"......What a pain."
"Guru~"
"Hm? ......Ah, I see. I won't deny what Rei is saying, but...... didn't you overdo it a little in the mock battle?"
Rei, Set, and Bluitt—the party of two people and one creature—had been food-stall hopping when they noticed the presence of those tailing them.
However, Bluitt seemed to have only realized it thanks to Rei's muttering.
No, rather, the fact that he could detect that presence from Rei's muttering alone was proof that Bluitt was more battle-hardened than your average noble.
(At the very least, the saving grace is that they aren't the owner of that eerie gaze.)
The ones pursuing them were clearly a cut below the owner of the gaze Rei had sensed several times.
To begin with, they couldn't fully suppress emotions like killing intent and malice...... let alone show any sign of trying to hide them.
No matter how you looked at them, they were textbook small fry.
(For small fry like that to launch an attack against me, who showed that much power in the mock battle, or against Gryphon Seto...... is a little hard to believe.)
Even for someone incapable of reading an opponent's true ability, seeing that mock battle should have made them understand without a doubt that Rei was strong.
Despite that, Rei wondered why such presumptuous people would target him, but...... he suddenly looked up at the large man beside him.
He had assumed it was an enemy attack directed at him, but he thought that perhaps it wasn't him but Bluitt who was involved.
At a glance, Bluitt didn't look like a noble, and Rei had seen him getting into fights in town before.
Given that, Rei thought it wouldn't be strange for Bluitt to have someone holding a grudge against him.
"Hey, could it be...... the guys tailing us are after Bluitt rather than me?"
"Huh? Me? ......Ah, I can't deny that might be the case."
For a moment, Bluitt wore a puzzled expression wondering why it would be him, but he quickly recalled his past actions and wore a look of understanding.
"Ah... in other words, does this mean I've dragged Rei and the others into this?"
"Who knows. There might be guys who'd try to harm me after seeing that mock battle, but...... when I think about which is more likely......"
"I guess it's me after all."
"Guru~"
Set let out a cry as if agreeing with Bluitt's words.
Still, neither Rei nor Set directed any blaming looks at Bluitt, probably because they themselves were often caught up in similar situations.
Bluitt smiled happily at Rei and Set's words.
Perhaps he had expected to be told he dragged them into a stupid dispute, but he was glad that they didn't actually do such a thing.
"For now, we can't enjoy the good food if we drag those kinds of guys along. We should settle things in some suitable place. Do you know of anywhere like that?"
Bluitt was asked by Rei about a place to fight, but this festival had been decided on the spur of the moment to begin with, and the stalls that set up there were arranged in a semi-haphazard manner.
Naturally, since it wasn't carefully calculated and prepared, there were many places that could be called blind spots.
There were, but...... Bluitt had been watching Rei's mock battle until just a short while ago, and after it ended, he had come here to enjoy the stall food.
When it came to this area, he was naturally not at all familiar with it.
"No...... but well, the stalls are arranged in a fairly cluttered way, so if we look, shouldn't there be a place like that? Before those guys try anything strange in this crowd, we should make the first move."
"I would've liked to enjoy the food a little more if possible, though. Right?"
"Guru~!"
At Rei's words, Set purred as if to say "That's right!"
For Set, it seemed he wanted to prioritize eating dishes that could only be had right now.
Granted, the stalls here were the same ones usually found in Anesis.
Naturally, if they set out to look for them, they would be able to find them.
......For the record, since today was a festival, some stalls were serving slightly different dishes from usual, so it couldn't be denied that there were foods only available today.
Anyway, judging that they couldn't leisurely tour the stalls at this rate, Rei and the others looked for a place where they could cause a ruckus without being spotted by people around them and causing a scene, and where they wouldn't break anything.
Moving while leading along those approaching from behind with malice would normally cause mental fatigue, but...... these were Rei, Set, and Bluitt.
Accustomed to rough business, Rei's group continued walking through the festival grounds without appearing particularly bothered.
Rei had wanted to buy food at the stalls along the way, but doing so in the current situation was out of the question.
Especially since the mock battle had just ended, there were many people looking to fill their stomachs at the stalls, and the lines were fairly long.
And naturally, Rei, who had fought in the mock battle, and Set, who had appeared before it, were drawing attention from the other customers.
(At this rate, the guys chasing us will either lose patience and attack us here...... or give up on attacking. The latter would be fine, but if it's the former, things will get really ugly. I need to find an unpopulated place fast.)
Seeing that the men pursuing them were visibly irritated, Rei felt a slight sense of urgency......
"Guru~"
Suddenly, Set purred and tugged on Rei's Dragon Robe.
Rei didn't know where Set was trying to take him, but knowing that things would be problematic if they continued as they were, he allowed himself to be pulled along by Set.
Bluitt, who was acting together with Rei, also followed behind the two of them.
The place Set led Rei and the others to was a location with few people. Specifically, it was where the leftover materials used for the festival were stored.
Until this morning, this area had probably been busy with festival preparations too, but now that the festival was already underway, the number of people was small.
......The fact that there were still a few people present despite the festival having begun was because they served as lookouts to ensure the leftover festival materials weren't stolen.
