It had been several days since everyone began traveling by carriage. Compared to their earlier travel on foot, the difference in distance covered was astonishing—they had gained far more ground than Rei had anticipated when departing from Mejougo.
But precisely because of that, Rei figured it would be best to rejoin the envoy from Gilm at least once. After finishing dinner, during their free time, he brought up the topic with Sura.
"Eh? So does that mean only Rei is leaving tomorrow morning?"
"No, at the very least, Elena and I need to go. I'd like Marina to come along too, if possible."
Elena was traveling in the capacity of support from the Noble's Faction—or at least, that was the arrangement, and she herself seemed to share that intention.
But from the Noble's Faction's perspective, they surely expected her to fulfill the role of knowing exactly what kind of actions Rei and his group were taking.
She understood that as well, but in practice, she prioritized spending time with Rei and hadn't been putting much effort into that particular duty.
Rei was also aware of those circumstances, and having considered Elena's position, he named her.
The matter of the Paired Orbs was also a significant factor.
As for naming Marina, that was once again due to her name value.
In Gilm, Marina—the former Guild Master—was an extremely well-known figure.
Given her closeness with Daskar, even if the members of the envoy tried to demand something unreasonable from Rei's group, it would be out of the question.
Furthermore, when negotiating with Daskar using the Paired Orbs, Marina's existence served as a trump card against him.
In that sense, Marina's presence was necessary.
"So should Byune and I just stay here then?"
There was no edge to Vihera's words, likely because she had no premonition of being able to fight strong opponents even if she went along.
In reality, there should have been adventurers, soldiers, and knights serving as escorts for the envoy, but Vihera perceived opponents of that caliber as not worth fighting.
Of course, there were many strong individuals among adventurers. And among knights as well, there were those with exceptional strength.
However, Vihera could not possibly imagine that such persons had come as escorts.
Her words stemmed from the judgment that rather than going along unnecessarily, it would be better for her to serve as a guard here.
For Rei's part, he understood that having all of them leave this place would be problematic in various ways, so he felt gratitude rather than dissatisfaction toward Vihera's words.
"Right. Then I'm counting on you."
"Yes."
"Mm."
Vihera and Byune both gave short replies to Rei's words.
With the matter decided, they immediately set about preparing.
Of course, since they were departing tomorrow morning, there wasn't that much work to do right now.
Though not much, it wasn't zero either.
They needed to transfer meals for a thousand people—lunch, dinner, and just in case, breakfast as well—onto the carriages. Additionally, if Rei was unable to return by tomorrow night, they would need to make preparations since they couldn't use the Sand Ship as lodging.
Especially at night, they had to remain vigilant against monsters and bandits, so the guards would need to patrol even more strictly than usual.
"Understood. I'll explain the situation to the others as well, but... I'd be happy if you could come back as quickly as possible."
To Sura, Rei's existence was like the pillar—or rather, the central figure—of this traveling group.
That perception wasn't wrong. He possessed the combat power to respond immediately if anything happened, transported massive quantities of food, and used the Sand Ship so they didn't have to sleep outdoors at night.
Set and Ielo had become beloved mascot characters for the women, helping them forget the hardships of their journey.
Since they'd gotten the carriages, I don't really need to worry about that anymore.
No longer needing to walk all day was nothing short of a tremendous blessing for the women unaccustomed to travel.
"Right. It's not like we'll be traveling with the envoy. Once I exchange information and finish talking with Lord Daskar, I plan to come right back. If things go well, I think I can return by tomorrow afternoon. Well, I don't know how far the envoy has traveled, so I can't say for certain."
"...Rei, in that case, shouldn't we leave more than just one day's worth of food behind? If we can't rendezvous with the envoy smoothly, it might take several days."
At Marina's words, Rei turned his gaze to Sura as if asking, "What do you think?"
Although they were gradually approaching autumn, the days were still hot and summery.
At such temperatures, it was certain that ordinary food left out would spoil quickly.
That being the case, what they would need were preserved foods like Dried Meat.
Being preserved food, unlike regular meals, it wouldn't take up much space.
Rei's Misty Ring contained large quantities of that type of food, and there were also supplies provided by Gimekara.
For the time being, there would be no concern about food shortages during Rei's absence and return.
Moreover, in towns and villages, there were additional supplies Gimekara had prepared, and they should be able to eat freshly prepared meals there as well.
As for clothing, by now everyone was no longer wearing prostitute attire but rather normal, if somewhat modest, clothing.
With carriages, horses, coachmen, and guards all assembled, there was nothing urgently needed in their current situation.
Incidentally, clothing had already been distributed to everyone, but cloth was still in demand, and those with high sewing skills continued to sew garments.
That was likely because, even in such circumstances, many still wanted to wear cute clothes, beautiful clothes, if possible.
However, previously, in exchange for being exempted from walking and allowed to ride in carriages, people had been assigned the task of sewing clothes.
Now, there was no obligation to do such work, and those individuals were gaining various benefits by making clothes.
For example, they could receive priority access to meals and the water created by the Dagger of Flowing Water, or ride in higher-quality carriages with priority—and so on.
"Right. We should leave extra food behind for now."
And so, they decided to make preparations, and the night passed.
The next day, when it was explained that Rei and his group would temporarily separate from the traveling party, people naturally began to feel anxiety and dissatisfaction.
