Although there were some minor issues, the First Princess’ faction, led by Frizione, managed to get out of the Imperial Capital safely.
The group was made up of about 400 people with an additional 100 as part of the supply troops, totaling 500 people or so. The small size of their force was why they were able to move so quickly.
If their force had numbered in the thousands, like the First and Second Prince’s forces, it would have taken them a lot longer to get around.
The larger the army, the harder it was for it to move quickly.
「That said, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to reach the rebel camp without anything happening.」
At Widele’s words, Rei looked around with the Death Scythe in hand before nodding.
「I guess so. Even in this situation, they’re still watching us, I can feel the gazes of their scouts.」
「So it’s confirmed.」
Those words were spoken with a sigh, but Widele didn’t seem particularly sad about it.
The fact that they would likely have to fight the First and Second Princes’ faction after they left the Imperial Capital was something they had anticipated.
「Ah……more importantly, Rei-sama. You’re not going to call for Set?」
Widele now had an apologetic expression on her face, a big change compared to before.
The people she was looking at wasn’t just the third unit of the White Rose Knights, her subordinates……but also the other White Rose Knights, who had heard from the third unit about Set’s cuteness while Rei had bee in the Imperial Capital.
Seeing their gazes, filled with strong expectations, Rei also smiled.
It was a request from someone who was friendly to him, so Rei was happy to fulfill her wish and, above all, there was no doubt that they would be fighting soon, so it would be best to have Set present.
「That’s right, I should call him while everyone is forming up.」
Frizione’s group were currently a short distance away, 10 minutes since they had left through the gate for nobles to be exact.
They were in the middle of roll calls and getting into formation.
Traveling through the Imperial Capital was different from traveling on the road after all.
Especially since it was expected that fighting would start soon, so they needed to be ready for that to happen.
「It would be a great help for us if you could do that. I’ll go and speak with Princess Frizione and Commander Angela to let them know.」
Saying that Rei watched Widele head off before moving a short distance away.
He would have called for Set within Frizione’s group, but decided that doing so would probably cause confusion and make getting into formation pointless.
Few people here had actually seen Set after all.
Since familiars were forbidden in the fighting tournament, it was likely that only Widele and her subordinates, who had come back from the rebel camp with Rei, or those who had survived the Spring War, would have seen Set, though Rei didn’t know if there were any of the latter among them.
(They might have seen Set the time I arrived at the Imperial Capital or when I left.)
Rei, who understood what his presence meant, wouldn’t be surprised if there had been people monitoring him constantly.
However, he didn’t think he’d be able to recognise any of their gazes since they ones monitoring him in the Imperial Capital were a lot more menacing.
「Now then, Set. You’ll notice me, right?」
He knew that Set understood his feelings to a certain extent and, above all, Set had been created by Rei using the Magic Beast Art.
That was why Set was very sensitive to Rei’s magic power.
And so……
「Come here, Set!」
Rei released his magic power along with those words.
The magic power around Rei’s body slowly became visible to the naked eye.
Overlord’s Armour. It was the skill that Rei had acquired in the battle with Noiz and it was also the skill he was hoping to master by cooperating with the rebel army.
……Of course, he was also concerned for Vihera.
Since she cared for him, it was only natural for Rei to be worried for her as well.
The soldiers, knights, adventurers, mercenaries, and nobles were stunned when they saw Rei move away to do what he was doing.
They had seen him in the fighting tournament, but had never expected to see Overlord’s Armour from such a close distance.
Rei had judged that using Overlord’s Armour would be quicker than poorly releasing his magic power, and……
「GURURURURURURU~!」
In a few minutes, it was clear that his decision of using Overlord’s Armour was correct.
Flying through the sky with a happy cry was Rei’s partner, Set.
……The people in Frizione’s group immediately reached for their weapons.
However, having already been informed that Rei’s Griffon, Set, would be joining them, they quickly let go of their weapons.
Even so, they were quite stunned when they saw Set arrive, not only because of Set’s imposing appearance as a Griffon, but also because he was carrying the corpse of a bear in his claws.
When Set had sensed Rei’s magic power, he had just killed a bear with a strike to its head with one of his claws. Thinking it would be a waste to just leave his prey in the forest, he had brought it with him.
Set spread his wings as he glided down to the ground, but after it got in the way, he dropped the bear’s corpse before landing and running towards Rei.
As Set came down, several people who had been watching with bated breath almost ran away.
However, they soon gave a sigh of relief after seeing Set rubbing his head against Rei with happy cries.
They knew the person in front of them was Crimson.
They also knew that in the fighting tournament, he had fought on equal terms against Noiz, the S rank adventurer who could be called a hero of the Bestir Empire.
They had also heard from Frizione that he had annihilated the second punitive force that Kabajid had dispatched.
But more than that, seeing the Griffon in front of them so attached to Rei, everyone realised how extraordinary he really was……and how reliable as well.
The ones who especially felt this way were those who had participated in the Spring War and survived.
They knew just how strong Set actually was, so it was reassuring to them that he was now on their side.
Of course, this didn’t mean they didn’t have any other thoughts.
But, they knew that showing that at this point in time would only place them at a disadvantage.
After all, they needed Rei and Set’s strength to fight against the the First and Second Princes’ factions, who would likely be sending out pursuit forces at any moment.
「Gururu~? Guru~, Gurururu~!」
As Set gave happy cries and begged for Rei to pet him, Rei smiled and stroked his head.
