At night, several clouds obscured the moon in the sky, blocking the moonlight that would normally shine down on the ground.

At the rebel camp, a watch was kept throughout the night to stay on guard against Imperial soldiers.

Perhaps because of the presence of Rei and Set, who had arrived the night before, tonight’s watch was kept with some tenseness compared to previous days.

Seeing that, Tilleyle seemed grateful for Rei and Set’s presence, although he had his own thoughts regarding them.

In any case, inside the rebel camp, the watch was kept with a sense of tension unlike previous days. Near a tent in the corner, Set was lying down as usual with his eyes closed.

Even in this state, Set wasn’t truly sleeping. He had his eyes closed to be able to sense magic, sounds, smells more keenly.

If anyone approached without knowing that and tried to harm Rei, they would pay for their mistake with his life.

As for the tent next to Set……it wasn’t the normal tent that Rei had used the night before.

Although it was still near the edge of the camp, it wasn’t in the same place where all the spare tents had been kept, but rather some place far from them.

Those spare tents were there so that they could be used in the case of an emergency.

This was a place where the tent was the only thing around. That was where Set and Rei’s magic tent was.

Of course, the reason why it was here was because of Set and Rei, who had a storied history with the Bestir Empire.

That said, news of Rei’s Overlord’s Armour had spread through the rebel army in an instant and there was almost no one who would careless lay a hand on Rei.

However, fearing that those who would join later on, or that those who were quiet now but scared of Rei’s presence would go crazy, Rei and Set decided to set up their sleeping quarters at the edge of the camp to avoid affecting the rebel army.

Rei was happy to be free of all the noise around them, so he gladly accepted Theorem’s proposal, but……

「How did it come to this?」

Rei muttered and sighed as he brought some diluted fruit juice to his mouth.

As for Rei’s gaze, it was directed towards……

「Oh, such a beautiful woman has come sneaking out at night. You should be a little happy about it, right?」

Beside Rei was Vihera, whose thing clothing fluttered about mysteriously inside the magic tent.

Given the time and place, Vihera’s attitude could only be seen as an invitation.

In fact, if anyone other than Rei had been there, they would have succumbed to her charms and reached out for her.

Rei was no saitn, so if an attractive person like Vihera were to invite him like this, his heart would waver. But……

『Vihera, please stop trying to seduce Rei.』

That would have been the case if it wasn’t for the orb on the table right next to the sofa that Rei and Vihera were sitting on.

「Oh? Love is a personal freedom, isn’t it? And, what’s wrong with seducing someone you like?」

Vihera spoke provocatively to Elena, who was on the other side of the Paired Orb.

Seeing Vihera’s reaction, Elena’s eyes twitched.

『You can certainly say that you are free when it comes to romantic relationships. But that only applies when there’s only one partner.』

「Is that so? I think it’s not unusual for a noble to have one or two mistresses. Isn’t that right, mistress?」

As Vihera glanced at her, Elena shouted out, unable to bear it any longer.

『Who’s the mistress?! If there’s a mistress, it’s you. I’m the legal wife, of course!』

It was probably on reflex that Elena shouted back. That was why she didn’t realise that her true intentions were revealed in her words……her intention to accept Vihera as a mistress.

Rei just looked at their exchange in a confused manner without saying anything, so he didn’t notice either.

The only one who did notice was Vihera.

However, she didn’t say anything in response and let it go, releasing Rei’s arm that she had been holding onto.

As a man, it was inevitable that Rei would feel a little disappointed.

Anyway, as Vihera separated from Rei, her expression changed from one of a love rival to that of a leader of the Third Prince’s rebel army.

「Well, let’s leave the fight for Rei at that for now. Anyway, the civil war has finally begun over here. How are you doing over there? Are you acting as promised?」

『……You……』

For a moment, Elena was surprised by the sudden change in topic, but she soon sighed as she nodded in response. Similar to Vihera, Elena’s expression also changed from one of a love rival to that of the General Princess, a symbol of the Aristocratic faction, one of the three major factions in the Mireana Kingdom.

『Yeah. There’s no problem on this side. Father has arranged for you to be able come to the Mireana Kingdom in exile if you lose.』

Vihera’s eyes widened at Elena’s words.

It was true that when they had made their plans in Exil, that was what they had said they would do. But, it hadn’t been that long since.

Yes, Duke Kerebel had gone to the Royal Capital and arranged a place for them to escape to in the case of an emergency.

It was simple to say, but it must have taken a lot of effort for Duke Kerebel, who was the leader of the Aristocratic faction, to get the King and the Royalist faction to agree.

When thinking about it, she couldn’t help but conclude that she owed a great debt to Elena……or more accurately, the Duke Kerebel family.

「I’ll report this later. I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble.」

『There’s no need to be apologetic. Father acted quickly because he judged that there would be a corresponding benefit to be gained.』

「But even so, Even if you benefit, it doesn’t change the fact that I am grateful.」

If they were successful, they would be able to create a pro-Mireana Kingdom faction in the Bestir Empire.

