Going back in time, a few hours after Rei had left the Imperial Capital. Daska, in his capacity as the representative of the Mireana Kingdom, had arrived at the castle.

Naturally, Elk and Min were on either side of him as his guards, along with several other knights.

It was only natural that he would draw attention as a noble from the Mireana Kingdom, the victors of the Spring War against the Bestir Empire. But, there was another reason for Daska to be the center of attention from the people in the castle.

That reason was Rei, who had set a record by coming in second in the fighting tournament.

In all the years that the fighting tournament had been run, it was only natural that participants from outside the Bestir Empire had won or come second.

However, this was the first time that someone from the Mireana Kingdom, a long time enemy of the Bestir Empire, had come second.

Fortunately for the upper echelons of the Bestir Empire, in the end, it was someone from the Bestir Empire who had won. It was widely attributed that the caution of the Prime Minster, Pesche Gat, had been key.

For the upper echelons, if the Mireana Kingdom……especially Rei, who was the main reason they had lost the Spring War, were to win the fighting tournament, it would be a huge blow to their reputation.

In any case, with such looks being directed towards him, Daska requested a meeting with the Prime Minister after arriving.

Normally, the Prime Minister was a high ranking position in the Empire and wasn’t someone you could meet by just requesting it. In fact, you normally had to make an appointment several days in advance……or worse, more than a week in advance.

However, here, Daska’s position as representative of the Mireana Kingdom worked to his advantage. He also implied the meeting was very important, which made it possible.

And so, with a knight guiding them, he headed for the Prime Minister’s office.

「Pardon me, Prime Minister Persche. I have brought Margrave Daska Rowlocks.」

「Okay, come in.」

Hearing the reply from inside, the knight opened the door.

Daska left his escort knights outside as he entered the room with just Elk and Min.

(Whew.)

As Daska entered the room, he couldn’t help but be internally surprised.

Rather than being a giant, Persche was more of an obese person. One would think that he probably didn’t take his job of prime minister seriously. However, the way documents on his desk were organised as well as how he quickly looked through and sorted them, adding notes when necessary, showed that he was a capable prime minister.

Although, considering that it was impossible for someone without ability to hold the position of prime minister in the Bestir Empire, this was only natural.

Persche glanced at a document in his hand and wrote something down before turning to look at the people who had entered his office……to be precise, Daska.

「Now then, this is a sudden visit and I’m rather perplexed. Is there something urgent that needs to be done? Anyway, please take a seat. Since we’ve taken the time, let’s have a leisurely chat.」

After ordering the maid to bring drinks and light snacks, Persche led Daska to a sofa and sat down opposite him.

Daska sat down with Elk and Min standing behind him as before.

It was the same for Persche, with three guards standing behind the sofa he sat down at.

「Now that I think of it, is Crimson not here today? I was able to watch the finals and it was an amazing fight. I never imagined that he would be able to hold his own against the Immovable Noiz, our empire’s hero.」

Persche seemed puzzled that Rei wasn’t present, but praised him for his good fight.

However, his words hinted at the fact that the ultimate winner had been someone from the Bestir Empire.

「No, no, even I didn’t think that Rei would be able to hold his own against an S rank adventurer. Judging from how he fought, he’s probably not that far off from reaching S rank in terms of combat power. Fortunately, we have an S rank adventurer in our own kingdom, so we might consider having him study under them.」

In the near future, the Mireana Kingdom would have two S rank adventurers under them. When Daska hinted at that, Persche showed a momentary bitter expression.

In fact, this was something that had been bothering Persche.

Even if Rei didn’t reach S rank in other aspects, he wasn’t that far off in terms of pure combat power. Furthermore, even though both sides had various constraints in the tournament, Rei still had Set, who could be considered his trump card.

It had to be very unpleasant for the Prime Minister of the Bestir Empire to have such a force appear in a long time enemy kingdom.

「……Ahem. The future of the Mireana Kingdom certainly seems bright. So, what is it that you’re here for today?」

As both sides tried to figure out what the other was thinking, Persche, realising he was at a disadvantage, casually changed the topic.

「Actually……」

Just as Daska was about to say something, the maid Persche had ordered earlier returned to the office with tea and dried fruit.

Daska paused, waiting for the maid to leave, before speaking again.

「Going back to the topic we were on earlier, it’s about Rei.」

「Oh? Is it something to do with what to wear for the award ceremony? I’m sure it’s the same in the Mireana Kingdom, but there are a lot of people in my country who are strict about that sort of thing.」

Daska shook his head in response to Persche’s question.

Seeing Daska’s response, which clearly showed that wasn’t the problem, Persche frowned slightly as he spoke, his loose cheeks trembling.

「So it’s not a problems with clothes. Well, it’s not really that serious of an issue anyway……so, what’s the matter?」

「The truth is, Rei has run away.」

「……What?」

He couldn’t believe what he had heard. With such an expression on his face, he turned to look at Daska.

All he saw was a wry smile.

