A few days had passed since the fight with Asdena. Whether to call it fortunate or not, Asdena's fractures were not particularly severe. While his running speed had dropped considerably, he could still run normally.
After stopping by several settlements along the way, Rei's group arrived at Asdena's settlement.
"Sorry for everything. We appreciate all the help."
"Do you? Well, hearing you say that helps us out too."
Rei and Asdena exchanged a few brief words, and he similarly exchanged short farewells with everyone else.
Once the goodbyes were done, the chief offered words of gratitude as a final send-off. Zai declined the suggestion of holding a feast, and they set off on their journey just like that.
However, four new members from Asdena's settlement were dispatched to carry the mikoshi bearing the Spirit Egg.
After all, the only one who had come from Zai's settlement was Zai himself.
As for the remaining members, there was Rei, Vihera, Anastasia, Fana, Set, and the two Deer.
With that, they no longer had enough people to carry the Spirit Egg.
Well, it was possible they could have somehow managed with the remaining members if they had pushed themselves, but Asdena judged there was no need to overexert anyone. He asked the settlement chief to dispatch replacements.
Several members who had served in the Reconnaissance Unit volunteered for the task, but given that they had just finished the monumental job of destroying the Dragonias headquarters, it was only natural for the chief to want them to rest.
Beyond that, it was undoubtedly true that the chief also wanted to hear the details of the incident.
And so, they arranged for personnel to carry the mikoshi from Asdena's settlement.
"The numbers have really thinned out, huh," Rei murmured.
"They have. Honestly, the situation feels pretty lonely right now," Zai replied, his tone deeply reflective.
The Reconnaissance Unit had drawn its members from many different settlements. What's more, though they never spoke of it, Rei and his group were people who had come from another world called Elgin.
The unit had been a gathering of individuals from all over, but after sharing meals and battling the Dragonias together on the same battlefield, a natural sense of solidarity had formed.
In truth, that solidarity may have been forged even stronger by their battles against Vihera—a foe more formidable than even the Dragonias.
Fighting an opponent they could never defeat alone—facing such an enemy inevitably forged powerful camaraderie.
Whether Vihera herself had been aware of this, Rei couldn't say.
No, knowing Vihera, she probably understood everything and did it to help the Centaurs survive. Hmm, that's certainly possible, but it's far more convincing to think she did it simply for her own enjoyment.
Helping the Centaurs survive may have been one of her goals, but it was equally—if not more—plausible that Vihera's true motive was that coordinated resistance from her mock battle opponents was simply more fun for her.
"Ideally, I'd like to arrive before the day is over," Zai muttered as he ran.
Asdena's settlement wasn't far from Zai's. After all, Rei had previously mistaken Asdena's settlement for Zai's while flying through the sky on Set.
Granted, that was partly because Rei and Set were both slightly directionally challenged.
However, Rei insisted it wasn't solely due to their poor sense of direction. This was a vast grassland that seemed to stretch endlessly—enough to make one wonder if it went on forever.
There were landmarks scattered here and there, such as groves, forests, hills, and rock formations, but without such reference points, reaching one's destination would be difficult for anyone unaccustomed to the terrain.
"Yeah, same here. I'd prefer that too. We have enough food and supplies, but cooking is the issue. Then again, instead of preparing ingredients from scratch, we could just serve the dishes we already have ready."
Indeed, since Zai was the only one remaining from his settlement, the non-combatants who had handled the cooking had naturally returned to their own settlements. In that sense, they would need to handle camp preparations themselves.
The Magic Tent that Rei and Vihera used eliminated most of those concerns, though.
"So, how long until we arrive?" Rei asked.
"I'm not sure. It'll probably be fine, but there's a chance the settlement may have moved."
Hearing this, Rei thought that seemed unlikely. After all, they had sent Zai and the others off. Given that, it wouldn't be strange for them to wait in the same place until the group returned. In fact, from the time they defeated the Queen until now, none of the settlements had relocated.
"Who knows. If nothing happened, I'm sure they'll wait for us. But we can't rule out the possibility that something came up and they moved."
"That would be a problem in itself."
Running across the grassland, Rei responded to Zai's remark.
The location connected to Elgin wasn't far from Zai's settlement. In other words, Zai's settlement served as a landmark. If it had moved, things could get troublesome.
Well, I have Vihera, Anastasia, and Fana with me, so I feel like we'll manage somehow.
Rei told himself that with a slight sense of forcing the belief. Knowing Grimm, there was a possibility he would react from the other side if he sensed Rei was lost. Even so, having Vihera and the others around in case of emergency was reassuring.
"Rei."
Rei had been thinking about returning to Elgin when Zai suddenly moved up beside Set and called out to him.
Rei cast a questioning glance at him, but seeing Zai wearing a serious expression even while running, he understood this wasn't just small talk.
"What is it?"
"Thanks to you... and to Vihera, Set, and the others, we were able to defeat the Dragonias."
Wondering what Zai was getting at, Rei found the words that followed completely unexpected. Still, looking at Zai's grave expression, there was no way he could brush them off lightly.
