Under the darkness of night, a group of people were walking through the noble district.

Leading at the front was Keep, holding a spear and clad in metal armour.

The spear was heavy and Keep was already beginning to run out of breath under the weight of the metal armour he wore for his own safety and vain pride.

Three knights followed behind Keep, wearing somewhat anxious expressions.

Was it truly fine to carry out their objective……to raid the Baron Cisne residence and slaughter everyone there there? They felt a slight bit of anxiety over that, but since their master was with them, their belief that the Earl Eliel family would protect them no matter what happened remained strong.

In addition, since Keep insisted that he would resolve anything that happened with the power of the Earl Eliel family, they could not deny that they were looking forward to the plunder, violence, and violation that was about to take place.

And following behind the knights were the men Furtos had gathered.

If one believed Furtos’s words, they were all supposed to be elite fighters, but from an outside perspective, that was impossible to believe.

In fact, most of those gathered were people brought out from the slums or criminal organisations, and while they were certainly skilled to a certain extent, there was no way they could be compared to Zeros, the B rank adventurer who had dueled Rei.

However, Keep firmly believed that those men possessed skill on par with Zeros.

All because of his trust in Furtos.

As the knights hadn’t heard the conversation between Furtos and Keep, they thought that they were just people brought along to make up the numbers.

The three knights accompanying Keep as bodyguards and close aides did not possess respectable personalities, but their skills were decent enough.

……Though that was only to a certain extent, barely able to fight on equal terms with D rank adventurers.

Even in the eyes of those knights, it was hard to believe anyone following behind them was skilled, with the exception of a few individuals.

「Hehehe. To think we get to raid a noble’s residence. We’re in luck, getting to participate in a job like this.」

「Haha, that’s true. They’re the kind of bastards who extort money from us to live in luxury. Let’s make them regret it to our hearts’ content.」

「Hey, hey, what kind of women do you think are there? Since they’re nobles, they must be completely different from the prostitutes we usually buy, right?」

「Of course. They’re nobles after all. Their skin and hair will be top-notch, and they’ll smell nice when we hold them.」

「I prefer money over women.」

「I don’t care about money, just show me noble blood. Aren’t there guys who spout nonsense about nobles having blue blood? This is the perfect chance to see if that’s true with my own eyes.」

「You idiot. There’s no way they have blue blood. The blood of the noble I slaughtered on the battlefield before was red, no different from ours.」

「Uhehehe. What, so in the end nobles are no different from us after all.」

「……B-But hey. Raiding a noble’s residence, won’t we get executed if we get caught?」

「Idiot. It’s true we might get executed if we get caught, but that just means there’s no problem as long as we don’t get caught, right?」

「O-Oh. I see. As expected of Big Bro, you’re smart.」

The men Furtos had gathered followed behind Keep while chatting as they pleased.

To these men, Keep was a noble as well, but Keep himself didn’t seem notice that at all.

And if a group like this walked brazenly through the noble district, there was no way they wouldn’t be spotted by the adventurers hired to guard the area……

「Hey, you lot! Where are you going, gathered in such large numbers!」

Unluckily, or perhaps luckily, at a spot not so far from the Baron Cisne residence, an adventurer on guard duty approaching from ahead called out to them.

The men behind Keep momentarily wondered if this was dangerous, but Keep himself, completely oblivious to what was behind him, turned a displeased look forward.

Having harboured hatred toward adventurers from the afternoon duel in the first place, he had no reason to be pleased when spoken to as if being ordered around.

「Who do you think you are? I am Keep, the next head of the Earl Eliel family. I am not someone a mere adventurer can address so casually.」

Replying unpleasantly, Keep turned his gaze toward the adventurers who had called out to him.

Standing there were three adventurers.

Three young men who looked to have barely reached twenty years of age.

The man at the lead, with a long sword sheathed at his waist, responded to Keep’s words.

「So you are the next head of an earl family, my apologies. However, please forgive us as we have been hired as guards to protect the peace of this noble district. ……So, leading such a large number of people, and from what I can see, even Keep-sama is carrying a weapon. Could you tell us what reason you have for doing something like this?」

「Ah? I see, you want to hear? ……Especially after seeing this spear, you say?」

Keep’s response basically didn’t answer their question at all.

Feeling a slight premonition in their chests from the way their words seemed to get through yet didn’t, the three adventurers adjusted their stances so they could react no matter what happened, without letting the other side notice.

「Here, take a look.」

As the man turned to look at the spear which had been rudely pointed at him……the next moment, Keep thrust the spear out towards the man.

「Woaaaah!」

The man was able to react in time because he had prepared his stance, but even so, he could not block the attack of the knight who closed in at the same time as Keep’s attack.

Punched before he could draw his long sword from its sheath, he was blown back and collided with his companions.

With the man’s companions rendered unable to move because of that, before they realised it, they were surrounded by a large crowd.

What happened after that was a group beating.

What was fortunate for the young men was that the group led by Keep was more interested in plunder and women than violence.

Deciding that they would rather go after bigger prey like the Baron Cisne residence than continue tormenting three adventurers here, they left the unconscious adventurers where they were as they proceeded forward.

Given the cold weather, where snowflakes would occasionally fall, the three adventurers might have frozen to death if left alone, but fortunately, another adventurer passed by a short while after Keep and his group left, and they were able to receive treatment in time.

「Hah, look at that. In the end, no matter what they say about adventurers, that’s all they amount to. We are strong. Strong enough to easily handle mere adventurers.」

Advancing at the head of the group, Keep spoke as he swung his spear.

It was a victory using the violence of numbers, but a victory was still a victory.

Not only Keep, but the knights and the men following behind them cheered in agreement with those words.

