Sensing the mastermind behind the attack, Rei and Set had headed to their location, but by the time they arrived, there was already no one there.

After checking the surrounding area, Rei and Set ended up returning to the inn because they couldn’t find any clues……

「Rei, any clues……doesn’t seem like you found any.」

「Yeah. I found where they had been just a bit earlier, but I was too late.」

Rei shrugged his shoulders as he replied to Rhodes, who had been waiting outside the inn.

Rhodes wanted to say something in response but immediately shook his head.

He was already amazed that Rei had managed to sense someone he would have never found himself, so he didn’t have to right to give any complaints.

「Daska-sama is waiting. Also, please talk with the guards. Flying around on Set within the city is technically prohibited.」

「Gurururu~」

Set gave Rhodes a displeased look but obediently returned to the stables after Rei stroked his neck.

Rei himself was about to leave and enter the inn himself when……

「UW-UWAAAAAAH-!」

He heard such voices from the stables.

「Did something happen!?」

Rei shouted out as he ran towards the stables, but all he saw after getting there was a guard who had fallen over with Set looking at him in confusion.

Seeing that, Rei understood what had happened immediately.

It was true that he often parted ways with Set like this at the Dusk Wheat in Gilm or the Golden Wind in Exil, but here, many people were seeing Set for the first time.

Seeing an A rank monster like a Griffon appearing from the shadows was enough to make one scream.

Giving a sigh after realising he had completely forgotten about such situations, he called out to the guard on the ground.

「I’m sorry if I scared you, my bad. But, Set isn’t the kind to go around hurting people, so you don’t need to be afraid of him……but that’s probably not possible. Well, you don’t need to worry about him anyhow.」

Crimson had taken so many lives of the Bestir Empire’s army in the Spring War after all. Rei told the guard not to be scared and considering offering a hand for a moment, but soon realised that there was no way that would actually work in this situation.

If he was afraid of Set, he would probably also be afraid of his partner, Crimson.

The guard might not have fully comprehended what was going on, but he nodded slightly as he managed to stand up.

「N-No. I’m sorry for screaming.」

There were several other guards nearby, but each of them looked at Rei and Set with somewhat unsettled expressions.

They might know more about the situation now, but they still couldn’t help avoiding Rei and Set due to past events.

It seemed like Set sensed the atmosphere around him as well and gave a disappointed cry before returning to the stables.

The guards must have had their own thoughts about Set’s actions. They each had complicated expressions on their faces as they tied up the unconscious intruders.

Maybe it was because of their experience working as guards that they were so good at it.

「……Rei, let’s go.」

Rei felt a light hand on his shoulder as he watched.

Turning around, Rei saw Rhodes.

He must have followed after Rei when he heard the scream.

「You’re right. Then, I’ll leave them to you. There are several more people inside the inn, but they seemed to have dulled senses of pain, so you should be careful about them.」

「Y-Yeah. T-Thank you for the information.」

Rei waved lightly towards the guard who replied before returning to the inn with Rhodes.

「Don’t worry about it too much.」

Along the way, Rhodes suddenly turned to Rei and spoke.

For a moment, Rei didn’t understand what he meant, but soon realised he was referring to the guard’s earlier attitude.

To think that Rhodes would be the one offering him words of comfort……his thoughts seemed to reflect on his face as Rhodes got into a bad mood while looking at him.

「Hmph, well, in your case, I don’t think you would care much for their attitude. I was an idiot for trying to encourage you.」

Saying that, he left Rei behind as he quickly went ahead.

Rei immediately followed after him and tapped Rhodes on the shoulder in gratitude.

「Look, I’m sorry. I was just a little surprised.」

「……Hmph.」

At Rei’s words, Rhodes’ mood softened somewhat.

Not missing the opportunity, Rei continued.

「Hey, I have to go to Daska-sama to report what happened. You too, right?」

「I know!」

Showing some reluctance on his face, Rhodes still entered the inn alongside Rei.

To an outsider looking at them, they might have thought them to be friends who couldn’t be honest with each other.

Although Set would never accept Rei and Rhodes being friends.

 

 

「I see. Even though their sense of pain was dulled, their fighting strength remained high.」

Daska muttered after hearing Rei and Rhodes’ report.

He had already received reports from his knights, but hearing additional reports from an adventurers’ point of view was also useful in various aspects.

「Right. They seemed like they had been brainwashed……or rather, their emotions had been greatly amplified. In particular, their hatred towards me was quite strong. With regards to that, I broke all their limbs to catch them alive, so if we can get some information from them……」

We might be able to trace the mastermind behind them.

Rei was about to say that when he saw Daska shake his head without any expression while Elk looked bitter. Min was frowning slightly and the knights in the room all had similar expressions.

「Daska-sama?」

Rhodes must have noticed something was off as well as he spoke up.

In response to Rei and Rhodes’ confusion, it was Elk who replied.

「A little while before you guys got here, there was a report. Those intruders you caught in the dining area have not regained consciousness. There was nothing we could do.」

「I see. To stop information leaks……or is it simply an adverse side effect of their strengthening? If possible, I would hope it’s the latter.」

If it was to prevent information leaks, the goal would be prevent the people from ever waking up from their coma. But, if it was just a side effect of their brainwashing, some sort of trigger might be able to wake them up.

