"The front line of the Neutral Faction, huh? Well, with your skills, Rei, I suppose that makes sense."
Luno muttered the words while focused on maintaining his sword. Rei, listening idly, leaned back against Set’s flank, resting his weight on the griffon as he watched Luno work.
"Where were you assigned?"
"Me? Somewhere in the midguard, mostly. Unlike you or Elk, I'm more of a jack-of-all-trades. I’m not really cut out for the place where the two armies first smash into each other."
"You were assigned to guard me—an important person, technically. It's not like you're lacking in combat ability, right?"
He had been assigned. Now that they had reached the battlefield, Luno had been relieved of his duty as Rei’s protector and was here as just another adventurer. Even so, the fact that he chose to linger by Rei’s side instead of with the other adventurers showed how close they had become.
"Hah! Did I ever really need to protect you? Looking back, I suspect my appointment as your guard was just a fancy way of saying I was your conversation partner. After all, you're stronger than me, and you've got Set. I didn't exactly have much of a purpose as a bodyguard."
Luno spoke self-deprecatingly, but the look in his eyes was relaxed. He seemed to feel he’d lucked out with an easy job.
"A conversation partner... I suppose I can't deny that."
Rei looked up at the spring sky, sighing as he watched the few scattered clouds drift by.
"What's with the sigh? Surely a man like you isn't getting cold feet about the war?"
"No. It’s not that I’m anxious about the fighting itself. It’s just... how do I put it..."
Rei searched for the right words to describe his restlessness but couldn't find them. He tried a different angle.
"We set up camp here yesterday, right?"
"Yeah. Arrived yesterday afternoon."
"...How long are we supposed to just sit here? When does the war actually start?"
"What, so you’re not scared? You’re just annoyed that we haven’t started yet?"
"It’s not quite that. I just don't like the atmosphere before the storm. Usually, I’m the one who gets to decide when a battle begins. But this is a war between nations; we have no idea when the first move will be made."
"That’s just the way it goes. Even if this happens every few years, it’s still a war between countries. They can’t start until they’ve finished the formal protocols. If someone ignored the etiquette and just attacked, they’d be condemned by all the neighboring countries even if they won."
"I see..."
Rei nodded, feeling Set’s warmth through his robe, but he was still skeptical.
(These are the same people who were causing all that internal turmoil within the Kingdom of Mireana. Would they really care about formal protocols?)
He continued to watch Luno sharpen his blade, but his constant stare eventually became a distraction. Luno looked up with a frown.
"It’s hard to focus with you watching me like that. Don't you have any weapons to maintain?"
"The Death Scythe channels magic power, so it doesn't really need maintenance. As for my Mithril Knife, stripping knives, and spears, I had them all sharpened at a blacksmith shop before we left the City of Gilm."
As he spoke, Rei recalled the face of the blacksmith, Pamidoor.
To a stranger, the man had the ferocious face of a bandit, but in reality, he was a devoted family man. He was also an exceptionally skilled blacksmith who had moved from the Royal Capital to the frontier of Gilm specifically because he wanted his work to protect people.
When Rei had first visited the shop to ask for maintenance before the war, Pamidoor had flatly refused. He said his craft was meant to protect the people of the frontier from monsters, not to be used against other humans. However, when Rei argued that the commoners would be the ones to suffer most if the Bestia Empire invaded, the man had reluctantly agreed. Reluctant or not, he hadn't cut any corners. The Mithril Knife, the Thorn Spear, and even the Dagger of Flowing Water—which Rei couldn't use effectively due to his fire attribute—had all been returned to him in pristine condition.
He hadn't bothered with maintenance for the throwing spears, which he treated as disposables, but even so, the work on his magic items had cost him several silver coins—a hefty sum for anyone else.
"Tch, must be nice to be rich. If you’ve got that much to spend..."
Luno was about to say more when a group of soldiers came charging into the Larkus Territorial Army’s camp, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"The Bestia Imperial Army has reached the Seremuse Plain! They've begun setting up their camp! Hostilities are expected to begin tomorrow! Everyone, stay alert! I repeat, the Bestia Empire is here!"
Listening to the shouts, Rei muttered under his breath.
"If they're in the middle of setting up camp, wouldn't a surprise attack right now give us a huge advantage?"
Luno gave a wry laugh and shook his head.
"Like I said, protocols matter. If we won like that, the Bestia Empire would use it as an excuse to rally other nations against us."
"But this is a major power, right? Surely they wouldn't care what some small nations think."
"In terms of military strength, maybe. But imagine if the Magic City Ozos—the heart of alchemy—sided with the Empire and cut off our magic item exports. That would be a disaster."
"I see..."
"Besides, you're part of the lead unit for the Neutral Faction. If you did something like that, the King's Faction would crucify you even if you won. They'd charge you with damaging the nation's prestige. At worst, they'd execute you."
Luno stopped sharpening his sword and mimicked a knife-hand strike across his own throat. Rei frowned. He certainly didn't intend to lose to an army, but he understood the political risk. In a war, one person with a strength of ten wasn't always as valuable as five people with a strength of two—at least, in the eyes of the generals.
(And if things go truly sideways, I can always retreat to the laboratory in the Forest of Magic.)
He mused silently. There were monsters in that forest, like the Dragon Species, that neither he nor Set could defeat yet, but he was confident he could reach the laboratory undetected. Once inside, not even an A-rank adventurer could touch him.
"Alright, I get it. No moves until the war officially starts."
"Exactly. But once it starts, their camp is fair game. Assuming you could actually reach the enemy's main camp, that is..."
