"…No enemies came, huh?"
"My, isn't that a good thing?"
Rei and Vihera exchanged those words after waking up and stepping outside the Magic Tent.
There was something slightly odd about Vihera—who normally welcomed battle—saying it was a good thing no enemies had come. But Rei figured even she had those kinds of mornings occasionally, and surveyed the area.
Several Centaurs were already awake, preparing breakfast or discussing the day's plans.
…Right. Just as Rei had noted, no Dragonias had attacked last night.
They had only served one cup of alcohol each as a precaution, but given how quiet the night had been, couldn't they have let them drink a little more? He couldn't help but wonder.
Of course, there was no point if they all ended up with hangovers, so he couldn't have given them that much.
Besides, the reason no enemies came to this settlement last night…is probably because Set and I annihilated a fair number of moving Dragonias groups and outposts yesterday. That's the most likely possibility.
Rei said "annihilated," but in truth, he hadn't truly annihilated them—he hadn't killed every single Dragonias. The commander-class ones with gold, silver, copper…or mottled scales may have survived.
But in the end, attacking a settlement required numbers. The Dragonias surely understood that as well.
…Since those numbers had been wiped out by Rei and Set, there was a very real possibility they had simply given up on attacking the grove, lacking the combat power to do so.
"More importantly, you're going out scouting again today, right? …Shouldn't you seriously try to find the headquarters soon?"
"Come on. It's not like I'm slacking off out there. If I could find them, I'd want to locate a Dragonias base right away."
"I know that. But…all things considered, we've been here a long time since we arrived, haven't we? I'm a little worried about Byune."
The concern Vihera voiced wasn't something Rei found particularly puzzling. To Vihera, Byune was like a ward she had taken under her protection.
…Byune was quite self-reliant given her origins, so as far as Rei was concerned, she would be perfectly fine on her own even without Vihera for a while. That said, that was strictly his assumption, and for Vihera, who considered herself Byune's guardian, it was only natural to have her worries.
"Byune is poor at communicating with anyone outside our circle, after all."
Given that Byune usually said only a single word—"nn"—those like Rei who understood her personality well could generally tell what she meant. Of course, when more detailed communication was needed, they did require Vihera to interpret.
Whether Byune could interact smoothly with everyone without Vihera there was likely a major concern for her. Though not to the same extent as Vihera, it wasn't as if Rei didn't share such thoughts at all.
…Still, he believed that if push came to shove, Elena, Marina, Ara, and the others would manage somehow.
"Want to head back for a bit, then? …Considering Set's speed, it wouldn't be impossible."
"That's…"
Rei's words were undeniably tempting to Vihera. But the reason she couldn't immediately agree to go back was, undoubtedly, her strong interest in fighting the Dragonias. The appearance of an entirely new species—the mottled Dragonias—had only sharpened her eagerness for battle.
…There was also the question of whether the directionally-challenged Rei and Set could even find their way back to this grove.
For short distances, Vihera could manage to guide them somewhat, but when it came to whether they could safely navigate from the passage connecting to Gilm all the way back to this grove, she couldn't simply nod with confidence. If anything, she could easily imagine them emerging from some completely different location—some grassland they'd never seen before.
Normally, such a thing would be unthinkable. But with Rei and Set, it was entirely possible.
Above all, if the top three combat powers in the current Reconnaissance Unit—or more accurately, two people and one creature—were to disappear, the unit could be attacked and wiped out by Dragonias before the day was over.
Furthermore, the unit's food, water, and various other supplies were all stored in Rei's Misty Ring. Losing him would be a fatal blow.
In the end, if Rei were to leave—not to search for the Dragonias headquarters or outposts like yesterday, but to actually return to Elgin—things would need to change on a massive scale across the board.
"At any rate, given the current situation, it's certain we can't go anywhere else from here."
"If you say so, Vihera, then that's fine with me. …Well, let's give it our all for another day."
Saying so, Rei surveyed the surroundings. While he had been talking with Vihera, many of the Centaurs had woken up and begun going about their morning routines.
Among them…no, more than half wore expressions of doubt and mild dissatisfaction over the fact that no Dragonias attack had come last night. That discontent likely stemmed from the thought that they had only been given one cup of alcohol the night before.
When they had been hung over, they had suffered an assault by a massive Dragonias horde. And yet, why was last night the exception?
For the Centaurs—gathered as they were from the ranks of alcohol lovers—it was only natural to harbor such resentment.
Rei didn't particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol himself, so he couldn't quite grasp why the Centaurs were so fixated on it.
"My."
He heard Vihera suddenly murmur with admiration and followed her gaze.
At the end of it, two Centaurs were sparring with weapons in hand.
…A mock battle, yet the weapons were their own. In other words, they were sparring with sharp longswords and spears that could cut on contact. Normally, that would be judged as extremely dangerous.
