「So, things have settle down.」

「Yes. I was worried when I got back, but looking at everything now, it feels like I’ve finally calmed down.」

Vihera nodded with a happy smile as Rei looked around the camp.

Beside them, Set was happily eating the many raiots that had been prepared for them.

The sweet and juicy fruits had become one of Set’s favourite snakcs.

Two days had passed since Frizione had joined up with the rebel army, now renamed to Mercurio’s army.

At Mercurio’s army camp, where they were already more than 10,000 combat personnel alone, the wounds from the recent battle were healing rapidly, as Rei and Vihera had said.

Injuries weren’t the only things that were recovering as well.

The fences and tents that had been destroyed by the punitive force’s attack were being repaired and blacksmiths were also repairing various weapons that had been damaged in the battle, such long swords and spears that had chipped blades or tips.

Those who had come with Frizione had started training with the rebel army as well, gradually taking on the name of Mercurio’s army.

In particular, those who had come with Frizione were the best of the best and were in no way inferior to those who had followed Mercurio in terms of training.

On the contrary, when it came to the White Rose Knights, the knight order under Frizione’s direct command, there were few people in Mercurio’s army who could defeat them, aside form the guerrilla unit and the Demon Soldiers.

……Compared to the rebel army from before, the biggest difference was the presence of the Demon Soldiers.

Just as the White Rose Knights were under Frizione’s direct command, the Demon Soldiers were under Theorem’s direct command.

Theorem’s subordinates had formed the original core of the rebel army, but even as they were absorbed to form the larger rebel army, they had maintained positions where they could command the various rebel soldiers, volunteer fighters, adventurers, and mercenaries.

In other words, you could say that the rebel army was controlled by Theorem’s subordinates.

That said, there were still exceptions, as some nobles in the army had independent control of their own armies.

And, just as Frizione and Theorem had units under their direct control, Rei also had his guerrilla unit.

The guerrilla unit had achieved great results in the previous battle, so their bravery had naturally spread among Mercurio’s army.

「……Well, I think their skills have certainly improved.」

Rei turned to look outside the camp.

Rei’s magic tent was set up at the edge of the camp as usual, so he could see the guerrilla unit training outside the camp from there.

He had previously seen the members engaged in a fierce battle.

That said, while it was a battle, it was just a mock battle.

They had used mock weapons to avoid fatal injuries and mages who could use healing magic had also been on standby in case anything went wrong.

The fact that guerrilla unit had a few mages assigned to them at all was probably a consideration for the guerrilla unit as an elite force.

At the same time, it was a way of appeasing Rei.

Some people didn’t want to upset Rei, who had the fighting power of an entire army on his own, while others were hoping to make things easy for him, as someone well liked by Vihera and Frizione……as long as it benefited them and didn’t harm them.

Even Rei could vaguely guess their thoughts.

That was all despite the fact that Rei had said he didn’t intend to do anything different even if he didn’t receive all those things.

「I guess everyone feels the time for the final battle is near. Have you heard the information?」

「Yeah. I heard that Kabajid and Shurus have set out from the Imperial Capital with a considerable army.」

The information had only arrived this morning.

The punitive force had conducted a hunt for scouts and many of those in charge of scouting for Mercurio’s army had been captured……or killed.

In such a situation, only a few people were capable of still scouting and this was the information they had received.

(I wish I could scout, but I’m not good at it.)

One of Rei’s weaknesses was that his fighting methods were very flashy, such as his fire magic and scythe.

Stealth operations weren’t something he was good at.

……In addition, no matter how good he might ever become at stealth, it was meaningless if someone in the enemy camp could sense magic power.

「So, when does the rebel army……no, Mercurio’s army, think the decisive battle will take place?」

「Within ten days at most, within a few days at the earliest. ……Even if we try to find out what they’re doing, the main problem is that many of our scouts are gone and the remaining ones aren’t that skilled.」

「What about the Demon Soldiers? There have to be some who don’t specialise in combat, right?」

「It’s no good. Some are good at scouting, but most are better at direct combat. ……Theorem said that it’s because all the top Demon Soldiers were killed by someone.」

Rei naturally understood that Vihera’s meaningful gaze was referring to what he had done in the Spring War.

But, it was war and they were enemies, it was only natural kill the enemy, Rei thought.

In the first place, Demon Soldiers were what could be called chimeras between monsters and humans, and they didn’t necessarily just have aspects from one monster.

Many of the Demon Soldiers he had seen so far had aspects belonging to two or three different monsters packed into them.

As such, if he had carelessly neutralised them instead of just killing them as a form of kindness, he might have paid with it with the lives of his comrades later.

To prevent that, he had to kill them on sight.

「Even I couldn’t afford to let them live then.」

Rei shrugged his shoulders as Vihera gave a slight smil.e

It wasn’t like she was really blaming Rei for the Demon Soldiers or anything.

She was just using it as an excuse to be spoiled by Rei, who hadn’t been with her recently.

