「……That’s the Imperial Capital’s castle.」

It was Rei who said that.

He was surprised when he first entered the Imperial Capital, but now he was even more surprised.

He had been amazed when he saw the streets of the Imperial Capital, both of its size and its crowds.

But, now was different. The seemingly elegant appearance of the castle gave Rei a surprise.

Next to Rei, Daska and Elk also raised their voices in admiration, which could be heard within their carriage.

Yes, Rei usually traveled with Set, but this time, he was heading to the castle, so Set was left back at the Eternal Sky’s stables.

Even Rei could guess that there would be a lot of trouble if he brought a Griffon like Set to the castle, so he had just nodded at Daska’s instructions.

Set himself had wanted to follow Rei, but having already stayed with Rei for the entire journey so far, he eventually accepted staying at the stables, albeit with some dissatisfaction.

Because of that, aside from Daska, Elk’s party, and Rei, only two other knights were heading to the castle.

「Now then. We’re about to enter the castle, please don’t cause any trouble. Especially Rei. It’s true that your goal is to attract the attention of the Bestir Empire’s upper echelons, but if you overdo it, it might cause the opposite effect. The Mireana Kingdom would also prefer it if we didn’t start another war next spring.」

Daska spoke to Rei as he turned his eyes away from the elegant castle.

Rei had no intentions of causing a disturbance within the castle, so he nodded without any complaints.

「Yes, I will be as careful as I can. ……But.」

Rei stopped there. He knew that he was really hated by the Empire’s citizens.

Daska understood that as well without needing Rei to finish.

「Yeah. If you feel you’re in danger, deal with it accordingly. One or two limbs won’t matter, but don’t kill them. We’re in a castle in someone else’s territory……and you’re and adventurer, not even a noble from your country. If you killed one of their nobles, the Bestir Empire will not be able to back down easily due to the loss of face.」

「Understood, I’ll be careful.」

As Rei nodded back, the carriage continued on and was eventually guided into the castle.

After that, the carriage was entrusted to the castle and an elderly man in his 50’s appeared.

It was Ombrel, Daska’s guide.

「Margrave Rowlocks, I am sorry, but the Prime Minister is current unable to leave his current tasks, he requested that you wait a little longer for him……」

「I don’t mind. I’m the one who suddenly rushed over.」

Hearing Daska’s words, Ombrel bowed with a slight look of relief on his face.

「Thank you for your understanding. Now then, let us get right into things.」

With that sigh of relief, Ombrel guided Daska, Elk, Min, Rhodes, Rei, and the two knights inside the castle.

The fact that they hardly saw any Empire nobles along their way was probably a consideration from the Empire.

They probably wanted to avoid angering Rei accidentally, causing him to release a fire whirl inside the castle.

(I guess that shows how much the Spring War chilled the people of the Bestir Empire.)

Contrary to Daska’s inner thoughts, Rei, who was seeing the castle for the first time, looked at his surroundings with great interest.

Expensive looking carpets were laid out and the walls of the corridors were decorated with paintings, flower vases, and knight armours.

As Rei looked around, Rhodes eventually tugged on his robe as he spoke.

「Hey, don’t look around as if you’ve never seen things before. If you do that, even Daska-sama, who was the one to bring you along, will start to think less of you.」

「……You seem quite familiar with this environment.」

Unlike Rei, who was unused to such places, Rhodes seemed the same as usual, even after entering the castle, the true center of the Bestir Empire.

However, Rhodes just shrugged his shoulders and sighed as he faced Rei.

「You’re right. It’s the first time I’ve been to this castle in the Bestir Empire, but I’ve been to the castle in the Mireana Kingdom’s capital several times.」

Rei was surprised for a moment before coming to a realisation.

「What, hitching a ride with Elk?」

「Well, that’s how it is. That said, it’s still true that I have experienced castles like this, even if I was only tagging along with my father.」

Rei’s words held a somewhat provocative meaning, but Rhodes just shrugged it off.

At that moment, as Rei was about to continue talking to Rhodes.

「Hm?」

He suddenly noticed a group of people coming towards them from the other direction.

Looking over, he saw a man in his 50’s walking at the front with 10 or so people behind him.

It would make sense if it were a noble being followed by his retainers. However, he could tell from the clothes that of the people that they were mostly nobles.

No, if that was all it was, the only impression Rei would have felt was that it was a rare sight. However, what caught Rei’s attention was that most of the group were looking at him with hatred.

(What? A group of people who have a grudge against me……have they come to see my face?)

Even as Rei thought about that in his mind, he relaxed his body and prepared himself to react immediately if the nobles wanted to try anything against him.

In addition, he wasn’t the only one to notice. Elk, Min, and Daska realised this as well.

The distance between them gradually narrowed and……before long, they were close enough to touch each other if they reached out their hands. But, in the end, the group of nobles passed Daska’s group without any incident.

Of course, the strong hateful gazes directed towards Rei didn’t stop, but the nobles still left them alone without doing or saying anything.

「Nothing happened.」

Everyone except Ombrel nodded at Elk’s murmurs.

Ombrel, who was the only exception, bowed as he apologised to Daska……or more precisely, Rei.

「I am really sorry, so……no matter what……」

「No, I understand. I came to the Bestir Empire knowing htis. Please don’t worry about it too much.」

「Thank you for your understanding.」

Hearing Rei’s words, Ombrel resumed his duties as a guide with a small smile.

