As the morning light gradually rose and illuminated the surroundings, Rei and Set touched down at Hobbes’s position.

「How did it go?」

「No problems. The Orc leader has been eliminated.」

「I see.」

Nodding at Rei’s confirmation, Hobbes retrieved a small whistle from his tunic and blew into it with all his might.

Instantly, a piercing, shrill sound reverberated across the entire area.

The instrument Hobbes was blowing was a Magic Whistle, a type of magic item. Despite its grand name, it was an inexpensive tool that could be purchased for a few gold coins. Its function was straightforward: channeling the user’s magic power, it projected a sharp, penetrating note across the surrounding terrain. For transmitting a clear, unmistakable signal, it proved remarkably effective.

Hobbes had blown the whistle in accordance with their prior plan, signaling to the subjugation force that the Orc leader was dead. Once the participants finished cleaning up the remaining stragglers in the settlement, they would immediately regroup at his position.

「That should do it. ……Now then, let me hear your report first.」

Tucking the Magic Whistle back into his tunic, Hobbes turned his full attention toward Rei.

「Very well. To start, just as anticipated, Dark Night’s Star ambushed me during the night attack, so I eliminated them.」

「……And what became of Dark Night’s Star?」

「They’re all dead.」

「I see……did it not occur to you that capturing them alive for arrest might have been preferable?」

「Spare people who were actively trying to kill me?」

「Well, I can’t fault you there……however, capturing them alive would have offered certain benefits.」

「Benefits? Aside from interrogating them for information?」

Listening to Hobbes’s words, Rei inquired with mild curiosity.

Given the makeup of Dark Night’s Star, it was obvious they lacked any influential backing, so Rei doubted they held any valuable intelligence. Still, learning there were other advantages piqued his curiosity, and he prompted Hobbes to elaborate.

「Yes. Had the members of Dark Night’s Star been captured alive, they would have been branded as criminals and sold into slavery. From that transaction, you would have received half the proceeds.」

「Slaves, is it?」

「Hm? Ah, that’s right. You lived with your magic master until you came to the city of Gilm. Have you never seen slaves before?」

「Something like that. While I have no interest in dealing in slaves, I’ll keep the information in mind.」

「Yes, please do. For reference, the guild appreciates taking criminals alive. Whenever a thief or criminal is captured breathing, they are sold into penal servitude, with half the sales funds awarded to the adventurer.」

That marked the end of the matter regarding Dark Night’s Star. Hobbes had neither the time nor the inclination to fret over an unscrupulous party that had merely reaped what they sowed.

「Now, to change the subject……setting aside that the subjugation is complete, who was it that brought down the Orc leader?」

「Right. We spotted a contingent of Orcs attempting to escape the settlement under cover of darkness. We rendezvoused with Milein’s party, Scorching Wind, and wiped them out.」

While explaining the situation to Hobbes, Rei selected the Orc King’s corpse from the mental inventory of the Misty Ring.

A 3m monster carcass materialized before their eyes. The torso was cleanly split in two across the middle, held together by nothing more than a strip of hide, with the severed head resting beside it. Hobbes stared at the corpse in stunned silence.

「Hey, you can’t possibly mean this fellow is……」

Staring down at the massive corpse, Hobbes whipped his head toward Rei. As expected of a veteran adventurer, he recognised the monster lying on the ground immediately.

「Yeah. That’s what Scorching Wind’s mage told me. It’s an Orc King, isn’t it?」

「……You’re right. A B rank monster, an Orc King. While I clashed with them a few times back when I was an active adventurer……taking one down on your own would be absurd. No, with Set being an A rank monster alongside the C rank party Scorching Wind, it might have been possible.」

Hobbes muttered to himself, nodding. Seeing this, Rei noticed the misunderstanding immediately, figuring it would smooth his future rank up tests with the guild if he clarified that he had slain the Orc King in single combat.

(Besides, Scorching Wind will likely……no, Milein will almost certainly spread the word that I killed it anyway.)

The spell cast upon Milein, the 『Seed of Contract』, only barred her from revealing Set’s Fire Breath and Water Ball, or Rei’s Corrosion. Since sharing that Rei had defeated the Orc King was not forbidden, the tale was bound to circulate sooner or later.

