Magic development aside, by the time Rei finished training with his new spell, the sky was already stained red.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say the red-stained sky was on the verge of being swallowed by black.
After everything was said and done, night was falling while Rei was still outside the settlement.
Just how long had he been concentrating on his training? The scene before him was more than enough to answer that question.
"Are they maybe angry with me?" Rei muttered as he headed toward the settlement.
He had, after all, left Vihera and Set to their own devices for several hours. Given that, it wouldn't be surprising if they were both upset with him.
Then again, Vihera was supposed to be training with the Centaurs—holding mock battles, specifically—so if she was focused on that, she might not have even noticed he hadn't returned yet.
"Ah, but I was probably pretty noisy while practicing my magic. Maybe they realized I was doing something? ...Not that I can use it properly yet, anyway."
The spell Rei had newly developed, Flame Heaven Wheel, was an extremely useful one that allowed the caster to fly freely through the sky at will.
However, for Rei—who specialized in Flame Magic—using a spell that involved wearing rings of flame on both wrists and ankles to move freely through the air was a stretch, to say the least.
As a result, the spell was activated through sheer brute force, constantly draining his enormous reserves of magical power to keep it running. This likely made Rei the only person in this world capable of using it.
Furthermore, the spell was highly difficult to control. He had kept at his practice, but in the end, he still couldn't wield Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear while maintaining the magic.
"When was the last time something was this uncooperative? ...Was it Twin Spear Style? Though I didn't struggle nearly as much with that as I have with this magic."
Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear. Fighting with a scythe in one hand and a spear in the other had seemed like a workable idea when he first came up with it. And since it was a fighting style most people had never seen before, it would be extremely bewildering for any opponent to face.
On top of that, the chances of anyone who fought Rei surviving were quite low. This made the experience of fighting against Twin Spear Style something that couldn't be passed on to others—a kind of first-encounter killer, so to speak.
In any case, since Rei had already been using Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear before developing Twin Spear Style, he was accustomed to both weapons. Thanks to that, the style had been somewhat awkward at first, but he could handle it to a reasonable degree from the start.
But when it came to Flame Heaven Wheel, the approach of familiarizing himself with the components beforehand was completely unusable, making it extremely difficult to control.
Rei harbored a desire to eventually be able to fight while still wielding Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear in mid-flight. That said, considering his current situation, exactly when that would become possible was anyone's guess.
"Rei!"
As he entered the settlement, a voice suddenly called out to him. He turned his gaze toward the source and saw Zai standing there.
The fact that Zai looked somehow pleased probably meant something had happened. Making that judgment, Rei spoke up.
"What is it? Looks like something happened."
"Yeah. Actually, it's been decided to send a reconnaissance party to find the Dragonias headquarters."
"That's... something I should be happy about, I suppose, but..."
Rei couldn't honestly rejoice at Zai's words.
He understood that finding the Dragonias headquarters was the top priority. But they had attempted to find it before, and that attempt had ended in failure.
To be precise, since they had properly located a place crawling with enemies, it might not technically be called a failure. But the truth was that the place they found wasn't the headquarters at all—merely one of their outposts. And on top of that, nearly the entire reconnaissance party that had found it was killed by Dragonias.
A reconnaissance party sent against Dragonias wouldn't necessarily consist of their absolute best, but it was certain that those who could be called elite had been dispatched. Given that this was the result, the danger level was undeniably extreme.
However, paying no mind to Rei's hesitation, Zai nodded with a serious expression and spoke.
"You should be happy about it."
Was it really that simple? Rei wasn't so sure, but since Zai stated it so definitively, he nodded without voicing any further anxiety.
"Understood. But does this settlement have enough military strength to spare for reconnaissance?"
"Thanks to training with you and Vihera, I think they've gotten somewhat stronger than before. But... no matter what, they can't become strong immediately after training begins."
"I suppose not."
If weeks, months, or even years had passed since Rei and Vihera started training the Centaurs, then naturally their abilities would have improved. There was even a decent possibility that some of them might become capable of defeating a Dragonias on their own.
But right now, having just begun training, such a dramatic increase in strength simply wasn't going to happen.
"That's why I plan to reach out to other settlements as well, not just this one."
"But still... will they actually listen?"
In the first place, the settlements that hadn't yet joined Zai's were fundamentally those that either had some sort of internal issue or had people clinging to their vested interests. Rei couldn't imagine that the people of such settlements would readily accept a proposal to search for the Dragonias headquarters.
However, in stark contrast to Rei's concerns, Zai spoke without appearing to find any particular problem with the idea.
"I think I can manage something. If it were about joining this settlement, they might oppose it. But if it's about searching for the Dragonias headquarters, it wouldn't be strange for them to send one or two people. Even those who haven't joined this settlement probably want information about the Dragonias."
"...Now that you mention it, I suppose that makes sense."
Even settlements that hadn't joined this one for whatever reason didn't think they could defeat the Dragonias on their own. Given that, it was only natural that they would want to gather intelligence about them.
Though even so, the selfish ones would probably refuse to send anyone from their own settlement and just demand we hand over whatever information we find. What would we do in that case?
Rei wanted to ask about that, but judging by Zai's current demeanor, it seemed like saying anything would be pointless.
