"Hoh... the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, is it? The Overlord's Armor was surprising enough, but the fact that you’ve already managed to strengthen it even further just goes to show that Rei is truly Rei."
Elena, her image reflected in the Paired Orbs, spoke with an intrigued smile.
Set was by Rei’s side as he spoke with her, and on the other side of the Paired Orbs, the small dragon Iero sat next to Elena.
On this night, with the disposal of the corpses finally finished and their departure for the Imperial Capital scheduled for the following morning, Rei was spending a relaxing moment communicating with Elena.
Usually, it wouldn't have been strange for Vihera to show her face, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had been called away to assist with the logistics of tomorrow's departure. No matter how much she claimed to have renounced the Bestia Empire, her popularity and skill weren't things that simply vanished.
In fact, back when the Mercurio Army was still just a rebel force, many had gathered specifically out of admiration for her. Given that, it was no surprise that she had been entrusted with an important role in the return to the Imperial Capital. She had been reluctant, but after being requested by Mercurio, Frizziore, and even Schurus, she had grudgingly accepted. She had only agreed on the condition that she be allowed to keep her current outfit—which Frizziore and Schurus had initially seen as a problem—forcing them to concede.
"Noise was definitely strong," Rei admitted. "Even though I won in the end, it felt more like he conceded the victory to me. When I think about that, it seems I still have a long way to go before I reach S-Rank."
"...In your case, Rei, shouldn't you focus on becoming A-Rank first? You are still only B-Rank, after all."
"Ah—well, true. As for this civil strife, it wasn't a request from the Guild; I just participated on my own. So, it doesn't affect my Guild rank at all."
Rei let out a sigh at Elena's words. From Theoreme's perspective, there was no way he could have officially requested the Kingdom of Mireana—or rather, the Guild in Gilm—to lend him Rei's strength for this civil war. This matter was strictly a personal request from Theoreme and Vihera to Rei.
While they had secretly allied with the Noble's Faction through Elena and the Neutral Faction through Rei, the Guild naturally had nothing to do with those dealings either. In other words, despite his massive contributions to this conflict, from the Guild's perspective, Rei hadn't completed a single request.
"Well, it’s not like you’re particularly obsessed with your rank anyway, right? It's not as if you're desperate to reach A-Rank or S-Rank."
"I'd prefer my rank to be as high as possible when I consider rank-restricted requests, though. There's also the matter of Magic Stones."
Originally, Rei had been raising his rank specifically to accept rank-restricted requests—more accurately, rank-restricted Subjugation Requests. His goal was to obtain the Magic Stones of more powerful monsters. Now that he had reached the status of a B-Rank adventurer, he wasn't as obsessed with it as before, but he still felt that a higher rank was always better. Particularly for S-Rank monsters like Dragon Species, a B-Rank adventurer—especially a solo one—would normally be seen as suicidal, and they wouldn't even be allowed to accept such a Subjugation Request.
"I see. But since it’s already over, there's nothing to be done about it now, is there?"
"When you put it that way, I guess you're right."
Sighing, Rei watched Set and Iero exchanging "Guruuu" and "Kyukyu" sounds through the orbs and stroked Set's head.
"So... specifically, when do you plan to return here? Considering I need to explain the situation to Lord Daskar, I think the sooner, the better."
"Ah—about that..." Rei hesitated, finding it a bit difficult to speak.
He understood what she was expecting; specifically, she wanted him to fly back to Gilm on Set and come to see her directly. Even knowing that, Rei could only shake his head.
"Actually, there's a unit I led during this civil strife. Well, I never really acted as their commander, but they were treated as being directly under me. About half of the guys in that unit said they wanted to come to Gilm with me."
Initially, the plan was only for those who had fallen into the Trap of the Wyvern Leather Armor to come to Gilm. However, as the word spread within the Mobile Unit, the number of people wishing to move to Gilm increased one after another.
Some were purely enamored with Rei's skill, others were charmed by Set's cuteness, but above all, many felt that if they went to Gilm, there would be no danger of ever having to fight Rei, even if war broke out between the Kingdom of Mireana and the Bestia Empire. Having received training from Rei and witnessed firsthand the power of the one man and one beast with the alias 'Crimson', they realized they would have no life left if they ever became his enemies.
While Noise was in the same league of strength as Rei, Noise was fundamentally suited for one-on-one combat. In contrast, Rei possessed numerous means of wide-range attacks, making his danger level far higher than Noise's in their eyes.
Those who felt this way weren't limited to the Mobile Unit; many on the Subjugation Army's side felt the same. No, in terms of having actually fought Rei, those on the Subjugation Army's side were likely the ones who most strongly felt they never wanted to fight Rei or Set again. Still, abandoning the Bestia Empire where they had lived their entire lives was not a decision made easily. In that sense, the Mobile Unit, which had been closely involved with Rei even within the Mercurio Army, was likely special.
"I see, I understand. If I recall, the unit you led was quite elite, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. Well, there are various reasons, but I think they also feel it might be hard for them to stay in this country."
"Hard to stay?" Elena asked dubiously.
She had heard from Rei before that the unit he led was an Elite Unit within the Mercurio Army. In other words, there was no doubt that the members of that unit possessed strength and training that ranked among the top in the empire. She wondered why such people would find it difficult to remain in their own country.
However, once she heard Rei's explanation, she had to agree. During the great decisive battle, they had ended up fighting their own allies, even if it was due to the enemy's strategy. Naturally, the eyes of those around them would be cold toward such a unit.
"...But surely there are those who understand the circumstances?"
