The morning sun rising from beyond the horizon was visible to the eye.
Being up in the sky above the grassland probably made it feel all the more so.
For Rei, it was an altitude that was both familiar and yet unfamiliar.
When Set flew through the sky, it generally flew at an altitude of about one hundred meters.
That was why Rei was accustomed to flying at that kind of height, but an altitude of around fifty meters was unusual for him.
...That said, Rei was currently pouring everything he had into controlling his flight through the rings of flame on his four limbs, so he couldn't afford to leisurely gaze at the morning sun.
"Whoa!"
In fact, Rei, whose eyes had been captivated by the morning sun, lost his balance in that instant and nearly shot off to the right, barely managing to regain control.
"How long is it going to take to get used to this?"
The distinctive scent of the grassland was different from the natural smells one would encounter in the mountains.
Rei had never been to a grassland this vast before, so he wondered if perhaps that was also related to this scent...
"Nwoh!"
He lost his balance in midair once more, this time nearly plunging toward the ground.
Somehow he righted himself and began moving through the sky again.
If he focused solely on aerial movement, he wouldn't lose his balance to that degree.
But that was only the case if he concentrated entirely on it.
The moment he directed his attention to something else, maintaining balance became difficult.
(With a bicycle, once you learn to ride it, you don't fall anymore... I wish moving through the air was the same — just a matter of getting used to it. When on earth will I get used to it, I wonder?)
He thought about this while moving, and this time he didn't lose his balance quite so badly.
If only he could keep this situation going for as long as possible.
Thinking that, he continued flying through the sky...
"Grrrrrrl!"
Suddenly, that cry rang out from right nearby.
There was no need to even think about whose voice it was.
"Set, is it okay for you to come here? What about keeping watch?"
"Gruh!"
At Rei's words, Set purred as if to say, "It's fine!"
For Set, having Rei flying through the sky while it stayed behind at the campsite on watch had been quite taxing.
However, now that several Centaurs had woken up, Set had been released from watch duty. ...Incidentally, when it was first decided that Set would take the night watch, many who heard this looked on with doubtful expressions, wondering if that would really be all right.
But Zai vouched for the reliability of Set's watch, and everyone believed it.
After all, they hadn't been attacked by enemies during the night thanks to Set's vigilance.
The absence of monsters and beasts in the surrounding area due to the Dragonias' influence was probably also a factor.
"Set, you're amazing. You can fly through the sky so naturally."
"Gruh? Grrrrl!"
When Rei managed to tell Set this while barely maintaining his balance in midair, Set tilted its head as if to say, "Really?" and then immediately let out a happy cry.
For Set, being praised by Rei was probably what made it happy.
Of course, being praised by Rei happened from time to time.
But even so, receiving praise from Rei was something that brought Set immense joy.
From Rei's perspective, he was struggling this much to fly through the sky, yet Set flew effortlessly... as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Since Set had been born as a gryphon, it was only natural that it excelled at flying.
Rei understood that too, but given his current situation, he couldn't help feeling envious.
...In reality, while the act of flying was the same for Rei and Set, the methods were vastly different.
Set flew by flapping its wings, whereas for Rei, rather than flying, it would be more accurate to say he floated in midair in a state close to weightlessness.
And the moment his concentration slipped even slightly and he lost balance, he would be sent shooting off in some direction.
Since their methods of flying were different, Rei currently couldn't receive any kind of advice from Set either.
"Grrrrrl"
Set watched Rei with a touch of concern, flying at a slight distance.
Rei, flying alongside Set, focused his concentration on not losing balance while scanning the surroundings.
(If losing balance means I suddenly shoot off in that direction, then once I get used to flying, I'll be able to move in any direction I want at any time, won't I?)
For someone like Set who flew using wings, moving in a desired direction naturally required turning its body toward it.
But for Rei, who was flying in a near-weightless state, it was possible to move in any direction he wanted without facing his direction of travel.
For example, flying diagonally backward while facing forward... that sort of thing was perfectly doable.
It went without saying that to pull off such maneuvers, one needed to be thoroughly accustomed to flying, so it wasn't something that could be done easily.
At the very least, for Rei to intentionally do something like that now... it wasn't impossible, but as a result, he wouldn't be able to properly control his flight.
After continuing to practice flying with Set for a while, Rei saw that everyone else had woken up and descended to the ground.
"Haa... still as tiring as ever."
Throughout the entire time he was flying, he was endlessly consuming magical power.
Landing on the ground after finishing his magic, that magical power was naturally heavily depleted, and he lay down on the grassland, exhausted.
Perhaps because it was still morning, the scent of the grass wasn't that overpowering.
If anything, it even felt... cool and refreshing, one might say.
For anyone who knew Rei's usual self, seeing him show exhaustion this openly would be nothing short of astonishing.
Rei possessed such an enormous amount of magical power that if he removed the Ring of the New Moon, which had the effect of concealing his mana, anyone who could sense magical power would unquestionably be overwhelmed, stunned, and rendered speechless — and yet here he was in this state.
The price of forcefully using magic that was ordinarily very loosely related to fire, with massive amounts of mana, was Rei's current condition.