In any case, a reconnaissance party being dispatched wasn't a bad thing for Rei either. Going to many different places meant there was a very real possibility of finding Anastasia and Fana, who had gone missing in this world.
In that case, maybe I should participate as well? No, but if I do that, there won't be anyone left to defend the settlement when the Dragonias attack. As for Vihera... if I say I'm going, she'll probably say she's coming too. Or rather, even if I don't go, wouldn't she volunteer to go herself?
For Vihera, who was thoroughly enjoying her battles with the Dragonias, searching for them directly was far better than waiting in the settlement for enemies to attack. If the goal was to find the Dragonias headquarters, the option of not participating didn't exist for her.
However, Rei didn't want to accept that if he could help it. After all, if—by some truly off chance—they actually found the Dragonias headquarters, he had a feeling Vihera would charge straight in.
Under normal circumstances, that would be unthinkable. But it was precisely that unthinkable thing that Vihera would do. Given that, Rei wanted her to stay out of the reconnaissance party, but...
That'd be difficult, wouldn't it?
He concluded that without a moment's hesitation.
"By the way, did you tell Vihera about this?"
"I did. Was that a mistake? She was quite happy about it, though."
"I figured. But you've probably realized it too, Zai—Vihera loves combat. Enough that the term Battle Maniac is fitting."
At Rei's words, Zai seemed to have his own thoughts on the matter and wore an expression of understanding. After repeatedly engaging in mock battles with Vihera, it was only natural that one would unwillingly come to understand her nature.
"That's why I'd prefer not to put Vihera in the search party, if possible... but would that be difficult?"
"Probably."
Recalling Vihera's demeanor, Zai replied immediately. For him, the idea of stopping Vihera was apparently something he couldn't even conceive of.
If someone were to stop Vihera... Zai's gaze turned toward Rei.
Rei understood what Zai was trying to say, but he shook his head.
"Since I'm going, it's impossible to tell Vihera to stay behind by herself, isn't it?"
"Eh? You're going too, Rei?"
"Huh?"
For Rei, it went without saying that he intended to join the reconnaissance mission. After all, they would be traveling to places in this grassland he had never visited before. The chances of finding Anastasia and Fana were very high.
And above all, the reason Rei judged he should go himself was—
"Without me, the reconnaissance party will be carrying too much gear. I don't know how many people you're planning to send, but the more luggage they have, the slower the party's movements will inevitably become. If they're spotted by Dragonias, for instance, their response would be delayed, wouldn't it?"
"That's..."
Whether Rei's words had hit the mark or not, Zai fell silent, unable to offer a rebuttal.
In fact, the presence or absence of luggage made a tremendous difference in movement speed—something Zai had experienced firsthand in the most undeniable way when they had gone to destroy the Dragonias outpost together.
Above all, a reconnaissance party was naturally searching for the enemy's headquarters, which meant the likelihood of encountering Dragonias was high. Given that, if someone of Rei's caliber accompanied them, they could prevent a repeat of the previous disaster where the reconnaissance party had been annihilated save for a single survivor.
It was beneficial for both Rei and the Centaurs.
"So with all that, it's settled that I'm participating, right? Since Set will be with us, you won't have to worry as much about the night watch. Plus, with Set, we can also fly to conduct reconnaissance from the air."
Whether it should be called reconnaissance of the reconnaissance was debatable, but those words were extremely helpful to Zai as well. Flying himself was absolutely out of the question, but the information Rei and Set could gather while airborne was invaluable. From that perspective, having Rei accompany the party would clearly be a tremendous asset.
However, that brought up the next problem: if Rei was going, Zai needed to join as well.
It was hard to believe that the two-legged Rei and Vihera would be treated amicably by Centaurs gathered from other settlements. Someone needed to bridge that gap, and since elite warriors would be assembling from various settlements, that bridge-builder would need to be of comparable strength.
Within this settlement, the only ones with that level of power were Zai and Dratt. And Dratt's relationship with Rei could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be called friendly.
Given that, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Zai needed to go along.
...Above all, from Zai's perspective, both Rei and Vihera were extremely belligerent. When the people in question were the aggressive type, things would without fail escalate into a major commotion.
I suppose it can't be helped.
Thinking that, Zai also felt a small measure of gladness within. He knew his skills were among the best in the settlement. That was precisely why he had thought he needed to stay behind in case the Dragonias attacked. But since Rei was going, he had to go as well.
"But if that's the case... the question is how to handle the settlement's defense. I'll have Dratt stay behind, but..."
Since Dratt was the only one in this settlement with strength roughly equal to Zai's, and with Rei, Vihera, Set, and Zai all leaving, they needed Dratt to remain at the very least.
Given that Dratt's relationship with Rei was far from good, if he were told he didn't have to act alongside Rei, he would probably volunteer to stay behind of his own accord.
"Zai's going too?"
"Since you and Vihera are going, the option of me not going doesn't exist."
"Is that how it works?"
If Zai said so, Rei figured that was probably the case, and accepted it as such.
"It's true there are various circumstances at play. In any case, I want you to discuss this matter with Vihera as well, Rei. The answer is probably already decided, but."
At Zai's words, Rei nodded, agreeing that was indeed the case.