Under the usual twilight of Exil, Rei and his companions walked through the city streets. They had just finished settling accounts at the guild for the materials, proof of subjugation parts, and unnecessary magic stones they had acquired in the dungeon.
Though the sun would set and night would fall in just a few hours, the blazing heat showed no signs of receding. If anything, the sunlight felt more intense, as if making one final, desperate struggle to scorch the earth before the day ended. Despite the sweltering temperature, the people in the streets were brimming with vitality.
"Rei, it’s a bit of a detour, but why don't we stop by that bakery?"
"Guruuu!"
Before Rei could even respond to Elena’s suggestion, Seto let out a cry of enthusiastic agreement. Their conversation about fruit in the oasis earlier that day had likely reminded the Gryphon of the delicious bread they had eaten there before.
"I don't mind, but..."
Rei flicked a glance toward the evening sky. He reached out to pat Seto’s head as the Gryphon tugged on the hem of his dragon robe with its beak, as if to say let's go already!
"It's evening, so it’s probably packed. It is a bakery, after all. There will be plenty of hungry customers like us, not to mention people picking up bread for dinner."
Seto seemed to understand Rei’s logic. It released the robe and lowered its head, letting out a dejected whimper.
"Guruu..."
Seeing such a clearly disappointed expression made a pang of guilt well up in Rei’s chest, even though he hadn't actually said no. Elena seemed to feel the same. She stroked the crestfallen Gryphon’s head and looked at Rei.
"Shall we check it out anyway? If it's too crowded, we can just give up. Besides, I wanted to buy a souvenir for Iero."
"What about Tsufal? Should we get something for him too?"
Rei asked, recalling the man who had served as their driver on the way to Exil. Elena gave a small smile and shook her head.
"Tsufal isn't in Exil right now. Apparently, he has a friend in a nearby village. I granted him a vacation to go visit."
"...You agreed to that? That’s surprising."
As far as Rei knew, Tsufal was a man who took immense pride in his duty—specifically, his duty as a driver for House Kerebel. He couldn't imagine the man leaving Exil while Elena, the Duke Kerebel’s Daughter, remained behind.
However, Elena seemed to read Rei’s thoughts perfectly. Her smile widened slightly as she explained.
"Tsufal hasn't had any time off in a while. Since neither you nor I have plans to leave Exil for the time being, there isn't much for him to do here anyway. I thought it was a good opportunity for him to rest his bones. He was a bit stubborn at first, but... well, he eventually took my feelings into consideration."
Rei nodded, missing the deeper meaning.
Elena was too embarrassed to say it out loud, but the primary reason Tsufal had accepted the leave wasn't for his own rest. Rather, he wanted to give Elena and Rei time to spend together alone. Recalling Tsufal’s parting words about "making progress in their relationship," Elena’s cheeks tinged a faint red.
"Elena? Is something wrong?"
Even if Rei was dense regarding romance, he was still Rei—meaning he was acutely sensitive to any physical abnormality in Elena.
They had exchanged kisses several times, but Elena was rarely proactive in her approaches. This was perhaps a side effect of her upbringing; she had always preferred honing her own skills over navigating the social circles of the capital, leaving her somewhat inexperienced in matters of the heart.
"N-No! It’s nothing. More importantly, if we’re going to the bakery, we don't have time to stand around. Let’s get there before they sell out."
She grabbed Rei’s hand and began to lead him down the street.
Elena walked with her face slightly flushed for a reason different than before, followed by a bewildered Rei. Seto trailed behind them, its pace quickening at the prospect of delicious bread. The two men and one beast hurried toward their destination.
"What... is going on?"
Elena’s murmur was nearly drowned out by the surrounding noise. Only Rei and Seto, standing right beside her as she held Rei's hand, caught the words.
A group of men who appeared to be guards of the City of Exil had surrounded the very bakery they were heading for. They stood in a defensive perimeter, vigilant and ready to move at a moment's notice. However, they weren't protecting the shop from the outside—their focus was entirely on what was happening within.
"What happened to the shop?" Rei asked an onlooker while keeping a respectful distance from the guards.
The spectator seemed to recognize Rei—or more likely, the Gryphon he was leading. The man’s eyes widened slightly before he answered.
"Ah, apparently some robbers took the customers and staff hostage. They're holed up inside."
"...Robbers. What a troublesome thing to happen at a troublesome time."
Rei clicked his tongue. In a world where thieves were rampant, the existence of robbers wasn't particularly shocking. Exil was a Labyrinth City, which naturally meant it attracted a fair share of ill-behaved adventurers.
Generally, most people wouldn't dream of such a crime unless they were either incredibly arrogant or incredibly stupid, given the sheer number of skilled adventurers in the city who could stop them. Most perpetrators of these incidents were people who came to Exil with high hopes, only to suffer a setback in the dungeon. Desperate and broke, they turned to robbery for quick coin.
"We have you surrounded! There’s no escape! Come out with your hands up!"
