When Rei left Pamidor’s workshop. Set, who had been lying close by, immediately noticed them and gave a cry.

Rei looked around as he stroked Set, but the man he had stabbed in the right shoulder earlier and the thief that Set had knocked out had already disappeared.

「As expected, they didn’t really abandon their associates.」

Muttering to himself, for a moment, he admired the the people who had recovered their unconscious comrades.But then Rei thought about it……

(No, they can only be consider Azoth Firm’s tail, when they have to, they can cut it off at any time. However, we could get more information if they betrayed Azoth Firm. Considering the risks, it would be greater if they left them here.)

Concluding to himself, Rei brought himself back to reality and turned to Brazos.

「So, where do you want to hear the situation from Murt?」
「Hmm……at an inn?」
「Then what about Set. Inns are almost all targeted towards adventurers so there aren’t any stables for tamed monsters. As it will probably take a long time for everything to be said, it wouldn’t be that good to leave Set outside for the entire time.」

Hearing Brazos and Freon’s words, there was only one place Rei could think of.

No, technically speaking, he could also go over to the Margrave’s residence to hear out the situation. However, Rei dismissed it because if they brought Margrave Daska in now, Bolton might realise the crisis he was currently in and try to run away.

「Then how about we go to the Dusk Wheat? That’s the inn I’m staying in and there is a stable for Set, so there are no problems there. It’s famous as a high class inn so Bolton probably won’t be able to kick up as much of a fuss there.」

The merchants who supported the city of Gilm and their mercenary guards stayed there. If he ambushed Rei there, the reputation of Gilm would drop. And because Azoth Firm also had weapon business deals with other cities, they would also suffer a loss.

At this time, in Rei’s mind, Bolton would not make such a decision. Although he was an old man drowning in his own greed, from his position as the main weapons dealer in Gilm, the loss in income would not be worth the benefits he would gain.

This was not wrong in a sense. But Rei’s greatest miscalculation was that due to his own involvement, Bolton had become aware of the danger that his brother, Galahat, might take over his position.

In other words, even if he made a mess here and Gilm’s reputation dropped, he might be able to protect his own position. If asked which side Bolton would choose……you didn’t even need to think about it.

It was impossible for Rei to know what Galahat was thinking……but it had eventually led to fights breaking out on the surface.

「I see, he certainly wouldn’t be able to do much at the Dusk Wheat.」

Freon and Brazos, who was carrying Murt, nodded in agreement.

「Gurururu~」
「Mm? Set, what’s wrong?」

As Rei was about to head towards the Dusk Wheat, Set walked in front of them and knelt down. It was as if he was telling them to ride him……

「No, it’s different. That’s right.」

With Set looking backwards after crouching down, Rei realised what he was trying to say and turned towards Brazos.

「Brazos, he’s saying he can carry Murt.」
「Hm? Is that so? He isn’t that heavy though……」
「If Set can carry Murt, why not just leave it to him?.」

Looking at Murt on Brazos’ shoulders, Rei then looked at Murt’s halberd and leather armour.

「Ah, leave those to me. They’re quite unwieldy as they are right now.」
「I see. That reminds me that Rei has an item box. The situation moved so fast that I had completely forgotten about it.」

Rei took the halberd and leather armour with a look of understanding as he stored them into the Misty Ring.

「……It would be convenient if we could store him into the item box as well.」

Freon said that as she watched Murt get placed on Set’s back.

「As expected, it’s impossible to store a living human. But if it’s things like the corpses of Harpies, there’s no problem if they’re dead.」
「……That’s right, it’s an item box. Dead bodies are items. In other words, it recognises things that are alive as not being items.」

Freon nodded at Brazos’ words, as he placed Murt onto Set’s back.

After doing all that, the party began moving towards the Dusk Wheat, Rei’s current accommodation.

「There is a possibility we will be attacked if we go through places with few people. We will take the main streets.」
「Mm, I also understand Rei’s thoughts……well, there will definitely be more people that in the back streets.」

Brazos’ worry was that at night, there wouldn’t be as many people on the streets. Of course it couldn’t compare to the almost non-existent traffic in the back streets, but it still wasn’t as much as in the day time. As there would be more people in the main streets, if they were attacked, there would be a lot more collateral damage.

Freon reject Brazos’ worries with a snort.

「I also understand Brazos’ worries, but they ran away from Rei and Set at once without being able to do anything. I don’t think they have the guts to attack us.」
「I’m worried about the off chance, idiot.」

The careful Brazos and the aggressive Freon. Rei casually looked around as he listened to the two of them.

「……Setting aside them attacking us, there is no doubt they will track us.」

Yes, ever since he had left Pamidor’s smithy, he had felt someone watching him. Although it was quite understandable that they were being watched, he was still confused about where they were watching him from. It was such a situation.

「I would say there is a chance they would try to attack Murt from behind or that the archer will try to shoot him.」
「Gururu~」

At Rei’s words, Set gave a cry as he looked at the surroundings. A roof on the street, the shadow of a building a bit further away behind them

Looking in those directions……no, it was clear who they were. Even if they had the ability to conceal themselves from Rei, as expected, it was impossible to deceive a Griffon, an A rank monster.

「I see, those three aren’t doing what I expected.」
「Guru~?」

Do you want to fight them here? At Set’s puzzled cry, Rei shook his head.

