Rei rode Set through the summer sky, flying above the forests surrounding Sablusta.
From his vantage point, he could make out groups of people gathered in several locations below.
Whether they were bandits or adventurers, though, even Rei couldn't tell.
When he had passed through these same skies two days ago, he had spotted what clearly appeared to be groups of people, and they had indeed turned out to be bandits.
Since he had crushed three bandit groups, it wouldn't have been strange for their movements to have slowed at least a little — or so Rei had predicted. Yet from what he could see from above, the groups that looked like bandits were moving about as usual.
"Well, the number of bandits will drop significantly after today."
Subjugating the bandits around Sablusta was, naturally, the job of Sablusta's Guild, Guards, and Knights.
But Sablusta wasn't doing it.
No, the Guild did issue bandit subjugation requests of a sort, but it would be more accurate to say they were completely overwhelmed.
This allowed the bandits to run rampant, resulting in the loss of supplies that should have been transported to Gilm.
That was why Daskar had decided to take matters into his own hands.
Of course, he wasn't going through Sablusta. Rather, since the merchants, job-seekers, and adventurers traveling to Gilm were being attacked by bandits, it took the form of Gilm itself issuing the subjugation request.
Since it wasn't routed through Sablusta's Guild, there would be no grounds for complaints. Naturally, Sablusta's Guild would find it displeasing, but the power gap between the guilds of Gilm and Sablusta was overwhelming.
In truth, Sablusta's Guild possessed considerable strength of its own.
That was only natural. Sablusta was a town situated at what could be called the gateway to the frontier, and it had a fair number of skilled and veteran adventurers.
However, compared to Abuelo, which lay closer to the frontier, or Gilm, nestled deep within it, the quality of its adventurers inevitably fell short.
The current actions of Rei's party were a clear reflection of that fact.
"Gruu?"
Set purred, as if to ask whether it wasn't about time. Rei scanned the area.
The merchant caravans and adventurers on the highway below were few in number, and the bandits who might have been targeting them were nowhere to be seen.
If there were bandits attacking a caravan, it'd be obvious who to hunt. Well, we're dedicating today to bandit hunting, so it's fine. There'll be others hunting besides us, so it's not like we won't find any.
For today's bandit hunt, several skilled adventurers besides Rei's Crimson Lotus Wings were scheduled to participate. The fact that it was set for a day after Rei's group returned, rather than the very next day, was likely to account for the participating adventurers' travel time.
"Right. Let's put down the Set Basket somewhere out of the way first. If we store it in the Misty Ring, there shouldn't be any problem."
"Grururu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry of understanding and began descending toward the ground.
"I'm setting you down — brace for impact!"
Rei called out to the Set Basket as a precaution. A few seconds later, it touched down on the ground.
If anyone had been passing by nearby, they certainly would have felt the impact.
As Set landed, Rei caught sight of the members emerging from the Set Basket: Elena, Marina, Vihera, Byune, and Ara — five in all — along with Ielo, cradled in Elena's arms.
That they showed no fatigue was only natural; not even ten minutes had passed since their departure from Gilm. Then again, the Set Basket was designed for relaxing inside, comfortable enough that a half-day journey posed no issue whatsoever.
"So, Rei. What do we do now? You've found where the bandits are, haven't you?"
Elena wore a smile that was at once fierce and brilliant — contradictory qualities that nonetheless suited her without a trace of incongruity. Rei nodded.
"Yeah. I spotted several suspicious locations from above. So, like we discussed yesterday, we'll split into two groups from here. That's fine, right?"
"Indeed. Considering the number of bandits lurking in the area, that would undoubtedly be the best approach. Is that acceptable to everyone?"
"Yes, I have no objections."
Marina nodded in agreement to Elena's confirming question.
In truth, when factoring in the adventurers who would likely arrive from Sablusta, there was no question that as many hands as possible would be needed. Under such circumstances, having a skilled group like Rei's move together as one unit would be a waste of combat power.
To avoid that, it was only natural for Rei and Set to act separately from the others.
However, there was also the question of what to do with the treasures hoarded by the bandits they hunted. Elena carried a Magic Pouch — what could be called a budget version of the Item Box. Using that, she should be able to store a reasonable amount of loot.
If it turned out the Magic Pouch couldn't hold something, they would just have to call Rei... or else load it onto a carriage the bandits were likely using and transport it out that way.
The bandits, naturally, also needed to convert the supplies plundered from merchants into money. Or perhaps they traded directly for food or alcohol. Either way, they needed a means of transporting those goods.
They could have their trading partners come to their hideout, but from the bandits' perspective, keeping their hideout location secret was paramount. If they weren't careful, their trading partner might sell out their hideout's whereabouts.
For that reason, it was a given that the bandits would have carriages prepared.
"Alright then. Oh — there were several groups of people gathered in the forest over there, so you might want to start from that direction. I'd like to reduce the bandit numbers as much as possible before the other personnel arrive. From a profit perspective, too."
What could be earned from this request, beyond the standard reward, included the bandits' treasures, weapons, and supplies used for the Expansion Construction. Naturally, those would become the property of the adventurer who defeated the bandits, serving as an additional reward.
