The fact that Rei had mentioned the name Zephyle was likely what had dispelled any thought of hostility or wariness in the Black Snake.
As far as Rei was concerned, he knew he was supposed to defeat two A-Rank monsters, but the Black Snake had never had any desire to fight in the first place. Since it had also shown signs of directly knowing the Zephyle Clan, he had completely lost any will to attack by that point.
And right now, Rei was...
"It's fast."
Aboard the Black Snake's back, he found himself surprised by its speed of travel.
Beside him was Set.
Usually, Set was the one who carried Rei on his back, dangled someone from his talons depending on the situation, or transported people using the Set Basket. Having someone else carry him was a fresh experience for Set as well, and the gryphon was looking around with apparent interest.
The reason Rei and Set were now traveling on the Black Snake's back was, naturally, to head to the Zephyle Clan's hideout.
Originally, Rei had intended to go together with Set under his own power, but the Black Snake had indicated through its behavior that they should climb on, and Rei had accepted.
Normally, he would never trust a monster he had just met so readily. But in this case, the Black Snake had harbored no hostility from the start, and above all, the fact that it directly knew of the Zephyle Clan was the deciding factor that led him to trust it.
(Then again, the fact that it directly knows about the Zephyle Clan... does that mean this Black Snake was a monster created by someone in the clan using Beast Magic?)
Beast Magic was a sorcery developed by the Zephyle Clan. Considering that, even though they had developed it, it was unlikely they had completely unraveled all of its secrets. If so, then perhaps... it was only natural for Rei to harbor such doubts.
That said, Beast Magic produced vastly different monsters depending on the user. Given that, even if this Black Snake was a monster created by the Zephyle Clan, Rei wouldn't be able to gain anything useful from learning that fact.
Alternatively, if it had been a smaller snake—not necessarily as small as Ielo, but maybe one or two meters in length—he might have been able to pass it off as something he had Tamed in the Forest of Magic and bring it back to Gilm. But considering the size of this Black Snake, such a thing was impossible.
Bringing a Black Snake of this size to Gilm—one as large as a house, or rather, a noble's mansion—would cause an uproar of screaming and chaos in the city.
Moreover, keeping a Black Snake of this size from going hungry would be quite difficult.
(Thanks to the Gigant Turtle, I might be able to manage for a while, but... how does this Black Snake even live in the Forest of Magic in the first place? Given the amount of food needed to sustain a body this massive, ordinary monsters and animals definitely wouldn't be enough.)
Even as he pondered this, Rei kept checking his surroundings.
If the Black Snake was going to guide them to the Zephyle Clan's hideout, he might not need to worry too much about such things, but it was still better to understand the surrounding terrain in case something happened.
Of course, when it came time to leave the Forest of Magic, he could just ride Set and fly through the sky, so he didn't truly need to thoroughly grasp the geography of this area.
(Though, the sky has its own challenges.)
The Black Snake was either using some kind of skill or ability, weaving through gaps between trees that it normally shouldn't have been able to pass through.
While traveling like that, Rei directed his gaze upward through the gaps in the canopy, where he could see birds, Wyverns, Harpies, insects, and a variety of other flying monsters.
Traveling through the sky naturally meant having to contend with such flying monsters, and that would undoubtedly become extremely troublesome.
Above all, if a battle broke out in the air, any defeated foes would naturally fall to the ground.
And into the Forest of Magic, no less.
There was no way he would be able to find and retrieve their corpses.
In that case, it would be all effort with no reward.
(Come to think of it, when Set and I first escaped from the Forest of Magic, were there really that many monsters in the sky? No, I don't think there were that many. Which means... was that just a coincidence back then, or did the flying monsters actually evacuate due to the influence of Beast Magic?)
As he was pondering this, the Black Snake suddenly came to a halt.
It must have used some kind of skill, because neither Rei nor Set felt any jolt.
That in turn made it seem like a skill designed with the assumption that someone would be riding on the Black Snake's back, reinforcing his suspicion that it was a being created through Beast Magic.
In any case, the fact that the Black Snake had stopped meant they had arrived at their destination.
Thinking that, Rei looked ahead of the Black Snake and found the building he had expected to see.
And between the building and the Black Snake—or rather, right in front of the Black Snake—a Barrier was deployed to protect it.
"It's been a while."
Upon seeing the building... the Zephyle Clan's hideout, Rei murmured those words without even realizing it.
How many years had passed since he had departed from here?
Even as he thought that, the moment he saw the hideout, a feeling like returning to his birthplace welled up in his chest.
"Gruu."
In response to Rei's words, Set let out a cry as if in agreement.
For Rei, there was no doubt that this was, in a sense, his birthplace.
However, if one spoke of Rei's true birthplace, it would be Japan.
But for Set, it was different. In the truest sense, this was Set's birthplace.
That was why Set probably felt more nostalgic about returning to this hideout than Rei did.
"We're going inside the hideout, but what about you?"
Rei asked the Black Snake this because if it was a monster created by someone in the Zephyle Clan through Beast Magic, then unlike other monsters, it should be able to pass through this Barrier.
"Shaa."
The Black Snake let out a short cry in response to Rei's words.
