"I see. So that's why the Slave Collars came off suddenly."
"Yes."
The woman nodded at Rei's words.
She had just finished explaining everything that had happened to her over the past few hours, and that was all he had to say in response.
Incidentally, the woman's clothes had been torn by a Jaya soldier earlier, but she now wore men's clothing over them.
The source of those clothes was, naturally, Rei's Misty Ring.
For emergencies, Rei kept a supply of clothes purchased from thrift shops stored inside his Misty Ring.
He had given the woman some of those.
(Well, if I consider it the price of information, it's cheap.)
In reality, clothes were a fairly significant expense.
After all, this wasn't like Japan, where Rei came from, where inexpensive clothes were sold in massive quantities.
But given their current situation, wanting to obtain accurate information as quickly as possible was only natural. From that perspective, a single set of clothes was a small price to pay.
The information he gained was both unexpected and convincing to Rei.
(Cconsidering that the Giants under the Black Crystal's influence went on a rampage, it makes sense that the Slave Collars—which likewise held effects beyond the norm thanks to the Black Crystal's power—would break. Or rather, I should be glad the Slave Collars didn't go on a rampage themselves?)
For a moment, Rei pictured a scene where every Slave Collar in Mejougo either exploded or tightened around the necks of all the prostitutes, killing every last one of them. He breathed an inward sigh of relief.
"Still, the Resistance, huh... I see."
He didn't particularly question the fact that the Resistance was making a move in this situation.
After all, Rei's group causing havoc here while the Resistance took advantage of the opening was part of the original plan.
(Though I never expected it to turn into such a massive commotion.)
What Rei had anticipated was that his group's invasion of the Giant's nest would throw Mejougo into chaos, and he wanted the prostitutes protected from harm in the fallout.
Originally, he had wanted to help the prostitutes escape somehow, but under the influence of the Slave Collars, they had believed they were working of their own free will.
Under those circumstances, telling them to flee Mejougo would have been pointless—there was no way they would have listened.
That was why he had thought, "If something happens, then..." But in reality, the moment Rei destroyed the Black Crystal, the prostitutes' Slave Collars vanished, and they came back to their senses.
That triggered what could only be described as a rebellion by the prostitutes, and the Resistance shifted to supporting them.
...Though given that the Resistance's main force had been nearly wiped out by the Giants, staying out of the fight between Jaya and Rei's group was probably the wise choice.
"So, what will you do? You said you'd leave Mejougo once you got the information."
At Ryutas's question, Rei hesitated.
Originally, he had intended to do exactly what Ryutas suggested.
But that plan had been predicated on the prostitutes' brainwashing remaining intact.
Given the current situation, the question was whether it was right to abandon them.
"Is it true the Resistance is trying to get them out?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was planning to join up with them myself."
"...In that case, the problem becomes how to get everyone out of here."
"What do you mean?"
Seeing Rei's expression turn slightly serious, Vihera asked with a curious tilt of her head.
The woman found herself momentarily captivated by Vihera's beauty—and that of Elena, Marina, and the other women as well.
She had memories of being a fairly popular prostitute.
But even comparing herself to them, those three were clearly on a different level.
(Though with women this beautiful... even if they worked as prostitutes, the customers would probably be too intimidated to lay a hand on them.)
Being a prostitute was a past the woman wanted to erase.
But since she couldn't erase it, she told herself she should at least put it to some use in her future life.
Of course, the reason she had to tell herself that was partly because otherwise, her mindset would turn pessimistic.
"There must be far more than a hundred or two hundred prostitutes here. In that case, hiding them somewhere like the Resistance does... would be difficult."
"Meaning they have no choice but to escape directly from Mejougo?"
"Probably. Though there's also the question of what to do after getting most of the prostitutes outside Mejougo. If anything, in terms of living conditions, staying right here in Mejougo would be the best option, but..."
Rei's gaze drifted to the man lying dead on the ground, his neck cut open.
"As long as Jaya's people are here, staying means getting captured again... and this time, they'd likely face far worse treatment."
At Rei's words, all the women listening wore expressions of disgust.
Ryutas and his guards couldn't say anything in response, given that they had been part of Jaya until very recently.
"Understood. Thank you. I'll manage the rest on my own. I can't burden you any further."
The woman spoke briefly, then turned and walked away from Rei and the others.
In truth, she probably wanted to go with them.
But she felt she would only be a burden... and besides, Rei with his feminine face was one thing, but Ryutas and his guards were unmistakably men.
Perhaps because of the lingering effects of being brainwashed and forced to work as a prostitute, men were now objects of fear to her.
She didn't let it show on the surface, but anyone present could read it from her demeanor.
That was why no one tried to stop her as she left. They simply watched her go.
"...Well, to be honest, this is quite an unexpected turn of events, but let's get moving for now."
With that, Rei pulled the Mirage Basket—commonly known as the Set Basket—out of his Misty Ring.
At its sudden, massive appearance, Ryutas and his guards, who had never seen it before, openly stared in astonishment.
Ryutas had known about the Set Basket's existence as a matter of information, but apparently seeing it in person was an entirely different experience.
