Rei and the others—the members of the Reconnaissance Unit—were observing the grassland below from atop a nearby hill, where the Dragonias headquarters presumably lay hidden underground. In the midst of their watch, Set suddenly let out a cry.
Rei couldn't possibly believe the cry was without meaning.
And it wasn't just him. Anyone who had spent a reasonable amount of time with Set—in other words, the vast majority of the Centaurs present—undoubtedly felt the same.
"What is it, Set? Did you find something?"
Rei, who had been scanning the grassland just like everyone else beside him, turned to the creature.
"Gururu? Guru, gururururu..."
In response to Rei's question, Set vocalized while staring at a particular patch of the grassland.
Rei followed Set's gaze, but from what he could see, there didn't appear to be anything that would warrant such a reaction.
What on earth had caught Set's attention? Rei couldn't understand it at all.
"Is there something there? ...Does anyone notice anything?"
The exchange between Rei and Set had naturally been heard and seen by the others as well.
That was precisely why they had turned their gazes in the same direction Set was looking, just like Rei... but at his words, everyone shook their heads.
Seeing that not only the Centaurs but even Vihera was shaking her head, it was obvious that no one could tell what lay at the end of that gaze.
But if Set reacted, there's definitely something there. I'm sure of that, but... the problem is how to find it.
Given the current situation, there was no way to discover whatever Set had sensed no matter what they tried.
That being the case, he needed to figure out a method to find it first... and Rei's gaze drifted to the Spirit Egg resting atop the mikoshi.
If the headquarters is underground, and they found the Spirit Egg that was buried in the ground... then whether it's a Dragonias king or queen, I don't know, but that entity is likely connected to the power of spirits in some way. If that's the case...
Rei's gaze shifted from the Spirit Egg to Anastasia.
If it was concealed by the power of spirits, then ultimately, only the power of spirits could do something about it.
Naturally, Anastasia had noticed Rei's gaze upon her, but honestly, she would have preferred not to use the Spirit Egg's power any further right now.
After all, doing such a thing in her current condition would inevitably exhaust her even more when she was already drained.
...That said, if they couldn't locate the enemy's headquarters, not even Rei could do anything about it. That was a fact.
In reality, if it came down to it, Rei could spam Flame Magic from this very position, obliterating the grassland before his eyes and burying the underground with debris—if he really set his mind to it.
However, verifying whether he had truly destroyed the Dragonias headquarters... let alone whether he had actually killed the entity presumed to be the Dragonias king or queen within, would be extremely difficult.
That was why, if possible, he wanted to clearly confirm the enemy's presence, direct his attack toward them... and have the certainty that he had killed them.
Still, he understood he was asking for too much in the current situation, so he was prepared to give up if it proved truly impossible.
However, that was only if it was truly impossible.
Most likely, something caused by the power of spirits was at work, and because of it, the entrance leading underground had become impossible to perceive.
Given that, turning to the one person who could resolve it was the only natural course of action.
"Anastasia, can I count on you?"
"...I would have preferred not to, if possible. But it doesn't seem like I can say that..."
With a sigh, Anastasia reached out and touched the Spirit Egg.
Then, murmuring softly... the next moment, an invisible force radiated outward from the Spirit Egg.
Rei knew it was a power that wouldn't affect them. He knew that, and yet, feeling the force radiating from the Spirit Egg the instant it was released, bracing himself was only natural...
"What!?"
Seeing the scene that burst into his field of vision, he let out a startled exclamation without thinking, still in his braced stance.
The landscape before his eyes—the very scenery that until moments ago had looked like nothing but ordinary grassland—suddenly distorted.
It was a sight that could fittingly be described as space itself warping, and he was stunned by it... but the next moment, after that spatial distortion settled, the vista that spread before them evoked an even greater sense of surprise—an emotion closer to sheer astonishment—in Rei.
No, it wasn't just Rei who was astonished. The surrounding Centaurs, as well as Vihera, Fana, and everyone else were equally stunned... and beyond even them, the deer that Anastasia and Fana were riding seemed to display expressions of surprise, or so it appeared to Rei.
"Well now..."
The scene spreading before his eyes had completely transformed from what had been there mere seconds ago.
Until a few seconds prior, what had spread below them was an unbroken field of grass.
But the moment the Spirit Egg's power was released, space warped... and when that distortion settled, what spread out below the hill was an entirely different sight.
To begin with, it was no longer a grassland.
The grass that should have been growing on the ground was virtually nonexistent; what lay there was bare earth.
And beyond that, a giant ramp descended into the ground.
A massive ramp, leading underground.
What lay spread out at the bottom of it... was obvious without needing to think.
"Disguise, huh."
At Rei's murmur, Anastasia, who still had her hand on the Spirit Egg, nodded while breathing heavily.
"Hah, hah, hah... that's right. They were probably using illusion to conceal the headquarters from the surrounding area. Hah... phew..."
As she spoke, her breathing gradually steadied. Anastasia nodded to Fana, who was watching her with concern, signaling that she was fine, before continuing.
"What this reveals is that, as expected, the entity standing at the apex of the Dragonias can use Spirit Magic... or some power akin to it."
At those words, Rei's expression showed both surprise and understanding.
