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Chapter 261

「Rei, wake up. We can almost see Abuero.」

「Mm? Hmm……ahh……」

Being called, Rei’s consciousness quickly awakened.

When he looked around with open eyes, the first thing he was was a carriage.

「……Ah, I see.」

Looking around with half open eyes, Rei nodded after realising where he was.

The moving scenery from a window in the carriage told Rei that the carriage he was currently on was moving.

(In the end, I fell asleep after we left.)

Rei thought to himself as he gave a big stretch.

After that, finally clearing his mind, he remembered why he had been sleeping in a carriage.

Yesterday night, he had served meals for 5,000 from the Misty Ring. He had also taken out tents for the same number of people. After that, he had the difficult task of collecting all the pots and pans that had contained food.

The huge pots that had held the food were all washed in cooperation by those who could use water magic, so that hadn’t been an issue. However, it was still pots for 5,000 people. It was a matter of fact that it would take time to store everything back into the Misty Ring.

Fortunately, it was routine for the soldiers to manage their own cookware. If not, Rei would have been even more fatigued.

In addition to food, tents for sleeping in at night were folded into small bags, which were then put into a larger bag. Those bags were then put into even larger bags……that way, Rei only had to store 10 of the largest bags.

Aside from physical fatigue, Rei also spent a large amount of time conversing with people he wasn’t familiar with as he provided supplies. He was able to sleep well and reduce his physical tiredness partially due to the mental fatigue he wasn’t used to……until he was woken up by the soldiers on duty to prepare breakfast.

Of course, if you thought about it, the people who needed to prepare breakfast would have to get up earlier than everyone else.

With all the fatigue from the previous night, he was woken up to prepare breakfast just as he thought that everything was over.

As expected, Rei was exhausted, so Daska told him to take a rest in the carriage.

However, only Rei was resting in the carriage. Set, who was usually always with Rei, stayed with the scouting group from yesterday due to his sharper senses.

If there had been adventurers from another city, they might have been confused to see Set. However, because most adventurers here were from Gilm, they were already used to Set and continued down the road within Rowlocks territory without any particular commotion.

No, in fact, for other adventurers who had been interested in Set for a long time, it was an opportunity to get friendly with him. They were able to give things like dried meat and nuts to Set for the first time.

「Rei? What’s the matter?」

「No, it’s nothing. Have we arrived at Abuero?」

「Ah. That said, we’re not stopping at the city and will be leaving immediately.」

Runo said to Rei as he turned ahead to look at Abuero, which could now be seen at the end of the road.

Yes, Runo, who would normally have been scouting at the front of the Rowlocks army. As for scouting, it was left to other people who were good at reconnaissance as well as Set, Runo was guarding Rei as necessary while he slept……to be exact, he was riding in the coach by Daska’s orders, who knew about Rei’s high mental fatigue.

This was, of course, because Runo knew Rei. It was also because the Bestir Empire could try to take some actions while Rei was asleep. In addition to that, it was a means to prepare against any people among the Rowlocks army who might have been blinded by Rei’s magic item and try to do something.

To ensure that, not only were Runo and Rei in the carriage, there were also two knights watching each other.

「……Mm? There’s an army in front of Abuero.」

Rei muttered as he looked outside the window.

Rei’s eyes could clearly see the group of people gathering at the front of Abuero. It was clear that most of them were residents of Abuero who had come to see the Rowlocks army and many were also equipped with armour and weapons. Yes, just like the Rowlocks army.

Rei’s thoughts were proved to be correct when the knight across from him nodded.

「The city of Abuero is also part of the neutral faction, like Daska-sama. We will be moving ahead together.」

「Heh, was Abuero also part of the Neutral faction? So what about Sabrusta?」

「The city of Sabrusta is with the Nobles. However, since they informed us in advance that they would like to travel together, we will likely be moving to the battlefield together.」

「……Are there no issues if different factions work together?」

Rei asked as he took some cold fruit juice, that he had bought last summer, from the Misty Ring to wake himself up.

The knight gave a small nod as his eyes widened at the fruit juice that had appeared from nowhere.

「To Daska-sama, it seems silly to wear out our forces with faction wars while we head to war with the Bestir Empire, like with those dispatched from Sabrusta. If anything, working together with the Rowlocks army, one of the Mireana Kingdom’s most powerful forces in terms of quality, gives peace of mind to the soldiers. ……Ah, I’m sorry for the trouble.」

While listening to the story, Rei took out three more cups of the fruit juice he was drinking and handed it over to Runo and the two knights.

「However, up until Abuero is the frontier, so there is a chance of being attacked by monsters……from there on, monsters won’t show up like in Gilm, even at night. 」

「That’s true. However, after leaving the frontier, bandits will appear instead of monsters. Of course, it is unlikely that bandits will act recklessly against the army, but some are bloodthirsty mad dogs who enjoy murder. I don’t know what they are thinking. Perhaps they just want to cause mutal destruction. If you’re dealing with those people, it’s better to travel together than by ourselves. Duke Kerebel, one of the major figures in the Nobles faction, is noted to employ people based on meritocracy, even commoners if they are useful. ……But, the deputy lord of Sabrusta doesn’t hold a good reputation.」

Runo, who was listening to the knight’s words, suddenly leaned forward with a strange expression.

