"What... what are you planning to do to me? I already told you, I'm a researcher dispatched by the nation. If you lay a finger on me, you'll make an enemy of the entire country. Do you understand that?"
Rezel addressed Rei and the others, who stared at him with eyes cold enough to be called absolute zero.
The confident expression he had worn until moments ago was already gone.
Those Giants had brimmed with confidence, yet Vihera had struck them down without breaking a sweat. It was only natural.
And now, standing before Rezel were that same Vihera... and Rei's party, who appeared to possess comparable strength.
"Make an enemy of the country, huh. Sure. If it were a nation like the Kingdom of Mireana or the Bestia Empire, that would've been a frightening prospect... but at the end of the day, this country of Reblurina is nothing more than a small nation among small nations."
At Rei's words, Rezel trembled to a degree that seemed impossible given his stern face and muscular build—features that made him look nothing like a researcher.
Rei hadn't flinched at all, even when told he'd be making an enemy of a nation. To Rezel, he looked like an even greater monster than the Giants he had known.
In truth, Rei had already concluded that making an enemy of a country like Reblurina would pose no problem for him whatsoever.
No—more than that. He was confident that even making an enemy of the Kingdom of Mireana or the Bestia Empire wouldn't be an issue.
To begin with, as long as Set was around to carry him through the sky, he wouldn't easily come under attack even if he opposed a nation.
Even Dragon Knights would be unable to match Set's flight speed.
Until recently, traveling as a party had introduced various complications with their movement speed.
But now that they had obtained the Magic Item known as the Set Basket, things were different.
The Set Basket not only transported the party but also possessed a special ability: it could change color to blend into the surrounding scenery.
It took roughly a minute to shift colors, so it was undeniably impractical anywhere other than midair... but conversely, that meant it was perfectly suited for flying.
And above all, Rei was a practitioner of magic tailored for wide-area annihilation, capable of slaughtering entire armies with ease.
Vihera specialized in single combat, and her abilities were extraordinary.
Marina excelled at highly versatile attacks using Spirit Magic and her bow.
Byune was roughly on the level of a bandit with somewhat elevated combat skills—a rank or two below the others... but even so, she possessed enough strength to dispatch ordinary soldiers without difficulty.
In any case, anyone who made enemies of Rei's party would find them impossible to locate thanks to their superior mobility. And since they used a Magic Item that camouflaged them against their surroundings, tracking them from the ground was equally futile.
Even if Dragon Knights managed to spot them by some stroke of luck, Dragon Knights of that caliber stood virtually no chance against Rei and Set.
In short, Rei could roam freely through the skies while unleashing his tremendous offensive power—or rather, his annihilation power—against armies, and in the worst case, towns, villages, and military bases. As an individual of exceptional ability, he could also serve as a devastatingly effective assassin.
Possessing such capabilities, Rei had every confidence that he could manage, no matter what nation he made an enemy of.
Naturally, becoming a wanted man would make shopping in major cities impossible... but he could probably still buy supplies in rural villages where information traveled slowly. And there would always be those who saw a customer as a customer, regardless of bounty status.
After all, many regions lacked clearly defined borders, so using Set's mobility to shop in other countries was always an option.
There was also the option of raiding Bandits.
Furthermore, nobles harboring grievances against the crown might secretly shelter Rei's party.
For someone like Rei, who could manage even if he made an enemy of an entire nation, making an enemy of a small country like Reblurina wasn't particularly frightening.
...Of course, Rei's party had come here primarily to retaliate against Jaya for meddling with Gilm.
If they went too far, Daskar, as the client, might reprimand them. But...
(He told me to do as I pleased.)
With that stamp of approval from Daskar, hesitation was not an option.
"Well, we have our own circumstances to deal with. Now then... you seem to know quite a bit about the Giants, so let's start there. In order to birth a Giant, must the prostitute serving as the mother absolutely die?"
Even as they spoke, Giants continued to be born from the bellies of pregnant women strapped to beds.
If they were born normally, Rei would not have fixed such a harsh gaze on Rezel.
But in reality, the Giant infants tore their way out through the pregnant women's bellies, which meant the women naturally died.
The only mercy was that the pregnant women strapped to the beds were unconscious.
They would die as if sleeping, spared the agony of having their innards devoured by their own children from within.
But that did not mean Rei could tolerate what was happening. The answer was an unequivocal no... yet Rezel shook his head at the question.
"Unfortunately, once a Giant's child has been conceived, nothing can be done. Not even an expensive potion could save them."
"...And knowing that, you still used the Prostitutes?"
Marina's sharp, cold gaze bore into Rezel.
It was a look born from her long life, one that seemed to carry actual physical weight.
Rezel had confidence in his own nerve, but even he could not withstand Marina's stare and quietly nodded.
Had he not just witnessed the one-sided annihilation of the Giants he had been counting on, had his spirit not already been shattered, he might have endured her gaze.
"That's right. That was the reason Jaya and the nation decided to cooperate. With that horde of Giants, there was a chance we could break free from our status as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Mireana and achieve independence."
"...I wonder about that."
Rezel muttered as if clinging to his own words, but from Rei's perspective, the idea that those Giants could secure independence from the Kingdom of Mireana was highly doubtful.
Certainly, the Giants possessed considerable strength.
