Rei had heard from the messenger sent to him that he should head over to the magic tent as soon as possible, so he went over while riding on Set.

People looked at him in awe as he rode through the camp, with non-combatants, such as merchants and prostitutes, offering food to him and Set.

However, since Mercurio had called for him, Rei didn’t ride along at his usual leisurely pace, but made haste while exchanging a few words with various people.

As he arrived at the magic tent, he noticed that the knight guarding the entrance seemed a little tense.

「I came here because I was called for……is everything okay?」

「Yes. I was told to let Rei-dono in as soon as you arrived.」

Even the knights guarding the tent couldn’t help but feel respect towards Rei.

It was only natural as, without Rei, the camp would have already been taken over by punitive forces.

In this situation, if they harboured hostility towards Rei……or showed it in any way, there was no telling how the rest of Mercurio’s army would view them.

That was why those that still held grudges against Rei never showed it in any way.

All that said, the knights that guarded the magic tent were people who had sworn deep loyalty to Mercurio.

They were grateful to Rei and didn’t hold the slightest aversion for the fact that he had saved Mercurio and his army on multiple occasions up to this point.

That was why he was let into the magic tent without any unnecessary questions or exchanges.

As Set watched his partner leave, he laid down on the ground a short distance away as he usually did.

The sun, floating in the clear autumn sky, covered Set in a soft, warm light, compared with the aggressive summer heat.

Autumn might be deepening and the winds colder, but sunlight provided great relief to the cold weather Mercurio’s army faced.

 

 

As Rei entered the magic tent, he felt that the atmosphere inside was strange.

It seemed to hold a sense of disbelief.

A little confused, Rei turned to look at Widele, who was standing nearby.

As for the reason he turned to Widele, it was because the other people he knew were major figures in the tent, who might not be available to comment, and because Widele was considered one of their confidants.

In comparison, although Widele was a member of the White Rose Knights, who served Frizione directly, unlike Angela, she wasn’t the commander of the knights, but only the captain of the Third Unit.

Compared to the others, she was still easy to talk to.

「What’s going on here?」

「Ahh, Rei-dono. You’re later. ……Haven’t you heard that an envoy has arrived from Prince Kabajid?」

「I heard from the messenger. From the looks of it, it’s him, isn’t it? ……He and his attendants are all dressed rather garishly.」

「Yes. So, as for the negotiations so far……」

Just as Widele had gotten that far, Mercurio, who had been silently watching Frederick up until now, spoke up.

「Ahahaha. That’s a pretty big request. When you said negotiations, I thought it was about Kabajid surrendering to us……I never expected it to be him urging us to surrender.」

At those words, Rei finally realised the cause of the strange atmosphere inside the tent.

(I see. The envoy was advising us to surrender. But……after merging with, or rather absorbing, Frizione’s army and defeating the combined punitive force’s attempt to seize our camp, Mercurio’s army is going strong, there is no way they would accept a request to surrender.)

The morale of Mercurio’s army was high and the soldiers were well trained.

Moreover, Rei and Set’s presence gave them great confidence.

It was only natural, considering the number of times they had shown their strength, although it did mean that Rei now had some concerns that they had become overly reliant on him.

「Is it really that strange? Surely Prince Mercurio knows the difference in our military strength. It is true that the punitive force’s attack on the camp a few days ago was repelled. However, the troops we lost have since been replenished by the arrival of Prince Kabajid and Prince Shurus.」

「Hm? How many, specifically?」

「Well, unfortunately, I haven’t be told in detail, so I can’t really say……」

「Don’t you think it isn’t right to ask for surrender when we don’t even know your military strength?」

「I don’t know the exact numbers, but still, this rebel army……no, it’s Mercurio’s army now, isn’t it? It’s clear that our forces are several times larger than Mercurio’s army. Given that, I’m sure you understand that you have no chance of winning.」

Frederick made exaggerated gestures as he explained and Mercurio turned to look over at Rei.

「You’re the one who has forgotten, aren’t you? Even without our many army, you still lost the previous battle. Thanks to Rei……Crimson’s strength. Now that we are at full strength, what do you think will happen?」

Normally, it would be bad for the fate of Mercurio’s army to rest on a single person, Rei, who wasn’t even Mercurio’s subordinate but a hired adventurer.

But, it was also true that Rei was someone who had shown enough strength to look past those issues. And, in terms of how easy it was to work with Rei, there weren’t many people much easier to deal with.

It was also true that the punitive force had suffered enormous losses because of Rei.

That was why the leaders of Mercurio’s army all thought Kabajid’s envoy would back down a bit once Rei’s name was mentioned.

However……

「It’s true that Crimson-dono is an adventurer with incredible strength. I’ll admit that. Right now, he’s said to be a B rank adventurer, but in terms of ability alone, he is definitely A rank. In some cases, he might even reach S rank. But……do you honestly think that I hadn’t considered that when I brought up the offer to surrender?」

Frederick didn’t seem particularly surprised at the mention of Rei’s name as he reponded.

In addition, many of the people present were intrigued by his composure as he praised Rei.

There couldn’t be that many ways to deal with Rei. ……Some people even thought that there wasn’t anyone who could defeat Rei.

「……Rei, can I ask you something? Do you think he has a reason to say that?」

Turning his gaze away from Frederick, Mercurio asked Rei, who had been watching the meeting progress.

