"Is this..."
Rei was at a loss for words at the sight spread out before him.
Seeing Rei's reaction, Relduct assumed he was simply speechless at the magnificence of the Magic Items that he and his ancestors had collected. Enduring the pain still throbbing in both of his arms, Relduct spoke up.
"Well? How do you find the collection of Magic Items passed down through my family?"
Until they had arrived at this room—the room where the Magic Items were stored—Relduct had maintained a subservient attitude toward Rei. But seeing Rei's current demeanor, he seemed to have regained a measure of confidence.
It was not quite to the extent of when they had first met, but that newfound confidence was showing in his bearing.
The shift in his tone toward Rei was likely a product of that same confidence.
However... that confidence was effortlessly shattered by the next words to leave Rei's mouth.
"Useless."
"...Wha!?"
Relduct had expected praise, never imagining he would be dismissed. He was stunned for a moment by Rei's attitude.
The only reason he did not lash out was because the pain in both shoulders reminded him of the absolute gulf in power between them.
"Um, I was fairly confident in them... what did you find unsatisfactory?"
His attitude toward Rei reverted to a subservient one once again.
Watching the way Relduct's demeanor shifted with a gaze of exasperation, Rei spoke.
"First of all, the Magic Items in here are basically artworks and things of that sort, right?"
"Well, that's, um..."
Relduct nodded without any particular hesitation.
Seeing that, Rei finally understood that Relduct had not gathered any intelligence about him. Even though collecting Magic Items was his hobby, he had no idea what kind of items Rei actually collected.
Fundamentally, the Magic Items Rei collected were things that could be put to practical use.
The Death Scythe, the Twilight Spear, the Thorn Spear—things that could be used in battle.
The Magic Tent, the Dagger of Flowing Water, the Stone Oven—things that could be used in everyday life.
He owned a few other Magic Items as well, but all of them were things he used frequently.
Of course, the artistic pieces before his eyes... a jewel box made of gemstones, paintings, bronze statues, sculptures... those that were artworks yet also Magic Items, were surely valuable to those who understood their worth.
However, Rei had no particular interest in artworks and the like.
He might glance at paintings displayed in Daskar's mansion or the Guild Master's Office, but he could not understand being so captivated by a work of art that one would spend fortunes collecting them.
...Though, to someone else, the fact that Rei collected numerous Magic Items for practical use might be equally incomprehensible.
In the end, values differ from person to person. ...Besides, it's not like these artworks have no value.
Rei did not know what specific effects the Magic Items before him possessed.
But even so, since Relduct had kept them stored away like this, he could at least understand that they were valuable.
Well, it's not impossible that he's been deceived by fakes, though.
Even back in Japan, he had seen TV programs about people who had been tricked by counterfeit brand goods.
As long as he was not being deceived like that, the Magic Items in Rei's line of sight were likely quite valuable.
"What effect does this jewel box have?"
"That, you see, is a Magic Item that plays music when opened."
"Ah... I see."
For a moment, Rei wondered if the creator was someone from his homeland. But he understood that something like a music box was not so strange to have been conceived in Elgin, and he stored it into his Misty Ring as it was.
"Aah!"
"Did something happen?"
"...No."
Normally, this type of Magic Item was not to Rei's taste. However, he understood that Relduct treasured it, and so he judged that seizing it would serve as effective retaliation against the count. It was an action taken based on that reasoning.
"Is this painting over here a Magic Item too?"
"Eh? Ah, yes. By channeling magical power into it, the background of the painting changes."
Somewhat intrigued by the explanation, Rei channeled magical power into the displayed painting.
Inside the painting, the figure of a woman smiling on a spring meadow had been depicted, but in the next instant, it shifted to a summery, cloudless blue sky, and the meadow had clearly grown taller than it had been seconds before.
When he channeled more magical power, it shifted to autumn, winter... and then to night-time versions of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the contents of the painting changing with each flow.
"...I see. That's a little interesting."
Even for Rei, who had no interest in artworks, the way the painting's contents changed so drastically depending on the magical power channeled into it was quite fascinating.
Naturally, he stored that painting into the Misty Ring as well.
"Aah..."
Watching the Magic Items that he and his family line had collected be taken away one after another before his very eyes was likely a tremendous psychological blow to Relduct.
A small sound of lamentation leaked from his mouth.
Rei had been storing away the artwork-form Magic Items one after another when he suddenly noticed something that sounded like shouting in the distance.
That's... I see, they've already made it here. Then there's no need for me to stay any longer.
Knowing what those sounds meant, Rei called out to Relduct, who likely could not yet hear them.
"I'll be taking my leave soon, but the Rebel Army should be arriving here shortly."
"!? The Rebel Army! How could that be! Why!?"
"Why, you ask... Do you truly not understand? It's because you are unfit to govern this territory."
There must have been many things that came to mind at those words. Relduct reflexively drew in a breath... and then tried to say something, but it dissolved into nothing without forming words.
And then his face was dyed in despair.
Naturally so. The defensive forces had been nearly annihilated by Rei—more accurately, most had fled—and in this situation, being attacked by the Rebel Army would unquestionably mean the end of his life. He understood this.
"Lord Rei! You said earlier that you would spare my life! And yet you're handing me over to the Rebel Army!?"
It must have been fear for his life. The way he had been calling Rei by his bare first name had reverted to "Lord Rei" with an honorific attached.
