"Phew, that was delicious."
"Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set let out a purr of agreement while lying on the ground.
The Orc Naga's meat was delicious—the Orc upper body and the snake lower body alike.
As expected of an Orc inhabiting the Forest of Magic, it likely possessed more magic power than an ordinary one.
Because of that, when used for skewers and as a soup topping—though it was really just a matter of dropping grilled meat into an already-prepared soup—the taste was thoroughly satisfying.
Of course, this was Rei and Set's stomachs they were talking about.
There was no way the meat from a single Orc Naga would be enough, so they also brought out and ate numerous other dishes from the Misty Ring.
Since today was an exhausting day for the Promotion Exam, the dishes brought out from the Misty Ring were all selections that could be called exquisite.
Because of that, both Rei and Set found the flavors thoroughly satisfying.
After finishing dinner, they spent a relaxing time in the courtyard of the hidden base.
Leaning against Set, who was lying on the ground, Rei looked up at the sky.
Between the cooking and eating, the sun had already set and night had completely fallen.
There was not a single cloud in the night sky. Rei was gazing at the shining stars and moon when he suddenly caught sight of something passing overhead.
"Hm? What kind of monster is that?"
"Grururu?"
Set, lying on the ground, looked up at the sky at the word "monster" Rei had muttered.
The monsters of the Forest of Magic generally did not approach the barrier covering this hidden base.
What kind of barrier it actually was, unfortunately, Rei could not yet comprehend.
Whether monsters simply could not find it, or whether it created and emitted an atmosphere or smell that monsters disliked.
Still, considering that Set and the Black Snake had approached this barrier without issue, there might be some kind of exception—or so he thought.
While it was that sort of barrier, its effect was limited to a certain range.
And... naturally, that range applied not just horizontally, but vertically as well.
In other words, what Rei had just seen was likely some kind of monster flying at a considerable altitude—well beyond the barrier's reach.
"Nah, it's nothing. I just caught a glimpse of some monster flying at a considerable height."
A monster that was active at night, and flying over the hidden base's airspace despite the barrier having almost no effect on it.
Rei guessed it was undoubtedly a high-rank monster, but he was somewhat reluctant to fight a flying one.
If this were anywhere other than the Forest of Magic... near Gilm, for instance—Rei might have happily gone after it.
But in this Forest of Magic, there were many flying high-rank monsters like the Hippogriff.
The possibility of another monster attacking while he was fighting his intended target was not nonexistent.
On top of that, precisely because it was the Forest of Magic, he couldn't rule out the possibility of it being a high-rank monster.
(It's true I want monster magic stones, but I did a lot today and I'm tired.)
A-Rank monsters were rarely encountered even by Gilm's adventurers.
Even a B-Rank monster, lower in rank, was not something encountered often, though not as rare as an A-Rank.
Battles against B-Rank and A-Rank monsters... and besides those, most of the monsters he'd faced weren't listed in the Monster Encyclopedia, so their exact ranks were unknown.
Even if they weren't in the Monster Encyclopedia, they were still monsters inhabiting the Forest of Magic.
Given that, it wouldn't be strange if they were actually high-rank monsters.
In particular, the Orc Naga that Rei had used for tonight's dinner was not all that strong on its own.
But when fighting as a group, as Rei and Set had experienced, every single individual could use magic, meaning all of that magic would be unleashed simultaneously.
If it were Rei or Set, that was one thing, but an ordinary adventurer—even a Gilm adventurer—would likely be overwhelmed by sheer numbers and lose.
An Alias Holder or High-Rank Adventurer could annihilate quantity with quality, but not just anyone could pull off such a feat.
"Hmm... I'm getting sleepy. Tomorrow will be an early one too, so I'm thinking of turning in soon. What about you, Set?"
He took a pocket watch from his Misty Ring to check the time—it was just past eight in the evening.
Normally, Rei would still be awake at this hour, but he was tired from having engaged in many battles today.
Fighting in the Forest of Magic was likely also a source of mental fatigue.
"Gruru."
At Rei's words, Set purred as well, indicating it was about time to sleep.
Normally, Set would sleep outside the building.
However, since this building was designed with the premise of being used by a Beast Magic practitioner, Set could also sleep inside.
That said, not in the bedroom where Rei slept, but in the room where Beast Magic was performed.
"Well then, let's call it a day."
So saying, Rei extinguished the campfire and finished cleaning up.
The hole in the ground where he had discarded the Orc Naga's innards and head had already been filled in using the Terrain Manipulation skill.
He expected it would make good fertilizer.
After finishing the post-dinner cleanup, Rei entered the hidden base together with Set.
They exchanged a brief greeting partway down the corridor, and Rei headed to his bedroom.
Just as when he had taken a nap earlier, the bed was slightly rumpled.
"When you live alone, having to do this kind of thing yourself is a hassle."
Even living alone at the Wheat Inn at Dusk, it was an inn, so the staff would handle that sort of thing.
At Marina's house, Spirit Magic took care of those matters.
But if Rei were to live alone, he would need to do everything himself.
Alternatively, he could hire a Maid or someone similar to handle it, but that came with its own difficulties.
Given that the High-Rank Adventurer and Alias Holder Rei and the S-Rank equivalent Set lived together, he would need a trustworthy person who wouldn't steal valuables or make off with Set's feathers, claws, or plumage—materials that could be sold.
Normally, one wouldn't worry about such things to that extent, but with Rei and Set present, successfully pulling off a theft would mean a fortune was within reach.
How many people could resist that kind of temptation?