「Asking me that out of nowhere……」

「Oh, Crimson-dono. In addition to what Prince Mercurio just said, I knew immediately that you were Crimson-dono from your appearance.」

Frederick spoke with his arms spread out in an exaggerated manner and Mercurio looked puzzled as muttered before Rei could respond.

「Is there something about Rei’s appearance?」

(My appearance?)

Rei didn’t understand either as he looked back at Frederick.

It was only natural.

Right now, Rei was wearing the Dragon Robe with the hood down.

With the Dragon Robe’s concealment effect, it should have appeared like an ordinary robe to others.

In other words, Rei’s current appearance was that of a small, feminine man wearing a plain robe. It should have been impossible to identify him as Crimson from that alone.

「Yes. Just by looking at that wonderful robe, I can tell it’s quite the expensive magic item.」

「……What?」

Rei couldn’t help but be taken aback at Frederick’s words.

After all, he had seen through the Dragon Robe’s concealment effect.

Frederick seemed to notice Rei’s reaction. He smiled happily as he spoke.

「Actually, I have the ability to see through those kinds of effects. ……Well, that’s why I’m in this line of work in the first place.」

「I see.」

It was unclear whether Frederick’s words were true or not.

It was possible that he might just have a magic item that gave him that ability, but Rei replied regardless.

「I am Rei. Nice to meet you.」

「Yes, you too. But it’s really surprising. To be able to see such a magic item with my very own eyes……」

「Is it really that amazing of a magic item?」

Mercurio must have been curious about Frederick’s words.

The others waited for Frederick to explain with curiosity.

Even among the people here, very few knew that Rei had such a magic item……in fact, Vihera was the only one who knew.

That being the case, it was inevitable that they would become curious as to the quality of the magic item.

「Yes. There is no doubt that it is a magic item made with extremely advanced technology. It is so advanced that it would be impossible to make with the current technology of the Bestir Empire……」

「I wish you wouldn’t say so much.」

Rei was naturally aware of how valuable his magic item was.

It was valuable to the point that if others knew, they might end up trying to do something strange.

「Ah, ahem, pardon me. ……Anyway, it is a honour to meet you, Crimson-dono. I would have preferred to meet you on the same side, not as an enemy……but what do you think? Would you like to serve Prince Kabajid? I’m sure someone like Crimson-dono would be accepted.」

「No, I refuse.」

Rei answered without a moment’s hesitation.

If he hesitated for even a moment, there was a possibility that seeds of discord would sprout within Mercurio’s army, and of course, he never seriously considered the offer to begin with.

「I’m sure there are many people over there who hate me. Besides……I would rather die than fight under the man who did that to my friend, Rhodes.」

Rhodes? Vihera and Theorem, who had been listening in close to Mercurio, tilted their heads before recalling that they had heard about Rhodes from Rei as their gazes sharpened.

However, Frederick didn’t seem to notice their reactions as he shook his head regretfully.

「I see, that’s unfortunate. But, if Crimson-dono says so, then there’s nothing that can be done about it.」

With those words, Frederick ended his solicitation of Rei as he once again turned back to Mercurio.

「Well then, let’s continue……but there’s no need to continue, is there? You won’t surrender. May I consider that point a done deal?」

「That’s right. At the very least, we are not considering it at this point. No matter what methods Kabajid and Shurus use, we have no intention of losing.」

「I’d like to hear the basis of your confidence……but you won’t answer even if I ask, will you?」

「Naturally not.」

Mercurio even smiled as he replied, but Frederick didn’t seem particularly upset as he turned his gaze to his attendants.

His attendants seemed to understand what Frederick was asking for from just that and one of them reached for a pouch at their waist.

For a moment, the people in the tent were about to move to subdue the person, but they stopped when they saw what was taken out from the pouch.

In the attedant’s hand was an ornately decorated jewelry box.

Everyone immediately understood how the large item could have been stored inside a pouch.

The pouch could be considered a simple item box of sorts.

It was an extremely expensive item, but as the First Prince of the Bestir Empire, it was easy for him to obtain something like that.

Frederick took the jewelry box from his attendant as he gently held it up.

「For you, Prince Mercurio. Prince Kabajid asked me to hand this over if negotiations to surrender failed.」

「……Hmmm. Interesting. Theorem.」

「Yes.」

Theorem signaled one of his knights to open the box.

While he thought it to be unlikely at this point, it could still be a magic item designed to assassinate Mercurio.

That was why he wanted to protect Mercurio immediately in the event anything happened and Angela stepped in front of Frizione for the same reason.

But……nothing in particular happened as the knight opened the box.

(With Rei around though, I would have thought assassination would have been their best method against us.

Theorem felt relieved, but still had his doubts as he handed the box over to Mercurio.

Inside the box was a letter.

The wax seal made it clear who it was from.

「A letter from Kabajid. ……I wonder what it says.」

Muttering to himself, he opened the envelope and read the letter inside.

After reading through it once, he read it from beginning to end a second time.

「Hah, hahaha. I never thought they would come to this solution. But, it’s not a bad idea. It would avoid unnecessary wastage of military power on both sides and there are also suspicious movements from other countries we have to consider. ……It’s certainly a bold method, but I can’t give you an immediate answer. I need some time.」

「Yes, I understand. I was told to be sure to get a reply.」

「Even so……specifying a time and place for both armies to fight……Kabajid has some crazy ideas. No, maybe Shurus is involved in this too?」

Mercurio’s amused voice echoed through the magic tent as others looked shocked at the contents of the letter.

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