"Whoa... this is incredible."
As the settlement Zai belonged to came into view, Rei murmured those words from atop Set's back, filled with genuine surprise.
From the words "clan" and "settlement," he had assumed the population would number in the dozens—maybe a hundred at most. But from what he could see at a glance from a distance, there were easily over a thousand.
No, far from it. The numbers approached ten thousand.
Why they called a place of this size a mere "settlement" was beyond Rei's comprehension.
"Haa, haa, haa... y-yeah, right? ...Our clan, haa, haa... is the largest around here. Haa, fuu... though I'll admit, it's only recently that it grew this large."
Whether he had managed to catch his breath while talking, Zai delivered only that last sentence smoothly.
Even so, he had still recovered faster than the other four Centaurs who had encountered Rei.
The rest of them were still gasping, unable to steady their breathing.
(Well, I knew that.)
Rei watched the other Centaurs while stroking Set, who showed no sign of labored breathing whatsoever—as though he could run the same distance again right now without any issue.
Zai and his companions had been confident in their running speed, but after racing against Set, their pride had been thoroughly shattered.
They had pushed themselves hard to keep from being left behind, and the result was the current scene.
Even if someone could jog five kilometers, that was only at their own pace. Asked whether one could sprint five kilometers at short-distance speed, the answer would be no.
Zai and his companions had refused to lose to Set and pushed themselves beyond their limits. This was the consequence.
From Rei's perspective, even though they were panting heavily, the fact that they had covered such a distance at all was impressive. Still, saying so now would only wound their pride, so he kept that thought to himself.
Since they had arrived at the settlement, Rei dismounted from Set and turned to Zai.
"You said it grew this large recently... is there some kind of festival or something?"
"No, it's nothing like that. There are various circumstances behind it."
The nature of those circumstances piqued his curiosity, but Rei judged it best not to press the issue for now and shifted the topic.
...Fortunately, the subject matter for that new topic was approaching from the other direction.
"So? It looks like a few Centaurs are coming from the settlement... are they acquaintances of yours?"
Rei asked the question, but it was easy to imagine that even if they were acquaintances, they were not the friendly sort.
After all, that group of Centaurs was clearly directing hostility toward Zai—and toward Rei and Set as well.
The group was led by a man at the front who appeared to be their leader, commanding over ten followers.
With Zai's four companions—or five including Zai himself—the opposing side had more than double their numbers.
Perhaps well aware of this advantage, the other side spoke with an air of superiority despite their hostility.
"Zai, what is the meaning of this? Bringing in an outsider—and one the likes of which we've never seen before. Surely you understand what it means to pull such a stunt at a time like this?"
"This person has no connection to them. I think that should be obvious just by looking at him—at Rei. Or are you saying, Dratt, that Rei is one of them?"
In response to Zai's words, the man called Dratt clicked his tongue in irritation and glared at Rei.
That gaze carried hostility—no, even killing intent.
"I don't know who you are or what you're thinking, coming to this settlement. But listen well. Get lost. That's an order."
"...Huh? You're giving me orders?"
Rei responded to the man's haughty decree in a deliberately provocative tone.
His attitude must have rubbed Dratt the wrong way. One of Dratt's flunkies kicked off the ground, closed the distance to Rei, and thrust his spear forward—
"Whoa!"
But in the next instant, Rei swiftly dodged the strike. He grabbed the spear, forcefully broke his opponent's balance, then kicked his legs out and sent him tumbling to the ground.
The opponent was a Centaur, and unlike the two-legged Rei, he had four legs. He should have been able to withstand a slight loss of balance, but Rei kicked the destabilized leg and brought him down to the ground almost by force.
"Hey, that's dangerous. What the hell are you doing?"
"You bastard!"
Seeing his companion knocked to the ground, Dratt leveled his spear at Rei, his anger palpable.
Naturally, Dratt's flunkies did the same.
They fixed Rei with gazes steeped in hostility and murderous intent.
Looking at them, Rei withdrew Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring.
What!?
Long weapons, produced out of thin air.
Everyone present understood that Rei had not been carrying anything of the sort. If this had been Gilm, where Rei was known to possess a Misty Ring, such a sight would not have surprised everyone—though not quite everyone would know—but the vast majority certainly would have.
But that was only because Rei had operated in Gilm for a long time. To those like Zai and Dratt, it could only seem as though Rei had performed some incomprehensible feat.
"Who... are you!?"
"Well now, who could I be? For the time being, I have no intention of fighting you. But if you insist on attacking, I'll respond in kind. Understand?"
"...Tch."
Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear—two long weapons that would normally seem impossible for someone of Rei's build to wield. Moreover, at a single glance, it was clear that both were in an entirely different class from ordinary weapons.
Rei held both with practiced ease, and even to Dratt, it was apparent that a careless attack would invite a painful counterattack.
In truth, Rei fully intended to counterattack if struck, so Dratt's assessment was by no means wrong.
However... that was something Dratt could only recognize because he possessed a certain level of skill.
Among his flunkies, there were also those with considerable ability, and such individuals could grasp Rei's strength just from seeing his stance.
But for those unable to gauge Rei's true capabilities, it simply looked like an overwhelmingly smaller, two-legged opponent desperately putting up a front while wielding weapons far too large for him.