「Even though he’s a major figure in the Nobles faction, he will employ people if they are useful? Even commoners? Wouldn’t the other nobles disagree? Nobles are literally people who take pride in their nobility.」

「Even those fools who have no brain and only their family can’t fight against Duke Kerebel. That is the scary part of Duke Kerebel. It’s also why Daska-sama is wary of him. 」

「……If that’s true, then Duke Kerebel is amazing.」

Next to Runo, who nodded at the knight’s story, Rei was absorbed in his own thoughts.

(Perhaps the bandits that enjoyed murder were the ones who passed by us during the escort request. There might be bandits similar to them, but……I don’t think there are a lot of them……no, wait. Bandits. Yes, bandits. After passing Abuero, we should be within the activity range of the Prairie Wolves. In that case, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get in contact with Egg……? If I can get in contact with him, I think I will be able to call in the old favour. Since it’s war, espionage is important and I can expect those skills from a strong group of bandits. At worst, they can still fight.)

Deciding what to do, Rei turned to one of the knights before speaking.

「I’m sorry, but I would like to talk to Margrave Rowlocks. Can you tell him that I might be able to pull in some unexpected reinforcements.」

「Mm? What’s this all of a sudden. Of course, I know that you’re an important figure in this war, so it’s not impossible. But it’s not possible right now. Take a look.」

Rei turned to look towards the city of Abuero, where he saw Daska and a smiling knight in luxurious full plate armour.

「That’s Viscount Vipper, who will be leading the army out of Abuero.」

「……Is he the lord of Abuero?」

「No, I think he was either the deputy leader of the knights or the deputy lord.」

「Even though it’s the Neutral faction, there are some unexpectedly talented people.」

Rei muttered as he looked at the man called Viscount Vipper, who still maintained smooth movements despite wearing full plate mail.

(From his appearance, he looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties. If he is a deputy leader at that age, he probably has the ability to become the next knight leader.)

As Rei looked at him and thought, the army from Abuero eventually joined with them and continued down the highway.

Their movement speed had never been fast, but Rei felt that they were moving slower after the merge.

Because there had been no need to carry supplies, the speed of the Rowlocks army had been much faster than average……that said, this was the first time that Rei had worked with the Rowlocks army, so it felt much slower for him to travel with supply wagons.

(Well, at least it looks like there are no plans to increase my burden.)

Handling the Rowlocks army was already exhausting for Rei in many ways. It was impossible for him to take care of the Abuero army as well. If Daska requested it, he would probably decline.

It had been about 30 minutes since joining up with the Abuero army and heading down the road. One of the knights stood up after deciding it was the right time.

「I’ll contact Daska-sama first. You should be called up soon, so be prepared.」

「I understand. I’ll leave it to you.」

Nodding at Rei’s reply, the knight left.

After seeing the knight leave, Runo, called out to Rei with a strange expression,

The other knight also leaned forward at Rei’s unexpected request to see Daska.

「Hey, Rei. Why did you suddenly want to meet with Margrave Rowlocks?」

「I have some connections. Maybe we can give the Rowlocks army a small boost.」

「……A small boost?」

「Well, the details are a secret. I can’t say anything without permission from Margrave Rowlocks. ……Hm? That was quick, he’s back already.」

Even inside the carriage, Rei could hear the sound of metal rubbing against each other.

The knight was doubtful of Rei’s words, but soon after the door to the carriage opened and startled him.

Runo was not particularly surprised because he already understood that Rei wasn’t an ordinary human after looking at him with his magic eyes.

「Daska-sama will meet with you. Head to the carriage.」

「I understand. ……What about those two?」

「They are part of your escort, including me. We’ll go with you.」

「I see.」

As for Rei, he had no particular objections, so the four of them headed for Daska’s carriage.

「Good to see you. Is your body doing fine?」

「Yes. Fortunately, I was just mentally tired and not physically tired, so I was fine after a good night’s rest.」

Rei looked around the carriage after replying to Daska’s question.

The carriage Rei was in was comfortable in its own way, but it didn’t stop the vibrations of movement completely.

Daska looked at Rei’s expression with a smile.

「This carriage is a kind of magic item made from monster materials that can only be found on the frontier and processing them with alchemy.」

「……Ah, I see.」

Rei understood as Elena had said the same thing about her carriage on the way to the dungeon.

However, the grade of this carriage was significantly lower as Margrave Rowlocks didn’t have the same finances to spare as Duke Kerebel.

「So, what can I do for you? I heard that you might be able to pull in some unexpected reinforcements.」

As the leader of the Rowlocks army, he didn’t have a lot of time to spare. Orders to troops, coordination with the Abuero army, gathering information and more. There were many things to do.

Normally, he wouldn’t be able to spare the time to talk with Rei, who was only a hired adventurer. But he still allowed it, due to Rei’s item box and the presence of Set. Although Rei was only a hired adventurer, it could be said that his role of carrying half of the army’s supplies by himself already made him close to the core of this force.

After being given permission, Rei spoke to Daska with a thin smile.

「Daska-sama, do you know about the bandit group Prairie Wolves?」

At those words, Runo looked shocked while the two knights turned to look at Rei, who was trying to pull in bandits as their allies. Daska, who was the key person in this discussion, gave an interesting smile.