Their journey after leaving the Imperial Capital was very smooth.
Rei had thought that bandits might have become more rampant after the end of the civil war, but not a single bandit showed up at all and neither did any monster.
Rei himself had been hopeful that bandits would show up so that he could supplement his existing funds.
While he wasn’t in any particular need of money, he wasn’t exactly a saint either. ……Well, considering everything that Rei had done up to this point, almost no one would call Rei a saint.
In any case, Rei was more than happy to take down any bandits who attacked them and loot all the treasures they had hoarded without any guilt.
At the same time, he would be restoring the security of the local area……but it appeared his thinking was a bit naive.
「I’m bored.」
「Guru~……」
Rei and Set both muttered out loud as the moved ahead on their own.
Vihera and former guerrilla unit members were already familiar with Set so that wasn’t an issue, but their family members, lovers, and even some friends who were heading to the Mireana Kingdom with them were not as used to Set.
No, if it had been just people, they might have been able to get along with Set.
But……horses were different.
If the horses weren’t used to Set, it wasn’t something that could be fixed in a day or two.
Based on Rei’s prior experience, even if the horses were stabled with Set all day, it would still take around 5 days for the horses to not be as restless.
Vihera’s horse, which had undergone rigorous training and wasn’t afraid of Set, but she had stayed behind with the carriages.
The reason for this was if both Rei and Vihera were to move ahead of the group, they might not be able to respond in time to bandit or monster attacks.
Because of that, Vihera and the guerrilla unit members stuck with the carriages to protect them.
With Vihera and the guerrilla unit members, it wouldn’t be a big deal for them to handle bandits or monsters.
「Well……at least the weather’s not bad.」
Rei spoke as he looked up at the sky.
It had been sunny when they had left the Imperial Capital and the only change after several hours was the appearance of some clouds.
They weren’t rain clouds though, so Rei wasn’t particularly concerned.
If they had been traveling normally, even the guerrilla unit members would have lost stamina in the rain.
But, with everyone riding in carriages, Rei didn’t need to worry about it at all, which made him quite pleased.
As he looked up into the sky and thought about that, he could hear the sound of horse hooves from behind.
(Oh, that’s right. It would probably be better for Vihera to be inside a carriage if it rains.)
Considering Vihera’s clothes……it wouldn’t be a happy event for anyone if she were to get drenched in the cold autumn rain.
Her clothes were already thin enough to be semi translucent, so what would happen if they were soaked with rain? Naturally, she would draw even more attention from the men, resulting in the women in the group……especially lovers, wives, and sisters of the men from the guerrilla unit to give them sharp glares.
As they didn’t want to put themselves under such unneeded stress inside the small confines of a carriage, most of the group had already considering bringing Vihera inside if it did start to rain.
……As a side note, for the members of the guerrilla unit who were single and coming along by themselves, being inside a carriage with a rain soaked Vihera was nothing but a reward to them.
Of course, they all knew Vihera’s strength, so they wouldn’t attempt anything inappropriate.
In that sense, Rei would be the one in the most awkward situation if it did start to rain.
If he got inside a carriage, Set would feel lonely, but if Set got too close the carriages, the horses would get spooked.
It wasn’t like he could be apart from Rei, but Set would rather not be so close to Rei yet unable to be by his side.
(In other words, if it does start to rain, I’ll have to consider getting wet with Set. I won’t catch a cold, but I still don’t like the feeling of getting soaked.
Rei’s Dragon Robe automatically adjusted the wearer’s temperature to a comfortable level and his body had been made by Zepairu and his fellow mages.
It was highly unlikely that Rei would catch a cold from getting wet in the rain.
「Well, I guess I’ll think about it when it happens. It doesn’t seem like I need to worry about rain for now.」
「Guru~?」
What’s wrong? Set seemed to ask as he tilted his head. Rei shook his head to tell him it was nothing as he patted Set.
Set’s eyes narrowed and he gave a cry as they continued along the road.
The temperature was only around 10C, which wasn’t too cold, but also not warm enough for many people to comfortably walk and talk.
In fact, the people driving the carriages were all wearing appropriate winter clothes.
As they walked along the road, Set turned to look at a forest growing a short distance from the road and gave a cry.
Seeing Set’s actions, Rei immediately wondered if it was an enemy. That was what Rei thought, but there weren’t any signs of anyone coming towards them.
Instead, it was a bear, not even a monster, looking food in preparation for hibernation.
The bear seemed to quickly realise the difference in strength and made a rapid retreat from where it had come from.
If it had been an ordinary traveler passing though instead, they might have been attacked……so in that sense, it was bad luck for the bear and good luck for ordinary travelers.
「Guru~……」
As for Set, he gave a regretful cry at the missed opportunity to eat bear meat.
However, he then seemed to remember that the bear he had caught while Rei was staying with Frizione in the castle was still in Rei’s Misty Ring and calmed back down as he gave another cry.
「……What is it?」
Rei was a little puzzled.
While he could generally understand what Set was thinking, he still couldn’t pick out the finer details.
So, looking at Set right now, all he could tell was that he seemed happy at finding something, then disappointed, then happy again after seeming to remember something.
The main reason for Rei’s confusion was that he couldn’t quite pinpoint what had made Set happy again at the end.
