"Well, well... I pretty much expected things would end up like this."
Rei muttered that as he took in the scene spread out before him.
After joining up with Asdena in the grove, Rei had arrived at the settlement only to find Dragonias corpses, corpses, and more corpses strewn across the ground.
There were nearly fifty of them.
And standing out among them all was the corpse of the silver-scaled Dragonias.
There was no doubt that the one leading this pack had been the silver-scaled Dragonias, which Vihera had evidently slain.
Vihera, who had been standing before the silver-scaled Dragonias, must have noticed Rei's voice.
She looked toward him... and an expression of bewilderment and surprise appeared on her face.
Why was Rei, who had just left to search for the Dragonias base with Set, here?
"Rei? What's wrong? Where's Set?"
"Set is waiting outside the grove. ...With Anastasia and Fana."
"......Huh?"
For a moment, Vihera stared at him as though she had no idea what he was talking about.
She probably never expected the names Anastasia and Fana to come up here of all places.
Rei allowed himself a satisfied smile at her reaction.
"I found them. Anastasia and Fana. While I was searching for the base, I rescued them from a pack of Dragonias that was attacking them."
Previously, Damran—who had come into contact with Anastasia before—had mentioned that she might be heading toward the Dragonias base.
Because of that, Rei had held onto the possibility, and in that sense, being able to make contact with Anastasia today brought him more joy than he had expected. At the same time, it made sense.
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. They're waiting outside the grove."
"Why didn't you bring them here? If there are Dragonias around, wouldn't it be dangerous...?"
If the ones waiting outside the grove had been skilled individuals like Elena or Marina, Vihera wouldn't have been so concerned.
But when it came to Anastasia and Fana, that was a different story.
She knew Anastasia was a fairly capable Spirit Mage, but whether she could handle Dragonias was questionable at best. And she also had Fana tagging along as a burden.
Given that, leaving them outside the grove—where Dragonias could attack at any moment—was undeniably dangerous.
"I would have done that if I could. But Anastasia and Fana brought along deer with large antlers, and because of the size of those antlers, they couldn't enter the grove."
"......I see. So Set is guarding Anastasia and the others outside the grove?"
"That's right."
"Is that true!?"
The one who cut into Rei and Vihera's conversation was Damran.
He was from the settlement that Anastasia and the others had previously visited and helped resolve some kind of problem.
Also, thanks to Damran's account, Rei had learned why there was such a large gap in time between when he and Anastasia had each arrived in this world.
"Yeah. They're waiting outside the grove right now. Anyway, I needed to deal with the situation here first, since the settlement was under attack."
At Rei's words, Damran showed a look of genuine, heartfelt relief.
Given his dutiful nature, he must have been deeply worried about what had happened to the people who had helped them.
"I see. They're safe... That's good."
Listening to his heartfelt murmur, Rei looked around the settlement once more.
With so many Dragonias corpses lying about, they first needed to do something about them.
"For now, let's just throw the corpses into the grove. At times like this, this grove's special characteristic is really convenient."
Corpses that would normally require burning or similar measures to dispose of would weather away by tomorrow simply by being left in the grove.
There was no need to worry about them becoming Undead, and since they decomposed that quickly overnight, there was naturally no concern about rotting either.
For Rei, it was undeniably quite convenient.
...In fact, almost too convenient.
"You're right. So... what do we do now? The reason Rei and I came here has been accomplished, right?"
"Yeah. But... I'm not planning to head back just yet. After coming this far, I want to take out the Dragonias base."
"Oh? That's a bit unexpected. I figured you'd want to hurry back to the other side."
"Come on, what do you take me for, Vihera? I've been getting along fairly well with the Centaurs. If they're in trouble, it's only natural that I'd want to help them."
"......Well, let's go with that for now. In any case, that means we need to figure out how to bring Anastasia and the others here. Can't we have Set carry them?"
"No, that won't work. I thought of that first too, but the deer are terrified of Set. If we forced something like that, it wouldn't be surprising if they literally died of shock."
Ugh... similar sounds leaked not only from Vihera but from the others listening around them.
Given the current situation, they probably figured something like that could actually happen.
By now, the Centaurs had come to interact with Set amicably, but when they first saw him, quite a few had been frightened by his overwhelming presence and power.
...In reality, Set revealed a deeply affectionate personality toward those who treated him kindly.
However, that was only possible because the Centaurs could speak and think rationally.
Expecting the same from the deer—wild animals, or perhaps monsters, whose intelligence was by no means high—would be a mistake.
"Both deer have rather large antlers, so I think it would be difficult for them to move through the grove. ...Does anyone have any ideas on how to handle this?"
Rei asked, but no one answered.
The biggest reason was that from Rei's explanation alone, they couldn't fully grasp what kind of creatures the deer were.
If they had seen them in person, they might have been able to offer some opinion.
"For now, how about we just bring Anastasia and Fana to this settlement? As for the deer... if a few people here stand guard, I don't think they'll run off."
Rei thought that was a good idea too.
The main concern when bringing Anastasia and the others to the settlement was what to do about the deer.
