It had been 10 days since Dietz had joined the group and they had left Elton Village.

Rei’s group was making good progress on the road.

Fortunately, Dietz was by himself, so there weren’t any particular issues after he joined.

That was to be expected, considering he and the others had served together in the guerrilla unit during the civil war.

Of course, that wasn’t to say their journey was uneventful.

Dietz grew close to the sister of a former guerrilla unit member, which led to some sparring between them and Dietz, they were attacked by some Goblins who were unaware of Set’s presence, they met with several other former guerrilla unit members at a village along the way, and they defeated some bandits who attacked them and raided their hideout instead. There were also a few other minor incidents, but nothing major had happened by the time Rei’s group made it to the Selemus Plains.

「We’re back.」

Rei muttered thoughtfully as he looked out towards the Selemus Plains.

For Rei, he hadn’t really spent that much time in the Bestir Empire.

However, it had been a rather intense time with the fighting tournament, attacks from assassins, and participating in the civil war. It felt like so much time had passed since he had first arrived.

(Fulfilling……is not quite how I’d describe it, but things still turned out well. I guess most of the problems I came here for were also resolved.)

The fighting tournament had ended safely, making it to second place himself, and Mercurio had also won the civil war.

But, what relieved Rei the most was, of course, the underground organisation that had been targeting him……Requiem’s Toll.

Requiem’s Toll had targeted Rei countless times, using both Mulla and Sistoi.

However, Rei had managed to capture the two of them eventually and handed them over to Theorem.

With the information he was able to extract from the two of them, Theorem had quickly issued orders.

Several bases belonging to Requiem’s Toll had been raided as a result, leading to the successful capture of a number of people.

However, eliminating such a well known organisation as Requiem’s Toll, which conducted many hidden tasks within the Bestir Empire, would lead to chaos not only in the Imperial Capital but throughout the empire as well……it was also in the interests of the higher ups within Requiem’s Toll to preserve their organisation. On Theorem’s side, he wanted an intelligence organisation that could serve as his hands and feet, so their goals aligned on that matter and Requiem’s Toll ultimately came under Mercurio’s command.

Vihera had received a report about that from the Imperial Capital before telling Rei. Rei’s eyes had gone wide in shock at the time, causing everyone else to wonder what had happened.

「That’s right. At our current speed, you should be able to reach Gilm before the first snow fall.」

Vihera muttered as she looked over at the people who had joined the group after they had left the Imperial Capital.

Vihera would only be able to stay with Rei until the entered the Mireana Kingdom after all. In other words, after they crossed the Selemus Plains.

To be exact, they would have to cross the Selemus Plains, enter the Mireana Kingdom, and then get to the fork in the road that led to Exil and Gilm. But, regardless, they would reach that point soon after crossing the Selemus Plains.

(And that would mean saying goodbye to Rei for now……wouldn’t it?)

Vihera felt sad as she thought about it, but she was naturally planning on heading to Gilm after finishing her business in Exil.

(Compared to Elena, who is tied down to her Duke’s family, I have an overwhelming advantage in terms of where I can go, having run away. So, I’ll have to take full advantage of that.)

Thinking positively, Vihera smiled at Rei, who looked back at her suspiciously as she spoke.

「What’s wrong?」

「No, you just seem to be thinking of something.」

「Fufu~, it’s nothing. I was just feeling a little lonely thinking about having to part with you after we enter the Mireana Kingdom.」

「That is……」

Rei wasn’t quite sure how to respond to Vihera’s seductive expression.

For the two of them, their exchange of words was very much unfamiliar territory, but to everyone else watching, they could only see it as a sweet moment between lovers.

「Rei-san, let’s head into the Selemus Plains. We’ll end up having to spend the night there, so I want to get as far in as we can before then.」

Sergio’s words made Rei realise that there was no point in continuing the conversation with Vihera as turned around.

Behind him, a group of carriages were parked together, with former guerrilla unit members, their families, lovers, and friends all gazing curiously towards the Selemus Plains.

It wasn’t just the people either, but the horses as well, who seem to have gotten used to Set’s presence.

That was right. The horses had been scared of Set when they first left the Imperial Capital, but they had settled down greatly after all this time.

Of course, a few horses were still nervous around Set, so the ones who were handling it better were switched to pulling the carriages at the front.

This buffer between the horses that were still not quite used to Set allowed Set to move together with the group.

Rei called out towards the carriages.

「We’re about to enter the Selemus Plains. As many of you probably know, we won’t need to worry about bandits there. However, there will be undead roaming around, so we’ll need to keep an eye out for them. The undead are particularly active at night, so remember to stay vigilant.」

Everyone’s expressions tightened at Rei’s words.

In fact, aside from Rei and Vihera, only a few people present had ever been to the Selemus Plains.

Most of them……including the former guerrilla unit members……hadn’t participated in the Spring War.

Some had been skilled enough to avoid participating due to their instincts while other had been unavailable due to requests they were doing.

The few who had been here before were all former soldiers.

「Also, while there shouldn’t be that many undead, they do still move around during the day, to please be very careful. Don’t do anything reckless. Also, we won’t be stopping for lunch like we’ve been doing so far. I will hand out sandwiches to each of you before we head in, so eat those instead.」

With those words, Rei handed baskets of sandwiches to each carriage.

