"Rei, do you have a moment?"
The preparations for camp were finished, and while some of the Centaurs were preparing meals for everyone, Rei had taken out his Death Scythe and Twilight Spear a short distance away to train when a voice suddenly called out to him.
Turning toward the source, he found Dolfina standing there.
He was a man from a settlement where, for some unknown reason, a large number of magic users existed—despite them being exceptionally rare among Centaurs.
Giving the Death Scythe a light swing—one that seemed to slash through not just the air but space itself—Rei stopped his training.
"What is it? Some kind of problem?"
As he spoke, he glanced toward the Centaurs preparing the meals.
Fundamentally, the food was being provided by each of their respective settlements, but if they had all separated to cook by settlement, it would naturally result in a lot of waste. The amount of firewood would increase, and so would the number of dishes to wash.
That was why the most skilled cooks among them had gathered to prepare meals for everyone at once.
...As it happened, this was also a relief for Zai, who had come together with Rei.
Zai already knew that a large quantity of food was stored inside Rei's Misty Ring, from the time they had raided the enemy base previously. Given that Vihera was close to Rei, she could naturally eat his cooking. But in Zai's position, he couldn't bring himself to ask Rei for food.
In other words, Zai had to prepare his own meals himself—but unfortunately, Zai was by no means skilled at cooking. If everyone cooked separately, he would naturally have to cook as well, which was why assigning cooking duties and making meals for everyone at once was a lifesaver for him.
(Maybe I should have just brought someone who specialized in cooking.)
It might sound ridiculous at first, but cooking was an absolute necessity for any active operation. Good food raised morale; bad food lowered it. Rei had once seen a TV program back in Japan about a case where terrible cooking—or spoiled meat being used in a dish—had triggered a unit's mutiny.
Of course, since it was television, he could understand that it might have been exaggerated. Even so, there was no doubt that bad food was not a good thing for this Reconnaissance Unit.
If that was the case, perhaps it would have been better to bring along someone skilled at cooking after all.
Thinking that, Rei addressed Dolfina.
"Did something happen with the cooking?"
Dolfina was slightly surprised by the question. He hadn't expected to be asked such a thing.
"No, that's not it. I just wanted to talk with you a little. ...But before that, I want to apologize for the unpleasant experience we caused you at my settlement."
Saying so, Dolfina bowed his head.
The other Centaurs—those cooking or otherwise preparing camp—could see him doing this. Naturally, the ones who had come with Dolfina were startled by the sight.
"Lord Dolfina! There is no need to bow your head to a two-legged person!"
One of Dolfina's companions immediately rushed over and tried to get him to raise his head.
But Dolfina paid the man no mind, keeping his head bowed as he spoke.
"Rei, and Vihera. It may have been an unpleasant experience for you, but I ask that you please forgive us. Of course, we will ensure nothing like this happens again."
"...Raise your head. I'm not that angry at you. Besides, I believe you already apologized for that back at the settlement, didn't you?"
"Even so, I wanted to apologize once more."
"I understand. You're forgiven. So raise your head. If I leave you like this, doesn't that make me the villain?"
Hearing Rei's words, Dolfina finally raised his head.
"Lord Dolfina—!"
"Silence."
The companion who found Dolfina's bow distasteful tried to speak again, but Dolfina cut him off in a tone utterly unlike his usual manner—one sharp enough to make anyone who heard it straighten their back instinctively.
"I respect Rei. We have fought the Dragonias too. But in those battles, who used magic to vanquish them? No—he didn't just defeat one or two. He annihilated an entire horde of Dragonias stationed at their stronghold."
At those words, even the Centaur who had been offended by Dolfina bowing to Rei had nothing to say. Because he understood that what Dolfina was saying was indisputable fact.
Among Centaurs, they were blessed with the talent for magic, but if asked whether they could do what Rei had done, the answer was no. No—more than that, there was likely no one among all the Centaurs in this grassland who could pull off such a feat.
After all, when they had first heard the story, they had thought it might be a lie.
But the Centaur dispatched from Zai's settlement had even offered to guide them to the former site of the stronghold if they had doubts. Given that he had gone that far, they couldn't imagine he was lying.
In other words, that Rei possessed magical power beyond belief was an undeniable truth.
They understood that. They did understand, but... even so, by Centaur common sense, they simply could not accept that Dolfina—the most magically gifted among those who shared Advagas's bloodline—was bowing his head to a two-legged being.
This man too carried Advagas's blood, and there was no doubt he could use magic. But even so, he still had his own feelings about the situation.
However, Dolfina paid no mind to the man's demeanor and turned back to Rei.
"I'm interested in your magical prowess. If you wouldn't mind, could we discuss magic?"
That was undoubtedly Dolfina's true feeling. Hearing it, Rei nodded in understanding.
"About magic, huh... Sure. I can make time for that after the meal, then."
"Really!?"
Dolfina's face broke into an expression of pure joy. He probably hadn't expected Rei to agree so readily.
