「I’m sorry, Rei. That kid caused you trouble.」
Vihera apologised to Rei as they saw Mercurio leave with Cyanus.
Rei shook his head in response as he spoke.
「There’s no need to worry about it. It’s not like he did anything bad.」
「That kid, he has more than enough skill when acting normally and he usually behaves in a way that is undoubtedly appropriate for royalty. ……But.」
Rei nodded at Vihera’s hesitation.
「You’re his sister, born to the same mother. I can understand why he’s so attached to you.」
「……I guess it’s because I doted on him too much.」
They looked at each other for a moment……and then, without realising it, they both burst into smiles.
「I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Rei. Like I said before, I didn’t think you’d lose in the tournament. ……Set as well. How are you?」
「Guru~!」
As Vihera stroked his head, Set gave a joyful cry, as if to say ‘of course!’.
Since everyone in the Third Prince’s camp was afraid of him, Set was very happy to have someone love him like this.
And so, as Vihera stroked his head, he rubbed his head back, asking for more.
Noticing that, Vihera had a smile on her face as she continued to stroke Set.
After a few minutes, Vihera eventually took her hands off Set’s head and spoke with some disappointment.
「I’d really like to spend more time talking to you, but unfortunately, I can’t. Even though I look like this, I’m busy with a lot of things. ……I think it’s a bit strange to be so busy after running away from the empire.」
「I understand. Besides, your precious little brother’s life was in danger, right? So it’s only natural that you, his sister, would try your best.」
That was what Rei said, but he hadn’t ever had older or younger siblings, even in Japan, let alone Elgin.
That was why he didn’t fully understand the feeling of siblings. That said, it didn’t mean he didn’t have a sense of admiration for them either.
(That said, I’d rather not deal with a brother who cares this much for their sister……a siscon.)
Recalling their previous exchange, Rei gave a bitter smile.
That the leader of the Third Prince’s faction would come out all this way to meet a mere adventurer. It could only be because of the feelings he held for his sister.
「Well, there will be a meeting of all the military leaders in a few minutes. I’d like to let everyone know about Rei then. Is that okay? It will help to boost morale.」
「I don’t mind the introduction, but will it really boost morale? I feel it might actually lower it.」
From his life up until now, he knew all too well about his reputation within the Bestir Empire.
It was to the point that they had sent assassins to kill him.
(Now that I think about it, what happened to those two assassins? Since I’m no longer in the Imperial Capital, if they want to target me, they’ll have to join the Third Prince’s faction……but if they join the army, it will be easier to spot someone no one recognises……right?)
That was what Rei thought, but the rebel army known as the Third Prince’s army was a force made up of the Third Prince’s forces, forces that gathered around Vihera, adventurers who smelled money, and various other groups. As an army like that, one or two strangers wouldn’t really be noticed.
「It will be fine. Besides……they probably wouldn’t be enough.」
「They wouldn’t be enough?」
Rei couldn’t help but ask back at the somewhat ominous sounding words, but Vihera replied with an alluring smile.
「Well, that’s something to look forward to later. Anyway, why don’t you go and have some breakfast? The army distributes food, so you should be able to get some, right? ……But, it might be a bit difficult to get some for Set.」
As Vihera stroked Set apologetically, Rei shook his head.
「It can’t be helped. Considering Set’s appetite, if we’re not careful, there might not be enough food for everyone.」
「Gururururu~!」
As Vihera stroked him, Set closed his eyes in happiness, as if he couldn’t bear to hear Rei’s words.
From Set’s point of view, he enjoyed Rei enjoying his meal as much as himself. So he probably wanted to say that he hoped Rei would have a good time as well.
「I know, I know.」
Rei didn’t fully understand what Set wanted to tell him, but he continued to stroke him alongside Vihera.
「Army food isn’t that tasty, that’s for sure. But there’s more than enough food in my Misty Ring. Like food from the Eternal Sky Pavilion.」
Eternal Sky Pavilion. The moment he said that, Vihera’s eyes widened slightly.
Even though she had run away from the Bestir Empire, Vihera was born and raised in the Bestir Empire. Naturally, she knew what kind of place the Eternal Sky Pavilion was.
And, as Rei said, with his item box, called the Misty Ring, food inside would always stay fresh.
「I’m jealous, but aren’t you using your item box the wrong way?」
「Really? Keeping food that has already been prepared is just the way I normally use it.」
Was there something strange about that? A Rei responded to Vihera, who realised there was no point saying anything more about it.
It had been this way ever since they had traveled together in Labyrinth City Exil, but the person in front of him was extremely greedy when it came to food.
Considering that their first encounter was in a restaurant, perhaps it wasn’t that strange at all.
As she thought about that, a question suddenly occured to her.
The food at the Eternal Sky Pavilion was certainly delicious. That was true, but the price was correspondingly high.
Even though Rei had considerable financial room, she worried if it was really okay to spend money like that.
……Even though she was concerned, she also felt a slight happiness deep in her heart, probably because she was taking care of Rei.
「Hey, I know it’s strange to ask this, but is your money okay? The Eternal Sky Pavilion is certainly a top class inn, but the prices are correspondingly high, aren’t they?」
「That’s not a problem. I bet on myself when I entered the tournament. I kept betting on myself and, each time I did, my money increased……I didn’t bet on myself when I fought Noiz though.」
「Ah, I see.」
Vihera was easily convinced by Rei’s words.