For the Resistance members and the women who had witnessed Rei's strength time and again, having not just Rei but also Elena and Marina gone was surely unsettling.
The issues of food and water were handled by the preserved food Rei had stored in his Misty Ring and the water created by Marina's Spirit Magic, so there were no problems there, but...
With the water from the Dagger of Flowing Water that could only be consumed each evening, and above all, Set—their source of emotional comfort—also being gone, considerable opposition arose.
That said, Rei and his group had no intention of yielding here. Exposed to all sorts of gazes, Rei took out the Set Basket from the Misty Ring where he had just stored the Sand Ship.
Those watching from a slight distance initially had no idea what it was for.
Naturally. Under normal circumstances, no one could comprehend traveling in such a manner.
If there had been anyone awake during the aerial assault Rei's group had launched on Mejougo, some of them might have seen the Set Basket. But those who had been living as prostitutes had been fast asleep at that hour.
When escaping from Mejougo—when Rei dropped the carriages he had acquired from the sky—the Set Basket had been in use as well, but at that time it must have been hidden amid the surrounding scenery.
And when they returned to Mejougo at Daskar's request, they had landed at a distance from where the fighting was taking place. For one reason or another, among those present here, almost no one had ever seen the Set Basket.
"Alright then, Vihera, Byune, Sura, Gimekara. I'm counting on you with things here. I'll come back as quickly as I can."
"Leave it to me. Since Set won't be here, I'm hoping a powerful monster comes to attack us."
"No, pray that we don't get attacked."
At Vihera's words, Rei retorted almost involuntarily.
But for Vihera, who possessed a desire for combat alongside the three basic human drives such as appetite, battling strong enemies was something to be desired at all times.
Of course, this was not a frontier region but the nation of Reblurina, which should rightfully be called a small rural country, so the possibility of High-Rank Monsters appearing was low.
However... low did not mean the possibility was zero.
Perhaps, and this was a real stretch, the chances of such a powerful monster appearing were exceedingly slim, but they existed.
Vihera had agreed to stay behind, pinning her hopes on that probability, smaller than a grain of sand.
Though, that was only because Rei would be returning to this group.
If Rei were to rejoin the envoy and head straight for Gilm, she would absolutely not have stayed behind.
"Fufu, true. If it's just praying, that's easy enough."
"...Just don't go praying to the holy Goddess of Light or anything like that."
Recalling the troublesome religious organization he had fought several times before, Rei told her this, and Vihera instead broke into a full smile.
As if to say that if members of the Holy Light Religion attacked for some reason, they would be more than welcome.
"Well, if it's them, I'm sure they'd be able to satisfy you, that much I can say."
If he recalled the members of the Holy Light Religion he had fought before, it was obvious they were clearly stronger than the giants they had fought in Reblurina.
Of course, not everyone in the Holy Light Religion was like that; it meant only a limited number of strong individuals within the Holy Light Religion, but still.
"True. I'll be waiting for opponents like that to show up as well."
Rei and Vihera exchanged a brief conversation, but Sura, Gimekara, and Ryutas, who had been listening nearby, could not possibly let those words slip by.
Sura did not know of the Holy Light Religion's existence, but Gimekara, a powerful figure within the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, and Ryutas, who had been regarded as a successor candidate for Jaya, both knew the name.
Of course, since the Holy Light Religion was outwardly a pious religion, they couldn't immediately believe Rei's words either.
At first, they even thought it might be a fabricated story meant to deceive them.
Rei and his group were aware that others were listening to their conversation, but showed no signs of disturbance whatsoever.
Even so, the three with sharp instincts, born from their accumulated experience, understood that those words just now were something important.
Leaving those three be, Rei, Elena, and Marina lightly waved to Vihera and Byune.
Meanwhile, Set purred to bid farewell to the two of them... and to the women who doted on him, then immediately carried Rei on his back and began to run.
During the short takeoff run, Elena and the others entered the Set Basket.
Set, having made a wide circling path in the sky, grasped the Set Basket containing Elena and the others... and flew away just like that.
That sight looked as though a hawk was swooping down to hunt its prey.
...Though in reality, it was vastly different.
Sura, Gimekara, and Ryutas... and the women who had doted on Set watched his figure depart.
Resolve floated up in the former, while sadness at Set's absence surfaced in the latter.
Even if it was only a brief period of about a day, Set not being there was apparently like losing their emotional support for the women.
This is something I need to think about a little.
Looking at the women whose morale had visibly dropped, Gimekara thought with a troubled expression on his face.
Ryutas and Sura felt the same way.
In truth, if this situation continued as is, it was certain that various problems would arise.
Morale was not something needed only in times of war; it was necessary no matter the circumstances.
Especially in a situation like this, where a motley crowd was gathered and heading toward a destination, if morale dropped, trouble would almost certainly occur.
Many people would stop cooperating and start acting selfishly.
No, if it were only that much, it would still be manageable. In the worst case, there was even a possibility that people could end up killing each other over trivial reasons.
Of course, it was rare for things to go that far, but it was not nonexistent.
I need to consult with those two... and above all, with Vihera-san.
Murmuring to himself, Gimekara truly hoped from the bottom of his heart that Rei and his group would return as quickly as possible.