The man standing before Rei thought deeply—very, very deeply.
He tried to recall everything he had ever seen, heard, and felt.
If he couldn't produce information useful to Rei right now, he would be handed over to the guards and sold as a criminal slave.
The man had a reasonably sturdy build and was young and healthy. A criminal slave like that was ideal labor for those running harsh but highly profitable operations, such as mines. Though "ideal" in this case simply meant disposable labor. He would be given the bare minimum in meals and rest—just enough to keep him alive. If he died, they'd simply buy a new slave. That was the kind of environment he'd be working in. Alternatively, he might be bought by a mercenary company or adventurers and used as a meat shield. If he was truly lucky, a wealthy woman might purchase him and grant him a somewhat comfortable life even as a slave, but such fortune was beyond ordinary reach.
For that reason, the man had to recall the past by any means necessary. He needed to remember the person who had told their group about Egginis.
Several minutes passed in silence. Rei knew that rushing someone who was trying to remember something was not only pointless but counterproductive, so he said nothing. Of course, that only made the bandit feel even more pressured. An overwhelmingly powerful individual stood right in front of him, watching him without uttering a word. Being told not to panic under those circumstances was an unreasonable expectation—though Rei himself showed no sign of noticing the man's distress.
This is taking a while. Well, there's no point rushing this sort of thing, so I just have to wait. Rather, I should consider myself lucky to have found an information source this quickly.
Without saying a word, Rei let more time pass. Ten minutes, twenty minutes... and just as thirty minutes were about to elapse, even Rei began to wonder whether keeping the bandit waiting in hopes he'd remember something was a bad idea. Then, unexpectedly, the bandit opened his mouth.
"That's it! I remember! The one who gave us the info about Egginis was a guy who'd infiltrated the city—he said he heard it from someone in another bandit group!"
For bandits, information about their targets was always in demand. There were those who attacked at random, but anyone with a bit of wit would send someone to infiltrate the city and scout for good prey. The bandit before Rei had employed exactly such a method, and had apparently learned about Egginis from a member of a different bandit group he encountered in the city.
A dead end. What came out of the man's mouth was not what Rei had been hoping for. He was looking for someone—perhaps an agent of some organization—who was intentionally spreading information.
"No, wait. Was the bandit who had that information about Egginis really from a different bandit group? Isn't there a possibility they were just pretending? Putting on a front?"
"I don't think so. Apparently they were acquaintances."
"...I see." If they weren't acquaintances, neither would know the other was a bandit, and depending on the circumstances, it could easily devolve into a fight to the death. But the question Rei wanted answered was, ultimately, who the person who brought that information had heard it from.
However, as far as their conversation went, Rei couldn't obtain the information he wanted.
"S-so? Was it useful to you?"
For the man, failing to be useful here meant the road to becoming a criminal slave, so he was desperate. Desperate though he was, Rei shook his head.
"Too bad for you. That's not the information I want. What I want to know is who the bandit that told you about Egginis heard it from—the original source that's gathering bandits to Egginis."
"Wa—wait. Gathering bandits?"
That changed things. The man seemed about to say as much, but before he could raise a protest, he caught the implication of Rei's words and changed tack.
"That's right. In fact, you've all been gathered here for some reason."
"Why us?"
"Ah, did that wording cause a misunderstanding? In this case, 'you all' doesn't mean your specific bandit group. It means 'you all' in the sense that any bandit would do."
"Why would someone do that?"
"Who knows. I don't understand that either. That's exactly why I'm out here hunting bandits to investigate. ...Though it's partly a hobby of mine."
"A hobby, huh. As expected of the Bandit Eater—you certainly say things differently."
"Did you figure out who I was?"
"How many adventurers could there be with a gryphon? ...So, I have a proposition. Why not hire me instead? I may not look it, but I'm fairly strong for a bandit, and I know the ins and outs of the bandit world."
Rei showed a hint of admiration at the man's attitude—acknowledging Rei as the Bandit Eater and immediately pitching himself. Under normal circumstances, no one would be able to say something like that in this sort of situation. But Rei shook his head once again, as he had before.
"Unfortunately, I can't trust you that much. Since you didn't have the information I wanted, I'll hand you over to the guards as originally planned. By the way... you know what happens if you try to run, right?"
"Grrrr."
As if to punctuate Rei's words, Seto purred. It wasn't difficult to figure out what that meant.
"I know, I know. Besides, my arms are tied. There's no way I could escape in this situation, right?"
Even so, the possibility that a bandit might try to escape from this situation couldn't be entirely denied. Whether he could actually get away, however, was another matter entirely. At the very least, the bandit himself didn't believe he could escape from Rei and Seto. Judging from the man's demeanor, Rei understood that he had given up.
"Alright, Seto. Let's go. He's just one person, so we'll carry him by grabbing him with your feet."
"Grr."