"Well, for now it looks like I won't be living alone for a while. I'll be staying at Marina's house."
He took off the Dragon Robe and Sleipnir boots and lay down on the bed.
Even without the Dragon Robe, the temperature was not that of a tropical night but rather very comfortable—likely because it was the Zephyle Clan's hidden base.
He was about to drift off comfortably... but there was something he simply had to ask, so Rei took the Paired Orbs from his Misty Ring.
This Paired Orb was paired not with Elena's... but with the one Grimm possessed.
"Grimm, can you hear me? Grimm."
He poured magic power into the Paired Orb and called out to Grimm.
If Grimm was focused on his Magic Item research, there was a chance he might not hear Rei's call—or so Rei had thought. But unexpectedly, Grimm's figure appeared in the Paired Orb with ease.
"Rei? What is it? Were you not in the Forest of Magic right now?"
What was displayed was a skull, but perhaps because they had known each other for quite a long time.
The skull seemed to be looking at Rei with something like concern.
"Yeah, I'm in the Forest of Magic. Today's exploration is done, and right now I'm resting... or rather, resting at the Zephyle Clan's hidden base in the Forest of Magic."
"What!?"
For Grimm, who respected the Zephyle Clan including Zephyle himself, the fact that Rei was in their hidden base must have been extremely surprising.
But Rei continued speaking without particularly minding Grimm's reaction.
"It's the Forest of Magic, after all. If I carelessly set up camp, there's no telling when monsters might attack. Not to mention, I fought and defeated many powerful monsters today, including an A-Rank monster, so I'm tired."
"Hoh? If so, would that not be a good thing for you and Set?"
Since Grimm knew about Beast Magic, he understood that encountering and defeating powerful monsters meant obtaining many monster magic stones, thereby strengthening Set and Death Scythe.
Rei, for his part, did nothing to deny those words.
If anything, he nodded proudly.
"Yeah, honestly, I acquired and strengthened skills to an unbelievable degree. This is no joke—the Forest of Magic is a place of great significance to me and Set."
"Indeed it would be."
Grimm showed a satisfied expression on his bone-only face, nodding repeatedly.
Beast Magic, which should have been lost, was seeing the light of day... well, not exactly, but seeing it properly carried on must have pleased him.
For Grimm, Beast Magic was a sorcery created by the members of the Zephyle Clan, whom he admired.
He could hardly rejoice at its decline.
"Right, right. So, I have a little something I wanted to ask... actually, after entering the Forest of Magic, I encountered a giant Black Snake monster. But this Black Snake showed absolutely no hostility toward us—if anything, it carried me and Set on its back and brought us all the way to this hidden base that normally shouldn't be approachable."
"What did you say?"
The words that came out of Rei's mouth must have been completely unexpected for Grimm as well.
Since it was a skull, one couldn't tell just by looking, but the agitation that came through from the other side of the Paired Orb was proof of just how strongly surprised he was.
"If it was just a giant Black Snake or the fact that it directed no hostility toward us, I could somewhat understand."
Depending on the monster, there were individuals that were friendly to others for no reason from the start, so it wouldn't be strange for such a monster to coincidentally be in the Forest of Magic.
"But... that Black Snake voluntarily entered a barrier that should normally keep monsters away. And it went out of its way to bring me along. I really can't see this as an ordinary monster. If that's the case, I thought you might know something about it, Grimm. ...What do you think?"
"Hmm..."
At Rei's words, Grimm did not reply immediately, but tilted his head as if trying to recall something.
Rei did not rush him for an answer.
Grimm's memory was the greatest clue he had.
"Rei, let me ask again... this snake was a Black Snake, yes? Not a White Snake?"
"Hah? Ah, it was definitely a Black Snake. There's no way I'd mistake a color that distinct."
"Hmm. Among the monsters created by the Beast Magic developed by the Zephyle Clan, there was a White Snake. And not just an ordinary White Snake, but a White Snake monster with multiple heads like a Hydra."
"That's... completely different, even if they're both snakes."
What Rei had seen in the Forest of Magic was black, not white.
And instead of having multiple heads like a Hydra, it had only one.
It was simply a snake that looked as though an ordinary snake had grown to an unbelievable size.
Even if they were both snake-type monsters, those two were clearly different.
"Umu. However... this is merely hearsay, but I understand that several experiments were conducted when the Zephyle Clan developed Beast Magic."
"Well, that makes sense."
Rei had no choice but to agree with Grimm's words.
They were developing the incredible sorcery that was Beast Magic.
There was no way it would succeed without any experiments.
And listening to the explanation, he could somewhat understand the Black Snake's identity as well.
"In other words, that Black Snake is a being born from Beast Magic experiments?"
"That is only to say the possibility is high. At the very least, I know of no such being. If it had been made public, it would not be strange for me to have heard of its existence."
Put that way, Rei had no choice but to accept it.
He had no choice but to accept it, but at the same time, he still had a question.
"Normally, if you were created through an experiment or something, it wouldn't be strange to resent the person who did it. But toward me, who inherited Beast Magic, it was quite friendly, you know?"
Upon learning that someone was connected to the person who had used them as experimental material, it wouldn't be strange for them to attack.
Despite that, the Black Snake not only didn't attack him but carried him all the way to the hidden base.
Thinking about it, it would have been more impossible not to harbor such a question.
"Just because it was used in experiments does not necessarily mean it would hold a grudge. There is also the possibility that the Black Snake participated in the experiments of its own accord."
Rei could not frankly nod at Grimm's words, but considering the Black Snake's demeanor, he had no choice but to accept it—and that, too, was a fact.