In a place like the noble district, it was night, but not yet late at night.

Since they were advancing along the road while making so much noise when many people were still awake, there were naturally those who noticed Keep and his group.

In particular, private soldiers of nobles serving as gate guards immediately informed their superiors upon seeing such a group.

However, since Keep harboured nothing but hatred for the Baron Cisne family who had given him the greatest humiliation possible, he had no intention of raiding other noble houses.

Those acting alongside Keep didn’t cause useless trouble here either, since the place they were supposed to raid had already been decided on.

And so, as they cheered themselves on, Keep and his group continued making their way through the noble district under the darkness……

「I see it.」

Keep smiled upon seeing the familiar residence.

The residence was by no means large, and for the men behind them, leaving Keep and the knights aside, it was somewhat anticlimactic.

Even so, just thinking that it was a noble’s residence was enough to satisfy their desires……

「Well, to show up in such large numbers at night……I hadn’t heard anything about guests coming by.」

A voice suddenly echoed out to them.

The first one to stop in his tracks upon hearing that voice was Keep. That was because he had heard the owner of that voice speak many times.

At the same time, the three knights near Keep also stopped in their tracks.

When the four leading the charge stopped, those advancing behind them naturally had no choice but to stop as well.

Once everyone had stopped, the figure stepped forward in front of Keep.

The moon shining in the night sky had been covered by clouds, but at the exact moment the figure stepped in front of Keep, the clouds were blown away by the wind, illuminating the ground with moonlight.

Standing there was a small figure wearing a robe.

Realising who the person before him was not only from the voice but also from that figure, Keep’s excitement from a few minutes ago vanished completely. He muttered their name in a hoarse voice.

「Rei.」

「Who the hell are you!」

At the same time that Keep spoke, one of the men behind him shouted.

The man’s voice was loud, while Keep’s voice was small.

Because of that, Keep’s voice was completely drowned out, and everyone other than Keep and the three knights glared at Rei with hostile expressions, unable to understand who was standing before them.

That was only natural. They were about to raid a noble’s residence and indulge their desires to the fullest, yet someone stood in their way as if to obstruct them.

In addition, having defeated the three adventurers guarding the noble district on their way here, the men were feeling confident.

Above all, the fact that Rei wasn’t carrying the Death Scythe, his signature weapon, nor accompanied his partner Set, was why the men didn’t recognise who Rei was and looked down on him based on his appearance.

If he hadn’t been wearing his hood, they could have at least seen his face, but he was wearing his hood right now, making it practically impossible to see his face.

In other words, the men perceived the person standing before Keep and his group as merely a small boy, or perhaps a girl.

「Even if you ask who I am. Well, would saying I’m a bodyguard for the Baron Cisne family make it easier to understand?」

「……What?」

The man who had shouted out earlier appeared to be caught off guard for a moment when Rei said he was here as a bodyguard.

However, the next moment, he burst out laughing as if unable to hold it in.

It wasn’t just him. The laughter spread among the other men around him as well.

That was only natural. Someone who looked like nothing more than a child was claiming to be a bodyguard to stop them.

They assumed that Keep’s trembling body was because he was holding back his laughter.

In reality, Keep was trembling in fear, recalling the scene from earlier that day……when Rei activated the Flame Emperor’s Crimson Armour, cloaking himself in red magic power compressed to the point it was visible, and the searing heat from it.

Seeing that scene up close had carved a deep scar into Keep’s heart.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just Keep who was trembling. The three knights were the same.

Ignoring the four of them, the conversation between Rei and the man continued.

「Listen here, brat. I’m telling you for your own good, hurry back home and get into bed. What’s about to happen is way too intense for someone like you.」

「Hey, hey, hold on a second. If he’s a bodyguard for the Baron Cisne family, then he’s our enemy, right? There’s no way we’re letting someone like that get away so easily. Watching a cheeky brat like this cry and scream is the best kind of pleasure, you know?」

「Hah, what great taste you have. But what if our main targets escape while we’re wasting time on a brat like this? No matter how much Lord Keep says he’ll smooth things over after this raid somehow, it won’t be a laughing matter if the main targets escape and reach the guard station.」

「……Hmph, fine. But I get to handle this brat! No complaints, right!」

The man who had wanted to torment Rei didn’t want to lose the chance to raid the noble’s residence either. Saying that, he readied the club in his hand as he approached Rei.

Rei, who had been watching silently, directed a somewhat exasperated look at the man standing before him.

However, that only seemed to anger the man further. What the man wanted to see was a look begging for mercy, after all.

「Hey you, you damn brat! Do you still think you’re safe!? Take this!」

The man raised his club menacingly, but naturally Rei had no reason to direct a frightened look at such a man……

「Hah. ……Why are idiots always like this……」

Rei muttered quietly, and those words stoked the man’s anger even further as he swung down his raised club toward Rei.

The fact that he didn’t aim for the head was not out of mercy, but purely because he wanted to see Rei’s face twisted in agony.

Because of that, he never expected the club he swung down to be stopped effortlessly with a single hand.

「What!」

「Hey, is it fine for you to be surprised……right now!」

While catching the club with his left hand, Rei lightly kicked the man with his right leg.

The man was blown black several meters across the ground before coming to a stop. He endured the pain as he got up and looked towards Rei, wondering what had just happened.

「Now then, what were you going to do to me? I’d like to hear you say it one more time.」

Throwing the club he held in his left hand to the side, Rei pulled the massive Death Scythe out from the Misty Ring as he asked.

At the same time, Freon, Brazos, Sergio, Johanna, Dietz, along with other adventurers gathered by Freon and members of the former guerrilla force, made their appearance as they surrounded the men.

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