CH 533

As the room was filled with an awkward silence, Elena spoke up to change the topic.

「So, how exactly do you plan to rescue His Highness Mercurio?」

Elena tried to move the discussion forward, but was unable to hide her blushing cheeks.

However, although she tried to push the topic forward, Theorem stopped her.

「Elena-dono, putting aside your status as an adventurer with a title, similar to Rei, you are still the daughter of Duke Kerebel.」

In a sense, this was a natural point to bring up.

Theorem had requested Rei’s cooperation because he was an adventurer.

Naturally, he could request Elena, a noble of the Mireana Kingdom, to go to the Bestir Empire.

However, Elena shook her head slightly and as she rejected Theorem’s point.

「I will not be able to accompany you to the Bestir Empire. That is true. But, there are other things I can do because I cannot accompany you.」

Saying that much, she looked back at Theorem.

「Besides, you need insurance in case something goes wrong, right?」

『-!?』

「Insurance?」

Vihera and Theorem both sucked in their breath when they heard the word ‘insurance’.

However, Rei didn’t seem to understand what it meant as he asked in confusion.

「That’s right. It’s a situation I don’t want to even think about, but what if the rescue of His Highness Mercurio fails? Or, even if we succeeded, what if we made a mistake in our actions after? Naturally, there’s a high chance that Prince Mercurio and others will not be able to stay in the Bestir Empire.」

「……Well, I guess so.」

Forcibly rescuing an imprisoned member of royalty. If they made even the slightest mistakes after, it would be fatal for them.

「In that situation, you need a place to evacuate to, right?」

「That……you mean Duke Kerebel will take care of it?」

「I can’t guarantee whether I can do it or not. However, if I appeal to father, there is a good chance it will succeed. After all, the Mireana Kingdom will be glad that the Bestir Empire will be thrown into confusion.」

Privately, Elena wanted to help Vihera, her friend and rival over Rei, although she would never admit it. Publicly, she would be working together with them as a noble of the Mireana Kingdom to reduce the Bestir Empire’s national power.

Both in public and in private, the situation was by no means a bad one.

Because of that, she decided to cooperate with them.

「However, all this is contingent on father. If father says no, I won’t be able to do anything.」

That said, Elena judged it unlikely that her father, in the position of Duke Kerebel, would overlook this incident.

It was a good thing for their long time enemy, the Bestir Empire, to be in turmoil. Even better, this event might allow them to create an internal connection.

(On the other hand, there is no doubt we’ll have to take some measures to ensure a connection is established. We will also have to be in close contact with Daska-dono from the Neutral Faction.)

The Neutral Faction would play a major role in this situation.

Or, to be more precise, Rei, who was regarded as Daska’s ‘sword’, would play a major role.

As a result, the Neutral Facction would naturally gain the most benefits from this matter, followed by the Aristocratic Faction that Elena belonged to.

The only ones who didn’t stand to gain anything were the Royalist Faction, who didn’t have any involvement.

That said, in terms of current power, the Royalist Faction still overwhelmed the Aristocratic and Neutral Factions.

The Neutrals had made a name for themselves in the Spring War, but even so, it was only a single war.

Thinking that far, Elena shook her head slightly, telling herself that now wasn’t the time to consider such matters, before speaking up again.

「So, do you mind if you tell me while I’m here?」

「……Vihera-sama.」

Seeing Theorem look at her to silently ask, Vihera nodded to indicate it wasn’t a problem.

「You don’t have to worry about Elena. No matter what happens, she won’t sell us out.」

After receiving permission from Vihera, Theorem hesitated for a few more seconds before deciding there was nothing he could do as he began to explain.

「As I said earlier, I would like Rei to perform the role that Vihera-sama was originally supposed to do. Specifically, I want you to participate as Crimson in a fighting tournament that will be held in autumn, about two months from now.」

「A fighting tournament?」

Rei asked questioningly.

He had expected to be told that he would lead the attack against the location where Mercurio had been imprisoned. But instead, Theorem had asked him to participate in a combat tournament.

「Yes. Once a year, in the Imperial Capital of the Bestir Empire, a large scale fighting tournament will be held. Participants and guests from all over the Empire and abroad to take part. Naturally, most of the Capital’s residents will be focused on the tournament and the soldiers will be forced to concentrate their attention on guarding and protecting the area. Especially when it comes to the finals, the Emperor and most other important figures in the Bestir Empire will be there.」

Having heard that much, Rei now understood how Theorem planned to rescue Mercurio.

「I see, so when they’ve all gone to watch the finals, you’ll invade the castle, which will have their guards reduced, to rescue His Highness Mercurio.」

「That is correct.」

Theorem agreed with Rei’s words as Elena, who had been listening in, asked another question.

「So, Rei’s role is just to win the tournament?」

「Yes, that’s all. However, since the used of tamed monsters is not allowed, you will be fighting without your Griffon……will that be a problem?」

「……Tamed monsters are no good?」

「Yeah. In the past, there were fatalities caused by a tamed monster’s rampage, including spectators. As a result, tamed and summoned monsters were both banned from the tournament. Part of the reason is also that the tournament is just meant to be a fight between people and because betting is also involved.」

I see, Rei said as he nodded.

It was definitely true that for those who had come to watch people fight each other, seeing monsters fight probably didn’t suit their tastes.

「That doesn’t mean that I can’t bring a tamed monster around the city though, right?」

「That’s fine. There are tamers and summoners in the Empire as well.」

「Then there’s no problem.」

To be honest, Rei had various dissatisfactions about not being able to team up with Set to fight.

