"I really can't believe you actually pulled the Prairie Wolves into this. Honestly, Rei, you always manage to go one step beyond anything I expect."
Luno spoke with a note of deep admiration from his seat in the carriage. The escorting knights listening in cast similar looks of astonishment toward the boy.
"The Prairie Wolves are arguably the most notorious bandit gang in these parts. Bringing them over to our side is quite a feat..."
"At the very least, with them on our payroll, we probably won't have to worry about other bandit groups for a while."
Rei frowned slightly at the knights’ assessment.
"Are bandits really that bold? Against an army this size?"
The Larkus Territorial Army alone numbered over five thousand men. Including the Abuelo Army that had already joined them, the total force exceeded seven thousand. Rei found it hard to imagine any bandits foolish enough to pick a fight with such a massive host.
However, Luno shook his head with a wry, knowing smile.
"Sure, a force of seven thousand sounds invincible, but soldiers are only human. They aren't always moving in one giant clump. To bandits, night sentries are prime targets. They’re isolated in small groups, and since they're usually just regular soldiers, they aren't all that strong. Throw in the pitch-black surroundings at night, and... well, you get the idea."
"That's exactly it," the knight added. "Though, Lord Daskar has planned accordingly. I heard he’s been mixing a few adventurers in with the sentry rotations to bolster their combat strength."
"Adventurers, huh?"
Rei muttered the word, his mind drifting to the familiar faces he knew were participating in this campaign.
Many adventurers from the City of Gilm had joined the Larkus Territorial Army. There was the Axe of the Thunder God, the A-Rank party fulfilling their prior promise to Rei. Then there was Scorching Wind, the C-Rank party whose members had secretly joined to ensure Seto wouldn't get hurt in the crossfire. And finally, Eternal Power, the D-Rank party purely motivated by the coin.
Rei didn't consider himself a social butterfly and had few close acquaintances, yet even he could count several parties he knew who were heading into the fray.
"Well, either way, the bandits are going to be disappointed. Their real prize is the supplies, but Rei’s got nearly half of those stored safely in his Item Box. Since the physical supply train is only half the usual size, the security on it is incredibly tight. ...Though I hear the troops dispatched from the City of Abuelo have taken a few hits."
"Not surprising. They don't have an Item Box user like Rei over there, so they're probably using a standard logistical train."
The second knight nodded in agreement with his colleague.
Originally, the plan had been for Rei to carry the supplies for the other allied forces in his Item Box as well. Daskar had even hinted at as much when he first hired him. However, the actual process of loading and managing the inventory had proven to be a significant mental drain. Fearing that Rei might collapse under the strain before the war even truly began, Daskar had decided to limit his duties to the Larkus Territorial Army's logistics for the time being.
"Still, I never imagined moving an army would be such a chore."
"Hahaha! Well, that's fair. For someone like you who’s usually flying everywhere on Seto, traveling on foot must be a rare experience, right?"
One of the knights chuckled at Rei’s grumbling.
Rei’s habit of traveling on the back of his gryphon was well-known among the adventurers of Gilm. He made no effort to hide it, boldly soaring through the skies in plain view. By now, even regular citizens with their ears to the ground knew that Rei and Seto were inseparable in the air.
Knowing the rumors, the knight couldn't help but poke a bit of fun at him.
"Maybe, but that's just what's normal for me."
From Rei’s perspective, he had created Seto through Beast Magic almost immediately after inhabiting his current body in this world of Elgin. Acting alongside the gryphon was his baseline for existence.
That was why he understood why Seto had been so clingy the night before. Being separated for so long made the creature lonely—a feeling he’d also sensed during his Rank Up Exam.
"Besides, I've done my fair share of walking during my adventurer work. ...Though I'll admit the pace wasn't usually this slow."
The slowest he’d ever traveled was likely during that escort request he’d taken with Beautiful Drops a while back. Ironically, their destination then had been the very city they were currently approaching—Sablusta. It was also during that mission that he’d earned the debt he just collected from the Prairie Wolves.
"...Oh, look. There it is."
While Rei was lost in thought, Luno, who had been peering out the window, pointed toward the horizon.
Following his gaze, Rei saw the City of Sablusta, its walls bathed in the amber glow of the approaching sunset.
"Joining up is fine and all, but how are we going to handle the pace?" Rei asked.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" one of the knights asked.
"Well, more people means the march is going to get even slower. It’ll take us even longer to reach the front lines."
"Is that so? I heard the reinforcements from Sablusta won't even reach a thousand men. I doubt it'll make that much of a difference to our travel time."
"Less than a thousand?" Luno interjected, his voice dripping with disbelief. "That’s incredibly low."
The knight frowned and shook his head.
"The Acting Lord of Sablusta is a man surrounded by unsavory rumors. Word is he’s particularly obsessed with gold..."
"Whoa, hold on. You're telling me he’s fielding the bare minimum just because raising a proper army costs too much coin?"
As Luno muttered in exasperation, Rei recalled a specific rumor from his previous visit.
"Come to think of it, didn't people say the Acting Lord of Sablusta was in league with bandits?"