When the Centaur Unit held mock battles, they did use weapons with blunted edges. Despite that rule, the pair currently using real weapons were doing so simply because it created more tension. In reality, there were a fair number of warriors who refused to use practice weapons for that very reason.
The reason it hadn't become a real issue was that everyone who had joined this Expedition was a sufficiently skilled warrior from their respective settlement. That was why Vihera, who had been entrusted with overseeing the Centaurs' training, said nothing upon seeing it.
If they had been individuals lacking in proficiency, or newcomers who had just become warriors, Vihera would never have permitted a mock battle with real weapons. If such people tried something like that, her fist would come flying immediately—and since they clearly had that much hot blood in them, they would be subjected to endless mock battles with Vihera herself.
Those with certain peculiar tastes might welcome such an arrangement…but thinking about it normally, no one in their right mind would want that. They wouldn't have enough stamina no matter how much they had, and above all, they would experience the terror of death to the fullest.
"Anyway, I'll go check on things for a bit."
Seeing off Vihera as she moved to join the morning training, Rei proceeded with his own preparations alongside Set.
"Do your best out there—!"
Hearing a Centaur call out to him, Rei took off from the settlement with Set and headed toward yesterday's location.
"Set, no Dragonias came last night after all, right?"
"Gruu!"
Set purred at Rei's words as if to say, That's right!
Since Set was saying this with such confidence, Rei reassured himself that he didn't need to worry about the possibility that Dragonias had actually been lurking in the grove during the night.
In that case, was the grove left alone because I wiped out those outposts and moving groups yesterday? No, but…hmm. If so, maybe I should destroy the other outposts probably scattered around the grove first to tighten security.
He thought that, but then again, finding the Dragonias headquarters should take priority over securing the grove's safety.
If that was the case, what should he do?
After some hesitation…he ultimately concluded that since he had left Vihera at the grove settlement, things would be fine for now.
And so, Rei flew through the sky with Set, searching for the Dragonias headquarters.
…The problem was…
"Hey, Set. Where was it that we found the mottled Dragonias yesterday…?"
"Gruu?"
At Rei's words, Set let out a confused purr.
Yesterday, they had flown all over the place, and eventually encountered the pack of mottled Dragonias. But precisely because they had wandered so much, they couldn't remember where yesterday's location had been.
In the end, they had flown straight back from the spot where they defeated the mottled Dragonias to the grove, but by then it was already evening.
The same place looked completely different in the morning and in the evening.
Also, the fact that both Rei and Set were somewhat directionally challenged likely played a part. As a result, they were lost on their way to their intended destination.
After wandering for about ten minutes…the conclusion they finally reached was that since they couldn't be sure of finding yesterday's location even if they kept searching, it would be better to give up on it and look for other outposts or Dragonias on the move instead.
They had, essentially, given up.
The one saving grace for the Rei-and-Set duo was that they themselves understood this.
"Well then, let's look somewhere else for now…which way do you want to go?"
Even when it came to choosing where to search, they had no real landmark to go by. If they had something as obvious a marker as the grove they were using as a campsite, it might have been a different story.
"Grururu? Gruu, Grururu…"
That said, even Set, who was left to decide where to go, couldn't immediately pick a direction.
After considering which way to head…he eventually began flying in one direction.
It wasn't that he had any particular reason for choosing that way. He simply felt that it was the right one, and acted on that feeling.
Since Rei had also been at a loss for where to go, he didn't voice any dissatisfaction with Set's choice.
They continued straight ahead…and before long, spotted something running on the ground below.
More Dragonias? Rei thought…but no.
More accurately, it was true that Dragonias were present, but those Dragonias were chasing two deer.
And riding on the deer were…
"Anastasia!? And Fana too!"
Yes—those were the two people Rei had been searching for ever since coming to this world. Anastasia and Fana, riding on deer that were clearly not ordinary by any measure of size, while being pursued by Dragonias from behind.
"Gruu!"
Rei froze for a moment at the utterly unexpected sight, but quickly snapped back to himself at Set's cry.
"Right. We need to help Anastasia and the others first. …Set, head that way."
Drawing the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring, Rei called out the order.
Even as he did so, the gap between the deer carrying the two women and the pursuing Dragonias was closing.
In terms of pure running speed, the deer were likely faster than the Dragonias.
But…the two deer were carrying the weight of Anastasia and Fana on their backs.
…The two would probably get angry if they heard themselves described as dead weight.
Of course, the two "weights" weren't just sitting idly by.
Anastasia, a Spirit Mage, chanted an incantation even as they fled…and released her magic.
Several of the Dragonias leading the pursuit suddenly stumbled.
Naturally, when the Dragonias directly in front of them tripped, the ones immediately behind were caught up in the pileup as well.
Those Dragonias—unable to dodge because they had been chasing their prey in a straight line, driven by hunger to reach the two deer, Anastasia, and Fana—were plunged into by the Twilight Spear, launched from the sky like a falling meteor.