However, even if he voiced his complaints, there was no real point making a fuss about it.

「In Rei’s case, it’s not like he’s weak without Set, so he’ll be fine.」

Vihera murmured confidently.

As someone who had fought Rei in earnest the day before and lost without being able to inflict any major injuries, she had no hesitation in saying that.

「Then the matter is mostly settled. Rei, it would be best if you could immediately return to Gilm to get permission from Daska-dono for this. I’ll write him a letter, that you can take with you, to let him know what’s going on.」

「Can’t we just use the paired orbs?」

Rather than telling him in a letter, would it be better to explain the situation in person with an orb? Hearing Rei’s words, Elena had a surprised expression.

「That’s right……」

To Elena, the paired orbs were a magic item meant for long distance communication with Rei.

She had entered the dungeon for that reason and her thoughts had been locked into that direction.

「……I envy you.」

Vihera whispered as she watched Rei and Elena.

Theorem had a surprised look on his face for a moment.

From his point of view, Vihera was someone who sought strength and was only motivated to fight stronger opponents.

He had heard her say that she liked Rei, but it was only now that Theorem really realised it.

「At best, Margrave Rowlocks is just your boss. Be careful not to let him take away your paired orb. That said, I would like the interruption it would provide.」

Vihera said it with a mischievous smile on her face, but her words carried deep weight.

In fact, the ability to talk at long distances was a very strong advantage in this world.

Even among the nobles, very few possessed such a magic item.

Paired orbs were less rare than the ones guild masters had access to, which could connect multiple people at once, but they were still not easy to obtain.

Of course, as nobles, it would be a waste to let the guild monopolise such convenient magic items, so there was a noble forcefully took them away.

However, this turned the noble into an opponent of the Adventurer’s Guild, which took measure to withdraw the guild entirely from the noble’s territory, leaving monster subjugation, bandit subjugation, and delivery requests unhandled. Eventually a large amount of compensation had to be paid back to the guild.

The total amount of compensation was said to have reached 80% of the noble’s assets and the stolen orb was also returned.

However, Elena nodded as if she wasn’t worried about the situation at all.

「Daska-dono is not the kind of person to do something so tyrannical. ……The first thing to keep in mind is that the two of them are in the same boat. The is no way that Daska-dono, who knows of Rei’s abilities as an adventurer, would do such a thing. If he did try to go against Rei, he would be forced to face what you saw in the Spring War.」

「……That’s true, having seen that scene from afar, I don’t think I would want to fight someone like that.」

Deftly giving a sigh while showing a wry smile at the same time, Theorem agreed with Elena from the bottom of his heart.

It was safe to say that the outcome fo the war had already been decided by Rei’s fire whirl.

In terms of combat strength alone, they could still manage, but there was no way they could maintain the morale of the soldiers who were shown the spectacle that could only be thought of as a natural disaster…….and, falling into confusion, there was nothing the vanguard could do when they were attacked.

「Heh, I’ve only heard about it……was it that amazing? If possible, I would have wanted to see it on the battlefield as well……but I was already in Exil at the time.」

If she were to participate in the war at that time, it would have been as an adventurer from Exil. Naturally, she would have also been on the Mireana Kingdom’s side.

Regardless of her circumstances, there was no way she could fight against the country she had been born and raised in and, in the end, she did not participate in the war.

Another reason was probably that she couldn’t leave Byune alone.

That said, if Vihera had really participated in the on the side of the Mireana Kingdom, it was undeniable that some of the commaders on the Bestir Empire’s side would probably have been confused by the familiar face, potentially ending the war even earlier.

「I, at the very least, do not wish to see it up close. In fact, many of those who survived the war and returned to the Empire have had nightmares about it and were unable to sleep well. ……If he’s capable of doing that though, I would be more than happy to work together with him.」

「……About the matter.」

Rei suddenly interrupted Vihera and Theorem’s conversation.

He spoke up when the two of them looked at him.

「Since I’m accepting this request as an adventurer, I can expect a suitable reward, right?」

「Well, you certainly need to be paid if we’re hiring you as an adventurer. ……Hey, if it’s a reward, there’s nothing better than that, right?」

「Denied.」

Elena rejected Vihera before she could say anything more.

From her tone, it was easy to guess what kind of reward Vihera had been thinking of.

「Wait, come on. Why not just a little bit.」

「Unfortuantely, I have no intention of giving in.」

Theorem glanced away from the two, who were keeping each other in check, and asked Rei while trying not to worry too much about them.

「So, what exactly do you want as a reward? I would really like your cooperation, so I’ll do my best to accommodate.」

「……Well, regarding the request, in order to rescue His Highness Mercurio, I just need to participate in the fighting tournament in autumn, right?」

Theorem nodded silently at Rei’s question.

Seeing that, Rei thought for a few seconds before replying.

「Then, give me a magic item. An item that you think is suitable for hiring me to rescue His Highness Mercurio. It doesn’t have to be anything in particular.」

It seemed Theorem hadn’t expected this response as his eyes widened slightly before a difficult expression appeared on his face.

After all, it was a magic item suitable as payment for the rescue of his lord. If he handed over something cheap, it would mean that Mercurio was only worth that much in Theorem’s eyes.

If the offer had been made to a shameless noble, they might even try to get away with giving over a single potion.

However, Theorem had a lot of pride and could not do such a thing.

「……I understand. I’ll keep an eye out for something.」

In the end, he had no choice but to say that.