The explanation of Magic Items came to an end for the time being.
Though Rei couldn't honestly say that Zai and the others had gained any deep understanding of them.
For now, they grasped only that these were tools possessing some kind of mysterious power—and that wasn't actually far off the mark.
...After all, even Rei himself didn't understand the specific internal structure of Magic Items.
In any case, with Dratt's incident settled—or perhaps not quite settled—and the matter of Magic Items resolved, Rei and Set entered the settlement of Zai's clan.
Seeing the sheer number of people gathered there, the word "settlement" didn't seem adequate; "village" or even "town" would be more fitting.
Everyone within the settlement was a Centaur.
There might have been other races as well, but at the very least, from what Rei could see, there was no mistaking that every single one of them was a Centaur.
That was precisely why Set—a massive gryphon spanning three meters in length—and Rei, who walked on two legs unlike the Centaurs, stood out remarkably.
When the Centaurs in the settlement caught sight of Rei, every one of them stared at him and Set in sheer astonishment.
The fact that it didn't immediately erupt into a commotion or, worse, lead to an attack was partly because many could sense Set's strength... but more than anything, Zai's presence at Rei's side made the biggest difference.
If Zai was vouching for this person, then he wasn't someone who would bring them harm.
That was the conclusion they reached.
(Huh. Looks like Zai's influence is stronger than I expected.)
Unlike Dratt, Zai didn't travel with a large number of followers.
So Rei had assumed his influence wasn't all that substantial.
But looking around the settlement now and observing how others reacted, he could tell that Zai was firmly trusted by his people.
...Even so, the fact that he was being stared at with open curiosity by so many Centaurs hadn't changed.
Amidst all that, Rei suddenly sensed a presence approaching him.
It didn't seem to harbor any kind of hostility, though, so without making any particular show of concern, he turned his gaze toward it.
Standing there was, unsurprisingly, a Centaur.
But unlike Zai, it wasn't an adult—it was a child, a small Centaur whose head barely reached Rei's chest.
"Mister, you only have two legs? What a weird guy!"
"Ah... yeah. That's right. Where I come from, two legs is normal."
If those words had carried the same hostility as Dratt's earlier, Rei would have responded accordingly.
But facing an innocent child asking with purely curious eyes—that kind of reaction was out of the question.
So he gave a vague, dismissive answer.
Perhaps judging from Rei's demeanor that he wasn't a bad sort, the Centaur child next turned his attention to Set beside him.
...Normally, a child would have noticed Set before Rei. But for whatever reason, this particular child had found Rei more interesting.
Or perhaps, with that innocent young heart, the child had sensed something about what kind of being Rei really was.
"Whoa, that's amazing! What's this animal? I've never seen one before!"
"Animal's not quite right—he's a monster. Does the word 'monster' mean anything here?"
He asked Zai just to be sure, and Zai nodded.
If the word "monster" was understood, then these grasslands undoubtedly had monsters of their own.
If possible, he wanted to defeat some and obtain Magic Stones.
But when he considered whether Beast Magic would even work with Magic Stones from another world, honestly, that was an open question.
Not something he'd know without actually trying.
"Deatrice! What do you think you're doing!?"
At the voice that suddenly rang out, Rei turned his gaze.
A female Centaur with a face pale with alarm was bearing down on the one called Deatrice—the Centaur child who had been talking to Rei—and struck him on the head. With her fist.
From the look of it, she was Deatrice's mother, or perhaps an older sister—which came as a mild surprise to Rei, who'd expected a palm rather than a closed fist if she was going to strike him at all.
But the female Centaur forcefully pushed Deatrice's head down toward Rei, making him bow despite his pained protests.
"I'm so sorry. My son was being rude to you."
"Ah... no, really. I don't mind at all, so go easy on him. A child's curiosity isn't a bad thing."
Rei spoke as he shielded Deatrice from his mother.
For the record, this wasn't purely out of kindness.
There was a calculating motive behind it as well—if he was viewed favorably in this settlement, it would make gathering information that much easier later.
At Rei's words, Deatrice's mother bowed her head once more.
...Watching that exchange, Rei could sense that the gazes of the other Centaurs observing from the surroundings had softened somewhat.
(Definitely not a bad result. Though the Centaurs here are only a limited number.)
If this settlement had only a few dozen people, that exchange alone would have been enough.
But this settlement had far too many inhabitants to be called merely a settlement.
Even if everyone here grew favorably disposed toward Rei, the rest—those not in this area—would know nothing about him.
Which meant that to gather information here, he would need to further strengthen his influence within the settlement.
...That said, whether it was information about Anastasia and Fana or anything else useful to him, he couldn't afford to spend time slowly building up his reputation.
He needed to make his presence known to as many people as possible, and quickly.
(It'd be convenient if Dratt caused some kind of trouble... but that's probably unlikely.)
For all his bravado, Dratt had arrived with followers, suggesting he commanded a fair amount of trust among his allies.
"Enough. You can go now."
