"Ah, look! That's the village from earlier. It took quite a while to travel deep into the forest, but flying like this, it's quick—so quick!"
From atop Seto's back, Nielson shouted with unguarded joy.
In the direction she pointed, just as she said, the village where Rei had stayed the night—the one whose relationship had soured after the Two-Headed Rhino incident—came into view.
"Yeah. Walking through the forest took a lot of time, but... in that sense, Seto's travel speed really is fast."
"Gururururu!"
Hearing Rei's praise, Seto purred, clearly in high spirits.
Nielson seemed to recognize Seto's satisfied mood as well, shooting Rei a look of bemused exasperation.
"Seto really does like you, Rei. Is that because you've doted on him since he was little?"
"Yeah. I think that's a big part of it."
In truth, Seto had never had a childhood. Since being created by Rei through Beast Magic, he had already been of considerable size from the very start.
...However, it was also a fact that the current Seto had grown even larger than when he was first created. Back then he had been about two meters long, but now he exceeded three meters.
In that sense, the time when he was two meters long probably counted as Seto's childhood.
Then again, applying ordinary common sense to a creature created through Beast Magic was probably a mistake to begin with.
"Gururururu."
Perhaps overhearing Rei and Nielson's conversation, Seto purred again. It sounded like he was saying he was simply happy to be together with Rei.
Rei stroked the back of Seto's neck as he shifted the topic.
"Anyway, once we get back to the Fairy Dwelling, the Chief will craft the Fog Sound for me... I know it's not really my place to ask, but can fairies skin and dissect monsters? I mean, I'd think they could, but..."
Rei's words trailed off.
Considering they had secured materials from defeated monsters, Smog Panthers included, in the past, he didn't think fairies were incapable of dissection just because they were fairies.
At the same time, knowing the personalities of fairies other than the Chief—Nielson and the rest—Rei couldn't exactly picture them quietly dissecting a monster.
A fairy covered in monster blood and viscera would make for quite a surreal image, though.
"Hmm, I can if I try. With magic, I can manage to some extent. But... it's not something I'd do willingly."
"Figured."
Dissecting a monster was by no means an enjoyable task.
There were probably people in the world whose hobby was dissecting monsters, but Rei had never found any pleasure in the work.
If he had to force himself to find something enjoyable about it, it was only in looking ahead—wondering whether he could acquire a new skill through Beast Magic using an unknown monster's magic stone, hoping the meat would turn out tasty, or calculating how much the materials might sell for. Things of that nature.
That was merely looking forward to the rewards that came after the dissection; he wasn't enjoying the act of dissecting itself.
"Even for me, dissecting monsters isn't something I'd want to do willingly."
"Really? You seem to do it pretty frequently for someone who says that."
"That's unavoidable. If you don't dissect a monster's corpse, you can't extract the magic stone or eat the meat. Well, if it's just eating, you can roast the whole thing as-is, but whether it actually tastes good is a different matter entirely."
In truth, if he just wanted to eat monster meat, he could basically roast the corpse whole. But meat cooked without bleeding it, removing the hair, or skinning it—without any preparation at all—would definitely not be delicious. At the very least, Rei had no desire to eat meat prepared that way.
"Hmm, is that how it works. Then, if we process the meat of the individual that was leading those Smog Panthers properly, will it be tasty?"
"Probably. Generally speaking, monster meat gets tastier the higher its rank. There are exceptions, so it's not an absolute rule. But from what I can see, I'd say that Commander Individual's meat will be delicious."
"Then instead of heading back to the forest tonight, why don't we stop somewhere and try eating that monster's meat?"
Those were words Rei could hardly believe had come from Nielson's mouth. Surprised as he was, he couldn't help but speak up.
"Are you sure? You were the one who wanted to get back to the Fairy Dwelling as quickly as possible."
Rei himself had wanted to stick around the forest where the Smog Panthers had been, searching for more monsters alongside Seto. After all, they had only found one spider, and the odds of other unknown monsters lurking in the area were high.
But it was Nielson who had pushed him to return to the Fairy Dwelling, insisting on hurrying back. She had wanted to show the Chief the power she had awakened during the battle with the Smog Panther Commander Individual.
Nielson probably wanted not only to show the Chief but also to boast to the other fairies, but in any case, she had insisted on returning, so Rei had complied.
And yet, now she was suddenly suggesting that instead of heading straight back, they should stop somewhere and stay the night.
Given that her stance had completely flipped, it would have been unreasonable to expect Rei not to be surprised.
However... at the same time, if one considered that Nielson was a fairy, there was a certain logic to it that made sense.
For Nielson, there was no doubt she had initially wanted to show her awakened power to the Chief as soon as possible.
But now, having heard Rei's explanation, she had begun to wonder just how delicious the Commander Individual's meat would be.
Immediately diverting her attention toward whatever was more interesting and more curiosity-stimulating—that was without a doubt a characteristic typical of the fairies Rei knew.
"It's fine. I want to tell the Chief about my power soon, but confirming the taste of that Smog Panther's meat from earlier is also important."
Important?
Rei wanted to retort, but he judged that if he asked, Nielson would undoubtedly insist it was important, so he kept his mouth shut.
Besides, this choice of hers wasn't a bad thing for Rei either.
He had wanted to use the Commander Individual's magic stone on Seto.
...If they returned to the Fairy Dwelling and the Chief heard about the Commander Individual, then asked to see the magic stone, that would be troublesome. Fortunately, the Commander Individual—size aside—didn't look significantly different from an ordinary Smog Panther.
Given that, passing off a normal Smog Panther's magic stone as the Commander's should pose no problem.