"Shut up! I’m... I’m not a man who's going to end in a place like this! It’s just bad luck! It was all bad luck! Damn it all!"
Rei listened to the shouting and sighed as he put the pieces together.
A typical development... Now, what should I do?
Since a hostage standoff was in progress, buying bread was out of the question for today. However, simply walking away and leaving the staff to their fate left a bad taste in his mouth.
If the robbers kill the staff and the shop closes down, I'll never get that bread again. Considering how good it is, that's an outcome I want to avoid at all costs. Besides...
He glanced down at Seto, who was once again tugging on his sleeve. The Gryphon was clearly worried about the people who had been so kind to it. Its round, watery eyes seemed to plead: Can we save them? Rei reached out and gently patted the Gryphon’s head.
Abandoning people who were kind to Seto would definitely keep me awake at night.
Rei turned his gaze to Elena. As if she had read his mind, she gave a silent, firm nod of agreement.
"Well then... first, we need to talk to the Guard Force."
Charging in without coordination would only cause problems later. Rei began to push through the crowd.
"Wait! Hold it! This area is currently—"
One of the guards approached to stop him, but Rei simply held up his guild card. The guard’s eyes widened at the B-Rank notation. Realizing this was the rumored Crimson and his Gryphon, his tone shifted from addressing a civilian to a fellow professional.
"Coming forward like this... I assume you're offering to help resolve this?"
"Yeah. I’m a fan of that bakery. It would be a problem for me if the staff or the shopkeeper got killed and the place went under."
"Guruu!" Seto chirped in agreement.
Elena nodded as well. They remembered the taste of the bread and the kindness of the staff. There was the salesgirl who gave Seto scraps, and the baker who used dungeon ingredients to make top-tier bread at prices that were barely profitable. If they didn't have the power to help, it would be one thing—but since they possessed the strength to intervene, walking away wasn't an option.
"Please, save Pops and the others!"
"I’m begging you, we love that shop!"
"Mister, are you going to save the big sisters?"
Voices rose from the crowd as people overheard the conversation between Rei and the guard.
"...Hold on. I’ll go get the captain," the guard said, heading toward the bakery.
A few minutes later, he returned with a middle-aged man in his forties.
"I’m Platur, the captain of the District Guard Force. I hear you're offering to help... but there’s no official reward for this, and even if I could scrape one together, it would be pittance. You still want in?"
"I’m not doing this for money. I just don't want the shop to close."
Rei’s reply earned a nod from Elena and an affirmative cry from Seto. Platur gave a small, weary smile.
"I see. So you’re also a fan of Pops's bread. That makes you a comrade of mine. I'm counting on you. I've known Pops for years. I want to get him and his daughter, Ratio, out of there safely."
Rei was surprised to see the captain bow so deeply, but he immediately understood. It made sense that someone who could bake bread that good would have a fan in the guard captain.
"Leave it to me. If we’re lending a hand, we’ll get them out. And honestly, I’d rather be paid in bread than gold anyway."
"Heh, fair enough. Pops’s bread is worth more than most rewards. Fine. If we get them out in one piece, I’ll talk to him for you."
Seto let out a happy trill, and both Rei and Elena felt their motivation surge as they recalled the flavor of the bread they had enjoyed just days ago.
"You have quite the appetite for a B-Rank adventurer. Well, at your age, I suppose you’re always hungry. Regardless of the reward... how do we solve this?"
Platur sighed and looked back at the bakery with a grim expression. Elena stepped forward.
"How many culprits?"
"Three. They're all failed adventurers, but they have some combat experience."
"In that case..." Elena scanned the surroundings, her tactical mind processing the layout of the bakery. "Rei or I could take out three men in a direct assault easily enough, but a frontal charge would be too obvious. They might hurt the hostages before we reach them. Which means..."
She trailed off, her eyes drifting upward, fixating on the sky. Rei realized exactly what she was thinking and turned to Platur.
"Get me permission for Seto to fly within city limits. We’ll infiltrate from above."
"Above? ...Ah! I see. They definitely won't be expecting that."
In Elgin, where the only common flyers were Dragon Knights, Seto’s mobility was the ultimate trump card for a surprise attack.
"Elena, you'll provide the distraction. Once we break in from the roof, you hit them from the ground during the confusion."
Rei’s plan was built on total confidence. The robbers were just dropouts; there was no way they could react to Elena’s speed.
"Understood. I'll authorize the flight. Start your move immediately. They're getting restless in there—there's no telling when they might snap."
Rei and Seto left the immediate area with one of the guards to find a takeoff point that wouldn't be visible from the bakery's windows. Elena began her own preparations, checking her equipment so she could strike the moment the aerial breach began. The guard accompanied Rei to ensure that any citizens or other guards would know the flight was authorized and to keep anyone from interfering with his work.
Rei and Elena shared one final, brief look and a small nod before going their separate ways to begin the rescue operation.