That night, a soldier on guard at the Third Prince’s camp noticed a flapping sound.

It sounded like a giant bird flapping its wings, but it was night time. He thought that most birds other than owls wouldn’t be out and about. Could it be a monster attack? With that question in mind, he turned to look towards the moonlight sky.

This place was not that far from Count Obrisin’s territory and the road to the Imperial Capital.

As such, monsters were regularly exterminated and, above all, a large scale extermination had been carried out prior to the fighting tournament for travelers heading to the Imperial Capital.

However, when it came to flying monsters, many would quickly flee when the soldiers, knights, or adventurers conducting the extermination approached, only to return once they were gone. Harpies in particular were quite intelligent and cunning.

If it was some kind of monster that was attacking, he would have to call for backup immediately.

Thinking about the possibility that the Imperial Army’s Dragon Knights might be launching a night attack, he took out a magic whistle he had be given for guard duty in one hand while readying his spear in the other……but the next moment, he saw a figure descend from the air before his eyes and he instinctively froze.

It was an impressive figure that couldn’t be compared to a Harpy.

In terms of size, it was smaller than the wyverns controlled by Dragon Knights. However, the pressure it gave off was so overwhelming that it made wyverns feel like small lizards.

Further along the soldier’s line of sight, he saw a person riding on the figure’s back jumping off with weightless movements before approaching him.

Who are you! He wanted to shout out and blow into his magic whistle, but the person spoke up before he could do either.

「Is this the camp of the Third Prince’s faction?」

The soldier swallowed the words he was about to shout.

The Third Prince’s faction. Despite hearing those words, he didn’t sense any hostility from them at all.

He knew that they were supposed to have rebelled against the Bestir Empire. Given that, he had assumed that it was someone from the Empire’s side……or more precisely, someone under the control of the First Prince, Kabajid, who had come to launch a night attack. But, from the looks of things, that didn’t seem to be the case. Rather, their somewhat friendly demeanor made him feel like they were on the same side?

That was why the soldier didn’t blow his magic whistle and spoke up instead.

For a moment, the thought crossed his mind that this was an enemy agent and that they would take advantage of this opportunity to kill him. But, with a monster with such an enormous presence in front of his eyes, he decided that it wouldn’t be difficult to for them to take him out without doing such a thing.

「……Who are you?」

Even so, it was only natural for the guard to ask such a question.

「I’m Rei, a B rank adventurer. Well, maybe it would be easier for the people of the Bestir Empire to understand if I said I was Crimson Rei instead?」

The guard’s eyes widened when he heard what Rei said.

Crimson Rei. There were no soldiers who didn’t know that name……no, it was a name that even ordinary people would know.

Because he was wearing a hood, the guard couldn’t see his whole face. Even so, from what he could see under the moonlight, he had a childlike or maybe feminine face, and at the very least, he didn’t seem like someone with the power to change the course of a war.

This was also likely influenced by the fact that he wasn’t holding his scythe, one of Crimson’s signature features.

But still……the guard determined that the person in front of him was Crimson.

More than the scythe, there was clearer evidence than that present……the Griffin in front of him. It was already widely known that Crimson had tamed a Griffon.

It would be difficult even for an A rank adventurer to tame a Griffon, an A rank monster.

Given that, it was only natural for the guard to conclude that the person in front of them was Crimson.

「Well, what to say, I’m surprised. I had heard that you were setting up camp in Count Obrisin’s territory, so I assumed you’d be in a town or village, I never imagined you’d be in an open space.」

The guard’s tension eased slightly when Rei spoke up casually. He smiled slightly as he replied.

「We thought that if the base was in a place with people, ordinary civilians would get caught up in the fighting. Even though he might look the way he does, Count Obrisin also has a caring side towards his people. ……So, back to the topic at hand, what is Crimson doing here? From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like you’re hostile.」

「Guru~?」

He must have reacted to the word ‘hostile’. Set gave a cry as he turned to look at the guard.

It was different for Rei, but the guard couldn’t help but feel nervous when Set look at him like that. An A rank monster was something at that level.

「Calm down. Set doesn’t what to do anything to you. He’s just a bit curious.」

「Gururur~?」

What’s wrong? Set seemed to ask as he tilted his head, but the guard remained motionless.

This isn’t going to work. Deciding that, Rei gave up on trying to get the guard used to Set as he spoke up again.

「Anyway, is it true that the Third Prince’s faction is gathered here? If so, Vihera and Theorem should be here too, right? Tell them I’m here. They’ll understand right away.」

「……O-Oh, right. I-I understand. Wait a moment.」

The guard’s calmness from earlier seemed to disappear as he left for the camp.

As Rei watched him leave, he had a sudden thought.

(It’s already a problem to have only one guard, but is it fine to leave me here on my own to go and report? If I was a spy or something, I would be able to go straight in and cause as much destruction as I want……ah, no. It’s not that easy.

Rei, who was looking into the camp, suddenly noticed a presence up ahead. It wasn’t just a presence either. It seemed to be someone with a certain level of ability.

(The guard here is probably just bait. That presence will probably hunt down anyone who falls for this bait. The placement of this camp seems to have an aggressive element, is it Vihera? Theorem? Both seem likely but also unlikely.)

While he was thinking like that, the soldier from earlier seemed to have contact his superiors. Rei could hear the sudden noise in front of him.

