It had been about three days since Rei had arrived in the Imperial Capital and hid inside the castle……or more precisely, inside Frizione’s cabin.

He didn’t have much to do, but there were many books inside the hut, which he had started to look through.

There were monster encyclopedias, books about magic attributes, books about spirits, books about magic items, and even books on swordsmanship, which was outside of Rei’s expertise.

Of course, the books around the sofa that Rei was sitting on were not all practical books. There were also story collections of folklore from all over the country, fairy tales, picture books used by the children of nobles to learn how to read, and even cook books.

A wide variety of books were piled up haphazardly around the sofa.

Of course, these weren’t books that Rei had taken out from the Misty Ring.

Rei himself only kept a few books on hand, one being a monster encyclopedia.

To begin with, books were very expensive in this world and not something an ordinary adventurer could afford to own many of.

In fact, with the exception of mages, most adventurers didn’t own any books at all.

So, why were there so many books inside the cabin? It was because Frizione, Angela, Widele, and the White Rose Knights who were friendly with him had brought them over to kill time.

Currently, the perception of Rei was split right down the middle among the White Rose Knights.

One side admired Rei’s strength, were attracted by Set’s cuteness, and viewed him favourably as a guest of their master, Frizione, and as an ally.

The other side wasn’t particularly malicious, but they couldn’t treat him kindly due to the death of people they had known during the Spring War, his disrespectful attitude towards people like Frizione and Angela, and the fact that Vihera, whom they admired, had feelings for Rei, which he didn’t reciprocate.

Between these two groups, it was the former that brought books to Rei.

Of course, the piles of books, that were brought over after hearing that Rei had too much free time, were merely loaned to him and not gifts.

They would naturally be returned to Frizione when he left the castle.

But even so, the ability to read books was something Rei found pleasing.

He had always liked to read, but books were expensive in this world.

Of course, considering Rei’s current wealth, an amount that an ordinary person would never spend in their entire lifetime, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to buy all these books and stored them in the Misty Ring.

The main reason why he hadn’t done that was simply because he hadn’t had the leisure to do that.

It had been about a year and a half since he came to Elgin. It would be two years in just a few more months.

During that time, he had been caught up in many troubles, so he hadn’t had the time to buy or read any books, aside from practical books like monster encyclopedias.

If he ever needed information, Gilm had a library and he could often solve his problems by just talking with a friendly guild receptionist, like Lenora or Kenny.

「Well, this series of troubles can’t go on forever……I can collect some books when I have some free time……these troubles will stop eventually, right?」

Just thinking about everything he had been through, Rei was filled with anxiety.

In fact, he had been caught up in many things that an ordinary person might only experience once in their lifetime, run wild in those situations, and managed to solve them all somehow.

His track record meant that the chances of him getting into more trouble after his current trouble was resolved was high……but he didn’t seem to notice it.

「Besides……I haven’t been able to hunt monsters properly since coming to the Bestir Empire.」

Monster materials aside, as a user of the Magic Beast Art, he wanted magic stones from monsters he hadn’t seen before.

If it were possible, once this matter was resolved, he wanted to go to the Bestir Empire’s frontier to fight new monsters and hunt for magic stones. As he though about it, he reached for more dried fruit to eat……but his hand felt only air.

「Huh?」

He felt suspicious that he couldn’t grab anything and looked at the table……where he found that all the dried fruit was already gone.

「……Damn it. Frizione’s going to be mad at me.」

Frizione had come to the cabin a few times since Rei started living in it, but every time she saw that the dried fruit was gone, she would look at Rei with a sulky and accusing expression.

In addition to the dried fruit, all the dried meat had already ended up in Rei’s stomach.

When Frizione had found out, she had looked at Rei with an expression that was hard to believe coming from a Princess.

「After the dried meat, I’ve eaten all the dried fruit as well……ah well, I guess it can’t be helped.」

Sighing, he reached for a raiot that he took out form the Misty Ring.

The fruit had the texture, taste, and moistness of a pear, so it wasn’t the best fruit to eat while reading a book.

Books were expensive……and he couldn’t afford to stain a book he had only borrowed, so he set it aside for the time being.

The raiot had been kept cool, so when he bit into it through the thin skin, the cold juice filled his mouth along with the crisp texture.

「No matter how you look at it, it’s a pear. It’s tasty though, so it’s fine.」

Crunch, crunch, crunch, finishing the raiot and feeling full, he washed his hands, which were sticky from the juice, using the Dagger of Flowing Water.

Just as he was about to reach for the book again, he suddenly stopped.

That was because he sensed someone approaching the cabin.

「……Now, who could it be? There’s no sign of any murderous intent, so I don’t think it’s an enemy.」

Muttering to himself, Rei exited the cabin.

The person who had come was, as expected, someone familiar to Rei.

「Widele.」

「Hello, Rei-sama. I heard you had a lot of free time, so I came over to talk with you……is that okay?」

「Yeah. All I can do right now is train, eat, and sleep anyway.」

With that much to do, surely you won’t be bored, right? Widele thought that for a moment, but she had come here to let Rei know about the current plans of the First Princess’ faction, so she didn’t have the time to go off on a tangent.