"It’s likely true. It’s the only way to explain why the area around here is so unnaturally infested with groups like the Prairie Wolves."
"Why not just ask Egg and get some proof?" Rei suggested.
The knight gave a small, weary shake of his head.
"He probably is connected, but he isn't letting them wipe out the merchants entirely. Even in his corruption, he has a sense of balance. he keeps the crime suppressed just enough to avoid being purged by the high-ranking nobles who entrusted him with the territory."
"And the number of reinforcements he can send to satisfy those nobles while keeping his pockets full is... apparently about that many," the other knight muttered, looking out the window.
The City of Sablusta was growing larger as they approached, and the dispatch force waiting outside the gates was now visible from the carriage.
Rei stared at the gathered troops, his expression turning flat with disbelief.
"...That’s not a thousand. That looks like five hundred, tops."
Rei didn't have a special talent like Keo the supply officer—who could count a crowd at a single glance—but even he could tell the gathering fell far short of a thousand men.
The knights and Luno reached the same conclusion.
"Probably. Though, technically, five hundred is still 'less than a thousand.' It's not a lie, strictly speaking."
"Man, that is some seriously petty math," Luno grumbled.
"Even so, since he belongs to a different faction than us, Lord Daskar doesn't have the authority to order him around. ...Honestly, I just wish these people would realize that being stingy with coin increases the chances of losing the war."
"It's fine. They probably think there's no way this country can lose. And guys like that are always the first to run when things actually get dangerous," Rei said with a mocking sneer.
"Rei, that's going a bit too far," one of the knights cautioned.
Despite the warning, Rei couldn't see the Acting Lord's actions as anything but foolish—sacrificing military strength for personal profit.
"Don't worry," the other knight added with a small smile. "If the higher-ups in the Noble's Faction find out about this, things will get very interesting after the war."
"Interesting?"
"Yeah. Lord Daskar is going to achieve massive feats in this battle. He’s prepared a force capable of doing exactly that. That means he’ll have a lot of sway during the post-war granting of honors and rewards. If he brings this up then... well, the Noble's Faction won't just lose face. An Acting Lord who slacked off for his own profit would be lucky to just be fired. If he's unlucky, his head might literally roll. Whether the man himself realizes that, though, is anyone's guess."
As the knight finished speaking with an amused glint in his eye, the carriage lurched back into motion.
Since the joining force was only five hundred men, it took very little time to organize the march formation compared to their stop in Abuelo.
"Well, that’s Sablusta behind us. Now... wait, the road splits ahead, doesn't it? One way to the capital, and the other to the countryside?" Luno asked.
Rei was the one who answered. The memories of flying over this region a few months ago to deliver the Aurani Grass powder for the Magic Fever medicine were still fresh.
"Yeah. The rural road leads to the City of Baar. ...I assume we're heading that way?"
Rei looked to the knights for confirmation.
Conventionally, when the Kingdom of Mireana and the Bestia Empire clashed, their massive armies met on the Seremuse Plain—a vast buffer zone between the two powers. While sabotage and infiltration occurred, the primary theater was almost always the plain.
The knights nodded, though their brows remained furrowed.
"Essentially, you're right. If the war follows the usual pattern, the Seremuse Plain is where it'll happen... but..."
"Lord Daskar thinks this war won't be like the ones before. The question is whether the battle will actually take place on the plain like it always has."
Luno tilted his head. "But both countries are fielding tens of thousands of soldiers, right? Wouldn't a head-on clash on the Seremuse Plain be the only logical outcome?"
"...Normally, yes," the knight muttered uncertainly. "But... well. This is the first time I've ever found myself hoping Lord Daskar is wrong."
"Cheer up. We’ve got skilled people like Rei with us. Unless something truly insane happens, we’ll win."
"I hope so..." the knight sighed.
Silence fell over the carriage, stretching on for several minutes. Eventually, Rei reached into his Misty Ring and pulled out a handful of fruit.
They were bite-sized and looked like cherries, but they were a vibrant blue, like a clear summer sky. Despite their appearance, their texture and flavor were closer to a persimmon.
They were Kety Fruit—a spring delicacy just coming into season.
"Rei?"
Without answering Luno's question, Rei began handing the fruit to the knights and his teammate.
Since they had been chilled before being stored in the Misty Ring, the knights were visibly startled by the coldness against their palms. Luno merely twitched an eyebrow and accepted his share.
"What's the point of being scared of the enemy before we even reach the battlefield? That's exactly what they want. Eat these and forget your worries... or at least, don't let them show on your faces. You’re knights. If you look anxious, that fear is going to spread to the regular soldiers and the volunteers."
"Why'd I get one too?" Luno asked, not thinking he had looked particularly worried.
Rei gave him a slightly mischievous grin.
"If I only gave them to those two, you'd just sulk because you were left out."
"Heh... hehehe. Fair point. If you’re handing out treats, you’ve got to keep it fair for everyone."
Luno broke into a grin, and the knights couldn't help but follow suit with wry smiles of their own. The dark atmosphere that had filled the carriage moments ago vanished, replaced by the crisp, sweet taste of the spring fruit.