After Rei and Seto secured a room at the Dusk Wheat Inn for the night, their next destination was the Lord’s Mansion.
Dusk was fast approaching, but Rei judged that it was still a reasonable hour to request an audience with Daskar.
However, he made his way to the mansion alone.
The original plan had called for Seto to accompany him, but word of the Gryphon’s return to Gilm had spread like wildfire. The moment they stepped outside the inn, they were swarmed by a crowd of people waiting to play with the famous monster. With no other choice, Rei left his partner behind and headed for the mansion solo.
Seto, for its part, was more than happy to stay. Surrounded by people doting on it and offering a mountain of treats, it had settled in with delighted squawks.
"Looking at it like this... it hasn’t really changed at all," Rei muttered as he scanned the streets.
He had been away from Gilm for less than two months, so it was only natural that the city felt familiar. Still, the summer heat brought more travelers than usual, and the shifting seasons had subtly altered the small details of the cityscape.
As he walked down the street—half-observing the sights like a tourist—the shops eventually grew sparse, replaced by a heavier presence of guards. He was nearing the Lord’s Mansion.
"Hey, you. State your business."
A pair of guards approached from the opposite direction, and one of them called out to stop him.
Unfortunately for the guard, he was a rookie who had arrived in Gilm only ten days ago, having secured his position through family connections. Seeing a traveler with the hood of his Dragon Robe pulled low, he found the boy suspicious and moved to intervene.
Had Seto been present, the situation would have been entirely different. Even a newcomer would have heard endless stories about how well-known the Gryphon was in Gilm. The sight of a Rank A monster that was not only friendly but practically a mascot was enough to make it a specialty of Gilm.
Eager to prove himself, the young guard had challenged Rei, but...
"Hm? Oh, it’s you, Rei. When did you get back?"
As if to cancel out his junior’s blunder, the senior guard walking beside him recognized Rei and waved a greeting.
Rei raised a hand in a casual return gesture. "Just a little while ago. I have some business with Lord Daskar, so I’m heading to his mansion."
"I see. Being a high-rank adventurer sounds like a real headache. Well, go on ahead. Just make sure you don't start any trouble. Oh, and this kid here is a rookie who just joined the Guard Force."
"Wait... Senior? What’s going on?" the rookie stammered, bewildered by the easy rapport between his superior and the hooded youth.
The senior guard gave a wry smile. "This is Rei. He’s a C-Rank adventurer—one of the most famous in Gilm. No, wait... did you hit Rank B before you left?"
"Yeah. Just before I headed out."
"...Rei?"
Hearing the name again and learning he was a High-Rank adventurer finally flicked a switch in the rookie’s mind. His eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped as if he were facing a High-Rank monster in the flesh.
"Wait, you mean Rei... as in, 'Crimson'?"
"That’s what people tend to call me," Rei replied simply.
"Please forgive my rudeness!" the rookie blurted out, dropping into a deep bow.
His reaction was understandable. The alias 'Crimson' was famous for many reasons—both good and bad. Among the darker rumors was the claim that he would mercilessly incinerate even high-ranking nobles if they dared to cross him.
The fact that those rumors were largely grounded in reality was what made Rei the man he was.
"Relax. I don't go around picking fights for no reason."
"But, Senior..."
"Look, it’s probably better if I just move on. If we’re done here, can I go?"
"Y-Yes! Of course!" the rookie squeaked, jumping back.
The senior guard suppressed a chuckle and gave a slight shrug to Rei. Have mercy on the kid, his expression seemed to say.
Rei let out a small sigh and gave the rookie—who was frozen stiff as if he might be devoured at any second—a light pat on the shoulder before walking past. The moment Rei’s hand touched him, the guard flinched, but when he realized he was still alive and unharmed, he exhaled a long breath of relief.
His senior looked at him with an exasperated expression. "Good grief, you were way too terrified."
"But... that’s Crimson! I heard rumors that he once got annoyed and burned the entire Bestia Imperial Army to ash, turning the whole battlefield into a scorched wasteland!"
"...Okay, I think you’ve got your facts a little scrambled."
"But that's what I heard!"
"Rumors have a way of growing, for better or worse."
Rei could still hear their voices as he walked away. Since the rumors were simultaneously wrong and yet oddly close to the truth, he decided not to bother correcting them and continued toward his destination.
"Rei! It’s been a while. What brings you here so suddenly?"
Inside the office of the Lord’s Mansion, Rei sat across from Daskar Larkus, the Margrave of Larkus and the ruler of this frontier.
The gatekeepers at the mansion hadn't forgotten him, so he had been granted an audience without any bureaucratic delay. Under normal circumstances, an adventurer couldn’t simply walk in and see a Margrave immediately—the position was far too elevated for that.
Fortunately, Rei was an outlier in every sense of the word. His abilities, his personality, and the magnitude of his achievements all placed him in a unique category. Indeed, Daskar viewed Rei as something akin to his own right-hand man, which was precisely why Rei had felt obligated to return to Gilm before embarking on his mission to the Bestia Empire.
