"Hey, did you end up doing everything yourself, Rei-kun? I feel a bit bad about that."
Ranga stepped out from the thicket along with the other members of the subjugation force, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
Rei gave a small shrug at Ranga’s appreciative words before speaking.
"The thieves were an official request. I simply did the job I was hired for. More importantly, shouldn't we bind them all before they get any strange ideas?"
"Hmm? You're right. Everyone, secure them."
"Understood!"
At Ranga's command, the soldiers of the subjugation force responded in unison. They moved quickly, ropes in hand, to tie up the members of the Bloody Blade.
While monitoring the thieves to ensure they didn't try anything reckless, Ranga spoke to Rei, who was likewise watching the prisoners.
"There are an unusual number of goblin corpses here. What happened?"
"When I arrived, these guys were already fighting them. I heard back in Gilm yesterday that a party wiped out a goblin settlement deep in the forest beside the highway. These are likely the survivors."
"...I see. Now that you mention it, I remember that report. Since they shared the same forest as their territory, a clash was inevitable. What do you want to do about the goblin corpses, the Proof of Subjugation Parts, and the magic stones?"
"Let's see. I'll just take the hobgoblin magic stone. I don't have one of those in my collection yet."
Rei knew he couldn't perform a Magic Stone Absorption with Beast Magic unless he or Set had participated in the kill. However, since he publicly claimed that collecting magic stones was his hobby, he felt it would be suspicious if he didn't gather rare ones when given the chance. Ranga nodded, seemingly relieved by the modest request.
"If you're satisfied with just the hobgoblin magic stone, I have no complaints. In fact, I'm grateful. The thieves' treasure will go to Lord Daskar, but we can keep the goblin magic stones and Proof of Subjugation Parts for ourselves."
"...But they're just goblins, aren't they?"
"Individually, they might not be worth much, but the numbers add up to a decent sum. Besides..."
"It’ll go toward the fund for the victory celebration after this is over, right?"
The one who interrupted was a Knight who had just emerged from the bushes.
As someone also dispatched from Gilm, he clearly shared Ranga's perspective.
"Yes. We have funds set aside for the party, of course, but earning a little extra here will make the celebration that much more extravagant."
As a leader, looking after the morale of one's subordinates was an essential part of the job.
I probably couldn't handle that, Rei thought. He chatted with the Knight for a while until a soldier from the subjugation force approached after finishing the restraints.
"The capture of the Bloody Blade is complete, sir."
"Understood. Gather them a short distance away and keep a close watch. Also, what about the goods they stole from the merchants?"
"Well, that is..."
The soldier stammered, looking troubled. Seeing this, Rei spoke up.
"It seems they were under attack by the goblins the moment they retreated here. Their stored loot was picked over and scattered during the chaos. Like that one over there."
Rei pointed toward a goblin that had been cut down with a diagonal slash.
Though it was dead, its cold fingers still gripped an Elongated Crystal roughly thirty centimeters long.
While not particularly valuable as a gemstone, it was a versatile material for crafting magic items.
The Knight and Ranga both noticed the crystal in the goblin's hand. Their eyes widened for a moment before they both let out heavy sighs.
This meant they would have to search the entire hideout and rummage through every goblin corpse to recover the loot.
As for whatever the escaped goblins had carried off, they would simply have to give up on it.
(Well, if anything, this just turns into a nice bonus for Mirene and the others when they come through for the goblin remnant hunt tomorrow,) Rei thought to himself as he looked back at the commanders.
"Ah... right. We'll handle the recovery on our end. More importantly, Rei, what about your reward? You were promised your pick of the thieves' hoard, weren't you?"
"Yeah. Though normally, an adventurer who defeats thieves can claim everything for themselves... but since this was a direct request from Lord Daskar, things are different."
Rei muttered with a small sigh.
"That can't be helped. To think a standard guild quest and a direct order from the Lord are the same would be far too naive. Officially, your role was merely to support the subjugation force, wasn't it? Even if the reality looks quite different."
"I have my own reasons. I didn't want to waste time here needlessly."
Rei responded with a shrug to the Knight’s exasperated comment.
Guided by the soldiers, he headed toward a tent that served as a warehouse to see if there were any magic items worth taking.
"Tch. In the end, they're no different from us. The only difference is whether we steal from merchants or they steal from us."
One of the members of the Bloody Blade spat at the ground as he watched Rei head toward the storage tent with the Knight and Ranga.
A soldier guarding the prisoners shot the man a sharp look but remained silent.
He purposefully avoided engaging to keep his focus from narrowing on a single captive.
The Bloody Blade was a mercenary group known for its mobility and ruthlessness. They were dangerous men.
If given even the slightest opening, there was no telling what they might do.
While it was unlikely they would try anything with Crimson nearby, the soldiers knew better than to be negligent.
(Tch.)
Eberogi clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched the guards.
He had chosen to surrender because of Rei, but he was still looking for any opportunity to escape.
The flying gryphon was a massive problem, but given the cover of the forest, he felt he might have been able to slip away alone if the soldiers grew lax.
