Returning to Marina's house with Set, Rei found Elena and Vihera waiting for him, both looking as though they had already finished warming up.
One glance was all it took for Rei to tell that both of them could move without issue and perform at their full potential even if the tentacle fight started right now.
That was exactly why he found them reliable. From his Misty Ring, he pulled out the nikuman he had bought on the way and handed them to the two women... and also to Ara and Byune, who stood some distance away.
"We're about to head into battle, but it's probably best to get something in our stomachs first. You can't fight on an empty stomach, as they say."
"......I've never heard that saying before, but it's true enough."
Vihera bit into the nikuman Rei had handed her.
First, the sweetness of the dough spread across her palate, followed by the savoriness of the meat filling. The satisfaction came from the fact that the filling wasn't made with minced meat, but with several bite-sized pieces of meat instead.
Naturally, that was a matter of personal preference—there were probably those who preferred a ground-meat filling. Regardless, the others followed Vihera's lead and bit into their own nikuman.
Bought from a stall with a reputation for delicious food lately, the nikuman were more than good enough to satisfy everyone.
While eating, Rei and the others discussed the plan ahead.
"So, what about Marina?"
Rei asked, pulling another nikuman from his Misty Ring and tossing it to Set, who had already devoured his.
She had said she was going to do a final confirmation with Daskar and would be right back, so Rei had assumed she would already have returned by the time he got here. But looking out over the courtyard, Marina was nowhere to be seen.
"If you're wondering about Marina, she hasn't come back yet. ......Now that you mention it, I was so caught up in my mock battle with Vihera that I didn't notice, but you're right, she should be back by now. ......Mmm, this nikuman is delicious," Elena murmured, savoring the bite she had taken.
Under normal circumstances, Elena, as a duke's daughter, eating nikuman—let alone food bought from a street stall rather than a proper establishment—would have been unthinkable. But being in Gilm let her enjoy that unthinkable situation naturally, and that brought her genuine joy.
"It's not like Marina has that much to do, though...... ah."
Rei cut himself off mid-sentence. He turned toward where he was looking and found Marina standing there in her usual party dress.
"My, you're eating something delicious."
"See? More importantly, you're quite late. Did something come up?"
Rei asked while pulling a fresh nikuman from his Misty Ring and handing it to Marina.
She took a bite at once and shook her head.
"Oh my, this skin is delicious. So chewy...... I just went to remind Daskar about things. Just in case. If knights or soldiers barged in mid-battle, it would be a mess, right? Well, it's mostly fine, but there are always people who want personal glory and act on their own."
"Yeah...... so there are guys like that here too, huh."
As far as Rei knew, he didn't think there were such people among Gilm's knights and soldiers. Even during the war against the Bestia Empire, he hadn't seen anyone who acted on their own initiative for the sake of personal glory.
......Then again, the more accurate explanation might have been that during the war with the Bestia Empire, Rei's Fire Whirlwind had so thoroughly astonished everyone that no one was in any position to act independently.
But when you gathered a large number of people, it was impossible for all of them to be decent. With that being the case, it was only natural for such individuals to exist.
Moreover, the entity Rei and his party were about to fight could potentially inflict massive damage on Gilm, so it wouldn't be surprising if someone wanted to claim a major achievement here.
That said, since Marina had anticipated this and gone to remind Daskar beforehand, it was safe to assume their wish would go unfulfilled.
"Right. You aren't seriously believing the fairy tale that only good people exist in a place with this many people gathered, are you?"
"Well, that's true."
Rei naturally knew that an underworld existed in Gilm as well, having clashed with such people several times. Even short of that, he knew full well that there were always individuals committing petty misdeeds on a personal level.
"That's exactly why. ......Besides, whether or not we move is one thing, but if the Knight Order or soldiers mobilize, people will start suspecting all sorts of things."
"The Noble District crowd."
"Correct."
Not every single one of them, but among those living in the Noble District, many were tasked with intelligence-gathering for Gilm. For such individuals, mobilizing this much combat power on a large scale—and in winter, no less—was an important opportunity to gather information. Naturally, including the question of why such action was being taken.
......And Daskar, for his part, would prefer to keep an incident like this from being known if at all possible. In that sense, though he wasn't fighting the tentacles directly like Rei, Daskar must have been fighting his own battle behind the scenes.
"But wait, the ones behind this incident are the King's Faction, right? Then wouldn't that area be......"
"That's still not certain. We know from the testimony of those captured that the King's Faction is the most suspicious, but precisely because the King's Faction is the largest in scale, there are multiple sub-groups even within it."
"How troublesome."
"Hey, are you really the one to be saying that, Vihera?"
Rei's reply to Vihera's words, tinged with slight exasperation, was perhaps only natural.
The civil war that had occurred in the Bestia Empire a few years prior was, in a sense, a conflict among the Imperial Family. Precisely because it was an internal dispute, it was arguably far more troublesome than anything involving the Three Great Factions of the Kingdom of Mireana.
But Vihera didn't seem particularly bothered by Rei's words. She had participated in the civil war, but she likely considered herself to have already left the Imperial Family behind.
"Alright, alright, let's leave it at that for now...... it's almost time, so everyone, start getting ready for battle."
