A high pitched voice called out to Rei from behind him.

Turning around, there was a man wearing green and blue armour, just as Rei had expected.

It wasn’t just any of the men, but the leader who had been extorting money from the carriage drivers.

「……Do you need something from me?」

Set also turned around to look at the man.

Seeing Set’s face up close seemed to make the man stiffen up for a moment, but he seemed relieved that nothing had happened after as he looked at Rei with a smile on his lips.

It was a vulgar smile. With such a smile on his face, the man unsheathed his long sword and pointed it at Rei.

「I’ve never heard of anyone with a tamed Griffon. No, I heard there was an adventurer named Crimson in the Mireana Kingdom with one, but I’ve been told he’s quite a giant. Are you his disciple or something?」

Hearing the man’s words, Rei couldn’t help but wonder what kind of rumors about him were circulating about in the Bestir Empire.

With such rumors, no one would probably believe Rei even if he told them he was Crimson.

It might be a different story if Daska was also present, but if that were the case, various other issues would probably crop up.

And, most of all, Daska had told Rei to show off a bit, so he didn’t really have too many options.

「I’m not Crimson’s disciple. More importantly, why are you blocking the road? And why are you taking money from the travelers.」

Hearing Rei’s words, the man’s cheeks twitched nervously.

However, maybe because Rei had taken off the hood of his Dragon Robe, Rei currently looked nothing more than a kid.

Thinking that it would be immature to get angry at a kid, the man spreads his arms out exaggeratedly as he spoke in a theatrical tone.

「Listen, we’re protecting the safety of this highway. In other words, those who pass through here owe us a debt. We’re just asking everyone to pay back that debt in a small way.」

「……Heh.」

Rei wanted to get into the details, but decided that he should hear the rest of the man’s story first and urged him to continue.

「Hmph, I’m glad you understand. Now then, of course, you’ll need to show your gratitude as well. ……I think I should take a look at the Griffon you’re riding on and the shoes you’re wearing. If you have any money with you, leave that behind. ……Take off your cloak for a moment as well.」

The man thought that the reason why Rei hadn’t replied was because Rei was scared of him, but in reality, he had just signed his own death warrant.

「For a sleep talker, you really do sound like a bandit. No, in your case, your sleep taking is rather annoying, so you should just shut up instead. Cover your eyes, nose, and mouth before burying yourself in the ground.」

「……」

Rei’s words threw the man into confusion for a moment, unable to understand what Rei had just said.

However, when the people around him burst into laughter, he finally realised he was being mocked. Taking aim, he swung his sword.

Screams echoed out from several people who saw the situation.

The man had wanted to smash Rei’s head, but as Rei was still riding on Set, he could only target Rei’s leg. The man was filled with thoughts of slicing off Rei’s leg, but……

「Trash.」

Instantly taking out the Death Scythe from the Misty Ring, Rei blocked the man’s attack.

Kiiin-, the sound of metal scraping together.

The sound was heard as Rei caught the man’s attack before making the blade slide down the shaft.

And, as the blade move down the shaft, Rei twisted his wrist.

「GYAAAAH-!」

A scream came out from the man’s mouth, accompanied by an unpleasant cracking sound.

Originally, his long sword should have been thrown into the air.

However, the man hadn’t let go of his sword……or rather, he couldn’t let go, resulting in his wrist bone breaking.

If his skill with the sword had been a bit weaker or stronger, he might have let go when his sword was caught.

However, the skill level of the man was something in between and he crouched on the ground as he held his shattered wrist.

Yes. The moment his blade was caught, he realised that his weapon would be stolen away.

But, maybe because he was afraid of the people watching him, because he didn’t want to risk losing his weapon against Rei, or because he was stubborn, the man had tried to swing his sword away taking a firmer grip to prevent it from flying away.

If Rei’s physical strength and the Death Scythe’s weight matched Rei’s appearance, the man might have succeeded.

With weapon in hand he would have said『What, what did you think you could do?』.

However, as a result of neither of those requirements being true, the man’s wrist had ended up being in a state best described as shattered rather than broken.

「Gahh……you, do you think you can get away doing this to me!」

Despite the injury to his wrist, only his first words held groans of pain. This was proof that the man in front of Rei had a higher level of skill than the average knight or warrior.

(That said, combat power and humanity are two different things.)

Rei let out a small sigh in his mind as he lightly swung the Death Scythe and pointed it at the man.

「Let me ask. Is this your own decision to extort money from passersby? Or is it under someone’s orders?」

「S-Shut up! Didn’t you hear what I said! Don’t think you’ll get away with doing this to me!」

「I know there’s someone backing you. I’m just asking if you know who it is. I’m not from the Bestir Empire, so your backing means nothing to me.」

The man who had been glaring at Rei as he shouted froze.

Rei glanced at him before looking at his subordinates……they were all glaring at Rei with steely expressions, ready to attack at any moment with sword and spears in hand as Rei spoke.

