"Then... to celebrate the safe return of the Reconnaissance Unit and the defeat of the Queen we set out to destroy... cheers!"
"Cheers!"
With those words, everyone participating in the feast downed the alcohol in their cups.
Rei also drank the liquid in his cup, but since he wasn't particularly good with alcohol, his cup was filled with goat's milk.
Goat's milk rather than cow's milk was something of a rarity, but for the Centaurs it wasn't especially uncommon. If anything, it could be called a standard beverage.
After finishing his goat's milk, Rei immediately reached for the food.
Today's feast celebrated the return of the Reconnaissance Unit that had defeated the Dragonias Queen, and it carried a certain sense of liberation—the knowledge that they would no longer need to worry about Dragonias attacks.
In reality, as the several battles with Dragonias during the journey back to this settlement after defeating the Queen showed, it wasn't as though every single Dragonias had died just because the Queen was slain.
Still, this settlement was a considerable distance from where the Dragonias Queen had been.
The base that had frequently sent Dragonias to this settlement had also been the first one destroyed by Rei.
Taking all of that into account, there was a possibility that Dragonias might eventually come, but given the current situation, it was almost certain they would be safe for a while.
The ones making noise at the feast likely knew that much... but even so, they probably just felt like celebrating.
"Rei, did Zai really get that much stronger!?"
Rei, who had been enjoying the food served at the feast, was suddenly asked this by one of the Centaurs.
It was a dish of meat steamed with herbs—not a particularly labor-intensive preparation—but as far as Rei was concerned, while he loved elaborate dishes crafted by first-rate cooks, he certainly didn't dislike this kind of hearty fare either.
Having his meal interrupted was a little unpleasant, but he still nodded honestly at the Centaur's words.
"Yeah. Compared to when he left this settlement to form the Reconnaissance Unit with us, he's definitely gotten stronger."
"Ooh!"
Sounds of surprise rose from the Centaurs who heard Rei's words.
For those in this settlement, the figure known as Zai was apparently that significant a person.
However, the words that came from another Centaur's mouth next were unexpected even for Rei.
"Then if we get trained by you and Vihera, could we become as strong as Zai!?"
"Ah... well. That's, uh, true. At the very least, you'd definitely get stronger than you are now."
Rei deflected with that.
After all, everyone who had participated in the Reconnaissance Unit had indeed gotten stronger.
Since there was actual proof of that, Rei had no choice but to nod at the Centaur's words.
In fact, it was only natural that anyone's combat ability would improve with training.
In that sense, what the Centaur was saying was undeniably true.
...Of course, Rei and Vihera's training consisted of repeating mock battles where survival itself was in question, though.
That said, the life-or-death aspect was purely from the Centaurs' perspective. Vihera, who was actually conducting the mock battles, was holding back considerably.
"H-Hey..."
They might not reach Zai's level, but perhaps they could become stronger too.
Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, the Centaurs were getting cocky, and Zai hurriedly called out to them.
From Zai's perspective, he understood that he had grown stronger thanks to Rei and Vihera. He understood that... but it was precisely because of genuinely life-threatening training, and because he and those who joined the Reconnaissance Unit possessed the requisite strength and talent.
Given that, he couldn't believe that the Centaurs in this settlement—especially those without that level of strength or talent—could survive mock battles against Rei and Vihera.
That was why he had hurriedly tried to stop them... but with heads clouded by alcohol, Zai's concerns would never reach them.
"What's your problem, Zai? Is it bad that we want to get stronger? If Dragonias attack, having more of us here would help you out, wouldn't it?"
"Well, that's..."
Those words left Zai unable to say anything.
Indeed, they were by no means wrong.
If Dragonias survivors attacked, the more combat power there was to deal with them—and the stronger that combat power was—the better. That was certain.
"Rei..."
Zai's desperate gaze turned toward Rei.
Taking advantage of the surrounding Centaurs' attention being focused on Zai, Rei, who had been enjoying food alongside Set, returned a nod in response to Zai's look.
He had been enjoying the food, but he had still been paying proper attention to his surroundings.
After swallowing the meat in his mouth, he opened his mouth with a smile—perhaps because the food was just that delicious.
"Well, we're planning to leave tomorrow, so why not have them try a mock battle with Vihera tomorrow morning? If they survive... can endure it, they probably have the talent."
"You were about to say 'survive' just now, weren't you!?"
Zai shouted at Rei's words, but Rei quietly averted his gaze from Zai while portioning food in front of Set.
As Zai tried to say something else to Rei... in a sense, the last voice he wanted to hear rang out.
"Oh, a mock battle? I don't mind. Tomorrow morning, right?"
"Ah, no, um... wait a moment. They're just drunk, they're not seriously saying..."
"Hah? What are you talking about, Zai? They're offering to do a mock battle for us, so what's the problem? Alright, I'm gonna get strong too!"
With the characteristic high energy of a drunkard, one of the Centaurs shouted.
Once that happened, the other drunk ones agreed without even understanding what they were saying.
"Yeah, yeah!"
"I don't really know what's going on, but yeah!"
