「Hey, Set. Why are we even in a place like this?」
「Gurururuu~?」
Set flapped his wings and turned his head back at Rei’s words, giving a puzzled cry.
Rei and Set were currently in the sky far away from Gilm, roughly 100m above the ground.
Set was flying through falling snow, creating harsh conditions even for Rei.
Being 100m in the air while it was snowing meant the temperature was naturally freezing cold.
Thanks to the Dragon Robe, the cold itself was not an issue, but there was another major problem entirely.
「Seriously, this snow stings!」
Just as Rei said, flying at Set’s speed through the snow caused the snowflakes to pelt him painfully.
The temperature was easily managed, but the robe did not envelop him in a barrier.
Because of that, the snow inevitably struck his body.
「It might have been better to wait for the snow to stop before setting off, just like Lenora and Kenny said.」
After concluding their discussion about the private request in the Guild Master’s office, Marka had requested that Rei depart immediately, citing that a faction within the Royalist Faction had already begun to make its move.
Normally, one would refuse by claiming they needed time to prepare for the journey, but fortunately or unfortunately for Rei, all his belongings were stored inside the Misty Ring.
In other words, as long as he felt like it, he could set out on the request at a moment’s notice.
Given Marka’s desire for him to reach Gracial as quickly as possible, he had been provided with letters addressed to the gatekeepers, the officer academy, and the Duke Quent family before setting off immediately.
Since he had no urgent business during the winter, Rei had felt inclined to accommodate her request, which was how he ended up flying through the snow like this……
「I should have just waited for the snow to stop. ……Because of this, it’s hard to even look at the map.」
Because the map was drawn on special alchemically created paper, it wouldn’t be damaged by ordinary wind or snow.
Even so, knowing just how valuable the map was made it impossible to carelessly unroll it under these conditions.
If it was blown away by the wind and lost, there would be no way to compensate them.
It would reach a point where it would be difficult to refuse even if they demanded Rei hand over his Death Scythe in return.
「Let’s see……the highway bypasses that mountain, right?」
Recalling the map he had viewed before leaving, Rei scanned the snowy surroundings.
「Gurururuu?」
It seemed Set was faster at finding the highway.
Set gave a cry as if asking whether that was the highway, and following his gaze, Rei saw that a road indeed ran below.
「Yeah, thanks Set. If we follow along that highway, it should eventually split in two, so let’s get that far first.」
「Guru~」
Acknowledging Rei’s words with a cry, Set flapped his wings.
Continuing along above the highway, Rei suddenly spotted a carriage travelling below.
「Whoa, they’re running a carriage in this snow? If it were a special carriage like Marka’s pulled by tamed monsters, that would be one thing, but from the looks of it, it’s just an ordinary carriage…… That must be rough.」
Rei’s murmur was merely a passing thought as he looked down.
Yet, as if his words had triggered something, the carriage ground to a halt the very next moment.
「Neighhh!」
A horse’s pained neigh reached his ears.
For an instant, Rei wondered if a monster had appeared, but no monsters were visible around the carriage.
Recalling that this was not the frontier, where powerful monsters rarely showed up so easily, he looked down again, curious about what had caused the horse’s scream.
「Ah……a wheel got caught in a hole.」
Even though it was called a highway, it was not paved with asphalt like roads in Japan.
That said, Rei knew from experience that even on asphalt-paved roads, potholes forming in winter were hardly rare.
Of course, asphalt collapsed due to contracting in the cold snow, so an unpaved road like this highway wouldn’t cave in the exact same way.
(Instead, snow probably accumulated over an existing ditch and hid it, turning it into a natural pitfall.)
As Set glanced back as if asking what to do, Rei considered it briefly before asking him to descend to the ground.
Part of it was that the snow was making parts of the highway hard to discern, and he also wanted to ask for directions just in case.
「Gurururuu!」
Responding to Rei’s request with a cry, Set flapped his wings and descended toward the ground amidst the falling snow.
Noticing Set’s approach, the coachman struggling with the carriage and the people stepping out of it looked up one after another, freezing in place.
Normally, with a monster heading directly toward them, it would be no surprise if they ran away.
However, a person was currently riding the monster’s back.
Judging that this was not a standard monster attack, they still prepared to draw their weapons immediately in case anything happened.
「Heh.」
Rei murmured in admiration from Set’s back.
Even if they couldn’t tell immediately, seeing the approaching silhouette should have made them realise it was a Griffon.
Despite that, none of the people below abandoned the carriage to flee.
Even the coachman held a bow with practised ease.
Intrigued by how battle-hardened they clearly were, Rei waved lightly to signal they were not enemies.
Seeing Rei’s gesture, the people on the ground guessed that he had no hostile intent. A visible atmosphere of relief washed over them.
Set landed near the carriage.
By then, while the people around the carriage hadn’t completely dropped their guard, they observed Rei with keen interest.
「What are you doing in a place like this at this time of the year?」
As Rei asked while dismounting from Set’s back, one of the men, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, spoke with a smile.
It was likely because he understood the newcomer wasn’t an enemy.
……Though the look in his eyes was not quite as optimistic as the smile on his face.
「As you can see, a wheel fell into a ditch. We were just wondering what to do about it.」
「A hole, huh. It was probably hidden by the snow. Would you like a hand?」
「Are you sure? That would be a huge help.」
As the man said that, another man suddenly raised his voice.
