While Vihera was leading her troops to defeat the soldiers blockading the roads, one after another, Frizione’s army, along with Rei, continued on their way to the rebel camp.

Even so, it was impossible for them to arrive today and, as they had expected to arrive the next day anyway, they set up camp after covering more distance than they had originally planned.

「……」

Rei silently watched the bonfire near his magic tent.

The crackling sounds and flying sparks eventually brought him back to reality.

「Guru~」

Set, who Rei was leaning against, looked at him worriedly.

「Sorry for making you worry.」

Petting Set, Rei looked up into the sky.

Seeing the big, round moon, he felt a strange calm in his heart.

It was true that he sensed some kind of danger.

But, he was also in charge of guarding Frizione’s army, so he couldn’t just leave them.

(And……)

Tilleyle, Gurgast, Theorem, Mercurio……and Vihera.

The leaders of the rebel army flashed through his mind.

While he might be superior to them in terms combat strength, they were also much better than him in other areas.

「In other words, the things I’m worried about must have been known by them for a long time. There’s no point in me worrying over it here then.」

Looking away from the moon, he turned back to the bonfire again.

Unlike before, the bonfire, burning in the darkness, now had a calming effect on Rei.

「Oh……I’ve worried you, Set. Here, do you want to eat this?」

He held out some dried meat that he took from the Misty Ring.

Set happily picked it up with his beak as he ate it.

「Besides, the rebel army also has the guerrilla troops that I trained. They’re not strong enough to be defeated by random soldiers……and I have some souvenirs for them as well.」

「Gurururu~?」

Souvenirs? Rei nodded as he stroked Set’s head.

「Yes. We killed those Wyverns, right? I want to make some weapons and armour from their materials. It might seem like I’m being biased, but I’m making my soldiers stronger, so I’m sure you’ll understand.」

「Gururururu~!」

Meat is better than materials! Set gave a cry, making Rei smile.

「You’re always the same, Set. Thanks, you’re a great help」

「Guru~!」

Rei gave a happy cry at Rei’s words.

Set couldn’t be happier than when he was able to help Rei.

A short time later, Rei suddenly thought of something and left Set to guard the outside as he went inside the magic tent.

Seeing Rei head inside, Set lay down by the bonfire.

He would know immediately if someone……or something came over with ill intent against Rei.

It was an autumn night, so it was quite cool……or rather, a bit cold, but to Set, a Griffon, it didn’t make that much of a difference.

Still, it would be a shame of any of their allies came over for some reason and found it to be cold, or when Rei left the magic tent.

Set threw some of the firewood that Rei had prepared into the bonfire before closing his eyes and entering a state of alert.

 

 

Entering the magic tent, Rei sat down on the sofa before taking out an object from the Misty Ring.

It was the Paired Orb, the magic item that allowed him to talk with people far away.

As for the other half of the Paired Orb……

『Eh? Rei. What’s wrong, to call at this time of the night?』

Projected in the Paired Orb was Elena, complete with her blonde curls that made her look like a standard young lady, in contrast to her personality.

「Ah, I just wanted someone to talk to.」

『Someone to talk to? Don’t you have Vihera?』

「Unfortunately, I am not with Vihera right now.」

Elena’s eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn’t been expecting Rei’s words.

『Oh? That’s unusual. Vihera usually goes along with you.』

「Well, some things have happened. So, how are things on your side? Anything unusual?」

『Nothing unusual really. Ah, but rumours of a civil war within the Bestir Empire have spread quite widely. I guess that could be called an abnormality.』

「That’s to be expected, considering how much of a commotion it has caused. Normally, if a large country like the Bestir Empire fell into a civil war, the surrounding countries would try to take advantage of it to seize territory, but……」

Elena shook her head at Rei’s words.

『It’s true that there were some countries that tried to do that. Especially the countries that survived occupation and were merged into the Bestir Empire. But as we’ve talked about before, the Bestir Empire’s military is still functional, so there aren’t many countries willing to make a move.』

Even as she spoke, Elena’s expression was filled with a tinge of melancholy.

The situation probably wasn’t as simple as she was saying. Seeing Rei’s gaze as he reached that conclusion, Elena smiled before speaking.

『Seriously, I can’t hide anything from you, Rei. ……Actually, it seems there is a force that is trying to gain the favour of the Royalist Faction. It seems my father has yet to figure out where they are from, but they might be from a country that was previously conquered by the Bestir Empire.』

「Do they want to take advantage of the chaos caused by the civil war to attack the Bestir Empire.」

『Probably. After all, we’ve been enemies for so many years. To His Majesty the King and those around him, these people aren’t important. Of course, if the Bestir Empire hadn’t lost much, we wouldn’t even hear them out, but if the Bestir Empire is in the middle of a civil war……』

Elena sighed as she ruffled her blonde hair and reached for a cup of tea.

She looked tired. That was what Rei thought after seeing Elena right now.

「So you think the Bestir Empire can be defeated easily? But even if they are in the middle of a civil war, if the Mireana Kingdom attacks, I think they’ll probably make peace right away and join forces to fight back.」

『Yeah. The Royalists know that, so unless something extraordinary happens, they won’t give their word.』

「Something extraordinary, huh.」

With that one word, Rei somehow understood what the upper echelons of the Mireana Kingdom……specifically the upper echelons of the Royalist Faction, were thinking.

「For example, a fire tornado could appear in the Imperial Capital and destroy the castle along with the royal family?」

That was easy to say, but difficult to do in practice.

