Legend

The wheat harvest had started and about 10% of the wheat had already been harvested.

It was lunch time, after the morning work period. Rei was eating his lunch on the grassland near the village along with Set, Vihera, and Theorem.

Rei and the others were guests……but they were now being treated like residents of Goto.

One of the reasons that Rei was accepted in the village was because he had killed the giant boar, protecting the village, and then given the meat to the villagers. He and Set had also taken care of Apika.

As far as food was concerned, he could have asked the village to prepare meals for him now without him needing to eat his own food. But, he still preferred to eat the food he had in the Misty Ring or the monsters and animals Set hunted.

He didn’t have anything against the village in particular, he just thought his own food was tastier.

Likewise, Vihera and Theorem at the same food as Rei.

More recently, it wasn’t uncommon for Rei to treat Ruchard to dinner as well.

「It’s already lunch time, but the weather feels a bit off today.」

Vihera looked up into the sky while eating a ham and cheese sandwich.

It wasn’t raining, but the sky was so cloudy that the blue sky could not be seen at all.

Vihera muttered regretfully at the cloud covered sky.

「That’s right. But for me, the warmth is a lot more bearable, so it’s easier to be physically active.」

Theorem muttered while drinking the cold tea that Rei passed to him.

He had spent the morning actively working his body, in preparation for his forthcoming battle against Elk.

Since yesterday, Rei had been killing time doing things like mock battles with Theorem, although not to the extent of hurting each other.

「……Isn’t that nice, you two seemed to be having fun.」

Just watching them fight seemed to have caused Vihera to accumulate some stress. She muttered to herself in a sulking tone.

Seeing Vihera like that, Theorem let out a small sigh as he spoke.

「If Vihera-sama doesn’t stay in perfect condition as much as possible, we’ll be in trouble. Besides, Vihera-sama’s fighting style is basically the same as real combat.」

「……Well, that’s true.」

Replying in dissatisfaction, she reached out for a stewed meat sandwich.

However, at that moment.

「Guru~」

Set’s cry echoed out into the surroundings.

It wasn’t his pampered cry when he wanted food.

Realising that, both Rei and Vihera glanced over in the direction Set was looking at.

There, they saw three horse drawn carriages moving along the road leading towards the village with knights on horses alongside, seemingly serving as an escort.

Including the people who would likely be inside the carriage, there were about 20 people all together.

Among the knights, Rei saw several familiar faces and he immediately knew who they were.

「They’ve finally arrived.」

Vihera spoke up from beside Rei as she looked at the carriages.

Like Rei, it seemed like she understood who the group of people were.

「Yeah. They’re earlier than I expected.」

「That’s because there aren’t too many of them, right?」

As Vihera had said, the number of people in the group was quite small considering it was Margrave Rowlocks, the leader of the Neutral faction, one of the Mireana Kingdom’s three major factions, who was going to a neighbouring hostile country.

If he had been from the Royalist or Aristocratic factions, he would have been leading a group of over 100 people, not including the escort.

The most likely reason for the small number of guards was probably due to his confidence in the A rank party, Axe of the Thunder God, as well as his own knights. As for his small retinue, as a noble who lived on the frontier, he had acquired a sturdy constitution and was able to handle most things on his own.

Rei and Set would also be joining as his escorts in Goto. Crimson and Axe of the Thunder God. With two titled adventurers who both had outstanding combat power escorting him, Daska could be considered to have a much better escort than what pure numbers could have given him.

The group was still far away and small to the eye, but the villagers who were harvesting wheat eventually saw them and Rei could hear their commotion from this distance.

Daska’s group seemed to have realised that as well. A knight on horseback rode out ahead as a messenger.

「That’s……」

Rei murmured softly.

It was because he recognised the knight approaching them.

The knight seemed to have recognised Rei as well. Or rather, considering Set’s presence, it would have been harder for the knight to mistake who Rei was.

「Rei, Set……and……」

For a knight in his twenties, Vihera’s thin clothes seemed to have been too stimulating for him.

He was distracted by Vihera’s beauty for a moment and almost lost his balance on his horse.

「So……anyway, why are you here Rei?」

「I was supposed to meet up with you guys here. Rather than that, don’t you have to head to the village ahead of the carriages? I believe Daska-sama will explain things later, so it would be better to complete your own task for now.」

「That’s true. Then, we’ll discuss the details later, the lady over there as well.」

「Yes, see you later.」

After briefly speaking with Rei, the knight turned to Vihera as he spoke with blushed cheeks.

Vihera responded with a charming smile.

People with a certain level of skill would have been able to see the sharp fangs behind her smile. But it seemed the knight had been too distracted by Vihera’s beauty to notice.

In the end, he rode off towards the village with his cheeks still dyed red.

Seeing him leave, Rei glanced over towards Vihera next to him.

「Keep it in moderation.」

「Ara~, what is this? I just said hello. Or what, are you jealous? I’d be flattered if you were.」

「……That’s enough.」

In response to Vihera’s answer, Rei shook his head.

「He’s come……」

Theorem muttered bitterly as his gaze was directed at the three carriages slowly approaching Goto.

He said that, expecting Elk and the others members of Axe of the Thunder God to be on board one of the carriages along with Daska, Margrave Rowlocks, who they were escorting.

In other words, the time for the fight between Theorem and Elk was approaching.

