"Um... I appreciate it, but why go this far for us?"
At Marquis's words, his companions... and the woman who had been sent flying by the Gamelion and knocked unconscious all nodded in agreement.
Incidentally, when the unconscious woman came to, rather than expressing relief, she groaned at the foul taste of potion residue lingering in her mouth, letting out a sound that was half shriek, half groan—as though something deeply unseemly were escaping her lips. But for the time being, everyone—including Phron and her group—pretended it hadn't happened.
"I already told you, it's because I took a liking to you. Right?"
"Gruu? Grururururu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred in agreement.
Some of Marquis's companions were frightened of Set, but several others didn't seem particularly bothered.
(This reaction makes it easy to tell who just arrived in Gilm and who's been around a while. ...Though it's not a perfect rule.)
Gilm was large, and a great many people had gathered there. On top of that, the Expansion Construction had drawn even bigger crowds than usual, and now merchants were rushing in on top of that.
Under those circumstances, it wouldn't be strange for someone to have lived in Gilm for quite some time yet never have seen Rei or Set.
Even if they'd heard about Set from local residents, seeing him for the first time would be enough to frighten anyone.
Those who cowered at the sight of Set were likely either such people or those who had genuinely only just arrived in Gilm.
"Took a liking to us... is that really all there is to it?"
"Yeah. ...Just to be sure, though—you weren't a party that had been operating together before coming to Gilm, were you?"
He asked the question, but it was mostly to confirm what he already suspected.
The battle with the Gamelion... Rei had intervened at what appeared to be the tail end of the fight, but judging by how each side had acted, they didn't strike him as people who had been in the same party for long.
Rather, if they had been partied together for years, he could say with confidence that their coordination was terrible.
Rei's prediction proved correct. Everyone including Marquis shot him a look as if wondering how he could possibly have known.
"Eh? Um, how did you know that!?"
Unable to hold his tongue, one of Marquis's companions blurted the question out reflexively.
Rei was about to respond, but Phron beat him to it.
"It's obvious. Whether people have been fighting together for a long time—that's something you can tell the moment you watch them move in combat."
Not expecting Phron to chime in, Marquis and his group turned toward her with bewildered "Eh?" expressions.
"Listen. Anyone with a decent amount of skill can tell at a glance whether a party actually functions as one. Especially guys like you, who are so obviously green it's written all over your faces. ...So first of all, what are you even doing here?"
"Here?" Marquis muttered, looking thoroughly confused.
But Phron's expression was dead serious, and it was immediately clear she wasn't cracking a joke or making snide remarks.
"That's right. I don't know what rank you lot are, but there's no way you're B or C. Even D would be a stretch. So why would people like you deliberately come to the Gamelion Hunt? This is Gilm. The frontier. How few monsters out there could you possibly handle with your level of skill? ...It's obvious without even thinking about it."
"That's..." At Phron's perfectly reasonable argument, Marquis was at a loss for words.
In truth, there was no denying that Marquis and his group had been overconfident. They had taken down a Goblin that wandered onto the Expansion Construction site and convinced themselves they could handle anything.
Then they had seen a party that had successfully hunted a Gamelion, learned just how much money it brought in, and formed a party among friends to join the hunt.
As a result, their careless attitude had nearly gotten them killed—only Rei's timely intervention had saved them.
(Well, considering Phron showed up not long after I did, there's a chance she would've made it in time even without me... but in that case, a few of them probably would've died. Another Gamelion was closing in from behind, too.)
Given that a single Gamelion had already half-destroyed them, a pincer attack from two would have been fatal.
Rei congratulated himself on the perfect timing of his intervention... while simultaneously concluding that Marquis's group had simply been lucky.
Luck was an absolutely essential element for any adventurer trying to survive.
Even among those of equal skill, there were always some who for whatever reason succeeded at their requests, and in battles with monsters, those who lived and those who died were often separated by nothing more than fortune.
Viewed in that light, luck—an ability that couldn't be seen or measured—was an indispensable trait for an adventurer. For a surviving adventurer.
By that logic, even though they had truly been at the brink, the fact that Rei's help had arrived in the nick of time was proof enough that Marquis's group possessed plenty of luck.
(Well, they've got luck. Skill, not so much.)
While Rei was lost in thought, the exchange between Marquis and Phron continued, with the two going back and forth over various points.
...Actually, "going back and forth" wasn't quite right. It was more accurate to say that Phron was unilaterally dressing down Marquis.
But Marquis and the others clearly understood it was for their own good. Though frustration flickered across their faces with each pointed criticism, there was no trace of resentment.
That said, if Phron's lecture went on much longer, there was a real risk it would break their spirit entirely.
Rei had taken a liking to Marquis's group—watching them desperately shield one another despite being companions who had only just met—and decided it was time to cut in.
"Phron, that's enough. We're not going to find any Gamelions standing around here."
At Rei's words, Phron finally lowered her verbal spear.
