Two days had passed since the Bestia Imperial Army’s retreat, but the Kingdom of Mireana Army still remained on the Seremuse Plain.
Prisoners of war, including those captured during the initial surprise attack, had already been gathered at the Kingdom of Mireana Army’s position. They were currently being held in a prison camp constructed from earth magic by the army’s mages.
While a few select individuals were provided with tents and treated with a modicum of respect, such courtesies were strictly reserved for those of high status—nobles who could be ransomed or those from wealthy families. As for the rest crammed into the prison camp, once they were interrogated and stripped of every useful piece of information, they would be sold to slave traders.
Many of the captives seemed to understand their fate, their eyes glazed with utter resignation.
While some surely harbored thoughts of escape, any such attempt would be nearly impossible given the tight security surrounding the perimeter.
In contrast to the somber atmosphere of the cages, the rest of the army’s camp was a hive of activity as preparations for withdrawal began. However, evacuating a force of over a hundred thousand men was a monumental task, and the process was nothing short of chaotic.
"Rei, these are next! Thanks!"
A knight of the Larkus Territorial Army called out, stacking a large pile of swords and spears in front of Rei.
Soaking up the spring sunshine pouring from a cloudless sky, Rei silently reached out and stored the weapons into his Misty Ring.
Though Rei possessed stamina that surpassed almost anyone else, fatigue was currently etched clearly across his face. It wasn’t physical exhaustion, but mental weariness. Even though he had grown somewhat accustomed to it during the campaign, interacting with so many strangers was by no means an enjoyable task for him.
A percentage of the nobles who had participated in the war had already departed the Seremuse Plain. The nobles themselves were heading straight for the Royal Capital to attend the victory celebration, while the bulk of their forces returned to their respective territories, leaving only a minimal escort for their masters.
"By the way, Rei, what’s your plan?"
As he was storing the massive pile of equipment, a voice cut through the noise.
Rei turned to see Luno. They hadn’t had much contact during the actual fighting, but once the war ended, Luno had popped up again to serve as Rei’s escort and caretaker.
Then again, Rei had demonstrated enough power to earn the alias 'Crimson' during this conflict, and he had a gryphon by his side at all times. No matter how much he looked like a frail apprentice mage, no one in their right mind would dare pick a fight with him.
(Unless they’re a complete fool who can’t read the room, anyway,) Luno thought.
He scanned the various gazes directed their way. He spotted a group of knights in matching half plate armor—likely from some noble’s private force. When they realized Luno had made eye contact, they scowled unpleasantly but moved on without a word.
Luno knew their retreat was only a small comfort. He didn't know which faction they belonged to, but there were countless other eyes monitoring them from the shadows.
"Must be tough being you," Luno muttered.
"You think so?" Rei replied briefly.
Rei was certainly aware of the people watching him, but he found the constant social interaction with strangers far more taxing. Furthermore...
"Lord Rei! I implore you to visit my master’s territory. My lord has expressed a great desire to hear your tales in person. Of course, he is prepared to offer a very generous reward."
A knight approached them, empty-handed, and addressed Rei with a practiced bow.
"I’m sorry, but I have no intention of doing so. If your master is insistent, please route the request through Lord Daskar."
"Well, yes, but... isn't Margrave Larkus quite busy with the withdrawal? I brought this proposal directly to you specifically so as not to trouble him with such trifles."
"I apologize, but I don't have the leeway for this right now. I’ll have to decline."
"Are you quite certain? My master holds a significant title of nobility. If you refuse him here..."
The knight, frustrated by the blunt rejection, let a sliver of a threat creep into his tone. In that instant—
"Guruuuu."
Seto, who Rei had been leaning against, let out a low growl and turned its head toward the knight.
"Hi—! Hiee!"
Faced with the Gryphon’s predatory stare, the knight let out a pathetic shriek. He mumbled something under his breath and fled from Rei’s presence as if the God of Death were at his heels.
"Dealing with those prying eyes is still better than dealing with people like that," Rei remarked, not even bother to look at the retreating knight.
"I guess that’s true. Though, you stood out way too much in this war, so I’d say this is par for the course. You did that crazy stunt knowing this would happen, didn't you?"
Luno possessed a Magic Eye that allowed him to see magic power directly. Because of that, even when he saw Rei create a natural disaster like the Firestorm, his reaction had been a simple, "Yeah, that figures," rather than the shock others felt. Though, even he had been exasperated by the sheer scale of it.
"A lot happened during this war," Rei said vaguely.
The Bestia Empire had reached for the City of Gilm and for Rei himself far too many times. He had wanted to carve a reminder into them—to show them exactly what would happen if they tried such a thing again. Of course, there was also the matter of the magic item Daskar had promised him from the House Larkus treasury.
Ultimately, his performance had secured him a magic item of significant value, even if it wasn't the primary heirloom. For a magic item collector like Rei, the effort hadn't been a waste.
(Though, I definitely drew more attention than I needed to.)
Even if he was currently an adventurer for the Kingdom of Mireana, national borders were porous for his profession. Some nobles likely saw him as an ally now, but feared he might not be one the next time a war broke out. He pondered this as he stored a wooden box containing swords into his Misty Ring, certain that the monitoring gazes were the result of such calculations.
"I don't know what you mean by 'a lot,' but the fact is you stood out more than anyone else. It’s gonna be noisy for a while. Especially since... well, looks like you’ve got fans now too," Luno said with a wry smile.
He gestured toward a young soldier nearby who looked to be around Rei's age.