"Yeah. That's why not everyone is coming with me. Especially the vice-captain, who is Theoreme's subordinate; he definitely isn't coming. Anyway, since it won't just be them, but also their families and lovers coming along, our travel speed will inevitably be slow. Plus, I have to transport Rhodos as well."
"Rhodos? What happened to Rhodos?"
"He's currently unconscious, and there’s no sign of him waking up. I don't even know what to say to Elk. I really want Rhodos to regain consciousness soon."
At Rei's words, Elena furrowed her brows slightly. She was also an acquaintance of Rhodos. Or more accurately, she was an acquaintance of Elk, and Rhodos had been introduced to her as his son. They weren't that close, but it was only natural to feel gloomy upon hearing that an acquaintance was unconscious.
"Should I send word to Gilm from here? Either way, I need to let Lord Daskar know that you all won. At that time..."
"I suppose so," Rei pondered.
Certainly, if Elk and Min saw Rhodos in his current state without warning, they would be shocked. However, even if he informed them now, it would still take a considerable amount of time before Rei and the others actually returned to Gilm. He worried it might be cruel to make them spend all that time worrying about their son. In the end, unable to judge which method was better, Rei gave a small shake of his head.
"Let's hold off. Besides, there's a chance Elk and the others aren't even in Gilm. I want to keep the number of people who know about this to a minimum."
Even as he said that, he could easily imagine that Elk and Min were undoubtedly worried about Rhodos and were likely staying in Gilm.
"Is that so? But... an A-Rank adventurer like Elk might know of a way to deal with whatever is wrong with Rhodos. Considering that, I think it might be better to tell them properly."
"...I see. It's true that compared to a B-Rank adventurer like me, they likely know a lot more. Setting Elk aside, Min is a Mage and probably has all sorts of knowledge."
Rei's words brought a small smile to Elena's face. Under normal circumstances, this was hardly an assessment one would expect of an Alias Holder Adventurer. However, if one knew Elk—and if one knew Min—one couldn't help but nod at Rei's words.
"So?"
"Yeah, sorry for going back on what I said, but it would be a huge help if you could let Elk know the situation. Besides... if they hear the news, unless they're currently on a request, Elk and his wife will definitely head this way. At the very least, Elk will try to, and Min won't stop him."
"That's likely true." Elena didn't seem to have any objection to Rei's words and nodded readily. "Then, I shall inform them at the same time I contact Lord Daskar. ...In any case, you truly are a conspicuous existence, Rei. To think you would defeat even Noise the Immovable."
"Like I said earlier, I didn't really win; it felt more like he conceded. Noise left because he was satisfied seeing the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, which was an evolution of the Overlord's Armor he used to use. I think if we had kept fighting as we were, I probably would have lost. In fact, I can't even say I've perfectly mastered this Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor yet."
Rei murmured with a sigh, but in reality, despite having had almost no training in its use, he felt that he was already able to use it far better than the Overlord's Armor.
"I see, I understand. ...When we next meet in person, I would certainly like to see this Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor."
"What? If you want to see it, should I show you now? Since you can send images through this, you can see it if you want, right?"
Rei offered to activate it right then, but Elena directed a dissatisfied look at him.
"Idiot. You really don't understand how to handle a woman, do you, Rei?"
"...Eh?"
Rei thought for a moment at Elena's words... and then understood the meaning. In other words, she was telling him to come see her in person under the pretext of showing her the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
"Ah—yeah, sorry. So that's what you meant."
"You really should learn a bit more about that kind of etiquette, Rei. ...Though, I suppose I'm not one to talk."
Elena wasn't particularly well-versed in romantic relationships either. Even so, being a Maiden in love, she had become attentive to the finer details. Of course, the fact that a powerful romantic rival like Vihera was by Rei's side was one of the reasons Elena had become sharper in those matters. Furthermore, the fact that Ara was teaching Elena slightly incorrect advice was likely having an influence as well.
Naturally, Ara wasn't intending to mislead Elena. While not to the same extent as Elena, Ara had also prioritized training her body over attending parties. Consequently, the knowledge Ara had gathered was essentially based on snippets of conversation she had overheard from other noble daughters, making it a skewed understanding in many respects. Since Ara was also born into a titled house, it wouldn't have been strange for her to be taught such things... but because she admired Elena and spent all her free time training since childhood, it was a fact that she was poorly informed in that area.
"Setting that aside. Specifically, when will you be returning?"
"Let's see, I'd like to reach Gilm before winter fully sets in if possible. We'll leave here tomorrow, and once we reach the Imperial Capital, there’s the Triumphal Parade... it seems there are various other ceremonies after that, but only the main figures like Mercurio and Theoreme will be attending those. I think we can leave as soon as I receive the reward after that."
Considering the matter of the reward and preparing those who were coming along, Rei estimated it would take three to four days. Even so, moving an entire group was cutting it quite close... but in this case, Rei was there. In other words, Rei could store all the moving luggage in his Misty Ring, so there would be no problem as long as they had the bare minimum required for travel.
At the same time, this would affect their travel speed. Naturally, there would be a significant difference in speed and the fatigue of the horses between a carriage piled high with household goods and a carriage carrying only people. Furthermore, as for the carriages, Theoreme had already promised that as a reward for the Mobile Unit, those who wished for one would receive a carriage and a horse. Of course, those who did not want them would receive an increased monetary reward instead. This was the result of negotiations based on the fact that so many people wanted to go to Gilm with Rei.
"...I see. Then it seems it will be spring before I can see you in person, Rei."
Elena murmured somewhat lonely from across the Paired Orbs, and Rei found himself mesmerized by her melancholy beauty.