"Hey, you. What are you acting so tough for, carrying weapons beyond your means? In the first place, someone like you wielding such weapons is the height of presumption."
So saying, one of the Centaurs approached Rei and attempted to snatch Death Scythe.
He showed no awareness of the fact that Rei had produced Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from nowhere, nor of Set, who was watching him from a short distance away with an irritated gaze.
Ordinarily, he should have noticed such things, but the Centaur's eyes were captivated by Death Scythe. He thought only of seizing it and making it his own.
Rei could read exactly what the other was thinking, but as a form of punishment, he tossed Death Scythe toward the approaching Centaur.
"Alright... whoa!"
At first, when Rei tossed Death Scythe, it seemed as though he was simply going to hand it over. But the moment the Centaur caught it, he could not remain standing and was crushed beneath its weight.
"Guh... gah... someone... help..."
From the sidelines, a Centaur being crushed under Death Scythe looked like some kind of joke. The others around them initially thought the same, directing looks at their—seemingly—suffering comrade that said, "What on earth are you doing at a time like this?"
But when the face of the man pinned beneath Death Scythe contorted with genuine, agonizing pain, it was a different story entirely.
"I'm telling you, that's not an act. My Death Scythe—that great scythe—becomes incredibly heavy when anyone other than me holds it."
"What!?"
Dratt heard Rei's words and looked anew at his flunky, who was still being crushed beneath Death Scythe.
Even with the horse legs characteristic of Centaurs, he could not stand. He lay sprawled on the ground.
"You bastard!"
Dratt shouted at Rei upon seeing his flunky's face twisted in pain, but Rei paid him no heed and approached the man trapped under Death Scythe.
Naturally, Dratt and his flunkies watched Rei with wariness.
But Rei ignored even those gazes. He simply reached out his hand, took hold of Death Scythe from atop the fallen Centaur's body, and lifted it.
What!?
Dratt and his flunkies... no, even Zai and his companions let out voices of astonishment.
Naturally so. Just a moment ago, Death Scythe had been pinning a grown man to the ground, and Rei had lifted it effortlessly.
They had been watching Rei hold Death Scythe just moments before as though it were the most natural thing in the world, but seeing him lift it so casually after what they had just witnessed—it would have been more unreasonable not to be surprised.
However, paying no mind to the bewilderment around him, Rei held Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, turned his gaze toward Dratt, and spoke.
"So? What'll it be? Still want to go? If so, I'll put up at least some resistance."
"Guh... tch. Listen well, Zai! I've warned you! If that two-legged creature causes any trouble, it'll be on your head! Don't you forget it!"
With a sharp shout, Dratt turned and left.
His flunkies followed after him.
The man who had been crushed under Death Scythe also clambered to his feet, shot Rei a glare seething with killing intent for the humiliation, and then went after Dratt.
"Um, Rei. That great scythe... Death Scythe, was it? Is it truly that heavy? No—more importantly, where did you take it out from? You didn't have anything like that on you earlier."
Zai asked the question hesitantly.
To him, the person known as Rei was a complete mystery.
"Well, it's like that... let's see. Can you understand the term 'Magic Item'?"
"...Magic Item? What's that?"
"You don't know the word."
For some reason, words were mutually intelligible in this world. Furthermore, Rei and Zai shared a common understanding of specific terms such as "Centaur."
Given those circumstances, it was possible that the term "Magic Item" might also be understood. Or so Rei had thought—but unfortunately, Zai could not comprehend the meaning of the words that had just left Rei's mouth.
(This is... problematic in various ways. There are words we share, and words we don't. Or perhaps Magic Items actually exist in this world too, but simply haven't reached these plains... that possibility isn't zero either.)
As long as he only knew about this grassland—no, only about the settlement where Zai and his clan lived—Rei could not make any definitive claims.
(For now, I'll just have to feel my way through. They say human nations exist, and if I go there, I might find some clues... I hope so, anyway. If Anastasia is in this world, she'd probably be more interested in a Centaur settlement or places like that than a human nation.)
Given what Rei knew of Anastasia's personality, that wouldn't be unusual. And as for Fana, Rei could immediately picture her being dragged along in Anastasia's wake.
"Does the term 'magical power' mean anything to you?"
"Yes. I can't use it myself, but there are those who can use magic, like the elder."
From those words, Rei understood that magical power and magic were recognized in this world as well.
Relieved that this would make explanations easier, he continued.
"It's a tool that produces various effects through the use of magical power. For example..."
So saying, Rei poured magical power into the Twilight Spear and hurled it in the direction opposite the settlement.
"What—!?"
A voice of astonishment slipped from Zai's mouth.
Even to Zai, it was clear that the Twilight Spear was an extraordinary weapon. So extraordinary, in fact, that he could not even begin to fathom its value.
And yet—just as he was about to ask why Rei would do something so reckless as to throw such a spear—in the next moment, the Twilight Spear was back in Rei's hand.
The very spear that should have been thrown mere seconds ago.
"This is... what in the..."
"It produces special abilities like this. This is what a Magic Item is."
Saying so, Rei stored Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear back into his Misty Ring.