"Then, take care."
"Yeah, I think it'll take some time to find the Dragonias' true headquarters, but I'll be careful about that."
After passing through the hole connecting to the other world and arriving, Rei exchanged those words with Grimm before climbing onto Set's back.
Perhaps his mood had improved thanks to the baked sweets Rei had given him, Set carried Rei without any sign of complaint and bounded toward the sky with a few running strides.
Grimm watched Rei and Set for a while before eventually fading from view.
"Ah, we're here already."
"Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set let out a slightly disappointed purr.
For Set, the sight of green horizons stretching as far as the eye could see — the view of a verdant expanse unfolding beneath him in flight — was quite a rarity.
Similar landscapes existed in Elgin, but even so, a green horizon remained uncommon.
It was only natural that Set would want to fly through such a place to his heart's content.
Rei didn't mind humoring him, either.
However, given the current situation, he couldn't exactly afford to indulge in such leisure...
"Set, shall we descend?"
"Gruruu."
At Rei's instruction, Set angled down toward the settlement on the ground, still looking a touch disappointed.
They must have spotted Set descending from the sky. Several Centaurs had gathered outside the settlement to meet them.
Among them, naturally, was Vihera.
Waving happily at the sight of Rei and Set, she looked like someone thoroughly enjoying a life in another world that would normally be impossible to experience.
(Still, even if it is another world, the basics aren't all that different from Elgin. There are minor differences, though.)
Day-to-day life on this grassland wasn't drastically different from life in Elgin.
Rei had thought it might have been more interesting if the other world had things like robots, or if it had something like psychic powers instead of magic.
That said, contact with a world possessing unknown technology could easily spark a war between worlds.
Considering that, it probably wasn't a bad thing that — even if it was due to the Wisp's runaway — the world they'd connected to was this one.
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?"
"I haven't been waiting that long."
Once Set touched down on the ground and Rei slid off its back, he called out to Vihera, who was standing nearby.
She replied with a warm smile.
She probably understood it was a somewhat date-like exchange and had chosen to play along.
"Then that's fine. ...By the way, did any Dragonias show up while I was gone?"
"Unfortunately not."
"No, from our end, we'd rather they didn't come at all."
Zai cut into the exchange between Rei and Vihera.
If the Dragonias attacked, there weren't many who could stand against them.
Given that, it was only natural for Zai — given his position — to hope they wouldn't.
...Vihera, on the other hand, honestly wouldn't have minded if a group of ten or so showed up, setting aside numbers in the hundreds. Since Dragonias never gave up no matter how much punishment they took, driven as they were by hunger, they made ideal opponents for her.
"In Vihera's case, she loves a good fight. In that sense, Dragonias are the perfect enemies for her. ...So, what about the search for the Dragonias headquarters?"
Rei asked, more on a whim than anything, but Zai shook his head just as expected.
"No. To begin with, there aren't many who can even go out to search."
"...Figured as much."
The place they had raided before — thought to be the headquarters — turned out to be just one of many outposts.
But even finding a place like that had cost the Centaurs dearly; of all those who had gone out searching, only one had made it back alive.
Given that, if they were to search for similar locations again, volunteers might step forward — the proud Centaurs were certainly capable of that — but those who actually had the ability to survive the journey were inevitably few.
And of course, they also had to consider the defense of this settlement, so they couldn't afford to spread their forces too thin.
Rei understood the Centaurs' circumstances, but he'd hoped that maybe, just maybe, things had changed.
That said, his suggestion wasn't entirely without basis.
This settlement was one of the largest among the Centaur communities.
Many Centaurs had been flocking here seeking safety.
Among them, naturally, were warriors — and incorporating them would bolster the settlement's defenses.
Even so, truly skilled fighters were scarce, making it difficult to assemble adequate combat power.
"For now, things on my end have settled down, so I can stay in this settlement for a while."
At Rei's words, Zai and the other Centaurs broke into relieved expressions.
Knowing Rei's strength, they understood that with him here, even hundreds or thousands of Dragonias would be manageable.
...Though among them, a few were celebrating Rei and Set's continued stay for Set's cuteness rather than Rei's combat power.
"Also, relying entirely on me and Vihera forever can't be satisfying for you and the others. So I'll train any volunteers. As for Vihera..."
"Sure. If I'm in the mood, I can do some mock battles."
Vihera gave a brief reply to Rei's offer.
For her, Dragonias were probably more enjoyable opponents than Centaurs.
That said, while Centaurs were no match for Dragonias, they undoubtedly possessed considerable skill.
As sparring partners for Vihera, they were far from inadequate.
...Even so, they simply couldn't compare to Dragonias.
"Sorry about that."