That was why the people remaining there directed suspicious looks at Rei's group, who had suddenly appeared...... but upon seeing Set, they stopped in their tracks in bewilderment.
If you suddenly saw a gryphon, that reaction was only natural.
Moreover, the main event of this festival was Rei's mock battle and, at the same time, the introduction of Set.
In other words, the fact that Set was here meant that one of the two people with him was Rei.
What would such a person be doing here? —as they wondered this...... before one of the men could open his mouth to speak, Rei spoke first.
"Sorry, we came here looking for a place with fewer people. There's going to be a bit of a commotion soon, so if you don't want to get hurt, you should hide or move somewhere else."
Normally, he probably should have called some guards, but going that far for opponents who were apparently bearing a grudge against Bluitt was troublesome.
In this case, the more accurate way to put it was that explaining the circumstances to the guards after the incident was settled would be troublesome.
"Huh? What are you suddenly talking about—"
For the men entrusted with watching this place, there was no way they could simply nod and say "I see" to those words.
That was why they tried to ask for details...... but before Rei could answer the man's words, the situation moved.
Trailing one after another, more than ten men appeared from the direction Rei's group had come.
Among the men who arrived, the one at the front spotted Rei's group, looked around, and broke into a happy smile.
"Heh, it looked like you guys were trying to run from us, but to think you'd end up running into a dead end like this on your own. Bad luck."
The man laughed proudly, but the look Rei directed at him was heavy with exasperation.
If it were only Bluitt, that would be one thing, but in this place, there was Rei, who had shown that much strength in the mock battle, and above all, Set was here.
In such a situation, how could he maintain such an aggressive attitude...... to Rei, it was completely incomprehensible.
"I think it's you guys who had the bad luck, not us. To begin with, do you really think you can do something against us with that many people?"
"Aah? That's a given, obviouslllllllllllyyyyyyyyy!"
For some reason, the man put all his strength into shouting at the end of his words.
While watching the man's behavior, Rei sensed through their presence that the men originally left behind as lookouts were moving away, and continued speaking, relieved that unrelated people wouldn't be caught up in this.
"What's with the sudden screaming? Did Bluitt beat you up that badly? I don't know what reason you had to clash with Bluitt, but still, there's no need to be that angry."
"......Aahn?"
The man who had been screaming just a few seconds ago wore an expression of genuine puzzlement, as if he couldn't understand what Rei had just said for a moment.
Hm? Rei briefly felt a question from the man's demeanor.
Why was he making such a puzzled expression here?
Thinking about it normally, it wouldn't be strange for him to rebel against what Rei said, or even to accept it.
But even so, making that kind of expression here was entirely unexpected for Rei.
"......"
Rei and Bluitt exchanged silent glances.
Rei blamed him with his eyes, asking wasn't he the cause, and Bluitt appealed with his eyes, saying he thought so too but apparently he was wrong.
Then, at last, Rei turned toward the men before him and asked.
"I'll ask just in case, but is your target Bluitt...... this guy here?"
"Aahn? We got no business with that big lug. What we want is your life!"
At the way he declared it so readily, Rei wore a complicated expression mixing surprise and understanding.
From the way they had appeared so conspicuously, Rei could understand that the opponents weren't particularly thinking of any kind of scheme.
But...... given that they were here, they should have known that Rei had won against multiple opponents in the mock battle.
(Well, maybe they arrived here after the mock battle ended and didn't see it, but...... even so, that still leaves various questions. Putting me aside, the fact that they show no fear at all even looking at Set, why is that?)
If they hadn't seen the mock battle, it wouldn't be strange for them not to fear Rei.
But despite Set being there, exceeding three meters in length, the fact that they showed no sign of fear toward him was clearly abnormal.
"Come on, just hurry up and die. If you do, we'll be happy. Seriously, all we gotta do is kill one guy, so we're pretty lucky."
At the man's words, the others also raised their voices as if to agree.
(It seems like the conversation is getting through, but also not? Well, that kind of thing is common with these types, so it's not strange.)
He couldn't help but think that, but there was a sense of discomfort somewhere.
It wasn't that they were ignoring Rei's words and spouting their own; it felt more like they truly weren't hearing Rei's words at all. That was the discomfort.
"Looks like it was you after all, not me."
"Seems that way. ......But seriously, showing no fear even when looking at Set, what's up with that? Normally, I don't think anyone could say things like that in front of Set."
At Rei's words, Bluitt had no choice but to agree.
For just a moment—truly just a brief moment—he wondered if perhaps those men were skilled enough to defeat Set, but he immediately dismissed the idea.
Looking at how they carried their bodies and held their weapons, it was clear they couldn't possibly fight Set...... let alone have a chance against a veteran D-Rank Adventurer.
"Are you guys sane? Do you really think you can beat me with that level of skill?"
"Uuuu...... uuu, u...... shaddupppppahhh!"
The moment he heard Rei's words, which could barely even be called provocation, the man suddenly shouted.
Rei didn't know why the man had suddenly snapped like that, but in response to the man's shout, the others reacted as well, each taking up weapons and breaking into a full dash toward Rei's group.