At Zai's words, the woman bowed once more as if relieved, then pulled her child away and left.
"Sorry about that."
"Don't be. I don't really mind. Like I said, a child's curiosity isn't a bad thing."
"I appreciate you saying that. But that curiosity can also lead to trouble. Thinking about it that way, it was fortunate that you were the one he approached, Rei."
Zai spoke with genuine feeling.
Seeing his demeanor, Rei guessed that something must have happened in the past.
"Anyway, that settles that for now... That said, Set and I really do stand out in this settlement."
"Yeah. That's for certain. Especially since everyone here is a Centaur. And given the current situation, there are even more of them gathered than usual."
"...You mentioned something like that earlier. Mind if I ask specifically why?"
Originally, Rei hadn't intended to get deeply involved in this matter.
But if strengthening his influence to gather information meant sticking his nose into their affairs, he was willing to do it.
"It doesn't really concern you, Rei. No need to worry about it."
"Telling me that only makes me more curious. Well, fine. You saw what I'm capable of from that incident with Dratt, right? Though in your case, Zai, it seems you read my abilities from the moment we met."
Zai nodded silently at Rei's words.
No—it wasn't just Zai. The others who had been traveling with him nodded as well.
Dratt's followers, while numerous, had included some who completely failed to read Rei's strength.
Considering that, the caliber of the people surrounding Zai versus Dratt was apparently quite different.
(Well, that's only based on what I've seen so far. I don't actually know the full picture yet.)
Rei still knew next to nothing about this settlement.
He didn't even know about this world, let alone this settlement.
If that was the case, then he needed to start by gathering information—first about this settlement, then about the world beyond.
"..."
But contrary to Rei's expectations, Zai said nothing.
He wore a frustrated expression, but never actually put it into words.
(Why hold back this much? Based on what I've seen, he should want every bit of help he can get.)
Still, considering Zai's personality, Rei could sort of understand.
It hadn't even been half a day—barely a few hours—since they first met.
Even so, in that short time, Rei had already grasped that Zai possessed an honest, proud, and thoroughly straitlaced personality.
That was precisely why, even with his settlement and his clan in crisis, he was reluctant to lean on Rei's strength.
That said, unless something was done about whatever was threatening this settlement, things could turn dangerous in any number of ways.
Even factoring in Zai's personality, if it came down to a choice between his pride and solving his settlement's problems—Rei was almost certain he'd choose the latter.
"I'm searching for two women named Anastasia and Fana. It's virtually certain they came through this area. That being the case, if this settlement—with all the information it must have gathered—were to fall apart, that would be a problem for me."
"...For the time being, I'll take you to where the Elder is."
In the end, Zai offered that much as a deflection and led the way deeper into the settlement.
Rei, apparently judging that pressing further wouldn't be wise for now, quietly followed behind with Set.
"That house... wait, is that not a house? A tent?"
As they walked through the settlement, Rei noticed that what he'd taken for houses were actually tent-like structures.
Of course, even calling them tents was generous—these weren't the kind of tents the Fleeing Adventurers used. They were far more substantial, closer to actual dwellings.
Naturally, since they were tents rather than permanent structures, they could be packed up and moved.
(When I was in Japan, I saw something called a ger on TV—is this something like that?)
Rei didn't know the finer details, but a ger was a portable tent used by nomads.
They looked nothing like camping tents, and since they were made with wool, they were extremely warm.
...Of course, when he'd seen them on TV, some of those gers even had solar panels, storage batteries, and satellite dish antennas attached.
In any case, despite the differences, the tents in this settlement bore a strong resemblance to gers.
(That said, Centaur tents are much larger than the gers I'm familiar with. How do they sleep—the same way ordinary horses do?)
As far as Rei knew, horses slept in one of three ways: standing up, crouching down, or lying flat on the ground.
He had no idea how Centaurs slept.
But given that their lower halves were equine, they likely slept the same way horses did. And if so, the tents would naturally need to be larger to accommodate Centaurs, whose bodies were far bigger than a human's.
"Rei? What is it?"
"Oh, nothing. The houses... the tents are just unusual to me."
"Are they? It's perfectly ordinary in our settlement."
"Maybe for you, but to me they're something new. You can probably guess that from the difference in size between me and your people."
"Mm. That's... true. But Set, was it? That beast... no, monster, rather. In any case, with a creature that size, he wouldn't fit in a small dao."
"Dao? You mean the tent?"
"Yes. I know what a tent is, but what we use is called a dao."
"...Is that so."
Feeling slightly disappointed that it wasn't called a ger, Rei nonetheless accepted Zai's explanation.
"Umu. And so—"
Zai nodded at Rei's words and was about to say something when, without warning, Set growled low in his throat.
"Grrrrl."
"Set?"
Rei questioned Set's sudden shift in demeanor. Zai and his companions, as well as the surrounding Centaurs who had been watching the scene unfold, all looked bewildered.
"Dragonias! The Dragonias are coming!"
As if to shatter that moment of tension, the cry rang out across the settlement.