「Captain Rei! Is it true that you’re leaving us behind and heading to the Imperial Capital!?」

「Yeah, it’s true. We are leaving the camp early tomorrow morning for the Imperial Capital. But, you seem quite aware of it. This matter was supposed to be kept secret.」

The First Princess, Frizione, would lead her own faction to escape the Imperial Capital and join up with Mercurio’s rebel army.

Naturally, it was best to keep all this a secret, even within the rebel army. Even so, if Rei, who was now recognised as the rebel army’s greatest fighting force, were to disappear, it would only be natural for some within the rebel army to become concerned.

That was why Tilleyle had spread rumours that Rei would soon be setting out on his own. Naturally, the rumours didn’t include any information about where he would be going to.

「I heard it from Vice Captain Pernyx. We are Captain Rei’s unit, the guerrilla unit, so in case something happens, it is better for us to know more than the others.」

「……I see.」

「Oh, of course, we haven’t leaked any of this information outside of the unit, so don’t worry.」

「Is that so, that’s a great help.」

「So……is it true that you will be going to the Imperial Capital alone?」

When the soldier asked Rei, the other members of the guerrilla unit also looked over, hoping for an answer.

Their gazes were all filled with trust, so Rei found it hard to refuse them.

Unlike the first question, this question was regarding whether Rei would be going alone.

The guerrilla soldiers had built up a strong sense of solidarity after experiencing their overwhelming victory against the latest punitive force.

Some had even started to feel more attachment to the guerrilla unit than the units they had come from.

That was why it was worrying for them when they heard that Rei, the commander, leader, and central pillar of the guerrilla would be acting alone.

However……Rei just smiled back at the worried soldiers as he reached for Set’s head, who had been watching the conversation play out.

「It’s not like I’m the only one going. Set will be with me as well……」

「Gurururu~」

Set narrowed his eyes as he gave a happy cry, enjoying Rei’s pats.

Among those who were watching Set from the side, there were several soldiers, both male and female, who felt a great urge to start patting the cat like Set.

「In addition, the White Rose Knights will also going with me.」

「Those people?」

The soldier muttered in surprise, but there was no hint of dissatisfaction in his words.

The mock battle between Rei and Widele had taken place sever days ago. After that, they had trained with the rest of the White Rose Kinghts and gained a good understanding of their abilities.

In terms of pure skill, the soldiers from the guerrilla unit were only a little behind the knights.

That was probably why the soldiers were able to accept the White Rose Knights without any bias.

……Of course, the White Rose Knights were a knight order under the direct command of the First Princess that consisted entirely of women. As a result, many people, not just those from the guerrilla unit, thought of them as some sort of secret flower garden.

The fact that all the knights had above average looks further played into those thoughts.

In fact, upon hearing that the White Rose Knights would be leaving with Rei, many of the male soldiers had sad expressions on their faces.

Seeing that, some of the female soldiers looked at them with disdain.

「Anyway, that’s why you don’t need to worry about me. Rather, make sure you train properly while I’m gone.」

If all went well, the White Rose Knights would return to the camp with their main force, but Rei couldn’t say that yet.

Instead, he warned the soldiers from the guerrilla force.

(Well, with Pernyx here, they probably won’t slack off.)

Rei thought of the Vice Captain, who was currently reporting to Theorem regarding the unit.

The soldiers seemed to think of their Vice Captain as well and their faces twitched as the thought of what would happen if they were caught slacking off in training.

「Kuku~, well, if you train normally, it won’t be that bad……but listen up.」

Rei gave a light smile as his voice changed from a joking tone to a serious one.

Rei’s face might look childlike or feminine, but the soldiers knew his strength and didn’t make fun of him for that.

In fact, Rei had an aura about him that would overwhelm others around.

「You all……no, including me, we make up the guerrilla unit. If you look at us just by our name, it may not seem like it, but our track record shows that we are the strongest unit in the rebel army. What other unit could fight against thousands with less than 30 people and wipe them all out without taking any casualties?」

「But, that’s……only because of Captain Rei……」

「No.」

Rei denied the soldier’s words.

「It was true that I was the main force. But it was only possible because you guys killed the enemies that fled the camp. Without you, I could have done a lot of damage to the punitive force, but it wouldn’t have been as complete of a victory.」

「Captain……」

Someone with that level of inhuman strength……their captain, Rei, was acknowledging them.

With that understanding, the soldiers couldn’t say anymore as each of them held an expression of deep emotion.

「Ah, well, that is, you know. Anyway, I can definitely say that you are the elites of the rebel army. Don’t forget that and keep training without becoming too arrogant.」

『Yes!』

Seeing them all reply at once, Rei looked slightly embarrassed. He cleared his throat before taking the Death Scythe out of the Misty Ring.

「All this aside, I won’t be with the rebel army for a while starting from tomorrow, I’ll be pretty strict today.」

Their unanimous reply from before disappeared completely. The soldiers’ faces twitched when they heard that Rei would be stricter on them today.

The training they had received up until now was already tough enough.

Despite them all being elites, their training was already hard enough that they could barely eat.

It was impossible for them to feel happy after being told their training today would be a step up from that.

