After Rei and his group departed to meet the envoy delegation from Gilm, the procession's pace naturally grew heavy.
...Of course, since they were traveling by carriage, a heavier pace didn't literally mean their travel speed had slowed.
Even so, the mood inside the carriages was undeniably darker than usual.
They knew skilled fighters like Vihera and Byune had stayed behind. Yet despite that, a gloomy atmosphere had inevitably settled over the group.
Would they truly be safe from monsters and bandits? And even if they were attacked, could the current number of guards handle it? Such anxieties were only natural given the circumstances.
"Good grief. I've been quite thoroughly underestimated, haven't I?"
Vihera, riding in the lead carriage, muttered with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Most of the former prostitutes had already changed into normal clothes. The only ones still wearing prostitute attire—or something even more provocative—were Vihera and a few others who simply preferred it.
Vihera's outfit was better described as obscene than merely suggestive, but contrary to its impression, she was currently glaring out the carriage window at the sky with a displeased look.
A few clouds dotted the sky, but today the summer sun hung overhead as usual, making its presence fiercely known.
Squinting against the glare, Vihera shifted her gaze to another carriage traveling alongside them.
Since everyone was riding inside carriages, she naturally couldn't see exactly what expressions the others wore.
Even so, given the atmosphere before departure, it was easy enough to imagine what was on their minds.
"Please don't say that, Vihera-san. It's not that anyone doubts your skill. But with Rei-san, Elena-san, and Marina-san—all three of them—gone, they simply can't help feeling anxious."
Gimekara, sharing the same carriage, said this while facing Vihera... yet carefully averting his eyes.
Byune, Ryutas, and several others were also riding in this carriage. But even surrounded by this many people, Gimekara knew that staring directly at Vihera risked his mind being seized by lust.
"Well, they saw with their own eyes how strong Rei and the others are when we left Mejougo. And they've watched them cut down cavalry and bandits since then too. They just can't help worrying when Rei isn't here."
Ryutas picked up where Gimekara left off.
In truth, Rei was remarkably conspicuous in combat. Small in stature yet rampaging with Death Scythe in one hand and the Twilight Spear in the other, there was no way he wouldn't stand out.
And precisely because he stood out, he was inevitably regarded as the most reliable member of the Crimson Lotus Wings. The fact that he was the party leader probably factored in as well.
Of course, in terms of visibility, Elena with her whip-sword Mirage and Marina wielding Spirit Magic with ease were equally eye-catching.
And Set, before even considering how he fought, drew tremendous attention simply by existing.
What's more, Set was beloved as a mascot, and many relied on him not for physical protection, but for emotional comfort.
Compared to those members, Vihera simply didn't stand out as much.
Punching, kicking, breaking joints... occasionally destroying an opponent from within using Magic Impact Palm. Her fighting style, compared to the others, just wasn't as flashy.
...In terms of appearance, though, Vihera was extremely conspicuous.
As a thief, Byune's combat style was likewise inevitably less eye-catching than the others'. Strikes with throwing needles or Hakumo were fast, but they could hardly be called flashy.
"I know that. Still, when their attitudes are this blatant, isn't it only natural to find it irritating?"
"You're right. But here's the thing—the reason everyone is so down isn't because they think you're unreliable, Vihera-san. It's most likely a Set problem."
"...That gives me a different kind of concern, honestly."
Perhaps finding some satisfaction in Gimekara's explanation, Vihera looked back up at the sky through the window, her mood slightly improved. Earlier, even the endless blue expanse overhead had irritated her. Now, it didn't bother her as much.
(Set's impact... impact? I'm not even sure that's the right word for this situation. But anyway, I never expected him to become this popular.)
Without saying anything more, Vihera kept her gaze on the sky.
Beside her, Byune sat perfectly still.
"...That little girl—Byune-chan, was it? Children usually aren't good at staying quiet, but..."
Gimekara murmured just quietly enough to keep Byune from hearing, but Ryutas, having caught it, responded nonchalantly.
"She's a member of the Crimson Lotus Wings led by Rei. Obviously not your everyday, ordinary child."
"When you put it that way, I suppose so."
A B-Rank party, the Crimson Lotus Wings. The moment she belonged to that party, there was no way Byune was just some ordinary child.
In some cases, a party might take in a child under the guise of protection. But the fact that Byune wasn't simply a child being protected was crystal clear to anyone who had seen her fight.
Gimekara had never witnessed Byune in combat himself, but as a member of the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, he had gathered thorough intelligence on her.
"Even a child with that much power... The world truly is vast."
"Yeah. There are probably people out there you'd never recognize as having been in Jaya just by looking at them. Though whether I'd want to meet such people is another question entirely."
The carriage rolled on as they talked... and eventually, when the sun reached its zenith, it was time to break for lunch.
Normally, they would be eating delicious meals Rei produced from his Misty Ring, but Rei wasn't here now.
As a result, most ended up washing down dried meat and hardtack with water.
A few individuals who were confident in their skills or knowledgeable about edible wild plants managed to catch some game, but it wasn't enough to go around. They divided it among their ten-person groups instead.