Feeling Set’s smooth feathers and fur for the first time in a long while made Rei smile under his hood.
In order to stroke Set with both hands, he even put away the Death Scythe, which he had been holding around to intimidate people, back into the Misty Ring.
「How are you? ……From the looks of it, you seem to be doing well.」
Rei was relieved to find that Set’s body, hidden under his feathers and fur, didn’t look particularly thin as Set gave a cry as if to say ‘Of course!’.
It was their first reunion after just a few days, but it felt like they hadn’t seen each other in months.
They had basically always been with each other, so not seeing each other for a few days was bound to be a big deal for them.
Widele went over to them with an apologetic look on her face.
「Rei-sama, I’m sorry, but Princess Frizione is calling for you, so I’d like you to come with me. Um, Set as well.」
「Guru~?」
Me as well? Set gave a cry as he turned to look at the bear on the ground.
Because it hadn’t been dropped from a high height, the bear’s body was still relatively intact. That said, there was still a strong smell of blood in the area.
On top of that, because Set had been the one to bring it here, the soldiers didn’t dare to clean it up and just kept it at a distance.
「Guru~」
The meat……Set seemed to say as he looked over at the corpse.
Widele had only known Set for a short time, so she didn’t know what he was thinking, but Set’s gestures were enough for Rei.
「Sorry Widele, but Set will eat the bear later, could you please keep it close by?」
「There’s still some room in the carriage that’s carrying supplies……」
Widele looked reluctant.
It was only natural. The bear’s corpse, which hadn’t even been drained of blood, gave off a strong smell.
If they loaded the bear’s corpse into the carriage carrying supplies, the supplies in the carriage would naturally also start smelling of blood.
「Why don’t you just store it into your item box?」
Hearing that, Rei looked over at Set to confirm.
However, Set gave a dissatisfied cry as he tapped the ground with his front claw in the direction of the blood flowing out of the corpse.
With that, Rei understood what Set wanted to say.
「Is it just a matter of draining the blood……please? Otherwise Set won’t be satisfied.」
After some hesitation, Widele decided that it would be dangerous in many ways if they upset Set, so she finally nodded as she sighed.
「Okay, I’ll move the supplies to make some room. I’ll take care of it, so Rei-sama and Set can go to Princess Frizione.」
Hurried along by Widele, Rei and Set went over to Frizione’s carriage.
……Although Set kept looking back at the bear which was to be his meal.
「So this is Set? Since it’s a Griffon, I imagined it to be a very ferocious monster, but it seems quite docile. It’s eyes are round and cute as well. Hey, Rei. Is this really a Griffon, an A rank monster?」
Those were Frizione’s first words when she saw Set.
Set was generally quite friendly, so he must have liked Frizione’s similarly friendly attitude towards him. He turned to give a cry as he looked over at Frizione.
His cute action struck a chord with Frizione.
「Yes. Set, hello. I’m Vihera’s older sister, Frizione.」
「Guru~?」
Set tilted his head upon hearing Vihera’s name.
Soon, Set turned back to Frizione with round eyes and gave a cry as if to say hello back.
「……Hey, Angela. Sorry, but could you go somewhere deep in the mountains and bring back a Griffon?」
「Your Highness Frizione!?」
Angela responded on reflex to Frizione’s words.
「I-If I did that, what would the White Rose Knights do?」
「You can leave that to Widele.」
「……You’re not serious, are you?」
As Angela looked at her with a sour expression, Frizione finally came back to her senses as she shook her head.
「Of course I’m joking. Besides, we’re going to be fighting Shurus and Kabajid’s pursuit forces soon, I won’t go out of my way to send you away, as one of our key combat forces.」
「So you mean to say that if it weren’t for the pursuers, you would have given me the order?」
「Well……of course not?」
Frizione looked away mid sentence.
「……If that’s so, could you please look me in the eye when you say that?」
Angela seemed to realise there was no point in saying anything more to Frizione as she sighed before speaking.
「This Griffon, Set, is cute. I don’t disagree with that, I admit it. But, you’re telling me to go to the mountains to get one……do you really think I’ll be able to find an A rank monster that easily?」
「……I’m sorry. Set is just too cute.」
「If I were to encounter an A rank monster normally, I’d definitely die.」
Angela’s words were definitely true.
That was what A rank monsters were. They were an opponent an individual wouldn’t be able to deal with.
To face an A rank monster, you needed to be one of the few A rank parties from the guild, or someone with comparable strength.
However, it was clear from the adventurers registered with teh guild that there weren’t many people with that level of strength.
「So, was I called here because you wanted to see Set?」
「Oh, sorry. That is certainly one reason, but there’s another reason. We’ll be in formation soon and get going……but could Rei and Set stay at the rear?」
「The rear? ……I see, so it’s to hold back the pursuing force.」
If the enemy was going to chase them from behind, he would strike a strong blow at them to frighten them before turning back to regroup.
Rei spoke, having thought of that and Frizione nodded in response.
「Can you do that?」
「……That’s fine. But I think we should do a thorough reconnaissance of the direction we’re heading towards.」
It wouldn’t be surprising if someone like Kabajid could see through their movements, right? Frizione thought deeply about Rei’s suggestion……before looking towards Angela for to ask for her opinion.
「We’ve dealt with those who were in contact with the enemy, but……I’m still a bit worried. In Rei’s case, he can fly through the air with Set, so I think it would be okay for him to do some advanced reconnaissance.」
Frizione nodded in response to Angela’s words.