「Gurururururu~!」
Watching Set give more happy cries, Rei just looked on in confusion.
Several hours later, the sun was now directly above them and Rei and the group decided to stop for a lunch break by the side of the road.
Most groups would rely on easily eatable foods, such as toasted brown bread and dried meat.
Others would cook something up with ingredients they brought, but even they would have to start a fire before cooking……
The luckiest would have bought pre-prepared sandwiches which they could immediately eat.
But that was mostly a luxury for the first day after leaving the Imperial Capital and only when the weather wasn’t hot.
So, considering all that……Rei’s group was extremely fortunate.
Rei took out a pot from the Misty Ring filled with freshly made stew as well as freshly baked bread and a large number of grilled skewers.
While everyone shouted in joy, the only one who seemed dissatisfied was Set, who wanted to eat his bear meat.
「Heh……adventurers eat pretty well, don’t they?」
One of the women murmured as she lit a fire to warm herself up rather than to cook anything.
She was one of the people who was coming along as a family member rather than a guerrilla force member.
However, the adventurers would be in trouble if others thought that this was what they always had to eat……
「No way. We usually just eat dried meat or something similar. The only reason we can eat freshly cooked food like this is because Captain Rei has an item box.」
Rei spoke after seeing a guerrilla member hurriedly respond.
「Why do you still call me captain? The guerrilla unit has already been disbanded.」
「That’s not true! The guerrilla uni has been disbanded, but for me, Captain Rei will always be Captain Rei!」
The first person to respond after the man’s words was a middle aged woman who seemed to be from the man’s family.
「Ah, I can’t belive that Marno has come to respect someone so much…… Thank you Rei-san.」
「Hey, mum! What are you saying to Captain Rei!」
The man called Marno hurriedly stopped the middle aged woman, who placed her plate of stew on the ground as she bowed her head towards Rei.
However, his mother didn’t seem to care at all……instead she just lightly patted her son on the head before making him bow to Rei as well.
「Hey, you should say thank you too! It’s true, you’re usually just all talk.」
「Mum! Please stop doing this in front of everyone!」
Seeing Marno’s reaction, everyone burst into laughter as they ate lunch around the fire.
Food was something that soothed people’s hearts after all.
Even those who had been a little timid towards Set when they first left the Imperial Capital had gradually opened up after eating together.
Of course, they were still to nervous to try petting Set, but at the very least they were no longer frightened by him.
Part of it was also because the guerrilla squad members had desperately described Set’s cuteness to them inside the carriages and seeing Set so happy after Rei fed him.
「Gurururu~」
Set’s earlier grumpy demeanor about the lack of bear had disappeared as soon as he sank his beak into a plateful of stew.
Seeing Set like that, most of the group had somewhat relaxed expressions on their faces.
「Captain Rei……no, Rei-san. If we continue along this road, it will eventually split. One way will go straight to the Mireana Kingdom, which I think is the one you would have taken to get to the Imperial Capital. The other way will be a bit of a detour, but there is one person waiting for us at a village that way……」
After finishing lunch and resting for a bit, Sergio called out to Rei.
「If we take that detour, how far will it be to the Mireana Kingdom?」
「Well, just a bit further, not too big of a difference.」
「Then it should be fine. We’ll stay at the village for the night.」
「Hmm. Well, that’s fine. As for me, I would like to stay in the same room as Rei.」
She must have been listening in to their conversation. Vihera leaned over towards Rei as she spoke.
Many of those watching were surprised.
Everyone knew Vihera like Rei, but they didn’t think she would be so open about it in front of everyone.
「That won’t happen. Even if we stay at an inn, we will have different rooms. It might be a different matter if we booked a big room instead.」
「Hmm, but the village we’re going too isn’t that bid, so I think people will have to share some rooms, right?」
Hearing her words, Rei looked around silently.
Including himself and Vihera, there were about 20 people with them.
In places like Gilm or the Imperial Capital, where there were large inns, it might have been possible. But, securing individual rooms for so many people at a small village inn would likely be impossible for the number of people they had.
「In the worst case, I have my magic tent……」
Rei’s magic tent was extremely luxurious compared to what most inns in the area could provide.
If there really wasn’t enough room, the tent would be better than whatever the inn could offer.
Of course, there were magic tents that were even more luxurious than Rei’s. After giving Rei his magic tent as a reward, Daska had since acquired an even more advanced magic tent.
「But, how many people can fit in Rei-san’s magic tent.」
「If you don’t mind sleeping on a sofa or on the floor, about half the people here could probably get some rest.」
「In that case, I think we’ll put up as many people as we can in the inn and the rest inside the house of the person we’re meeting up with. If there’s anyone else left, they can sleep in Rei-san’s magic tent.」
At Sergio’s words, Rei nodded, indicating he was fine with that arrangement.
「While it’s fine to stay inside my magic tent, please don’t try to do anything strange. Although I don’t think anyone here would do anything like that.」
「Hahaha. With Rei-san and Set here, I don’t think anyone would be willing to try anything. However if someone did……they would probably regret it in various ways. I would also regret traveling with someone like that.」
Sergio seemed to be telling something to the people around him as he laughed.
It was true that everyone present would be traveling together until they reached the Mireana Kingdom.
However, many of them had also just met for the first time today, so it was impossible them to fully trust everyone else.