The results of the battle between the punitive force and the rebel army spread in secret, even in the Imperial Capital.

Since the battle was meant to be a defeat from the start, with the sole purpose of scouting the strength of the other side, Shurus had no intention of making a big announcement over it.

Still, the rumours couldn’t be stopped entirely and word of the defeat secretly spread throughout the Imperial Capital from the soldiers who had fled or the villages and towns along the road, who had witnessed their defeat.

That said, Shurus didn’t think he could stop the news from spreading. If he really wanted to prevent any information from leaking out, he would have to kill everyone who had fought in the battle and survived. He would then have to kill all the residents of the villages and towns who had seen them fleeing.

In any case, the rumours of the defeat were now known by everyone with a basic level of information gathering……it was basically an open secret.

Meanwhile……

「No good. I haven’t heard anything about Crimson hiding among the rebels.」

A voice echoed in a room inside a building in the Imperial Capital.

「……But, isn’t it true that he’s close to Princess Vihera? Since Princess Vihera is cooperating with the rebels, it’s highly likely that Crimson has joined them.」

「I think that’s true, but he hasn’t actually appeared in battle, right?」

「Either they haven’t joined up yet, or they’re somewhere else……those are the likely options.」

「Normally, we’d follow or search for him, but the problem is that he has a Griffon. No matter what we do, we’d always be behind, and even if we get any information on where they are, they would be gone by the time we get there.」

A woman sighed as she reached for the fruit on her plate……but suddenly stopped as she asked the man in front of her with a concerned expression on her face.

「Do you want to eat some too, Sistoi?」

「No, I’m fine. I haven’t had much of an appetite since that incident.」

Muttering, Sistoi focused his attention on the woman……Mulla, as she looked at him.

Seeing her partner like that, Mulla quietly muttered an ‘I see’ to herself.

Mulla and Sistoi were the pair from Requiem’s Toll that had attacked Rei.

However, Rei’s ridiculous fighting skills had caused their attack to fail and Sistoi had been injured when Rei had taken one of their poisoned daggers and thrown it back at him.

Sistoi had made a living as a skilled assassin in the underworld, so he managed to withstand the lethal poison that coated the, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t affected at all.

Loss of appetite was one of the negative effects.

He didn’t know if it was temporary or if it would follow him for the rest of his life as an aftereffect of the poison, but Sistoi still felt lucky to have survived.

Even if his appetite had decreased, it wasn’t like he couldn’t eat and he could eat normally if he wanted to.

Perhaps realising that Mulla was worried about him, Sistoi stopped talking about his condition and returned to the topic in question.

「Anyway. The order we received to kill Crimson is still in effect. Since that’s the case, we need to think of a way to get closer to him.」

Hearing his words, Mulla frowned as she swallowed the sweet and sour fruit in her mouth.

It was as if the fruit she had just eaten had turned bitter.

「It’s difficult. The hardest part is that he now knows your face.」

「……And, to be honest, even if we can get close to him, we won’t be able to do anything up front. There’s still a chance if it’s poison but……since we used it once and failed, he’ll probably be wary.」

「The dolls can’t compete with his skill on their own either.」

Of the two, Sistoi, who had to put his real body on the line, couldn’t beat Rei, even if he sneaked up on him, particularly with Set around.

Mulla, who could brainwash others and use them as dolls, was in a less dangerous position, but it was impossible to take Rei down with dolls in the first place.

They were stuck on all sides. That was how Mulla and Sistoi felt.

「But, if we can’t complete this order, we’ll be the next ones in danger.」

「That’s true.」

Requiem’s Toll was well known in the underworld, but their rules were strict.

Their justification for the attack in the stadium waiting room was to check the other side’s strength.

In fact, regarding that attack, it could really be considered a probing one.

However, that excuse wouldn’t work forever, and recently, when she had gone to report their progress, she had felt that the looks she received were gradually becoming filled with suspicion.

「Seriously, it’s unreasonable to be the only ones facing such a monster. If they’re serious about doing something to Crimson, I wish they would send more people. And not just some randoms, but people with experience.」

「That’s unreasonable.」

Though Sistoi said that, there was a small smile on his lips, contrary to his tone.

It was a smile that came from the knowledge that they were the ones with the best skill among Requiem’s Toll’s current members.

(Even if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean anything in our current situation. The other skilled people have their own tasks. In the end, there’s no choice but for me and Mulla to do it.)

Thinking to himself, he spoke up about the actions they should take.

「No matter how we get our hands on Crimson, in the end, we have to get close to him. To do that, our top priority is to find out where Crimson is.」

「So that’s what we still have to do in the end.」

「No matter how skilled we are, we can’t do anything if we don’t know where the target is. In that sense, I never expected Crimson to leave Margrave Rowlocks.」

「As I said before, I think he’s probably with the rebel army. If we infiltrate the rebel army, there will be various issues since our faces are known. Can we get someone from the organisation to get us in?」

「I guess that’s inevitable.」

After thinking about it, Sistoi nodded.

Since they couldn’t complete their mission without a target, they had to find where Rei was.

It was because they understood this that they made that decision.

