Ray and the merchants, who come to an agreement, immediately begin discussing what to do.
　The timid merchant who leads the business force...the merchant who calls himself Tradesh cuts out at Ray.

"And you said you were going to lure robbers... what would you do?"
"Well, first of all... Set,"
"Glu?"

　While discussing with Ray and Tradesh and other merchants, Seto quietly raises his head and turns to Ray, who calls his name.

"We need to lure the robbers, but if Seto is there, he won't touch them out of alarm. So once Seto is out of this business force and hides where they can't find him. and when the robbers come upon you, attack me from behind as if you were cutting off your retreat."
"Grull?"

　Knowing what Seto is saying, Ray nods softly.

"Well, as long as the opponent is a cavalryman, I think he can only escape sideways. But if we can confuse them, that's enough."

　Feeling satisfied with the remark, Seto puts his head down again and closes his eyes.

"And we'll wait here for a while,"
"Wait a minute. Why are you suddenly like that...
"I told you, didn't I? It's to lure in thieves. He pretended to have broken the carriage while he was on the run, and stopped by the side of the road to get the robbers in."
"... All right,"
"Tradea!"

　It was Tradesh who decided to accept Ray's proposal while other merchants were reluctant.

"Let's calm down, boys. In any event, even if he is not there, he is likely to be attacked again by the thieves. Then it would be better to do as he says, and to move away without fear of being attacked by the robbers."

　I don't think everyone was satisfied with the remark.
　In fact, some merchants look dissatisfied.
　But as long as it was decided by Tradesh, the leader of the merchant force, ... no further complaints were expressed, and the coach pulled over to the side of the road as Ray had instructed.
　Watching the situation, Ray heads under his lying set.

"Set, then, as I said, stay away from here and wait and see. and when the robbers come upon me..."
"Gruly!"

　I'm going to stand up from a lying down state, crying "Okay."
　I caress Seto's head, who is rubbing his face against him with a squeal, and he soon leaves me gently.
　Watching Sett fly away with wings fluttering in a few steps, Ray turns to a carriage parked by the side of the road.
　From the sidelines, the car body will appear to be fixing it by some sort of trouble.

(Now, I hope the band of thieves will send out a reconnaissance or something to find us.)

　Thinking that way, Ray enters the carriage just in case.
　If any of the bandits knew Ray's face, it would be meaningless to say that Seto had disappeared from the scene.
　Too much self-consciousness? That's what Ray thought, but it's true that he's attacked a number of bandits so far, and at the same time, the connection between the bandits is beyond ridicule.
　Or, of course, the survival of the band of thieves Ray destroyed was picked up by the other band of thieves...
　With that in mind, you'd better not do anything that shows up. That was the judgment.

"I'm hiding in this carriage, and pretend to be fixing it for a while." And don't say anything about me when someone asks you."
"All right. So I'll start working on it right away."
"... no, you really don't have to fix the cab?"
"It may not be necessary, but it is also true that the car body is becoming defective because we are working very hard this time. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to make modifications."

　Tradeshia tells Ray so and goes underneath the carriage.
　Despite being the head of a trading force, it is probably a good thing for Tradesh to take the initiative.
　With this in mind, Ray sits in a chair in the car and closes his eyes to focus his attention on hearing when a suspicious partner approaches him.

"Well, can I really trust such a thing.
"Oh, my voice is loud. Didn't Tradeshia say that the priest is such an adventurer that he's called crimson? Then you must be sure of your skill."
"But..."
"I know what you mean. You look like that, right? But it's true that you're subservient to the Gryphon. You checked it with your own eyes, haven't you?"
"Well, that's for sure,"
"Half of the rumors ... no, even if only a quarter of them were true, I would wipe them out if they said.
"Well... if you're going to go that far, I'll just believe it." I'll just be ready to run away if something happens. for we can hardly afford it."

　a voice speaking a short distance from the carriage
　The people who were talking about it probably didn't think they were being heard, but of course Ray, who had five senses sharper than the average human being, and who was alert to bandits and focused on hearing.

(If you follow the robbers away... well, it's not going to work.) They are such a well‐informed group. It's different from the conventional band of thieves. the wolves of the meadow are rather close.)

　Ray's inner mumbling recalls the face of a slanderous, hard-faced man with a skinhead.
　Egg. The man who once led the wolves of the meadow and now plays a part in Dusker's intelligence forces.

(Now that I think of it, I didn't see it in Gilm, but if you think of it as a matter of course, have you been sent to Abuero for this incident? As far as I can see from the previous incident, the enemy this time has a lot of leadership.) If only the mercenaries or something were imitating the robbers as I expected, it would be easy to destroy them. Is the question the case if someone else is asking you to rough this area? ...what?)

　As I was watching the scene, thinking about the band of thieves, I heard a sudden approaching noise.
　For a moment, Ray thought the robbers had returned, but as they approached, there was the sound of wheels spinning, the sound of horse-drawn carriage moving, and the speed was so slow that they released their tension.
　Merchants pretending to repair their cabs outside also quickly feel relieved after a moment of nervousness.

