Rei's group had been expected to return the next day at the earliest, or perhaps even after a few days. But to everyone's surprise, they returned that very same day, and naturally, the entire camp welcomed them back.
Setting meals aside, the prospect of sleeping in carriages or on the bare ground was clearly something the women wanted to avoid.
As if yielding to their expectant gazes, Rei took out the Sand Ship.
Naturally, fitting nearly a thousand people inside the Sand Ship to sleep made things quite cramped.
Even so, compared to sleeping sitting up in a carriage or resting on the open ground with no roof to block the wind and rain, the Sand Ship was overwhelmingly more comfortable—and far better for recovering from fatigue.
Moreover, they had been sleeping in the Sand Ship throughout the journey up to this point, so they were already accustomed to it.
That alone was reason enough to celebrate Rei's return.
Of course, the enthusiasm wasn't solely about the Sand Ship.
There was Set's presence, which could rightly be called their emotional pillar. There were Rei, Elena, and Marina, each possessing strength rivaling Vihera's. And there was the expectation that, whatever dinner might bring, they would at least enjoy a proper breakfast come morning.
For a multitude of reasons, Rei's return was met with a massive welcome.
"I never expected to be welcomed this much. ...Though it seems like most of them are just after the Sand Ship."
The women streamed into the Sand Ship, eager to secure even a marginally better sleeping spot. Others swarmed around Set. Watching them roughly divide into those two groups, Rei muttered to himself.
"Hehe, it can't be helped. Just having you gone, Rei-san, made today's journey feel pretty gloomy."
Seeing that Rei's workload had settled down for the moment, Gimekara approached with a smile.
"Isn't that Set's doing, not mine?"
"That included, I'd say it's a testament to your power, Rei-san. ...So, the fact that you returned this quickly—may I take it to mean you were able to meet with the envoy delegation?"
For Gimekara, that was clearly his foremost concern.
Ryutas seemed similarly anxious, waiting beside Gimekara for Rei to speak.
"Yeah, we managed to rendezvous with them without any issues. They also agreed to lend us a few of their escorts, so things should get a bit easier."
"I would certainly think so."
Compared to the adventurers hired as escorts in a small country like Reblurina—selected for their unproblematic personalities over their strength—those active in Gilm, a frontier city of the great Kingdom of Mireana, were undoubtedly far more skilled.
In that sense, Rei's proposal was an incredible boon to Gimekara, who was managing this group's support on behalf of the Zorgeh Merchant Guild.
"So, did you tell the envoy delegation about us?"
"Yeah, I told them. Though since I've already briefed Lord Daskar on everything, I don't think the delegation will give you any trouble. Ah, but... they did say they'd want to ask you two for a thorough debriefing once you joined up."
"That's no problem. Right?"
"Yeah. If anything, that's what we'd prefer."
Gimekara and Ryutas exchanged glances and nodded.
(Huh. I don't think they were on bad terms to begin with, but it seems like they've gotten closer just over the course of today.)
Even when Rei was around, the two hadn't been on bad terms. But compared to when his group left that morning, their relationship seemed notably warmer now.
With Rei gone and the two of them being the only men in the carriage, they had probably ended up talking in greater depth.
(Vihera and Byune were in the same carriage too, right? Was the compatibility just not there?)
Rei knew full well that Vihera's personality was incredibly attractive, not just her appearance. But while attractive, it was equally undeniable that she had a strong, eccentric streak.
The mere fact that she craved battles against powerful enemies would make her a difficult person for an ordinary man to handle.
"For now, I take it the information exchange went smoothly?"
"Yeah. I explained everything about Ryutas, including to Lord Daskar, so you don't need to worry about that."
"...I see."
Ryutas breathed out in relief at Rei's words.
He had believed things would be fine based on his conversation with Daskar, but he had only ever met the man through the Paired Orbs. Meeting the envoy delegation in person was a different matter entirely.
The lingering fear that—however unlikely—they might be seized upon joining the delegation had gripped him until Rei's words finally set his mind at ease.
The possibility that someone might deceive even Rei and capture Ryutas the moment they rendezvoused hadn't completely vanished. But if Rei was saying this, then at the very least, Rei would side with them if the delegation tried anything. That much was certain.
(Well, since I'll be traveling with the delegation once we join up, I can't entirely rule out the possibility of something happening after Rei's group leaves... but if they're people from Gilm, they'd understand how costly it is to make an enemy of Rei, right?)
Ryutas was half trying to convince himself. He knew that if the escorts from Gilm tried to harm him, his own guards would be completely outmatched.
He knew he was probably overthinking it, but that caution was likely a byproduct of growing up in Jaya—a Dark Organization—and especially as a successor candidate.
"Setting that aside for now, I'll hear the details later... How was today's journey?"
"Ah... well, there were definitely a few problems, as expected."
Gimekara answered, looking slightly reluctant to elaborate.
"Was it the food? Or were they anxious about where they'd sleep tonight?"
"That was part of it, but... it seems quite a few people didn't trust my and Byune's strength."
"No, Vihera-san, that's..."
"Ah, don't worry. I'm not upset about it. I know my fighting style is plain."
"...Vihera's fighting style is plain? What kind of joke is that?"
