"Hmm, this should do. ...Once it's reduced to ash, no one will disturb it."
Elena murmured as she gazed at the stone before her.
Beneath it lay Black Wolf's corpse, buried and reduced to ashes.
There was no snow in the vicinity — the ground was merely wet.
The reason was simple enough. It was just the residual heat from when Rei had burned Black Wolf's corpse with his magic.
"Right. In mountains this remote, no one would normally come here. Black Wolf can rest in peace."
That said, adventurers or hunters searching for prey or gathering materials might still venture this far.
Even so, no one would go out of their way to move that stone — a rock large enough to be called a boulder — and dig into the ground beneath it.
Rei and Elena stared at the rock, hesitating to even call it a tombstone.
Ara watched the two from a short distance away, enduring the cold.
It was midwinter — in the mountains, no less. Even with cold-weather gear, it naturally couldn't ward off the chill entirely, and the cold slowly seeped into her body.
Still, the sun was out and she could feel the warmth of its light, so for now she could manage.
"Grrrrrrr!"
Set, who was supposed to be playing some distance away, let out a cry as he flapped his wings and swooped down.
Dangling from his forelegs was a deer.
How Set, who had been playing with Ielo, had managed to catch a deer was something of a mystery.
Rei had his doubts, but — it was Set, after all. That was enough to satisfy him.
"Gruu!"
"Kyu!"
Set and Ielo, who had been riding on his back, cried out as if to say, Aren't we amazing!
"Good job. But... dismantling a deer here would cause all sorts of problems, so I'll store it in the Misty Ring for now. That alright?"
"Gruu?"
A questioning chirp escaped Set's beak — why wasn't Rei butchering the deer here? — but seeing Rei's demeanor, he seemed to understand there was no intention of doing so and said nothing more.
Ielo, who had been riding on Set's back, let out a slightly dissatisfied purr.
...But when Ara, who had been watching from a short distance away, came over and picked Ielo up, he voiced no further complaints.
Rei touched the deer's carcass on the ground and stored it in the Misty Ring.
(Come to think of it — it's really, truly belated to realize this — but the Misty Ring has been working normally ever since the seal was released.)
He had been startled when the Flesh Cocoon sealed the Misty Ring, but after destroying the Flesh Cocoon, he had been using it without issue.
He had already used it countless times since that battle ended, so the realization felt embarrassingly late.
"Rei?"
Noticing Rei's distraction, Elena called out curiously.
Rei shook his head to indicate it was nothing, then spoke.
"We can't stay here forever. Should we head down the mountain soon? There's still a fair distance to Gilm."
"Umu. ...Still, it's remarkable that there was a place to set down the Set Basket in mountains like these."
Elena murmured thoughtfully, and she was right — for some reason, there was a patch in these mountains where no trees grew.
From the ground, it would be completely unnoticeable, but to anyone flying through the sky, it was a clearly distinct spot impossible to miss.
When Rei first found it, he had been slightly suspicious, but since it was a convenient place, he tried landing there... and ultimately, there was nothing special about it. It worked perfectly fine.
Still, it was hard to believe such a place had formed naturally.
He suspected someone had created it intentionally, but whether that someone was human, a Beastman, an Elf, or some other minority race... or perhaps even a monster or animal — there was no way to tell.
The circumstances remained unclear, but the fact that they could use it had undeniably been a help.
Arriving at the treeless clearing, Rei retrieved the Set Basket from the Misty Ring.
"Hmm, having this Set Basket is... without even needing to think twice, incredibly convenient. Without it, who knows how long traveling between Anesis and Gilm would take."
"Indeed. Especially now in winter, with snow falling and roads freezing — and above all, the cold exhausting the horses."
Elena and Ara murmured thoughtfully as they looked at the Set Basket.
For the humans of this world called Elgin, flying through the sky was a privilege granted only to a truly limited few, like Dragon Knights.
Because of that, Rei flying through the sky on Set — and further, using the Set Basket to airlift multiple people — could only be described as beyond common sense for the people of this world.
In response to their words, Rei stroked Set.
"That's all possible because Set is here. ...Right, Set?"
"Gruu... Grrrrrrr."
Purred over while Rei spoke, Set rumbled happily in his throat.
As if to cool Rei and his group's heads, a cold wind blew through the surroundings.
...Though the only one in this party who felt that cold was Ara.
Rei was wearing the Dragon Robe with its simplified air conditioner function, and Elena, having inherited the Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone, was unaffected by cold of this degree.
As for Set and Ielo, they could sleep outdoors even in far colder conditions.
Whether noticing Ara trembling faintly from the cold or not, Elena told Rei it was about time to depart.
"Rei, let's go soon. It gets cold in the mountains, and I'd like to secure tonight's lodging early... and there's the matter of butchering the deer Set caught, right?"
"Hm? Well, if you say so. No point in staying here forever anyway."
Rei hadn't noticed Ara's condition, but thinking there was no reason to remain here indefinitely, he nodded at Elena's words.
Once preparations were complete, Elena, Ara, and Ielo entered the Set Basket while Rei mounted Set's back.
"Alright, I'll need a bit more from you today."