(……A wry smile? An adventurer who had fought decently against the S ranked Noiz has just run away from you and you’re going to let it go with a wry smile? Impossible. That would mean losing an unparalleled force……does that mean his running away was intentional? ……Wait. Running away?)

As Persche quickly gathered his thoughts in his mind, a thread connected.

At this time……that was right. It just so happened that Rei ran away when the Third Prince, Mercurio, who had been under house arrest, was liberated by a group labelled as rebels. Persche wasn’t so naive as to think it couldn’t be connected.

As he looked at Daska, who was elegantly drinking tea in front of him, his gaze naturally sharpened.

However, as there was no evidence, he couldn’t loudly criticise Rei for running away.

(It’s already too much……and now, His Majesty’s orders mean I can’t act carelessly, this just adds to the trouble.)

The castle had been attacked while many guests from other countries had been present, and on top of that, the Third Prince’s faction, led by Mercurio, was now labeled as a rebel army.

Although they had managed to keep things under control, because it was the Bestir Empire, the current situation would already have been fatal for the reputation of any other country.

Even if they tried to resolve the situation, they couldn’t carelessly intervene as they had been ordered by the Emperor to stay on the sidelines.

Persche understood what the Emperor’s goal was, but he coulnd’t help but think……at a time like this?

The result had been the large number of documents he had just approved.

Glancing at the pile of paper on his desk, he predicted that this would mean more work for him and realised that he wouldn’t be able to go to his usual restaurant for dinner tonight.

「So……if Crimson has run away, do you have any idea where he might have gone?」

Giving the timing, it was clear where he had gone. Especially since if he had run away, his Griffon would be with him and it wouldn’t be strange if he had already joined up with the Third Prince’s rebel army.

However, unable to bring it up here, he asked innocently.

……That said, at this time, Rei had yet to join up with the Third Prince’s army and was fighting bandits……though there was no way for him to know.

「Well, who knows. He said he would be training to get stronger, but……he didn’t say anything else.」

「That is……I mean, if Crimson were to break the laws of our country, you understand that he will be punished, right?」

It was a question, but Persche wasn’t looking for an answer. He was jus stating the facts.

If anything were to happen, the Bestir Empire wouldn’t standby and ignore it, those words were said with that in mind……

「Of course. If Rei committed a crime, he would naturally have to be punished according to the laws of that country.」

Daska responded frankly.

If he hesitated here, it would indicate that he and Rei were still connected.

Daska was well aware that the Prime Minister of the Bestir Empire before him was suspicious.

No, he was more than suspicious. He was already certain.

However, with no evidence, it could only remain a suspicion.

That was why he clearly needed to state that his relationship with Rei had already been severed.

Of course, it wasn’t just here. After this, he would have to go to the guild in the Imperial Capital to hire someone as a temporary guard to show that he and Rei were no longer connected.

(Even if I told the Prime Minister, if I only reported it as a private matter, it could mean that Rei and I are still connected.)

Thinking to himself, Daska spoke with a smile.

「We’re also worried about the guards now that Rei is gone. We plan to arrange for additional guards at the guild after this.」

「……I see.」

Persche was probably thinking the same thing as Daska in his mind. Outwitted once again, Persche replied with a slight twitch in his fleshy cheeks.

Even so, he kept a slight smile on his face, which was probably only possible as the Prime Minister.

「I see, then, I will contact the guild as well. It should be faster that way.」

「That would be a great help. We would like to hire some talented people.」

「……But, even if he’s already run away, missing the award ceremony at the castle will likely cause problems later on.」

「I hope we can get the Prime Minister’s help with that. As a citizen of the Mireana Kingdom, I am sorry about this.」

The reason why Daska casually mentioned the name of the Mireana Kingdom in the conversation was because he was using their victory in the Spring War as a shield.

(However……Crimson, who played an important role in the Spring War, fled, even if only on the surface. And, it’s highly likely that he has joined the Third Prince’s faction, who have been deemed traitors. So……is this a good opportunity for us? But who should we choose? If we choose a mediocre opponent, it’s clear from the tournament that he’s a person that can be easily managed. ……I see. A tournament, huh. There’s a good opportunity.)

After quickly calculating in his head, Persche nodded, pretending to be reluctant.

「I understand. I will take care of the award ceremony. However, please make sure you don’t forget to stick to the terms agreed upon in this meeting.」

Daska’s gaze sharpened for a moment, as if noticing something in the words he had been told.

However, the moment, Rei was mentioned in the matter, he had already predicted that some trouble would occur. If Rei had to go through some trouble, it would be something he had brought on himself.

Even so, he couldn’t stop the bitter expression from forming in his mind.

It was true that his relationship with Rei was that of an employer and adventurer. Still, after working together, it was only natural that they would have built some familiarity.

Still, he couldn’t hesitate here, so Daska suppressed his thoughts and nodded.

「I understand, do as you wish.」

Don’t die, Rei. Daska held those thoughts in his mind.

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