"We benefited from it too. In that sense, it was a mutual arrangement."
Initially, the goal had been to help search for Anastasia and gather information. But as a result, the entire affair had yielded tremendous benefits for Rei—reaching Level 5 in Terrain Manipulation, the corpse of the seven-colored Dragonias, along with many other intelligent Dragonias corpses, and a vast number of ordinary hunger-driven Dragonias remains.
The only regret was not being able to obtain the Queen's corpse. It had been necessary to win that way, but the Queen's body had been burned to ashes by Rei's activation of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
The corpses of the seven-colored Dragonias and the others held promise as Magic Item materials. Had the Queen's corpse survived, it would have surely served as material for some Magic Item—and a remarkably precious one at that.
Still, there was no point dwelling on what was done. Missing out on the Queen's corpse was unfortunate, but looking at the overall balance, it was overwhelmingly in the black. That was Rei's assessment.
He had brought out a considerable amount of food and supplies, and the dishes stored in his Misty Ring had decreased significantly. Restocking would be a chore once he returned to Gilm, but that was a minor concern.
Well, that kind of thing is a hassle, but not one I mind.
Rei genuinely loved the act of eating. If it meant enjoying delicious food, he would gladly set out to subjugate a High-Rank Monster. That was just the kind of person he was—he would sample his way through shops and food stalls, and if he found something delicious, he would buy as much of it as he could, limited only by practical concerns about ingredients.
The reason he could make such outrageous purchases was simple: he had more money than he could ever spend. Funds obtained from request rewards, Bandit hunting, and various other sources had grown to an amount that would allow an ordinary person to live in leisure for not just one lifetime, but several. An amount so vast that he could easily make collecting Magic Items a hobby—something normally reserved for nobles and great merchants.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. The fact that you and your group came to this grassland at this moment... that must be the guidance of the wind."
"The guidance of the wind?"
Hearing an unfamiliar phrase, Rei directed a puzzled look at Zai. In response, Zai opened his eyes in surprise.
"What, you didn't know? The wind that blows across the plains knows all and guides all. The fact that you came to us is surely thanks to that guidance."
"I see," Rei replied, concealing his inner thoughts. He was wondering if this was some kind of religion.
Rei did not hold a positive view of religion. Even back in Japan, he had no interest in it—a typical Japanese person who simply enjoyed things like Christmas and Hatsumoude without any religious significance. News reports occasionally covered incidents involving new religious movements, so if anything, he held a mild aversion toward the whole concept.
The decisive reason he came to truly despise religion, however, was his encounter with the Holy Light Religion in this world.
Still, what the Centaurs practice isn't really an organized religion, so it's easier to accept.
Perhaps because it amounted to little more than a primitive form of nature worship, Rei didn't feel the same aversion he normally would.
"The wind, huh. Well, the breeze that blows across these plains does seem like it could carry some special meaning."
That was something Rei felt anew, running across the grassland in that moment. He couldn't deny that hearing about it from Zai had prompted the thought.
"The wind, huh. I agree with Rei on that one," Vihera said from behind him.
Since Rei was riding in front and breaking the wind, Vihera might not have had much reason to dwell on it herself. Still, perhaps because she was riding on Set alongside Rei, the wind she felt seemed special to her.
"I see. So you understand the greatness of the wind as well. That must be why it guided you to us."
"Is that how it works?"
Rei had his doubts about the notion of the wind actively guiding anyone, but unlike Japan, this world had Spirits as a matter of course. Well, perhaps Spirits had existed in Japan too, but as far as Rei knew, such beings only existed in fiction.
In this world, and in Elgin, Spirits existed as a natural part of life. The greatest proof of that was the Spirit Magic wielded by Marina, Anastasia, and the Dragonias Queen, as well as the Spirit Egg—a condensation of raw spirit power.
"That is how it is. The wind exists everywhere and knows all. Since it brought you and your group to us, I wish to give thanks to the wind of the plains."
"Fair enough. Then be as grateful as you like. I'm sure the wind will appreciate it."
Being told to thank the wind didn't resonate much with Rei personally. Still, they weren't forcing their beliefs on him, and it caused him no trouble, so he didn't see any particular problem with it. Had they told him to worship and serve the wind, he would have refused on the spot.
"What do you think Marina would say if she heard all this?" Vihera murmured, quietly enough for only Rei to hear.
It was, undeniably, a fascinating question. Wind Spirit Magic wielded by a mage of Marina's caliber would unquestionably be far more powerful than anything he could imagine.
In that sense, I imagine Anastasia's Spirit Magic could probably interfere with wind spirits to some degree too. I wonder about that, though.
Harboring that question, Rei glanced toward the Deer carrying Anastasia—one of the two Deer that still hadn't grown accustomed to Set and were keeping their distance.
Whether she noticed his gaze, Anastasia looked back at him as if asking what was wrong. Rei shook his head to indicate it was nothing.
And so they continued running across the grassland, exchanging glances and small thoughts, until at last a familiar settlement came into view ahead of them.