Considering the dangers of the Selemus Plains, these sandwiches had been bought at a restaurant in the last village they stopped at.

Of course, Rei hadn’t paid for them, Sergio had collected fees from each carriage to buy the sandwiches.

「So, does anyone have any questions?」

At Rei’s words, a former guerrilla unit member raised his hand.

「What are our plans for night watch?」

「I had been planning to leave it entirely to Set, but with so many people, we can’t really do that.」

His words caused murmurs to break out among the group.

Of course, they hadn’t spent every night before reaching the Selemus Plains in a village.

They had camped out in tents for several nights, but each time the night watch had been left to Set.

The main reason was that they weren’t in a particularly remote area where they could be attacked by powerful monsters.

But Rei had just said that Set alone might not be sufficient enough. Implying that the level of danger would be much greater than before.

「What’s the plan then?」

「Yes, you all and I will be keeping watch as well.」

「……So, will you two be the only ones keeping watch? Or……」

The man hesitated as he looked over at the people that had come with him.

He was basically asking if any of them would also be keeping watch as well, but Rei shook his head.

「I hate to say it, but having amateurs keep watch is dangerous. Only those with the right skills should do it. ……I would like former adventurers and soldiers to cooperate on that point.」

Several people attempted to speak out at Rei’s words.

「However, I won’t force anyone on this matter. If you think you can do it, please come and talk with me later.」

Forcing someone unwilling to keep night watch……especially in a location where undead would appear, would only result in unnecessary casualties.

That was why Rei had said that.

「Well then, let’s get going. Once we’re through here, we’ll be in the Mireana Kingdom, there will be a village nearby called Goto. Since we’re not carrying any heavy luggage on our persons, we shouldn’t take too long to cross the Selemus Plains. But, we must remain vigilant.」

Everyone boarded their carriages as Rei got on Set.

As Rei and Set started moving, Vihera came over on her horse.

「Undead aren’t much fun for me since I mostly rely on melee attacks. Using Magic Palm won’t have much of an effect on them either. And, above all, I really don’t want to touch Skeletons, let alone Zombies and Ghouls.」

「……That’s fair.」

Rei didn’t want to fight rotting corpses either.

Of course, he had plenty of long range attacks he could use and he no longer needed to hide Set’s skills.

Taking all that into account, he was confident in handling any Zombies or the like from range.

「Even so, it was still autumn the last time I came through here. The seasons have gone by quickly.」

「No, it’s technically still autumn right now…….that just means you’ve had a rather fulfilling time in the Bestir Empire. Well, not fulfilling in a good way though, that’s for sure.」

「Haha, you’re right. It’s been one battle after another. Considering that, I guess you could say it hasn’t been fulfilling in a good way.」

Rei looked back as he spoke.

Seeing that everyone had boarded their carriages, he shouted out loudly.

「We’re setting off!」

『UOOOOOOOH』

Perhaps recalling their civil war days, the former guerrilla unit members all shouted back.

As there weren’t that many of them present though, it wasn’t quite as impressive.

Everyone else just looked at them with surprised expressions.

 

 

「Gurururu~!」

Hearing Set’s cry, Rei turned to his right.

It had been a few hours since they entered the Selemus Plains. The sun was already more than halfway below the horizon.

And, as night fell, the undead naturally grew more active.

「Three Skeletons on the right! Skeletons are slow, so we can easily shake them off. Keep pulling away!」

The men driving the carriages immediately reacted after hearing Rei’s words.

But, it didn’t end there.

Several Zombies, swaying as they walked, came into Rei’s eyes.

「Tch, Zombies ahead! I’ll take care of them, so keep going forward!」

Rei took the Death Scythe out from the Misty Ring and began an incantation after shouting.

『Flames, your power is mine. Burn according to my will, consuming our enemies. Spread your flames into an inferno. Use my magic power to fuel your flames.』

As Rei cast his magic, ten fireballs appeared around the Death Scythe……

『Ten Fireballs.』

As the magic was activated, the ten fireballs flew forwards.

Perhaps noticing the fireballs flying towards them, or perhaps out of sheer coincidence, some of the Zombies changed directions. But, the fireballs, which had a certain level of targeting, continued to fly straight towards them.

And, the moment the fireballs hit the Zombies……a fiery flame appeared, burning them so thoroughly that even their bones were turned to ashes in an instant.

As the group, led by Set, charged forward, the charred bodies collapsed as they collided with the carriages.

The group of Zombies was eliminated entirely, leaving only their ashes behind.

Their ashes too were soon scattered across the Selemus Plains by the winter wind.

As for the Skeletons, seeing that the carriages had already left their range of detection, they ceased their pursuit and went back to wandering around the Selemus Plains.

Their bones rattled as they carried around their rusted swords and broken spears, revealing the true nature of the undead.

Skeletons weren’t the only ones seeking the living either.

Something clad in armour also appeared along with the sound of creaking metal.

At first glance they might look like knights in armour, but these metal armours were also a type of undead.

Living Armour, where a person’s grudge possessed a suit of armour.

This undead, which were higher ranked than Skeletons and Zombies, slowly……but surely, started moving in the direction that Rei’s group had gone.

Seeking the warm light of life that they lacked.

Ghosts floated around them as if following the Living Armour.

Several Skeletons that had been wandering around also started to follow the Living Armour in their pursuit of Rei.

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