"You just needed to avoid governing in a way that invites rebellion. ...Well, whatever. Rest assured. I've already reached an agreement with the Rebel Army. They should not take your life."
"!? From the very beginning, with the Rebel Army..."
Were you working with them?
Relduct had been about to say as much, but the tip of the Twilight Spear, drawn at some unknown point, was thrust toward him, and he could not open his mouth any further.
"I'd like to say that's the correct answer, but to be precise, it isn't. When I arrived in Count Relduct's Territory, the Rebel Army was already preparing to take action."
Strictly speaking, they had gathered weapons but had not yet been ready to make large-scale moves. Rei, however, exaggerated the facts.
"Then we came into contact by chance, and I informed them that I would be taking action today. There were mutual benefits in it for both of us."
For Rei, he could leave the aftermath of his retaliation against Relduct to the Rebel Army, and the Rebel Army would have Relduct's military forces eliminated by Rei in return.
It was a contract with mutual benefits.
"That's..."
As if to cut off whatever Relduct was about to say, Rei continued.
"For now, I can at least guarantee that you'll keep your life, so don't worry. ...Though if you act arrogantly toward them, I can't say what will happen."
Rei had indeed made arrangements with the Rebel Army not to kill Relduct, but depending on his attitude, there was no guarantee he would be safe from harm.
However, whether the Rebel Army would actually bother harming Relduct in his current state—both arms severed at the shoulders, his face stained with every kind of bodily fluid—was a questionable prospect.
"...I understand."
Relduct, too, must have understood his current situation. Rather than voicing any objection, he quietly nodded in return.
"Let me make this clear. Even if you somehow resolve this situation, if you try to impose the same kind of oppressive rule again, I might just come back."
So Rei declared, though whether he would actually return was debatable.
If he had some business in this land, that would be one thing, but if asked whether he would go out of his way to check on things himself, the answer would be no.
But hearing Rei say that he might come back to check, Relduct would have to consider that possibility, no matter how infinitesimally small.
Of course, there was also the question of whether Relduct, now lacking both arms, could even remain in the lord's seat. But even taking that into account, it would likely be difficult for Count Relduct's Territory to impose the same kind of oppressive rule with heavy taxes as before.
What's more, with this Rebel Army incident, Relduct had brought great shame upon himself within the Noble's Faction, and his already low influence would decline even further.
There was no doubt that he would no longer be able to act as freely as he had before.
"What you do from here on... I'll be watching. Take your time."
With those words, Rei left Relduct behind and exited the room where the Magic Items had been stored.
From behind, he could hear sobbing, wailing, and lamenting—a roar-like voice mixing together various emotions. But from Rei's perspective, it was nothing other than reaping what he had sown, and he walked down the corridor without paying it any particular mind.
The Lord's Manor had contained dozens, scores... over a hundred people until just a few hours ago, but that crowd was nowhere to be seen now.
Many had fled at Rei's presence, and seeing that, others must have followed suit, thinning the numbers further.
If there had been anyone with genuine loyalty toward Relduct, some might have remained... but Rei could not confirm the presence of any such person.
Well, he brought it on himself. ...But the ones who ran off probably won't be hired by Relduct again. If he somehow comes out of this unscathed... well, I can leave that to the Rebel Army's people. My business is done, so I should hurry and...
...head back to Gilm.
"Ah."
The moment he thought that, something suddenly occurred to him.
Now that he thought about it, he had been forgetting ever since meeting the Rebel Army—hadn't he been entrusted with a letter from Jazz?
A letter for Dostri, Jazz's younger brother, who lived in Hazlui near the place where he had encountered the Rebel Army.
Originally, his purpose had been to obtain the information necessary for retaliating against Relduct, but that matter had already been resolved when he ran into the Rebel Army just before arriving in Hazlui.
That was why he had forgotten about the letter.
At any rate, it was easy to imagine that the letter's contents expressed a desire for Rei's cooperation, but it was also certain that it contained recent news as well.
After all, Jazz had left Count Relduct's Territory as if fleeing.
Given that, there was no way he could have casually exchanged letters with his family.
"Messed up. ...Well, whatever. It's a bit late, but if I ask Set, it shouldn't take long."
Considering Set's travel speed, delivering the letter tonight would not be difficult at all.
...Though at this hour, many people would already be asleep.
Naturally, since he could not go visiting at such a time, he would actually be paying a visit tomorrow.
"Which means I'm sleeping outdoors today."
Rei muttered to himself, but there was no note of disappointment in those words.
In the first place, what Rei called sleeping outdoors was sleeping outdoors using the Magic Tent.
Its comfort level would be far superior to that of an average inn.
Moreover, Count Relduct's Territory was not exactly a remote frontier.
It was safe to assume that vicious monsters would not attack in the middle of the night.
Instead of monsters, there were plenty of Bandits to worry about, but with Set around, there was no need for concern on that front.
"Gururururu!"
As Rei walked along deep in thought, Set approached, letting out a happy cry.
Stroking Set's face as it drew near, Rei spoke up.
"I'm thinking of heading to a city called Hazlui. That alright with you?"
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set gave a pleased cry... and within a matter of minutes, launched itself into the night sky.
Some time passed after that... and eventually, the Rebel Army stormed into the Lord's Manor.