The castle had naturally high defense against magical attacks.

『Probably. In fact, my father has also hinted at me to ask about it.』

「I’ll say this now, I have no intention of doing anything like that. If it’s someone who’s prepared to fight, or a bandit who attacks first, that’s one thing. But, being inside the castle or Imperial Capital doesn’t make them a fair target. I’m sure it can’t be said for everyone, but there are many innocent people.」

『I know. I don’t want you to do something like that either. However, I want you to remember that such things are under consideration on our side.』

Rei nodded at Elena’s words, which somehow made Elena smile.

Rei tilted his head in confusion at Elena’s reaction.

『Hmm, ahem……no, it’s nothing, it just seemed natural when talking to you like this.』

「I don’t quite understand, but if it makes you happy, then that’s fine with me.」

If talking with him made Elena feel more relaxed, then it was no big deal for her to laugh a little.

Elena’s cheeks blushes lightly as Rei said that to her.

『Seriously…..you really are soft on women, no matter what.』

「Not really, right? Even if I am soft, it’s only because it’s you.」

『What-!? ……Hmph. Even if you say that, you’re also soft on Vihera, aren’t you?』

「Well, I can’t deny that.」

Elena’s cheeks twitched for a moment as Rei admitted it without any hesitation.

『Huh, oh really? So that’s what you’ve thought all this time? I’ve already known that for a while……』

「Hm? Did you misunderstand something? It’s true that I may be a little soft on Vihera, but I wanted to say that you are definitely the one I trust the most.」

『……』

Saying something that sounded bad before turning it around completely.

Elena was at a loss for words and went quiet after being treated like that.

Elena was a duke’s daughter.

Due to her beauty, she didn’t like to go out that often. If she were to go to a party, all kinds of men……and even women, might approach her.

Even so, Elena wasn’t immune to such words and she looked down as her cheeks flushed redder than ever.

She knew that if she lifted her head, Rei would see how red her cheeks were.

「Eh? What’s wrong, Elena? Why are you looking down all of a sudden?」

Rei asked with a confused expression on his face.

He had no idea what state Elena’s face was in as he unconsciously made flirtatious remarks towards her. The face that he was entirely unaware of it made it only worse.

『Kyu~?』

Unable to bear seeing Elena like that, a baby dragon suddenly appeared in the Paired Orb with a cute cry.

It was Yellow, the familiar created by Elena using Dragon Language magic.

『Kyu~! Kyu~, Kyukyukyu~!』

When Yellow realised that it was Rei on the other side of the Paired Orb, they let out a happy cry as they tapped their front paws against the Paired Orb.

『Kyuu~……Kyu~, Kyu~?』

Huh? Huuh? Yellow seemed confused as they looked into the orb.

Rei realised what Yellow was looking for as he spoke apologetically.

「Sorry Yellow. Set is on guard outside.」

『Kyuuu~』

Yellow’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, looking adorable beyond compare, even in Rei’s eyes.

Set was popular with people wherever he went, although many were scared of him at first, but seeing Yellow’s disappointed expression made Rei imagine that Yellow could become just as popular.

In fact, even in the Labyrinth City Exil, Yellow, who had roamed around the inn while Rei and the others were away in the dungeon, had become quite popular.

Yellow was particularly popular when they were with Elena.

『Kyu~, Kyuu~, Kyu~!』

Yellow gave a cute cry before disappearing from the Paired Orb.

Rei didn’t understand what Yellow was trying to say, but just felt that Yellow’s cuteness was different from Set’s as he wanted to watch for a little longer.

『Hm, ahem. Anwyay.』

Elena called out to Rei.

It seemed the redness in her cheeks had faded while Yellow was playing with Rei.

「Huh?」

『So, you see. Are you eating properly?』

「Eh? Oh, I’m eating. Of course I’m eating well.」

『Then……are you sleeping well?』

「Well, this is the magic tent after all.」

Although the redness in her cheeks had faded, it seemed that her mind had yet to recover from the shock of Rei’s words.

Of course, Elena didn’t behave like this just around anyway.

It was only because it was Rei, who was the person she loved.

『I see, that’s a relief.』

「You’re also busy with Ara and the others, aren’t you?」

『……Well, that’s a fact that can’t be denied. Especially now, with the matter of the Bestir Empire. I’m really busy.』

Though Elena replied, Rei could see slight dissatisfaction in her expression.

If Vihera were here, she would have said something along the lines of “It’s rude to talk about other women while talking to me” to Rei.

However, both Rei and Elena were inexperienced with such situations. Elena was too embarrassed to say it, and even if Rei noticed Elena’s dissatisfaction, he didn’t understand the reason.

「Matters here are about to reach a climax. I don’t know how it will be resolved, but depending on the outcome, the turmoil may spread even further than what it is now.」

『What are you saying at this point? I was already prepared for this to happen when I heard about it from Vihera. Rei, don’t try to be considerate of us, just use your strength to its fullest. That’s for Vihera’s sake.』

「……Sorry.」

After saying that, Rei was unsure whether to tell her about Rhodes.

Elena was only somewhat acquainted with Rhodes after all.

In the end, he didn’t think it necessary to talk about Rhodes and make Elena worry.

They ended up talking for another hour after that, enjoying their time alone together for the first time in a long while.

Before he knew it, Rei’s anxious mind had calmed down and he was able to sleep soundly that night.

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