The Gamelion collapsed to the ground and breathed its last before Rei’s eyes under the combined attacks of Rent, Johanna, and the others. The battle had proceeded with Rent blocking the Gamelion’s attacks with his shield, allowing Johanna and the others to strike whenever there was an opening. Having blocked almost every single attack from its fangs, ears, and tail, Rent’s metal shield was covered in deep scratches and was even warped.
「Wow. Getting a blacksmith to repair this……no, it’d be quicker to just buy a new one.」
Rent muttered with a annoyed look as he stared at his metal shield.
「This is incredible. When we fought alongside Beast’s Fang, we basically avoided its attacks, but it really has a massive amount of power.」
One of the men, formerly from the guerrilla force, spoke in surprise. With a massive body close to 3m in size, a Gamelion was packed with muscle. The sheer destructive power behind each of its attacks was obvious, considering how badly the metal shield had been damaged.
「Since Rent drew all the attacks, we barely took any damage. ……Thank you.」
「Haha, I’m the wall after all. This sort of thing is nothing to me.」
Rent replied to Johanna’s words of gratitude. However, he couldn’t hide the grin creeping onto his face. This was likely because he had achieved his goal of showing off his best side to Johanna. From Rent’s perspective, the purpose of this Gamelion hunt was less about the meat and more about showing off his best side to Johanna. Since he had successfully achieved his goal, it was only natural that he was grinning about it.
「Not a single casualty. That was excellent coordination.」
Rei muttered as he walked up to the Gamelion.
「Of course. Rent aside, the rest of us have fought in the same unit together, so our coordination was drilled into us whether we liked it or not.」
「……Exactly. During our training with Rei, if we didn’t coordinate properly, we would just get one-sidedly hunted down.」
「Honestly, I think it’s a bit ridiculous that training required more coordination than a real battle.」
「Heh, that might be true. To be honest, our training was many times harsher than an actual battle.」
At their respective comments, Rent directed a questioning look towards Rei. Despite the freezing winter sky, steam was rising from Rent’s body after moving around so intensely, which gave a strange aura to his gaze.
「Rei, what kind of training were you putting them through?」
「It wasn’t really anything that harsh, you know.」
『That’s a lie!』
Johanna and the others instantly shouted in protest at Rei’s words as he stored the Gamelion’s body inside the Misty Ring. Their voices were perfectly in sync, which expressed their feelings beyond any doubt. Even so, Rei simply shrugged, entirely unbothered.
「Seriously, I didn’t expect my former subordinates to turn on me like this.」
「……Well, when you claim that training wasn’t harsh, you can’t really blame us.」
One of the men from the guerrilla force muttered while thinking back.
「Rei, what on earth……what kind of training did you actually do?」
When Rent asked about it a second time, Rei shook his head as if to say he had a clear conscience.
「Personally, I didn’t think it was that harsh. Besides, don’t you think it’s better for training to be harsher than a real battle? It means you can survive an actual fight without even having to use everything you’ve got.」
「I mean……I can’t deny that, but……」
「Right? ……Well, putting that aside, this is our second Gamelion, or rather, one and a half. Do you want to search for more? I believe there’s a limit to how many a single party can hunt now that they’ve started appearing again.」
Rent looked up at the sky at Rei’s words. A typical wintry, cloudy sky spread out above them. The clouds looked ready to rain or snow at any moment.
「The limit is five, so I’d like to hunt two or three more. However, it’ll be a disaster if it starts raining or snowing on the way back to Gilm. What do you think?」
「I’m sure Set would be fine with snow.」
「No, we’re not talking about Set. We’re talking about us.」
One of the men muttered at Johanna’s words, who immediately linked the topic to Set. However, Johanna’s love for Set was famous among the guerrilla force members, which was why no one pushed any further.
「Then shall we search for a few more Gamelions?」
「Please.」
Rent bowed his head at Rei’s question, but Rei shook his head, entirely unconcerned, before speaking.
「Don’t worry about it. As long as I receive my reward properly, I don’t mind a bit of trouble.」
Anyone who knew Rei’s usual self would have been somewhat surprised by those words. The cheese Rent had given him must have been just that delicious. To eat that cheese, a bit of hardship was nothing to Rei. He had found enough value in the cheese to say that.
(Cheese shouldn’t really differ all that much in how it’s made……so why did the taste turn out so entirely different?)
Of course, Rei didn’t know the detailed process of making cheese. At most, he had seen it on TV back in Japan, or made cottage cheese with milk and lemons during a school class. Because of that, he had no idea how it could become so rich and addictive.
(Could they be using monster materials? ……Yeah, that actually seems highly probable.)
He convinced himself as the thought crossed his mind.
「Well, I’ll head back to where Set is, so wait here for a bit.」
「Ah, Rei. Should we wait here, or head back to the carriage?」
「Ah……right, please head to the carriage. Once I’m riding Set, there won’t be anyone watching it. You must be tired from the battle, so feel free to take your time. Monsters won’t readily attack a spot where Set’s scent remains anyway.」
Saying that, Rei left Rent, Johanna, and the others behind as he ran off toward the carriage. As for his silence regarding the fact that the carriage had almost been stolen by adventurers, that was deliberate.
「Wow……as expected of Rei. Calling him fast doesn’t even begin to cover it.」
One of the men couldn’t help but comment as Rei vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. No one else present responded, but they all shared the exact same thought.
(Just the fact that we don’t have to face Rei as an enemy in a war makes coming to the Mireana Kingdom from the Bestir Empire completely worth it.)