To be honest, Sistoi didn’t want other members to come into contact with Rei.

He was worried that they might find out that he and Mulla had failed a previous attack and also scared that Rei might see through their disguise if they made a mistake, which would lead to a lot of bad things happening.

As Sistoi was thinking like that, Mulla suddenly spoke up as if noticing something.

「Hey, I was just thinking……what if Crimson was just hunting monster in a random place?」

「Even if you ask me. ……What would you do?」

「No, I’m the one who asked, so don’t answer my question with another question.」

That was what Mulla said, but if that was truly the case, there would really be nothing they could do.

If he was in the rebel army, they could still find their base.

But, if Rei was just hunting monster in a random place like Mulla had said, probably in a mountain or forest, then they would really be screwed.

To make matters worse, Mulla had heard that one of Rei’s hobbies was collecting magic stones.

If you thought about it, it was entirely possible.

If that were to happen, it would be more than just difficult to find Rei, who could freely fly around on a Griffon.

「……I don’t even want to imagine it.」

「I agree.」

Muttering briefly to each other, exchanging glances……they prayed that Rei would be in the rebel army.

 

 

At the same time, in a corner of the Imperial Capital, where the nobles had all their mansions.

An angry voice echoed within one of the mansions.

「Don’t mess with me!」

With that shout, the sound of something breaking could be heard.

This was an office that had been completely soundproofed to prevent eavesdropping. That was why no sound could be heard from outside the room, but if it hadn’t been soundproofed, the people working in the mansion would probably have had their eyes go wide in shock.

Why was their master, who was usually thoughtful, acting so wildly?

There were many reasons why their master……Count Schwindel, was acting so wild.

For example, the man who killed his daughter’s fiancee had come second in the fighting tournament and was praised by the whole Imperial Capital.

And yet, he had gone as far as to overestimate his own position and failed to attend the award ceremony in the castle.

On top of that, he had abandoned the person he was supposed to guard.

And, most of all, that person……Crimson, had gone missing with no trace of him to be found.

He had requested Requiem’s Toll to eliminate him, but he had heard nothing since.

When Crimson hadn’t shown up for the award ceremony, he had thought maybe……so he had inquired with Requiem’s Toll, but they had told him that the request had yet to be fulfilled.

If that was the case, had an assassin hired by another noble taken the kill? That was what he thought.

Crimson was currently being praised by the Imperial Capital, but his true identity was the man who had caused tremendous damage to the Imperial Army in the Spring War.

It wouldn’t be strange for other people aside from himself to hold a grudge. In fact, he felt that it was only natural……but he had no choice but to face reality after hearing information that Crimson had boldly left the Imperial Capital.

In other words, the person he considered to be his sworn enemy was completely missing. He even thought that, in the worst case, he might have left the Bestir Empire and returned to the Mireana Kingdom.

Normally, this would be considered overthinking or worrying too much, but Crimson had a Griffon.

It was said that the flying speed of a Griffon was superior to that of a Wyvern ridden by a Dragon Knight.

Given that it had been more than 10 days since Crimson had disappeared, it wasn’t surprising to think he might have already returned to the Mireana Kingdom.

「That’s the one thing……the one thing I will never forgive! I will never forgive you!」

As he shouted, he swung his hand in anger, knocking a pitcher on his desk and sending it crashing into the floor.

As it was made of glass, it broke on impact, spilling water all over the place.

However, Count Schwindel didn’t seem to notice the state of the floor at all as he threw a chair at a painting hanging on the wall, causing it to break and fall to the floor.

If the people who were usually around Count Schwindel were to see this, they wouldn’t believe their eyes.

That was the extent of Count Schwindels angry outburst.

After hearing the news that her fiancee had died, his daughter had been so shocked that she locked herself inside her room.

His wife had died of illness a few years ago and Count Schwindel’s only wish since had been for his daughter to be happy.

Although her marriage to her fiancee had been a political one, in reality, they had been childhood friends from when they were barely old enough to understand anything.

From childhood friends to fiancees, and then to lovers……it was a bit out of order, but it wasn’t that strange for nobles.

They had been planning to be married after the Spring War……but then they had been defeated.

The result was the current situation.

Of course, even Count Schwindel knew that it wasn’t good to dwell on grudges from the war for this long.

But, even so……he couldn’t forgive Crimson for putting his daughter into such a state.

「Crimson……damn Crimson. Where have you gone? Where have you vanished to?! What the hell is Requiem’s Toll doing?! How can they not take down that guy after taking such a large deposit?! Weren’t they a skilled underworld organisation?」

He shouted towards empty space, but of course, no one answered.

This only made him more irritated, leading to further destruction of the room.

If Count Schwindel had known that Rei was with Vihera……and the rest of the rebel army, he might have led his troops into a charge against the rebels.

He would have brought along everyone he had to the Imperial Capital, regardless of the fact that his territory was far away.

Fortunately, Count Schwindel had no way of finding out where Rei had gone, so he could only bottle up his irritation in his mansion, resorting to vandalism.

In such a situation, it was only natural that his irritation would show on his face……and with each passing day, his irritation only grew stronger, causing anxiety for those working in the mansion.

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