He would head for the territory of Count Obrisin, the base of the Third Prince’s faction. Having made this decision, Rei acted quickly.

After leaving Daska’s room, he exchanged a quick greeting with the knights standing guard outside before returning to his own room and quickly packing his belongings.

That said, there was hardly anything in his room that he needed to pack.

Rei had stored almost all of his necessary luggage into the Misty Ring. Glancing around the room quickly, he stored a bag of dried meat, that had been lying on the table, into the Misty Rig before leaving the room.

「Thank you for taking care of me for this short time.」

Saying a brief farewell to the now empty room, he put on his Dragon Robe and went down to the first floor.

During this time, he could hear a commotion coming from the dining room, but he ignored it as he left the in.

Perhaps sensing something from Rei, the people standing around the entrance saw him off in silence.

Rei went over to the stables, where his partner, Set, was.

Even in the stables, the horses seemed restless, perhaps sensing the commotion coming from the inn.

「Do they know their masters are being noisy?」

Taking a look at the horses, Rei head over to Set’s spot.

「Guru~?」

Set woke up from this sleep as soon as he saw Rei and tilting his head towards Rei with round eyes as if asking what was wrong.

「Sorry to be so sudden, but I’m leaving the inn. I’ll going to join Vihera and the others. Will you come with me?」

「Gurururu~!」

Of course! Set seemed to say as Rei smiled and stroked his head.

「Sorry about this, you’re a great help.」

Taking Set out from the stables, they left the Eternal Sky Pavilion, where Set had been well looked after.

The people who had gathered around the inn were all here to see Rei, but they stopped moving when they saw Set.

They had all come to see Rei after his performance in the fighting tournament……or to recruit him, not to see an A rank monster like a Griffon.

It might have been a different story if they had been prepared for it. But this time, Set’s appearance was very sudden.

Furthermore, this was the first time Set had walked so confidently through the Imperial Capital since his initial arrival at the Eternal Sky Pavilion.

If Set had walked around the Imperial Capital on a regular basis, people might have been somewhat accustomed to seeing him, but……

「Hey, what……」

「Yeah, it’s Crimson Rei. I just didn’t expect to see him with a Griffon.」

「What do we do?」

「What do we do……it’s hard to say. We can’t just openly call out to someone with a Griffon following them.」

「No, that Griffon is a tamed monster, so it shouldn’t attack so easily.」

「……Then you talk to him. He’s all yours.」

「Hey, wait a second. That’s a different matter. I’d rather not have to deal with such a dangerous high ranking monster.」

「So you do know. Then don’t just tell me to go. Don’t get other people to do things you can’t do yourself.」

「Hmmm, a Griffon. How brave. If I could, I’d like to make a monster like that my familiar.」

「Don’t be ridiculous. Making a monster like that your familiar is more dangerous than anything else. I absolutely refuse to do anything like that.」

「But, if we just keep watching……wait. Why is he walking around with a Griffon today?」

「Could it be……」

「What? Why did you stop」

「No, just maybe, is he leaving the Imperial Capital?」

「No, no, that’s impossible. In the first place, if he does something like that, he’ll be seen as making a fool of His Majesty the Emperor.」

「Yes, but he doesn’t care for the feelings of nobility, right? I’ve heard rumours that he’ll go after nobles, no questions asked.」

「No, that’s a bit of an exaggeration.」

As he listened to the conversations from under the hood of his Dragon Robe, Rei frowned slightly.

This was because he was once more aware of what others thought of him.

Even so, contrary to his outward expression, he was smiling internally, thinking that he had gotten away with it.

No would would have thought that Rei, who wasn’t even carrying anything on him, would disappear from the inn just like this.

(The Misty Ring is really convenient. Just by having it, I don’t need to prepare for a trip and I can eat freshly cooked food whenever I want.)

Rei thought deeply as he stroked the Misty Ring that was on his right arm under the Dragon Robe.

If you were to ask what Rei found the most useful since coming to this world, it would undoubtedly be the Misty Ring, closely followed by the Death Scythe.

「Gururu~?」

Set, who was next to Rei, gave a cry as he tilted his head.

Rei patted Set’s head to tell him it was nothing as they headed for the main gate.

Many people along the way acted the same as those who were waiting in front of the inn, but Rei decided that there was no point worry about it as they walked through the city.

It was a bit of a shame that all the commotion that ensued made it impossible for them to stop by any food stalls and street vendors.

「Guru~……」

Walking alongside Rei, Set gave a sad cry as he smelled the delicious scent of meat and burnt sauce from nearby skewer stalls.

「Sorry, I’ll buy you something to eat after leaving the Imperial Capital, so just be patient.」

Patting Set on the head, the two of them continued their way through the city.

Even though the tournament was over, a fair number of tourists still remained in the city. Set’s presence caused the crowds to part like Moses parting the Red Sea, leaving a path for the two of them.

(This would be an unthinkable sight in Gilm. Set was well liked in Exil as well…… Ah, no. I guess it can’t be helped, considering that this is the Bestir Empire. Also, Set was in the stables the entire time the tournament was being held and didn’t go out into the city, so it’s no wonder that people aren’t used to it.)

The last point that Rei muttered to himself was probably the biggest factor.

An ordinary person would find it rare to see and A rank monster even once in their lifetime. So it was only natural for people to react this way after seeing a Griffon up close like this.