Vihera had appeared to crush them effortlessly, but in reality, they seemed to be roughly on par with the Orc-faced woman who had guarded the entrance to the Underground Facility—around the level of a C-Rank Adventurer.
Against ordinary soldiers, they wouldn't lose in a one-on-one fight.
It was also true that there were people capable of defeating the Giants, but even so, numbers mattered.
Even so... Rei could easily predict that Reblurina would ultimately lose.
The Giants were likely stronger than the average soldier. But their abilities still only amounted to roughly those of a C-Rank Adventurer. They were not overwhelmingly powerful—not like Rei, Elena, Marina, Vihera, and the rest.
In this world, quality unquestionably surpassed quantity, but achieving such a feat naturally required the side with quality to possess commensurate power.
Something at the level of a C-Rank Adventurer simply couldn't accomplish that.
And considering the Combat Power the Kingdom of Mireana possessed... Rei's prediction was that the Giants would ultimately be exterminated.
(Besides, the Giants are stupid.)
They possessed enormous bodies incomparable to ordinary humans, and the attacks they unleashed using the brute strength generated by those massive frames were extraordinarily powerful.
But as far as Rei could see, their attacks lacked any sort of ingenuity. They were entirely straightforward.
They didn't even employ basic feints, so for anyone with a certain level of skill, evading them wouldn't be all that difficult.
...Though the sheer intimidation their massive bodies projected was considerable, and many would cower before it alone.
If the Giants had employed more intelligent tactics, they might have been able to fight on even terms with higher-ranked adventurers.
(Should have made smarter Giants... but then again, maybe that was beyond their control? From what I'm hearing, it sounds like they're simply using the Black Crystal without truly understanding it.)
In that sense, the man before him was likely nothing more than a pawn being used for convenience—just like the Researcher they had encountered on the first basement floor.
But that didn't mean Rei could forgive them for creating such a nightmare. The answer to that was absolutely not.
"Still, to think you intend to wage a war of independence against the Kingdom of Mireana... that's surprising."
It was Elena who spoke with quiet gravity.
As the only daughter of Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction—one of the Three Great Factions—she naturally knew exactly how much Combat Power the nobility possessed.
Furthermore, the King's Faction, which held greater influence than the Noble's Faction, naturally commanded even greater military might. And the Neutral Faction, while the smallest of the Three Great Factions, still maintained a corresponding level of strength.
If a small country like Reblurina provoked a war in an attempt to achieve independence, not only would they be no match for the Kingdom of Mireana, but the forces of such factions alone... no, perhaps not even an entire faction, but merely the combined forces of a few nobles within one, might be enough to deal with them.
Of course, with the Giants thrown into the mix, it might be difficult for a handful of nobles to manage.
"Which means, leaving aside the Prime Minister who dispatched you, is the King of Mireana involved in this as well?"
"That's right. To be precise, the King is the one directing this operation. Since someone of my standing cannot meet with the King directly, I heard this from the Prime Minister."
At Rezel's words, everyone—including Rei—nodded.
They understood now. This was a major incident.
(I should probably let Lord Daskar know about this after all. Thank goodness I left the Paired Orbs with Ara.)
If it only concerned themselves, that would be one thing, but since this involved an entire nation, he couldn't make the decision alone.
Of course, today's incident had already been reported to Daskar by Ara, and they were scheduled to make contact later, so the timing worked out.
"In other words, it's a state-wide conspiracy. Jaya is simultaneously a criminal organization and a public institution."
"That would be correct. Naturally, that is not publicly known."
"Is the King of Reblurina an idiot? Or does he simply not understand how weak his own country is? There is absolutely no chance of Reblurina achieving independence... what do you all think?"
With Rei's gaze turned toward them, Elena was the first to speak.
"Indeed. Even if they attempted to resolve this through purely military means, I believe it would be virtually impossible. At the very least, even if there were a hundred or a thousand of those Giants, the Kingdom of Mireana would sustain casualties but ultimately suppress them. And what would await them after that is..."
"Even harsher domination than before, I'd imagine."
As if picking up where Elena left off, Marina chimed in.
Indeed, if they provoked a war of independence, Rei could easily imagine severe suppression being carried out as a deterrent to discourage others from trying the same.
"Even if you're going to challenge them to an independence war, the opponent is simply too strong. This country defeating the Kingdom of Mireana on its own is impossible unless something extraordinary happens... Though those Giants are certainly not something extraordinary, that much is clear."
Rei's words drew no particular reaction from Rezel.
For Rezel, national independence was never that important to begin with.
That was why he showed no concern even when told independence was impossible.
...Though the bigger reason was undoubtedly that his spirit had already been shattered well before the topic of independence even came up.
"Well, we'll leave the independence war matter for Lord Daskar to handle later. It's too big an issue for us to deal with on our own."
"You're right. Best to leave troublesome national matters to Daskar."
Perhaps because she had known Daskar since childhood, Marina spoke with no hesitation.
Smiling faintly at her attitude, Rei moved on to his next question.
"There should be other Giants in this Underground Facility, right? Despite that, you only called three... where are the rest?"
"...Unfortunately, the only Giants remaining here are the ones that woman over there killed. Yesterday happened to be a Shipping Day."
At the words "Shipping Day" from Rezel's mouth, Rei couldn't help but furrow his brow.