The party greeted the morning at the inn in Sablusta, finished an early breakfast, and set out.
...The fact that Rei was still sleepily rubbing his eyes as they left was partly because he simply wasn't a morning person, and partly because he had stayed up late the night before talking with Elena through the Paired Orbs.
"Nn!"
Rather than riding in the carriage, Rei walked through the streets alongside Set. He gave a small nod in response to Byune, who called out to him from the carriage window as if to tell him to cheer up.
(Kids sure are energetic in the morning. It's enviable, really. When I was little, I used to head to elementary school early and play on the grounds too. ...Come to think of it, how was I so energetic back then?)
Reflecting on the vast gap between his childhood self and his current self — including the fact that he had become Rei — he made his way toward the gate. But as he drew near, he noticed some kind of commotion underway.
"Hey, hey, I don't want any trouble."
The blunt merchant on the driver's seat muttered just loud enough to hear, but leaving Sablusta left them no choice but to press forward.
Sensing a vaguely bad premonition, Rei continued toward the gate while stroking Set's back. Up ahead, he could see several guards surrounding someone.
The merchants, who wanted to avoid getting tangled up in any commotion, would have preferred to give the disturbance a wide berth. But since it was happening right near the main gate, they had no choice but to pass close by in order to leave the city.
And the moment the party drew alongside the source of the commotion...
"Master! Take me as your disciple!"
That voice rang out across the surroundings without warning.
Master? Rei tilted his head at the unexpected word and turned to look.
...That was a mistake. Standing right there was Magita, eyes locked on him.
Rei hadn't forgotten someone he'd met just yesterday. He recognized the man as the opponent he had fought the night before, but he couldn't fathom why he was being called "Master."
If anything, given how things had ended, Rei had assumed Magita was more likely to hold a grudge.
Yet there was not a trace of resentment in Magita's eyes.
How was he supposed to respond? While Rei hesitated, several of the guards surrounding Magita walked over to Rei and his group.
"Sorry, but would you mind answering a few questions for us?"
The question wasn't overbearing, so neither Rei nor the others felt particularly inclined to refuse. Besides, they hadn't done anything wrong — there was no reason to say no.
...The two merchants, displeased at the prospect of a delay in their departure from Sablusta, wore slightly sour expressions. But since they were the ones who had egged Rei into fighting Magita the night before, they could hardly object.
In the end, they explained the circumstances from the previous night, and when the guards learned that Magita had lost to Rei, their expressions cleared with understanding. As Sablusta guards, enough of them recognized Rei's face that it helped smooth things over.
If anything, the guards directed their most intrigued looks at Magita. To think he'd challenged the Crimson to a fight.
Magita himself was visibly stunned to learn that Rei was the B-Rank Adventurer who bore the alias Crimson. Even so, a grin quickly spread across his face — one that seemed utterly at odds with his sharp gaze.
"I knew it. Master really was strong."
"No, I told you, I have no intention of taking you as a disciple. To begin with, the very reason you and I seek strength is completely different."
"The reason I seek strength?"
Magita spoke as if he couldn't comprehend what Rei meant. Rei let out a sigh — he really doesn't get it, does he... — and continued.
"Do you remember what you said at the tavern yesterday? You told me you wanted to show off your strength to others and bask in a sense of superiority. Unfortunately, I can't get behind that philosophy of yours. I have zero interest in training someone like that."
His refusal was likely shaped in part by the fact that he had spent the recent stretch working as a mock battle instructor at the Officer Academy. The relationship between master and disciple might differ slightly from that of instructor and student, but at their core, they were fundamentally similar.
And on a personal level, Rei had simply grown tired of teaching people how to fight. If he were the type who genuinely enjoyed instructing others — the sort born to be a teacher — he might have taken Magita in and set him straight. But Rei was decidedly not that kind of person. If anything, his own belief was that anyone who stood against him should be crushed by force — a mindset not entirely unlike Magita's obsession with showing off power and feeling superior.
"No way, Master! Please, train me!"
"I told you, I'm not your master. Besides, if you want to get that much stronger, just go somewhere with more fighting. You don't even have to go as far as Gilm — Abuelo would do."
Abuelo, situated closer to Gilm — or more precisely, closer to the frontier — naturally drew more powerful monsters than the area around Sablusta. In terms of fighting humanoid opponents like bandits, Sablusta might have been the better fit. But if the goal was purely to battle powerful enemies, Abuelo suited that purpose far better.
"That's... I thought there was nobody stronger than me here."
"I don't know how you arrived at that conclusion, but from where I'm standing, you had plenty of ways to get stronger and chose to ignore all of them, content with defeating weaker opponents and basking in superiority. Besides, what do I gain from training you?"
"I'll help with your work."
That offer, delivered without hesitation, would have been attractive terms for an ordinary adventurer — one with roughly Magita's level of strength. In truth, setting aside his habit of causing trouble, Magita was reasonably well-known in Sablusta as a adventurer with some skill. Precisely because he understood that himself, he likely thought offering his assistance would serve as a suitable condition.
"Refused."
Rei shot the proposal down just as flatly as before.
"What! Why, Master!"
"I told you, I'm not your master. To begin with, while I'm traveling with Vihera and Byune this time, I'm fundamentally a solo adventurer. And as far as partners go, I've got this one."
"Gururu?"
Rei gently stroked Set's back, and a happy cry came in response.
