"Huff, huff, huff, huff... you really are strong, Rei."
Vihera lowered her hips to the ground as she said it.
Mock battles were often held early in the morning. Since Rei had returned to Gilm from Egginis today for the first time in several days, Vihera had chosen him as her opponent.
"Phew... hearing you say that makes the effort worth it. Or maybe this is the effect of the Crystal Dragon meat we ate last night?"
"If that were the case, I ate it too, you know."
The mock battle had ended in a draw.
However, unlike Vihera, who was gasping for breath, Rei was only somewhat winded—not exhausted to anywhere near the same degree.
That difference in fatigue was probably the most accurate measure of the current gap in strength between Rei and Vihera.
That said, this was, after all, a mock battle.
Vihera hadn't used her ultimate technique, Magic Impact Palm, and Rei had intended to pull his weapon strikes short of contact, so the sharpness of Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear's blows was decidedly not what they would be in real combat.
The conditions weren't exactly the same, but there was no doubt that both of them had been fighting with a certain degree of seriousness.
Even so, she had lost. From Vihera's perspective, it was no exaggeration to call it a complete defeat.
After the morning mock battle ended, they washed off the light sweat and moved on to breakfast...
"Well then, Rei. Be careful. ...Though, knowing you, I suppose there's no real need to tell you that."
At Marina's words, the others in the courtyard nodded in agreement.
Everyone present knew Rei's strength.
That was precisely why they understood that needlessly worrying about him in this situation would serve little purpose.
"Knowing Rei, even if he is careful himself, getting caught up in some kind of trouble is almost a certainty. Even so, I don't think there's any need to worry about him."
"True. Honestly, I'd love to be the one caught up in that kind of excitement. But I can't exactly go, can I? I can't just dump all the work in the Treant Forest on Byune alone."
"Mn."
Byune heard Vihera's words and nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Given her extreme taciturnity, handling the various tasks underway in the Treant Forest on her own would likely be difficult for Byune.
(Well, if Vihera did come along, it would certainly cause all sorts of problems in Egginis, though.)
Thinking this, Rei turned his gaze toward Seto.
Seto was exchanging parting words with Ielo.
To Ielo, Seto was someone who could truly be called a close friend.
That was why Seto leaving after only a single day was deeply disappointing for Ielo.
Even so, Seto comforted Ielo... and indicated that he would return before long, before making his way over to Rei's side.
In truth, Rei's next return to Gilm was scheduled for about ten days later.
That was how long the Foreman had told him at the Guild the dissection of the Crystal Dragon's head would take.
"Alright, farewells done. Seto, let's head out."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Seto let out a cry and crouched down so Rei could easily mount his back.
With Rei's leaping power and physical ability, there was no real need for such consideration, but since Seto had been thoughtful enough to do so, Rei climbed onto his back with gratitude.
"Well then, I'm off. I'll be back in about ten days or so."
As Rei said this, Seto took a few running steps and launched himself into the sky.
The sight of Seto flying off from Marina's garden was, naturally, clearly visible to those nearby who had been trying desperately to make contact with Rei.
"Hey, hey, hey! Look, that! That, that, that!"
Rei—or more precisely, Seto—had landed at Marina's house yesterday. Those who had heard this from their subordinates and believed the report had naturally dispatched more people than usual around the premises.
Since no one had managed to make contact yesterday, they had been determined to pull it off today. In the midst of that vigil, seeing Seto suddenly take to the sky, it was only natural that one of the adventurers raised a fuss.
When Seto had descended yesterday, unless someone had been looking up at the sky by sheer coincidence or for some particular reason, they wouldn't have noticed his presence. But when watching with the premise that Rei and Seto were inside Marina's house—as they were doing today—it was only natural that many would spot Seto flying.
Many people did notice Seto... but that didn't mean they could make contact with him in midair, or more precisely, with Rei riding on his back. The answer to that question was no.
Flying through the sky was something that special in this world.
There were no Dragon Knights about, and even if there had been, they would have been Daskar's subordinates.
Some nobles employed Dragon Knights, but those dispatched to Gilm were fundamentally not the family heads themselves or their heirs apparent.
That was why, even upon spotting Seto in flight, they had no means of making contact.
"What do we do?"
"Man, what can we even say? We can only report the truth—that Seto flew off carrying Rei, right?"
At his companion's words, the man who had been making a fuss over Seto clicked his tongue in frustration.
If they could have somehow made contact before Seto took off and brought the person to their employer, they would have received a considerable sum as a success fee.
Adventurers working in the Noble District were, fundamentally, those among the adventurers who had been active in Gilm even before the Expansion Construction began—those whom the Guild had judged as having both the ability and character to be trustworthy.
Naturally, such adventurers accepted requests with commensurate rewards—and proportionally higher danger.
For even such adventurers to desperately want the success fee, it was undoubtedly a considerable amount.
That was why most of the adventurers regretted their failure to reach Rei.
"Calm down. The fact that Rei came back today probably means he's here to collect the Crystal Dragon materials. But a monster of that size... and an unknown dragon that's an S-Rank Monster at that—there's no way they finished dissecting it this quickly."
