"Ooooooooooooh!"
As Rei consulted with Zai and carved trenches around the campsite—deep enough to serve as barriers without getting in the way—voices of astonishment rose from the watching Centaurs.
Among those crying out in surprise were some who should have already seen the trench Rei had made before the assault on the Dragonias base.
Why were they so amazed when they had already witnessed it once? Rei couldn't help but wonder, but to the Centaurs, the shallow trench they had briefly hidden in and the network of trenches now surrounding the entire campsite were two entirely different things.
From Rei's perspective, he couldn't quite see what difference there was between the two.
"At this height, even the Dragonias won't be able to get in easily. ...Though with their strength, they might be able to break through something like this."
"Even so, just not being spotted by the Dragonias from outside should make things a little easier, right?"
Rei agreed with Vihera's assessment.
In fact, he had been counting on that as one of the trench's intended purposes.
"This is... honestly, amazing. Normally, building something like this would take a considerable amount of time and effort."
A voice mixing admiration with disbelief slipped from Zai's mouth.
From Zai's perspective, he had heard from Rei that it was possible and had watched him make Terrain Manipulation look effortless, but even so, he never could have imagined Rei pulling off something like this so easily.
"For now, we can rest easy with this in place. Next... it's a bit early, but should we start preparing dinner?"
They had run through the night, arriving back at the campsite in the morning.
After sleeping, Rei woke up around mid-afternoon. By his reckoning, it was somewhere around three o'clock.
From there, they had spent about an hour consulting with Zai while covering the campsite's perimeter with trenches, bringing the time to roughly four o'clock.
As Rei had said, it was a little early to start preparing dinner, but those who had accompanied him to assault the base had barely eaten after returning from the all-night trek, choosing instead to sleep. Many of them were now hungry.
Of course, some had grabbed a bite before sleeping or had eaten while Rei was digging trenches around the campsite, but... there was no doubt that the majority were hungry.
Those who had stayed behind at the campsite would naturally be getting peckish at this hour as well.
"Right... there are plenty of others besides us who are hungry, so having dinner a bit early sounds fine."
"Yeah. Plus, we destroyed an enemy base, so today we can afford a slightly fancier meal."
At Rei's words, those listening nearby perked up with strong interest.
Just moments ago, they had been crying out in surprise at Rei's Terrain Manipulation, but naturally, the prospect of their meal becoming more lavish held far more appeal for the Centaurs than watching the earth move.
In particular, those who had gone with Rei to destroy the base had eaten nothing but preserved rations designed not to spread their scent—this despite Rei, who carried the Misty Ring, being among them.
That had been the case while waiting in the trenches, and again when they took a short break on the way back to camp after annihilating the base.
Likewise, for Zai and the others who had stayed behind, with nearly all their combat power gone—including Rei—wanting to eat meals whose scent would drift through the surrounding area was out of the question. Their lives came first.
As a result, Zai and his group hadn't been able to enjoy particularly good meals while Rei and the others were away.
Though today at lunch, while the base annihilation team was sleeping, they had eaten satisfactorily, knowing they had enough combat power on hand to fight back if the Dragonias came.
Even so, the words "fancy meal" coming from Rei's mouth stirred intense interest.
"Sounds good. We can make it a celebration for taking out the base, too."
With Zai, who commanded the reconnaissance team, agreeing to Rei's proposal, there was no one left to object.
After all, there was fundamentally no one who didn't want to eat delicious food.
And so, ingredients were brought out from Rei's Misty Ring, and the slightly early cooking began.
"Hey, Rei. Aren't you going to bring out the food you have?"
Rei was leaning against Set, watching the Centaurs cook, when Vihera—likewise leaning against Set beside him—asked the question.
Perhaps Vihera was hungry too, because she apparently hadn't done any combat training with the Centaurs.
"I asked, but they said they'd rather make it themselves since they have the chance."
Given that they were Centaurs skilled at cooking, having tasted Rei's food several times, they had likely developed a competitive spirit toward its deliciousness.
Determined to cook something even better than Rei's dishes, they were now hard at work right where Rei's gaze happened to fall.
"Hmm. When it comes to food, I think as long as it's delicious, that's all that matters."
So said Vihera, who was actually a decent cook in her own right.
That said, her cooking was strictly what she had picked up as an adventurer—neither the refined cuisine she had learned as a princess of the former Bestia Empire, nor on the level of someone like Marina who could cook seriously.
Nevertheless, in terms of pure culinary skill, Vihera actually ranked above Rei.
After all, Rei basically never cooked, even in the middle of a quest, usually opting to eat dishes stored inside his Misty Ring.
"Yeah. But the ones gathered over there are the boastful cooks from various settlements. There's no way the food they make is bad."
Even as he said that, Rei harbored a slight doubt about whether the Centaurs' palate matched his own... but figuring it was similar to Beastmen, that doubt quickly vanished.
"So... are you free right now, Vihera?"
At Rei's words, Vihera shot him a look of exasperation but said nothing.
From Vihera's perspective, wanting to relax beside the man she loved was only natural.
And yet, Rei himself showed absolutely no understanding of her feelings, so it was only natural for her to direct a look of exasperation at him.
...The fact that she didn't actually get angry and only gave him that look was probably because she knew his personality.
