「Mmm……hm?」

Rei awoke with an unpleasant expression on his face, feeling the hardness of his bed, which was different from the one he had slept on in his magic tent the night before.

Looking around in silence, he realised he was in an unfamiliar location.

After a few seconds of daze, Rei finally recalled where he was as he expression changed to one of understanding.

A faint commotion could be heard outside his tent and it was clear that many people were already awake.

「Still, it really is just an ordinary tent.」

As he muttered to himself, Rei thought of the magic tent he owned.

It had been two days since he left the Imperial Capital. During that time, he had to camp outdoors and, naturally, he had used his magic tent.

The inside of his magic tent was a fine room and, for an ordinary adventurer, it could not be equated to camping outdoors. That said, to Rei, camping outside was camping outside.

With Set outisde his tent, he didn’t need to worry about monster attacks either.

「As expected, it’s at a whole different level from an ordinary tent. I guess I’ll use the magic tent from tonight.」

Muttering to himself, he put on his Dragon Robe, Shoes of Sleipnir, Nebula’s Eye, and other magic items, before leaving the tent.

It was only natural as he wanted to wash his face and there was no water inside the tent.

As a last resort, he had the Dagger of Flowing Water, which produced very good water. But, he didn’t want to use it when he had other options for water as it would make him feel like he had lost out.

Rei sensed Set’s presence as he left the tent.

The first thing that caught his eye was the cloudless blue sky.

It was still early morning and the temperature was more chilly than cool. Fortunately, Rei was wearing his Dragon Robe, so he wasn’t possibly bothered by it.

He was captivated by the clear autumn sky for a moment before noticing the eyes on him.

「This……ah, I see.」

A group of people, probably rebel soldiers, were keeping some distance from him……likely because of Set, who was lying motionless next to the tent that Rei had been sleeping in.

It was only natural to be surprised if a Griffon suddenly appeared in tha camp and there were quite a number among the rebels who had gone to the Selemus Plains during the Spring War.

Because of that, many of them recognised Set’s figure.

Even so, they didn’t panic, probably because the tent was at the edge of the camp and word had spread last night that Rei and Set……that is to say, the B rank adventurer Crimson, had come to join the rebel army.

「Guru~!」

Good morning! Set seemed to say as he gave a cry. However, the surrounding soldiers didn’t seem to think the same way as they took a few steps back at his cry.

Even if they knew Set meant no harm, it wasn’t easy to erase the awe and fear that had been etched into them.

(Well, if we fight together, eventually……)

That being said, Rei’s goal for joining the civil ware in the first place was to master the use of Overlord’s Armour. However, considering he still had minimal control over it, he couldn’t exactly use it around allies.

If he were to use it though, it would only be at a distance, and others would be able to see the magic power around him, compressed to a point where it was visible.

If he was as skilled as Noiz, he wouldn’t need to project his magic power externally, but Rei was currently unable to imitate such a high level of skill.

If that happened, the rebel soldiers would undoubtedly fear him or be in awe the same way they currently viewed Set.

「Gurururu……」

Set gave a disappointed cry, probably feeling lonely being looked at like that.

It was true that Set would unleash his aggressive nature as a Griffon, the reaper of the skies, against his enemies.

But Set right now was different. With his superior intelligence, he understood that those around right now were allies, so it was only natural for him to feel sad that people were afraid.

His personality was also naturally friendly.

Set looked so sad that Rei had to speak to him as he gently stroked him.

「Don’t worry. If we keep fighting together, they’ll start relying on you, even if they don’t want to, and then they’ll eventually start playing together with you.」

The soldiers who could hear Rei responded with an『absolutely not』.

Rei couldn’t hear them, but he could guess what he was thinking from their expressions.

Despite knowing that though, Rei had no intention of revising his prediction that Set would eventually become quite popular among the Third Prince’s faction.

In fact, even if they weren’t close now, it was easy for Rei to predict that one by one, they would eventually succumb to Set’s cuteness. Once that happened, the rest would fall in love with Set like an avalanche.

After all, he wasn’t Gilm’s mascot for nothing.

「Guru~!」

I’ll do my best! Set seemed to say with a cry as Rei patted his head before turning to a nearby soldier and speaking.

「I want to wash my face to get ready for the day, can you tell me if there’s a water source nearby?」

The soldier flinched for a moment at Rei’s words, but quickly came to his senses and nodded back.

「Y-Yes. There are several places in the camp where there are magic items that make water, so you can go there. The closest one is about a 5 minute walk from here. Otherwise, there’s a small river in the forest over there, so you go there as well.」

The soldier glanced behind Rei as he spoke.

Behind the tent where Rei was staying, outside teh camp, there was forest and he could see people walking towards it.

「I see, thanks for that.」

Rei thanked the soldier, thought for a moment……then immediately went for the forest with Set.

He knew that in terms of numbers, overwhelmingly more people would use the magic items, but he decided that if he, who was considered a dangerous presence to the people of the Bestir Empire, strutted around the camp nonchalantly, there would definitely some soldiers who would be confused or even attack him in the worst case scenario.

Theorem and Vihera would make an announcement by the end of the day that he had joined the Third Prince’s faction and, once it was announced, he would then be able to walk around the camp openly.

「Gururu~」

Contrary to what Rei was thinking, Set gave a happy cry as he headed into the forest.

