Having borrowed the Slave Collar Magic Item from Sharia—the artifact believed to be at the root of the current turmoil—Rei naturally didn't carry it out in the open. Instead, he stored it inside his Misty Ring.
He handed her highly portable food, a barrel of water, and some sandwiches, figuring they wouldn't spoil for at least a day or two, and then parted ways with her.
He'd originally wanted to gather more information, but the carriage returning to Rossi was due to depart soon.
Miss that, and the next one wouldn't leave until tomorrow morning.
If he did something like that, Elena and the others would undoubtedly grow suspicious.
Of course, Ielo was tucked away inside Rei's Dragon Robe. If Elena looked through its memories, she'd understand that Rei was innocent.
Even so, it was only natural for him to want to keep reasons for suspicion to a minimum.
Thus, Rei now found himself riding in a carriage headed back toward Rossi.
Unlike the trip from Rossi to Mejougo, the atmosphere inside the carriage was loose and relaxed, with more than a few passengers reeking of alcohol.
Rei understood exactly what that meant.
Many of the men wore flushed, satisfied expressions, their faces slack as they reminisced about their hours of pleasure.
Amidst it all, Rei kept his expression neutral, quietly watching his surroundings.
When he'd first traveled to Mejougo, he'd asked Kotonara various questions during the ride—and yet that conversation had somehow reached the ears of Jaya's members.
Fortunately, Rei hadn't extracted any critical secrets, so the Orc-faced woman, who likely held a certain rank within Jaya, hadn't taken any particular interest in him. That had been pure luck.
And that was precisely why the question gnawed at him: how had Jaya learned what was said inside a carriage?
Could there be some kind of system for eavesdropping on the interior? Well, Jaya is apparently an organization that uses all sorts of Magic Items, so it wouldn't be strange if they could manage something like that. Besides, if it's just listening in, they wouldn't even necessarily need a Magic Item.
At that moment, Rei recalled something he'd seen on television back in Japan—a program about an old ship.
It had been fitted with voice pipes: simple communication tubes that allowed free conversation across considerable distances without any kind of communication device.
...No, calling it a device was overly generous.
Installing something similar in a carriage wouldn't take much effort.
If that were the case, then the carriage Rei currently sat in could very well have such a mechanism built in. It might not be obvious, but its presence wouldn't be surprising.
"Hey, kid. Haven't seen you before. First time visiting Mejougo?"
The question came from a man sitting not far from Rei.
He looked to be in his twenties, with a fairly sturdy physique. There was no doubt he made his living through physical labor, like a Carpenter or a Woodcutter.
However, the reason Rei hadn't pegged him as an adventurer was that, despite his muscles, the way he carried himself seemed far too unaccustomed to combat.
Even sitting still without any dramatic movements, a person could infer whether someone was used to fighting from the subtle way they shifted their body.
Of course, making such an assessment required the observer to possess a certain degree of skill as well.
Fortunately, Rei had the eye for it, which allowed him to roughly gauge the man's background.
"Yes. I was a little surprised at how bright it was, even at night. The entertainment districts in larger cities are reasonably well-lit, but... Mejougo seemed as though the entire town itself was glowing."
The man was momentarily taken aback by those words, spoken under the guise of Ren.
He'd presumably expected Rei to show the embarrassment of someone who'd just been with a Prostitute for the first time.
Instead, what came back was praise for Mejougo.
The man was briefly stunned—but it was impossible to feel offended when someone praised a place he frequented.
"Hah hah hah. Right? They might call Reblurina a small nation, but its national power isn't that low. They certainly wouldn't keep kowtowing to a country like the Kingdom of Mireana forever."
"Is that so? But in terms of national power, the gap is overwhelmingly in their favor, isn't it?"
The surprise on Rei's face was by no means an act born of his mask as Ren.
In truth, between the Kingdom of Mireana—which counted numerous small nations among its vassal states—and one of those vassal states, a by no means large one at that, the disparity in national power and Combat Power was dozens of times over. No, accounting for the quality of adventurers as well, it would be fair to say the gap approached several hundredfold.
There was absolutely no way Reblurina could win in a head-on war.
That is, unless they had a massive number of powerhouses on the level of S-Rank Adventurers—then the story would be different.
Unlike the world Rei had come from, in this world called Elgin, it was not unheard of for quality to annihilate quantity rather than merely triumph over it.
Rei could state that with certainty, because during the war with the Bestia Empire, he alone—strictly speaking, together with Set—had wiped out much of the Bestia Imperial Army's vanguard with a single Fire Whirlwind.
However, it was equally an undeniable fact that those possessing such strength were exceedingly rare.
The scarcity of A-Rank and S-Rank adventurers, as well as Alias Holders, proved that beyond any doubt.
Faced with Rei's question, the man flashed a smug smile, relishing the thought of knowing something Rei didn't.
Since he bore no particular grudge, though, he soon opened his mouth again.
"Well, I don't know the fine details, but apparently the higher-ups have some thoughts about the Kingdom of Mireana. Word is they're looking to change the current situation."
"Even so... the gap in Combat Power and national power can't just be wished away, I think."
"Yeah. I think so too. But do you really think the big shots wouldn't have figured out something that even a guy like me can come up with? That's not gonna happen. In other words, the rumor is they've got some way of managing despite all that."