Unfortunately, there was no way Rei would grant them their wish……that day, the entire guerrilla unit, except for their Vice Captian, Pernyx, experienced what could be called hell on earth.

 

 

While the guerrilla unit was undergoing intense training inside the camp, interrogations were taking place elsewhere.

Inside a tent hidden by several other tents was Sobble, who had previously been taken prisoner by Rei.

Although he was being interrogated, he wasn’t being tortured or anything like that. Rather, they were simply listening to what he had to say.

Sobble might have been an excellent source of information, but he was also very loyal to his master, Kabajid, and wouldn’t carelessly leak any information.

And above all, he was a valueable pawn in negotiations with Kabajid.

That was why he had been isolated in a separate tent from the other nobles they had taken prisoner from the first punitive force.

It was also to prevent Sobble from plotting anything strange with them.

「So, when I told him that it wasn’t right, what do you think he said?」

「I don’t know. Maybe something like ‘stop messing around’?」

Sobble gave a brief reply to his interrogator.

It might seem like they were just conversing, but it was the only way to get information out of someone who didn’t share anything, couldn’t be tortured, and wouldn’t accept any sort of deal.

The rebels had offered various deals at first. For example, would he defect to them? What if they treated the people they previously captured worse? Did he want to eat better food? Was he interested in beautiful women?

However, Sobble rejected them all. He even went as far as to say that the nobles taken prisoner previously were not worth anything at all because they came from a different faction.

Sobble was the perfect source of information regarding Kabajid, but considering the pros and cons of getting the information out of him, they couldn’t take any drastic measures. Because of that, they had resorted to getting as much as they could out of him via small talk.

Although Sobble understood that, he still went along with it because he knew that if he ignored them for too long, they might resort to other means.

In addition, if he was careful with his small talk, he could avoid giving away any information. He might even be able to get some information about rebel army instead.

As he was a prisoner, there was no way for him to escape with his physical abilities.

All he could do was to get as much information as he could from the interrogator in front of him to potentially help Kabajid in the future.

It was with that understanding that he continued his small talk with the interrogator.

「’That’s the thing’ he said, ‘if I’m going to do something like that, I’m going to do it secretly’. Can you believe that?」

「Secretly, huh? Some people would be happier that way.」

「Really? I would have just done it openly……hm?」

The interrogator stopped talking as he heard footsteps approaching the tent. He reached for the long sword at his waist.

The test was in a place that was hard to find, even within the camp, and was hidden such that it couldn’t be seen from other tents either.

Naturally, there were soldiers guarding the surroundings, so they would chase away anyone who got too close.

In other words, they had received permission from the higher ups to come here……

(Or maybe they’ve neutralised all the soldiers on guard.)

Unpleasant thoughts crossed the interrogator’s mind.

There was a reason for his nervousness of course.

He had originally requested his superiors to block anyone from coming while he was here.

No matter how much he tried to extract information from Sobble through casual conversation, it didn’t change the fact that Sobble was still a prisoner.

Naturally, he had to be careful to not let him escape and his full attention was on that.

If a complete stranger were to enter in such a situation…… The tense interrogator heard a voice talking with the soldiers who were on guard outside the tent and he gave a sigh of relief.

It was because it was a familiar voice.

After exchanging a few words with the guards, the entrance to the tent finally opened.

The person who entered was indeed someone the interrogator knew.

「Sorry to interrupt while you’re talking.」

「Yeah, seriously. So, what do you want? I was just getting to a point.」

The interrogator muttered in a slightly sulky mood as the person who had just entered gave a wry smile, showing him what he was holding in his hand.

In the Bestir Empire, there was a fruit that was often eaten in autumn. It was yellow and about the size of a fist.

It was called raiot and reminded Rei of pears.

It was slightly smaller than the pears Rei had eaten in Japan, but the fruit was undoubtedly a pear.

It might be an exaggeration to call raiot’s seasaonl fruits in autumn, but they were still popular for their juicy sweetness.

They were eaten in many places outside of the Bestir Empire, but the Bestir Empire was particularly fond of them.

The interrogator smiled as the man handed him a raiot, as if his disatisfaction had never existed. Sobble’s lips also curveed slightly.

「It looks delicious, doesn’t it?」

「It certainly does look delicious, but……that doesn’t mean you should bring it over now, right?」

「I got permission from above.」

Considering that the man had gotten this far without being reprimanded by the guards outside the tent or in the surroundings, that must have been the case.

「But, why bother……」

While it was nice for Rei to bring some over some raiots, the interrogator had still asked for no one to intrude during his interrogation, even if it was just small talk.

「Well, don’t worry about it. We can’t just leave you here on your own forever.」

「……Is that all?」

「Yeah. I there’s nothing else going on, I just wanted you to take a break. ……By the way, have you heard? Crimson is leaving camp tomorrow for a mission.」

「Huh? Of course I know. I heard it’s a top secret mission……but well, it’s Crimson. I’m sure it’s going to be something crazy.」

The interrogator replied as he munched on a raiot.

Sobble reacted to what the interrogator said, but……the interrogator didn’t seemed to noticed as he enjoyed the fruit.

As for the man who had brought the fruits in……he gave Sobble a meaningful look for a moment.

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