「What. It’s not such a bad deal since you fight a strong opponent, right? As for me, I would have liked to replace you. A fight with someone holding the title ‘Axe of the Thunder God’, where I can’t let my guard down even for a moment……I can only say I envy you.」

「……You’re right, if possible, I would have like Vihera-sama to replace me as well.」

Theorem was a general with a title of his own, Flash. Of course, he was confident in his own strength as well as his improvement in strength having sparred with Rei over the past few days.

But, even so……as someone who prioritised efficiency, he couldn’t find any meaning in fighting Elk here.

That said, if Elk, the person in question, knew Theorem’s thoughts, he would probably yell at him saying ‘Don’t joke around’.

As they continued to talk, the three carriages and their escort continued along the road, eventually stopping in front of Rei.

「Rei, did we make you wait long?」

The window of one of the carriages opened, revealing the face of the person Rei was going to be escorting, Margrave Daska Rowlocks.

Perhaps because the window was small, Rei couldn’t see any other people inside the carriage.

Though, from Theorem’s point of view, that seemed to be better.

「No, I’ve also been resting while waiting for you to arrive.」

「I see. ……Then, those two are?」

「Yes.」

Rei nodded at Daska’s words as he glanced at Vihera.

Vihera probably understood Rei’s prompt and took a step forward as she spoke with a smile.

「Nice you meet you, Margrave Rowlocks. I am Vihera Estee Bestir, the second princess of the Bestir Empire.」

The way Vihera gracefully bowed was elegant, despite the clothes she was wearing, giving off the aura of a member of the royal family.

No, rather, because of the clothes she was wearing, it left an extra strong impression on Daska’s mind.

After a moment of hesitation, Daska seemed to reach the conclusion that it would be disrespectful of him in his current situation to not respond appropriately to a member of a royal family, even if it was one from an enemy country. He hurriedly opened the carriage door as he got off.

「Nice to meet you, Your Highness Vihera. My name is Daska Rowlocks, Margrave Rowlocks of the Mireana Kingdom.」

Vihera and Daska. Knowing their usual appearances, Rei couldn’t help but look at their words and gestures with surprise.

However, the surroundings had a somewhat peaceful atmosphere for a moment, which completely changed when Theorem stepped up beside Vihera.

「Nice to meet you, Margrave Rowlocks. My name is Theorem Energi.」

The moment Theorem bowed his head while stating his name, a strong bloodlust erupted from the carriage.

The murderous intent seemed to carry a viscosity with it and Theorem twitched as he felt it, but he didn’t take any additional actions as he kept his head bowed.

He probably knew that if he made the wrong choice here, he would have to start fighting immediately……no, maybe even kill each other.

That was why Theorem didn’t show any movements even though Rei and Vihera were also affected by the murderous intent.

「Elk.」

As the atmosphere changed into one where a fight might break out at any moment, Daska’s voice echoed out.

The moment his voice echoed out, there was a sound of something being struck with something heavy from inside the carriage and the bloodlust disappeared.

(It must have been Min.)

Having vaguely guessed what had just happened inside the carriage, Rei could imagine Min, Elk’s wife, raising her cane.

Words from Daska, who he was escorting, or Min’s strike. Which was the one to dispel Elk’s bloodlust?

(It was definitely Min.)

Rei had the same thoughts in his mind again as he turned to look at Theorem.

Even though he had been directly blasted by the bloodlust, Theorem’s expression didn’t show any changes as he raised his head.

Even so, the thin layer of sweat on his forehead was evidence that even he couldn’t completely control his emotions.

An ordinary soldier of knight would have already fainted from the murderous intent alone, their hearts might even have stopped. In fact, the escorting knights around the carriage had all become stiff despite not being the target of Elk’s bloodlust. The same was true for the horses pulling the carriage as well as the carriage drivers.

In such a situation, Theorem had managed to not display as much of his agitation as possible.

Before long, a man appeared from inside the carriage.

He was carrying with him a weapon that gave him and his party their name, the powerful magic weapon Axe of the Thunder God. His face, which often looked like a grown up mischievous boy, was currently tinted with a ruthless expression.

His well built body was incomparably bigger than Rei’s and his fighting spirit was overflowing.

It was an achievement on Min’s part that only his fighting spirit could be felt now instead of the murderous intent from several seconds ago.

「……Are you Flash?」

His words were spoken in a flat tone, precisely because he was suppressing his emotions.

If Theorem failed to respond correctly here, the killing would begin immediately. The surroundings were filled with that sense of tension that seemed to force Theorem to make a decision.

Rei fended off the bloodlust that was also being sent in his direction while Set crouched down, ready to leap into action at any moment. Vihera trembled at the premonition of battle, despite not being the target.

At this point in time, Daska spoke up again.

「Elk, leave it alone for now. I remember the agreement we made. But that is only after I’ve done all the things I need to do.」

Elk reluctantly nodded at those words and, finally, gave a ferocious glare towards Theorem before returning to the carriage.

With a bitter sigh, Daska spoke to Rei, Vihera, and Theorem.

「……There are many things to discuss, but let’s get to the village first.」

Saying that, he nodded at the three of them before returning to the carriage to proceed to the village.

The escorting knights and their horses, who had stiffened up due to Elk’s bloodlust, started to move somewhat awkwardly, though they should receive praise as Daska’s subordinates for being able to start moving again as soon as they could.