Judging that continuing to talk here would get them nowhere, Marina clapped her hands and made the announcement.
In truth, everyone seemed to share the judgment that standing around talking indefinitely would only waste time. Though there was no explicitly set deadline, it was obvious that they should move quickly.
However......
"Gruu?"
Rei stroked Set, who had stayed behind in the courtyard and was nuzzling against him, and glanced down at his own attire.
Rei fundamentally wore his Dragon Robe as everyday wear, and his boots were the Sleipnir boots. Given that the Dragon Robe outperformed not just average armor but even top-tier—or beyond top-tier—armor, he had no intention of putting on something that would only slow his movements.
Additionally, weapons such as Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear were stored in his Misty Ring, ready to be drawn at any moment. In other words, Rei didn't need any preparation worth the name.
That was why, while the others adjusted their equipment, Rei ended up waiting in the courtyard with Set and Ielo.
For the record, Ara was with Elena and Byune was with Vihera, so neither was present.
"Hm? Come to think of it, where did Ielo go? Is Ielo with Elena after all?"
Rei suddenly noticed that Ielo, who would normally be playing with Set, was nowhere to be seen.
Naturally, Ielo was not participating in the tentacle subjugation either. Ielo possessed extremely powerful defensive capabilities, but in the case of the tentacles, the moment their tips made contact, they could absorb the target's bodily fluids and flesh, completely bypassing however strong the armor's defense might be. In that sense, the tentacles were Ielo's natural enemy.
Given that Ielo was still small, a single touch from those tentacles could reduce it to nothing but skin and bones in an instant.
Though, if you consider that Ielo is a familiar created by Elena, there's a chance the tentacles wouldn't be able to do anything even if they tried...... but I can't exactly test that on a gamble.
As long as Ielo was still a child, unleashing its full abilities lay far in the future. For Ielo to truly flourish as a dragon, a few years or decades would certainly not be enough.
"Thinking about it, it was a relief that Set was born at this size. Though I would've liked to see a smaller Set too."
"Gurururu!"
Hearing Rei's words, Set let out a cry—soft enough not to echo through the surroundings—and the next moment, its body shrank.
Its frame, which had been over three meters long, contracted down to about seventy centimeters. Now roughly half its usual size, Set looked up at Rei with round eyes as if asking, "How's this?"
Rei smiled and gently stroked Set, who had used the Size Change skill.
"Well, I do think Set like this is cute too."
Honestly, Rei would have liked to see a small—a newborn—Set. But knowing that was impossible, the current seventy-centimeter version was satisfying enough.
"Gruu."
Whether pleased by the praise, Set purred happily.
Within the comfortable space—made so pleasant by Marina's Spirit Magic that it was hard to believe it was winter—Rei relaxed together with Set...... and eventually, Elena, Marina, and Vihera appeared, their combat equipment properly adjusted.
"......You all look quite relaxed."
"There wasn't much for me to do. ......Well, looks like everyone's ready, so let's go."
Replying to Elena, Rei rose to his feet, having been playing with Set.
Incidentally, no one was surprised that Set had become smaller. Set had used Size Change in this courtyard several times before, so that was likely why no one batted an eye at his current appearance. Set, now standing, had already returned to its normal size.
Elena fell into step beside Rei as he began walking with Set, and the others followed.
"Are Ara and Byune...... coming?"
"Yes. Of course, as we agreed beforehand, I won't let them participate in the battle. But when they said they wanted to at least watch from a distance, I couldn't refuse."
"I see. Byune aside, Ara should stay as close to Elena as possible."
Rei sometimes forgot, but Ara was the commander of Elena's Escort Knight Order. Given that, it was only natural for her to accompany Elena when she was heading into danger—and especially when fighting an unknown enemy like this, she would normally need to be at the very front.
......Though even setting aside her position as knight order commander, Ara was purely devoted to Elena. If Elena hadn't said anything, Ara would undoubtedly have joined this battle.
"Nn!"
Perhaps sounding as though Rei had praised only Ara, Byune muttered with slight dissatisfaction.
Byune was not unconcerned about Vihera, either. The two went quite a long way back. Given that, it was only natural for her to worry about Vihera's safety.
......Though it never showed on her face.
But having spent a fair amount of time with Byune, Rei somehow understood what she was trying to say.
"I know. I'm not blaming you, Byune. You're worried about Vihera too, right?"
"Nn!"
This time, Byune returned a satisfied nod.
Continuing to exchange words as they went, Rei and his party pressed onward.
Naturally, the sight of their group drew attention. Part of it was simply having Set with them, but more significantly, the others stood out even more. Seeing Rei's group, and seeing that everyone was fully armed, many people wondered what was about to happen.
Those who, like adventurers, were accustomed to fighting as part of their daily routine could sense an ominous tension in the air upon seeing them pass.
"Hey, come to think of it, wasn't there talk that the Knight Order and such are mobilizing too? Even the Gigant Turtle dissection isn't happening today......"
"Yeah. If that's the case, something must be going on."
"But right now, of all times? Hmm...... but Rei and his companions are...... and even the Princess General is with them, heading into battle, you know? Doesn't it feel like no matter what happens, they could handle it?"
Amidst such murmured exchanges going on around them, Rei and his party continued onward.