「So, since you want to attack me, of course, that means that you don’t mind me attacking back, right?」

Hearing those words, the man’s subordinates instantly dissipated the anger they had held a moment ago as they all hesitated, feeling like ice had been put on their back.

Up until now, no one had ever said anything like that to them. And, above all, Rei’s eyes as he looked at them seemed like he was looking at stones and weeds rather than people.

Normally, this would only cause them to get angry. They all had a certain level of skill and they also all had a lot of pride.

However, seeing their captain, the most skilled among them, handled so easily, didn’t that mean that they would be immediately cut down if they attacked Rei?

Thinking that, one of the men turned to look at Rei’s weapon.

A huge scythe over 2m in length. Seeing that, the man then turned his attention to the Griffon Rei was been riding on.

After a few seconds, the man’s legs started shaking as he dropped his sword.

His body trembled as he teeth chattered.

Rei just glanced at the man before looking back at the leader with disinterest, who was still crouching as he clenched his shattered wrist.

A young man in his early twenties, who was standing next to the trembling man, suddenly jumped out with a loud cry.

「UAAAAAAAAAH-!」

It was a roar……no, a scream of desperation.

With that scream, as if to drown out his own fear, the man thrust his spear towards Rei, who was still looking down at their leader.

The speed at which the spear shot out was proof that the man wasn’t incompetent.

But even so……the tip of the man’s spear was easily repelled by Rei’s Death Scythe.

「Guh-!」

Rei swung the Death Scythe without even looking at the man, only relying on the sound of the heavy and powerful spear thrust.

Rei’s attack was so powerful that the thought of blocking it never crossed the young man’s mind.

The next moment, the spear in the man’s hand was thrown 10m away, the shaft greatly bent and the tip stuck in the ground.

Not just the tip, even part of the spear shaft was pierced into the ground, proving just how powerful Rei’s strike had been……

「Gufoh-!」

Set kicked out with his hind legs, taking advantage of the moment as the man turned his attention to his spear.

The only good thing to come of this for the young man was that Set’s hind legs were those of a lion.

If it had been eagle claws like his front legs, the man would have definitely died on the spot.

That said, just because Set’s hind legs were those of a lion didn’t mean they were any weaker and, thought the man was wearing armour, almost all of his ribs were broken……no, pulverised.

The impact must have hurt his internal organs and he continued to cough and blood flowed out his mouth while unconscious.

「……Y-You-! Do you know what you’re doing! We are people who are under the protection of the Second Prince!」

The commander’s unintentional shout caused the surrounding onlookers to break into noisy discussion.

The Second Prince. The weight of that name was large and heavy with the Bestir Empire.

……Yes. Only within the Bestir Empire.

「So what? You’re the ones blocking the highway and extorting money from people in the first place. And, saying that you’re backed by the Second Prince……that’s a lie.」

Rei looked at the somewhat frightened leader.

If the person extorting innocents was really a subordinate of the Second Prince, the prince’s position would worsen in many ways. Moreover, he had picked a fight with Rei, Margrave Rowlock’s escort, who had been invited by the Bestir Empire. In addition, he had not only tried to steal Rei’s money but also the magic items he had been wearing.

If this situation were to be reported, it would undoubtedly be a big loss for the Second Prince. No, in fact, it would be fortunate for him if it only stopped there, current events had the potential to develop into international issues.

(Yes. That was if these guys really belonged to the Second Prince……but.)

Rei thought to himself as he stared at the leader, making sure he wouldn’t try anything strange.

They definitely had some backing, since they were conducting something like this on such a large scale. However, whether their backing was really the Second Prince was a suspicious point.

It made more sense to think that they were doing this to deliberately cause trouble for the Second Prince.

(If that’s the case, then there’s definitely someone else backing these guys. Is it someone else who has the right to succeed the throne? Or is it simply someone with a grudge against the Second Prince? If it’s the former, that limits the options, if it’s the latter, it’s basically impossible for me to identify.)

The First Prince and First Princess were the ones fighting against the Second Prince for the throne. Of course, for a country as large as the Bestir Empire, there were probably others who held the right to the throne, but as far as Rei knew……those two were the most likely candidates according to the information given by Vihera and Theorem.

「Anyway, I came here on the invitation of the Bestir Empire. Since you tried to extort me, I look forward to seeing out the Empire will deal with you later.」

「D-Don’t kid around!」

Rei let out a small sight before speaking to the leader holding his wrist.

「Crimson.」

「……What?」

「The Crimson you were talking about. Tell me his characteristics.」

「T-That’s……he rides a Griffon and carries a scythe taller than him.」

After saying that, he turned to look at the Death Scythe Rei was holding.

He seemed to have realised. That the person in front of him was the person he had been talking about earlier.

「I-……Impossible, Crimson should be taller than me!」

「I don’t know where you heard that from, but the fact is, I’m actually right in front of you……now then.」

Saying that, Rei swung the Death Scythe from Set’s back as he held the blade against the leader’s neck.

「I need you to tell me about a few things.」

Rei spoke with a smile on his lips.

「Why don’t we stop here?」

A voice suddenly spoke out.

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