"We're getting on this?"
"Yeah."
Once the surprise wore off, Ryutas asked again.
Rei nodded without hesitation.
For Rei, he had used the Set Basket before, so he wasn't particularly fazed. Though since he rode on Set's back, he had never actually traveled inside the basket himself.
"Well then, shall we?"
Vihera, who had already ridden in the Set Basket before, climbed in alongside Elena and the others.
Seeing that, Ryutas and his guards couldn't just stand there watching.
Well, maybe they could have, but doing so would definitely mean being left behind.
Given that, they had no choice but to follow.
The Set Basket had originally been built for Rei's Crimson Lotus Wings to travel in.
It had some capacity to spare, but with more than double the intended number of people boarding, it naturally became cramped.
"Hey, could you squeeze in a bit more on your side?"
"Oh, sorry. ...That's the situation. Could you pack in a little more?"
"Young master, any further on our end is a bit..."
And inside the Set Basket, Ryutas and his guards naturally held the lowest status.
That said, Ryutas didn't have needlessly high pride, and he fully understood that they were nothing more than extras to Rei.
Given that, he had no intention of doing anything stupid to anger Rei and the others.
While such exchanges took place inside the Set Basket, Rei sat on Set's back and took to the sky.
Set flapped his wings, descended, scooped up the Set Basket from the ground, and soared back into the air.
"...Figured Jaya would position their forces in front of the gate."
Looking down from Set's back, Rei muttered.
On the ground below, he could see Jaya soldiers attempting to block a crowd of prostitutes and their Resistance escorts from getting through the gate.
This was exactly what Rei had predicted after hearing the situation from the woman earlier. But if left as it was, the Resistance—and the prostitutes—would clearly suffer casualties.
For these women, who had nothing to do with any of this and were victims, to face death here was not something Rei wanted to see.
And considering Elena and the others, who were surely listening from inside the Set Basket, they would probably... no, definitely want to do something.
"But what to do... it's not that complicated. Fortunately, both sides are still clearly separated. And I happen to have picked up something useful. Well, I don't have to use those if I don't want to, but the only other thing to do with them is sell them."
Running through his options, Rei called back toward the Set Basket.
"At Mejougo's gate, Jaya is facing off against the Resistance and the prostitutes they're escorting. Since we're here, we'll back up the Resistance."
"Understood. But how are you going to support them? You might want to hold off on Set's Fire Breath."
Marina's voice came from the Set Basket.
She was likely concerned that using Fire Breath while carrying the Set Basket could cause collateral damage to the basket itself.
"Oh, that won't be a problem. I'm the one doing the attacking."
"I see. Just... don't overdo it. I'd rather not see Mejougo itself destroyed."
At Marina's half-joking words, Rei smiled, signaling it wouldn't be an issue.
Of course, smiling while riding on Set's back meant that Marina and the others inside the Set Basket couldn't see it at all.
"Set, move directly above the Jaya soldiers."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's command, Set let out a spirited cry and flapped his wings.
In a matter of seconds, Rei and Set had positioned themselves directly above the Jaya soldiers.
But the Jaya soldiers had no idea whatsoever that an angel of death hovered right above them.
There were several reasons for this.
For one, the Set Basket's camouflage ability made it indistinguishable from below. The Jaya forces were also focused entirely on the Resistance and prostitutes in front of them, with no attention paid to the sky.
And most importantly, the Jaya soldiers gathered here were far from what anyone could call elite—in Rei's assessment, their skills barely warranted the label of cannon fodder.
Because of that... the Jaya soldiers were about to witness hell.
"Right about here. Set, could you move slowly... sort of hover along?"
"Gururururu"
At Rei's words, Set purred, as if to say, "Leave it to me."
He kept his cry quiet, naturally to avoid alerting the Jaya soldiers below.
Even though they hadn't been noticed yet, he apparently felt that crying out would give away their presence.
And so... Rei finally brought down the hammer of judgment on Jaya.
(Though I suppose "wooden mallet" might be more accurate than "hammer.")
True to Rei's thoughts, what was released into the air here were the carriage bodies he had obtained from the Giant's nest.
They would have fetched a decent price if sold, and he had taken them thinking they might come in handy for something—but even he hadn't expected to use them like this.
Of course, it would be a lie to say he hadn't considered using the carriages as weapons when he acquired them.
In any case, the carriages released in midair plummeted straight toward the cluster of Jaya soldiers.
And not just one. Two, three, four... one after another.
For the Jaya soldiers, it was truly a bolt from the blue—a complete surprise attack, if there ever was one.
For the soldiers directly beneath the falling carriages, even somewhat decent armor was utterly meaningless.
Carriages dropped from a hundred meters up crushed armored soldiers with ease.
Bones shattered, flesh split apart, and blood and viscera scattered in every direction.
Moreover, since the carriages were made of wood, the impact sent shattered debris flying outward, magnifying the carnage.
Sharp splinters pierced bodies, and soldiers screamed in agony one after another.
The chaos was so total that organized command seemed utterly impossible.
Watching the scene unfold from above, Rei signaled Set, and they flew away from the area.