"Well then, Rei, Vihera, Set... and Anastasia, Fana. We truly owe you everything."
So saying, Zai bowed his head, clearly reluctant to part.
Seeing Zai's gesture, the other Centaurs who had come from the settlement to see them off bowed their heads toward Rei's group as well.
...Those who had been in mock battles with Vihera until just moments ago cast reverent glances at her before lowering their heads.
Vihera herself didn't seem particularly bothered by their reactions.
"Don't worry about it. It's true that you all helped me out a lot too. And we managed to find Anastasia and the others."
At Rei's words, Zai wore a complicated expression.
No, it wasn't just Zai — Drum, the chief of this settlement, and his son Dratt wore the same expression.
After all, gathering intelligence on Anastasia and her group was supposed to be the reward for Rei's party joining the Reconnaissance Unit, yet when they returned, they had already reunited with Anastasia and the others.
As a result, what Rei's group requested in place of a reward was to have the Spirit Egg protected.
...Normally, it wouldn't have been strange to demand a different reward entirely, separate from the Spirit Egg, but Rei had no such intention.
With Terrain Manipulation's level having increased and having obtained numerous Dragonias corpses, he was fully satisfied.
If Zai's settlement had possessed a Magic Item that caught Rei's interest, things might have been different.
"It's reassuring to hear you say that. ...Are you sure seeing us off here is far enough, though?"
They had only been escorted to just outside the settlement, so it would have been fine to accompany them farther.
Zai offered as much, but Rei couldn't have that.
After all, where Rei and his group were heading was a different world entirely, and having others tag along would be problematic.
"Yeah. Zai, you and the others need to think about what you're going to do now. Especially regarding the Spirit Egg — even if you're guarding it, you'll need to make sure enemies don't find it, and things like that."
At those words, Zai nodded with a serious expression.
In truth, regarding the Spirit Egg matter, growing stronger was important, but more fundamentally, they needed to ensure that anyone searching for it didn't realize the egg was in this settlement.
"I'll drop by again if I get the chance. When that happens, let me know how things are going with the Spirit Egg."
Rei said as much, but whether he would actually be able to come to this world again was still uncertain.
There was the question of how Daskar would handle things, and above all, it was Grimm who connected Elgin to this world.
...Of course, given that Grimm possessed a deeply curious nature — in a different sense from Anastasia — it wouldn't be strange for him to take an interest in this world.
"Sorry about this. ...Well then, see you. May a good wind blow your way."
Rei judged those words to be a way of wishing someone luck — something like "good luck" — and nodded.
As usual, Rei mounted Set's back, and Vihera rode behind him.
Anastasia and Fana rode the deer they had encountered in this world.
And so, they exchanged their final farewells.
Among the Centaurs... especially those who had fought Vihera in this morning's mock battles, the majority were relieved that she was leaving.
...But that was the majority, not everyone.
Among them, one Centaur — perhaps having discovered a new path through that battle — directed a passionate gaze at Vihera. Just one, but he existed.
Normally, Centaurs wouldn't develop romantic feelings toward a two-legged being like Vihera. Even if they felt fondness, it would be as a friend or benefactor, not romantic attraction between a man and a woman.
It shouldn't happen, but... that Centaur who was directing a fervent gaze at Vihera had apparently crossed that line.
Naturally, Vihera had no such intentions, and she was troubled by the passionate looks directed her way, so by now she seemed to have decided to simply ignore them.
"Well then."
Saying only that briefly, Rei lightly patted the back of Set's neck.
At Rei's signal, Set began to run.
...Keeping a slight distance from Set, the two deer also started running.
To the deer, Set was still nothing but a symbol of terror.
A being overwhelmingly above them, one that could kill them at any moment if Set so wished.
Though in that sense, Rei and Vihera also possessed the ability to kill both deer instantly, just like Set.
(And yet, they don't seem to be nearly as wary of me or Vihera.)
Riding on Set's back as he ran, Rei harbored a slight question while watching the two deer running some distance away.
Even when the deer noticed Rei's gaze, they showed no particular reaction.
(Is it because we're not monsters, so they feel safe? No, but that doesn't quite make sense.)
Rei's body was created by the Zephyle Clan, and Vihera had absorbed a monster called Unbris.
Neither of them could remotely be called an ordinary human.
If they feared Set as a monster, it would be just as natural to fear Rei or Vihera the same way.
"What's wrong?"
Perhaps noticing Rei's demeanor, Vihera called out from behind.
From Vihera's perspective, Rei had suddenly turned to look toward Anastasia and Fana, and she was probably wondering what was going on.
From Rei's perspective, he hadn't been looking at Anastasia or Fana, but rather at the deer they were riding.
Being called out to so suddenly startled him slightly, but he shook his head to indicate it was nothing.
"No, it's nothing. I was just wondering... whether those two deer will be okay coming to our world."
"Well... I suppose with everything that happened with the Dragonias, you might worry, but they're deer, you know? I'm sure they'll be fine."