While it might prove awkward if pressed on the exact method he used, Rei hoped they would exercise enough discretion to avoid triggering the 『Seed of Contract』.

From the experience of fighting side by side with them, he did not worry excessively. He intuitively sensed they were trustworthy, unlike the treacherous members of Dark Night’s Star.

「To clarify, the Orc King was accompanied by five ordinary Orcs, an Orc Archer, an Orc Mage, and an Orc General. Scorching Wind handled the five ordinary Orcs, Set killed the Orc Mage and Orc Archer, and I slew the Orc General and the Orc King.」

The instant Rei spoke those words, Hobbes froze in his tracks. He slowly shifted his gaze from the Orc King back to Rei.

「What did you just say? I’m missing half my right ear, so my hearing isn’t what it used to be. It seems I must have misheard you somehow.」

Saying so, Hobbes pointed toward his mangled right ear. His reaction was entirely understandable. He had just been told that a G rank adventurer had soloed a B rank Orc King. Even knowing Rei was an extraordinary outlier, accepting such an absurdity was nearly impossible.

Had it been Set, he might have found it credible. After all, a Griffon was an A rank monster, so overpowering a lower-ranked Orc King should not have posed an insurmountable challenge. But this……

「I killed the Orc King. ……Well, I understand it sounds hard to swallow. It will be verified once you question Scorching Wind later.」

Saying that, Rei noticed several parties of adventurers trickling back from the settlement and returned the Orc King’s corpse to the Misty Ring, wishing to avoid drawing needless commotion.

「Hey, Hobbes, Rei, Set!」

Supporting Min, who walked with unsteady footing, Elk, the leader of Axe of the Thunder God, waved his hand and shouted. Scarcely any exhaustion showed on his face despite battling Orcs all night. As for Min, whom he was partially carrying, she looked pale and thoroughly drained, having depleted nearly all her magic power. Their son, Rhodes, walked alongside his parents……or rather, kept an anxious gaze locked onto his mother.

Behind them walked the remaining adventurers who had taken part in the subjugation. From a brief glance, Rei noted that their numbers had dwindled compared to the strategy meeting. In the end, expecting every single adventurer to survive an assault on an Orc settlement led by an Orc King had been overly optimistic.

Even so, for a night raid, escaping with only this level of casualties was a fortunate outcome. Every member of the expedition understood that had they launched a frontal assault during daylight hours, the toll would have been drastically higher.

「Hey, Rei! You ended up taking down the Orc chieftain, didn’t you?」

Reaching Hobbes’s position, Elk’s booming question drew sceptical glances from the surrounding adventurers, many of whom were collapsing in exhaustion, tending to wounds, or retrieving belongings from the carriages.

Beside him, Rhodes scowled at Rei.

「Dad, there’s no way this guy could kill the Orc leader. Sure, I know he has skills that put him above an ordinary G rank. But……」

「Gururu~」

Set let out a low rumble, rebuking Rhodes as the boy tried to speak further.

「……Tch, whatever! I refuse to believe this guy defeated the Orc chieftain. Come on, Mum. Let’s get you over to rest.」

Flinching at Set’s growl, Rhodes tossed out his parting shot and departed, escorting Min toward the carriages. Min offered Rei an apologetic, wry smile as she followed her son.

Watching his wife’s wry expression, Elk chuckled as he saw them off before turning to offer Rei a brief apology.

「Sorry about him. You know those Orcs that tried to circle behind us earlier? Seeing you deal with them forced him to admit you have real skill, but he’s far too stubborn to say it to your face.」

「Guru~……」

As Set gave a dissatisfied rumble, Rei stroked his back to soothe him, returning Elk’s grin with a wry smile of his own.

「There, calm down. His attitude is already leagues better than when we first met, so don’t take it to heart.」

「Gurururu~」

“I suppose it can’t be helped,” Set seemed to convey, swishing his tail as he curled up to rest a short distance away.

「Well, Rhodes’s attitude is understandable enough. Once he matures a bit more, he’ll be forced to recognise the strength of those above him……」

As Elk let out a sigh, Hobbes walked over and handed him a cup of water.