「Gururu~」

As Rei looked into the camp, Set rubbed his face against him and gave a cry.

Sensing the signs of hunger in Set’s expression, Rei gave him some dried meat from the Misty Ring.

「Guru~……Gururururu~」

It was dried meat made at the Eternal Sky Pavilion. The ingredients were top notch and it took a lot of effort to make, so it was naturally delicious.

As Set gave a happy cry, eating the dried meat, Rei soon saw several figures approaching from within the camp.

The large, round moon, typical of autumn, stood out clearly in the night sky, so it wasn’t difficult for Rei, with his night vision, to make out the faces of the approaching people.

However, when he saw who they were, Rei was a little puzzled.

There was Theorem and his adjutant, Cyanus. Up to that point, everything was fine, but Vihera was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was a muscular, middle-aged man with them.

Furthermore, his whole body was radiating fighting spirit and, judging by the battle axes he was holding in each hand, it was clear that he hadn’t come to talk.

(Why did someone like that show up?)

Rei had a premonition that something troublesome was about to happen as the man approached him and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Could it be that a knight or someone had judged him to be an assassin from the Empire? That was what he thought, but the attitudes of the people around him indicated that the man was of a certain rank.

And so, the group, including Theorem, finally arrived in front of Rei……

「Hey, you’re that Crimson Rei. From what I heard from Vihera-sama, you’re quite strong, but I don’t see that at all.」

What, is this guy judging me by appearances as well?

As Rei sighed in his mind, the man laughed as if he understood what Rei was thinking.

「Well, I guess a normal guy would say that.」

「Huh. ……Theorem, who is this guy?」

Looking slightly intrigued by what the man said, Rei turned his gaze to Theorem, who was standing next to him.

Being called out, Theorem’s lips curled slightly into a smile at Rei’s arrival.

「He’s Count Obrisin. He was originally Vihera-sama’s subordinate when she was still in the Empire. He’s a very important person in terms of military strength in this case.」

「Vihera’s……huh.」

Rei muttered to himself at Theorem’s words and the people around him also started murmuring at Rei’s mutters.

It was true. He was the biggest force in the Third Prince’s faction and, looking at the admiration the Third Prince, Mercurio, had for him, he was practically the biggest powerhous in this group. Aside from Vihera.

Rei didn’t seem to care of the situation around him as he continued to ask Theorem.

「So, where is Vihera?」

「She’s asleep. It’s already midnight. The only people awake right now are the guards who let us know you had arrived.」

It seemed like Theorem was ignoring the fact that they were also awake right now.

Count Obrisin, who had been watching the exchange between Rei and Theorem, suddenly swung the battle axe in one of his hands.

Of course, it wasn’t aimed at Rei. The battle axe was swung into empty space, making a sound that seemed to shatter the night air itself.

「Hey, don’t be so rude and ignore me. Ever since I heard about you from Vihera-sama, I’ve really wanted to meet you.」

「I don’t know what she said, but we might end up on the same side. Don’t you think there’s no need to fight?」

Although Rei had realised that the person in front of him was probably a combat maniac, similar to Vihera, he said that anyway, just in case.

However, Count Obrisin shook his head in silence before speaking while gripping both his battle axes.

「You might be famous for your title. But I won’t be convinced until I see your strength with my own eyes. So……don’t die, okay? Let’s go!」

As soon as he shouted that, Count Obrisin closed the distance to Rei with both battle axes in hand.

The armour he was wearing was made of metal, but he was so fast that it didn’t seem like it carried any weight at all.

He swung his battle axes towards Rei, the one in his right hand vertically and the one in his left horizontally.

His attack, which was carried out in a cross shape, cut through the air easily as Rei jumped backwards lightly.

Rei landed silently as he took the Death Scythe out of the Misty Ring.

He easily avoided the attack, but the smile on Count Obrisin’s lips made it clear that he had done it on purpose to show his strength.

「Guru~?」

「No, leave this to me.」

Do you need my help? Set asked as he tilted his head, but Rei replied softly.

Seeing Rei’s reaction, Set seemed to realise that this was just a serious spar, not a fight to the death. He stepped back before lying down on the grass.

「Hmph.」

Watching their exchange, Count Obrisin gave a snort in satisfaction as he turned his gaze to the giant scythe Rei was holding.

(That’s the Death Scythe, huh? I can certainly sense its sinister power. Just being able to see it is a reward.)

As he muttered to himself, he felt that it would be a waste of time to end the battle here as he wanted to cross blades a few more times. With those thoughts in mind, his mouth twisted into a belligerent smile.

It was probably something similar for Rei too. The person before him was not just a noble in name, he also possesed solid power.

That was whay……

「Here I come, it’s my turn next.」

As he said that, he dashed forward in one swift movement, closing the distance between him and Count Obrisin.

Even so, Rei was aware that it would be a bad idea to kill him as he swung the shaft of the Death Scythe at Count Obrisin.

That all said, if Rei really wanted to, he could easily pierce the metal armour with the shaft of the Death Scythe.

「Haah-!」

Count Obrisin swung his battle axes down to deflect the thrust directed towards his body……

With a metallic whine, his battle axes were deflected.

Count Obrisin never expected his attack to be deflected so easily and Rei was surprised to find out that the battle axes were magic weapons, after they clashed with the Deash Scythe.

They both put some distance between them and……

「That’s enough!」

At Theorem’s words, they lowered their weapons.

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