Magita had known a gryphon was at Rei's side, but his attention had been fixed solely on Rei until now. His gaze shifted to Set anew — but no look of surprise crossed his face.
"What's this monster?"
"Eh?"
The words that came out of Magita's mouth made everyone present — not just Rei and Vihera, but the guards and both merchants as well — murmur in unison. It was only natural. As an adventurer, one would be expected to recognize famous monsters. Even non-adventurers, even ordinary citizens, would at least know the name "gryphon" and what one looked like.
"...My Tamed Monster. Gryphon Seto."
"Guruu!"
The cry that came from Set's mouth was by no means meant to intimidate. Even so, whatever beastman instinct Magita possessed must have warned him just how powerful the monster before him truly was. He reflexively stumbled several steps backward.
(He can't gauge Set's strength from its appearance, but he retreats the moment he hears its cry... huh. There's no question he's an odd one. The fact that he didn't react to seeing Set earns him some points, but if you consider that he simply didn't know what a gryphon was, that makes sense too.)
Though somewhat intrigued by that peculiarity, it still wasn't enough to make him go so far as to take on a disciple.
"When I'm traveling in a large group like this, it's different. But normally, I get around by riding Set and flying through the sky. What would you do then? For the record, only I can ride Set. Well, a child could ride along without a problem, but a big one like you is out of the question. ...I could carry you by hooking you onto its claws, but is that what you're hoping for?"
The suggestion was apparently unthinkable to Magita. He shook his head immediately. Among all the people living in this world, those who had experienced flight were surprisingly few, with exceptions like Dragon Knights. Even the fearless Magita had absolutely no desire to fly through the air — especially not while dangling from Set's claws.
Seeing that, Rei nodded with satisfaction.
"Right? In other words, that's how it is. I'm not going to teach you how to fight. If you really want to get stronger, go to Abuelo... no, Gilm. There's no shortage of people stronger than you there. Besides, Byune aside, even Vihera is stronger than you."
"Hey, why does my name come up there?"
"Vihera, you like fighting, don't you? So I figured you wouldn't mind being Magita's opponent."
At Rei's words, Vihera cast a brief glance at Magita before immediately shaking her head.
"Unfortunately, he's not the strength I'm looking for."
"What did you say, you woman!"
Her words clearly struck a nerve. Magita immediately glared at Vihera, baring his hostility. From his perspective, she was nothing more than a Dancer or a Prostitute — at best, Rei's mistress. He was captivated by her beauty and figure, certainly, but her condescending attitude was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
But before Magita could take a single step toward her, a spear thrust abruptly into his path stopped him cold. From blade to shaft, the weapon was a single shade of deep green, possessing something that could seize the viewer's awareness just from looking at it.
"That's exactly why I say you're immature. Did you not hear what I told you? Vihera is stronger than you. And not just a little stronger — she's overwhelmingly stronger. If you challenged her, lasting even a few seconds would be a best-case scenario. Though if you consider that you both use martial arts, Vihera would actually be better suited to train you."
"...Me? Stronger than this woman?"
"Yeah. Without a doubt."
Magita shot him a disbelieving stare, but Rei stated it flatly as he returned the Thorn Spear to the Misty Ring.
"Besides, you fight with martial arts, right? So why did you even think about becoming my disciple? My weapon is..."
Rei glanced at one of the guards who knew him. The guard, apparently deciding that this was better than spending any more time here, gave a nod. Confirming that, Rei retrieved the Death Scythe from the Misty Ring.
At the sudden appearance of a scythe even larger than Rei himself, Magita's eyes went wide.
"The weapon I normally use is this Death Scythe. Why would a martial artist like you want to become the disciple of someone who wields a weapon like this? If you're dead set on finding a master, you'd be better off with Vihera, not me."
"...Hey, Rei. Are you trying to push this off on me?"
Vihera, having apparently realized from Rei's words that she was being set up as Magita's master, leveled a sharp gaze at him.
"Even if you say that. Like I just told you, martial arts are nothing more than a passing interest for me. In that case, wouldn't asking Vihera, who actually knows real martial arts, be the best option?"
"...You're right, it might be the best option. If you completely disregard my convenience."
"Wouldn't it be nice to have someone on hand you can spar with whenever you feel like it?"
"No, it wouldn't. At his level, I'd rather just train alone."
With his abilities dismissed as irrelevant and Vihera's every word throughout the exchange implying she was far above him, Magita finally lost all patience.
"Master! Let me fight this woman! Then you'll have to acknowledge me as your disciple!"
"...That's what he says."
At Magita's outburst, Rei turned his gaze to Vihera. Looking at Magita — who clearly wouldn't be satisfied unless they fought — Vihera eventually let out a sigh.
"Fine. I'll fight you, so let's step outside the city. Staying here any longer will just be in everyone's way."
The area around the main gate was reasonably spacious, and even with Rei's group there, it wasn't impassable. But causing a scene in a place like that would naturally draw attention. Vihera, in particular, wore thin garments that clung to a figure capable of captivating any man, and Rei had Set at his side.
...The least conspicuous among them was Byune. But even Byune, despite being only around ten years old, was properly armed and carried herself without a single opening in her bearing — which only went to show that it was the three striking people around her that made her seem inconspicuous by comparison.
For the time being, everyone nodded at Vihera's words. The party, along with Magita, prepared to head out of Sablusta.