"I see! In other words, he'll be back soon again, right!?"
"You're too loud. ...Tch."
At his partner's shout, the man who had already concluded Rei would return clicked his tongue.
It was only natural. The moment those words about Rei coming back were spoken, the presence of the adventurers stationed slightly farther away shifted.
(Can't be helped, I suppose. They would have figured it out eventually anyway.)
Most of the adventurers gathered here were competent ones.
They would have been caught off guard by Rei and Seto's sudden departure, but given a little time to collect themselves, they would reach the same conclusion as this man.
In fact, several adventurers were already casting reproachful glares at the partner who had shouted.
Since they were shooting such looks, it was safe to assume they had arrived at the same conclusion.
Staying here could lead to trouble.
Judging so, the man immediately pulled his partner away from the area and headed toward his employer's mansion.
He wanted to believe no one would cause a pointless brawl in the Noble District, but that wasn't an absolute certainty.
That was the reasoning behind his decision.
Following those two's lead, the others began to move as well... and ultimately, most of the watchers disappeared from the vicinity of Marina's house.
Around the time those exchanges were taking place near Marina's house, Rei was enjoying the aerial journey atop Seto's back.
"I saw it yesterday, and I've seen it plenty of times before, but... the scenery from up here really is something. Especially today with the fine weather."
Naturally, when it was sunny and clear, it was bright and he could see far into the distance.
If it were raining, overcast, or foggy, it would be dark and visibility would be limited.
For Rei in his Dragon Robe and for Gryphon Seto, things like cold winds at high altitude or moisture were hardly concerns.
But even so, if asked whether it felt pleasant, the answer would still be no.
"Grururu?"
As they flew through the sky, Seto suddenly purred.
Wondering if something had happened, Rei turned his gaze in the direction Seto was looking. There, he saw a large convoy of carriages.
Merchants... was it a trade caravan of those called great merchants, or were ordinary merchants simply traveling as a group?
Rei couldn't tell. But even so, from what he could see, he had no idea why Seto had taken interest in that particular caravan—a caravan heading toward Gilm.
In particular, there were no signs of it being attacked by monsters or bandits.
It was moving at a somewhat brisk pace, but perhaps because it was still morning, few others were using the highway.
Why Seto had taken interest in such a caravan was beyond Rei's understanding.
That said, judging by Seto's demeanor, he didn't appear to be sensing any approaching danger, so it probably wasn't the case that the caravan was in peril.
However, that was merely Rei's own assumption.
Perhaps... truly perhaps, there could very well be something about that caravan.
"What do you want to do, Seto? If that caravan caught your interest, want to drop down and make contact?"
"Gruru? ...Gruu."
At Rei's words, Seto thought for a moment, then shook his head.
He must have decided there was no need to go that far right now.
Rei didn't particularly want to make contact with the caravan either, so if Seto said so, he felt no urge to force the matter and simply put distance between them and the convoy.
(Still, what was it about that caravan that caught Seto's attention? Was there silver vine or something like that? No, even before that, I don't even know whether silver vine would have any effect on Seto in the first place.)
The relationship between cats and silver vine was something Rei had learned about from TV, manga, anime, novels, games, and various other sources back when he was in Japan.
And silver vine was effective not only on domestic cats but on felines in general.
But Seto was a gryphon.
His upper body was that of an eagle, and the lion traits were only in his lower half.
Would silver vine have an effect even under such circumstances?
Thinking about it made him slightly curious.
That said, he didn't exactly feel the urge to test it out.
(No, but maybe I should test it after all?)
While Rei had no desire to do such a thing, whether silver vine actually had an effect on Seto was something he should confirm in advance—of that there was no doubt.
If he couldn't be bothered to look into it now, and then for some reason silver vine was used against them in a real battle and it affected Seto... he couldn't help thinking along those lines.
Of course, what kind of situation would lead to an enemy using silver vine in the middle of combat was beyond even Rei's imagination.
For that matter, it wasn't even certain whether silver vine existed in Elgin at all.
Silver vine existed in Japan, but did it also exist here in Elgin?
If he were to investigate silver vine, he would need to start there.
(Then again, I don't know the formal name of silver vine or anything like that. ...No, come to think of it, even without knowing the formal name, I probably wouldn't struggle to search for it in this world.)
Even if he knew the proper botanical name needed to look it up in Japan, this was the otherworldly Elgin.
Given that, he could simply search for a plant that intoxicates cats.
That would be the condition to search by.
Or perhaps in this world of Elgin, it wouldn't be strange for there to be a plant even more effective on cats than silver vine.
(It wouldn't be a Treant, but if a grass-type monster with that kind of effect showed up, it would be a bit troublesome.)
If it were just Rei, he could fight normally no matter the opponent.
But with Seto, there was no telling how things would turn out.
He needed to test Seto's reaction at least once.
(That said, the problem is how to get my hands on that kind of plant. If I bought one from a shady dealer, information could leak from there.)
Still, it would be fine if silver vine had no effect on Seto.
But if it did... that was something Rei could never allow.