「……Hey, what do you think about this?」

Rei muttered in amazement.

Brazos shook his head with a small sigh when he heard those words.

「One way or another……that’s how it is.」

In front of them, there were three injured adventurers who fainted and fallen to the ground.

Rei and the others were currently at the stables behind the Dusk Wheat. Before meeting up with Galahat, he headed for the stables to pick up Set……Rei and the others saw that the entrance to the stables had been smashed by something hitting it from the inside with the three unconscious adventurers lying at the front of the smashed entrance. At first, Rei had wondered if they were friends of the thugs who had barged their way into the inn, but the equipment of these men were clearly different. They all wore metal armour and one of them was even wearing full plate mail for some reason. Considering how good their equipment was and that one of them had a long sword, they were probably a different group of people. At the very least, they were a different group of people from the thugs.

「Perhaps……no, they definitely came to kill or capture Set. Anyhow, Set is our strongest force. In addition, doesn’t the mastermind of this all, Bolton, want Set? He probably wants Set to be captured alive. Even if he decided to kill Set, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine how much the materials of a Griffon would be worth.」
「So, they let the thugs rush into the inn as a diversion to give them time. Finally, the adventurers targeted and attacked Set, who was resting quietly in the stables……this was the result in the end though.」

A Freon’s reply, Rei turned to the other three, who were lost in thought.

Set’s strength alone was already phenomenal and was further enhanced by the magic item he had equipped, the Bracelet of Herculean Strength. The chainmail worn by one of the adventurers had been torn open and he had suffered a deep wound at his abdomen under it. As for the person wearing plate mail, it had been crushed by a single attack from Set with fragments scattering into the surroundings.

Set probably just found them a hassle and hadn’t killed them outright. However, autumn was setting in and with such a deep wound, they would have frozen to death if left overnight……the other two weren’t as serious but they would at least suffer a cold.

「In the first place, what’s with the difference in all their equipment? Chainmail, plain metal armour and full metal plate. It’s not uncommon for three different people to have different equipment, but for there purpose, isn’t it too varied?」

With an emphasis on mobility, chainmail still had a higher defense than leather armour. Metal armour that protected the chest and torso, also known as a brigandine. Full plate mail covered the entire body in metal armour. The equipment the three adventurers wore were confusing and didn’t make sense in many ways when they thought about it.

「I think, there’s a difference in thinking.」
「A difference in thinking?」

Rei asked Brazos in reply.

「Mm. For example, the one that wore chainmail might have been more concerned about secrecy. On the contrary, the one wearing full plate mail probably decided on defense in fear of Set’s strength as a Griffon……something like that.」
「I see. I guess the communication between the adventurers didn’t go that well then.」

Whlie nodding at Brazos’ words, Rei reached for the weapons that had fallen to the ground.

Two spears and a bow. However, the bow wasn’t usable unless repaired because the string had been snapped.

(Although they tried to launch a surprise attack, as expected, it would be scary to have to fight a Griffon in close combat with swords, axes and clubs. That’s why they chose spears. It could only go badly when you consider that they had to use the spears inside a small narrow space like the stables……well, I guess they were terrified by Set.)

Thinking to himself, he stored the two spears and bow that he had picked up into the Misty Ring. At the same time, he picked up the quiver that had been rolling around near the man wearing chainmail.

「Aren’t you a little greedy?」

Since the prices of iron ore were currently rising, iron spears were already expensive as they were. Even for these adventurers, it would be a considerable loss if they lost their spears here. Though Rei thought about Murt’s words, he replied with a small smile.

「In the first place, aren’t they enemies? Picking up the weapons from those we defeat will decrease there fighting capabilities and strengthen ours.. Is there anything improper about it?」
「……Well, if you say so. Considering the price of weapons right now, I feel sorry for them. Anyhow, as long as Galahat-san replaces Bolton as Azoth Firm’s president, they will probably be dismissed even if they try to seek compensation for their lost spears.」
「Well yes, that’s probably true. They should know that would normally be the case if someone asked for compensation from people they had been hostile against.」

Murt nodded at Freon’s words, but Brazos shook his head.

「Well then, I guess that’s that. Even if Galahat is an adventurer, he should have a lot of allies. These guys are just attracted to the profits. If Galahat becomes the new president, he will probably replace people of this nature.」
「Yes, yes, I don’t like people who change attitudes so easily.」
「You know. Galahat definitely favours you and you do respect him. But aren’t those adventurers simply hired by Azoth Firm for work? They’re currently being employed by Azoth Firm and the president happens to be Bolton, this is normal for adventurers.」

Freon explained in exasperation. Murt didn’t seem convinced as he looked at Freon……he then turned towards Rei, who had just stored the spears into the Misty Ring.

「Wait a moment. Will Azoth Firm really not end up compensating them for their weapons? This is Galahat-san after all.」
「I wonder.」
「Haa-? Then Galahat-san will eat a big loss!」
「……Well then. Can I ask for a reward for helping you?」
「No, but that is that.」
「Look at these two. Because they took the Harpy subjugation request together we me, they got rolled up in this disturbance as well. Naturally, they can ask for rewards if they actually do something. Considering that, I want you to overlook me taking these spears.」
「I can help you with the weapon stores……」
「There wouldn’t be any problems even if things stayed the way there are right now. In the first place, I don’t need any particular maintenance with my weapon as long as I supply it my magic power. The only thing I need to maintain is the knife I use for stripping materials. Since Pamidor just came to the city of Gilm and isn’t controlled by Azoth Firm, I have no problems with a blacksmith either. If I were to put out something that could be considered a problem, it would be that I can’t by throwing spears like the ones I took just now……」

While talking, he picked up a stone from the ground.

