The Dragonias had come.
The moment those words echoed through the settlement, the atmosphere changed completely.
Many of the women, children, and elderly showed visible signs of unease.
In contrast, there were also those whose fighting spirit flared to life. Zai and his companions, who had been standing at Rei's side, were among them.
While the settlers understood what the Dragonias were and what was about to happen, Rei and Set did not. Rei could grasp that a battle was brewing, but the nature of these "Dragonias" eluded him.
(Going by the name, is it something dragon-related? If so, is the problem this settlement faces connected to that?)
He speculated from the sound of the name alone, but another thought had already taken root—wasn't this, in a way, a perfect opportunity?
To gather information in this settlement, and to keep people like Dratt from harassing him over trivial matters, Rei needed to build his reputation. In that sense, the arrival of the Dragonias was by no means a bad turn of events for him.
For the settlement, of course, it was far from welcome.
"Dragonias? What exactly happened?"
"Enemies."
That single word was all Zai offered. Even so, it carried a deep, bitter resentment—the kind that would drive him to kill a Dragonias on the spot without a second thought if one stood before him.
"Enemies... So I was right to assume that's the reason this settlement grew so large."
"..."
Zai's only response to Rei's words was silence. But what that silence meant was obvious without a second thought. Just as Rei suspected, the Centaurs were not the dominant race in this world.
Naturally, judging by Zai, Dratt, and the many other Centaurs he'd observed, they were undoubtedly a powerful race.
(Which means the most likely explanation is that the Dragonias arrived in these grasslands recently and occupied the Centaurs' territory—or rather, their range of activity?)
Rei's mind churned with questions, but the situation pressed on even in that brief span of time.
"Calm the sheep, goats, and cattle! Keep them from panicking!"
"Women and children—prepare for immediate evacuation!"
Several men sprinted through the settlement with the distinctive speed of Centaurs, shouting orders as they went. Hearing their voices, everyone fought down their fear and carried out their assigned tasks. Even small children—Centaurs who looked the same age as or younger than the one Rei had spoken to earlier—were each doing their part.
(It's not as if no one is panicking. But judging from the overall picture, the settlement is sufficiently composed.)
Rei cast a brief glance over the Centaur settlement, then turned to Zai.
"Well then, I suppose we'll head out too. I don't know what's attacking, but with me here, repelling them is a given."
"Hey—"
Zai tried to object. As far as he was concerned, Rei had no stake in this matter, and he would have preferred that Rei stay out of it entirely.
But Rei, acting as though he couldn't care less about Zai's feelings, scanned the surroundings with Set and set off in the direction the armed Centaurs were heading.
To be honest, since Rei wasn't fighting for this settlement out of sheer altruism, Zai didn't need to worry so much—or so Rei felt.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not doing this for nothing. I'm helping because there's something in it for me."
"..."
Zai hesitated, weighing whether to believe him... then eventually gave a nod.
"Fine. But the reward I can offer won't be much."
"Yeah, that works."
If anything, the mere fact that there would be a reward at all was unexpected.
Still, Rei had no idea how long he'd remain in this world. Any currency circulating in this region would therefore be a significant gain.
(If possible, it'd be nice to get my hands on some rare materials. Grimm would be thrilled.)
Rei's ability to exist in this world hinged largely on Grimm maintaining the spatial hole that connected to it. Given that, he wanted to acquire anything that would please Grimm if the opportunity arose.
(I don't know what a Dragonias is, but if it turns out to be a monster, that'd be ideal. Knowing Grimm, he'd jump at the chance to study a creature from another world.)
Grimm's curiosity was voracious, though in a different sense from Anastasia's.
Since Rei didn't even know whether the Dragonias were monsters, speculating at this point was probably pointless.
"Zai, we're about to fight together. Tell me—what kind of beings are the Dragonias?"
"Those bastards... are invaders."
Zai muttered bitterly, as though grinding his back teeth. From those words alone, it wasn't hard for Rei to read what was going through his mind.
"Invaders? So they weren't in these grasslands before?"
"That's right. They started showing up a while ago."
A while ago—how long exactly? Rei couldn't help but wonder, but without knowing what calendar this world used, there was no point asking. He considered framing it in terms of seasons, but he had no idea whether this world—or even these grasslands—had four seasons.
"So about their invasion—do they raise livestock on the plains as well?"
If invaders were coming to the grasslands, they must have needed the territory itself. And those who needed grasslands would presumably need them as grazing land for livestock—sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, and horses all required grass.
That was Rei's line of reasoning, but Zai flatly denied it.
"No. What they want is us."
"...Us?"
Zai nodded as Rei echoed the word back in question.
"That's right. Dragonias are carnivores. They want our livestock as prey."
Rei nodded in understanding. The word "us" had made him wonder whether the Dragonias might also prey on Centaurs themselves.
(In this context, "our livestock" is probably the more accurate reading.)
