"Welcome, welcome! We've got delicious bread today! How about some freshly baked bread for lunch?"
"Today we have our special Orc meat soup! Once the pot runs out, it's sold out, so eat up before it's gone!"
"We've got cheese, cheese! You're missing out if you don't try this cheese!"
Such voices echoed through the surroundings.
As it was right around noon, the voices of those seeking their midday meal and those hawking food resounded through the streets.
However... those loud voices gradually grew quieter.
It was because of Rei and his party — or more precisely, because of Set that Rei had brought with him.
The residents of Rossi, still unaccustomed to Set, were overwhelmed by his extraordinary appearance when seeing him up close, despite the Tamed Monster collar around his neck.
If they had more prolonged exposure to Set, even those frightened of him now would eventually come to understand his charm and cuteness.
But there had not been enough time for that yet, and as a result, the current situation was that everyone cowered at the sight of him.
"Gruu..."
Set let out a sad cry.
Stroking Set, Rei continued down the main street.
"Kyu!"
On Set's back, Ielo let out an energetic cry, as if trying to cheer him up.
Set responded with a purr at Ielo's thoughtfulness.
Some of the people around, seeing the exchange between Set and Ielo, instinctively stepped back, but Rei and his party paid no mind to such reactions and kept walking.
(They're backing away at the sight of us. ...Considering what we're about to do, that reaction isn't exactly wrong.)
The events about to unfold — namely, the assault on Mejougo.
The residents of Rossi surely knew, at least as an open secret, that the organization called Jaya was effectively in control of Mejougo.
But the entertainment district of Mejougo naturally brought prosperity to the surrounding villages and towns, as well as to the capital city of Rossi.
Specifically, the money spent by customers traveling to Mejougo.
It wasn't as if one couldn't stay overnight in Mejougo, but using the villages and towns along the way as a base was cheaper.
What's more, given that these were people who had traveled all the way there specifically to buy women, their spending habits were quite lavish.
Because of that, the villages and towns through which carriages traveled to and from Mejougo had been experiencing what could only be called a kind of economic boom for some time now.
Since Rei and his party were about to destroy that prosperity, they were well aware that they would likely be resented for it.
Of course, given that the source of this boom was women abducted from other countries and forced into prostitution by Slave Collars, Rei had absolutely no intention of tolerating it.
(The question is, how much do the people benefiting from this boom actually know?)
Thinking this, Rei continued walking and eventually completed his departure procedures at the Main Gate.
Since it was daytime, there was no need to wait.
If this were Gilm, even on an ordinary day he would still have to line up at this hour, and above all, the expansion construction would have drawn large crowds by now.
Considering all that, leaving Rossi was remarkably easy. Rei and his party exited the city and moved to a spot a short distance from the gate.
Next, Rei took the Set Basket out of the Misty Ring, looked at everyone present, and spoke.
"Alright, it's finally time for the assault. As a general rule, we'll force our way through, just as we discussed before leaving the inn."
Under normal circumstances, they would need to work out detailed role assignments, but fortunately, Rei and his party had enough sheer power to make it work through force alone.
Moreover, since they didn't know the specific layout of the Underground Facility, they couldn't plan in advance exactly where to investigate.
As a result, the only things decided beforehand were: Byune and Ielo would handle reconnaissance, Set would serve as a bulwark from the sky to prevent enemy reinforcements, Marina would use Spirit Magic for various support roles, and Rei, Elena, and Vihera would unleash their combat power to the fullest and go on a rampage.
"Well, that really is the quickest way. The Giants will probably show up too."
Vihera said happily, clearly looking forward to fighting the Giants.
Of course, she found what Jaya was doing unforgivable, but that was that and this was this.
Especially lately — ever since absorbing the Unbris — there had been no one besides Rei's party who could give her a proper fight, and her thirst for combat had gone unsatisfied.
For that reason alone, despite having various thoughts on the matter, she had no objections to this surprise attack.
If anything, she had been looking forward to it ever since hearing about the Giants.
"You're right. For opponents who create such foolish beings as Giants, that kind of violent approach is exactly what they deserve."
Marina smiled and nodded, indicating she had no objection to Rei's words.
However, though her lips wore a smile, her eyes were not smiling at all.
If Rei could see spirits, he would have witnessed them cowering in fear from the fury emanating from Marina.
"...It is something that cannot be forgiven."
The one who murmured that was Elena.
Elena had been through many experiences and had seen plenty of those who could be called scoundrels.
Even so, this incident was beyond forgiveness.
At the very least, within everything Elena had seen and heard, there was nothing she could consider forgivable.
Elena had come together with Rei under the pretext of assisting with retaliation against Jaya, but by now, her desire to actively destroy Jaya had grown stronger than merely helping.
"Nn."
Toward the three of them, Byune merely muttered her usual brief response.
Of course, Byune, whose expression rarely changed, was not without emotion.
The fact that Jaya's existence was displeasing to her remained unchanged, but she did not let her irritation show on her face.
"Alright... then let's go."
Hearing everyone's words, Rei murmured.
The others nodded and boarded the Set Basket.
Ielo, who had been playing with Set, saw Elena and the others boarding the basket and hurried back to join them.
"Gruu."
