"Welcome. Thank you for coming — I've been waiting for you."
Upon arriving at the settlement, they were welcomed far more amicably than expected.
Things had immediately gone sideways at Advagas's settlement, so Rei had assumed the same would happen at the next one. To his surprise, the atmosphere this time was genuinely friendly.
Naturally, Rei preferred it that way.
He was glad, of course — but he couldn't help wondering why they were being so friendly.
The settlements scattered around Zai's were, by and large, ones with problems of some kind. The majority of other settlements had already merged with Zai's.
...The reason Zai's settlement hadn't grown all that large despite the influx was largely because most of the settlements joining them were survivors of Dragonias attacks. As a result, Zai's settlement had gathered many people, but its overall scale remained modest.
Under those circumstances, settlements that hadn't merged were either ones with absolute confidence in their own strength, or ones with some underlying issue — the latter being far more common.
(At least let it be the former.)
Rei cast his gaze over the current members of the Reconnaissance Unit as the thought crossed his mind.
That said, the Unit's numbers weren't particularly large.
From Zai's settlement: Zai, Rei, Vihera, and Set.
From Asdena's settlement: five, including Asdena himself.
From Advagas's settlement: five, including Dolfina.
A grand total of thirteen people and one creature.
(I'd heard that even the elites dispatched to the Reconnaissance Unit wouldn't be top-class fighters... Could that vary from settlement to settlement?)
That had been the case at Zai's settlement, but Rei had heard that Asdena was one of the finest warriors in his settlement, and that Dolfina stood out as a magic user among his people. Given that, the current situation did raise some questions.
...Then again, considering their circumstances, having them along was undeniably helpful.
(I wonder what kind of person this settlement will send out.)
The Centaur Rei could see talking with Zai wasn't particularly strong, at least from what he could observe. The Centaur appeared to have received basic warrior training, but whether he had enough ability to join the Reconnaissance Unit was questionable at best.
If that was the case, perhaps no one particularly strong would come from this settlement. It wouldn't be strange for Rei to think so.
...What the actual situation was, however, couldn't be known without seeing for himself.
Contrary to Rei's concern that something might go wrong, nothing of the sort happened at this settlement. They stored the tents and other supplies into the Misty Ring, and after Zai exchanged greetings with the Chief, they departed immediately.
"That was... unexpected. Did nothing really happen?" Rei muttered from atop Set's back as they traveled toward the next settlement.
"What do you mean?" Zai, who had been running alongside Set, asked with a puzzled expression.
"No, it was my first time visiting that settlement, so I figured something would go wrong. But nothing did. That's what's strange."
"If every settlement we visited caused problems, that would be a problem for me," Zai replied, his expression serious.
For Zai, having trouble erupt at every stop was something he absolutely wanted to avoid. As the one leading the Reconnaissance Unit, anything that happened would fall on his shoulders.
"Besides, it seemed like nothing went wrong at Asdena's settlement either, didn't it?"
"When I first went to Asdena's settlement, he harassed me and caused a problem."
"Wait a minute. I didn't harass you," Asdena protested, having overheard their conversation from nearby with evident displeasure.
From Rei's perspective, though, being suddenly challenged to a mock battle was practically the definition of being harassed. When he said as much, Asdena immediately denied it.
"In the first place, if I hadn't challenged you to a mock battle, someone else would have. And if that had happened, things would've gotten even more troublesome — that much is certain."
"Really?"
"Really. ...Besides, I guided you when you were lost, didn't I?"
At the word "lost," Rei's expression subtly soured. He knew full well he had been lost, but admitting it was another matter entirely.
"Anyway," Rei said, steering the conversation away from Asdena's remark, "it'd be nice if we could keep gathering people from the settlements without any problems like this."
Asdena seemed to have thoughts about Rei's evasive demeanor, but for the time being, he let it go and stayed quiet.
"If there are problems, I don't mind dealing with them myself," Vihera said from behind Rei, having silently listened to the conversation.
For Vihera, if something happened at a settlement, she figured she could just step in and handle it. Given her personality, that was only natural.
(Though considering she's already fully satisfied from the battle with the Dragonias, even if she fought the Centaurs who harassed us, I doubt she'd find it satisfying.)
It had been the same at Advagas's settlement — those who picked fights with Rei and Vihera were, without exception, the weak ones. Anyone capable of reading Rei and Vihera's true strength would never dream of provoking them. Since they couldn't grasp that, Rei and Vihera naturally treated them as small fry.
What's more, those types were keenly perceptive about how others viewed them, which only made them more acutely aware that Rei and Vihera considered them beneath their notice — and that, in turn, made them even more hostile.
The idea that two-legged beings would show them such contempt was absolutely unforgivable. That was what drove them.
"I don't think there'll be problems, but I'd appreciate it if you could try to keep casualties to a minimum."
"Oh? Is that so? If you say so, Rei, I suppose I'll oblige. ...Just know that if they try anything funny, I won't hold back much."
