After finishing lunch, Rei’s group set off once again arriving at the village just as evening approached.
There were only a few soldiers stationed at the village, but the wall that surrounded it was enough to protect them from the various monsters that could be found near the Imperial Capital.
The village was on a side road, off the main road, so despite it’s proximity to the Imperial Capital, it had less than 200 people living there.
The soldiers that guarded the village gates had likely grown up in the village.
So, when they first saw nearly 10 carriages approaching, their first thought was if they were being attacked by bandits.
Their thinking wasn’t entirely wrong.
As the seasons moved from autumn to winter, bandits who preferred not to do their work in the cold would stockpile food, money, and women now instead.
And, although the village was close to the Imperial Capital, its distance from the main road meant that it wasn’t uncommon for bandits to show up.
That was why nearly 20 soldiers were stationed in such a small village.
The Bestir Empire wouldn’t be happy to see bandits attack a village so close to the capital and potentially turn it into their base after all.
「Halt! You guys……what are you……a Griffon?!」
One of the soldiers spotted Set leading the carriages as he shouted out.
His eyes had initially been focused on the carriages, but now that he had seen Set, the Griffon clearly stood out more.
「H-Hey. What do we do?」
「No, even if you ask me that……」
His fellow guard was at a loss on how to respond.
They were soldiers sent to guard the village, so they had to find out the intentions of the group approaching the village.
(But still, a Griffon……huh? Griffon? Oh, a Griffon!)
As the guard wondered what to do, the word ‘Griffon’ brought back memories.
There had been an adventurer from the Mireana Kingdom who had placed second in the fighting tournament and played a big part in the civil war.
The reason the guard knew about this was because someone from the village had also participated in the civil war.
They were a skilled adventurer and had said something about their boss coming soon to take them out of the village?
The guard had been surprised when he first saw the carriages and the Griffon but, after thinking about it, he was able to respond quickly.
「Hey, go get Dietz. This group is probably the people he was talking about.」
「……Oh」
The guard quickly brought his panicked partner back to his senses before sending them running back to the village.
As he saw them off, the guard gripped the shaft of his spear tightly in case anything were to happen before calling out to the approaching group.
「Welcome to Elton Village. It’s rare for such a large group of people to show up, so I’m a bit surprised, but I’ve heard from Dietz. You are Crimson Rei’s group……is that right?」
Even as he asked the question, the guard was sure that he couldn’t have mistaken such a distinctive group.
The fact that they had a Griffon with them made it nearly impossible for him to be wrong.
And, of course, the person riding on the Griffon’s back, Rei, nodded back.
「Yes. We’re meeting……or rather, we’re here to pick some people up before heading to the Mireana Kingdom. Also, we’d like to find rooms to stay in the village for the night. Are there any rooms available?」
「Wait a moment. I’ve called for Dietz.」
The guard responded to Rei.
He also caught sight of Vihera but didn’t seem to recognise who she was and looked away after a glance.
Still, the guard seemed to have a strong sense of propriety as he didn’t stare at her.
Because of that, it was only natural that both Rei and Vihera felt quite good abut this guard.
「Okay, I understand. Then, could you at least start on clearing us for entry?」
The soldier hesitated for a moment as Rei showed his guild card, but decided that checking 20 people would take a while so might as well start now.
「You’re right. It would be better than wasting time here. Then, please give me your identity documents. Also, the Griffon will need a Necklace of Subservient Monster.」
Following the guard’s request, Rei handed over his guild card.
The guard was surprised to see that Rei was a B rank adventurer and that it was also barely scratched, having mostly been stored inside the Misty Ring.
Normally, guild cards would have a wide range of scratches and damage on them, big and small.
As the guard thought about that, he went through each person’s documents before eventually hearing footsteps from behind.
He didn’t even need to think about who it was.
「Sorry, I knew Captain Rei would be coming, but I had some things I needed to deal with.」
「You’re late, Dietz. ……So, is this really the Captain Rei you were talking about? Well, seeing as he’s brought a Griffon with, it couldn’t be anyone else.」
「Of course. I’ve never seen anyone else other than Captain Rei with a Griffon as a familiar. ……Captain Rei, I’m sorry for bothering you.」
Rei shook his head as Dietz bowed towards him.
「It’s only a small detour, so don’t worry about it. Are you ready?」
「Yes.」
「That’s good. ……Oh, and the guerrilla unit has been disbanded, so you don’t have to call me captain anymore.」
「Is that so? Then, how about Big Bro Rei?」
「……No matter how you look at it, you’re the older one here.」
Rei still looked fifteen while Dietz was in his mid twenties.
To others, there was a 10 year age gap between them, so it felt strange that the older one was calling the younger one ‘Big Bro’.
「Hmm, then let’s go with Rei-san.」
「That would be better.」
After his brief exchange with Rei, Dietz turned his attention back to the guard.
「So, can Rei and the others enter the village now?」
「Wait a bit longer. It will take some time to check 20 people.」
After replying to Dietz, the guard and his partner, who had returned with Dietz, began checking peoples’ identities again.
That said, as Dietz was an acquaintance of the villagers and considering Rei’s fame, there was little reason to suspect anyone.
In the end, they were allowed into the village after a cursory check.
「So, here is your Necklace of Subservient Monster. If any probably occur with your familiar, it will be your responsibility.」
After hearing the standard explanation on monster tamer responsibilities, they entered the village.