(Besides, what I was asked to do was simply bring back a Smog Panther's magic stone. I don't know whether that Commander Individual was a High-ranking Species or a Rare Species, but in any case, it's not an ordinary Smog Panther. Which means there's no need to hand over that particular magic stone.)
Half convincing himself—or perhaps searching for a justification not to surrender it—Rei agreed with Nielson's suggestion.
"Then I'll go along with your wish. In that case, we'd better find a place convenient for dissection... somewhere like a river or a lake."
"Right. A cool place would be much better for me too."
Hiding inside Rei's Dragon Robe was one thing, but out here in the open, she naturally couldn't benefit from the robe's simplified air conditioner.
It was already autumn, but the daytime heat still lingered.
If Nielson wanted to take things a bit more leisurely, it was perfectly understandable.
Rei also figured that carelessly dissecting a monster just anywhere would scatter blood across the surroundings and create a mess. The scent of blood would drift through the air, and the possibility of monsters or animals being drawn to it couldn't be ruled out.
...Letting the blood flow into the water was no guarantee either, since aquatic monsters or carnivorous creatures might come investigating.
Either way, there probably wasn't much difference, but Rei figured at least he wouldn't dirty the surroundings as much. He asked Seto to search for a river or lake.
Seto gladly obliged and scanned the ground as he flew. After about ten-odd minutes passed, he let out a cry.
"Gururururu!"
Seto purred as if to announce he'd found a river.
As a matter of course, Rei asked him to head that way.
"Alright, Seto. Take us there. I think it's probably fine, but keep watch on the surroundings."
If this were an ordinary location—not the frontier—there wouldn't be much need for that level of caution. Of course, being away from the frontier didn't guarantee absolute safety. Sometimes High-Rank Monsters appeared even outside frontier territory.
However, Rei told Seto to stay alert because this area wasn't far from the forest where the Smog Panthers had lived.
They had been flying on Seto's wings for about ten-odd minutes, so in terms of walking distance, they were undoubtedly very far away.
Even so, he remained cautious because the Smog Panthers were probably... no, almost certainly monsters that had drifted in from the frontier.
If they were frontier-dwelling monsters, the possibility that others had wandered into this area as well couldn't be dismissed.
Seto understood this as well, so he circled above the river to check, and only after determining there were no particularly dangerous monsters on the ground did he descend.
Rei dismounted from Seto's back and surveyed the area.
Seto had been on alert and judged everything to be safe, so Rei—whose senses were duller than Seto's—staying vigilant would have been somewhat redundant. Even so, checking the surroundings had become half a habit for him.
After confirming there was genuinely nothing of concern around the river, Rei immediately pulled the Commander Individual's corpse from his Misty Ring.
The corpse had already been decapitated, so tossing it into the river would let the blood naturally drain out.
(The blood itself might make for some kind of material, but... well, the chances are slim. If this were a Dragon or something, the blood would be a perfectly viable material, though.)
As he watched the blood wash downstream, he noticed Nielson hopping about the area.
"Nielson? What is it?"
"The flowers growing around here are a little rare."
Did Nielson even have a sense for admiring flowers?
For a fleeting moment, Rei wondered exactly that. But he could easily predict that saying so out loud would get him an earful from Nielson, so he kept it to himself.
He had once held an image of fairies as beings who delighted in admiring flowers and the like. After getting to know Nielson and the other fairies, however, that notion had been thoroughly dispelled.
The old Japanese saying "dumplings over flowers" suited Nielson to a tee.
Leaving Nielson to her own devices... no, seizing the opportunity her distraction provided, Rei slashed open the Commander Individual's corpse where it sat submerged in the river.
He had no intention of performing a full dissection. This was purely about extracting the magic stone.
There was also the added benefit that opening the body to reach the stone would let the blood and viscera drain away into the current, making any further work easier.
(The fish and other creatures in the river... the more food, the merrier, I suppose.)
Fair enough.
With that thought, he glanced downstream—only for a surprised gasp to escape his lips when he saw a fish roughly thirty centimeters long lunge at the drifting viscera.
Without another word, he rinsed the magic stone in the river water and turned his gaze toward Seto.
As if understanding what Rei wanted, Seto approached—while still keeping a wary eye on the surroundings, particularly the fish feasting on the Commander Individual's viscera.
"Seto, now's the chance. While Nielson is absorbed in those flowers, use the magic stone."
"Guru?"
At Rei's words, Seto purred, as if asking, "Are you sure it's okay for me to use it?"
From Seto's perspective, the magic stone of such a powerful monster should probably go to Death Scythe, which Rei wielded.
But from Rei's perspective, that reasoning was completely backwards.
They had managed to obtain two magic stones from the deer, but only one from the spider. Given that, he figured the Commander Individual's magic stone would be better used on Seto.
Sensing Rei's intent, Seto purred with gratitude and swallowed the magic stone.
[Seto has acquired the Skill "Fog Fang Lv.1"]
That announcement message echoed in the minds of both Rei and Seto.
[Seto]
Water Ball Lv.5, Fire Breath Lv.5, Wind Arrow Lv.4, King's Intimidation Lv.4, Poison Claw Lv.7, Size Change Lv.2, Tornado Lv.4, Ice Arrow Lv.5, Optical Camouflage Lv.6, Magic Eye of Shock Lv.3, Power Crush Lv.6, Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.5, Bubble Breath Lv.3, Crystal Breath Lv.2, Earth Arrow Lv.2, Power Attack Lv.2, Magic Reflection Lv.1, Acid Breath Lv.2, Wing Blade Lv.3, Underground Dive Lv.1, Thunder Breath Lv.1, Fog Lv.2, Fog Fang Lv.1 new