If they failed, the national power of the Bestir Empire would decrease in the civil war and defectors would still have a corresponding amount of influence. It would be no loss if they could be brought into the Mireana Kingdom. Even if she knew that was why the decision was made, Vihera wasn’t so twisted that she wasn’t grateful for the trouble they had gone through.

That said……the reason why Vihera couldn’t just say thank you was because of who she was.

「But, you’re right. In any case, it’s better to show our gratitude with actions rather than words.」

『Actions?』

Perhaps sensing something sinister in Vihera’s tone, Elena opened her mouth to say something, but……

「Yes. ……This is my thanks.」

As she said that, she gently touched her lips against Rei’s cheek, who was sitting beside her.

『What-! Vi-Vihera! What are you doing!?』

「Eh? I’m doing that to thank you.」

『So why would you kiss Rei as a thank you!? In the first place, if you were going to thank anyone, shouldn’t it be me!?』

Elena shouted from the other Paired Orb.

However, even if they were connected by the Paired Orbs, the other side could only hear sounds and see images.

Because of that, all Elena could really do was shout.

Vihera seemed to understand that. She spoke up with a seductive smile.

「Oh, what a pity. If you were here, we could have thanked Rei together.」

『……Huh? What are you saying? You want me to come to the Bestir Empire? Is that what you’re asking? Fine, I’ll go right now……』

『Kyu?』

As if to calm Elena down, a small dragon appeared in the Paired Orb.

It was Elena’s familiar, Yellow.

It made a squealing noise as it flew towards Rei, who was reflected in the Paired Orb.

Unliek Set, Rei couldn’t sense what Yellow was saying, but he could still roughly guess what they wanted to say.

He remembered that the last time he had contacted Elena via the Paired Orb, he had said he would let Yellow talk with Set.

『Kyu!』

Rei raised his hand lightly in response to Yellow’s request.

「……That’s right. It’s certainly not good to break a promise. Wait a bit. Elena, Vihera, may I have a moment?」

「Eh? Oh, sure. I don’t mind.」

『Yes, I have no problems either.』

For a moment, neither of them understood what Rei was saying. But, as they both held feelings for Rei, they quickly understood and nodded back.

Raising his hand lightly to thank the two of them, he headed for the entrance of the magic tent with the Pair Orb in his hands.

He popped his head outside the tent……

「Set, are you awake?」

「Guru~!」

Set immediately responded to Rei with a cry.

Given how quickly he had responded, he hadn’t been asleep. ……But, having been asked to keep his beloved Rei safe at night, there was no way Set would neglect that.

Set had been lying down next to the tent, but he immediately got up and went over to Rei.

Rei stroked Set’s head as he held out his Paired Orb in front of Set.

「Guru~?」

「Look, Set. This is the Paired Orb. You remember, right? And, see what’s projected on it……」

『Kyuu~!』

As if responding to Rei’s words, Yellow let out a cry from the other side of the Paired Orbs.

Hearing that voice, Set probably understood the situation. He gave a happy cry as he rubbed his face against the Paired Orb.

「Gururururu~……」

『Kyu, Kyu~!』

Yellow also rubbed their face against the other orb while giving happy cries.

「Guru~, Gururu~, Gururu~, Guruguru~」

『Kyuu~? Kyukyu, Kyuukyuukyuu~』

The two communicated with each other using such cries and Vihera couldn’t help but speak up as she watched them.

「Hey, those two are clearly different species, a Griffon and a Dragon……how can they communicate with each other?」

The question had been on Vihera’s mind ever since she had been in Exil.

However, she hadn’t had the chance to ask and so never did……but this was a good opportunity to ask their two owners.

「Well, they’re both familiars, and there’s no doubt they’re high ranking monsters, so I think that’s how they can communicate. Set can understand human language as well.」

『That’s the same for Yellow. Yellow is still young and doesn’t completely understand what I’m saying, but can still understand the gist of my words.』

Elena’s voice sounded from the other side of Yellow, who was taking up the entire orb because of their proximity.

「Hmmm. A familiar, huh. I’d like one too, but……I can’t use magic, so a familiar is out of the question. So, if I wanted one, I’d have to tame a monster like Rei did with Set……」

Even Vihera would become jealous of people with a companion, like Rei’s Set and Elena’s Yellow.

Especially in Vihera’s case, as she often worked alone, she definitely wanted someone to talk to.

『I see. ……If you know taming is the only option, why don’t you try it? You might be able to tame a surprisingly good monster? ……Maybe a Banshee?』

「……Hey, what do you mean by that?」

『I heard it can use a skill called Death Cry, so I think it suits you, don’t you think?』

「Why should I bother taming an undead? I’d be better off taming a slime or something.」

Vihera responded while casting a dirty look towards the Paired Orb, but as usual, the only thing that could be seen from it was Yellow, not Elena, who was at the back.

(Banshees, huh? As far as I know, they can be fairies or undead……but in this world, it seems like they’re the latter.)

As Rei thought about their argument, he looked back to see Set and Yellow still talking to each other over the Paired Orbs.

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