The red tinted autumn sky was a lonely sight that evoked a nostalgic feeling.

However, the rebel camp didn’t care as they buzzed with joy.

That was only natural, as they had defeated an opposing force that outnumbered them by a thousand with barely any casualties.

Of course, that didn’t mean that the rebels came out of it completely unscathed. There had been a fair number of deaths and several times, even a dozen times, more injured.

Even so, at their camp a short distance from the battlefield, everyone was bubbling with happiness at their victory.

It wasn’t that they weren’t sad about the loss of their comrades. Rather, they felt that if they didn’t rejoice at their victory, they would be disrespecting their comrades who fought on the battlefield.

A short distance from where the rebel army were celebrating their victory feast, Rei and Set watched on.

「……It’s getting pretty lively.」

「Guru~?」

Rei muttered as he leaned against Set, who was lying down on the ground. Set raised his head to look at Rei with a cry.

「Well, they managed to turn the tables and win despite being outnumbered. And, it was an overwhelming victory with limited forces. I can see why they would be so excited. But……」

As Rei stroked Set’s head, he turned to look towards a large number of carriages.

Those carriages were the ones they had taken from the punitive force and they carried a large amount of supplies.

The punitive force had been made up of a large number of nobles, who had brought along their carriages, luxurious tents, alcohol, a variety of food ingredients that far surpassed what could be called rations, treasures such as gold and jewels, weapons such as long swords, spears, shields, and armour, as well as many other items.

The punitive force nobles probably felt that bringing all this was necessary to show off to other nobles.

Some nobles had even used a significant amount of their family’s assets to pay for everything. But, having been defeated and needing to flee in a desperate attempt to survive, the nobles were unable to run away with everything they had brought along. ……As a result, everything they had brought was confiscated by the rebel army.

From the perspective of the nobles, they initially thought they would be able to win due to the difference in numbers. They had brought everything along because they had thought they would never lose, but in the end, they lost everything.

Quite a number of nobles had also been killed in the battle and those had escaped didn’t have the leisure to care about what they had brought.

Of the nobles who participated in the battle, 20% were killed and 70% were taken prisoner, with only 10% escaping.

That was how desperate they were……if they didn’t run fast enough, they would either be killed or captured. Not a single one could spare a thought for anything else.

No, it would be more accurate to say that any who were concerned about what they had brought along were either killed or captured.

As a result, the rebels received an unexpectedly large windfall of income. The ordinary soldiers were treated to food made from ingredients they had never eaten in their lives along with fine wine they had never tasted.

A victory feast for an overwhelming victory, complete with fine wine and delicious food.

It was no wonder that the soldiers were in high spirits.

On a related note, food and alcohol were generously distributed to the rebel soldiers, but everything else……specifically items like jewels, gold, and silver, were confiscated by Mercurio, who publicly declared that it would be seized by the rebel army as a whole.

Normally, there would be people making a fuss, wondering if the higher ups would take it all for themselves.

However, when it came to rebel army, it was a different story.

To begin with, the rebel army could be broadly divided into three groups.

The first, needless to say, were the members of the Third Prince’s faction, who formed the core of the rebel army. Almost everyone in this faction idolised and fully trusted their leader, Mercurio, as well as his trusted subordinate, Theorem. In this situation, few of them would be dissatisfied with such a decision.

The second group comprised of those who had joined the rebel army at Vihera’s request or those who had gathered out of admiration for Vihera. These included Tilleyle, Gurgast, and Karaza. Many of them were devoted to Vihera, so they didn’t care much for what would happen to all the treasures either.

The third group belonged to those who didn’t fit into either of the first two groups. It was made up of adventurers who had gathered for the money and others who had gathered for various other reasons. This included Rei, who had joined the rebel army for battlefields where he could learn to master Overlord’s Armour, as well as Vihera.

The only ones who were dissatisfied with the decision of the rebel army’s higher ups were this third group. But even they didn’t make a big fuss about it, probably because Rei’s presence weighed heavy on them.

This was probably due in large part to the fact that Mercurio had asked Rei in front of the entire rebel army and Rei had given his assent.

His title of Crimson was already well known among the rebel army and word had also spread that he had faced off against the Immovable Noiz in the arena.

More than anything, many had seen Rei’s strength in training, so even if they were dissatisfied with what had happened this time, there was no way they would go against Rei……their lives were worth more than any jewels, gold, or silver.

In addition, since the rebels were trying to hide their strength as much as possible, no other adventurers had participated in today’s battle, outside of Rei being present.

It was hard for them to ask for a share of the profits if they hadn’t worked for it.

「Rei, what’s wrong? Being all alone in a place like this.」

As Rei turned to look in the direction of the voice, he saw Vihera, illuminated by the setting sun and exuding a somewhat divine aura.

The setting sun seemed to give her a halo as the light shone through her thin clothing.

She had a beautiful, clear smile on her face and even Rei, who had interacted with Vihera for a while, was momentarily captivated.

「Rei?」

As Vihera asked curiously, Rei came back to his senses. He stroked Set’s head as he replied.

「It’s not like I’m the only one here. Set’s here as well.」

「Guru~!」

That’s right! Set seemed to say as he gave a cry in agreement.

That said, Set’s beak was still covered in sauce from the skewers Rei had given him a little earlier.