"It has been a while, Lord Daskar. Actually, I have some business to attend to in the Bestia Empire..."
The moment those words left Rei’s mouth, Daskar’s boisterous, masculine grin vanished. The warmth in his eyes was replaced by the cold, calculating gaze of the Margrave of Larkus.
"What do you mean? Explain the situation."
"Before I do... please read this," Rei said, pulling an envelope from the Misty Ring and handing it over.
It was the letter Elena had written detailing the circumstances.
"..."
Daskar accepted it in silence and began to read. The letter wasn't particularly long, and he finished it in less than a minute. However, he didn't speak immediately. He stared at the parchment, groaning softly, and reread it twice more.
Eventually, with a heavy sigh, he placed the letter on his desk and looked Rei in the eye.
"...Lady Elena's letter has given me the general gist of things."
He let out another deep breath. The news was clearly beyond anything he had anticipated. The Second Princess of the Bestia Empire, Vihera, hiding in Exil—and more shockingly, the legendary General Theoreme seeking her aid.
"I have questions... so many questions. But first, the letter mentions you obtained a Magic Item called Paired Orbs? And that you can use them to communicate with Lady Elena directly?"
"I can."
Rei nodded and produced the Paired Orbs from his Misty Ring. He immediately began channeling magic power into the device.
Elena had likely been expecting the call, knowing Rei would reach Gilm around this time from their nightly check-ins. When her image appeared within the orb, she looked composed and began to speak without hesitation.
『Rei? Since you’re activating the orb at this hour, I assume you’ve arrived in Gilm.』
"Yeah. I’m in Lord Daskar's office right now. He wanted to speak with you, so I’ve activated the link."
Rei adjusted the orb so that Daskar was framed in the transmission.
『That is perfect. Lord Daskar, it has been too long.』
"Indeed it has. ...Now then, about the contents of your letter."
『Yes. To my knowledge, the situation is exactly as I described.』
"The Second Princess of the Bestia Empire... This is a massive headache. We are already on precarious terms with them following the end-of-war agreement from the last conflict."
Daskar sighed bitterly. Since the war had ended in a victory for the Kingdom of Mireana, the terms of the agreement had been heavily skewed in their favor—especially regarding reparations and the ransoming of prisoners. It was common knowledge that the upper management of the Bestia Empire harbored a deep-seated resentment toward Mireana.
In such a climate, if their popular Second Princess were found to be involved with the very man who had essentially decided the war’s outcome, it could easily serve as a spark for a new conflict.
『I understand your concerns, Lord Daskar. However, if we succeed in rescuing Prince Mercurio, it will drain the Bestia Empire's military and national strength. More importantly, if Prince Mercurio takes the throne, we will have a pro-Kingdom of Mireana Emperor at the helm.』
"...Assuming everything goes according to plan," Daskar countered, his voice testing her resolve.
Elena responded with a radiant smile.
『I find it hard to believe those words are coming from a man who knows Rei as well as you do, Lord Daskar.』
Daskar was momentarily silenced. Rei had a perfect track record, having succeeded in every mission—no matter the difficulty—he had ever undertaken for the Margrave. Daskar couldn't logically claim a lack of faith in the boy’s skills when he personally relied on them so heavily.
『Furthermore, I have already used summoning magic to inform my father of these events. Do you really believe Duke Kerebel would let an opportunity like this pass him by?』
"Hmph. True enough. Duke Kerebel isn't the type to ignore a chance to install a friendly puppet on the Imperial throne."
Even if they couldn't secure the throne itself, establishing a powerful pro-Mireana faction within the Empire would be a massive strategic win. It would significantly narrow the gap between the King's Faction and the Noble's Faction back home. Daskar knew he should capitalize on this, but a decision of this magnitude couldn't be made in an instant.
"...For now, I will proceed with a positive outlook on the matter."
『That is all I ask. However, please remember that Rei must depart from Gilm soon.』
"The Autumn Fighting Tournament, right? One of the Empire’s largest events."
Because they were rivals, the Bestia Empire routinely invited nobles from Mireana to their tournaments as a show of force. This year, following their defeat in the Spring War, they would be even more desperate to project an image of strength to the surrounding nations.
As a central figure of the Neutral Faction and a key player in the recent war, Daskar had already received his invitation. The Empire couldn't afford to look weak by snubbing the very man who had defeated them.
Under normal circumstances, a faction leader would rarely attend in person, usually sending a trusted subordinate as a proxy.
"If I’m going to have a hand in this, I’ll need to decide if I should attend personally. I’ll need a bit more time to think on it," Daskar murmured, lost in thought.
The discussion between Daskar and Elena regarding logistics and strategic positioning continued for some time. Rei, meanwhile, focused on the refreshments a maid had brought in, quietly eating a sandwich and sipping his black tea while he listened.