And with such a commotion, it was only natural for those guarding the city to notice……

「Wait, wait, wait! What’s with the commotion?」

Along with that voice, two male guards appeared.

Both were in their late twenties to early thirties, and as they called out to Rei……they saw Set and instinctively froze up.

That said, they managed to recover themselves after a few seconds, as expected of guards in the Imperial Capital. Their voices were a bit shaky, but they still called out to Rei.

「Um……sorry, but you’re Crimson Rei……the real Rei, correct?」

「Yeah. Of course.」

「So this commotion……well, I know the reason. It’s because of the Griffon with you. But, you know? Even if he is wearing a necklace for tamed monsters, there are a lot of people in the Imperial Capital right now. Some of them don’t even know about the existence of tamed monster necklaces, so I’d appreciate it if you would refrain from going out with that Griffon if possible.」

The reason he spoke so politely to Rei was probably because of Rei’s status as the runner up in the fighting tournament.

It was quite amazing that he managed to speak to Rei, considering how hesitant his partner was after seeing Set.

Rei seemed to like the guard’s attitude. He smiled slightly as he replied.

「I’m sorry for causing a commotion, but I have to head outside of the Imperial Capital for bit. That’s why I need to take my tamed monster with me, Set.」

「……Outside the Imperial Capital, you say? The award ceremony has yet to happen though.」

Hearing this, Rei thought for a moment about how to respond.

There was no way he would honestly say that he was leaving the Imperial Capital to join the Third Prince’s faction, who had supposedly started a rebellion.

Fortunately, it seemed that the information had yet to spread to the general public, but it wouldn’t have been strange for a guard to know.

Since that was the case, Rei judged that it would be best to hide the real situation as best he could. He gently stroked Set, whose whole body seemed to express ‘Not yet? Aren’t we going yet?’ as he looked at Rei with round eyes.

「As you can see, I can’t let my tamed monster loose in the city. That’s why he’s been in the inn’s stables the whole time I’ve been at the tournament. I want to let him run and fly about as much as he wants for the first time in a while.」

You can only do something like that outside the Imperial Capital, right? As Rei looked at him, the two guards gently turned their gazes towards Set as well.

「Guru~?」

Set was asking ‘What is wrong? Do you want to play, Rei?’, but Rei was the only one who was able to understand that.

If this were Gilm, everyone, including children, would come over to hug, pet, or feed Set, who they treated as a mascot. But, this was the Imperial Capital of the Bestir Empire and there were very few people who had seen Set before.

Because of that, Set’s cry seemed to mean ‘If you get in my way, I’ll kill you and eat you’ to everyone in the surroundings, including the guards.

「Hiii-!」

The frightened guards gave a scream as the people watching on instinctively took a few steps back.

「Gurururu~……」

Seeing that, Set gave a sad cry.

He probably realised that people were scared of him.

「I-I understand. I understand. That’s fine for now, so go ahead. However, if any trouble occurs with your tamed monster, the responsibility will be held against the master. Please act with that in mind.」

「I know. Sorry for all the commotion. I’ll head for the gate right away.」

「Yes, that would best. ……Just to be on the safe side, we’ll lead the way. I would be a problem if something strange were to happen again.」

Rei was impressed by the guard’s words.

It was true that both guards were scared of Set.

But despite that, they offered to guide them.

That said, there was also some calculation on the guards’ side. If they let Rei and Set go free, they were worried that the general public would start to make a fuss about it, increasing the work they would have to do.

「No, don’t worry about it. Come on, let’s go.」

「Guru~!」

Set let out a small cry in response to what the guard said, startling the guard again.

Even so, considering their surprise was much shorter compared to the first time they had encountered Set, it was easy to see how well trained they were.

Of course, it was only natural for the Imperial Capital’s guards to be of high quality. After all, people had gathered from all over the Bestir Empire to take part in the fighting tournament.

The tournament had already ended, but there were still many people in the Imperial Capital.

No, thinking about it, the number of people out and about in the city was much greater than during the tournament, considering they were no longer at the stadium.

Rei and Set proceeded through the crowded Imperial Capital, led by the guards.

Thanks to the guards, while people continued to keep their distance, they seemed less obviously scared than before.

(That’s probably because they trust the guards. If the guards weren’t trusted, the commotion wouldn’t have calmed down as much.)

Rei looked around and thought to himself as he walked with Set.

He continued to stroke Set’s head, as if to show people that he had things under control.

Set was wearing a necklace for tamed monsters, so there wasn’t really a need to do that……but he was ultimately still a Griffon.

After 10-20 minutes, they finally arrived at the main gate. Normally, they would have gotten there sooner, but it took so long due the guards’ guidance and their attempts to no disturb the civilians in the area.

As soon as they arrived at the main gate, one of the guards, the one who had been hesitant at first, ran over to the guard station to let them know.

How exaggerated. Rei though, but considering their journey from the Eternal Sky Pavilion to the main gate, he could only sigh internally, thinking how it couldn’t be helped.

After that, whether it was because the guards were good or because they wanted to calm the commotion as soon as possible……their procedures to leave the city were carried out quickly, letting Rei and Set out of the Imperial Capital. There would have been quite a bit of trouble after all if Rei and Set had to line up behind everyone else leaving the city.

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