To launch an aerial surprise attack on the bakery where three adventurers were holed up, Rei and Seto moved to a spot roughly ten minutes away from the scene, accompanied by one of the guards.
"Is this spot okay?" the guard asked.
Rei looked around and then turned his gaze toward Seto.
"Guruuu."
Meeting his gaze, Seto gave a reassuring rumble from his throat.
"He says it's fine. On your end, just make sure none of the bystanders get caught in the middle."
"Right... Excuse me, everyone! Sorry, but he’s about to take off! This is official business for the guard force, so there's no need to worry. Please, clear some space!"
The guard called out to the residents who had gathered to see what was happening. Seto was becoming a local celebrity in Exil, and the sight of him with a guard had initially sparked fears that he or his master had been arrested. The guard's announcement quickly turned that anxiety into relief.
Most of that concern, however, had been for Seto. In the eyes of the residents, the gryphon’s reputation far outshone Rei’s. That said, Rei was handsome enough that a fair number of women still watched him with worried expressions.
Following the guard's request, the crowd moved back, leaving an open space of about five meters around the duo.
"Is this enough?"
"Yeah, it’s perfect. Seto only needs a few steps to get airborne. Thanks."
"Gururuu."
As Rei mounted his partner, the guard shook his head. "No, if we’d had the strength to solve this ourselves, we wouldn’t have had to ask for your help. I should be the one thanking you... Please, save the bakery. And please, make sure Ratio-san is safe."
The guard bowed his head deeply as he spoke. Sensing the raw emotion in the man's voice, Rei realized exactly how he felt about Ratio, the bakery clerk. A small, knowing smile tugged at Rei's lips.
"I get saving the clerk, but what about her pops? Do I not need to worry about the old man?"
"Guh—th-that's... of course him too! Regardless, just... please!"
Rei wasn't the only one who noticed the guard’s transparent feelings. The onlookers directed wry, knowing gazes at the man—though a few others, likely harboring similar feelings for Ratio themselves, sent him sharp glares. Realizing how much he’d just given away, the guard’s face turned bright red.
"As I said before, this shop is one of Seto's favorites," Rei said. "Elena and I are fond of their bread, too. I'll make sure anyone who threatens a place like this gets exactly what’s coming to them."
Wearing a bold, fearless smile, Rei patted Seto’s neck.
"Gururururururuuu!"
At the signal, Seto took a few powerful strides, flapped his wings, and kicked off the air, soaring high into the sky. The guards, residents, and adventurers alike were mesmerized. It was the first time many of them had seen Seto’s majestic flight up close.
"Guruuu."
In less than a minute, they arrived about fifty meters above the bakery. Seto let out a soft rumble. With his natural speed, he could have reached the target in under ten seconds, but going at full throttle risked overshooting, so they had approached at a controlled pace.
Hearing Seto's cry, Rei looked down. Below, the guards were still maintaining their perimeter around the bakery to ensure the criminals couldn't escape. Outside that ring, a crowd of residents—many of them fans of the shop—watched with bated breath.
Almost no one noticed the gryphon and his rider hovering directly above them, with the exception of Elena, the Captain of the Guard Force, and the few guards who had been briefed.
The reason Captain Pratol hadn't informed all his subordinates was simple: if the guards started looking up, the civilians would follow suit. If that happened, the criminals monitoring the outside would realize something was in the air, and Rei’s surprise attack would likely fail. To prevent that, the captain had kept the plan a closely guarded secret.
"...Alright. They're ready down there."
"Guruuu."
With his extraordinary eyesight, Rei felt certain he had locked eyes with Elena for a fleeting second. He stroked the back of Seto, who had also spotted her, and finalized their approach.
"Seto, there's no room for hesitation once we start. We need to secure the criminals before they even know we're there. I'll secure the two hostages. You handle the capture. Knock them out with a single blow if you can—don't kill them."
"Guruuu?" the gryphon asked, tilting his head back toward Rei.
Seto knew Rei wasn't usually the type to shy away from lethal force, so the request puzzled him. Rei gave a wry smile and stroked the gryphon's neck.
"We might be used to it, but the two from the bakery are ordinary civilians. They aren't used to seeing life and death. If we kill people or get too violent right in front of them, we'll be showing them things they'll never be able to unsee. I don't want that kind of trauma ruining their business."
"Gurururuuu!"
Convinced by the explanation, Seto gave a small rumble of assent.
"Good. Preparations complete. The biggest advantage of this surprise attack is the sheer shock of it. We're going to smash right through the entrance and take them all at once!"
As a precaution, Rei drew a stripping knife from his Misty Ring. Seto gave a silent nod and folded his wings, diving in a straight line toward the bakery entrance.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Hey, look at that!"
The onlookers finally noticed the shape plummeting from the sky. Screams and shouts erupted from the crowd. Seto was moving so fast that they couldn't even tell it was a gryphon, let alone see Rei on his back.
