At the Eternal Sky Pavilion. As all the staffed bowed towards him, Daska head for his carriage outside the inn.
The award ceremony for the fighting tournament had been held a few days ago.
However, as neither the winner, Noiz, nor the runner up, Rei, attended the ceremony, the atmosphere was naturally somewhat gloomy.
As an S rank adventurer and the friend of Emperor Tragist, not much could be done about Noiz. Instead, the attendees directed somewhat accusing glances towards Daska, the former employer of Rei.
However, Daska himself hadn’t cared as he brushed off their gazes like wind in the willows.
Even among those invited from the surrounding countries, there was no one who could be considered a major figure at the award ceremony as only the third and fourth place competitors received their rewards.
Once the ceremony was over, the people who had come from other countries started on their own actions.
Specifically regarding the civil war.
Since they were in the Imperial Capital, the center of the civil war, it was only natural that they would want to gather as much information as they could regarding the situation.
Even Emperor Tragist didn’t say anything in particular regarding it, as if he didn’t mind this being seen by others.
Normally, a civil war occurring when guests were present……particularly guests from neighbouring countries, countries that had been defeated, countries that were effectively vassal states, and special places like the Magic City, would be bad. It was the same as having your reputation stepped on. However, Tragist just smiled ferociously……as if he welcomed it.
If a civil war broke out, wouldn’t it be better to at least ask the visitors from other countries to leave as soon as possible? That was what Pesche had suggested, but the moment he saw that smile, he decided that there was no point in saying anything. All he could do was sigh in resignation.
To Tragist, the current situation in the Empire was close to what he was hoping for.
If others thought that now would be a good time to deal with the Empire, he would gladly accept it.
Pesche understood that, which was why he reluctantly retreated.
Many guests remained in the Imperial Capital, gathering information, but Daska decided to leave the Eternal Sky Pavilion and return to the Mireana Kingdom.
To be honest, he wanted to gather information as well, but if word spread that Rei, who was supposedly no longer under his employ, was in the rebel army, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble.
in addition, Rhodes, who he had brought along as an escort, had sided with the First Prince.
In the worst case scenario, people might even start saying that the Mireana Kingdom was pulling the strings behind the civil war.
……Although that was technically half true.
Rather than pulling the strings behind the scenes, it would be more accurate to say that they were directing the war in collaboration with Mercurio, the Third Prince and leader of the rebel army.
Either way, if they continued to stay in the Imperial Capital, there was a risk that someone would come and investigate Daska in closer detail, so he decided to leave first and head back to the Mireana Kingdom.
The number of guards around him had decreased with Rei, Set, and Rhodes gone. As a result, the number of people in Daska’s group naturally decreased as well……or not.
「Margrave Rowlocks, are you sure you want to hire people like us? Though we might look like this, Wind Dragon’s Fang is still a made up of people from the Bestir Empire. ……Ouch, I mean we are adventurers from the Bestir Empire.」
Mosst swung his staff down at Luzi’s head to correct his poor choice of words.
Luzi hurriedly corrected himself in pain, but Elk couldn’t help but give a wry chuckle when he saw that.
It was because it was like he was looking at himself and Min.
As he was thinking this, Elk glance over at Min, who was standing next to him.
Min usually had a serious expression on her face. That hadn’t changed even now. However……
(She’s still good at putting up a front.)
After being married to Min for so long, Elk could see at a glance that she was currently acting tough.
(In the end, she had to leave Rhodes behind in the Bestir Empire. It was what Rhodes wanted, so I guess it can’t be helped……but is this the difference between a father and a mother?)
I know she’s worried about her son, but she’s worrying too much. Is it because I’m a father that I think this way?
As Elk was thinking about that, Daska turned to Luzi and spoke with a smile.
「I’m sure that there are many thoughts that the Mireana Kingdom and Bestir Empire have regarding each other. But, adventurers belong to a separate organisation to countries. Well, it’s only natural that you would feel differently because it’s the country you were born it. But look at Rei. He’s an adventurer from the the Mireana Kingdom, but he ran away from me to join the Bestir Empire, you know?」
「Ah……that’s true.」
Luzi couldn’t help but agree with what Daska said.
He’d hardly ever seen an adventurer who acted as freely as Rei.
He also felt that it was the secret to Rei’s strength.
「Besides, as I said before, I’m only asking you to take me to the border of the Bestir Empire…… Well, if you really want, you can come with us to Gilm, in the Mireana Kingdom.」
Daska made the invitation, having already confirmed the abilities of Wind Dragon’s Fang in the fighting tournament. Above all, he knew from Rei and Rhodes that there were no issues with their personalities.
Since they had no issues with their skill or ability, he wanted to recruit them as active adventurers on Gilm’s frontier if possible.
Daska’s trick was that he only asked Luzi and the others to work in Gilm rather than to serve him.
As someone who controlled a frontier territory, his connections with adventurers was wide and deep. Because of that, he understood very well the independence of adventurers and their dislike of being tied down.
That said, all adventurers were different, so that was just the tendencies that he had observed.
It was just fortunate that the adventurers in Gilm and the members of Wind Dragon’s Fang, including Luzi, acted similarly.
Anyway, he wanted to recruit them to Gilm, so he had made a designated request at the adventurers guild for them to escort him. He believed he had the chance to change their minds before they fully left the Bestir Empire.