Rei thought over that in his mind, but immediately shook his head.

Regardless of the reason, he didn’t think the mastermind behind the incident wouldn’t have taken that into account.

「Yeah. Well, at the very least, we won’t learn anything by the time we leave tomorrow.」

Elk spoke as he gave a sigh and scratched his head.

Glancing over at Elk, Daska asked Rei another question.

「So, what do you think was their purpose in this incident.」

「It was probably to gauge our strength. Unfortuntely, the ones who set this up got away.」

He had already reported that he and Set had been close to catching the masterminds.

Daska himself would have liked to deal with their opponent here if possible.

However, he also understood the difficulty in doing so.

If the purpose of the attack had been to investigate their strength, the masterminds would have made preparations to escape immediately if anything happened.

That was why they had managed to get away from Rei and Set in time.

「We’ve been targeted by a troublesome opponent.」

Daska’s murmurs undoubtedly showed his true feelings.

「Daska-sama, we don’t know who is after us, but we’ve done more than enough to draw the attention of the Bestir Empire to us, haven’t we?」

「Well, that’s certainly true, Min. Someone the Empire invited was attacked at night. The magistrate of this city and the lord will definitely receive some sort of punishment.」

Agreeing with Min……or rather comforting Daska, Elk nodded as he gave his honest thoughts.

That seemed to make Daska feel better. He let go of his strength as he put his body weight back against the sofa he was sitting in.

「You’re right, we’re certainly fulfilling our role in terms of attracting attention, aren’t we? Rather than participating in the tournament, I feel like Rei will be able to play his role if we just continue our journey as is.」

「That is a bit……if it’s just the competition, only Rei will have to suffer, but if we continue to travel together, the rest of us will also have to suffer.」

「Wait, doesn’t that mean it’s okay for me to be the only one to suffer?」

Rei, who had been listening to what Rhodes had to say, couldn’t help but interject.

However, Rhodes nodded back without hesitation.

「Of course. With how extraordinary you are, you might as well fight in the arena. That way, we can take advantage of the attention and reduce the burden on our side. 」

Although he said that, internally, Rhodes had mixed feelings.

Rei would definitely be able to draw the Empire’s attention if he did things as planned.

However, if Rei did that, he wouldn’t he garner more attention from Vihera?

In that case, wouldn’t it be better to participate in the tournament himself? That was what Rhodes suddenly thought of……and it didn’t seem like that bad of an idea.

He certainly wasn’t as well known as Rei.

However, he was still a member of an A rank party and, at the same time, he was a considerably skilled adventurer, having reached C rank at his age.

And, most of all, maybe……just maybe, Vihera might start to look at him.

When they had met for the first time in Goto, he had been so attracted to Vihera that he wondered if she had used some sort of enchantment magic.

Of course, Rhodes himself had come into contact with beautiful women in his own way. As someone in an A rank party, it was only natural.

Gilm’s guild master, Elena, the General Princess, and above all, his mother, Min.

Even so, it was the first time he had felt so attracted towards someone.

However, even with his limited romantic experience, Rhodes could tell that Vihera was clearly attracted to Rei and that Rei showed no signs of refusing her.

(If I do well in the fighting tournament……maybe she will look at me. Then……)

Rhodes thought to himself as he spoke to Daska.

「Daska-sama, the fighting tournament……I, no, do you mind if I participate as well?」

「What?」

What are you saying? Daska looked at Rhodes with such an expression while Elk and Min, who were his parents, both held expressions of ‘I thought this might happen’.

However, Elk’s expression was closer to a smirk while Min seemed unimpressed.

「If we just want to attract the Bestir Empire’s attention, Rei is enough. However, just to be safe, I thought it would attract more attention if I, a member of Axe of the Thunder God, also participated in the event. Besides, my dad and mum will still be here as escorts.」

Hearing Rhodes’ words, Daska thought for a few seconds before nodding.

「The aim of the Third Prince’s faction is to rescue their lord. In that case, it certainly would be better to have as many people drawing attention as possible.」

Seeing Daska agree with his points, Rhodes gave a sigh of relief.

「However, if we want to draw the Bestir Empire’s attention, then losing in the preliminary rounds would make things pointless. You do understand that, right?」

「Of course. We’ll win the preliminary rounds and make it to the main tournament without any problems.」

To Daska, Rhodes’ proposal had its pros and cons.

It was true that they would be able to draw a lot of attention from the Empire and also demonstrate the Mireana Kingdom’s quality of adventurers. At the same time, as the employer of those adventurers, Daska’s standing would rise as well.

It would also be convinient if Rhodes could demonstrate his own strength as opposed to being grouped under the Axe of the Thunder God party.

However……that was all under the assumption that he could make it to the final rounds.

If he lost in the qualifying rounds, all previous evaluations would only get worse.

「……Elk.」

「I don’t know if he will make it to the final rounds, but I can guarantee he has the ability to do so.」

Hearing Elk’s response to his brief question, he thought about it for several seconds……before nodding and speaking.

「Okay then, I’ll let Rhodes participate in the tournament.」

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