"Well, what's the matter here?"

　The man who approached the merchants around the carriage looked good in his 40s.

"No, no, a little carriage," Fortunately, it's easy to repair, so I'm doing it like this now."
"Well, I see," I've heard that it's been very dangerous around here lately... are you all right?"
"I hear so," If that were the case, I should have hired a bodyguard."
"To pass here at this time of year without any bodyguards is a rigid or something..."

　Merchants laughed bitterly at the man's words, which seemed to be a mixture of surprise and amazement.
　He could have hired a bodyguard if he could afford it, but now he had to save as much money as he could.
　The reason why we didn't hire a bodyguard was because we thought we could escape when attacked by robbers... we never imagined that the band of robbers had nearly thirty cavalrymen."But you don't seem to have a bodyguard there, either?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm in the carriage."

　When the man pats the carriage's body with a bang, a sharp-eyed man appears out of the window, who appears to be an adventurer.

"Well, he looks quite strong,"
"Well, that's true," What a bodyguard you are you? Well, then, I'm afraid I'll be here soon. I'll get to Abuero as soon as possible."
"Oh, I see. Be careful, then."
"Oh, that's it. If I were to be in a place like this without a bodyguard, I wouldn't know when the robber would attack me, so I pray that I could finish the repairs as soon as possible."

　The coachman returned the carriage, which had been parked.
　After seeing him off, the merchant scratched his head.
　I wonder if it's really okay to do this.
　Didn't you just say that? They don't know when they'll be attacked by thieves.
　Of course I know Ray in the carriage wants it. As a merchant, however, I have a strong feeling that it is right to move quickly from here to Abuero.
　While hesitating in his mind, the merchant saw off the horse-drawn carriage with a complex expression on its face that the robbers wanted to come.





"...what did you think?"

　muttered the coachman, who had spoken to a merchant near Ray's carriage.
　The horse-drawn carriage is so far away that the friendliness of talking to the merchant disappears and asks the man in the carriage with a keen look.

"There were only merchants," So I told you that I care too much about everything."
"You saw, too, that the Gryphon was definitely on the way down. I'm not usually a monster in a place like this. Then it must be crimson, the cause of the early settlement of the Spring War. It seems that the information that Gilm is the base of the castle was true, but... do you want to fight a notorious man? I don't want to."
"...I know. But that Gryphon wasn't there, either. Then I'm sure he's gone after helping. It was probably passing by or something."

　The man who was the coachman nods after thinking for a moment when he hears the words from behind.
　In fact, the sight of the Gryphon in that place was no more than passing by.

"If there were any names to come up, whether by chance or by any chance, we might as well leave here now."
"Oh? Are you serious? You make a lot of money here, don't you?" Just a little more...
"Well, it's a little more of a problem. Just a little more... one last time... What if a notorious adventurer appears when you're blinded by profits and you're missing the time to pull it up like that way. It's already a good place to earn money, but it's a frontier, and the quality of adventurers is high."
"…I see. I don't mean to go against you."

　Unlike the attitude taken in front of merchants, the coachman seems to be in a superior position, and the person behind him replies so.
　Needless to say, these two are from a group that was about to attack the merchant force.
　It was a group of mercenaries called Bloody Blades.
　No, more precisely, it should be called a mercenary band and band of thieves.
　When they have a mercenary job, they take part in war as mercenaries, and when they don't, they switch to bandits.
　Unlike ordinary robbers, they also operate as mercenaries, so they have a great deal of experience in actual warfare and are well trained.
　In addition, there were about 30 warhorses that cost a lot of money to maintain because they were earning a lot of money.
　Such a group of people came near the frontier and worked as thieves because they couldn't afford it.
　There are about 30 cavalrymen alone, and about 30 odd jobs and infantrymen. Including those who only do chores, the total number is well over 70. Of course it takes some money to maintain it...Although they were supposed to earn money in the spring war, the forces led by the neutral Count Larkus overwhelmed the Westian army.
　As a result, bloodstained blades can't work at all, and the war ends with a minimum reward.
　Without money, it is difficult to maintain a mercenary group. It would be even better if it were a large group of over 70.
　In the end, with the aim of earning money for the activity and, above all, the redemption that disturbed it, the bloody blade came to this land ruled by Larkes.
　The aim was right, and they succeeded in making huge amounts of money and goods by attacking the merchant corps and merchants carrying goods from the frontier.
　Other rare items peculiar to the frontier were able to obtain a certain number of items, so for those with bloodstained blades, it is absolutely desirable to avoid encountering a person who would end the war alone.
　It was for this reason that the Gryphon appeared as he tried to attack the merchant corps, and as a result he quickly left.
　It was, however, only the chiefs who led the bloody blade, and the men who were now the coachmen.

"Send it to my head. I don't have crimson anymore, so I don't want to attack him now."
"All right,"

　He nodded to the coachman's words, and his mercenaries tied several colored strings around the little bird's feet, which were tamed by the bloody blade of Tamer, and released them into the sky.