Given that, if they dispatched personnel to guard the deer, Anastasia and Fana should be able to come to the settlement with peace of mind.
Then Anastasia needed to thoroughly recount what had happened since she arrived in this world... and above all, she needed to share what she had sensed about whatever existed in this settlement.
If they did that, instead of excavating haphazardly, they might be able to find whatever was influencing this place by digging in just one spot.
"Alright, let's go with that plan for now. ...Zai, could you pick someone to guard the deer?"
"That's easy to say, but... guarding deer? I don't think there'll be many who want to do that."
Considering the Centaurs' temperament, Zai's words were understandable.
Since he understood that... Rei decided to play his trump card.
"If someone is willing to stand guard over the deer, I'll give them alcohol. A whole barrel of it."
A stir ran through the Centaurs at Rei's words.
The alcohol they had received from Rei before had all been quite delicious.
...As a result, many had drunk too much and ended up with hangovers.
The prospect of receiving that alcohol—and an entire barrel no less—was more than enough to sway the Centaurs' hearts.
"I'll do it!"
The Centaur man who volunteered for deer-guarding duty before anyone else drew jealous glares from the others.
But to the alcohol-loving man, the surrounding stares didn't matter.
Rei's alcohol was completely different from the kind made on these grasslands—more precisely, in the various Centaur settlements.
The taste of that alcohol had dealt a powerful shock when he first drank it several days ago.
He wanted to drink more. He wanted to drink more than anyone else.
It was flavorful enough to inspire such thoughts in a Centaur.
Rei had no particular interest in alcohol himself, so he entrusted the deer-guarding duty to the Centaur who had raised his hand first.
"Alright, I'm counting on you. However, those deer hold great significance for Anastasia and Fana... the people Vihera and I were searching for. Make sure they don't run off. If they do, naturally, no alcohol. And of course, attacking the deer is forbidden too."
"Understood. No problem. ...What should I do if Dragonias come?"
"Run. Those deer are fast on their feet too, so you should be able to flee from the Dragonias."
The Dragonias species had significant individual variation, but most specimens were slower than Centaurs or those deer.
Given that, even if attacked, fleeing should not be a problem.
...Of course, whether he could control the deer and keep them from bolting wherever they pleased was another matter entirely, and not so easily done.
"Understood."
Perhaps satisfied with Rei's words, the Centaur man nodded readily.
"Then I'm going to bring Anastasia and Fana now, so wait here a bit."
"Oh, I'm coming too, you know?"
Vihera stated that plainly in response to Rei's words.
Rei was about to say something in return, but... given that the Dragonias attack had just ended, it was hard to imagine another one occurring so soon.
Of course, the possibility wasn't absolutely zero.
In that case, Rei would have preferred Vihera to stay at the settlement, but the distance from here to outside the grove wasn't that far.
Unlike Dragonias or Centaurs, Rei and Vihera could slip through the gaps between the trees and return almost immediately.
Also, Rei planned to have Set head to the settlement as soon as they exited the grove, so there was no need to worry about attacks.
"Fine. Then let's hurry. Zai, it should be fine, but keep a sharp watch on the surroundings until Set gets here."
"Wait, I want you to take me with you."
Before Zai could reply, Damran called out to Rei.
He was going to welcome Anastasia and Fana, the benefactors of his settlement, so naturally he wanted to go.
That was Damran's argument, and the members from the same settlement who had joined the Reconnaissance Unit alongside him agreed.
But Rei shook his head and refused.
"I'm going to bring them back right now, so just wait patiently. It already takes time for Centaurs to get through this grove as it is. If this many people come along, it'll just be a waste of time."
With that said, Damran couldn't argue any further.
If they were going somewhere a few days away to welcome Anastasia and Fana, he might have insisted on going.
But they were going just outside the grove—practically right next door.
In that case, insisting on going to welcome them would be nothing but selfishness.
What's more, if they kept insisting on going, Rei wouldn't be able to welcome Anastasia and Fana the whole time they argued.
"Understood. Then, regretfully, we shall wait here."
In the end, that was what he said, giving up.
"Sorry. I'll bring Anastasia and Fana right back, so wait here. Let's go."
Saying that, Rei headed into the grove, accompanied by Vihera and the two who would stand guard over the deer.
Several Dragonias corpses that Asdena had slain lay scattered throughout the grove.
"These corpses are still fresh... but why would they weather away by tomorrow?"
Vihera asked while gazing at a nearby corpse, but Rei had no answer to give.
After all, that was precisely why they were excavating the settlement's ground.
"Anastasia seemed to have sensed something, so we'll just have to hope for the best there. Besides, she arrived here much earlier than we did, so she might have information we don't. ...Anastasia is particularly curious, after all."
Normally, someone who was merely curious like Anastasia would stick her nose where it didn't belong and get herself killed quickly.
But... in Anastasia's case, as a capable Spirit Mage, she had the skill to survive even in dangerous situations.
The information she had gathered—might there be something there that they didn't know?
Harboring that hope, Rei headed toward the outside of the grove.