「Here, have a drink and rest. Honestly, you expect too much from the boy. Reaching C rank at his age already puts him at the very top of his generation in the city of Gilm. ……Though, of course, there are exceptions to every rule.」

Hobbes shot a pointed glance at Rei for an instant. From that gesture, Elk knew his instinct had been dead-on.

「So that really was it. I thought as much.」

「Yes, exactly! If Rei hadn’t been there, taking down the Orc King would have been completely out of the question!」

Cutting into the conversation with sudden energy was Milein, the leader of Scorching Wind, who had fought alongside Rei against the Orc King’s unit.

The instant the title “Orc King” left her lips, Hobbes, Elk, and the surrounding adventurers listening in erupted into a clamour.

「Hey, did you hear that just now?」

「If my ears aren’t playing tricks on me, she just said Orc King.」

「I heard it too!」

「Wait, the kid has Set with him. If that’s the case, then maybe……」

「Hold on, didn’t Milein just say they couldn’t have beaten the Orc King without Rei?」

「Then does that mean Scorching Wind managed to bring down an Orc King with Rei backing them up?」

「With Set-chan on their side, anything is possible!」

Listening to the murmurs rippling through the crowd, Elk turned back to Rei with an astonished expression.

「Hey, was it really an Orc King?」

「It certainly was. I thought we were done for the moment I saw it. Aside from the Orc King itself, there was an Orc General, an Orc Mage, an Orc Archer, and five ordinary Orcs backing them up……」

「Talk about a nightmare scenario.」

「Right? Well, we pulled through in the end thanks to Rei and Set.」

「Hey, Rei. You stored the Orc King’s corpse inside that Misty Ring, didn’t you? Would you mind pulling it out for a second? For better or worse, I’ve never laid eyes on an Orc King myself.」

「I’d prefer to rest as soon as possible. Naturally, fighting through the entire night took a lot out of me.」

As Rei sighed in fatigue, Hobbes offered a sympathetic pat on his shoulder.

「Give it up, Elk won’t let it go once he gets curious. Besides, the members of the subjugation expedition risked their lives out here. You can hardly blame them for wanting to see the Orc King that you slew with their own eyes.」

「He’s right. After battling without pause through the night, is there a single adventurer here who isn’t exhausted?」

Elk chimed in behind Hobbes. What was more, though the adventurers resting nearby kept quiet, an unmistakable look of eager anticipation shone in their eyes. Hearing the commotion, those resting in the carriages or grabbing rations from their packs all cast expectant glances in his direction.

「Come on, come on! Now that things have come this far, you have to show them, right? You’re the one who killed it, so there’s no need to be shy!」

「……The commotion only escalated because of you in the first place……Well, fine. If that’s how it is, I suppose I have no choice.」

Letting out a resigned sigh at Milein’s badgering, Rei once again retrieved the Orc King’s carcass from the Misty Ring.

Seeing the spatial storage of the Misty Ring demonstrated up close for the first time, gasps of astonishment broke out from several adventurers.

And the moment the colossal body of the Orc King materialized, gasps and cries of shock swept through the clearing.

「It’s huge.」

「Yeah. It completely dwarfs an ordinary Orc. And look at that severed neck. That had to be an unbelievably clean strike.」

「Its torso is practically sliced in two. Did that kid Rei seriously pull this off?」

The torso was cleaved nearly in half, connected only by a sliver of hide, with the severed head of the Orc King resting right alongside it.

Bearing witness to that gruesome spectacle, the surrounding adventurers etched the terrifying capability of Rei, a mere G rank adventurer, deep into their memories.

「See? Wasn’t that worth showing off?」

Looking like a mischievous brat whose prank had succeeded, Elk grinned broadly as he clapped Rei on the back.

「At the very least, none of the adventurers who took part in this expedition will ever look at you as just a G rank again.」

「……So that was your angle. Well, I suppose I should thank you for that.」

「No need for thanks! Having a promising talent like you owe me a favour is never a bad thing.」

Thus, after everyone had satisfied their curiosity inspecting the Orc King, lookout duties were entrusted to Elk and Hobbes, who still had stamina to spare. Having battled through the night, the rest of the adventurers collapsed into a deep sleep to recover their strength, even while maintaining basic vigilance against any lingering Orc remnants or roaming monsters.

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