"Vihera?"
"It's nothing. I'm reasonably satisfied with the fighting for now, so I don't feel like training. Besides, the others probably feel the same way."
Rei accepted Vihera's words with an "is that so?" sort of understanding.
No—in reality, he hadn't truly accepted it so much as recognized it as simply the way things were.
"Gururu?"
Set, serving as a backrest for both Rei and Vihera, suddenly let out a purr.
Set's attitude communicated itself to Rei and Vihera as a matter of course.
Since Rei sensed no danger in Set's cry, he didn't rush to move.
And if Rei wasn't moving, it must be safe—or so Vihera likewise reasoned, showing no sign of panic.
However... a short while later, they felt a presence approaching.
Since that presence was a familiar one, Rei, still leaning against Set, merely turned his gaze toward it and spoke.
"What is it, Zai?"
"Ah, actually... the reconnaissance team has returned."
"Again? ...Hey, wait. Don't tell me they found another base or something like that?"
Having only just returned to this settlement today, Rei would be troubled if they immediately asked him to go destroy another base.
It wasn't that he couldn't do it.
However, Zai shook his head at Rei's words.
"No, that's not it. Apparently, they encountered a group that had come from another settlement in this area."
"Again?"
Rei repeated the same words he had uttered just seconds before.
In fact, they had only recently encountered a reconnaissance team from a nearby settlement in much the same way.
This meant there were several other similar settlements in the vicinity.
"Yeah, again. However... apparently, they ran into the Dragonias before encountering our reconnaissance team. Fortunately, the enemy numbers were few, so they were able to defeat them, but a fair number of them were injured."
"I see. So they're skilled, then."
If they had defeated Dragonias, they were valuable as combat power.
Also, though Zai didn't say it aloud, given his personality, it was only natural that he would want to treat his fellow Centaurs' injuries.
"If you think it's fine to let them into the campsite, I don't mind. So what you need is medicine and such?"
Naturally, since the supplies each settlement had prepared were stored in Rei's Misty Ring, medicines were inside the Misty Ring as well.
Before setting out to destroy the Dragonias base, Rei had left behind a certain amount of medicine in case of emergencies, but...
(Looking at Zai, does that mean what I left wasn't enough? Well, from the looks of it, nobody has injuries serious enough to be life-threatening.)
Thinking that, Rei stood up from his position leaning against Set.
"I'm free until dinner is ready anyway, and carrying medicine around is a hassle. I'll go directly."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. From the looks of it, I think it's probably fine, but... there's a chance the medicine I have might be needed."
In this case, "medicine" referred to potions.
Perhaps because few Centaurs could use magic, they had no potions.
Only medicines made by pharmacists served as their recovery remedies.
Naturally, such medicines worked slowly, unlike potions.
In Rei's estimation, they were comparable to ordinary medicines sold in Japan.
By comparison, potions were quintessentially fantastical, capable of healing wounds instantly.
The only person present who possessed such potions was Rei.
"Sorry, that would really help. But like you said, Rei, it's not that serious, so I don't think there's much need to worry."
"Don't worry about it. It's partly just killing time. ...What about you, Vihera?"
"Let's see. I could go over there too, but... no, it doesn't sound very interesting. And it looks like there are some people over there who seem bored, so I'll get some pre-dinner exercise."
"...I see."
So she's going to fight after all.
Rei suppressed that thought and watched Vihera head toward two Centaurs talking a short distance away. Then, accompanied by Set, he followed Zai's guidance to where the newly arrived group was waiting.
"So, how serious are the injuries, specifically?"
"Mostly cuts. And... a few of them had flesh torn off."
"...Figured."
The Dragonias had two primary methods of attack.
One was slashing opponents with the sharp claws growing from their fingers, and the other was biting—no, tearing flesh from their opponents with their sharp fangs.
In practice, it seemed like they could also body-check or kick with the lizard lower bodies they possessed, but at the very least, Rei had never seen an ordinary Dragonias fight that way... aside from the golden-scaled and silver-scaled ones.
For that reason, it was a matter of course to Rei that Centaurs who had fought the Dragonias would bear wounds of that nature.
"Still, claw wounds aside, the ones who had flesh torn off... won't heal that easily, even with recovery remedies."
Cuts could be healed with medicine.
But having flesh torn off meant the meat that had been there was simply gone.
Even if the wound itself healed, there was no way they'd be able to move exactly as before so easily.
(Potions or Recovery Magic could probably manage it, though.)
Rei thought that, but Zai told him it wasn't a problem.
"It's fine. The flesh was torn off, but the wounds themselves aren't that large."
"Is that so? Well, if you say so, Zai, I'm sure you're right."
As they talked, they headed toward the edge of the campsite—one of the entry points Rei had created with Terrain Manipulation that allowed free passage in and out.
At that spot, the returned Centaurs were talking to the others, voices filled with astonishment and excitement.
That said, what lay behind their reaction reached Rei's ears soon enough.
They simply couldn't believe that the campsite's surroundings had changed so dramatically in the short time since they had left.
"I brought Rei."
At Zai's words, the gazes of the Centaurs present—those who had been out on reconnaissance and the Centaurs who had newly joined them—all turned toward Rei.