Although there were fewer people that in the daytime, there were still quite a lot. Moreover, there were a lot of drunks. What would happen if they started a fight here, Rei could imagine the results.

「Don’t make a fuss. We’ll rampage about later.」
「Gururu~……」

Set nodded at Rei’s words. Stroking Set’s head, they walked through the streets as they felt the watching eyes on them. Eventually, the familiar Dusk Wheat Inn became visible.

 

 

「Hou~, here is……」
「It certainly is a big inn. It’s at a level where we wouldn’t be able to afford it.」
「Is that so? It’s not that expensive. But it saves Set a lot of trouble.」
「Guru~」

Brazos and Freon cooperated to carry the unconscious Murt off Set’s back.

「You can only say that because you have the money to afford it.」
「No, although I certainly can afford it, the reason I chose this place is mostly due to unavoidable circumstances」
「Unavoidable Circumstances?」
「Ah. There was an issue over stables for Set, this was the only place that could accept him.」
「……I see.」

Freon was convinced. Accompanying them, Brazos’ eyes shined as he smelled the scent of alcohol coming from the inn.

「Oh, Rei-san. Welcome back……well, there’s quite a few of you. And who is that person?」

Lana, the proprietress of the Dusk Wheat, greeted them. She then saw them carrying Murt and asked.

「He’s an acquaintance, but he’s a bit drunk. I plan to bring him to my room. More importantly is food……」

Saying that, he turned to look at the dining area. As expected it was full up. Most of the seats were filled with guests who were staying overnight or had come simply for the food, there was no place for Rei to sit.

Lana understood that as well. She bowed her plump face apologetically.

「Sorry, as you can see, right now is a bit……」
「I see, in that case, could you bring something up to my room? I’ll also ask for some for the others.」
「Wait a moment Rei! You ate so much before heading to the guild and you want to eat more!? I mean, how does it all fit into your stomach!?」

Towards Rei, who just calmly ordered a meal, Freon had a startled expression. He had eaten a lot of skewers, sandwiches and freshly baked bread from the stalls on the way to the guild and yet he could still eat.

But Rei nodded as if there was nothing wrong with that.

「To begin with, my energy efficiency is poor. Even if I eat a lot, I won’t get fat.」
「……You, you’re turning all the women in the world into your enemy.」

As Freon looked at Rei reproachfully, Rei ignored here and spoke to Lana again.

「Ah, I would also like a meal for Set.」
「I understand. Please 」

Hearing a voice call for her from the dining area, Lana gave a slight bow before heading over there.

Seeing her leave, they went up the stairs to Rei’s room for now……

「I would also be happy if you could bring some alcohol if possible.」

From behind, Brazos’ voice could be heard. Rei and Freon glanced at each other for a moment before pretending they hadn’t heard anything.

「Rei’s room is here……what, there’s almost nothing, hey.」

Because Murt was being carried by the others, Freon opened the door instead, giving an unexpected cry as she looked inside Rei’s room.

「There’s a bed, desk and chairs.」

As Rei had said, the room had all the items of an ordinary inn room. However, it still had『Nothing』to Freon……

「Your personal items, your own property! Isn’t it normal for people to keep their own things in their room!? Spare weapons, supplies, books, a change of clothes!」

Yes. As Freon had pointed out, there was nothing that could be considered personal items in Rei’s room. But that was natural.

「Ah, about that. I keep them all in my item box so there are no problems there.」
「……Oh, that’s right. You have an item box. So you just keep everything in there.」

Freon muttered that as Rei walked past to place Murt on the bed.

After that, they each sat down on the floor or on a chair before taking a deep breath.

「If you think about it, hurrying back from the mountain with the Harpies, returning to Gilm and going straight to the Margrave’s residence. After that we went to the guild, then to Pamidor’s smithy. Then this guy brought this uproar to us…… Somehow, I feel like a lot of things happened today.」
「Hahaha. Well, it’s no wonder that Freon is tired. Still, I feel the same.」
「You have the same feeling as well?」

Freon asked at Brazos’ words as they both sat on the floor.

「Mm. I feel that a lot of noisy things happened today, but you could say that it was just a fulfilling day. If you think about it like that, it’s not that bad after all.」
「Is that so.」

As Freon gave a sigh, there was a knock on the door and Rei reflexively reached for his weapon.

「Who is it?」

In response to Rei’s question, a person whom they had just talked to on the floor below a few minutes earlier replied.

「It’s Lana, I’ve brought your meal.」
「I see, sorry about this.」

Rei opened the door, keeping his knife at his waist as a precaution. Lana was waiting outside with a large tray. Aside from the food on the tray, there was also a bottle of wine.

「Is this good enough?」
「Ahh, thank you very much. The price?」
「If you exclude Rei’s portion, one silver coin is enough.」

The price of the food was reasonable and not too high, considering the amount of food and wine for the other three. Judging that, he paid her a silver coin.

(However, I’ll collect it back from Murt later.)

Thinking to himself, he saw Lana off.

「……Food……」

As the smell of cooked food began to drift into the room, Murt, who had been sleeping like a child, woke up and looked around the room as if waiting for that.

「Getting up at the smell of food……no, well, sure it smells nice but really.」

Freon looked at Murt in honest amazement as Rei walked over to him, agreeing in his heart as well.

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