"Eh? W-wait a minute!"
The man had already resigned himself to being sold as a criminal slave, but even so, he couldn't let what Rei had just said slide. Rei had said they would carry him by grabbing him with their feet. Naturally, those feet weren't Rei's. He had been speaking while looking at Seto, so there was no doubt they meant Seto's feet. The man had assumed they would walk from here to Egginis, so being told they'd grab him and carry him was, quite naturally, a "give me a break" moment. That said, as he'd already acknowledged, there was no way he could escape—and so, the man's fate was sealed.
Before leaving, Rei stored all the axes from inside the dugout cabin into his Misty Ring as a precaution.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Such a scream echoed from beneath the flying Seto's feet. Judging by the sound alone, it might have seemed like someone enjoying themselves, but what its owner was letting out was not a cheer but a scream. Nor was it the kind of scream one lets out on a roller coaster, tinged with a certain thrill—it was a scream of genuine, heartfelt terror.
In this world, those who could fly through the sky were few. Those who rode wyverns were the mainstream, and not many could attain such a position. Moreover, the person Seto was currently clutching was the bandit, and for someone like him, flying through the sky was naturally a first-time experience. Depending on the person, the first experience of flight might be a joyful one. But being grabbed by Seto's forelegs, unable to escape while airborne, was not something the man could possibly enjoy. His body, gripped by Seto's forelegs, showed no sign of falling to the ground, and there was no immediate worry of being crushed. But having such a powerful creature clutching his body was extremely worrisome. When would he be accidentally crushed—or dropped to the ground? The fact that he couldn't help worrying about such things meant that being held by Seto was by no means a tolerable situation.
However, there was nothing the man could do that would make any difference. In the end, all he could do was scream desperately to distract himself from the terror consuming him.
Fortunately—or perhaps it was debatable whether "fortunately" was the right word—even while gripping the man, Seto's flying speed was fast. Carrying extra baggage certainly made him slower than when flying in perfect condition, but the difference was negligible.
They flew through the sky, and in less than a few minutes, Seto landed right near Egginis.
"Geh!"
Since Seto was landing, he naturally couldn't keep gripping the man. After descending to near ground level, Seto's forelegs released the man's body. Though he landed on his feet, his hands were bound and he couldn't fully kill his momentum. He tumbled, sliding across the ground while scraping it. Seto had slowed to the absolute limit before releasing him, so despite the rough landing, the man only screamed—no actual injuries.
In a sense, to prevent him from using that opening to escape, Seto's action was certainly not a bad call. However, among those lined up to complete entry procedures into Egginis, there were many startled by the sudden sight.
It had only been a few days since Rei and Seto had arrived in Egginis. Among those in the city, it wouldn't be strange for some to have grown somewhat accustomed to their presence. However, those currently lined up to enter were naturally seeing Seto for the first time. For them, watching Seto suddenly descend right before their eyes was nothing short of shocking.
Still, the majority of those coming to Egginis were nobles and wealthy merchants. That was precisely why, upon seeing Seto and noticing Rei riding on his back, many recognized that Seto was no ordinary monster but Rei's tamed monster. From there, some recalled the existence of Rei. Naturally, there were also those who couldn't quite remember and grew agitated, but those who knew of Rei informed them with knowing looks. It may not have been out of kindness—perhaps it was driven by a sense of superiority that came from knowing something the other person didn't. Even so, thanks to that, it was fortunate no commotion broke out over Seto's appearance.
Having deposited—or rather, dropped—the bandit on the ground, Seto soared back into the sky, then dove toward the earth once more and landed safely.
"A bit too close to Egginis, maybe?"
Atop Seto's back, Rei surveyed the surroundings and muttered to himself. It was obvious at a glance that they were drawing stares from everyone lined up to enter the city. That said, traveling while dragging a bandit along, Rei honestly wanted to get things done as quickly as possible. If it were multiple bandits—ten or twenty—even Seto couldn't carry them all through the sky. But with just one bandit this time, transporting him quickly wasn't particularly difficult. That was exactly why they'd been able to return from the mountains to Egginis at considerable speed.
"Now then, the rest... it would be helpful if the guards came over here."
Rei muttered that from atop Seto's back on the ground. Having appeared with Seto—an unmistakably conspicuous presence—there was a possibility that a noble or merchant who misunderstood the situation might try to cause trouble. That was why, given the current circumstances, Rei wanted the guards to come as quickly as possible, complete the necessary procedures, and take the bandit off his hands.
"Ugh... ow..."
The bandit who had been lying on the ground raised his voice and got to his feet. Setting aside minor scrapes, the fact that he had no major injuries was impressive. Having experienced flight for the first time in his life and walking away with only light scratches, Rei thought the man could have made it as an adventurer instead of a bandit.
Of course, thinking about such things now was too late.
Watching the guards approach, Rei reflected on this.