Luno’s voice trailed off. He wasn't looking at Rei anymore, but at Set.
"Oh, right. I see. That’s why you're thinking about a surprise attack."
Luno realized Rei’s plan and let out a sharp grin.
"Pretty much. Though it'll be difficult if I can't strike first."
"Why?"
"I'm planning to open with wide-range annihilation magic as part of the lead unit. Once I do that, the Bestia Empire is going to be watching me very closely. And that means they'll be watching Set too. Honestly, a griffon is going to get more attention than I will."
"Wide-range annihilation magic, huh? Sounds terrifying. You're sure our side won't be caught in it?"
"I'm aiming for the center of their formation, so we should be fine. But if a powerhouse like Elk charges in too far, he might get caught in the blast."
"Hey, wait. Is that really okay?"
Luno looked at him with clear suspicion. Rei gave a small shrug.
"It’s Elk. Don't you get the feeling he could take one of my attacks point-blank and walk it off?"
"..."
Luno fell silent, likely because he had considered for a second that it might actually be true.
"No, wait, that’s not the point! You can't just—"
"I know, I know. It was a joke. I’m not going to blow up Elk. I'll make sure to warn him before the battle starts."
"Are you sure? I feel like you'd involve him just to see what happens."
As they talked, a knight Rei recognized from the journey—one of the guards assigned to him—approached their position. Rei stood up from Set and walked toward him, correctly guessing that the knight had business with him.
"Rei, Lord Daskar is calling for you. Come to the main tent immediately."
"I thought so. I just heard the soldiers saying the war starts tomorrow. Is this about the lead unit?"
Rei assumed it was a strategy meeting with Elk and the others, but the knight shook his head.
"No, it's not that. Look... I'm sorry, but you're being summoned to the main camp's tent."
"The main camp? You mean the King's Faction?"
The King's Faction was the primary power in the Kingdom of Mireana Army. It was only natural they held the main camp. But Rei couldn't understand why he, a mercenary of the Neutral Faction, was being summoned there. Sensing his confusion, the knight explained with an apologetic look.
"It’s about the start of the war. The General of the King's Faction is in charge of this operation, and he’s been getting an earful from the Noble’s Faction. They're complaining about entrusting the vanguard to some 'nameless, unknown adventurer' alongside Elk."
"..."
Luno gave Rei a look that clearly said my condolences. Rei sighed.
"Are they out of their minds?"
"I’d like to say 'Are you serious?', but... yes, they seem quite serious."
The knight gave a weary smile. He clearly shared Rei’s frustration.
"Wait, the King's Faction told the Neutral and Noble Factions to handle the vanguard, right? Then it shouldn't matter if I’m in it. The lead unit isn't just me and Elk; there are hundreds of soldiers, knights, and other adventurers. Are you telling me every single one of them is famous?"
"No. Most of them are nameless soldiers. Even the knights aren't all famous, though they're stronger than the average soldier. And the adventurers... well, you know how that goes."
"Then why am I being targeted?"
"Have you ever heard of a man named Lunojis Imahen?"
Rei felt a sudden surge of irritation at the name.
"One of the knights of the Noble's Faction. He picked a fight with me yesterday."
"That’s your answer. He’s also in the lead unit, and he’s throwing a tantrum. He says he refuses to share the battlefield with an 'utterly unknown quantity' like you."
"Is he serious?"
The knight nodded sadly. Rei let out a long, frustrated sigh. This was going to be a headache.
"If he were from a lesser house, we could just ignore him. But he's the heir to a Marquess... that carries weight."
"But wait, he's with the Noble's Faction, right? Then..."
Rei had hoped Elena would have put a stop to such nonsense. But the knight shook his head.
"I know you're close with the Princess General. If it were just the Noble's Faction, it wouldn't be an issue. But unfortunately, the King's Faction heard the complaint and decided to use it as leverage. When the two major factions team up to make a fuss, even the Princess General can't just brush it off."
"Political maneuvering. Got it."
Rei used a term he remembered from the news back in Japan. The knight looked at him with surprise.
"Hah, you know some sophisticated words. Anyway, what do I do?"
"It’s simple, really. Lunojis is claiming you're not a 'renowned' adventurer, meaning your strength is unproven."
"Elena knows what I can do."
The knight flinched slightly at Rei’s casual use of the Princess General’s name but quickly moved past it.
"Her word alone wasn't enough to satisfy the King's Faction."
The knight sighed. Truthfully, there was another person there who knew Rei’s strength—Filma Desir, the Knight Commander of the Duke Kerebel’s Knight Order. But because he had witnessed Rei’s power during a clandestine guild operation in Gilm, he couldn't exactly testify without exposing things he wasn't supposed to know.
"Fine. I'll go and prove it to them. Set, let's go."
"Guruuu!"
Set stood up at Rei’s command, but the knight stepped in.
"Wait. I was told to tell you that Set needs to stay here. There will be a lot of high-ranking officials in the tent, and a griffon is... well, it's a bit much for them."
"Set is half of my strength."
"I know, but those are the orders. To be honest, I think Lunojis pulled some strings to keep the griffon away. He probably realized he couldn't win if the beast was there."
Rei sighed and rubbed Set’s head.
"It seems the coward is afraid of you. I’m going to go and shut them up, so wait here for me."
"Gururuuu."
Set let out a disappointed sound and lay back down. Rei turned to follow the knight.
"Being a celebrity is hard work. Good luck, Rei. But try not to kill anyone, okay?"
Luno’s amused voice followed him as Rei walked toward the main camp with the knight.