「……」

Seeing Rei’s response, Rhodes looked somewhat shocked.

「What?」

At Rei’s quizzical question, Rhodes replied with genuine surprise.

「No. Because this had to do with you, I thought you were going to pick a fight with those nobles.」

「You……who the hell do you think I am? Do you think I like to pick fights regardless of where I am?」

「……」

Rhodes averted his eyes silently.

Seeing his response, it was clear what kind of thoughts Rhodes had regarding Rei.

Rei seemed to realise that as he spoke while staring at Rhodes.

「Alright, since I’m someone who doesn’t think before doing things, I guess it won’t be a problem for our morning training to be a bit more rigorous.」

「Wait a minute!」

Rhodes couldn’t help shouting out, but Rei just smiled back as he shrugged his shoulders.

「What, I’m someone who acts without thinking after all. There’s no point then in not training the same way, right?」

「No, no, no, those are two completely different things.」

Rhodes was quite insistent.

Even now, his training was quite strict. What would happen now if his training became even stricter?

If things didn’t go well, would his body reach its limit before the tournament even began?

Rhodes tried to ignore such thoughts with all his might as he felt a cold chill down his spine and deliberately spoke up loudly.

「Daska-sama, let’s head to the waiting room. I’m a little thirsty, so I’d like something to drink.」

「No, aren’t you just nervous about what Rei said?」

Daska replied with disbelief. But, he agreed that staying he would be nothing but a waste of time as he turned his gaze to Ombrel.

That alone was enough to convey his intentions. Ombrel, who had been watching their exchange with interest, immediately continued to guide them.

After walking for a bit longer, they arrived at their desired room. Ombrel gave a deep bow from in front of the door.

「Daska-sama, everyone else. Please wait just a bit longer in this room. We will let you know as soon as everything is ready. There is a maid in the room, so if you have any questions, just let her know. ……And, I’m very sorry for earlier.」

Daska shook his head to say that it wasn’t Ombrel’s problem, who was apologising for the earlier attitude of Count Schwindel and his group of nobles.

「We were at war with each other. It’s only natural that there will be such things to consider. I don’t really care, nor does Rei. Besides, it wasn’t your fault in the first place, so there’s no need for you to apologise.」

「……Thank you for your understanding.」

Rei had been about to add some additional words to Daska’s thoughts, but seeing Ombrel’s attitude, he let out a small sigh as he swallowed his dissatisfaction.

Leaving Ombrel at the door, Daska’s group entered the room.

 

 

「He……he’s Crimson, huh.」

Count Schwindel murmured as he walked through the hallway away from Rei and the others.

However, while there was naturally anger in his tone……there was also a strong sense of confusion.

Crimson was a hated enemy who had killed his own daughter’s fiancee.

He had wondered what he would look like, but Crimson had turned out to be someone with a small build and a well developed, but rather feminine, face.

He didn’t seem to hold any of the power that they had been told.

Count Schwindel held those thoughts for a moment before immediately shaking his head.

As if he were shaking off the stupid thoughts that pass through his mind.

(Because of him, Weir……that girl locked herself in her room in grief. Yes, all because of him!)

As he thought of his crying daughter, anger welled up in Count Schwindel’s heart again.

It was the same for the surrounding nobles.

Although they didn’t think that Rei had the mighty power they had heard of from his appearance, it was still true that Rei had killed their family, friends, or lovers.

However, unlike those who just thought that way, there were also those who thought they could use this situation to obtain more power.

「However……honestly, it’s extremely dangerous for a child like that to have such strong power. i think it would be beneficial for us if the owner of such strength were to be managed by our empire. If we can pull him over somehow while he’s here……」

「Don’t be stupid! Are you telling use to bring in a monster like Crimson!? The Empire will be devoured from the inside!」

「That’s right! He might look harmless. But, remember what he did!」

「However, if we take hostile action against them without reason……won’t that just increase the damage we take?」

「Did the winds of cowardice blow your way!?」

As they argued like that, Count Schwindel spoke up.

「Be quite and know where you are. This is inside the castle. What are you doing to do if other people overhear your careless words?」

They hadn’t been yelling or shouting.

However, at Count Schwindel’s words, they all fell silent.

Just from this alone, you could tell how much presence Count Schwindel held among the nobles. And, above all, the difference in aristocratic ranks was clearly displayed here.

「We don’t want the other nobles to know we have our own thoughts against Crimson and Margrave Rowlocks. If we do, they might find out that we’re targeting them. ……Listen up, please refrain from any indiscretion.」

『……』

There were some who objected to Count Schwindel’s words.

But they didn’t dare to voice their thoughts and remained silent.

They might all have their own feelings regarding Rei, but they were only willing to act because of the likeminded people with them.

If they were asked to do it themselves, they would have never been able to do it.

「……Let’s go. Anyway, we were able to confirm the face of our enemy with our own eyes. Then, the next thing we should do is to gather as much information about them as possible. Considering the reputation of Requiem’s Toll, it’s unlikely they will fail, but we should be prepared just in case.」

Yes, if it came down to it, he would even use his own knights to attack them.

Without revealing his inner thoughts, Count Schwindel proceeded down the hallway with such determination.

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