He kept that thought to himself. Judging from the current mood, it would be wiser not to bring it up, so he prompted Zai to continue.
"Even so, if they just want livestock, why not raise their own instead of attacking this settlement? This is a grassland—they wouldn't struggle to find feed."
"I thought the same, and I proposed exactly that. But... those bastards refuse to raise anything themselves. They consider taking from others by force to be something noble."
"That's... well, in other words, bandits."
In Rei's understanding, that sort of behavior made them bandits, plain and simple. And if his opponents were bandits, then Rei—also known as the Bandit Eater—felt his motivation surge.
"Wait. Unfortunately, while the Dragonias share certain traits with bandits, they are not bandits."
"...Why not? They take things by force, don't they? I don't see why calling them bandits would be wrong."
Even as he said it, Rei noticed that the word "bandit" had come across clearly.
(It's strange how easily the meanings of words carry over. What's going on here? Could it be that Japanese people visited this world in the past, or something along those lines?)
He filed the question away—there were more pressing matters to attend to—and nudged Zai to continue.
"Bandits take not only food but valuables, or women. The Dragonias, however, take nothing but food."
"...Is that so?"
The moment he heard those words, a fraction of the motivation that had been building inside Rei deflated.
One reason Rei enjoyed bandit hunting was that it was an efficient way to earn money. If anything, though, his real target was Magic Items. Bandits would attack Merchants, then Rei would attack those bandits and claim the Magic Items the Merchants had been carrying.
Of course, he wasn't deliberately letting bandits prey on Merchants—it was purely coincidental that things played out that way.
"So even if we defeat the Dragonias, there's no treasure to claim? Well, I don't know how things work around here when you defeat bandits, either."
"Right. If I had to name something you'd gain... it would be the land the Dragonias held. Though the majority of the creatures that lived on that land have already been eaten and killed by them."
"That's... endlessly greedy. A bunch completely ruled by their appetite."
"Yeah. That's exactly why they devour everything edible in a given area, and when there's nothing left, they move on to the next place."
"And the next place the Dragonias set their sights on is here."
Zai nodded with a grim expression.
Looking at him, Rei finally understood why so many Centaurs were crammed into this one settlement. Centaurs who had already been attacked and driven from their homes by the Dragonias must have flocked here.
(So that's why Dratt was so hostile, too? ...Though it's entirely possible he just has that kind of personality to begin with.)
From what Zai described, the Centaurs had been the strongest presence in these grasslands. But many of their settlements had been wiped out by the Dragonias—in other words, something stronger than the Centaurs had appeared. That was probably what didn't sit well with Dratt.
It wouldn't be a stretch to think that was the reason for his attitude. Not that Rei needed to take that into consideration.
"Anyway, we just need to defeat these Dragonias, right?"
"...Yes. But the Dragonias are always starving. No matter how much they eat, they're never satisfied. On top of that, their bodies are enormous, and each one consumes a massive amount."
"Yikes..."
Given their sheer size, it made sense that they'd eat a lot. But the thought of a large number of such creatures—ones big enough that even Centaurs, whom Rei considered large, would describe them as huge—eating ceaselessly without ever feeling full... just how much food must that require?
As they talked, Rei, Set, Zai, and Zai's companions reached the edge of the settlement.
Outside, Centaur men had already gathered—not just men, but every woman who could fight as well. The entire fighting force was assembled.
Rei turned his gaze in the direction the Centaurs were facing and saw numerous plumes of dust drawing closer. From those dust clouds, he couldn't make out the Dragonias' actual appearance. But one look at the expressions of the surrounding Centaurs made it clear: the Dragonias were not an opponent that could be handled casually.
Even Zai, who had been explaining things to Rei the whole way here, now stared at the dust clouds with a deadly serious expression.
"Well then... Zai, I'll ask just in case—there's no way to communicate with the Dragonias, is there?"
Zai shot him a look that seemed to ask what he was even talking about. But then, apparently remembering that Rei was unfamiliar with the ways of this world, he nodded.
"That's right. They don't use words... well, they communicate with each other through unique cries, so that could be called a language of sorts. But they cannot communicate with us."
"I see. One more thing. If the grassland caught fire, would it harm the settlement?"
"It would. But compared to the damage the Dragonias would inflict, it's trivial. At worst, we could simply relocate the entire settlement."
Having confirmed that, Rei drew Death Scythe from his Misty Ring and began to chant.
"Flame, reveal destruction, one of your true forms, within yourself. You are that which burns all, erases all, and annihilates all. Bring about great destruction, and let it serve as a sacrifice for immediate rebirth."
A fireball condensed from Rei's mana flared into existence. As every Centaur nearby fixed their gaze on it, Rei unleashed the spell.
"Scorching Hellfire!"
At those words, the fireball soared toward the dust clouds. The distance was considerable, but the fireball held its trajectory—until, with a deafening roar, it birthed a scorching hell upon the earth.