「Well, since the Demon Soldiers were all originally criminals, it seems that they are naturally more aggressive. If you think about it, it’s probably not just your fault that there are so few Demon Soliders suited for scouting.」

「I’m glad to hear that. So, I’m taking it easy right now, but don’t you have any work to do, Vihera?」

「We had training in the afternoon though?」

「So, you’re free now then.」

「Yeah. I was free……but……」

Vihera looked away and muttered as she saw a figure approaching them.

It was Angela, the leader of the White Rose Knights.

「You’re here, Vihera-sama. Princess Frizione is calling for you.」

「No way. She’s just going to lecture me again, isn’t she?」

「……Well, I can’t deny that.」

Angela nodded as she looked at the clothes that Vihera was wearing……they were basically see through, like the clothes of a prostitute or dancer.

When they had first met up, Frizione had been happy to see Vihera and Mercurio safe, but as time passed and she realised the clothes that Vihera was wearing, the expression on her face became indescribable.

Frizione wanted to say that they were definitely not clothes that royalty should wear.

But to Vihera, she had already left the Bestir Empire.

Due to the difference in opinion, there had been a fight between them last night……well, not really a fight, but more of an argument.

Rei had been sleeping soundly during that time, having been fatigued by his use of Overlord’s Armour and had no idea about that.

「If Frizione is calling for you, shouldn’t you go? I don’t have much going on today……if I had to say, it would just be watching the guerrilla unit traing.」

「Gurururu~!」

Then play with me! Set seemed to say with a cry as Rei reached out to pet him.

Set, who had been used by Rei as a replacement for a sofa, shook his tail happily with a cry.

「I thought you would pay a little more attention to me……how about a spar? We haven’t had one in a while, have we?」

「No, why did you suddenly think of that? There’s a big battle with the subjugation army coming up soon, right? So, wouldn’t it be better to focus your attention on that?」

「That’s terrible, you’re abandoning me!?」

As soon as she said that, Vihera muttered sadly with tears streaming from her eyes.

But, Rei didn’t seem to care as he spoke up.

「Look, do you really think I’d fall for a fake cry like that? There’s no way you would cry over something like this.」

「Well, I’m a woman too, so it’s only natural if that I would be sad if the person I liked rejected me.」

Vihera replied, quickly regaining her composure as if it were natural……in fact, she even had a small smile on her face as she spoke, making Rei sigh.

She was crying earlier, but there wasn’t a trace on her face now.

「Vihera-sama, please come with me.」

Angela, who had been watching this scene that seemed like lovers flirting with each other, had a slightly displeased expression on her face.

To Angela, she might not have become a couple with Rei, but she still held feelings for him……no, she had fallen in love with Rei.

Even if Vihera was her master’s sister, it was impossible for her to be amused at how intimate they were.

「Well, I get it. I’ll turn myself in.」

「No, it’s not like you’re being arrested or anything.」

「Really? I guess it doesn’t make much difference to me if I’m being scolded. ……Well, I guess I should be a good sister for once. I seem to have caused her a lot of worry.」

Vihera had heard from Angela about her sister’s reaction when she had run away, so even though she knew he was going to be scolded, she couldn’t ignore it.

「Well, Rei. I’m going to argue for a bit.」

「……You’re not going to be scolded but to argue? Well, do your best. I’m going to take it easy today, so come over when you’re done and have some free time.」

Vihera seemed a little surprised at Rei’s words.

「Oh, is that okay? Then I’ll come over later.」

「Gurururu~」

Set gave a cry in response.

Vihera didn’t understand what Set said, but she could sense that Set was happy.

This probably meant that he wasn’t unhappy if she came over later, so she smiled back.

「Thanks. See you later. I’ll bring something to eat, so please wait for me.」

「Gurururururu~!」

Rei spoke as he stroked Set, who was giving even more happy cries than before.

「So you’re bringing some food over for Set, but what about me?」

「Oh? I what would be better than myself?」

「Ahh, fine. Then I’ll wait for your return.」

「Vihera-sama, let’s go.」

Rei watched as Vihera was pulled away by Angela, who looked a little grumpy with her fist clenched as they disappeared from his sight.

「My magic power has recovered quite a bit……Overlord’s Armour is a useful skill for both offense and defense, but it’s troublesome with how much magic power it consumes.」

「Gururu~!」

Are you okay? Set tilted his head as he seemed to ask. Rei stroke Set to show that he was okay.

「It’s true that waiting to recover magic power is a pain because of how much I have, but I should be able to recover it all by the end of today or tomorrow, so don’t worry.」

「Guru~」

Though Set didn’t completely believe Rei’s words, he gave a relieved cry when Rei said it was okay.

Rei took out a grilled meat skewer from the Misty Ring to give to Set, who was concerned about him.

The smell of burnt sauce spread around.

The smell along stimulated Set’s appetite and he gave a cry as he happily rubbed his face against Rei.

Can I eat it? Can I eat it? Set looked at Rei with an expression that made it hard to believe he had been eating raiot’s just a moment ago.

「Yeah, Set did a lot of good work this time, so this is the least I can do to show my gratitude. There’s plenty of skewers, so eat as much as you like. The next battle will probably be a big one, to put an end to this civil war. We’ll need you to do your best at that time.」

「Gururu~!」

Under the gentle autumn sunshine, the man and monster gathered their strength in preparation for the upcoming battle.

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