「Ah, that’s right. I forgot about Set. I’m sorry. Anyway, since it’s a victory celebration, why don’t you two join in and enjoy it?」

As she wiped Set’s beak, Vihera pushed a plate she was holding towards Rei and Set.

On it was a dish of Orc meat. It wasn’t just grilled, but steamed to remove the excess fat before grilling over high heat to give it a crispy texture.

It was a dish that went to the extra effort of steaming before grilling before being served with a brown sauce.

Attracted by the rich smell of the sauce, Rei dipped the meat into the sauce with the fork Vihera gave him before bringing it to his mouth.

The first thing that spread through his mouth was the rich flavour of the sauce. Next was the crispy texture of the meat followed by the soft, steamed texture of the inside.

They all blended together in his mouth to form a delicious taste and Rei couldn’t help his eyes going wide.

「Is this……a sauce made from nuts?」

「Correct. You got it right.」

Vihera looked a little surprised at Rei’s words, but she then smiled as she spoke.

「I used to live in the mountains, so I ate nuts and similar things all the time.」

The nutty taste in Rei’s mouth undoubtedly came from walnuts.

As he had just said, when he had been in Japan, he had lived very close to the mountains. Naturally, it wasn’t uncommon to eat nuts such as walnuts.

That was why he had realised it was a walnut sauce.

「I see. This is definitely a sauce made from nuts. The meat is fatty, so I thought it would taste very heavy, but it went surprisingly well with the sauce. Mercurio seemed to enjoy it as well.」

Hearing Vihera’s words, Rei realised that what he had just eaten had to be quite valuable, even among the cargo of high quality ingredients.

Set, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care much about whether the food was rare or not as he just picked up the meat with his beak to eat, it was fine as long as it was delicious.

「Is this okay?」

「It’s fine. There’s enough food for all the higher ups in the rebel army.」

「……I’m not really a high up though.」

If he stayed in the rebel army as a higher up, wouldn’t he end up being of of Mercurio’s subordinate? That was what he feared as he spoke.

However, what he got back was a rather annoyed look from Vihera.

「What are you talking about? In the first place, you and Set make up our guerrilla force. That makes you a unit commander.」

「……Now that you mention it, that seems to be so?」

As Rei replied, he remembered being told something like that.

But, to Rei, a position like unit commander wasn’t of particular interest to him. He just wanted to be able to fight more strong enemies in order to master Overlord’s Armour.

「That’s right. I don’t have any intention of drawing you over to the Bestir Empire because of this, so don’t worry. Besides, if they really want to keep you in the Bestir Emprie after the civil war, I’ll run away with you. ……Right, should we go to Exil again? We were halfway through clearing the dungeon and I want to see Byune.」

For a moment, Rei thought that it might be a good idea, but he quickly shook his head.

No, clearing the dungeon was fine. But if it were just him and Vihera, there would be a lot of scary things that would happen later. Specifically, Elena, Elena, Elena, and lastly, Elena.

Considering that, even if they were to ever head to Exil, it would be best to have Elena with them.

In terms of the party’s fighting power and balance, it would be best to form a party with Vihera, Elena, and Byune. It would also be best for his mental stability.

Vihera probably didn’t read Rei’s thoughts, but she smiled as she sat down next to him.

「Hey, Rei. Regardless of what the future holds, you’ll be busy from here on.」

「……I guess so. Today’s battle was more of a test of our strength by the punitive force……or rather, your brothers. Since we intentionally didn’t wipe out their cavalry, I’m sure they’ll be more serious about attacking next time.」

「I guess so. That’s why the next battle will be a test for the rebel army. I’m sure we’ll have to ask you to take part in it.」

「That’s fine by me. But……I just had an idea.」

「An idea?」

As Rei talked with Vihera, he suddenly……really suddenly, thought of something. He told Vihera about his thoughts, which could hardly be considered a plan.

Vihera seemed convinced after hearing it, but asked a question as she looked at Rei.

「Are you sure? It would certainly be easier for us if we did that, but it would mean that you wouldn’t be able to fight the way you wanted to.」

「No, it’s not a problem. They lost the first battle so overwhelmingly and they’ll lose the next one the same way. If they lose two battles in a row, the reputation of the Bestir Empire will be completely destroyed. If that happens, they’ll have to attack with a force that they couldn’t imagine losing with in the third battle.」

「……I wonder if it will go that well.」

Vihera murmured as she thought of the First Prince, Kabajid, in her mind.

(If Shurus takes the lead like this time, things might go as Rei had planned, but with Kabajid, what kind of methods would he use……?)

It wasn’t surprising that he had predicted the Third Prince’s faction would attack the castle, given the rumors that Mercurio’s life was in danger.

However, he had even predicted that they would attack during the tournament and there was a felling that he had made use of their actions to rescue Mercurio.

If they were to face Kabajid, whose actions were so unpredictable, it would be hard to know whether things would go according to Rei’s thoughts or not.

(Still……if we can win the next battle without suffering any casualties, we’d certainly have the advantage in battles from then on.)

The First Prince’s faction, the Second Prince’s faction, and the First Princess’ faction were all powerful enemies compared to the rebel army. Considering the overwhelming difference in power, it was certainly convenient in many ways to go along with Rei’s proposed plan.

「I understand. I’ll talk to them about it. I’m sure Theorem would be in favour of it……though Gurgast will probably want to get involved as well.」

Vihera nodded with a small smile as Rei once again reached for the food on his plate as he watched the sun sink completely into the night.

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