Seto plummeted toward the ground, flapping his wings wide at the very last second to shed his momentum. He hit the pavement silently and, without losing a beat, smashed through the bakery door.
The sound of wood splintering echoed through the shop. However, because of the tense stalemate that had preceded the breach, those inside—robbers and hostages alike—were too stunned to react instantly.
"Gururururururuuu!"
"Hi—hiiiiiiieee!"
A man even smaller than Rei, who had been peering out the door to monitor the guards, was sent flying out of the shop by Seto's Strike. Seto had followed Rei's instructions perfectly; though the small man suffered several broken bones, the blow wasn't fatal.
As Seto dealt with the first robber, Rei leaped from his back and sprinted toward a large man—more fat than muscle—who was holding a longsword to the clerk, Ratio. The man had been staring in shock at Seto's intrusion, but he finally came to his senses and realized Rei was closing in.
"D-Don't come any... gyah!"
The man tried to use his hostage as a shield, but that split-second hesitation was exactly why he had failed as an adventurer. It was a mistake Rei was happy to exploit.
Rei flicked his wrist, sending the stripping knife whistling through the air. It buried itself up to the hilt in the large man's right shoulder. His grip failed, and his longsword clattered to the floor. Rei had held back his strength; a full-power throw would have severed the arm entirely, but the pain was still more than enough to incapacitate the robber.
"...!? I-It hurts! God, it hurts!"
The large man doubled over, unable to even touch the knife protruding from his shoulder. Seto, having finished with the first man, moved behind the second and swung his forepaw. Despite the robber weighing well over a hundred kilograms, Seto's Strike sent him tumbling out the front door.
As the guards outside rushed in to secure the two criminals, Rei turned to Ratio.
"There were three of them, right? Where's the last one? And where's your father?"
"Ah... um, in the kitchen..." Ratio stammered. She was shaking, but she pointed toward the back of the shop.
"Tch. Seto, stay here! I'll—"
Rei was drawing another knife from the Misty Ring to head for the kitchen when a sudden shout cut through the air.
"Uoahhh!"
A man came crashing through the kitchen door, sent flying by a massive impact. Rei saw at a glance that he was wearing leather armor—this wasn't the owner. He caught the flying failed adventurer with his foot, pinning him to the ground.
"Guh!" The blow to the stomach knocked the wind out of the man, and he slumped into unconsciousness.
Rei didn't have to guess who was responsible. While he and Seto had provided the distraction from the air, Elena must have slipped in through the back kitchen door.
"You could have avoided aiming him at me," Rei called out.
"My apologies. It was a coincidence," Elena replied, stepping out from the kitchen with the shop owner in tow. "He was holding a weapon to the owner, so I applied a bit of force to get him away."
She was holding her whip-sword, though it was still in its sheath. Rei looked down at the unconscious man with pity. There was a deep, sheath-shaped dent in his leather armor; several of his ribs were almost certainly cracked, if not broken.
"You two... you're from before..." the owner said, his voice thick with relief.
Rei was slightly surprised. This shop was incredibly popular, with hundreds of customers every day. He hadn't expected the man to remember them after only a single visit. Then again, looking at Seto, who was currently dragging the third robber outside by the collar, he realized why.
I guess it's hard to forget a gryphon once you've seen one, Rei thought.
Ratio, who had been dazed by the speed of the rescue, finally regained her composure and hurried over. "Um... th-thank you so much!"
Seeing her bow deeply, Rei felt a bit awkward. He was more used to being feared than thanked by civilians, so he simply shook his head.
"Seto likes the bread here, and I'm a fan too. If you want to thank me, just give me whatever bread you have left over."
"Yes! Please wait just a moment! I'll get it ready right away!"
Ratio didn't even stop to celebrate her safety with her father. She immediately began gathering the bread that hadn't been touched. The robbers had clearly been starving, as they'd devoured a fair amount of the stock, but there was still plenty left.
The only one who noticed Ratio’s cheeks flushing a faint red as she worked was, fortunately or unfortunately, Elena. She watched the girl with a somewhat stern gaze before turning that look toward Rei.
"Um... here. I picked out the best ones we have. Please, take them. For your friend too... and if you don't mind, could you tell me your name?"
"I'm Rei. We'll take the bread, thanks. I'm just glad you're both okay. It would've been a tragedy if we couldn't eat this anymore."
Rei took a chicken sandwich—crisp on the outside and bursting with juicy flavor—and took a bite before sharing some with Seto. Even though some time had passed since they were prepared, the quality was still exceptional.
"Sorry to interrupt the meal," Captain Pratol said, stepping into the shop, "but we need to take these criminals into custody. Also, it would be a huge help if you could come with us for questioning."
Rei nodded, and alongside Elena and Seto, he followed the Captain of the Guard Force toward the guardhouse.