A few days had passed since leaving the Brissa Plain, the combined armies traveled along the road unhindered by bandits and monsters, which Rei had initially been concerned about. Eventually, they reached a location where the Imperial Capital could be seen.

「……The Imperial Capital, huh? We were only there recently, but it feels so long ago.」

Rei muttered as he looked towards the Imperial Capital.

Indeed, it hadn’t been that long since he had gone to escort Frizione out.

But even so, it felt like an eternity had passed since he had last seen the city.

Perhaps that was proof of how intense the war had been for Mercurio’s army.

「Captain Rei, Theorem-sama is calling for you. He wants to discuss the victory parade with you.」

A voice called out from behind as Rei was admiring the Imperial Capital.

Turning around, he found Pernyx speaking to him.

His expression was stern as always, but the slight uptick at the corner of his mouth seemed to show that he was also happy to be back at the Imperial Capital.

Rei had now known Pernyx for long enough to recognise the subtle changes in his expression.

「I understand. I’ll head to the back for a bit, so I’ll leave you in command.」

「Yes sir!」

Rei nodded back at Pernyx’s earnest response before gently tapping Set on the back of his neck.

Understanding what Rei meant by that, Set gave a cry before turning around.

The horses of the guerrilla unit weren’t frightened by Set’s actions at all, probably because they had gotten somewhat used to him over the past few days.

They continued moving against the march of the army as they moved towards the center, where all the higher ups were gathered.

When soldiers from Mercurio’s army spotted Rei……or rather, Set, they waved as they took in Set’s adorable figure. However, the army wasn’t only made up of Mercurio’s army at this point, there was also the punitive force.

In fact, the punitive force still outnumbered Mercurio’s army at this point in time.

As a result, many of those soldiers still held significant fear towards Rei and Set, lowering Set’s overall popularity among the army.

「Guru~……」

Set gave a sad cry as several soldiers stiffened up at the sight of him.

Rei stroked Set’s neck.

「We were enemies just a short time ago, so it’s not too surprising for things to be like this. Here, eat this and cheer up a bit.」

Rei took some dried meat out of the Misty Ring before giving it to Set.

Set let out a slightly more energetic cry after grabbing the piece of meat with his beak and eating it.

(He’s rather easy to pacify……no, well, if Set’s happy, then I’m happy too, so it’s fine. I really don’t want to see Set in a bad mood.)

With how much Rei loved Set, he really didn’t want to see Set unhappy.

When Set was unhappy, he would look away from Rei but keep glancing back. But if their eyes met, he would look away again. He would want to talk with Rei, but also wanted to show that he was in a bad mood. While there was something cute about seeing Set sulk like that, Rei didn’t want to Set to sulk if possible.

Regaining his energy after eating the dried meat, Set continued walking against the flow of people before eventually reaching the center.

After spotting Mercurio, Theorem, and the others riding on horses, Rei was approached by one of the knights guarding them.

「Captain Rei, His Highness Mercurio is waiting for you. Please pass through.」

With those words, the knight moved his horse to the side to allow Set to pass through.

As most of the soldiers were on foot, the horses weren’t moving particularly fast.

But even so, the fact that the knight was able to control his horse to such a degree while at walking speed displayed why he had been chosen as one of the people to guard Mercurio.

In addition, although his horse hadn’t spent that much time around Set, it didn’t seem scared or restless, showing that the knight before him really was an elite……probably elite enough to rival the members of the guerrilla unit.

「Yeah, got it.」

After that brief exchange, he approached the group where Mercurio, Theorem, Vihera, and Tilleyle were.

For some reason, Digma was also with them, but no one else seemed particularly concerned about that.

It looked like it wasn’t without reason that Water Dragon Digma was as popular as he was.

Since he had already admitted defeat in battle, he wouldn’t attempt anything strange here.

While a considerable number of nobles were riding in carriages, like Frizione, many others were also on horseback.

This was probably due to the influence of people like Mercurio, Theorem, and Vihera, who were riding on horseback.

Of course, Mercurio wasn’t forcing others to ride on horseback with him.

He was riding on horseback because he needed to show others that he was in charge of the army. At the same time, he did feel more comfortable riding on horseback compared to sitting in a carriage and he also wanted to spend more time with Vihera.

「Hey, you’re here. So, I can get straight to the point?」

「I heard it was about the victory parade?」

「Yes, right. It is about the victory parade……」

Mercurio was about to continue when Theorem interrupted him.

「Your Highness, I can take it from here……」

「……Okay, I understand. I’ll leave it to you.」

「Thank you very much.」

Theorem bowed towards Mercurio before turning to Rei.

He seemed hesitant, as if reluctant to speak.

Having a bad feeling, Rei urged Theorem to go on.

「Regarding the victory parade……the original plan had been for the guerrilla unit to lead the front, but it has been changed to another unit.」

「……Why? I thought we would be leading the parade up until yesterday/」

「It was a request from the castle. Specifically from Prime Minister Pesche.」

Prime Minster Pesche. Theorem’s words reminded him of the man he had met during negotiations to participate in the fighting tournament.

He was extremely overweight, bald, and had a catfish like mustache growing from under his nose.

From the outside, he might appear like a typical useless noble, but as the Prime Minister of the Bestir Empire, he was undoubtedly a capable person.

「Why?」

「It’s a victory parade after all, it would be somewhat damaging to the Bestir Empire’s reputation to have a foreigner lead the parade. They also gave other reasons, but that seemed to be the biggest one.」

Mercurio and Theorem had been in contact with the Imperial Capital immediately after the end of the civil war.

