"Well, I suppose that's far enough for today."
Seeing the sun hang low in the sky as dusk settled in, Rei muttered the words from atop Set's back.
They could have kept running if they'd wanted to, but Rei knew there was no point in pushing themselves here.
It would be one thing if they were pressed for time, but they had a comfortable five-day margin for this journey.
Rather than exhaust themselves for a few extra hours of travel, Rei figured it was better to get proper rest.
...Though, honestly, the simple fact that his stomach was growling was a major factor.
"Already? We can keep running through the night, you know."
Zai's voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
Beside him, Dratt wore an expression that wasn't quite dissatisfied, but clearly showed he wasn't fully on board either.
The reason Dratt kept his complaints to himself was probably because he'd been firmly told before departure to follow Rei's instructions.
The fact that he hadn't complained at all on the way here was actually somewhat surprising to Rei.
"Yeah. Today's only the first day. Even if we push ourselves to squeeze out a little more distance now, it'll be a problem if we're exhausted when it's time to actually fight the Dragonias."
At Rei's words, all the Centaurs—including Zai—wore expressions of frustration.
The gap in individual combat ability between Centaurs and Dragonias was already significant to begin with.
They realized Rei was implicitly saying as much.
Having once been called the overlords of the grassland, there was no way they could stomach being told they were weaker than the Dragonias.
Still, those present weren't incapable of facing reality.
"Understood."
Seeing Zai nod, Rei scanned the area for a suitable campsite.
Not that it mattered much—grassland stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction.
Given the situation, it wouldn't really make a difference where they set up.
(If there were rocks or something, I wouldn't have to worry about one direction... ah, but then enemies could attack from on top of the rocks. To avoid that, it's better to camp in an open area after all.)
Making that call, Rei dismounted from Set's back and pulled the Centaurs' tents from his Misty Ring.
Two-person tents, five in total.
They could have brought tents that accommodated more people, but with so many Centaurs currently gathered at the settlement, spare tents were in short supply.
That was why they'd brought the ones left over at the settlement.
After producing the tents, he also took out food provisions and gave the Centaurs their instructions.
"Set up the tents quickly. After that, eat and sleep. Tomorrow's an early start."
"What about the watch?"
One of the Centaurs—neither Zai nor Dratt—asked Rei.
At the settlement, keeping watch at night was a given.
Monsters were a concern, of course, but there was also a very real possibility of ferocious carnivorous beasts attacking.
"Ah... right. What should we do about that?"
Normally, Rei would have said a watch wasn't necessary.
After all, when camping in Elgin, having Set around was enough to keep most monsters and animals at bay.
Even the few that sensed Set's presence and still approached would be dim-witted creatures with poor instincts—Goblins, mainly—or Bandits who simply lacked that kind of awareness.
And if even those types came close, Set could dispatch them with ease.
But that was only in Elgin.
Rei wasn't certain Set's reputation would carry the same weight in this world.
When they'd fought the Dragonias, the creatures hadn't fled despite Set being right there.
In truth, the Dragonias lacked anything resembling a sense of self, driven entirely by hunger.
That was precisely why they hadn't run from Set—they'd simply registered him as a large piece of meat.
Considering that incident, Rei couldn't in good conscience leave the watch to Set alone.
"Well, normally having Set around keeps most monsters and animals away. But I've only just arrived in this wor—... no, in this grassland, so I can't be sure."
Rei caught himself just before saying "this world" and hastily covered it up.
Zai and Dratt both shot him a look at the slip, but they couldn't possibly draw any conclusions from that one moment alone, and Zai spoke up.
"Then what do you suggest?"
"For now, camp in pairs. With this many people, the watch shifts will be short."
"In pairs? What about you?"
In response to Dratt's question, Rei told them he'd be fine on his own.
"I operate alongside Set to begin with. As long as I'm with him, keeping watch won't be a problem."
"I see."
Whether Dratt was convinced by Rei's words or simply judged that pressing the matter further was pointless—Rei couldn't tell—but either way, Dratt said nothing more.
Judging that no one else had any objections, Rei spoke again.
"Alright, let's get camp set up."
At Rei's signal, the Centaurs began their preparations.
Each of them seemed to know exactly what to do—some pitched tents, some prepared food, and others went to gather firewood while simultaneously scouting the surroundings.
As expected of a nomadic people, the Centaurs moved swiftly and without wasted effort.
What slightly surprised Rei was that, while Zai was one thing, Dratt was also pulling his weight.
Having seen Dratt surrounded by flunkies before, Rei had assumed the man would just stand around and watch while others did the work.
Seeing Dratt pitch in, Rei revised his estimation of him upward—just a little.
"What about you, Rei?"
Rei, who had been watching the Centaurs work, looked up at Zai's call.
Even though it was time to make camp, Rei wasn't preparing anything—he'd just been standing there watching them, which had apparently piqued Zai's curiosity.
"In my case, it'll only take a second."
Saying that, Rei walked to a spot out of the others' way and pulled his Magic Tent from his Misty Ring.