Listening to the exchange between Gimekara and Vihera, Rei muttered with genuine bewilderment.
In truth, clad in an alluring, diaphanous garment reminiscent of a dancer or a prostitute—if not more provocative—her fighting form was as elegant as a dance. It was by no means a fighting style that the word "plain" could describe.
"See, the problem for me is the clothes I wear. A lot of people in this group were originally controlled by Slave Collars and forced into prostitution, right? I suppose seeing me brings back those memories."
"Ah... I see."
Put that way, Rei had to agree.
While it was a slightly different flavor from the feminine allure Marina radiated, Vihera's appearance stimulated raw carnal desire in a far more direct way. For the women who had been forced into prostitution, it must have stirred up complicated feelings.
Moreover, aside from a few eccentrics, most of them were now wearing normal clothes. Because of that, Vihera inevitably stood out, likely reminding them of their time under the collars.
"Well, I wear this outfit based on my own conviction. If they dislike it, I don't intend to force the issue or blame them for it."
"If you say so, Vihera, I won't press it any further... But will things really be okay when we're gone?"
"Even if they're not okay, we'll just have to make them okay. ...Ideally, the escorts dispatched from the envoy delegation will do a good job keeping order."
"It's probably fine... I think."
The reason he couldn't say it with full confidence was that it hadn't yet been decided exactly who would come.
The envoy delegation wanted to send their most capable personnel as escorts, but honestly, they also wanted to avoid their own combat power being drastically reduced.
(For now, Mirene would probably volunteer herself, but Ronitas won't permit it. ...Or rather, Surnin is even more likely to veto it.)
Acting as escorts for the party meant traveling with Rei's group for however briefly. Given that Mirene was a devoted Set enthusiast, would she let such a perfect chance slip by? Rei could only shake his head at the thought.
But Mirene was a rising star among the younger generation of adventurers in Gilm—exceptions like Rei aside. While not quite an Alias Holder, as an escort asset, she was undoubtedly first-rate.
No matter how much Mirene wanted to travel with Rei's group—or to be precise, with Set—there was no way Ronitas would let her go. If she absolutely insisted on it, she'd have to abandon her assigned mission entirely, but Surnin, who served as Mirene's External Conscience, would never allow that.
Furthermore, Rei himself preferred that Mirene not travel alongside them.
He fully understood her love for Set, but at the same time, many people in this group relied on Set as their emotional pillar. What would happen if those people encountered Mirene? Becoming hostile rivals like Mirene and Yohanna would be bad, but having them all fall in line as Mirene's subordinates wouldn't be ideal either.
Given all that, it was only natural for Rei to want Mirene to travel separately.
"For now, I'll take your word for it, Rei-san, since you're the one saying it."
Gimekara said so, but even to Rei's eyes, it was clear he didn't fully believe it. The cause was probably that Rei's words had sounded somewhat lacking in confidence.
"It'll be fine. If anything happens, we'll sort it out on our end."
"If Marina-san says so, then..."
Being the former Guild Master of Gilm carried strong persuasive weight in moments like these.
It was true that Rei had gained credibility as an adventurer by becoming a high-rank Alias Holder, but he still couldn't match Marina, who had served as Guild Master for years. That gap was simply the difference in accumulated achievements.
"For now, I think we'll be traveling together again for a while starting tomorrow. With the envoy delegation too—both groups are moving by carriage, and their carriages and horses are specially outfitted, so I expect we'll rendezvous in a few days."
"I look forward to that. ...It seems the time has finally come for me to be of use, so I couldn't be happier."
Ryutas murmured with quiet satisfaction, but to Rei, Ryutas and his guards had already been more than adequately useful.
Ryutas had provided detailed intelligence on the upper echelons of Reblurina and on Jaya. His guards, assigned to protect a successor candidate, were undoubtedly more skilled than the escorts Gimekara had hired. They also refrained from causing any trouble with the women, so as not to reflect poorly on Ryutas.
(If anything, considering that Ryutas and his guards will be leaving us, even if we get escorts from the delegation, it'd be a net loss... no, the incoming members would be strict upgrades over Ryutas's guards, so there's no issue... right? Losing headcount still stings, though.)
In all honesty, what they needed right now was not a handful of elite fighters but a dozen or so people with solid combat ability.
Protecting nearly a thousand people meant that how many individuals each escort could cover was a critical factor.
Of course, Rei had Set, so even if something happened at a distance, he could rush over immediately. But demanding that of an ordinary adventurer would be unreasonable.
(Ah, but if Set and I split up, that works, doesn't it?)
Rei usually traveled riding on Set, but it wasn't as though he couldn't walk. Far from it—the physical abilities of the body created by Zephyle were exceptionally high. His running speed was simply incomparable to the adventurers Gimekara had hired.
Elena and Vihera were also extremely fast runners, and Marina had long-range attack options with Spirit Magic and her bow. Byune, too, specialized in combat that leveraged her Agility, so her running speed was naturally fast as well.
Thinking about it that way, maybe they could manage somehow.
But even if they could manage, that would only hold true while Rei's group was present. Ultimately, he reached the same conclusion: in order for them to eventually leave, they would still need to sort out the escort situation.