Most of the bandits were dead on the ground, their bodies or heads severed where they fell. Amidst the carnage, the man holding a pole-axe nearly as tall as himself stared at Rei with a look of profound confusion.
"So, Miroir... who is this guy?"
"Egret, honestly. You should have mentioned that the moment you noticed him."
"I mean, I didn't want to get distracted in the middle of a fight. Besides, that monster... it’s clearly attached to the kid, so it must be a tamed monster, right? Never seen that species before, though."
Miroir let out another heavy sigh.
She knew Egret wasn't one for deep thought, but she hadn't expected him to be ignorant of a high-rank monster like a gryphon. She turned her gaze toward Rei, who was busy interrogating a bandit who had been lucky—or perhaps unlucky—enough to survive, and then toward Seto, who stood quietly nearby.
"That's a gryphon, an A-rank monster. Listen, don't you dare try anything with it. No matter how strong you think you are, you don't stand a chance against a gryphon."
"I agree about not picking a fight with the beast. But Miroir, that kid over there is way more dangerous than any gryphon."
"Is that so? He certainly displayed extraordinary power during the fight, but a gryphon is still far more terrifying to me."
As she spoke, Miroir secretly felt that both Rei and Seto were equally formidable.
As a woman, Miroir was relatively tall, and Rei was shorter than her. With his robe and youthful features, he looked like nothing more than a 15-year-old child who was an apprentice mage. However, the boy had swung a massive scythe that blew away several bandits with a single strike. He had been using the shaft of the weapon to knock them unconscious so he could extract information, but the thought of him using that giant blade made a chill run down her spine. As for the gryphon, its threat was self-evident.
"So, who is he exactly?"
"He said he's an adventurer of Gilm."
"Huh? What's an adventurer of Gilm doing way out here?"
Miroir and Egret were currently very far from the City of Gilm. Since they were also deep off the main highway, it was a distance of about 20 days from Gilm by road. Of course, that was only if one traveled by land; for a creature like Seto, who could fly and take shortcuts over mountains and forests, it was a distance of about half a day.
"I have no idea. But Egret, you can see it too, can't you? Even just looking at him, you can tell his skill is extraordinary."
"Yeah. I watched him for a bit when he jumped into the fray. He's definitely got—wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa."
Egret nodded at Miroir’s words, but as he turned his eyes back to Rei, his expression shifted to one of pure shock. Rei had simply stored the Death Scythe into the Misty Ring, but Egret, unaware of the magic item's true nature, looked back at Miroir in disbelief.
"Is that a pouch created using Space Magic? No, it doesn't look like he’s carrying one."
"He's probably hiding it under the robe. Having a magic item that expensive is a great way to invite trouble, after all."
"Well... true enough."
Neither of them realized he was an item box user, but they were certain that even a pouch using Space Magic was an incredibly valuable magic item. They assumed Rei kept it hidden beneath his robe for security.
Rei approached the two after finishing his business with the survivors—he had unceremoniously crushed their necks once he had the information he needed.
Miroir and Egret felt a flicker of surprise that a 15-year-old child could kill so cold-bloodedly outside of combat without changing his expression. However, since he had come to their aid rather than showing hostility, they welcomed him without reaching for their weapons.
"Were you able to find out the location of the bandits' hideout?" Miroir asked.
"Yeah. Apparently, it's about one hour into those woods."
"An hour, huh?" Egret muttered. "You'd think they'd be found immediately if they built a hideout that close to the road."
Miroir sighed again. "Egret, we're already far off the main highway. Considering that, a distance of about 1 hour is more than enough for them to stay hidden."
"I guess you're right. Anyway, I'm late with the introductions. Thanks for the help back there. I'm Egret."
"I'm Rei. I'm an adventurer in the City of Gilm."
"Right, about that... I'm not saying I doubt you, but what is a Gilm adventurer doing in this region? If you don't mind, could you show us your guild card?"
Egret claimed he wasn't doubting him, but his gaze was sharp as he scrutinized Rei. He didn't think he could win if it came to a fight, but he had steeled his resolve to resist as much as possible if things turned sour.
"Sure, I don't mind," Rei said casually.
He pulled his guild card from under his robe and handed it over. Egret reflexively caught it, bewildered by how easily Rei had complied. He looked down at the card. It was indeed issued in the City of Gilm, and then his eyes widened.
"Rank C!?"
He shouted in disbelief. Rank C meant the holder was considered a veteran. If asked whether the rank suited the boy in front of him, Egret’s answer would have been both yes and no.
By his appearance, he doesn't look like a C-rank adventurer at all. But based on how he handled those bandits, he's definitely an expert.
Egret muttered this to himself before showing the card to Miroir, who was equally stunned. Then, Egret and Miroir handed their own cards to Rei.