The Magic Tent was stored in the Misty Ring in a ready-to-use state, so unlike the Centaurs, there was no need to pitch it.
"Oh!"
Seeing Rei produce the Magic Tent, the Centaurs let out a collective gasp.
They'd already seen him use the Misty Ring several times, so that part wasn't anything new.
But the fact that the tent emerged from the ring already fully assembled and ready to use was astonishing even to them.
"I haven't seen a tent like that before. Are they common where you come from, Rei?"
Zai asked with evident interest.
There was a faint note of pride in his voice—no doubt because he believed his people's tents were superior.
And in fairness, compared to the tents the Centaurs used, the one Rei had pulled out did look quite plain.
That assumption wasn't wrong. It wasn't wrong at all... but it only applied to the outside.
"Want to take a quick look inside?"
Rei made the offer because he had a strong attachment to his Magic Tent.
Having it dismissed as inferior to the Centaurs' tents didn't sit well with him.
"Well, I don't think there's much to see inside, is there?"
"You'd be surprised. There's plenty you can't tell from the outside alone. The tent I use is exactly like that."
At Rei's persistent urging—and with the other Centaurs shooting him looks that said go on, humor him—Zai gave in.
This expedition depended heavily on Rei's abilities.
Given that, it was better to keep him in good spirits.
With that in mind, Zai stepped up to the front of the Magic Tent.
When Rei used it, the tent seemed to have a reasonable amount of space, but for a Centaur it would have been cramped.
Zai stuck his head inside...
"...What... the..."
He froze. His voice, murmured in sheer astonishment, was loud enough for those outside to hear.
What on earth happened? It was a natural question for everyone waiting outside.
The Centaurs watching had assumed Zai would pop right back out and brush it off with some casual remark.
Yet Zai didn't reappear after several seconds... no, even after dozens of seconds.
"Zai? What's wrong? Zai!"
Concerned by Zai's unresponsiveness, one of the Centaurs called out to him.
As if snapping back to reality at the sound of his name, Zai pulled his head out of the tent.
Astonishment was plastered across his face, making it painfully obvious he hadn't just looked at an ordinary tent.
"..."
He'd stuck his head out, but he didn't seem capable of forming words.
Some of the Centaurs wondered if Rei had set up some kind of bizarre trap inside.
But if asked what benefit Rei could possibly gain from doing something like that, none of them would have had an answer.
So one of the Centaurs, determined to find out what the Magic Tent was all about, stuck his face inside as well...
"Whoa!"
A startled exclamation echoed from within.
Seconds later, the Centaur pulled his head out. While not as shell-shocked as Zai, his face bore the same look of disbelief.
The reason he hadn't been left completely dumbfounded like Zai was probably because he'd seen Zai's reaction and braced himself for something incredible.
"What was inside?"
In response to Dratt's question, the Centaur who had looked inside spoke, the surprise still fresh on his face.
"There was a room—like nothing I've ever seen."
Those astonished words prompted yet another Centaur to peer inside.
A few seconds later, he spoke with the same expression of wonder.
"Yeah, there's a room. A big one, too. It's... it's not even in the same league as the size of this tent."
That was all it took. One after another, the others crowded around to stick their heads inside.
"Rei, what in the world is this...?"
Having finally collected himself, Zai asked Rei to explain what he'd just witnessed.
"It's a Magic Tent. I think the name makes it obvious—it's a type of Magic Item. As you can see, the interior space is expanded."
From the outside, it didn't look like a particularly large tent, but with it, there was no need to worry about getting a good night's sleep during camp.
Of course, there was one drawback: it was so comfortable that once you used the Magic Tent, sleeping in a regular tent became hard to stomach.
"A Magic Item... this too, huh..."
The Centaurs, including Zai, had seen Rei's Magic Items several times already.
The Misty Ring was one. The Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear were others.
But this Magic Tent was clearly different from anything they'd encountered before.
"Yeah. A Magic Item designed for camping. It looks like your tents are pretty comfortable, but mine doesn't lose to them."
"Comparing them at all is beside the point."
Zai replied, sounding faintly indignant.
The tents the Centaurs used were far more comfortable than ordinary ones, true enough.
But that comfort was only top-tier for a tent. It couldn't possibly compete with something like Rei's Magic Tent, which came fully furnished with proper rooms.
They were both places to live, sure—but there was an unavoidable gulf between a tent designed for portability and a Magic Tent that contained rooms straight out of an ordinary house.
Rei figured that, in terms of being a place to sleep, they were essentially the same thing.
He thought so, but if they kept arguing about it here, night would fall before they knew it.
The sun had already sunk nearly halfway below the horizon, and darkness was clearly not far off.
Before that happened, they at least needed to get a fire going.
"Alright, enough about the Magic Tent. If you don't hurry up and finish setting up camp, it'll be dark before you know it!"
At Rei's instruction, the Centaurs got back to work.
"Guru."
Rei watched them go, then noticed Set suddenly let out a cry. When he turned to look, he found the griffon placing a turkey-sized bird carcass on the ground, staring up at him with expectant eyes that clearly said praise me.