
Inside the Misty Ring, there was still some Orc meat left from when they had previously raided an Orc settlement.
However, Rei and Set ate a very large amount.
And since Rei generously offered his cooking to other adventurers, Orc meat naturally featured heavily in those meals.
With consumption that rapid, the remaining Orc meat in the Misty Ring wasn't all that plentiful.
That was why his honest desire was to replenish his supply during a situation like this, with Orcs appearing in large numbers.
"Orcs? They're about as strong as Lizardmen, but... no, that goes without saying for Rei-san and Vihera-san."
In terms of pure ability, Lizardmen and Orcs were roughly on the same level.
However, among the adventurers who had fought Orcs, those who found them tougher than Lizardmen were by no means few.
The reason was purely the Orcs' lust toward women.
That desire fueled their motivation, making them tougher than usual.
...Which also meant they became weaker when no women were present.
And female adventurers were fewer in number compared to men.
Of course, they weren't extremely rare, but there were still more men.
In any case, Rei had Vihera as a companion, and there was no doubt the Orcs would see them as the ultimate prize.
"Hehe, if they come swarming me, I'd welcome it. An Orc General or so would be nice, though."
"No, I told you—the only High-ranking Species appearing in this disturbance are Leaders. The one leading the Orcs is an Orc Leader, too."
Rei replied to Vihera with exasperation.
Hearing that, Vihera muttered "That's right..." in a disappointed tone.
"Anyway, about the Orc pack subjugation request—"
"Unfortunately, there aren't any right now. There was one Orc pack a little while ago, but Elk-san and his party already took care of it."
"...Elk, huh?"
Rei was slightly surprised to hear the name of a familiar A-Rank adventurer.
He hadn't seen Elk in a while, and the reason was that Elk had been away from Gilm seeking treatment for his son, Rhodos.
During the civil war that occurred in the Bestia Empire, Rhodos had ultimately fallen unconscious.
To treat him, Elk and Min had each been doing everything within their power, keeping the requests they accepted to a minimum.
Using the time they freed up, they had been traveling to various cities for treatment.
"So he was back."
Vihera murmured beside Rei.
Vihera was not entirely unrelated to Elk either.
In fact, Rhodos held strong affection for Vihera, and the situation where that same Vihera harbored feelings for Rei... had not had an insignificant impact on Rhodos's current state.
"No, he's already left Gilm. After Elk-san single-handedly annihilated the Orc pack, he collected his reward and departed right away."
"He's quite busy."
"Apparently there was word of someone in the Royal Capital who might be able to restore Rhodes's consciousness, so he probably headed there."
"I see. I hope Rhodes's consciousness returns soon."
Rei was by no means close to Rhodos.
If anything, Rhodos was jealous of him over the Vihera situation.
But even so, Rei didn't deeply dislike Rhodos.
"Yes. Elk-san and his party are very skilled adventurers, after all."
Lenora murmured earnestly, as if agreeing with Rei's words.
In truth, the A-Rank party Axe of the Thunder God was an extremely reliable presence for the Guild.
Gilm had other A-Rank adventurers and Alias Holders as well.
But most of those individuals tended to have one or two difficult quirks, and in that sense, Elk was exceptionally dependable.
Of course, having high combat ability was a prerequisite for all of that.
"Anyway, I'll be praying an Orc subjugation request comes in."
With that, Rei reported on the request and the rescue of the adventurers, collected his reward, and together with Vihera, left the Guild.