The word "much" sent a ripple of unease through Rei, but he judged that she wouldn't go so far as to kill anyone and gave a nod.
"Understood. Then I'll count on you if anything happens."
"Hold on," Zai interjected. "We're going to settlements to secure their cooperation with the Reconnaissance Unit. Defeating the very people we're asking for help is..."
"We're not the ones picking fights. If they don't do anything, we won't either," Rei replied.
But Zai understood that the very existence of Rei and Vihera was enough to provoke other settlements. Or perhaps some would take offense at Rei commanding Gryphon Seto, a creature never before seen in these grasslands.
"Um, well... from what I can gather from your conversation, is that person really that dangerous?" A Centaur running a short distance away — one who had joined from the previous settlement — asked Dolfina, who was running nearby.
Dolfina smiled and nodded.
The previous settlement had seen no particular disturbance, so they had departed without issue. But at Dolfina's settlement, the warriors had picked fights with Rei and Vihera. He hadn't witnessed every moment of those fights, but to Dolfina, their abilities were first-class — no, they were at a level where he felt he could never possibly win.
As a magic user, Dolfina naturally excelled at magic. Given that, he had never for a moment believed he could challenge Rei head-on and manage anything.
...He did wish he could talk to Rei about magic, but unfortunately, the opportunity hadn't presented itself yet. He figured the warriors picking fights probably hadn't helped, but since they'd be traveling together, there would surely be chances to talk from here on.
(Besides, it's nearly evening. If we make camp, there should be a chance to talk.)
Dolfina ran across the grassland, content with the current situation.
Dolfina was an exceedingly rare magic user among Centaurs, but that didn't mean he was poor at running. Compared to the elite warriors in the Reconnaissance Unit, he was naturally inferior in physical ability, but as a Centaur, he could run perfectly well. In fact, he was an exceptionally powerful asset — a magic user with the mobility of cavalry.
Archers could only attack with bows. A magic user, however, could wield any spell within their elemental repertoire. By that logic, a Centaur magic user was an immensely powerful being.
...That said, magic users were exceedingly rare among Centaurs, and concentrating to chant spells and activate magic while running was a considerable challenge. In that sense, Dolfina's participation in the Reconnaissance Unit was significant — in a way, he was a lower-tier version of Rei, who cast spells while riding on Set.
"Alright, the sun's starting to set. Let's make camp!" Zai's voice carried over the group from the front of the column.
His running pace slowed, and everyone came to a halt.
(Alright. I can't let this opportunity slip by.)
Dolfina was elated — making camp meant a chance to talk with Rei. Zai calling for camp was nothing short of lucky for him.
With their numbers now nearing twenty, setting up camp would naturally take considerable time. Considering they'd also need to cook, they had to start preparing properly, even at this hour when it was barely evening.
"I'll keep all the tents here together. Each of you, come grab your own," Rei said, pulling tents out of his Misty Ring.
There were tents from four different settlements. While the basic structure was the same, the finer details varied considerably from settlement to settlement, so even with the large number of tents piled together, no one would mistake another settlement's tent for their own.
Rei couldn't help thinking it would be even more reliable if they just wrote their names on them. But contrary to his thoughts, the Centaurs quickly grabbed their own tents and set about pitching them.
"Hey, Rei. What about our tent?" Vihera prompted.
"Getting it now."
Rei pulled the Magic Tent out of his Misty Ring. Unlike the Centaurs' tents, the Magic Tent was stored already assembled, requiring no setup at all.
...At first, Rei had intended to bring out a separate tent for Vihera, but when she declared she would sleep in the same tent as him, that was that.
To Zai and his companions — perhaps partly because Rei and Vihera were two-legged — it seemed natural to assume the two were in that kind of relationship. Vihera herself had no problem at all with that perception, so she simply smiled.
However, if she were to actually enter such a relationship with Rei, she felt Elena should come first. For that reason, Vihera had resolved not to seriously seduce Rei on her own initiative.
Though if Rei were the one to approach her, she intended to accept him without hesitation.
"Just to be clear — Vihera gets the bed, and I sleep on the sofa," Rei said, pressing the point.
Normally, sleeping on a sofa would leave you sore or deprive you of proper rest, but the sofa inside the Magic Tent was high-quality enough to serve as a perfectly adequate bed substitute. Considering they were camping, the fact that they wouldn't have to sleep on hard ground — sofa or not — was more than enough.
"Oh, and we set up the tents today, but from tomorrow onward, we'll keep them stored as is. That way, like my Magic Tent, they'll be ready to use the moment they come out," Rei announced to the members pitching tents around him.
The Centaurs, who had seen the Magic Tent appear fully assembled with their own eyes, nodded without any particular complaint. Setting up tents was second nature to them, but it was still undeniably a chore. If they could save themselves the effort using Rei's Misty Ring, that suited them just fine.