Cyanus Curtis. She was Theorem’s lieutenant and reliable right hand.

Surprised by her sudden appearance, Theorem’s voice rang out.

「Ah, so it was Theorem-sama after all. I thought it might be you when I saw the carriages from further way.」

Cyanus responded without showing any surprise.

Seeing Cyanus like that, Rei and the others’ tensions eased a little.

Judging from how the Cyanus and Theorem were talking, it didn’t seem like they were enemies.

Even so, with their role as escorts, they didn’t let their guard down.

「Theorem-sama, our plans……」

It seems like there have been some changes. That was what Cyanus seemed to want to say, but she was at a loss for words when Rei and Set showed up from the shadow of the carriages, along with Theorem and Vihera.

It was a matter of course. The person in front of her was an adventurer riding a Griffon and she only knew one such person.

It was the man who had caused the defeat of the Bestir Empire’s army in the Spring War half a year ago.

Even so, Cyanus’ calmness was evident when her surprised expression disappeared after a few seconds.

Her gaze shifted to the side and, when Theorem revealed Vihera, Cyanus immediately knelt down.

「This, Your Highness. It’s been a long time. I’m glad to see you looking as beautiful as ever.」

「Cyanus. I hope you’ve been well too?」

「Of course. I wouldn’t do anything to forget the debt of gratitude I owe Your Highness for saving me in the past……」

「You don’t have to worry about it.」

Vihera gave a sigh from her horse.

However, she eventually regained her composure as she continued to speak.

「That aside, stand back up. You can’t stay like that forever.」

「……I’m sorry. So, Your Highness.」

「Hey, stop with that, I’ve already run away, so stop with the ‘Your Highness’」

「But, as long as you’re part of the royal family……」

Cyanus gave a dissatisfied expression at Vihera’s words.

Vihera realised that it would be a waste of time trying to dissuade her like this and changed her approach.

「Are you sure? We’ll be working in the Empire to help that kid, you know? If anyone hears you call me ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Second Princess’ in such a situation, it will only draw unwanted attention, don’t you think?」

「That is……you’re not wrong. Then, what should I call you?」

「Vihera is fine. Right now, I’m not the Second Princess, but the adventurer, Vihera.」

Cyanus frowned a little at the name Vihera asked to be called by, but probably understood that it couldn’t be helped. Nodding reluctantly, she spoke up.

「Then, Vihera-sama.」

「Well, that will do for now. So, why are you, Theorem’s lieutenant, doing on the Selemus Plains? Even if you were coming to receive us, it’s not convenient to meet here, right?.」

「Of course, it was to receive you. It had passed the time Theorem said he would return by, so I came out to see what the situation was.」

「……I see.」

Vihera showed a satisfied expression at Cyanus’ words.

Nearby, Rei similarly reached an understanding.

Originally, their plan had been to leave Goto immediately after Rei met back up with Vihera and Theorem. However, as a result of discussions in Gilm, and Daska’s involvement, they ended waiting for the carriages after arriving at Goto.

As a result, after Vihera and Theorem joined up with Rei, they had stayed in Goto for a while and were unable to convey the change in plans back to the Bestir Empire, resulting in the current situation.

(Even so, without a means of communication like the paired orbs, they could only roughly guess the time at which Vihera would return. ……No, did she come out to receive us because we didn’t arrive at the expected time?)

Rei’s inner question must have been the same for everyone else. Theorem, who had been listening in to the conversation between Vihera and Cyanus, spoke up.

「What else has happened?」

「……」

Hearing Theorem’s question, Cyanus glanced over towards the carriages, the escorting knights and, above all, Rei, who was riding on Set.

Seeing Cyanus’ actions, Theorem seemed to understand what she was wary of. He nodded slightly without any change in his expression.

「There’s no issue. These people are subordinates of Margrave Rowlocks. Margrave Rowlocks will also be cooperating with us on this matter.」

「Are you sure?」

Her question held a number of meanings.

Is it okay to accept help from another country’s noble, matters regarding grudges from the war, and the numerous other disturbances which were expected to occur within the Bestir Empire in relation to these matters.

However, Theorem nodded to say it wasn’t an issue……and turned his gaze to one of the carriages.

Then, as if waiting for that, the door of the carriage opened and Elk appeared.

「Axe of the Thunder God!?」

This must have been unexpected, even for Cyanus. Her normally calm expression fell apart as her face opened wide in surprise.

The next person to step out after him was Daska, Margrave Rowlocks, whom Theorem had just mentioned.

「Theorem-sama……?」

Cyanus asked for explanation, but Daska, the person in question, spoke up before she could finish.

「It’s fine to explain while moving. Right now, we need to make some distance. We’ll take care of the horses, so Vihera-dono and you two can discuss in the carriage.」

His words were certainly true and Cyanus, who had come all this way to pick up Theorem and Vihera, could only agree.

「Understood, we’ll turn back here.」

After saying that, she gave a signal to her carriage driver, who immediately turned the carriage around.

Daska’s carriage driver secretly admired the other carriage driver’s skill.

Their skill was quite considerable.

The driver of Cyanus’ carriage seemed to have similar thoughts. He exchanged glances with the driver of Daska’s carriage as they admired each other’s skill.

As the drivers had their silent exchange, Vihera and Theorem entrusted their horses to Daska’s knights before boarding Cyanus’ carriage.

After seeing that, Daska gave the order to start moving again as they headed for the Bestir Empire.

 

 

With that, Daska’s group added another carriage. Inside the new carriage, Cyanus and Theorem immediately started exchanging information with each other.

