As the morning sun gradually peeked over the horizon to illuminate the landscape, Rei and Set touched down at the base camp where Bobbs was waiting.
"How did it go?" Bobbs asked.
"No problems. We took down the one leading the Orcs as well."
"I see." Bobbs nodded briefly, then pulled a small whistle from his clothes and blew it with all his might.
A high-pitched sound instantly shrilled through the entire area.
The item was a Magic Whistle, a type of magic item. Despite its imposing name, it was a fairly cheap tool that could be bought for only a few gold coins. Its function was simple: it used the user’s magic power to broadcast a piercing sound over a wide area. Because the effect was so straightforward, it was perfect for signals like the one they needed now.
Bobbs had used the Magic Whistle because they had decided beforehand to notify the members of the subjugation force the moment the Orc leader was defeated. Now that the signal had sounded, the parties involved in the night raid would likely return to camp as soon as they finished their hunt for the remaining Orcs.
"That should do it. Now then... what should I ask about first?" Bobbs tucked the whistle away and turned his gaze toward Rei.
"Well, for starters, the Stars of the Night attacked me during the raid just as we expected. I fought them off."
"...And what happened to them?"
"They’re all dead."
"I see... You didn't think to capture them alive?"
"Are you telling me not to kill people who were trying to kill me?"
"Well, I certainly can't force you to stay your hand... but if you had taken them alive, there would have been a benefit for you too, Rei."
"A benefit? Besides information?" Rei asked, sounding puzzled.
It was obvious the Stars of the Night had been operating as a single party, and since there was no sign of anyone backing them, Rei hadn't seen much point in an interrogation. However, hearing there was another benefit piqued his interest, so he prompted Bobbs to continue.
"Yeah. If they had been taken alive, they would have been processed as criminal slaves. You would have received half of the proceeds from their sale."
"Slaves, huh?"
"Hmm? Ah, right. You mentioned you lived with your Magic Master until you came to the City of Gilm. I suppose you’ve never seen a slave before?"
"Something like that. I’m not particularly interested in slaves, but I’ll keep that in mind."
"Yeah, please do. It's much better for the guild if we can get information out of them, too. Usually, when we catch thieves or criminals alive, they’re sold as slaves, and half that money goes straight into the adventurer's pocket."
With that, Bobbs dropped the subject of the Stars of the Night. He didn't have time to dwell on a party that had met a fate of their own making.
"Anyway, moving on... if you’ve come to report that the mission is over, does that mean the individual leading the Orcs was defeated by—"
"Yeah. We found the Orcs trying to escape the settlement under the cover of darkness. I intercepted and annihilated them alongside Scorching Wind."
While explaining the situation, Rei pulled up the Misty Ring list in his mind and manifested the Orc King corpse.
The body of a monster nearly three meters tall appeared before them. Its torso was nearly sliced in two, held together by nothing but a thin strip of skin, and the Orc King head lay on the ground beside it. Bobbs stared at the remains, speechless.
"Hey, is this by any chance...?" Bobbs whipped his head toward Rei. As a veteran adventurer, he knew exactly what he was looking at.
"Yeah. I heard it from Sulnin, the Mage of the Scorching Wind. It’s an Orc King, right?"
"...Exactly. A Rank B monster. I fought them a few times back in my adventuring days... but I’m shocked you managed to defeat it on your own. No, wait—I suppose with a Rank A monster like Set and a Rank C party like Scorching Wind, it’s not impossible."
Bobbs nodded to himself, muttering. Watching him, Rei considered letting the misunderstanding stand for a moment, but he realized his rank would likely rise faster if the guild knew he was personally responsible. He decided to tell the truth about how the battle went.
Besides, Mirene or someone else from Scorching Wind will probably spread the word that I killed it anyway, he thought.
The magic he had used on Mirene’s group, the Seed of Restraint, only forbade them from talking about Set’s Fire Breath and Water Ball, or Rei’s Corrosion skill. It didn't stop them from mentioning who had landed the killing blow. The news was bound to get out sooner or later. Rei just hoped the Seed of Restraint wouldn't accidentally trigger if someone pressed them for details on how they won.
Still, his intuition told him that Mirene and her team were trustworthy, unlike the Stars of the Night, so he wasn't overly concerned.
"For the record," Rei said, "the Orc King was leading five Orcs, an Orc Archer, an Orc Mage, and an Orc General. Scorching Wind took the five Orcs, Set killed the Mage and the Archer, and I handled the Orc General and the Orc King."
The moment Rei finished speaking, Bobbs froze. He slowly turned his gaze from the corpse back to Rei, his eyes wide with trepidation.
"What did you just say? Sorry, as you can see, I’m missing half an ear. I must have misheard you." Bobbs pointed to his mangled right ear.
His reaction was only natural. A G-Rank adventurer was claiming he had soloed a Rank B monster. Even knowing how abnormal Rei was, Bobbs couldn't wrap his head around it. If Rei had said Set killed it, that would have made sense—as a Rank A Gryphon, Set could easily crush a lower-ranked Orc King.
But...
"I killed the Orc King. Well, I can understand why you wouldn't believe me. You can ask the members of Scorching Wind yourself once they get back."
Rei spotted several parties trickling back from the Orc settlement. Not wanting to cause a scene before he had to, he stored the Orc King corpse back into the Misty Ring.
"Hey! Bobbs! Rei! And Set!"