"It's fine. If the Centaurs get stronger, it benefits me too. It means I'll be able to fight Dragonias more freely."
Vihera figured that by fighting the Centaurs this time around, they might grow at least a little stronger.
Many of the Centaurs gazed at her with looks of gratitude.
Not only had they witnessed Rei's power, but many in the settlement had also seen Vihera's strength firsthand.
After all, Rei, Vihera, and Set — just two people and one creature — had slaughtered nearly a hundred attacking Dragonias. Anyone who had seen that would understand their power instantly.
"Gruruu."
At Set's cry, they decided lingering outside the settlement wasn't the best idea, and everyone moved within.
Rei, Vihera, and Set then followed Zai's lead toward Drum's tent.
...Along the way, Dratt watched Rei — and Rei alone — with a complex expression. Rei noticed but chose not to act on it.
He could guess that Dratt harbored complicated feelings about him, but he also judged that intervening here would be pointless.
"By the way, how are you handling communication with the other settlements? Even if searching for the Dragonias headquarters is off the table, did you at least notify them that we destroyed one outpost?"
There were other Centaur settlements besides this one.
They had naturally been trying to build a cooperative relationship with them. While several had agreed to cooperate, Rei had heard that a few had refused.
The main reason was likely vested interests.
In those settlements, whether one held the position of Chief, Warrior Chief, or any other office, merging with another settlement meant there was no guarantee of keeping the same rank.
Regardless of the position, if someone more capable existed, that person would naturally take over the role.
Those who couldn't accept that, if they held enough influence in their settlement, would naturally oppose a merger.
Even so, when Rei suggested that they should at least share information regarding the Dragonias, Zai nodded promptly.
"Of course. Messengers have already been dispatched. That said... I can't say how much the other settlements will believe our intelligence."
"Figured as much."
The Centaurs who had actually been attacked knew better than anyone how vicious the Dragonias were.
Even if they were told that an outpost — not the headquarters, but one of them — had been annihilated, who would believe that right away?
...If they brought people to the scorched earth left behind by Rei's Fire Whirlwinds, some might be convinced.
But given the current situation, few would be willing to dispatch their own capable personnel that far from home.
That was precisely why this accomplishment was so hard to prove.
"Anyway..."
Zai started to say something, but trailed off as they arrived at Drum's tent.
"Let's save the rest for after I've spoken with the Chief. That alright with you, Vihera?"
"Sure, I don't mind. I'm not particularly interested in that sort of thing anyway."
If the conversation had been about fighting more Dragonias, Vihera would have shown far greater interest.
But the discussion between Rei and Zai hadn't been about that.
That was why she remained largely indifferent.
"Excuse me, Chief. Rei has returned."
"Mm, enter."
At the voice from within, Rei and Vihera stepped inside the tent.
"Oh my..."
Seeing Drum inside, a sound of surprise slipped from Vihera's lips.
It was only natural. Drum wasn't an ordinary Centaur — where a horse's body would normally be, he had the form of a Sleipnir.
Rei had been just as startled when he first saw it.
(Wait... but setting aside the banquet, did Vihera not meet Drum while I was away?)
Given Drum's personality, it wouldn't have been strange for him to have asked Zai to bring Vihera over.
Yet from Vihera's reaction, this was unmistakably her first time meeting him.
Even if she had met Drum before Rei's arrival, there would have been no reason to hide it.
Which meant this was indeed their first encounter.
Seeing Rei's bewilderment, Drum floated a faintly mischievous smile — the look of someone who had pulled one over on him.
"It seems you're surprised."
"...I don't think that's in very good taste."
"Don't take it too hard. It's not as though I did this purely out of mischief, you know."
Rei harbored a flicker of doubt at Drum's words — really?
That said, given the circumstances, he couldn't exactly be blamed for thinking so.
"...Well, whatever. So, what's the current situation? From what Zai told me, there's almost no one who can be sent out to search for the Dragonias headquarters."
"Mm. Unfortunately, that is correct. Of course, if we forced the issue, we could send people out. However..."
"If they're spotted by Dragonias, it's almost certain death."
Zai finished Drum's sentence.
In fact, the Centaurs who had discovered the outpost Rei's group raided had all been killed — devoured — except for those who had accompanied Rei as guides.
Naturally, those who had set out as the initial reconnaissance party were likely among their more skilled warriors.
Rei could tell that the Centaur who had guided them possessed considerable ability.
Because of that, he understood all too well that sending those without sufficient skill on reconnaissance was a death sentence.
"In that case... should I go again?"
"Can you find your way back? With nothing but grassland as far as the eye can see, once you leave — especially by air — coming back would be no easy task."
At Vihera's words, a troubled expression settled on Rei's face.