「Hmmm……well, even if you say that……」
「I’m not saying you have to decided right now. You can decided before we leave the Bestir Empire. When it comes down to it, you could also spend a month or so in Gilm to see.」
「……I’m happy that you value our skills so much. I’ll talk to my friends about it to decide. Ouch!」
Mosst dropped his educational guidance on Luzi’s head again.
Daska nodded and smiled at their exchange.
「Please do that. I’m sure that there are frontier areas in the Bestir Empire as well, but the Mireana Kingdom’s frontier is a very harsh place. The more skilled adventurers there are the better and, if you hone your skills in a place like this, you might become as strong as Rei.」
At those words, Luzi’s gaze sharpened for a moment.
Having experience Rei’s strength countless times in training as well as seeing him face off against Noiz, who had overwhelmed him, those words were appealing to Luzi.
Luzi knew that the Bestir Empire also had areas which could be called the frontier, but he felt that while they might both be called frontiers, the Bestir Empire’s frontiers might be different from the Mireana Kingdom’s.
In fact, even if they were called the same thing, it was only natural that the monsters that lived there, the plants that grew, and minerals that could be found would differ greatly depending on the location.
No, in fact, even in Gilm’s vicinity, there were places that would be very different if you traveled just a little further away.
(In that case, we cannot deny the possibility that there may be something around Gilm that can strengthen the power of adventurers.)
Mosst, who was listening into Luzi’s conversation, muttered to himself.
In fact, frontiers meant unexplored territory, so anything could happen.
「……I’ll think about it.」
Luzi’s expression was very serious as he replied.
Ignoring the extraordinary existence that was Noiz, maybe they had a chance to reach where Rei was. That was what Luzi was thinking.
Even if it was only in part of the Bestir Empire, their party, Wind Dragon’s Fang, was fairly well known.
Furthermore, it wasn’t just their names which were well known, but also their skills, which was clear from the fact that they all made it to the main rounds of the fighting tournament.
However……it was also true that it was because of their abilities that they wanted to aim even higher.
Perhaps they could catch up with Rei, who was currently out of Luzi’s reach. It was only natural that they would grasp at any opportunity.
「I see. Well, as I said before, about this matter, I would like to hear your answer when we leave the Bestir Empire.」
With that, Daska entrusted his safety to them as escorts and got into his carriage.
Elk and min followed after, leaving only Luzi and Mosst behind.
Luzi seemed to be thinking about something and Mosst gave a sigh as he swung his staff at Luzi’s head again before heading for the carriage that had been assigned to them.
As the carriages departed, the staff of the Eternal Sky Pavilion all bowed their heads to see them off.
「About the punitive force and the rebel army, it seems the punitive force was easily defeated.」
Vaycul spoke a few minutes after the carriages departed.
「……Isn’t that too quick? They only left a few days ago, right?」
Perhaps because he was thinking about Daska’s proposal, Luzi was a little slow to respond.
However, his question was quick.
When an army, including punitive forces, departed, it was normal for a grand ceremony to be held.
This was especially true for cases like this time, where nobles had set out.
However, this time, the punitive force had departed without any ceremony at all.
Those who knew the nobles who had been sent couldn’t help but be confused. But, for Shurus, who had planned this, it was a battle that was always meant to be lost.
With that in mind, there was no room for a lavish send off.
「Either the enemy was that strong, or the punitive force was that weak.」
Mosst muttered and Vaycul nodded in agreement.
「It seems that it was both. The punitive force was surprisingly weak and the rebels were surprisingly strong. The battle lasted about an hour. I understand that Princess Vihera was cooperating with the rebels.」
「Princess Vihera?!」
The three members of Wind Dragon’s Fang were born in the Bestir Empire. Naturally, they had heard stories about Vihera’s strength and free spiritedness.
「If Princess Vihera is on the side of the rebels……this civil war will drag on, whether they like it or not.」
「But, there’s not much time until winter, is there?」
Of course, it snowed here in winter. If that happened, the civil war would likely last a long time.
Armies wouldn’t be able to move, and even if they could, it would be extremely difficult.
Of course, just because it was winter didn’t mean it would snow a lot immediately and there were winters where it sometimes didn’t snow at all.
However, it was hard to imagine either side hoping for that to happen when the civil war started.
If that was the case.
(Did the rebels intend to fight a short war from the beginning? Or did they plan to drag it until next spring? Either one is possible.)
Mosst muttered to himself as he turned to look outside the carriage.
What was spread before him was a blue autumn sky. The direct sunlight wasn’t as intense as in summer, but it was fine weather that seemed just right for being outdoors.
「It’s nice weather, isn’t it?」
「Hm? Ah, yeah. ……So, Vaycul. How about Rei, the important one? Did he go out to fight?」
Luzi gave a random reply to Mosst before asking Vaycul.
Considering what he had heard in the dining area before, there was no doubt that Rei was involved in the civil war. That was what he had been thinking when he asked, but……
「Apparently Rei was not seen at all. Of course, the source of information was a soldier that had fled the battlefield, so it was possible that they had already been losing at that point and didn’t have the time or attention for anything else.」
But, even as she said that, Vaycul was certain that Rei had not participated in the battle.
First of all, Rei wielded a scythe that was taller than himself and was accompanied by a Griffon. He was extremely conspicuous and you would never forget if you saw him for even a moment.
「In that case……I wonder what happened to Rei.」
Only Luzi’s murmurs could be heard in the carriage as it headed for the border.