But while gems and the like were one thing, adventurers didn't need that many weapons. And supplies meant for Gilm's Expansion Construction would be nothing but a nuisance to them.
For those reasons, Daskar had signed a contract to buy back those supplies from adventurers at prices slightly below average. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement — adventurers who had no use for construction materials got coin, and Gilm acquired the supplies it desperately needed.
Of course, to those whose supplies had been stolen by bandits in the first place, it was nothing short of a massive loss. But there were not many merchants who survived bandit attacks.
That was only natural. Minimizing evidence of their activities was common sense for bandits, and with so many groups operating in the area right now, they couldn't afford to have their information reported to the Guards.
If no one survived, the very fact that a bandit attack had occurred would cease to exist, and the reported casualties from bandits would effectively drop to zero.
However, things didn't always go that smoothly. Several people had escaped and spread word to Sablusta, Abuelo, and Gilm — which was ultimately what had led to the current situation.
"If we earn too much, the others might get jealous, you know?" Marina cautioned.
"I don't think adventurers from Gilm, especially ones chosen for this bandit hunt, would do something like that."
Even if someone did harbor jealousy toward Rei's group, they wouldn't want to make enemies of them while operating in Gilm. Rei the Alias-Bearer, Marina the former Guild Master... and above all, Set, who had become Gilm's mascot character.
What would happen if someone made enemies of all of them was easy enough to imagine. At best — no, even at worst — continuing to operate in Gilm would become difficult.
Any Gilm adventurer who understood that would never attempt anything against Rei's group.
"...I think so too," Marina conceded. "But people who are truly cornered — you never know what they might do. Keeping that in mind, it's better to be considerate."
"Fair enough. Then... if the bandits we're hunting overlap with theirs, we'll yield as much as possible. That work?"
"Yes. That level of consideration should be sufficient."
"But if there's a strong opponent, I don't want to back down."
The one voicing dissatisfaction was Vihera, who had been eagerly looking forward to fighting the bandits. Having a long-awaited battle interrupted by petty jealousy was not something she found amusing.
Seeing Vihera's displeased expression, Rei spoke to soothe her.
"What the adventurers want is ultimately the bandits' treasure. In that case, how about this — Vihera takes down the bandits, and we yield the loot. Would that work?"
"Exactly!"
Vihera broke into a full smile and seized on Rei's proposal immediately.
Of course, even Rei, who had come up with the idea, didn't think things would go quite that smoothly. With famous figures like Elena and Marina present, whether others would accept an arrangement where Vihera killed the bandits but surrendered the treasure was an open question.
Naturally, some people wouldn't mind at all and would gratefully accept their good fortune, pocketing the loot with thanks.
In contrast to Vihera, who was delighted at what she considered a fine idea, Byune — whose goal was earning money — harbored quiet dissatisfaction, though she didn't let it show.
"Anyway, do your best on your end. Well then, Set and I are off. Set."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set cried out and turned away. Once he confirmed Rei was settled on his back, Set took a few running steps and launched himself into the sky.
Looking down from atop Set's back, Rei could see Marina waving at him. Elena and Ara had their gazes fixed on him, while Vihera and Byune were already heading toward the direction Rei had indicated, eager to find bandits.
"Alright, let's go find some bandits too. Set, help me search. And I'd prefer veteran bandits — not obvious newcomers who haven't even bothered to camouflage properly."
"Gruu? Gruu!"
Set let out a briefly confused murmur at Rei's words, but soon purred in understanding.
Veteran bandits are hard to find. We, who can search from the sky, should take the lead in hunting them down. Well, if we can just find them, Elena and the others should be able to handle them without any issues.
As Rei was thinking this, Set suddenly purred. Following the griffon's gaze, Rei looked toward a patch of forest that appeared no different from the rest... but he couldn't see anything particularly out of place.
Still, since Set had spotted something, there was undoubtedly something — or rather, someone — there. Bandits, most likely. Rei signaled Set to descend.
As they lost altitude, Rei caught a glint of metal reflecting through gaps in the tree branches. He didn't need to think about what it was: weapons or armor, hidden among the branches.
If he had simply been flying overhead, he never would have noticed that metallic glint. But since it was Set — with senses far sharper than any human's — scanning from above, that was another story entirely.
"Grururururu!"
The moment Set let out his roar, Rei leaped from his back.
It was still a jump from a height greater than the treetops, but with Rei's Sleipnir boots, that was hardly a concern. Midway down, he kicked off the air to bleed off speed, landing on the forest floor almost completely silent.
What he saw during his descent was a naked woman, her wrists pinned to a tree trunk by daggers, immobilized. But multiple blades were also plunged into her body, and given that she wasn't moving at all, it was clear she was already dead.
"Wha!? Huh?"
"Too slow. You scum."
The instant his feet touched ground, Rei drew the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring and swung it at the torso of the bandit — a man still reeling in confusion, startled first by Set's cry and then by Rei's sudden appearance before him.
"Hurgh?"
Letting out a dumbfounded gasp, the bandit's upper body slid sideways and crumpled to the ground, scattering his innards across the forest floor.
And so began the worst possible time for the bandits.