Set let out a slightly lonely cry at seeing Ielo go.
Since he had been feared by everyone while moving through Rossi, that feeling was all the stronger.
Rei approached Set and gently stroked his head.
"Alright, let's get going. Let's finish up the job in Reblurina quickly and head back to Gilm."
"Gruu? ...Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a happy cry.
There were many people in Gilm who doted on him, so he was surely eager to return soon.
Of course, Rei did not think for a moment that they could return immediately — say, that very same day — after completing the retaliation against Jaya.
Probably... no, he could certainly predict that finishing today's assault would lead to troublesome complications.
Naturally, they could ignore all that and simply return to Gilm, but from what Rei could see, the others would never accept that.
The desire to destroy Jaya, the organization responsible for such atrocities, and retaliation against the upper echelons of Reblurina who had likely cooperated with them — such things would not be overlooked.
Furthermore, with Rei and his party going on a rampage, there was no guarantee that opportunists wouldn't seize the chaos to loot or commit other crimes.
And if such things occurred in Mejougo, the ones to suffer would be the women forcibly brought from other countries and made to work as prostitutes.
Rei had entrusted the Resistance with handling that side of things, but whether they would actually follow through on his request... he was not certain.
Even so, considering Sura's personality, he felt they would probably be fine. Probably. But the real question was whether the Resistance alone could fully prevent looting and protect the prostitutes from harm.
No — even Rei didn't think they could prevent everyone, not a single person, from getting hurt.
Still, with uncertainty about how many members the Resistance even had, he couldn't place complete trust in them.
"Well, there's no point in overthinking it now. All that's left is to do it. ...Set, let's go."
At Rei's words as he leapt onto Set's back, Set let out a short cry.
Then, after a few running steps, he beat his wings and charged upward into the sky. Once he reached a certain altitude, he dove back down toward the ground.
Without any trouble, he scooped up the Set Basket and ascended back into the sky.
The guards, watching from a distance to see what Rei and his party were up to, simply stood there with their mouths agape.
When Rei and his party had first come to Rossi, they had placed the Set Basket a short distance from the city before landing, but today's guards were different from those on duty at that time.
Of course, since it was an event worth talking about, they had heard the story from colleagues who had witnessed it... but seeing it with their own eyes, it was vastly different from what they had imagined.
"Amazing..."
"Yeah. So that's an alias-holding adventurer and a high-rank monster..."
A colleague murmured in agreement with the muttered words.
Listening to those voices, the man who had first spoken watched Set's figure as it rapidly grew smaller.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind — where could that many people be going? — but figuring they were adventurers heading out to gather materials, he decided to think no further.
Since gathering was the most common job for adventurers in Rossi, that was a natural conclusion.
Unlike the frontier city of Gilm, monsters didn't appear very often around Rossi.
If anything, bandits appeared more frequently than monsters, but even those bandits rarely showed themselves near the capital of Rossi... and above all, committing banditry near Mejougo, Jaya's home turf, could only be described as a death wish.
Of course, there were some ignorant bandits who came without knowing anything.
Just like the ones Rei had defeated before.
The guard wondered if perhaps such bandits had appeared... but if he had known where Rei and his party were heading and what they intended to do, his face would have gone pale.
The very act of laying a hand on Jaya was unthinkable for someone living in Reblurina, and considering the major upheaval it would cause, that was only natural.
"It's nice summer weather, but... hmm? It hasn't rained lately. I hope there won't be a water shortage."
An endless blue sky, white clouds reminiscent of cotton candy, and the sun pouring dazzling light down upon the ground.
A scene perfectly deserving of the name "summer sky" spread out before them.
Of course, since summer was already past its peak, the heat should gradually begin to subside.
...For Rei, wearing the Dragon Robe with its simplified air conditioner function, neither heat nor cold was particularly bothersome, and the summer scenery simply passed by without leaving much of an impression.
While enjoying the summer sky, eventually a town came into view ahead — their destination, Mejougo.
"I can see it now."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a happy cry.
Though in Set's case, it wasn't that he was happy to see Mejougo; rather, it was more accurate to say he was happy to be flying through the sky with Rei again after so long.
Stroking Set's neck, Rei then looked down below.
There, Elena and the others were relaxing inside the Set Basket while simultaneously... making preparations for battle.
"It's coming into view!"
"Oh, already? Set really is fast."
Vihera murmured in admiration at Rei's words.
She had traveled on Set countless times before — or more precisely, clinging to his legs or riding in the Set Basket — but even so, she still found herself frequently surprised by Set's movement speed.
"Set is as fast as ever. ...Honestly, there's no doubt that having Set around makes things convenient in so many ways."
"Indeed. Especially on the battlefield, the combination of Set's mobility and Rei's overwhelming annihilation power... would truly be no laughing matter for any who oppose them."
Elena responded thus to Marina's words.
That was something Elena felt deeply, having witnessed it firsthand during the war with the Bestia Empire.
Vihera, too, understood just how formidable the combined power of Rei and Set was, having seen them up close during the civil war.
"Putting me aside, are you all ready?"
At Rei's words, spoken once more, Elena and the others floated combative smiles — with the exception of Byune, who remained as expressionless as ever.