On the night of the day he defeated Unbris, Rei lay on the bed at the Wheat Inn, looking restless.
The absence of his trusted weapons—Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear—was probably the biggest reason.
"Fufu, looking like that, you really are just your age, aren't you, Rei."
Seated on the bed Rei was lying on, Vihera spoke with a smile.
Rei cast a slightly dissatisfied glance toward her.
Considering the Unbris situation, Marina's plan—to research whether any residue remained and create a Magic Item to find what could be called Unbris's main body—was understandable.
It was precisely because he understood that he had entrusted Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear.
Of course, there was no guarantee that none of the Alchemists would try to make off with a Magic Item, so Guild Staff Members were keeping a strict watch inside the warehouse.
Death Scythe in particular was not a weight a human could easily carry, making it difficult to steal.
But even so, since there was no telling what kind of Magic Items the Alchemists might possess, keeping a strict watch was essential.
Moreover, while Death Scythe would be difficult to steal given its weight and size, the Twilight Spear was not much different in weight from an ordinary spear.
Considering that several people had cast jealous glares at Asimov's abilities, it was impossible to say that possibility didn't exist.
"Well, if something like that does happen, it'll be Set's turn, right? As long as there's a scent, he'll chase them to the ends of the earth."
"That's true, but... still, it's an unpleasant thought, that's for sure."
Vihera smiled at Rei, who let out a sigh.
Time spent together with Rei like this was, without a doubt, a time of supreme bliss for Vihera.
It wasn't as though Rei was whispering words of love to her.
Even so, just being together with Rei like this allowed her to feel genuine happiness.
...Of course, the sense of fulfillment gained from battling a strong opponent was an entirely different matter.
"Still, do you think the reason we defeated Unbris so easily was because it was a fake?"
"It's not a fake. It was definitely one Unbris. It's simply that there were others besides it."
"Well, that Unbris somehow felt smaller than the one we found. I couldn't tell for sure since it was attached to a Werewolf, though."
He pushed himself up from his lying position.
The figure of the first Unbris they had found—the one that had burrowed underground—was, in Rei's impression, much larger.
There was no way to know whether the Unbris that Mirene and her party found was the same one Rei had found.
If there were not just one or two Unbris but many more, the possibility that countless others existed could not be entirely dismissed.
"You're right. Why don't you take your mind off things? Brooding over it won't accomplish anything, will it?"
"Take my mind off things... are we going outside now?"
Given the current situation, the ways Rei could take his mind off things were eating good food, training, and playing with Set.
(No, there's also reading. ...But this world has almost no novels. There are fairy tales and things like that, though.)
Vihera lightly shrugged at the troubled Rei.
As she did, her ample bosom swayed, but despite being on the bed, Rei failed to notice Vihera's appearance.
Vihera lost just a little confidence in her own charm, but she was also aware that Rei was not uninterested in women.
There were times when Rei would direct his gaze at her body.
...Rei thought Vihera hadn't noticed, but women were sensitive to gazes directed at them.
Vihera in particular understood what kind of looks her clothing invited, and above all, Rei was vastly different from the common rabble out there.
"You know, Rei, you have that Magic Item that lets you talk to Elena, right? The Paired Orbs, was it?"
"Ah, come to think of it, I haven't contacted her these past few days."
"Being able to talk to Rei even from afar—honestly, I'm envious."
Vihera murmured that, but if asked, Elena would probably say she was more envious of Vihera, who got to act alongside Rei.
And indeed, Vihera understood that as well.
If offered a Paired Orb, she would gladly accept it.
But if told to give up her role of acting alongside Rei in exchange for a Paired Orb, she would immediately refuse.
(Well, I can only do that because I left the Imperial Family... in that sense, Elena could stand in the same position as me if she stepped away from the dukedom. ...But at this point, it's probably difficult.)
Watching Rei take out the Paired Orb, Vihera offered a wry smile.
When she had fled the Bestia Empire, her name was fairly well-known within the country, but she wasn't particularly famous outside it.
At the very least, it was vastly different from Elena's situation, where the alias Princess General was known throughout neighboring nations.
If Vihera hadn't fled the Bestia Empire and had remained as a princess... and then distinguished herself on the battlefield to become an Alias Holder, leaving would probably have been difficult.
Of course, Vihera was self-aware enough to know that even if she had become an Alias-holding princess, if she had met Rei, she would have abandoned everything without a second thought.
For better or worse, Vihera was free-spirited, unlike the strongly responsible Elena.
(I think my personality is troublesome even to myself... but thanks to that, I can be here with Rei like this, so I have no regrets.)
She was fully aware that her personality was troublesome.
But she never belittled herself for it; rather, when she considered that it was precisely because she had such a personality that she could now be here with Rei, she thought she was glad to be the way she was.
As for Rei, who inspired such thoughts in Vihera, he was channeling magic into the Paired Orb he had retrieved from the Misty Ring to activate it.
"...Hm? Ah, Rei. You haven't contacted me these past few days; what happened?"
"Nah, I was just busy. You know I told you I was searching for Unbris, right?"
"Hm. An opponent that even Rei and Set can't find. That's troublesome."
"I'm here too, you know."
Casually, Vihera popped her face in front of the Paired Orb.
Elena was momentarily startled by Vihera's face suddenly filling the display, but soon let out a small sigh.
