In the end, the newly arrived Centaurs joined the Reconnaissance Unit.
Since they had almost no prior contact with the unit, Rei had been worried about whether problems might arise. But as both sides were Centaurs—and perhaps because the newcomers were of particularly good character—no real issues came up.
...However, that was strictly between them and those currently remaining at the campsite.
Whether things would stay peaceful once those out on reconnaissance returned was, honestly speaking, questionable.
There were a few hot-blooded and suspicious individuals among them, and it was almost certain that at least one of them would cause a disturbance over the newcomers being disagreeable or untrustworthy.
If a disturbance did break out, Vihera would undoubtedly suppress it.
Alternatively, if they had enough energy to cause trouble, they would be dragged into a mock battle under the reasoning that they could also use the exercise.
Rei didn't know exactly how things would play out, but training with Vihera was harsh on the Centaurs.
Given that the training was designed with battles against Dragonias in mind, that was perhaps only natural.
"Anyway, it's peaceful for now."
Gazing at the fantastical sight of the sun sinking into the grassland, Rei muttered.
"Gruu?"
Beside him, Set purred as if asking what was wrong.
Perhaps because he had been able to relax with Rei all day, Set appeared to be in quite a good mood.
Rei stroked Set's head while staring intently at the sunset...
"What is it?"
Sensing a presence approaching from behind— from the direction of the settlement— he called out.
The person he addressed showed no particular surprise and simply lined up beside Rei.
It wasn't as though they had been hiding their presence, so they likely thought it was only natural that Rei had noticed them.
"My, is it a crime to come see Rei when I don't have any business with him?"
Her slightly mischievous tone was proof that she, like Set, was in a good mood.
Aside from meals and breaks, she had been running training all day.
Vihera had thought the Centaurs would give up partway through—that they would ask her to call it a day—but in reality, no one said anything of the sort, and they continued training until the very end.
Of course, this was partly because the Centaurs wanted to become even a little stronger in anticipation of fighting the Dragonias, but another factor was that their pride wouldn't let them give up when others hadn't.
"From the looks of it, you seem satisfied."
"That's right. Comparing them to Dragonias might be a bit much, but... even so, it was definitely a fulfilling time. ...You were able to take it easy today too, right, Rei?"
"Yeah. All things considered, not a bad day. It'd be nice if days like this could last forever."
Rei muttered this, but he knew better than anyone that it was impossible.
In the first place, the entire purpose of this endeavor was to find the Dragonias' headquarters.
Given that, the peaceful time they could spend like this wasn't supposed to last long.
(No, rather, in the sense of finding the Dragonias' headquarters as quickly as possible, maybe I should pray for this peaceful time to end as soon as possible. ...Though I'm not very enthusiastic about it.)
Honestly speaking, Rei had nothing to gain from fighting the Dragonias.
But as long as Anastasia and Fana had wandered into this world, wanting to do something before those two were in danger— before they encountered Dragonias— was Rei's honest feeling.
(The newly joined Centaurs didn't know anything about Anastasia and Fana either, in the end.)
Naturally, Rei still hadn't given up on searching for Anastasia and Fana's whereabouts.
He had been asking several people among those from other settlements who joined the Reconnaissance Unit whether they had seen Anastasia and Fana.
He had tried asking the Centaurs who joined today as well, but unfortunately, they had no information either.
As a result, what Rei could do to minimize the chances of Anastasia and Fana encountering danger was to reduce the number of Dragonias— and if possible, strike their headquarters and annihilate them completely.
"Is that so? It's fine once in a while, but I think if days like this continue, I'll eventually get bored. You probably feel the same way, Rei?"
Rei was about to say something in response, but he could somewhat predict that if days like today kept going, he would likely find them boring.
So, precisely because he recognized this himself, Rei said nothing more.
"Come to think of it... I haven't been to the sea yet this year."
Looking out over the grassland dyed red by the sunset, Rei suddenly muttered.
Last year, everyone went to the sea and played to their hearts' content. ...Though in reality, the urge to catch fish had been the stronger motivation.
But this year, while summer had just begun, they hadn't been to the sea yet.
"You're right. We have the Set Basket, too, so... once this matter is settled, shall we go to the sea?"
"There's still quite a bit of seafood left, but as a way to have fun, that might not be a bad idea."
In Elgin, the sea was a territory that gave monsters a considerable advantage.
Because of that, while fishing was one thing, there weren't many who would do things like swimming in the sea. Well, it wasn't that there were none, but they were very much in the minority.
And Rei, Vihera, and the others belonged to that minority.
Both of them— and including the comrades they had left behind in Elgin— possessed enough skill to handle even monsters in the sea.
Also, according to what Rei had previously heard from Elena, among the nobility, there were some who set up nets in the sea to ensure that monsters above a certain size couldn't get through, enjoying seaside bathing that way.
"Then it's a promise. ...Which means we'll need to settle this matter as quickly as possible, but... that in itself is difficult."
"Haa," Vihera sighed regretfully while gazing out over the sunset-dyed grassland.
However, for Vihera, in terms of fighting enemies, the Dragonias who never gave up were exactly the opponents she desired.