But this wasn't solely to Dolfina's benefit—there was something in it for Rei as well. At Zai's settlement, after seeing the Old Woman's magic, Rei had developed a spell that allowed him to move freely through the sky, though he still hadn't mastered it. If he could observe Centaur-specific magic from Dolfina, he might be able to learn yet another new spell. It was only natural to hold such expectations.
...If this were someone who had learned magic thoroughly from the basics in Elgin, rather than Rei—who used magic intuitively and created new spells through imagery borrowed from anime, manga, games, and novels he had consumed in Japan—they might have been curious about the concrete differences between Elgin's magic and this world's magic.
"Yeah. I'd also like to know what kind of magic Centaurs use. All I know is what the Old Woman in Zai's settlement does—hovering slightly off the ground to move around."
"Ah, that magic."
From Rei's description alone, Dolfina seemed to immediately understand what kind of magic it was. He nodded with admiration.
"That magic is highly versatile and consumes little magical power. However, it's a difficult spell to master."
"Is that so?"
From what Rei had seen, the Old Woman had used it without any particular issue. Perhaps due to her age, she hadn't been able to maintain the spell for very long, but even so, she certainly hadn't appeared to struggle with controlling it.
Seeing Rei's reaction, Dolfina nodded as though this were only natural.
"That's right. If the person who used that spell appeared to wield it without issue, it simply means that individual's magical skill was truly exceptional. ...How fascinating. After this reconnaissance is over, could you introduce me?"
"I can do that, but... you're already assuming the reconnaissance will succeed, huh?"
Rei said that with a hint of exasperation. Dolfina's words had sounded as though he was absolutely certain of success.
In truth, he wasn't exactly wrong. Rei had been similarly convinced, but he hadn't expected Dolfina to voice the same sentiment.
"With you here, success is a given, isn't it?"
To Dolfina, Rei was someone who possessed enough power to annihilate a Dragonias stronghold single-handedly. When he had first heard the account from the Centaur dispatched by Zai's settlement, he had assumed it was heavily exaggerated—but actually meeting Rei had completely changed that impression.
With Rei accompanying them, he could at least be certain that, unlike what he had heard happened before, they wouldn't end up wiped out with only a single survivor this time.
...Though surviving aside, whether they would actually find the enemy's headquarters was another matter entirely.
"Fair enough. It'd be nice if it succeeds. ...Anyway, it's not ideal to talk here, so let's move away a bit."
Seeing that there were still other Centaurs around—particularly the one who had just told Dolfina not to bow—Rei decided to relocate. Many of the others had been watching the incident that began with Dolfina's sudden bow, so Rei was somewhat mindful of their gazes.
Dolfina also seemed to feel something about the surrounding stares and obediently complied.
As the two moved away from the campsite, Set naturally followed along. Since this was a group that had only recently come together, there were few who could interact with Set casually. That was likely why Set had chosen to stay with Rei.
...Incidentally, Vihera was currently conducting mock battles with Zai and several other Centaurs. Over on that side as well, those who had never seen Vihera's strength firsthand were watching with expressions of surprise.
"Grrrrl."
Set had followed Rei, but the aroma of food drifting from the campsite was apparently tempting. He turned his gaze toward the cooking area several times, purring.
"Here, eat these for now, at least."
To settle him down, Rei took out several sandwiches from his Misty Ring and offered them to Set.
"Gru!"
Set happily picked up the sandwich placed on a plate with his beak, savoring it.
Sitting on the grassland near Set, Rei turned his gaze to Dolfina.
"So, about magic. What kind of magic are you best at, Dolfina? For the record, I specialize in fire."
"Fire, huh. That does sound convenient. But I won't lose in terms of convenience either. My best magic is wind. I can use other attributes as well, so I'm not a specialist like you."
"Hmm. ...Hm?"
Hearing this, Rei suddenly had a question. Or rather, perhaps it was precisely because it was Rei that he found it strange. This world was not Elgin, but another world entirely. And yet, talk about magical attributes applied here without issue.
(Well, but... considering that language is perfectly intelligible between us, and that what I recognize as a Centaur is indeed a Centaur, the world's laws might just be similar. Like a parallel world or something of that sort.)
At the very least, with Zozo and the other Lizardmen, they hadn't understood each other's language at first and had struggled to communicate. In that sense, this world—where Elgin's common sense held true and words were mutually intelligible—was unmistakably closer to Elgin than Zozo's world.
Knowing that, Rei was genuinely surprised.
"Rei? Did something happen?"
"No, it's nothing."
Unable to reveal that he had come from another world, Rei deflected the question. Dolfina vaguely understood that Rei had just dodged it, but since discussing magic came first, he didn't press the matter.
Relieved, Rei began talking about the spell he had recently developed.
"Come to think of it, I recently created a spell to fly through the sky, but I still haven't mastered the cont—...whoa!"
Mid-sentence, Rei noticed Dolfina directing the most intense gaze imaginable at him, and he let out a startled exclamation.