"Hopefully."
What Rei blurted out was an excuse.
But having actually said it, the question of whether it truly would be fine did genuinely cross his mind.
"There are no Dragonias in our world. And since they're corpses, they're useless as materials now. But deer exist normally in our world too, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Logically speaking, yes, but..."
Rei paused and turned his gaze back to the deer.
Even grouped together as "deer," slight differences could change their name — that was common in Japan too.
Of course, that was presumably natural from a biological standpoint... but whether the deer Anastasia and the others were riding could be considered the same as the deer in Elgin was another question entirely.
Rei couldn't make that judgment himself, but even if he told the deer to stay here, they almost certainly wouldn't listen to him. ...For that matter, whether they could even understand his words was a difficult question.
And so, Rei ultimately decided not to say anything to Anastasia or Fana.
No matter what he said, it wouldn't stop the deer from following Anastasia and Fana to Elgin, so saying anything here was meaningless... worse, it would only needlessly displease Anastasia and the others. Or so he reasoned.
Besides, as Vihera said, the possibility that the deer could live normally in Elgin couldn't be ruled out.
"Gruu!"
As Rei was watching the deer, Set suddenly purred.
When Rei directed his gaze forward at the sound, what lay ahead was a place he recognized.
More accurately, it was the place that concealed the location connected to Elgin.
Though since there was no visible landmark, Rei could only say it felt familiar.
But with Set, who could sense magical power, reacting, it had to be the right place.
"Here."
At Rei's words, Set stopped.
And the two deer running some distance away also stopped when they saw him halt.
"Huh?"
A questioning voice escaped Anastasia's lips.
From Anastasia's perspective, there probably didn't appear to be anything special about the surroundings.
(Well, that just shows how high Grimm's skill is.)
Considering Grimm's skill, it wasn't strange that Anastasia and Fana couldn't recognize this place that connected to Elgin.
Grimm had existed since the era when Zephyle was alive, after all.
Against such a Grimm, even if Anastasia was a reasonably capable Spirit Mage and an exceptionally brilliant researcher, she couldn't possibly see through the false scenery Grimm had created.
Fana wasn't even a mage, and as a researcher she was below Anastasia, so she couldn't possibly find what Anastasia couldn't.
"For now, please dismount just in case. I'm sure it'll be fine, but we don't know what might happen from here on."
Rei's gaze was directed, once again, at the two deer.
What would happen when a living being from this world — not a corpse, but alive — headed to Elgin?
Since this was the first time, they needed to watch carefully.
"I don't think you need to worry that much," Vihera said casually.
She had no particular basis for that... if she had to give one, it would be something like women's intuition.
But Rei calmed himself with Vihera's words and checked the surroundings.
Perhaps because it was still before noon, or because a cool breeze blew across the grassland, he felt no heat.
Even though it would definitely be summer when they returned to Elgin.
...Though in Rei's case, he was wearing the Dragon Robe with its Simplified air conditioner function, so he wasn't particularly concerned about temperature.
"Yeah, the air is nice here. I don't know if I'll be able to come to this world again, but at the very least, I'd like to visit again."
"I definitely want to come back. After everything, I still want to research the Spirit Egg more. ...But I also want to research the Wisp. After all, being able to actually come to another world was ultimately thanks to the Wisp. If that's the case, then researching the Wisp more... could eventually mean freely traveling between various worlds."
Anastasia, saying this, was genuinely struggling with what she should do right now.
She even found herself wishing she had two bodies.
Of course, she had thought similar things many times before, but this matter was without a doubt the most significant yet.
After all, it was another world.
Normally speaking, it was unquestionably the kind of research subject one might encounter only once in a lifetime.
This other world itself, and the Wisp that connected to it.
If asked which she wanted to research, she couldn't possibly answer right away.
"Anastasia, what's wrong? We're about to go."
Time had apparently passed while Anastasia was lost in thought.
Snapping back to reality at Rei's voice, she turned her gaze in his direction.
Then she noticed that, before she knew it... truly before she knew it, Rei and the others were all looking her way, and she began walking toward them.
"Sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment. ...When it's time to say goodbye to this world, it's hard not to."
"Ah... well, that's fair. This whole incident must have meant a great deal to you. If you didn't feel that way, this whole experience wouldn't have been very interesting."
"Rather than 'if you didn't feel that way'... I found it interesting even without thinking that way. Even if I nearly died."
For the endlessly curious Anastasia, simply being able to come to another world held tremendous significance.
Enough that she couldn't easily give up on researching this world.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, this world wasn't all that different from Elgin.
...The major difference being the existence of Centaurs, Dragonias, and other beings that didn't exist in Elgin.
Though Elgin was vast too, with many unknown regions remaining.
The possibility that Centaurs — if not Dragonias — existed in such places couldn't be entirely denied.
"Alright, let's get going."
Rei said so, and together with the others, stepped into the place concealed by Grimm.