"Mm-hm. Probably, that's right, I'm sure."
The sight of each of them voicing such words was truly like a great gathering of drunkards.
Still, once things had reached this point, even Zai understood that anything he said would fall on deaf ears.
"Good grief... don't come crying to me when something happens."
May fortune be with you all tomorrow morning... he prayed, and decided not to say anything more.
"So? Who am I supposed to do mock battles with in the end? Everyone in this settlement?"
"...At least limit it to those who volunteer."
For Zai, that was the best he could manage in this situation.
Vihera had no intention of forcing mock battles on those who didn't want them, so she didn't object to Zai's words.
And so, since Rei and his group would be returning to Elgin tomorrow, they thoroughly enjoyed today's feast.
"H-Hiiiiiiii!"
The Centaur screamed at the fist that had stopped right in front of his eyes.
Normally, the position where a Centaur's head would be was considerably higher than where Vihera stood before him.
Unless he leapt or flew through the sky by some means, there was no way Vihera's fist could be thrust right in front of his face.
But when the front legs of his equine lower body had been swept out from under him, it was a different story.
With his knees on the ground, the Centaur's head was naturally lower than its normal position, making it easy even for Vihera to thrust her fist right at his head.
"Come now, don't scream. This much is still just a warm-up."
Saying that, Vihera began to move, dragging the pale-faced Centaur along.
The difference in body weight between Vihera and a Centaur was significant.
Easily several times over, in fact.
The sight of Vihera dragging a Centaur would surely astonish anyone watching.
...Though the only ones present now were those who had volunteered for mock battles with Vihera at last night's banquet, along with Rei, Zai, and Set.
Initially, a few Centaurs had come to observe, but at the sight before them, they had hastily retreated to the settlement.
The Centaurs who had volunteered for mock battles were not dead.
Nor had any of them suffered serious injuries, but they were nonetheless assailed by pain throughout their entire bodies, groaning in agony at even the slightest movement.
But after Vihera tossed the Centaur she had dragged over to where the others were gathered, she declared with a smile.
"Well, that's the first round done. Everyone looks ready, so let's start the second round."
At Vihera casually saying that—without a moment's hesitation—the Centaurs gave her looks that said You've gotta be kidding me.
With this many of them injured, they had thought the mock battles were over, so hearing those words was only natural to provoke that reaction.
"Um... my body hurts..."
A relatively lightly injured Centaur spoke up, but Vihera looked at him puzzlingly... with a genuinely puzzled gaze.
It was the kind of look one might give someone who, despite it being natural to eat when hungry and drink when thirsty, inexplicably refused to do either.
"What are you talking about? You won't always be in perfect condition when you fight, will you? Once a battle starts, you need to be ready to fight at any moment. You understand that much, don't you?"
Vihera's words were by no means wrong.
The Centaurs listening understood that as well, but that didn't mean they wanted to face the monster known as Vihera in their current state. The answer to that was, naturally, no.
Over ten Centaurs—all of whom possessed a certain level of skill or above—had attacked her all at once, yet Vihera hadn't even broken a sweat.
If anything, she hadn't taken so much as a scratch.
It was obvious they had no chance of winning even at full health, so there was no way they could win in their current condition.
But...
"Come on, what's wrong? If you're not coming to me, I'll come to you."
With Vihera saying that, the Centaurs couldn't just stay where they were.
If they remained silent, Vihera would attack them while they had no stance or preparation whatsoever.
Considering those circumstances, they had no choice but to force themselves to stand up.
"Hey, let's go! At this rate, we'll be beaten one-sidedly... and if we're unlucky, killed!"
He couldn't really believe that Vihera would actually kill them.
He couldn't believe it, but given the current situation, he couldn't help but think it wouldn't be strange if they were slaughtered one-sidedly.
That was how thoroughly Vihera had been fighting the Centaurs.
...No, at this point, describing it as a battle would be inaccurate; devastation would be more fitting.
That was why, in this situation, the Centaurs couldn't help but think they might actually be killed.
In reality, Vihera had absolutely no intention of killing her opponents.
To begin with, the Centaurs' skill level was even lower than Vihera had anticipated.
So low that she thought, Surely not this much...
Vihera had done mock battles with the Centaurs of this settlement before.
She had, and she felt like there had been a bit more resistance back then...
(Is it just my imagination? ...No, perhaps it's because I'm treating them with the same sense I had for the other Centaurs who joined the Reconnaissance Unit.)
She thought about that as she approached a Centaur who had stood up and taken a stance against her.
Many Centaurs were gathered in this settlement, but those with enough skill to join the Reconnaissance Unit were few relative to the settlement's size.
...Naturally. The reason this settlement had grown so large in the first place was largely because Centaurs who had fled from Dragonias attacks had joined them.
And those who had fled were naturally mostly women, children, and the elderly—those who couldn't fight—resulting in an inevitable increase of non-combatants.
That said, the non-combatants were contributing in ways other than combat, so hardly anyone had any complaints about that.
Regardless, Vihera thoroughly repeated mock battles until it was time to depart.