Once the meal was done, they took a short break to tend the horses, then resumed their journey... until eventually, evening fell.
"We camp here tonight. Everyone, start preparing dinner."
At Vihera's words, nearly a thousand people set to work all at once.
But just like before, their movements were sluggish compared to usual.
(Good grief. I never thought morale would drop this far just because Rei and the others—and Set—are gone. But we can't stay with this group forever, either. They need to get used to the situation. Besides...)
Vihera turned her gaze toward the carriages that had been unhitched from their horses.
When they first departed Mejougo, they had repeatedly slept outdoors on the bare grass.
But now they had the Sand Ship, and even without it, they had carriages.
Sleeping inside a carriage was by no means comfortable, but it was still gentler on the body than sleeping directly on the ground, if only because it provided shelter from the wind and rain.
"Vihera-san, Byune-san. Here's your food."
"Thank you."
"Mm."
Gimekara handed them dried meat, hardtack, and what appeared to be a dinner dessert of dried fruit.
It was a menu ordinary adventurers were accustomed to, but for Vihera, who had been traveling with Rei, it was actually quite unusual.
For Byune, it was a meal she had eaten more than enough of—to the point of being sick of it—long before she had ever met Vihera in the Labyrinth City, so there was nothing novel about it whatsoever.
"We'll be eating a little further away, if you don't mind."
"Oh? I think it's fine to eat together, though."
"No. There are some things I need to discuss with Ryutas-san as well."
With a bow, Gimekara took his leave.
In the end, only Vihera and Byune remained.
"Come to think of it, it feels like it's been quite a while since we had a meal just the two of us."
"Mm."
Byune replied briefly as Vihera spoke between bites of dried meat.
The sight of her washing down the salty dried meat with water was somehow reminiscent of a small animal.
Byune generally boasted an appetite second only to Rei's, but even so, she ate neatly. Watching her now, there was no sign of her scattering food about—anyone observing might even feel a warm sense of tenderness.
...If not for Set's existence, it wouldn't have been strange at all for her to fill the role of this group's mascot.
"I wonder how Rei and the others are doing. It's about time they came back, I'd think."
"Mm."
"Hm? You don't think they'll be back that soon? Well, even just exchanging information with the envoy delegation is bound to take a considerable amount of time."
"Mm."
"You're right. But if Rei came back... no, even if just Elena were here, we could have at least enjoyed ourselves a little."
"Mm."
"It's fine. I don't intend to take it that seriously, you know."
To Vihera's words, Byune said nothing but her usual "Mm."
Even so, the fact that their intentions came through to each other perfectly was surely proof of how long Vihera and Byune had known one another.
If Rei, Elena, or Marina had been present, they would have generally understood what Byune was trying to say. But even they couldn't have grasped everything with the precision Vihera did.
After that, to any onlooker it would have appeared as though Vihera was carrying on a one-sided conversation while Byune merely gave short replies in return... yet all the while, the two communicated their thoughts clearly as the meal progressed.
The portion itself wasn't large, so the meal ended quickly.
...Of course, even with an abundance of preserved foods like dried meat and hardtack, eating large amounts of them was a chore unless one was genuinely starving.
"It was a bit unusual, but still pretty tasteless, huh."
With that thought, Vihera surveyed her surroundings.
Among the people eating in their groups of ten, some had apparently managed to hunt something during the short break—they were eating meat.
Noticing that, Vihera turned her gaze to Byune.
Then she looked toward a small grove of trees a short distance away.
As a thief, Byune was adept at moving through forests. Alternatively, she could probably bring down a bird in mid-flight with a thrown Long Needle.
(Maybe I should have just asked Byune from the start.)
Vihera thought this, but now that the meal was already over, the realization didn't help.
(Byune could probably still eat more, though.)
Despite her small build, Byune ate a larger volume than Vihera. There was no doubt the preserved food they had just eaten was far from enough for her.
"Byune, want to go catch some game? If we go now, there's still plenty of time before—"
Vihera was about to finish with "bedtime," but she suddenly sensed an approaching presence and turned her gaze in that direction.
What filled her eyes, however, was not wariness but joy.
A beat later, Byune also looked in the same direction.
Then, further behind them, those among the group who were sensitive to such things noticed the approaching presence as well.
This was largely because the ones approaching—an individual... no, individuals—weren't bothering to conceal their presence at all.
"In hindsight... it seems we ate dinner a little too early. If we'd waited a bit longer, we could have had a proper meal."
Just as Vihera murmured that, a sound like something heavy dropping echoed through the area.
That sound finally alerted even those incapable of sensing presences that something was happening. They began scrambling to scan their surroundings.
But while that might have been easy at midday, the sun had already more than half-set. It was now precisely the time between evening and night—the hour sometimes called twilight.
Because of that, few could make out Set flying through the sky. It was only when Set let out a cry and descended to the ground that the vast majority finally noticed his return... and the return of Rei and the others.
And from those who noticed—especially those who relied on Set as their emotional anchor—cries of joy erupted.