"It is night, is it not? Being in Rei's room at this hour is somewhat problematic, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh, is it? We've been acting together, so something like that shouldn't matter, should it? Ah, that's right. While we're at it, why don't we form a party?"
Vihera spoke as if provoking Elena, but it was Rei who tilted his head at that.
"A party, just the two of us? Well, two-person parties do exist, but..."
As for two-person parties, the first ones that came to Rei's mind were the two members of the C-Rank Party, Crushing Warriors, with whom he had once taken on a Harpy subjugation request together.
A party formed by a sake-loving Dwarf and a woman fitting to be called a tomboy boss.
Being a C-Rank Party, they were reasonably skilled, and Rei had heard rumors that they were energetically kicking around monster packs during the Unbris situation as well.
He had also met them face-to-face several times for brief conversations, so they could be considered a fairly familiar party.
"Two would be fine too, but... Byune will be coming back eventually. With the thief Byune, me who excels at close combat, and Rei who can handle long, mid, and close-range combat masterfully. See, the party balance wouldn't be bad at all, would it?"
At Vihera's words, Elena on the other side of the Paired Orb wore a displeased expression.
She fully understood the difference between her current position and Vihera's position, which allowed her to stay by Rei's side.
But understanding it and being able to accept it were two different things, and the answer to the latter was no.
No, if it had been someone she wasn't close with, that would be one thing, but the only ones able to see the Paired Orb right now were Rei, Vihera, and Elena—just the three of them.
"Kyu?"
If Ielo were included, it would be more accurate to say three people and one creature.
"Kyu! Kyuuu?"
What about Set? Is he not here? Looking into the Paired Orb like that, Ielo brought a sense of healing to Rei and Vihera.
"Fufu, this has gotten rather silly. ...But, Elena. The fact that Rei and I are acting together is real. And the Guild Master of Gilm, where Rei and I live, is Marina. ...I'm sure you can understand what I'm getting at without me finishing, can't you?"
"Much against my will."
Elena answered with a slightly sullen expression, and Vihera, having nothing more to say, simply gave a nod in return.
Rei had been watching their exchange, but noticing Ielo staring intently at him, he shook his head and spoke.
"Sorry, Ielo. We're in an inn room right now, so Set is in the stables. Next time we use the Paired Orbs outside, I'll make sure he shows his face properly, so bear with it for now."
"Kyu..."
At Rei's words, Ielo gave a disappointed cry and shuffled away from the scene.
...The fact that it was walking rather than flying was a testament to Ielo's disappointment.
Having finished his exchange with Ielo, Rei noticed that the back-and-forth between Elena and Vihera had naturally concluded as well.
If anything, he tilted his head at the two of them, who were directing somewhat exasperated looks his way.
"Anyway, about Unbris..."
Sensing that he was somehow being regarded with strange looks, Rei brought up the topic of Unbris as if to deflect the conversation.
Though it wasn't really about deflecting—Unbris was in fact a serious matter for both Rei and Vihera.
It was an opponent with the highly troublesome ability to forcibly evolve Demi-human Monsters into Leader Species.
To deal with that, they needed to defeat multiple Unbris.
But Unbris was immune to physical attacks, and to deal effective damage, one had to somehow break through its powerful magical defenses and inflict damage through magic.
(Magic-based attacks, huh. In that sense, Elena—who inherited an Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone at the Altar of Inheritance—undeniably possesses enormous magical power. If she used Dragon Language Magic or the like, she could probably handle an Unbris.)
He understood that, but even so, Daskar could hardly request that the Noble's Faction's symbol, the Princess General, be sent to Gilm to exterminate Unbris.
Doing so would mean the Neutral Faction would incur a massive debt to the Noble's Faction.
The relationship between the Neutral Faction and the Noble's Faction was not currently bad. ...No, it could even be called good.
Even so, creating debts between factions carried enormous significance.
It was fine now because their relationship was good, but these were the Three Great Factions of the Kingdom of Mireana. Maintaining good relations forever would be difficult.
And when relations soured, if there was a large debt, there was no need to even think about how much effort would be required to repay it.
The Noble's Faction would try to extract up to their limit... no, beyond their limit, and the Neutral Faction would have no choice but to repay the debt.
Considering all that, the best option would be to offer some form of compensation to summon Elena...
(As the lord of Gilm that might be one thing, but as a central figure of the Neutral Faction, it would be difficult.)
Rei was not particularly well-versed in politics.
But even so, he could vaguely understand that it would be a bad idea.
"Rei? What's wrong?"
"Nah, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how we should go about defeating Unbris."
He deflected Vihera's words with that.
"Oh, if it's just about defeating one, you've already done that, so I don't think you need to worry. Rather, the problem is how to find it, isn't it?"
"An opponent that can't be tracked by scent, nor sensed through magic. ...Troublesome."
On the other side of the Paired Orb, Elena murmured in agreement with Vihera's words.
In terms of defeating it, both Rei and Elena had attack methods backed by powerful magical power, so they could probably manage somehow. But finding it was the hard part.
And even after finding and defeating one, if more remained... it was undeniably a highly troublesome opponent.
At any rate, the three of them—Rei, Vihera, and Elena—enjoyed a leisurely conversation for the first time in several days.