Leading the returning parties was Elk, the Leader of the Axe of the Thunder God. He was waving grandly while supporting the unsteady Min on his shoulder. Despite fighting Orcs all night, Elk showed almost no signs of exhaustion. Min, on the other hand, looked pale and completely spent, having drained nearly all her magic power. Their son, Rhodos, walked beside them, looking at his mother with worry.
Rei noticed that the number of adventurers had clearly thinned since the start of the operation. Expecting everyone to survive an assault on an Orc settlement of this scale had been overly optimistic. Even so, the casualties were minimal because it had been a night raid; if they had fought in broad daylight, the losses would have been catastrophic.
"Yo, Rei! So you guys really took out the boss?" Elk shouted as he reached the camp, ignoring the other adventurers who were collapsing to tend to their wounds or raiding the carriages for supplies.
Rhodos scowled at Rei. "Father, there's no way this guy finished off the boss. I know he’s not really a G-Rank, but come on..."
"Guruuu," Set growled, as if rebuking the young man.
"Anyway! I refuse to believe he killed the boss! Come on, Mother, you need to rest." Rhodos snapped at Rei like a parting shot before leading Min toward the carriages. Min gave Rei a tired, apologetic smile as her son carried her away.
Elk watched them go with a wry smile, then bowed his head slightly to Rei. "Sorry about him. He actually started acknowledging your skill after he saw you take down those Orcs that tried to flank us, but it seems he just can't be honest once he’s standing in front of you."
"Guruu..." Set chirped unhappily. Rei mirrored Elk’s wry smile and stroked the Gryphon's back to soothe his partner.
"Hey, calm down. His attitude is actually a lot softer than it was when we first met. Don't be so grumpy."
"Gurururuu." Set gave a single flick of its tail as if to say it couldn't be helped, then padded off a short distance to lie down.
"Well, Set’s reaction is fair," Elk sighed. "If my son could just admit when someone is strong, he’d finally grow up a bit... but..."
Bobbs approached and handed Elk a cup of water. "Here, drink this and catch your breath. Honestly, you expect too much from the boy. Being a Rank C at his age already puts him at the top of Gilm's next generation. Well... except for the occasional anomaly."
Bobbs glanced meaningfully at Rei. Elk saw the look and realized his instincts had been right.
"I knew it. I figured as much."
"That’s right! If Rei hadn't been there, we never would have beaten that Orc King," a voice chimed in. It was Mirene, the Leader of the Scorching Wind.
The moment she said "Orc King," the surrounding adventurers—who had been eavesdropping on the conversation—erupted into a buzz of excitement.
"Wait, did you hear that?"
"If I didn't mishear, she said Orc King."
"I heard it too!"
"Well, that kid has Set-chan, doesn't he? So maybe..."
"But Mirene herself just said they would have lost if it wasn't for that Rei guy!"
"So Scorching Wind and Rei teamed up to take it down?"
"With Set-chan, anything is possible!"
Hearing the mounting voices, even Elk looked surprised. "Wait, for real? An Orc King?"
"Yes," Mirene confirmed. "Honestly, when I first saw it, I thought we were done for. There was the King, an Orc General, an Orc Mage, an Orc Archer, and five other Orcs..."
"Damn, that’s a hell of a lineup."
"Right? But thanks to Rei and Set-chan, we managed."
"Hey, Rei," Elk said, turning to him. "Since it’s you, I bet you’ve got the body in that Misty Ring. Show us the Orc King. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve never seen one in person."
"Actually, I was hoping to get some sleep. I’ve been fighting all night," Rei sighed.
Bobbs patted him on the shoulder. "Give it up, Rei. Once Elk makes up his mind, he won't stop. Besides, these people risked their lives for this subjugation. Don't you think they deserve to see the monster that was leading their enemies?"
"Exactly! You can't call yourself an adventurer if you're tired after just one night of fighting!" Elk added.
Rei looked around. While the resting adventurers didn't say anything, their eyes were shining with expectation. Even the people who had been raiding the supply wagons for potions and food had come over to see what the commotion was about.
"Come on, come on," Mirene pushed. "Now that everyone’s gathered, you have to show them. You’re the one who killed it, so there's no point in being modest!"
"...This is only a thing because you made it one," Rei sighed in resignation. "Fine. I guess I won't get any peace until I show you."
He pulled the Orc King’s corpse from the Misty Ring once more. Those seeing the item box in action for the first time let out cries of shock, but those cries were quickly drowned out by the collective gasp that followed the appearance of the monster.
"It’s huge..."
"Yeah. It makes a normal Orc look like a child. And look at that wound on the neck. That was one hell of a strike."
"Look at the torso—it’s practically in two pieces! Did that kid really do this?"
The massive body lay there, nearly severed in half and held together only by skin, with the head resting nearby. As the adventurers stared at the remains, the true extent of Rei's power was permanently burned into their minds. Despite his official status as a G-Rank, they knew better now.
"See? Wasn't it worth showing them?" Elk laughed, slapping Rei on the back like a mischievous brat who had just pulled off a successful prank. "At the very least, no one in this subjugation force is ever going to look at you as just another G-Rank again."
"...So that was the plan. Fine, I guess I should thank you."
"Yeah, go right ahead! It’s never a bad thing to have a man as skilled as you owe me a favor."
With the viewing session over, Elk and Bobbs—who still had strength to spare—took over the watch. While they kept an eye out for Orc remnants or other predators, the rest of the adventurers finally collapsed into a deep, well-earned sleep, washing away the exhaustion of the night's battle.