Rei tilted his head as he looked at them. He had already gathered they were powerful during the fight, so he wasn't surprised they were B-rank adventurers, but he didn't recognize the name of the city on the cards.
"Where is the City of Ryush? I've never heard of it."
"Ah... from here, it's far to the west. It's so far that it takes about half a year to get there by horse."
"Why are adventurers from such a distant city all the way out here?"
Rei’s gaze turned suspicious, mirroring Egret’s earlier wariness. Beside him, Seto sensed the shift in mood and lowered its upper body slightly, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
"Wait, hold on!" Miroir cried out. "We aren't suspicious people!"
"I don't think suspicious people ever admit they're suspicious," Rei countered.
The thought crossing Rei's mind was that they might be criminals on a bounty. If an adventurer committed a crime and fled, the guild would place a price on their head. Usually, they were wanted alive, but for heinous offenders, "dead or alive" was standard. To Miroir and Egret, this was a complete false accusation, but they knew that having a card from a city over six months away made them look highly suspect.
It was unfortunate that they hadn't taken any official jobs at other guilds since leaving Ryush. A guild card was updated with the name of the city where an adventurer last worked. If they had that, Rei wouldn't have been so wary, but they had been enjoying a carefree journey together ever since leaving their home city.
They had no way to prove their story, but they had no intention of dying here. They desperately searched for a way to de-escalate. Since Miroir was the one who did the thinking for the duo, she eventually came up with a solution. Her face lit up.
"I've got it! Why don't we go to the nearest town together? If we go to the guild there, they can verify that we aren't on a bounty!"
"Oh, good idea," Egret agreed. "That should solve everything. What do you say?"
Rei shook his head slightly. "I'm on my way to Emocion, and since I'm traveling on Seto, I wasn't planning to stop at any towns along the way."
"B-But what will you do at night? Emocion is still a long way off. Are you going to camp outside the whole way?"
"I have Seto with me. I'm not worried about camping."
Rei didn't mention his magical tent. However, Seto suddenly purred and rubbed its face against him.
"Guruuu."
Rei blinked, surprised by the gryphon’s insistence that these two weren't enemies. He let out a small sigh and stored the Death Scythe back into the Misty Ring.
"Wait, what?" Miroir blurted out, stunned by his sudden change in posture when he had been ready to fight just seconds ago.
"Thank Seto. I'll trust your word for now and go to the town with you."
"Ah... right! I see. You finally realized we aren't bounties."
"You idiot! He's just putting it on hold!" Miroir snapped, swatting Egret on the head, though she looked immensely relieved. She knew the guild would clear their names easily.
"We can talk about that later," Rei said. "Let's head to the hideout. The guy I interrogated said the whole group came out to attack us, so it should be empty."
"They all came at once? How reckless," Miroir said. "Usually, you'd leave someone behind to guard the place."
"Apparently, it was a very small bandit gang. They only arrived here recently. Which means we shouldn't expect much loot."
Rei sighed as he explained the situation. While this encounter had been a detour, he had hoped for a decent profit to make it worthwhile.
"Guruu."
Perhaps sensing his disappointment, Seto picked up a spear from the ground with its beak and brought it over. The bandits had maintained it well; it wasn't exactly high-quality, but it was functional.
"Thanks."
Rei took the spear and stored it in the Misty Ring.
"Hey, Rei," Egret asked. "That thing you've been using... is it some kind of magic item using Space Magic? I heard those cost a fortune."
"No, it's an Item Box."
"WHAT!?"
Both Egret and Miroir shouted in shock. Even simple pouches using Space Magic were so expensive that even first-rate adventurers could rarely afford them. An actual Item Box, the legendary original upon which those items were based, was incredibly rare.
"Wait, seriously? An actual Item Box!?"
"Yeah. But just so you know, it's registered to my magic power, so no one else can use it. It also has a self-defense function, so don't get any ideas."
In truth, it was less a built-in function and more a spell Rei had placed on it himself, but he saw no reason to go into detail.
To his surprise, both Egret and Miroir nodded understandingly.
"Well, obviously. If we stole from people, we'd be no better than those bandits," Egret said.
"He's right. Now, let's get to the hideout," Miroir added.
Stealing from people was wrong, but stealing from thieves was perfectly acceptable. Since their philosophy aligned with his own, Rei’s wariness relaxed a bit more.
The search of the hideout turned out to be a disappointing affair. There were almost no valuables, only a few spare weapons left behind. Rei took several spears, while Egret and Miroir took a few swords as their share.
Rei’s only complaint was that the other two eventually asked him to carry their shares in the Misty Ring as well.
With the loot secured, the three adventurers and the gryphon set off toward the nearest town and its branch of the Adventurer's Guild.