He was surprised that the Dragonias could wield a power so close to precise Spirit Magic, and at the same time, it made sense that because they were such an entity, they had been able to discover the Spirit Egg.
"It had spirit power of its own, so it desired the Spirit Egg infused with powerful spirit energy, huh. ...There's been a considerable amount of time since the Dragonias first appeared until now, so I do wonder 'why now?' but..."
That was a question Rei had held since finding the Spirit Egg.
But regardless of the reason, since the Dragonias were attacking, he needed to deal with them, so it was a question that had been more or less shelved...
"That's probably because the Spirit Egg only began exhibiting this level of power recently, so they only noticed it recently... would be my guess."
The one who answered Rei's question was Anastasia, who had by now fully caught her breath.
"Is that true?"
"I can't say with absolute certainty, but it's also a fact that's the most likely possibility. Otherwise, it would have been strange if the Dragonias hadn't attacked that settlement sooner."
Rei, who was not particularly knowledgeable about spirits, had no choice but to accept it as plausible when Anastasia, a Spirit Mage, told him so.
In truth, there were still many things he didn't understand about this whole Spirit Egg matter.
If he could accept even a partial explanation, it was definitely better to do so.
"I'm glad you resolved my questions before we move to annihilate the Dragonias headquarters. ...Alright, now that that's settled, it's about time we got to it. Zai, stay here and keep watch with the other Centaurs."
"Understood."
At Rei's words, Zai nodded, though a flicker of frustration crossed his expression.
Originally, he would have wanted to settle the Dragonias matter himself.
That he was leaving it almost entirely to Rei was something that, given Zai's position, stirred complicated feelings.
...Or perhaps he had misgivings about the fact that despite being the one commanding the Reconnaissance Unit, he was leaving the task of issuing orders to Rei.
"Vihera is... there's no need to say it, is there."
"Of course. That was the arrangement from the start. You handle the ordinary Dragonias, but you promised to share the other powerful enemies with me, if I recall?"
When Vihera put it like that, Rei couldn't refuse.
In reality, with Vihera's strength, she would serve an immensely significant role in drawing the Dragonias.
"Understood. It was a promise from before, after all."
In the end, all Rei could do was nod at Vihera's words.
Whether satisfied by Rei's response or not, Vihera broke into a full smile... and seeing that smile, several of the Centaurs' faces twitched.
Precisely because they had sparred with Vihera many times before—countless times, in fact—they understood that her current smile meant she was looking forward to the coming battle more than anything else.
Until now, only a handful of people, including Zai, had been able to bring out this smile from Vihera during their mock battles.
And in the sparring sessions that followed this smile, they were beaten down so thoroughly that they lost even the willpower and stamina to stand.
Having witnessed that up close, it was only natural that their spines went cold.
Their sole and greatest salvation was that Vihera's smile was directed not at them, but at the Dragonias.
"Then there's no point standing around here forever. Let's get moving. Vihera, you're with me. Ah, and of course Set too."
Set, noticing that only Vihera's name had been mentioned, purred to indicate he wanted to come along as well.
Rei told Set that of course he was coming too, then turned his gaze to Anastasia.
Anastasia, who had played a major role in this affair, had caught her breath, but still bore the lingering fatigue from using the Spirit Egg.
Yet, in contrast to her exhausted appearance, her eyes alone shone fiercely with curiosity.
Precisely because her features were refined and her appearance was such that everyone would agree she was a beauty, the intense light of curiosity in those eyes left a powerful impression on anyone who saw it.
That was true for Rei as well. He fully understood what Anastasia was hoping for, but even so, he shook his head.
"I can't bring you along, Anastasia. You understand the reason for that better than anyone, don't you?"
"That's..."
Anastasia showed a dissatisfied expression, but the fact remained that she was exhausted, and as excellent a Spirit Mage as she was, she didn't possess the strength to fight Dragonias head-on and win.
She might be able to manage something using the Spirit Egg, but there's no way I could bring the Spirit Egg to where we're fighting the Dragonias.
To begin with, what the Dragonias were after was the Spirit Egg.
What would happen if they deliberately brought it all the way to the Dragonias headquarters?
That required no consideration.
It was certain that the Dragonias swarm would converge to seize the Spirit Egg.
That was precisely why Anastasia, the Spirit Mage, and the Spirit Egg, which held dense spirit power, could not be allowed to act separately, nor could they be brought to the Dragonias headquarters.
"...I know."
At Rei's words, Anastasia somewhat dimmed the light of curiosity in her eyes and said so.
Whether she had truly given up, Rei couldn't tell.
But at least from what he could observe of Anastasia's demeanor, it seemed she wouldn't force herself to follow him.
Of course, that was merely Rei's expectation, and what her actual intentions were, he couldn't know for certain.
That was why Rei turned his gaze to Fana and spoke.
"Fana, I'm leaving Anastasia in your care."
In the end, having Fana watch over Anastasia was the best option.
Anastasia relied on Fana, so she was unlikely to make unreasonable demands.
Rei briefly considered asking someone like Damran... but judging that Damran, who could be described as utterly devoted to Anastasia, would immediately follow her to the Dragonias headquarters if she so wished, he dismissed the idea at once.
That this was the correct choice was plain to see from Anastasia's expression.