Indeed, for someone who knew his own strength, it was only natural for Rei to bet on himself.
Since it was a match he was sure to win, it was obvious for him to do so.
「If only I had been in the Imperial Capital sooner, I would have bet on you as well.」
「If you had done that, the army might even have gotten a better financial advantage. Anyway, that’s why I had so much money. So, it wasn’t that difficult to ask the kitchen at the Eternal Sky Pavilion to specially order food. Like this.」
As he said that, he took out a sandwich made of soft, fluffy, white bread from the Misty Ring.
The filling was made by steaming and then grilling Orc General meat, fresh leafy vegetables, and thinly sliced boiled eggs, all seasoned with sandwich sauce.
Since it was taken out from the Misty Ring, the sandwich was naturally fresh and the aroma of the sauce spread out, stimulating the appetite.
Many of the soldiers, who were watching Vihera and Rei talk, all had their stomaches rumble as it was still before breakfast.
Naturally, Rei, with his keen sense, did not miss that sound. But, he handed the sandwich over to Vihera without any particular reaction.
「Here, have this. It’s a souvenir.」
「……Is this okay? Thank you.」
Even if it was just a sandwich, Vihera was very happy to receive it as a present from Rei.
The nearby soldiers were so entranced by Vihera’s happy smile that they forgot about their rumbling bellies from a few seconds ago.
However, Vihera’s happy smile soon turned to a sad expression.
「It’s about time, so I have to go. Rei, let’s talk again later.」
With those words, she gently reached out to stroke Rei’s cheek.
After doing that, as if to confirm that Rei was definitely here, she kept her hand their for several seconds.
She probably wasn’t concerned about the gazes from people around her, but she eventually moved her hand away gently before turning to leave.
Seeing Vihera like that, Rei immediately spoke out, as if following the thought in his mind that he had to say something here.
「Vihera, it was good to be reunited with you……I’ll be counting on you for a while.」
「Yeah, prepare yourself, okay? Now that she’s gone, I want you to be crazy for me.」
Giving Rei a side glance, Vihera said those words before leaving.
All that remained was Rei, relieved to see that Vihera was the same as always, Set, who was looking at Rei hungrily, and the soldiers, who had all been captivated by Vihera’s side glancce towards Rei.
「Well, we should be okay this far away.」
「Gururu~」
Set gave a cry in a slightly sulky mood at Rei’s words.
Even after Vihera left, Rei was fed up with the looks the soldiers were giving him, many of which wanted to eat the sandwiches they had just seen, so he and Set ended up taking refuge in the forest where the river was.
Set was in a bad mood because his meal had been postponed in order to get here and Rei couldn’t help but give a wry smile at his obession with food.
「Come on, cheer up. Let’s start with breakfast. What would you like? Maybe some fish for a change? Well, it’s a dish made with river fish.」
In the Bestir Empire, which didn’t border the sea, river fish dishes were a lot more common and techniques for cooking them were well developed.
What Rei took out was a salt grilled fish, similar to an Ayu sweetfish, a fish that could only be found in clean rivers.
Of course, while it was similar to the fish Rei knew, it still had many differences. For example, instead of the sweetfish’s characteristic spots on its body, it had yellow stripes, like a tropical fish.
Rei, who lived in the countryside, would often catch them in the rivers during summer, so it was a familiar taste.
Sweetfish were a summer fish in Japan, but the grilled fish with salt in front of him right now was something that could be eaten all year round.
Its elegant white flesh and lack of odour made it very similar to sweetfish, which was one of Rei’s favourite fish.
Set was also a Griffon……a combination of a lion and an eagle, so he liked to eat fish as well.
「Gururu~!」
With that, Set’s bad mood disappeared in an instant and he gave a happy cry as he stretched his beak out for the salt grilled fish Rei had put on a plate.
Alongside Set, who was happily eating his grilled fish, Rei also reached out for one before bringing it to his mouth.
Because the fish had been put into the Misty Ring after being freshly grilled, the first thing to hit his mouth was the taste of salt and the crispy texture of the skin. Next, the fatty, white meat crumbled in his mouth as the refreshing flavour spread out.
「……It’s delicious.」
The fish he had in the port city of Emoshion was also delicious, but there was still a difference between sea and river fish.
Rei, who had finished eating the grilled fish as he thought about that, brought out another sandwich.
The filling was made up of thick slices of ham with vegetables as well as slices of boiled egg.
「Here you go, Set.」
「Gurururu~!」
Set reached out with his beak, as if he had been waiting for it.
While Set did like fish, he probably preferred meat that was more filling.
「Hm……then, should I have it as well?」
Presented before a happy Set was a boar meat stew, which had been thoroughly grilled on the outside before being simmered.
The dish had been made to be served to adventurers who would be competing in the tournament and was chewy enough that an old man with bad teeth wouldn’t be able to eat it.
However, to Set, it had the right amount of chewiness. He brought the meat from his beak into his mouth before easiy shredding it and swallowing.
Thus, Rei and Set took advantage of the fact that there were no other people in the forest to enjoy an extremely sumptuous camping trip breakfast.