There were tamers and summoners in Mercurio’s army who were capable of sending letters via tamed flying monsters or birds.

After a civil war of this scale, it was only natural that the Imperial Capital would want as much information as they could gather, considering the results would greatly change the balance of power within the Bestir Empire’s upper echelons.

In particular, the Imperial Army had been deeply shocked by the defeat of Shurus, who they supported.

Still, this didn’t make them let down their guard as they kept an eye on neighbouring countries, knowing that it was their job to protect the borders of the Bestir Empire.

「……I see.」

Sensing that there were likely more political reasons behind it, Rei nodded back without arguing.

He closed his eyes for 10 seconds, thinking about something, before speaking again.

「That’s right. Just to be clear, it’s not like the guerrilla unit can’t participate in the victory parade, right?」

That was the only thing Rei wouldn’t back down on.

As Rei looked at Theorem with such a look, Theorem nodded back.

「Of course. The guerrilla unit is one of the most elite units in the army. It’s impossible for them not to participate in the victory parade.」

Rei nodded at Theorem’s words.

「Then it’s fine. I do have my own thoughts, but this is ultimately a matter for the Bestir Empire. As long as you have no intention of neglecting the guerrilla unit, then it’s fine. ……But……」

「I understand. Regarding the guerrilla unit, we’ll handle things appropriately. It’s true that the Wyvern incident cause a bit of a stir, but they’ve done many great things since then.」

「……That’s fine I guess. So, is that all?」

Rei’s decision was correct. While he did have his own thoughts on the matter, this was ultimately something that would affect the future of the Bestir Empire after all.

Knowing that, he didn’t try asking for anything more.

「Sorry, I would really have liked the guerrilla unit to be in a more prominent position.」

Rei shrugged his shoulders at Mercurio’s words.

Even though he had won the civil war, Mercurio was still only the next in line to the throne.

Compared to the Prime Minister……one who was trusted by the emperor, his lack of past accomplishments meant that his political position was comparatively weaker.

(Things might have been different if it had been Prince Kabajid who had won.)

Theorem thought to himself.

Unlike Mercurio, Kabajid had a proved track record as the First Prince.

It was enough that even the Prime Minister wouldn’t have been able to ignore him.

In comparison, Mercurio’s lack of achievements, regardless of his talent, placed him in a much weaker position.

(Of course……that’s only for now. I don’t know how the Prime Minster and other nobles view Prince Mercurio, but if they think of him as simply a figurehead who knows nothing, they will come to regret it eventually. I can’t wait to see what they will think at that time……)

Compared to Theorem, who was deep in thought, Rei lightly tapped Set on the neck to tell him that everything was settled and that they could head back.

However……he was stopped by someone chasing after him.

「Rei, don’t you have anything to say to me?」

As Vihera spoke somewhat sulkily, Rei spoke with a troubled expression.

「Well, it’s not that I don’t have anything to say……but you come over during our breaks, right? So I thought that there was no need to go out of my way to speak with you in front of Mercurio.」

「You know……you need to learn a little more about the hearts of women.」

Vihera sighed.

Rei looked taken aback by Vihera’s response.

Seeing that, Vihera sighed again.

「Well, that’s fine. ……Anyway, are you going back to the Mireana Kingdom after the victory parade?」

「Yes, that’s the plan. However, it will probably take us some time to actually get back.」

There were members of the guerrilla unit accompanying him on the way back, so it would depend on who was going with him.

As they would likely be traveling by carriage in a group of 20-30 people, it was inevitable that the trip back would take some time.

Explaining the situation, Vihera nodded in understanding.

「I heard about it from Theorem. If possible, I would have also liked to go to Gilm with you, but……」

Her vague words seemed to indicate that she wouldn’t be able to go to Gilm with Rei.

「Are you staying in the Bestir Empire?」

Although Mercurio would be the new crown prince, there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be some people who would underestimate him politically, if not militarily.

There would also be those who hadn’t participated in the civil war who would reject Mercurio.

Rei asked if Vihera would be staying behind to deal with those people, but she shook her head.

「No, I’ve already run away from this country. It’s one thing to come back for emergency situations like this civil war, but at any other time it would be best for me to not be here.」

「……Won’t Mercurio feel lonely?」

「That’s true. But, if he is to become the crown prince, he can’t rely on me forever. And, with Theorem here, I won’t need to worry about his safety.」

「The Demon Soldiers?」

Only Theorem was able to order the Demon Soldiers around.

The Demon Soldiers had been a major fighting force for Mercurio’s army during the civil war, although they were not with the army at this point in time.

No, that wasn’t entirely correct, there were a small number who were tasked with protecting Mercurio, but there wasn’t a group of them present in the open within the army.

Mercurio had originally wanted to include the Demon Soldiers in the victory parade, but they had expressed their desire through Theorem to remain inconspicuous.

Considering their appearances, that was understandable, but it seemed that they also didn’t want to show off their strength.

While the Demon Soldiers had used their true strength during the civil war, only those who had fought them directly new how strong they really were.

Of course, completely hiding such information about them was impossible, but as long as they remained hidden, people’s attention would eventually be drawn to other topics.

「So, with that all said……what do you plan to do?」

「I’m thinking of going to Exil. I want to see Byune again……」

Vihera replied to Rei’s question with a slightly disappointed look on her face.

[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]