「I wouldn’t be so worried about throwing weapons if I had stones like this.」

With a pom~ pom~ sound, Rei tossed the stone into the air before catching it back in his palm.

(Well, that said, spears have more offensive power than stones.)

In the end a stone was a stone. The impact would be strong, but the influence of wind on it when thrown would always be different as stones came in different shapes and sizes. In other words, if the distance was quite far, the hit rate of stones would vary quite a bit. Considering that, spears were the best shape for throwing. Because they were heavier than stones, the power and stability were also increased. Moreover, their offensive power was much stronger than stones because of the pointed spearhead at the end.

(It can also pierce to seal movements. With stones, it’s hard to adjust for their shape.)

「Rei?」

Murt asked as Rei played around with the stone in his hand. While looking around, Rei rolled the stone around in his palm……

「Fu~!」

Taking a sharp breath, Rei threw the stone in his hands. The way he threw it was not like the so called overarm baseball pitch but more like the way a ninja would discretely throw a shuriken. As the stone flew out, it cut through the darkness towards a tree growing near the inn.

「……」

For a moment, Freon, Brazos and Murt didn’t know what Rei was doing. But Freon and Brazos immediately realised why. Murt looked towards the tree, only realising something when he heard a heavy thud from that direction.

「Gururu~」

Set, who was in the stables, was a little worried. Usually, he would not come out and would wait for Rei to come in to pick him up, but tonight, he made the decision to come out himself. Naturally, he had no injuries from his fight against the three adventurers. In the first place, the highest ranked adventurer hired by Azoth Firm was Galahat at rank B. Because of that, all the other adventurers were obviously C rank or lower. Even if they had multiple ways of attacking from medium to long range with spears and bows, a Griffon, an A rank monster, was in a different league.

Lightly stroking Set’s head, he headed for the tree a short distance from the stables. At its base, an adventurer had fallen down after getting knocked out.

「I say, the leather armour has a deep mark where the stone hit……」

Murt muttered as he gave a sympathetic look towards the man. The stone thrown by Rei was terrifying. He had seen Rei’s attack blast Galahat through several wall in Bolton’s mansion. Murt knew how much raw strength Rei had and gave his condolences in his mind.

「No, why would you feel sorry for this guy who was probably hired by Azoth Firm?」

Freon muttered, but Rei shook his head after checking the face of the man.

「I thought they were the ones that attacked us at Pamidor’s smithy, but it seems I was wrong. They had been wearing black padded clothes instead of armour to reduce the sounds the made as much as possible. Murt, do you know this guy?」
「……I haven’t seen him before. But since Azoth Firm hires a huge number of adventurers, there naturally are some I don’t recognise. Especially since I work almost exclusively with Galahat-san.」

Murt said that in a bragging tone. Rei, Brazos and Freon looked at each other.

「What do you think?」
「First of all, he’s definitely scouting. Checking if the three adventurers down over then can beat Set, and if they can’t, what to do next. ……Well, I don’t think it will be of any use though since he’s been knocked out. That man’s greatest purpose……rather, was to confirm the fighting strength of Galahat’s faction.」

Freon nodded at Brazos’ words.

「I guess. If possible, he probably also wanted to find out where Galahat was hiding.」
「So, the question is, what do we do with these guys?」

Rei and the others looked at the man who had fainted under the tree and the other three, knocked out near the stables.

「Weren’t these guys were meant to be part of Azoth Firm’s force if everything had gone well? Can we just tie them up and leave them at the inn?」
「What Freon said is reasonable……but I feel like they could escape from being tied up and appear as a fighting force for the other side.」
「Well, these guys probably wanted to earn some money.」

Bolton felt that his position was being threatened. It would be cheap to hire adventurers in large numbers if he could protect his position.

If they had people who could watch over the adventurers, Rei would rather have them join their party instead. Thinking about Freon and Brazos’ points, it was a headache thinking of how to deal with those four people. It was a headache to the point that he almost physically had one.

(It’s out of the question to split up our numbers. Although they don’t have to fight with us, we need someone we can trust to some extent……wait?)

As Rei thought to himself, he heard a lot of footsteps coming closer to there location.

He pulled out his Death Scythe from the Misty Ring. Seeing that, Brazos also held his weapon……

「What, it’s you guys?」

Appearing from the darkness, Rei lowered his Death Scythe after seeing their faces, exposed by the moonlight.

「Do you know each other?」

Murt turned to Rei. He had been involved deeply into this matter because of his great admiration for Galahat. Because of that, he was was greatly cautious about strangers.

However, the person who appeared in Murt’s cautious eyes spoke with a smile, seeming not to care about the halberd that was pointed towards him.

「I thought that it was rather noisy at the back of the inn and came to take a look……nice to see you again, Rei-san.」

Saying that, Vettman, the leader of the armed merchants staying at the Dusk Wheat, gave cheerful smile.

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