Unlike with Set, Rei couldn't fully understand the meaning behind it, but he could at least tell that the Black Snake was expressing its intention not to enter the Barrier.
Of course, whether it was choosing not to enter or was unable to enter, he couldn't tell.
In any case, the Black Snake let out a short cry toward Rei and Set, then turned and departed.
Rei watched it go, overwhelmed by the sight of a creature so massive that even calling it gigantic felt insufficient.
"Set, by the way, could you tell if that Black Snake was actually one of your own... a being created through Beast Magic?"
"Gruu?"
At Rei's words, Set tilted his head.
Judging from that reaction, Rei concluded that Set probably hadn't been able to tell, and he forcibly shifted his focus to the hideout for now rather than dwelling on the Black Snake.
If he didn't, he felt like he would keep thinking about it forever.
Moving together with Set to the front of the Barrier... Rei took a step forward.
For a brief moment, he braced himself for the possibility of being repelled and unable to enter, but in reality, he passed through the Barrier without any issue.
"Phew. Looking at it like this, it really is different from outside."
Perhaps because they were inside the Barrier, the overwhelming sensation of nature that he had felt in the Forest of Magic was absent.
Given the continuous battles since entering the forest and the subsequent encounter with the Black Snake, the tension and excitement he had been feeling dissolved as soon as he entered the Barrier.
Enjoying the sensation of his mind at rest, Rei began walking toward the building that stood ahead, accompanied by Set.
Beside him, Set was also gazing at the interior of the Barrier with a somehow relaxed demeanor.
The current situation was probably relaxing enough for Set as well.
"Grururururu, grururuu, gruu."
Purring happily, Set walked along.
Rei watched Set with an amused expression while also surveying the building.
Since it was covered by the Barrier, it was highly unlikely that anyone had intruded into this building. In other words, probably no one had come here since they had left several years ago.
Feeling both glad and somehow lonely about that, Rei arrived in front of the building and reached for the door.
"Yeah, well... that's how it is."
It had been the same when Rei had reincarnated... or perhaps possessed this body in this world, but despite no one using the building, there was no dust accumulated in the corridors.
Even when Rei had first awakened in his current body, he hadn't been able to believe that a considerable amount of time had passed since the building was originally constructed. And the fact that no one had been cleaning it was equally hard to believe.
"If I could somehow turn this technology into a product, it would sell incredibly well."
"Gruu?"
Because this building was the Zephyle Clan's hideout, the doors and corridors were built quite wide. While Set often had to wait outside when entering buildings in Gilm, here he could enter normally.
That said, Set had also grown considerably larger compared to when he was born. It was fine for now, but if he continued to grow, there would eventually come a time when he could no longer fit inside this hideout either.
(But the monsters that the members of the Zephyle Clan kept should have also grown larger over time.)
What came to mind for Rei as he thought about this was the Black Snake that had carried him all the way here.
In the end, Rei still had no idea what kind of being that Black Snake was. Considering that it seemed to know about the Zephyle Clan and could fully understand his words, it made him think that it must have been a monster created by someone in the clan using Beast Magic.
"Well, more importantly, I should get this base ready for use... no, there's no cleaning or anything needed, so there's nothing in particular I need to do. In that case, I guess I should check the room where I woke up."
As far as he could see, there was nothing particularly different. That said, Rei had only been in this hideout several years ago... and only for a very short time, so even if something had changed slightly, it might be unreasonable to expect him to notice.
Of course, if there was something obviously wrong that could be seen at a glance, Rei would probably pick up on it. But fortunately or unfortunately, there was no noticeably changed area inside the hideout.
That was why Rei headed to the place where he had awakened... the room where the bed had been, without any particular concern.
"Gruruu!"
At that moment, Set let out a cry toward him.
When Rei looked at Set with a questioning glance, he saw that at a fork in the path, Set was about to head in a different direction than the one Rei intended to go.
"That way... ah, the place where you were born, Set."
The place where the Beast Magic's Magic Circle had been. That was truly a place that could fittingly be described as where Set was born.
Whether Set had any particular emotional attachment to his birthplace, Rei couldn't say for certain. However, there was no denying that they were tired from their trek through the Forest of Magic today, so it was also true that Rei thought Set deserved to take it easy for a bit.
"Alright, I'll head to this room for now. I'll come check on you later."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred happily.
After giving Set's head one final pat, Rei headed to the place of his awakening... the bedroom.
"Now that I think about it, this is how this place was. When I first came to this world, I was surprised and confused by a lot of things. But what I received from Zephyle was only rough knowledge rather than detailed information, and a Magic Item. ...Well, the Misty Ring and such have been incredibly useful, so I can't complain."
Muttering to himself as he walked, the room eventually came into view... the very room where his current self had been born.
Inside, just like the corridor, there was no accumulation of dust. Normally, even in an unused building, dust would undoubtedly have piled up after several years. The absence of that was likely a feature unique to the hideout created by the Zephyle Clan.
Thinking such thoughts, Rei collapsed onto the bed.
And as he reflected on the time he had first come to this world, perhaps due to the exhaustion from the continuous battles, he fell asleep just like that.