As a monster, he probably preference natural locales compared places with a lot of people.

Set turned to Rei and pleaded with him to hurry up with round eyes, leaving the stunned soldiers behind as they went into the forest.

 

 

「Hey, I’ve been waiting for you.」

Rei had just returned to his tent after freshening up at the river, wondering if he should contact Theorem before going to meet Vihera, when someone called out to him.

Turning to face the voice, Rei’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Because the person standing their had a vaguely familiar face.

Just from that, Rei intuitively guessed who the person was.

「Mercurio, huh?」

「Hey, why are you suddenly calling me by my first name? You certainly seem to be just as I heard from my sister.」

Mercurio smiled gently, but his gaze was assessing the person in front of him.

The reason why Rei noticed right away was because he had met with Tilleyle the previous night.

In any case, Rei thought Mercurio hadn’t brought anyone with him at first……but understood after seeing Cyanus behind him.

(Is she discretely guarding him? Or was she told to accompany him? Well, as far as the situation goes, I’ve heard it from Theorem, so I can pretty much guess what he wants to talk about.)

Mercurio was said to be very fond of his sister. From Theorem’s words and, above all, the gaze of the person in front of him, he could guess that Mercurio had come to see him about Vihera.

「I heard that you get along well with my sister……yes, it seems to get along very well.」

「……Well, that’s a fact that can’t be denied.」

Rei nodded readily at Mercurio’s words.

It was true that he was on good terms with Vihera and that he liked her, even if not as much as Elena.

However, upon hearing Rei’s words, Mercurio’s eyebrows twitched.

「I see. I’m glad you get along with my sister……however, I’ve heard that you’re also close with other women. Can you tell me what that means?」

「Whatever you said. It’s exactly as you said.」

「……Does that mean you’re admitting that you’re cheating on her?」

His eyebrows twitched again at Rei’s words.

Mercurio was often seen as calm due to his mature appearance, but his age wasn’t that far from Rei’s. Naturally, he was more paitient that the average person due to his education as a member of the royal family, but he still had his limits.

However, Rei shrugged his shoulders lightly, as if he had no interest in Mercurio’s reaction at all.

「It’s true that Vihera confessed her feelings to me. That’s for sure. But I haven’t accepted it.」

That was as much as he could say.

「What do you dislike about my sister!」

But, for some reason, Mercurio’s response went in a slightly different direction. He skillfully let out a quite shout so that the people nearby wouldn’t hear him as he stared fixedly at Rei.

「……Even if you ask me that.」

Having said that, Rei judged that Mercurio’s anger wouldn’t subside if he continued and he eventually sighed in resignation before speaking.

「I admit that Vihera is very attractive. I have no objections to that.」

Appearance wise, Vihera had a beautiful face that drew people in as well as a body that men loved.

Personality wise, her lust for battle was a bit of a problem, but even so, it was something Rei could tolerate. Also, despite her status as the princess of the Bestir Empire, she wasn’t arrogant and was easy to get along with.

From Rei’s perspective, it was an absolute fact that Vihera was attractive.

「If I had met Vihera first, there might have been a future where I would have accepted her feelings. No, that would definitely have happened. But……」

That was right. But……

「I met Elena before Vihera.」

「Elena……Elena Kerebel. The General Princess?」

As the Third Prince of the Bestir Empire and, above all, because he had heard from Theorem, he knew Elena’s name. Muttering her name out loud, Rei nodded back.

「That’s right. Rei met Elena before me. That’s an undeniable fact.」

Before Rei could say anything, a voice rang out.

There was no need to think who it was. Since they had been talking about the person in question, whether it was Rei or Mercurio, they immediately knew who it was.

The person who showed up was exactly as Rei had been expecting.

「Vihera.」

Hearing Rei say her name, Vihera replied with a happy smile on her face.

「It’s been a while Rei. I’m sorry about the tournament. I never thought you’d lose. ……But, you came after all.」

As she spoke while waving her hand, Vihera’s expression was undoubtedly overflowing with joy.

Seeing his sister so happy, Mercurio couldn’t help but take a quick breath.

He knew, he had heard that his sister had feelings for Rei, who was standing before him.

But, still……seeing it with his own eyes gave him something to think about.

As his older sister waved lightly at Rei, she turned her gaze back to Mercurio.

「Seriously, I wondered why you had disappeared without a word……so you came to see him after all.」

「Sister……」

「Don’t look so pathetic. Mercurio, you are the commander in chief of this army, you know? What are you doing, looking so unsure of yourself? I should say that regarding my relationship with Rei, what Rei said is correct. I’m just in love with Rei and I’m not being toyed with or anything like that, so there’s no need to worry about it.」

Mercurio frowned slightly at his sister’s words.

He didn’t like what she said, as if she was admitting defeat.

It was no fun to see his older sister being taken away by the person in front of him, Rei, but at the same time, he didn’t want to see her being rejected so easily either.

Such thoughts were faintly visible on his face and Vihera spoke with a smile after noticing.

「Don’t worry. Love isn’t a first come, first served thing. I’ll make Rei fall in love with me eventually.」

As Vihera spoke, she gave off her usual confident attitude as an older sister, a young girl in love, and a woman who would use all her strength to get the man she loved.

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