「First of all, Theorem-sama, it seems you’ve returned safely.」

「That’s right, I’m glad to return safely.」

In Theorem’s mind, as he spoke earnestly, he recalled the battle with Elk that had taken place in the middle of the night.

Even though it was the result of his own plotting, he hadn’t expected to turn such a man into an enemy he had to fight head on.

He had somehow managed to hold onto his life in that battle, but he didn’t have the confidence to do it again if he had to. It was a fight that was on a tightrope.

Although she probably didn’t understand Theorem’s feelings, Cyanus asked the question she was most concerned about.

「Theorem-sama, how did you win Crimson over to our side? Honestly, I can only think of the devastating damage Crimson had dealt to the Bestir Empire during the Spring War……」

Only half a year had passed since the last war. Many soldiers, knights, and mercenaries who had fought in the war had seen the fire whirl that Rei had created, which could only be thought of as a natural disaster, had been plagued by nightmares of it since.

She couldn’t believe that someone who had caused them so much damage would lend them a hand.

In response to such a question, Theorem turned to Vihera, who was sitting next to him, with a bitter smile on his face.

「About that, please ask Vihera-sama rather than me. When I went to Exil, based on the information I had on Vihera-sama, she was already with Rei.」

「Vihera-sama?」

Theorem’s response was unexpected to Cyanus. Her eyes were wides as she asked Vihera silently, who, albeit only slightly, responded with a small smile.

Even Cyanus, who had little interest in emotional things, could understand what her smile and blushed cheeks meant.

(Well, that’s awkward……)

Cyanus thought to herself.

Rei, who had caused their defeat in the Spring War, and Vihera, who was still a very popular person within the Bestir Empire. It was impossible to predict what kind of uproar would occur if rumours about their relationship arose.

She glanced at her leader, Theorem, but he simply shook his head in response.

Theorem himself would have liked Vihera and Rei to dissolve their relationship. That was what he thought, but he also understood that it would be impossible to convince Vihera to do that.

In addition, it wasn’t necessarily a bad situation if they could draw Rei over to the Bestir Empire……or more precisely, the Third Prince’s faction.

Cyanus didn’t fully understand Theorem’s thoughts, but she did understand that he did have his own thoughts on the matter.

However, even she wanted to hear more details from him here, Cyanus knew that he wouldn’t be able to say anything in front of Vihera, so she moved on to the next topic.

「So, what role is Crimson playing?」

「He will be participating in the fighting tournament that Vihera-sama was supposed to participate in.」

「……I see. Crimson is certainly the kind of person that would attract peoples’ attention……especially those who live in the Bestir Empire. The drawback is that it may cause some commotion due to the Spring War, but……that’s not an issue in terms of attracting attention, depending on how you look at it. Then, what about Vihera-sama?」

「Me? I’ll be working with you guys. Right now, you need all the strength you can get, right?」

That was what Vihera said.

Of course, it was true that she wanted to help her younger brother, who was currently under house arrest. However, it was also true that she was excited to fight a powerful enemy.

Cyanus understood that. It was useless to add anything more……and Cyanus judged that there was no need to say anything more either, so she just gave a small nod in response.

「Then, will Crimson be entering the tournament rounds on recommendation from Margrave Rowlocks? Well, even with that, using Crimson’s name should be more than enough to attract the attention of the upper echelons……」

Won’t the impact be a little weak? Cyanus seemed to ask, but Theorem shook his head in denial.

「No, Rei will be competing in the qualifying rounds. He’s been surprisingly cooperative on this matter……though the price is steep in many ways.」

「……What did he ask for?」

Rei was very powerful himself and he also had a Griffon, an A rank monster, with him.

He would also be participating in a fighting tournament being held in the Bestir Empire, where countless people held grudges against him.

There was no need to think about it, there would definitely be troubles.

What compensation did he ask for? At Cyanus’ question, Theorem spoke with a wry smile.

「A magic item worth the price……of the one we want to save.」

「Instead of asking for something, he wants us to choose? And something worth the help of saving His Highness’ life.」

「That’s right. Since he left it to us, he said he wouldn’t complain even if we gave him a cheap potion. ……But, if we did that, it would mean that we judged His Highness’ life to be worth nothing more than a cheap potion.」

If asked whether they could do such a thing, they definitely could. But, in practice, there was no way they could do that.

「……I guess we’ll need to make a list of options.」

「Yeah. I hope so. We’ll need to think about it, but I can’t say for sure what we can do.」

After that, they continued to talk about several other things, the Third Prince’s faction, other powers, and the trends of the nobles who didn’t belong to any faction.

In the middle of their conversation, Cyanus suddenly had a thought.

「If Crimson is participating in the fighting tournament, what will happen to Margrave Rowlocks’ escort?」

From Cyanus’ perspective, she was glad that Margrave Rowlocks……and even Rei, would cooperate with their plan. However, it would be a problem if Margrave Rowlocks was injured……or even killed, leading to an attack by the Mireana Kingdom.

No, she was more afraid that Rei would get angry enough to create another fire whirl like the one he had used in the war in the middle of the Imperial Capital.

Her question came from such thoughts, but her superior just responded with a wry smile.

Next to Theorem, Vihera also smiled.

However, unlike Theorem’s wry smile, her smile held feelings of envy.

「I believe you saw Axe of the Thunder God? They didn’t come to participate in the tournament, they came to guard Margrave Rowlocks. There’s no need to worry about that.」

At those words, Cyanus was stunned.

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