"Hmph. Fine. But listen—if you're moving with us today, you follow my lead. We do things my way, not yours. That clear?"
Marquis nodded solemnly at her insistent confirmation.
Their exchanges up to this point had made it clear enough that Phron and her group operated on an entirely different level.
If Marquis's group had been a bit more skilled, they would have grasped the gulf in power just from facing Phron's party head-on... but unfortunately, they hadn't yet reached that level of perception.
"Understood. We may cause you trouble along the way, but we're in your hands."
"Hmph."
She snorted through her nose, but Phron's mouth curved in satisfaction. The fact that they hadn't wilted under that much criticism had clearly won them points.
Having earned the favor of Phron, who led this temporary party, was undeniably reassuring.
Of course, "earned her favor" didn't mean they wouldn't immediately catch an earful if they pulled anything stupid while traveling together.
"Alright, looks like we're settled. I'm going to go search for a Gamelion. I'll ride Set and scan from the sky, and when I spot one... let's see, I'll have Set make one wide circle. That's the signal. After that, the direction Set heads is where the Gamelion is. Sound good?"
"If you pull a flashy stunt like that, someone might try to tail you. I'd rather you come back down to report."
Rei riding Gryphon Seto was, naturally, common knowledge throughout Gilm.
With Rei and Set circling overhead, right above the Gamelion Hunt grounds... a maneuver like that would draw every eye.
With the hunt already nearing its end, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't try to read the Gamelion's position from Rei's movements.
No—Phron was certain someone absolutely would.
Naturally, she wanted to minimize the chances of being beaten to the punch, but...
"Don't ask for the impossible. You know how fast a Gamelion is."
The Gamelion, a rabbit monster, prided itself on its leg strength. Despite its massive frame, it moved at unbelievable speeds.
Because of that, if Rei spotted one and then descended to the ground to report, there was a very real chance the Gamelion would vanish the moment he looked away.
But Phron, fully aware of this, pressed on anyway.
"I know that. But there's a chance it isn't moving. Like when it's feeding."
"...I'd rather not think too hard about what it might be feeding on."
There were plenty of animals and monsters in the area besides Gamelions. But from a Gamelion's perspective, adventurers who came hunting it were far easier to find than other prey—after all, their meals came to them willingly.
If a Gamelion was eating something, there was a high probability it was an adventurer it had turned the tables on.
In other words, if Phron's scenario played out, they might well find an adventurer's corpse.
"That's fine. If you're an adventurer, you came here prepared for that sort of thing."
"Fair enough. But what if the Gamelion I find hasn't stopped? If it's mid-transit, for instance. Should I come back to report then? And I'm telling you now—I'm only finding one Gamelion for you. Once."
"Gnuh."
Phron choked on her words.
If possible, she would have wanted Rei to find as many Gamelions as he could. That was testament enough to how effective aerial reconnaissance on Set was.
No—it wasn't simply the ability to fly that made it so effective. It was Set specifically, with his five senses far sharper than any ordinary creature's, his Sixth Sense, and his mana detection, that made such precise searches possible.
And Rei, riding Set, also possessed senses keener than a normal person's, if not quite at Set's level.
Phron's request had been made in expectation of the combined abilities of that duo—but Rei had cut it down in a single stroke.
"Well? If that works for you, I can come back to report after finding one."
Forced to decide under Rei's pressing gaze, Phron felt the eyes of her companions—and Marquis—upon her. At length, she spoke.
"Fine. Circling in the sky is enough. In exchange, try to find a big one."
"Easier said than done. Honestly, what kind of Gamelion I find comes down to luck."
A bit earlier, at the height of the Gamelion Hunt, there would have been far more of them around, and finding a large one wouldn't have been difficult.
Of course, under those conditions, locating a Gamelion wouldn't have required Rei to ride Set and scan from the sky in the first place.
Looking somewhat dissatisfied, Phron nevertheless accepted the arrangement. Rei stowed the Gamelion corpse in his Misty Ring and took to the sky on Set.
"Now then... where might a Gamelion be?"
Rei muttered to himself up in the air.
But given the season, hardly any Gamelions remained.
He had spotted a few, but they were already engaged with adventurers—and there was no way he could tell Phron to poach someone else's kill.
If the adventurers were in trouble like Marquis's group had been, that would be different—but there couldn't be that many people out there with skills as poor as theirs.
"Hmm, nothing around here. ...Maybe over by that copse?"
Stroking Set's body, Rei turned his gaze toward a small grove of trees a short distance away.
"Ah."
"Gruu."
Set let out a cry at Rei's words. The moment Rei looked toward the copse, as if it had been waiting for exactly that, a Gamelion emerged from between the trees—fangs buried in a sizable Deer.
Judging it was likely mid-meal, Rei circled Set once in a wide arc to signal Phron and her group on the ground, then steered Set toward where the Gamelion was gorging itself on the Deer's innards, indicating the direction to Phron below.