"Gruu!"
Scratched behind the neck, Set purred happily and began to run.
With a few strides of approach, he flapped his wings and charged upward into the sky.
He made a wide turn in the air and dove toward the Set Basket on the ground... and the next moment, Set seized it in his talons and flew back up into the sky once more.
From atop Set's back, Rei surveyed the surroundings once more.
Perhaps because there were no clouds, it felt as though he could see endlessly in every direction.
(Because the air is clear in winter? No, unlike Japan, it's not that there's no air pollution... but it shouldn't be that bad.)
So Rei thought, but fundamentally, where he had lived was the Tohoku countryside, and compared to a metropolis like Tokyo, the air was clear.
Because of that, he had never truly experienced air pollution.
So even seeing this vista, he couldn't judge whether the air was clear and therefore beautiful, or if there was some other reason.
(Well, no point thinking about that now. ...It's definitely because of encountering Black Wolf that I'm thinking like this.)
Rei reflected deeply that the incident with Black Wolf had likely made him strongly recall things from Japan.
Of course, if asked whether he was dissatisfied with his current life in Elgin, he would immediately answer no.
But in the single area of entertainment, the lack of manga and anime was disappointing for Rei.
There were books containing stories — or rather, something like novels — so it wasn't as though there were no books for entertainment at all.
(Should I just spread manga myself? ...No way that'd work.)
He immediately rejected the idea he had just come up with.
For one thing, Rei enjoyed reading manga but had never drawn one.
There had been manga depicting the struggles of becoming a manga artist, and he had read those.
But he had enjoyed them for the story, so he had no idea how to actually draw manga properly.
If he just drew something approximating the style, maybe he could manage it... but unfortunately, Rei had no talent for art.
(Just the concept alone — if I found someone good at drawing... no, but without printing presses and that sort of thing, making it into a book would be difficult.)
If it were a novel or some kind of technical book, it would only require text, so there'd be no need to worry as much.
But manga naturally required illustrations, and without artistic talent on the part of the book's creator, even if the concept of manga existed, reproducing it with consistent artwork would be impossible.
So Rei thought... but then he remembered that books like the Monster Encyclopedia, as well as encyclopedias of medicinal herbs, ores, and animals, all had properly drawn illustrations.
(Huh? Those kinds of books... have proper illustrations, right? How on earth do they mass-produce them? ...Well, whatever.)
As a conclusion regarding manga, for the time being, it was impossible for Rei to spread it on his own.
He could perhaps teach the concept, so if he came across a struggling painter, he could pay them to create manga and then show it to someone influential — that was the conclusion he reached.
(Considering that Takumu was part of the Zephyle Clan, and that there have been others who came from Japan in the past, you'd think they could have at least spread manga...)
Even while Rei was thinking about manga, Set continued flying through the sky, flapping his wings.
Set wouldn't have minded talking to Rei a little, but understanding that Rei was deep in thought, he flew silently and steadily toward Gilm, not wanting to disturb him.
After flying for a while, a town came into view ahead.
"Grrrrru?"
Set, who normally wouldn't have wanted to interrupt Rei's thoughts, couldn't help but alert him now that a town was visible.
They had the Magic Tent, so even in winter, camping outdoors wouldn't be difficult — but staying at an inn in town would be ideal.
What's more, Set also held the hope that they might be able to eat the local specialty dishes of that town.
Though depending on the place, there were towns that feared Set and wouldn't allow him inside.
"Oh — what is it? What's wrong? ...A town, huh. Better to stay at an inn than camp out. Set, can you descend toward the ground?"
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set dove toward the ground.
He dropped the Set Basket at a spot slightly away from the town... and from there, Elena and Ara emerged, to whom Rei explained the situation.
"Hmm, I don't mind either way. The Magic Tent is comfortable enough, but a dish unique to that town sounds interesting. What about you, Ara?"
"I'm fine with either. However, some townspeople may be harboring ill intentions, so in terms of safety, the Magic Tent would be more reliable. ...Though even if the townspeople tried something, I doubt they could do anything to Lady Elena or Lord Rei."
With two Alias Holders present, if anyone tried anything, it would unquestionably be suicide.
That was exactly why Ara had said what she did.
Rei, who had been listening to Ara's words, saw several soldiers approaching from the town and spoke.
"Looks like a welcoming party is coming our way."
That was only natural.
Even if they were somewhat removed from the town, something like the Set Basket had suddenly appeared there.
Soldiers tasked with protecting the town's safety would naturally come to investigate.
As those soldiers approached, the first to act was Ara.
Still carrying her Power Axe on her back, she walked toward the soldiers and, addressing their wary expressions, identified their group.
What worked effectively here were Elena's beauty and the presence of Gryphon Seto.
Anyone even slightly well-informed would know who such a pair might be.
The soldiers had seemed slightly hesitant about letting Set into town, but with Elena taking responsibility, Set was ultimately allowed inside.
As for the deer, the cook at the inn where they stayed butchered it, and in exchange for the hide, all the meat was prepared as dishes for Rei's group, who savored them together with Set, the one who had caught it.
And so, continuing their journey... several days later, they finally arrived at Gilm.