In that sense, the battles in this world weren't entirely a bad thing, but... it was also an undeniable fact that she couldn't have both playing at the sea with Rei and fighting Dragonias.
"Anyway, whether we go to the sea or do anything else, there's no doubt we need to settle this matter first. ...Where do you think Anastasia and the others are?"
"Even if you ask me, Anastasia and the others came to this world, and then you came right after, right? So honestly, isn't it strange that you didn't encounter them?"
Vihera's words were by no means wrong.
From the time this world was connected to Elgin until Rei arrived, not much time should have passed.
On top of that, the place where he had emerged into this world was a grassland that stretched endlessly in all directions.
If that was the case, no matter where Anastasia and the others had moved, it wouldn't have been strange to find them on the grassland.
Despite that, the fact that they couldn't find Anastasia and the others raised some questions.
...Of course, there was also the possibility that the hole connecting to this world had led somewhere else during the time before Grimm fixed it, and there were other possibilities too, such as Anastasia using Spirit Magic to travel at high speed.
Considering all of that, it was certain that things became quite complicated.
"Anyway, what we can do right now is destroy the Dragonias' headquarters and reduce the danger to Anastasia and Fana as much as possible. ...Whether they're on this grassland or not is another matter, though."
If they weren't on the grassland, it would be quite troublesome for Rei.
He hadn't actually measured it, but the sheer vastness of this grassland was obvious from the fact that even when riding Set up to an altitude of one hundred meters, nothing but grassland stretched to the horizon.
Just the possibility that they might be somewhere on this grassland made finding them extremely difficult.
And if Anastasia and the others were outside this grassland... it went without saying how difficult finding them would be.
"Still, the Reconnaissance Unit didn't return today after all, huh."
At the words that suddenly came from Vihera's mouth, Rei briefly looked confused.
That was because those who had gone on reconnaissance were supposed to travel for two days first, then return.
Given that, they were scheduled to return four days later...
"Why today? They're coming back in four days, right? Well, if they find a Dragonias base or headquarters while scouting, that's a different story."
"Rei, you're forgetting one more thing. ...When the Reconnaissance Unit encounters a number of Dragonias they can't handle on their own."
"Ah, I see. So that's what you were thinking."
Rei answered, half in exasperation, upon realizing what Vihera was thinking.
In other words, Vihera had been hoping that the Reconnaissance Unit that encountered Dragonias would flee back to this campsite.
Because then she would be able to fight them.
That said, it wasn't as though Vihera had no concern for the Reconnaissance Unit at all.
Compared to Dragonias, Centaurs were faster runners.
In other words, if they only fled upon encountering Dragonias, there would be no problem— as long as there were no special individuals faster than Centaurs.
And since Dragonias, upon finding prey, were driven by hunger and tried to devour them, they would fundamentally chase them no matter how far.
In other words, if Centaurs encountered Dragonias, it was possible to lure them back to this campsite if things went well.
If that happened, those here would naturally have to fight.
The reason a certain level of combat power remained at the campsite was, in the first place, to deal with exactly such situations.
"If that happens, reconnaissance in that direction will be delayed, so I'd prefer that kind of thing not to occur, if possible."
"Oh, is that so? ...That's too bad."
Vihera said, sounding genuinely disappointed.
Thinking she was as persistent as ever, Rei's appetite was stimulated by a smell drifting over.
One of the advantages of this Reconnaissance Unit was that since various settlements were gathered together, they could eat cuisine unique to each settlement.
Of course, their skills were inferior compared to those who had been brought specifically to cook, but even so, there were many dishes that caught Rei's interest— similar yet with slightly different seasonings or different toppings.
"Being able to eat food prepared by skilled cooks is what makes this campsite a winner."
"That's right. There are probably people who are good at cooking among those who went with the Reconnaissance Unit too, but... even so, they wouldn't be able to make truly delicious food in practice."
"They're in the middle of scouting, after all."
In Rei's case, he had the Misty Ring, so he could carry large quantities of ingredients.
...No, he was actually carrying the cooked dishes themselves.
But since the Reconnaissance Unit didn't have such a convenient Magic Item, they needed to carry food normally.
Still, being Centaurs, their physical abilities were higher than those of normal humans, so they could carry more than a regular adventurer.
However, since they were in the middle of scouting, smells that would stimulate appetite in the surrounding area were strictly prohibited.
Especially since the ones they were searching for were Dragonias driven by hunger.
In other words, what they could eat while scouting was something easy to eat on the move, with smells that wouldn't spread— so-called preserved food.
Things like dried meat or hard-baked bread.
(Yep, definitely the right choice to stay behind here.)
Thinking this over, Rei headed with Vihera toward the cooking area within the campsite.
Since there were additional people who had joined today, they had to cook for them as well, but the newcomers had also brought a certain amount of food— primarily preserved food— so there was no shortage of provisions.
Whether there was enough for Rei to eat his fill was an entirely different matter, though.
Eventually, voices announcing that the meal was ready echoed around, and the Centaurs remaining at the campsite gathered one after another.