「May I come in?」

「Sure. No need to be polite. It is your master’s cabin to begin with.」

Shrugging his shoulders, Rei invited Widele in, but……

「Rei-sama, isn’t this really too messy?」

Widele couldn’t help but sigh at the sight that came into view.

A large number of books were piled up around the sofa and table at the center of the cabin.

It wouldn’t be out of place to call it a tower of books……so Widele turned to look at Rei, determined to tidy everything up.

「Ah, sorry. I’ll tidy it up a bit.」

Saying that, Rei pushed the piles of books to a corner of the cabin.

Rather than tidying things up, Rei’s actions were more of a temporary fix, but even so, Widele found the sight to be quite satisfying.

That being said, Rei hadn’t just been piling up books haphazardly either.

The books had been sorted according to who had brought them.

When he returned the books, he would be able to do it based on who had lent what.

After that, he invited Widele to the sofa, which had finally become available.

「Well, have a seat.」

「……It feels like after a just a few days, this place has completely turned into Rei-sama’s residence……」

Widele spoke with an astonished look on her face, as Rei spoke if he were the owner of the cabin.

「Frizione only comes to this cabin for a few hours at a time, not days, right? In comparison, I’m in here all day, so it’s only natural that there’s a difference.」

「……I can’t really understand……」

「Well, just take it as it is. So, you came to talk with me, right? Oh, drink this for now.」

He used the Dagger of Flowing Water to pour water into a cup before serving it.

Serving water to a guest might seem rude in many ways, but the water that Rei created using his magic power was a different matter. It was better bad tea or alcohol at least.

In fact, Widele knew just how delicious the water was from her journey to the Imperial Capital with Rei, so far from complaining, she happily reached for the cup.

「……Phew. The water you made is delicious as always, Rei-sama……」

She spoke after thoroughly savouring the taste of the water.

「So, what’s going on? I’m glad you came over to chat.」

Though he had some freedom, Rei was still confined to the area around the cabin, something akin to house arrest.

Of course, he knew that if word got out he was here, it would cause a commotion, so he had no complaints.

Still, not being able to go out freely did unconsciously stress him, as someone who didn’t like to stay still for long.

That was why he was quite happy that someone had come to talk with him.

「Yes. Princess Frizione and her people are making arrangements to escape from the castle. I have information regarding their progress.」

「Oh, that sounds interesting. So, what’s the plan?」

Widele was a little skeptical of Rei’s interest when he prompted her to continue, but she continued nonetheless.

「Initially, we were planning to send the soldiers who would join us out into the Imperial Capital little by little before having them join us outside the Imperial Capital. However, we judged that it would cause too much confusion and decided that everyone would leave the castle at the same time.」

「……That will definitely cause a commotion, right?」

「That’s for sure. So, Rei-sama. That scythe……the Death Scythe, you said? If you could bring that out then, everyone would know that……Crimson is here, the one who wiped out the second punitive force.」

「Ahh, so I’m a deterrent.」

That made sense, so Rei nodded.

There was no doubt that the people in this world who knew the power of Rei’s fire tornado best were the people from the Bestir Empire, who had suffered it directly.

Such an attack near the castle would be a nightmare. And, even if it wasn’t near the castle, if it were used in the Imperial Capital, the damage it would cause to the Bestir Empire would be immeasurable.

Many lives and buildings would be lost, tax revenue would decrease, and there was a high possibility that many residents would turn to banditry.

That would be nothing but a nightmare for nobles of the Bestir Empire.

Of course, since Rei couldn’t use a fire tornado by himself, this wasn’t something that could actually happen.

However, those that didn’t know would avoid messing around as long as Rei was there.

「I see, that’s a clever idea. But……it’s a double edged sword, you realise? It’s true that they won’t attack while we are near the castle or in the Imperial Capital. But on the other hand, once we leave the Imperial Capital and get a certain distance away, they will be free to attack. What about that?」

「The military force we have include the soldiers belonging to the nobles of the First Princess’ faction, the White Rose Knights, volunteer soldiers, and……」

Glancing at Rei, Widele began to speak.

Rei, who understood what that look meant, shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.

「Me?」

「Yes. To be honest, there’s no doubt that Rei-sama is our greatest combat force. ……Honestly, as people serving Princess Frizione, it’s frustrating in many ways……」

It seemed to be something Widele felt deep in her heart as she clenched her hands tightly.

But, as Widele did that, Rei tapped his fingers on the table to tell her not to worry.

「I was originally sent by Mercurio to escort you. Since that’s the role I’m expected to play, then I’ll just do it.」

「……Sorry, it’s because of our lack of ability.」

Widele, who had risen to the position of captain of the third division through her own efforts, was frustrated that she wasn’t able to fully guarantee the safety of her master, Frizione, at such a crucial time.

At the same time, she was also irritated and ashamed of the White Rose Knights who didn’t view Rei kindly.

If they disliked Rei that much, then they should think of a way to protect Frizione and the nobles in the First Princess’ faction without relying on Rei.

She couldn’t help but feel disappointed in her comrades because she admired Rei, a warrior of a higher rank compared to herself and someone with overwhelming strength.

「Don’t worry about it. I’ve done a fair amount of escort work, so I can handle it to a certain extent.」

Rei said that without realised what Widele was really concerned about.

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