Rei followed his gaze. The young soldier’s face was flushed with excitement, his eyes sparkling as he stared at Rei.
It was the look of someone meeting a legendary hero.
Between the Firestorm and the fact that he commanded a creature as majestic as a gryphon, it was only natural that some would idolize him. However, Rei’s honest feeling was that he’d rather be left alone.
While being liked wasn't a bad thing, the way the boy was looking at him felt more like a burden than a compliment.
Elk, whom Rei had run into a little while ago, had seen Rei’s plight and let out a boisterous laugh, as if asking if Rei finally understood the pains of fame. Of course, Min had immediately brought her staff down on the back of his head.
"If that kind of reputation spreads, it’s just going to bring more trouble. I’m not some grand hero, but I feel like I’m going to get dragged into some weird mess... as if I haven't been caught up in enough trouble since I arrived in Gilm."
Sighing, Rei looked away and scanned the surrounding camp.
Many from the Neutral Faction had already moved out. Most of those remaining were in the final stages of packing; within a few days, the Kingdom of Mireana Army would be gone from this spot.
Despite the heavy work, many soldiers wore smiles, buoyed by the sense of victory. The labor was divided into two main methods.
One group was desperately packing wagons, loading them high and tying them down with ropes. The other group was simply carrying whatever they could and bringing it straight to Rei.
Naturally, the latter group belonged to the Larkus Territorial Army. They were the ones authorized to use Rei’s Misty Ring for transport.
While those loading wagons had to worry about weight distribution and cargo space, there were no such concerns for the Misty Ring. Since they could just drop things in front of Rei and have them vanish into storage, there was a stark difference in how frantic the two groups were.
"So, what are you doing after this?" Luno asked as Rei stored several wooden boxes containing a large number of arrows.
"After this?" Rei repeated.
He’d heard that same question recently. Judging that Luno wasn't about to ask him to become his vassal, Rei asked for clarification.
"Yeah, after this. Our Lord is going straight to the Royal Capital for the withdrawal, right? I figured you’d be going with him."
"Wait... what?"
The suggestion was so unexpected that Rei actually stopped what he was doing and gave Luno a blank stare.
Seeing his reaction, Luno realized Rei hadn't caught on yet. He let out a long sigh.
"Like I said, you made a huge impression in this war. 'Overwhelming' is probably a better word. Haven't you heard? Princess General Elena Kerebel. Theoreme Energy of the Flash. Apparently, you've been given an alias just like them: 'Crimson.'"
"'Crimson,' huh? Yeah, I've heard the rumors."
With so many prisoners of war from the enemy main camp and elsewhere, rumors had spread like wildfire. Even Rei, who wasn't exactly a social butterfly, had heard the name.
"It feels a bit uninspired to call me 'Crimson' just because I use flame magic."
"I heard it's also because you were drenched in the blood of the enemies you slaughtered," Luno added.
"And maybe because of my hair?" Rei muttered, catching a glimpse of his red hair in his peripheral vision.
In Japan, such a color would be incredibly conspicuous, but here in Elgin, vibrant hair colors like red or blue were common. Between gold, silver, brown, black, and green, Rei figured his red hair shouldn't have been that much of a standout feature.
"Anyway, about the Royal Capital... I'm not going. Lord Daskar told me that going there would definitely lead to a political headache, so I should stay away."
"But won't the Lord get flak for that? Your achievements might not technically match the noble who slew the Supreme Commander, but you’re easily the next most important person on the list."
Rei shook his head at Luno’s logic.
"Apparently, an adventurer’s merit generally counts as their employer’s merit. It’s different if an adventurer is looking for a commission or a title, but I have no intention of entering official service."
"Ah, well, I've never done anything worth bragging about, so I didn't know that's how it worked. Still, are you sure it’s okay for you to be missing from the lineup? I bet there are plenty of nobles in the capital who want a piece of you. Even just the people who want to see Seto would be a huge crowd."
Luno glanced over at Seto, who was currently serving as Rei’s makeshift sofa while dozing off.
Feeling the gaze, Seto purred like a cat and opened its eyes a crack to look at Luno.
To an outsider, the stare might have seemed intimidating, but Luno had spent the entire campaign as Rei’s guard and knew better. He reached out and scratched the back of the gryphon, who was happily soaking up the sun.
"Man, Seto’s fur is incredible. If you made clothes out of this, they’d sell for a fortune, wouldn't they?"
"Indeed. Clothing made from Seto's fur would surely be a high-end luxury. If you were truly going to make such a thing, I would love for it to be gifted to Lady Elena."
"Whoa!?"
Luno jumped at the voice that suddenly spoke from behind him.
He whirled around to find a tall female knight with a giant battle axe on her back.
"Y-You’re...?"
Luno’s mind quickly connected the face to his memory of Rei’s acquaintances, and he let out a breath of relief. As Rei’s guard, he couldn't just let suspicious people sneak up on them.
Ara bowed her head slightly, acknowledging Luno’s surprise.
"My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you. I am Ara, the Commander of Lady Elena's Escort Knight Order. Actually, Lady Elena wishes for a meeting with Lord Rei. Would you be so kind as to accompany me?"
Rei thought it over for a few seconds before nodding.
Fortunately, he had finished the current batch of storage for the Misty Ring, and he decided a short break was in order.
"All right, I’ll go. Luno, you’ve been on duty this whole time, so feel free to take a break."
"You sure? Well, if you say so, I won't argue."
With a nod to Luno, Rei gathered Seto and followed Ara toward the Noble's Faction Position.