「A Griffon……ah! A Griffon!? Then could you be Crimson Rei!?」
At those words, surprise appeared on all of their faces.
Living in the Mireana Kingdom and tasked with escorting the person inside the carriage, they naturally recognised the name of someone famous in those circles.
「Ah, that’s right. He’s riding a Griffon, so it has to be.」
「Wait, isn’t Crimson part of the Neutral Faction? This is Viscount Gizlus’s territory, belonging to the Royalist Faction. Why would he be here?」
「Isn’t it just because he’s an adventurer?」
「Going out of his way in the middle of this snow?」
「Even if you say that, do you think there’s anyone besides Crimson with a Griffon as a tamed monster?」
As those voices reached his ears, the man who had been speaking with Rei spoke to confirm.
「Um, are you truly Crimson?」
「Yeah. I won’t deny that people call me that.」
「……I see. So, why are you in a place like this?」
「I lost my way……well, not exactly lost. It’s my first time heading there, so I wanted to ask if this was the right path. While looking for someone to ask, I spotted your carriage stopped here.」
「A place you’ve never been?」
The man tilted his head at those words, but Rei continued without minding him.
「So, I’ll take care of the carriage with its wheel stuck in the hole. In return, would you mind answering my questions?」
「No, that’s fine with us, but……at worst, we were going to have to unload all the cargo from the carriage before hauling it out……」
Unloading cargo in this snow to lighten the carriage as much as possible was undeniably grueling work.
What’s more, with snow falling, they would have needed to prevent the luggage from getting wet, so it was only natural they wouldn’t want to do that in this freezing cold.
Above all, the person the men were escorting was currently inside the carriage.
If they made that client stand in the snow and catch an illness, their superiors would definitely reprimand them.
If things went poorly, they might even have their pay docked as punishment.
Furthermore, out of goodwill toward the client, they genuinely wanted to avoid doing that if at all possible.
It was only natural they would pin their hopes on a titled B rank adventurer appearing at such a moment.
「Then please, we’re counting on you. We’ll help out as well……」
「Hm? Ah, I don’t need any help. It’ll be over in a flash, so just wait for a moment.」
Replying to the man, Rei withdrew the Death Scythe from the Misty Ring.
The men froze for an instant at the sight of the massive scythe that suddenly appeared before their eyes, but quickly reached for their weapons once more.
Seeing that, Rei rested the butt of the Death Scythe against the ground to show he meant no harm.
「Don’t worry. It’s not like I intend to hurt you.」
「……You expect us to trust someone who pulled out a weapon out of nowhere?」
「I just need this to deal with the carriage.」
「We’d appreciate it if you explained what you’re actually planning to do.」
「Well, you’ll understand once you see it. Besides, if you’re worried, I’ll step a bit further away before doing it, so don’t fret.」
Saying so, Rei stepped away from the carriage to prove his words.
Moving roughly 5m back seemed to convince the men that Rei wasn’t planning an attack on the carriage, and their tension eased.
……Though Rei did possess a ranged attack method in Flying Slash, fortunately the men didn’t appear to know about it.
As their tension eased, curiosity about what Rei was going to do welled up within them.
「Here goes.」
Warning the men beforehand so they wouldn’t be startled, Rei planted the butt of the Death Scythe into the ground.
『Terrain Manipulation』
The moment Rei spoke those words, the carriage, which had been tilted sideways with its wheel in the ditch, smoothly rose on its own.
「Wh-what! H-hey!」
「A-ah. ……You’ve got to be kidding.」
「Earth magic?」
「I see, earth magic……wait, earth magic? As far as I knew, Crimson specialised in fire magic just like his moniker suggested. You know, like that fire tornado.」
「Just because he specialises in fire magic doesn’t mean he can’t use earth magic. He’s probably just not as good at it.」
「……Not as good at it, with that?」
Where the last man looked, the carriage was no longer tilted, resting completely level with the ground.
It was clear that he had the power to manipulate the terrain exactly as intended.
Claiming he wasn’t good at it despite displaying such power was something they couldn’t possibly believe.
Of course, what Rei had used was a skill rather than earth magic, which was why it produced such seamless results.
Drawing the gazes of every man present, Rei confirmed the carriage could move without issue before speaking.
「I got the carriage back up, but dropping into a hole means the axle or other parts might be damaged. You should probably have it inspected as soon as possible.」
「……Y-yeah. Right. You really saved us. Thank you.」
The man who had been speaking with Rei responded daze-like.
Accustomed to people being shocked by his skills, Rei paid the man’s reaction no mind and stated his original purpose.
「So, does this road lead to Duke Quent’s territory? Specifically, I want to know if it leads to Gracial.」
「Gracial!?」
The surprised voice shouting in response to Rei’s words came not from the man in front of him……but from the carriage.
「Did you just say Gracial?」
The door of the carriage, which had remained shut until now, opened, and a man emerged.
Age-wise, he looked to be around Rei’s age or slightly older.
Despite being a man, he had striking blue hair reaching down to his shoulders.
Yet he carried no frivolous air, appearing rather earnest instead.
That man watched Rei with deep interest.
……Incidentally, the horses pulling the carriage had frozen in fright and terror at Set’s presence as usual.
That was likely why the man inside the carriage had been able to step out so easily.