The three men each had similar thoughts as they all nodded internally. ……In Johanna’s case, since her biggest reason for coming to Gilm was Set, she didn’t feel quite as strongly about it.
「Well, we can’t just stand around here forever, so let’s head back to the carriage too.」
Everyone nodded at Rent’s words and left the area where the battle with the Gamelion had taken place. There were many corpses of Goblins slaughtered by the Gamelion nearby, giving off a strong scent of blood into the surroundings. If any monsters caught wind of this scent, it wouldn’t be surprising if they gathered here. Though, there probably weren’t many monsters that would willingly choose to eat Goblin meat. Given the location, it was true that leaving as quickly as possible was for the best. If they wanted to avoid getting dragged into a pointless fight, that is.
「Hmm. Looking down at the ground from the sky like this, there really are a lot of people hunting Gamelions. Since the season started late, they probably want to make as much money as they can while they can……」
Rei muttered while looking down at the ground from Set’s back. Some adventurers were moving around with Gamelions loaded onto their handcarts, others were bleeding them out on the spot to begin dismantling them. He could also see several adventurers currently engaged in combat with Gamelions.
「It’s truly the peak season right now. Well, with this weather, it wouldn’t be strange for it to start snowing heavily at any moment.」
Rei muttered as he looked up at the sky. Unlike last year, the snow was late to start falling this year. Considering the situation with the Gamelions, it could be called a stroke of good fortune. If it snowed, they would have to fight Gamelions in the snow. Even if it was a plain, beneath it was dirt, which would naturally turn to mud if it snowed, making it hard to get proper footing. There was also the danger of wet grass tangling around one’s feet. If they had to fight a fast moving opponent like a Gamelion in such conditions, it was obvious they would struggle unless there was an immense difference in skill. Rei had a serious expression for a split second, but it was gone from his face the next instant.
「Well, we’ve already secured enough Gamelion meat for ourselves to eat……so we don’t need to be so desperate.」
「Guru~!」
Set gave a cry, wanting to eat Gamelion meat. Rei spoke as he patted the back of Set’s neck.
「You’re right. The guild should have finished a decent amount of the dismantling by now. Even if they haven’t, it might be a good idea to go pick up a portion of the Gamelion meat for us to eat.」
「Gururu~!」
Set gave a cry that radiated happiness at Rei’s words. Hearing his cry, several Gamelions in the area sensed danger and immediately fled from the spot……but Set and Rei paid them no mind, blissfully thinking about Gamelion meat. It was delicious simply grilled as a steak, and its flavour would improve even further if it was stewed with extra care. The sandwiches made with Gamelion meat that he had eaten a short while ago were a perfect example. Despite being a simple dish where the meat was simply sandwiched between bread, or rather, precisely because it was so simple, the flavour of the ingredients came through directly. It was also exquisite when steamed instead of boiled to remove the excess fat, then eaten with a sweet and sour fruit sauce or a rich walnut sauce.
「Ah, this is bad. Now I really want to eat Gamelion meat.」
As he imagined the various Gamelion dishes, his stomach let out a loud rumble in protest.
「Gururu~!」
It wasn’t just Rei, Set felt the exact same way and gave a cry to say he was hungry.
「For now, let’s tide ourselves over with this.」
Rei took some dried Orc meat out of the Misty Ring to give to Set as he popped some into his own mouth as well. The concentrated flavour of the meat spread through his mouth, managing to quiet his rumbling stomach for the time being. However, that only lasted for a short while. If anything, eating the dried meat only stimulated his appetite further.
「Mmh, there’s no helping it. Shall we eat a little more?」
「Guru~!」
Set gave a cheerful cry in agreement. Rei gave a small smile at Set’s reaction The next thing he pulled out was a sandwich packed with a thick chunk of stewed meat. ……Considering the size of the meat chunk and the thinness of the bread holding it, the balance was clearly skewed. However, it was also true that the absurdly large filling only stimulated his appetite more. Since the freshly made sandwiches had been preserved inside the Misty Ring, the meat inside the bread was still warm. The warmth of the meat could easily be felt right through the bread. That said, Set was flying at an altitude of about 100m. It was winter, and the weather wasn’t exactly sunny. Under such conditions, the sandwich rapidly cooled down after being taken out of the Misty Ring.
「Whoops. The Dragon Robe’s temperature regulation feature is handy, but it’s a bit of a waste in times like this. I wish its effect extended to the things I’m holding, not just myself.」
He gave one to Set, then bit into his own sandwich filled with the massive chunk of meat, causing meat juices to instantly fill his mouth. At the same time, the freshly baked bread absorbed the juices, while the crisp leafy vegetables provided an enjoyable new texture.
「Yeah, this is good. ……The bread feels a little lacking after all, but I guess it’s fine for what it is.」
「Gururu~!」
More than half of the sandwich was still left in Rei’s hand, but Set, who had already finished his own, gave a cry to ask for more. Rei was about to pull out a new sandwich for him when he noticed a Gamelion walking along the ground. Fortunately, it hadn’t been spotted by any other adventurers yet, so if they headed back now, Rent, Johanna, and the others would likely be the first to reach it.
「Sorry, Set. The sandwiches will have to wait for now. You’ll have to make do with this for now.」
When Rei fed him the rest of his own sandwich, Set gave a happy cry as if to say he didn’t mind at all.
「Alright, let’s head back to the carriage. I want to make our move before anyone else finds it.」
「Gururu~!」
Giving a loud cry at Rei’s words, Set flapped his wings and flew back towards the carriage.