「Dietz, could you show us to the inn first? With so many of us, can we all stay there?」
Rei asked Dietz after getting off Set and walking into the village together.
Considering the village’s proximity to the Imperial Capital, it wasn’t that isolated.
Many people were looking at Rei with interest from various windows.
Still, they were too scared to approach with a Griffon present, so they just watched from afar.
「No, the village inn isns’t that big, so……we could probably manage about 15 people……the rest can probably fit inside my house……」
「Oh, that’s a bit much. Maybe I should sleep inside the magic tent with Rei after all?」
Vihera interjected, as if it were only natural for her to sleep in the same room as Rei.
Rei had turned her down previously, but it seems she hadn’t thought much of it.
「Vihera, I already told you earlier.」
「Oh, but that would be better, wouldn’t it? Despite my appearance, I’m quite famous in the Bestir Empire. If I were to share a room with anyone else, they’d be quite nervous about it.」
「……Ah, you’re right. Any woman sharing a room with Vihera-sama would feel nervous and awkward.」
Vihera nodded in agreement with Dietz’ words as she continued.
「But that said, there aren’t that many inn rooms, so I can’t just take one all for myself, right? So it would be best if I slept in the magic tent with Rei.」
「You’re right if you put it that way……」
Vihera was certainly right.
But, knowing how Vihera felt about him, Rei couldn’t accept it so easily.
(It would have been fine if it were anyone else……)
But, Rei’s only other option was to give Vihera her own room at the inn, making others stay at the home of the villagers for a small fee.
Eventually, Rei somehow managed to get his way, convincing Vihera to sleep inside his magic tent on her own.
「Seriously, such a beautiful woman is offering to sleep with you……who knows, maybe I’ll regret it later? Well, with Rei, I’ll make any regrets disappear in an instant.」
Vihera was disappointed but still smiled.
As for Rhodes, who was still unconscious, Rei had paid some of the people traveling with him to take care of him on the journey back.
Of course, he wasn’t paying out of his own pocket, he planned to get his money back once he met with Elk again.
In addition, taking care of Rhodes mostly consisted of making sure he didn’t roll off his specially prepared bed from the swaying of the carriages, wiping him down, and taking care of his personal needs. For those traveling to Gilm with Rei, it was a competitive opportunity to make some extra money.
(Well, if Rhodes were to find out he was being looked after like this, he’d probably be pretty shocked……but that would be his fault for not waking up.)
While it was a pretty serious issue for a man of Rhodes’ age, the fact that someone needed to take care of him like this, Rei was pretty nonchalant about it as he made his way through the village.
『Hmm, so it seems your first day of travel went smoothly.』
That night, Rei was using the Paired Orbs to talk with Elena inside his magic tent.
「Yeah, things are going according to plan for now……well, if things don’t go according to plan on the first day, who knows what will happen in future.」
『Fufu, that’s true. But you should still be careful. I probably don’t need to tell you this Rei, but sudden accidents can happen at any time. Especially when you’re traveling in a group.』
Rei nodded in response to Elena’s words.
「I guess so. Even though everything has mostly gone according to plan, they are still a bit scared of Set and all that. Well, they seemed to be okay during lunch, so they should be better by tomorrow.」
「Gururu~?」
Set popped his head through the entrance of the magic tent and gave a cry asking if someone had called for him.
『Kyukyu~?』
Perhaps in response to Set’s voice, Yellow’s voice was heard from the other side of Paired Orbs, eyes darting around as they searched for Set.
Elena reached out to stroke Yellow’s black scales as she spoke.
『So, what happened with Vihera?』
「Uhh……she’s staying at the inn in her own room tonight. I was going to let her stay here, but, well……」
Rei hesitated, finding it difficult to give the right answer, as Elena nodded in understanding.
『I see, I get it.』
Elena understood Vihera’s personality.
She was honest and passionate about her feelings.
From Elena’s perspective, it was almost a given that Vihera would have that kind of relationship with Rei.
However, the thought of Vihera getting ahead in her relationship with Rei before she did was not very appealing.
As Rei saw Elena’s complex expression, he suddenly remembered the metal card he had received from Tragist.
The card with ‘Friend of the Empire’ engraved on it.
(It’s probably quite a ridiculous item……should I tell Elena about it? Well, it’s not like I was told to hide it……)
Reaching that conclusion, Rei took out the metal card from the Misty Ring.
「Elena, I received this while I was over there.」
『Eh? ……Is that some kind of card?』
Looking at the metal card in Rei’s hand, Elena tilted her head on the other side of the Paired Orb.
Rei explained how he had received the card from Tragist after being momentarily distracted by the sway of Elena’s golden hair.
『……I see. I understand that you couldn’t refuse, but it was still a bit reckless of you. Still, it’s better than becoming a noble of the Bestir Empire I guess.』
Elena frowned slightly as she muttered out loud, groaning at the thought of how troublesome this was going to be.
(If this were to become known, it wouldn’t be surprising for it to cause a commotion. We need to do as much groundwork as possible before then I guess.)
Elena spoke up again, impressed by Rei’s audacity in the series of events that had led up to this.
『When you report back to Daska-sama in Gilm, you should also mention the matter of the metal card. Make sure no one else sees it though. I’ll contact father about it tomorrow.』
Elena’s words made Rei wonder if it was going to be troublesome after all……he couldn’t help but look up at the ceiling of the magic tent.
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