However, the guards remained vigilant even though the mercenaries were bound.
And even worse...
"Guruuu."
Set, who hadn't followed Rei to the tent, gave a low purr and lay down near Eberogi and his men.
The gryphon closed its eyes as if resting, but its mere presence was enough to make Eberogi abandon any thought of flight.
"Hey, are we really okay with this?"
"Yeah. The captain gave permission. Actually, the captain specifically asked Rei to leave Set here."
"...I see. Well, having Set here is certainly more reassuring than just us keeping watch."
The soldiers of the subjugation force whispered among themselves, casting glances at the resting gryphon.
It was exactly as they said.
With Set there, any attempt by the Bloody Blade to escape was utterly futile.
The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, the tension leaving their shoulders at the sight of Set, though they continued their watch over Eberogi and the others with professional discipline.
"Ah... well, I suppose that figures."
Rei muttered as he stepped inside the tent the soldiers had pointed out.
The warehouse was indeed filled with various items that could be considered treasure. Or rather, it had been.
Goblins had picked through almost everything, leaving behind only a few old, dusty items.
They likely left them because they didn't look valuable enough to bother carrying.
Rei sighed at the ransacked state of the tent, looking at Ranga and the Knight, who shared his somber expression.
"So... what now?"
"Even if you ask us... I suppose the only small mercy is that the Bloody Blade killed most of the goblins before we got here."
Ranga sighed, and the Knight nodded in agreement before turning back to Rei.
"You were supposed to choose your reward from the hoard, but I imagine you aren't exactly thrilled with this meager selection."
Just as the Knight said, what remained in the tent looked like junk.
Rei was about to suggest he would decide after the soldiers recovered the items from the goblins, but his eyes were suddenly drawn to a broken wooden box.
It wasn't the box itself that caught his eye, but something reflecting the sunlight through a tear in the tent fabric.
"Wait a second."
He called out to the other two and pulled the object from the broken box.
It was a palm-sized metal disc with a chain extending from one end.
However, the object itself wasn't what shocked him. It was the material.
"Is this... Mithril-made?"
Everything, from the body of the device to the chain itself, was made entirely of Mithril.
Mithril was a rare magic metal with an incredible affinity for magic power. Even Rei, with his collection of magic items, only owned a single Mithril knife. It was that rare.
"And this is..."
He found a switch at the top of the disc and pressed it. The cover split open from the center.
Inside were numbers from one to twelve.
Each number was crafted with inlaid gemstones, and the needles revolving between them were also made of Mithril.
There was an hour hand, a minute hand, and a second hand.
"A clock, huh."
It was a pocket watch.
Clocks existed in this world, much like the bells that rang in Gilm and Exil to mark the time.
However, most adventurers relied on hourglasses at best.
Since an hourglass that measured hours would be far too bulky, they were generally crafted as magic items if long durations were needed.
Rei owned a magic hourglass, but he had never seen a mechanical watch like the one in his hand—something that wouldn't have looked out of place in Japan.
Creating such a magic item was incredibly difficult, and the number of alchemists and craftsmen capable of the feat was small.
These were things that money alone couldn't buy; they required deep connections and influence.
This pocket watch had likely been a custom commission for a high-ranking noble or a Great Merchant.
"Heh, a clock. And since it's Mithril, it probably doesn't require much magic power to run."
"This is... magnificent work."
The Mithril cover was adorned with an exquisite carving of trees growing around a spring.
The Knight seemed particularly struck by the craftsmanship.
Rei glanced at the two men for a moment before returning his gaze to the watch.
As Ranga noted, the clock was primarily Mithril. Because Rei possessed such immense magic power, the device felt incredibly natural in his hand, as if it were a part of him. This was the legendary affinity of Mithril at work.
"This is quite the find. I'll take this as my reward."
"I figured you would. No one would pass that up."
"Indeed. Lord Daskar owns several clocks, but I doubt even he has one of this caliber."
Rei moved to store the pocket watch in the Misty Ring, but he suddenly hesitated.
(Time stops inside the Misty Ring. Wouldn't that be a problem for a clock?)
An hourglass was one thing, but he worried about the internal mechanics of a pocket watch. The Knight noticed his hesitation and spoke up.
"What's the matter?"
"I was just wondering if it's okay to put a clock inside an Item Box."
"Oh, right. Time is supposed to be frozen inside those, isn't it?"
Rei nodded at Ranga's comment.
"Yeah. I’m worried the time will be completely wrong whenever I take it out."
"There's no need to worry about that."
The Knight dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand.
When Rei looked at him skeptically, the Knight explained with a smile.
"All magic items, not just clocks, run on magic power. High-end watches like that usually have a function that automatically corrects the time by absorbing magic power from the user. Every clock Lord Daskar owns has that feature, so I'm sure a masterpiece like that one will be fine."
Though Rei still tilted his head in slight doubt, he knew he wouldn't know for sure until he tried. He tucked the watch away and stored it inside the Misty Ring.