...This was only manageable to this degree of exhaustion because it was Rei; if an ordinary mage attempted something like this, they would instantly exhaust all their magical power, and even that wouldn't be enough, potentially costing them their very life in the end.
Or perhaps, the magic simply wouldn't activate due to insufficient mana in the first place.
"Phew... alright."
He steadied his ragged breathing and stood up from the grass where he had been lying.
Then, he noticed Dolf running toward him with an excited look on his face.
Given Dolf's strong interest in magic, seeing Rei flying through the sky must have excited him despite having just woken up.
He had seen Rei fly yesterday, but the actual time Rei spent flying hadn't been that long.
As a result, this incident must have been a very significant one for Dolf.
Rei didn't entirely think it was something worth making such a fuss over, but considering Dolf's personality, he quickly accepted it as unavoidable.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, I saw you flying through the sky, so I hurried over. ...Still, from what I could see, it looked like you were flying freely enough."
To Dolf, that was how it had appeared.
But for Rei, who was actually flying, he couldn't bring himself to nod in agreement with those words.
...Of course, compared to when he first used the spell, his flying technique had undoubtedly improved.
Rei understood that, but if asked whether he was satisfied with his current level, the answer was no.
At the very least, for Rei, the minimum condition for using this magic in actual combat would be to fly freely while wielding Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear simultaneously.
"Not even close. If my concentration slips or I lose my balance while flying, I immediately shoot off in some direction."
Hearing Rei's words, Dolf accepted that that was simply how it was.
Dolf, like the Old Woman, could use magic to hover just above the ground, but that only allowed him to travel immediately above the earth's surface.
According to Rei, a hover movement spell.
Given the nature of such magic, being able to fly through the sky was something Dolf found enviable.
...Most of the other Centaurs, including Zai, held a strong aversion to things like flying through the air, but Dolf didn't entirely lack such aversion... though it seemed to be quite faint.
"Anyway, let's talk about magic while we're on the move. For now, it's breakfast."
Many Centaurs were already awake, each going about their morning preparations.
But since the food was fundamentally stored inside Rei's Misty Ring, they couldn't begin preparing breakfast.
Seeing Rei's demeanor, Dolf nodded, looking slightly disappointed.
They would be running all day from here on out.
Naturally, skipping breakfast was not an option.
Rei, Dolf, and Set began walking toward the campsite.
"I'm hungry."
"If hunger is the only price for training with such an absurd spell, I'd say that's remarkably light."
Because he was knowledgeable about magic, Dolf understood just how outrageous the magic Rei was using really was.
That was precisely why he honestly felt that hunger was a comparatively minor cost.
Rei agreed with that opinion as well.
Since Rei was a big eater to begin with, his food expenses were already extremely high.
If someone like that became even hungrier, just how much food expense would vanish in a single meal?
If Rei were an ordinary adventurer, it wouldn't be strange for him to go bankrupt from food costs alone.
But... fortunately, Rei was a skilled adventurer and a gourmet.
If it meant being able to eat even more delicious food than before, then he would actually welcome it with open arms.
(If my food intake stays the same as before with this, I'll keep getting thinner and... wait? Could this actually be a groundbreaking diet method?)
For a moment, such a thought crossed his mind.
In this world as well, women were naturally enthusiastic about slimming down.
Of course, there were also men who were overweight and wanted to slim down, but if asked which group was relatively more enthusiastic about losing weight — dieting — it was naturally the latter.
Adventurers moved their bodies a lot as a matter of course, so they didn't gain weight easily.
Since they exerted themselves physically, their bodies demanded more energy, and to compensate, they ate considerably more than ordinary people.
At any rate, adventurers were less prone to gaining weight, but ordinary people didn't have that luxury.
However, being an adventurer was fundamentally a life-or-death profession.
Especially working as an adventurer in Gilm, which being a frontier meant that powerful monsters were common, requiring considerable strength.
Considering that danger, being able to diet without being attacked by monsters — wasn't that a good thing?
That was what he thought, but in the next moment, he dismissed the idea.
The reason was — though it was truly belated — he realized that he was the only one who could activate magic in this manner.
Even before that, mages were already exceedingly rare to begin with.
This was a diet that could only be done by someone who was a mage and possessed magical power that, while not quite on Rei's level, was still greater than average.
A diet method that only such a limited group of people could perform — if it became known to others, it would undoubtedly become a major problem.
That was why Rei immediately banished the thought of this diet method to the far reaches of oblivion.
"Rei, shall we go? Everyone's waiting."
"Hm? Oh, right. Sorry. ...Making food for this many people is a lot of work, and considering the numbers will only keep growing, we might want to get people who specialize in cooking arranged at the next settlement."
"That's... well, true. I don't know how many people we'll end up with in the end, but the more people like that, the better. Your cooking has its appeal too, but when the numbers grow..."
Even at last night's dinner, Rei had provided the food.
It was a vegetable-rich stew he had bought in Gilm, but the Centaurs' evaluation of it had been unexpectedly high.
...But if the numbers kept increasing from here on, continuing to provide meals might deplete the stock inside his Misty Ring, so he couldn't be reckless.
Thinking that, Rei hurried off to hand out ingredients to the Centaurs preparing breakfast.