Listening to the man speak with such confidence, Rei nodded in understanding.
In reality, those at the top of a nation naturally understood the disparity in national power and Combat Power far better than ordinary citizens like the man sitting across from him.
Of course, there were surely nobles who saw only the reality they wished to see.
But as long as an entire nation's upper echelon wasn't composed solely of such people, it was a safe bet they possessed something that could be called a trump card.
Whether that trump card is connected to Mejougo or not... well, given how things have played out so far, I should probably assume it is.
Even so, a question remained.
What significance could kidnapping women from surrounding nations and forcing them into prostitution have in relation to that trump card?
Rei couldn't imagine that sending Prostitute to an opposing nation to curry favor would somehow shift relations between countries.
Which means... they slap that collar—the one that for some reason had no effect on Sharia—onto their opponents and bring them under their control? If they could pull that off, it would undeniably be incredible. But could they really do something like that? Of course, what's going on in Mejougo right now is itself quite unusual in various ways.
Overriding the will of the person wearing the Slave Collar, making them act according to the user's—in this case, the orderer's—desires.
No, in this case, perhaps it should be described as even altering their personality.
If a Magic Item with such capabilities truly existed, and one could move everyone exactly as desired without any resistance whatsoever, then even a small nation like Reblurina would have little difficulty defeating the Kingdom of Mireana.
However, Rei couldn't bring himself to believe that such a conveniently powerful Magic Item existed.
There's probably some kind of limitation... but even so, thinking about it normally, it's far too powerful. A single organization in a small country possessing a Magic Item like that... nothing about it makes sense.
Even while turning these thoughts over, Rei kept up his conversation with the man.
Though, being somewhat lost in thought, he wasn't listening as intently as he had at first.
The man's talk had drifted toward which Prostitute was cute, which brothel to visit if you liked small breasts, and which to visit if you preferred large ones.
As the man's voice carried through the carriage, the surrounding passengers naturally overheard, and the men, already in good spirits, chimed in.
"Hah? Don't be stupid. When it comes to women, it's the legs! The legs! Can't you appreciate how wonderful they are?"
"What are you talking about? If you're talking about a woman's appeal, where else but the nape of her neck? You have no idea how exciting it is to catch a glimpse of something usually hidden behind her hair!?"
"Don't screw around! When it comes to women, it's the ass, the ass! Nothing else counts!"
"Are you all idiots? It's the armpits, the armpits! The way they get all embarrassed when you look there—that's what's great!"
Rei was at a loss. The carriage had somehow turned into a venue for everyone to loudly broadcast their own sexual proclivities.
Just moments ago, they'd all been quietly lost in reverie, reminiscing about their time in Mejougo. How had it come to this?
"Kid, what part of a woman do you find appealing? It's the legs, right?"
"No, no, it's the hips."
"It's definitely the nape!"
"Hah, this is why amateurs are hopeless. A connoisseur goes straight for the armpits."
"Idiot, it's the ankles."
And then, for some reason, the crossfire turned on Rei.
"Ah... I..."
How should he answer? Rei hesitated.
Saying nothing would draw attention in the worst possible way.
If so, he had to name some part of a woman he found attractive...
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Ielo, which was supposed to be keeping still inside the Dragon Robe, scratched at Rei's body.
It hadn't put any force behind it, so it wasn't enough to draw blood.
But it was enough to remind him that Elena could see Ielo's memories.
And enough for him to understand that whatever he said here would undoubtedly make its way back to Elena.
Still hesitating over how to respond... Rei eventually recalled the appearances of Elena, Marina, and Vihera—the three women who held affection for him and for whom he harbored feelings in return.
Elena, who could only be described as a resplendent, gorgeous flower.
Marina, who embodied feminine allure to the highest possible degree.
Vihera, whose supple figure was like that of a predator.
Their types were different, but all three were beauties to whom the phrase "unparalleled in history" seemed only fitting.
What did those three have in common...? As that thought crossed his mind, with Ielo listening in and the gazes of the surrounding men converging on him, eager to know what part of a woman a small child like Rei found interesting... before long, Rei opened his mouth almost unconsciously.
"Large breasts?"
A roar went up.
Hearing those words, the men around him each broke into grins.
Mind you, they weren't mocking smiles—they were looks of empathy, as if to say they understood exactly how he felt.
"Ah... I get it. Back when I was still in my teens, it was all about the breasts too."
"Y-yeah, you too? Right? The first time I slept with a woman, of course my attention went straight to the chest."
"I understand that, but... what's so great about huge ones? They're just lumps of fat. Personally, I think smaller is better."
"Ah, I get that. You always hear that smaller breasts are more sensitive."
"Are you stupid? That softness is a woman's greatest charm."
"Hah? What are you talking about? If you just want to squeeze lumps of fat, go grope your own belly."
"What, are you calling me fat!?"
That last remark was the spark. An argument erupted inside the carriage, splitting the men into a large-breast faction and a small-breast faction.
Naturally, Rei had been the one to say "large breasts" first, so he was in the large-breast camp.
Moreover, for reasons he couldn't fathom, he'd been placed near the top of their hierarchy.
How did it come to this?
Listening to the men of the small-breast faction loudly extolling the virtues of small chests, Rei found himself staring helplessly up at the carriage ceiling.