"Mr. Ray, Mr. Ray, can't you hear me, Mr. Ray?"

　After breakfast, Seto, who lay on the ground for a break after the meal, and Ray, leaning against the set, opens his eyes to the voice he hears unexpectedly.

"Glu?"

　Seto gazes at Ray, who used his belly as a pillow.
　His eyes are determined to do what they want, and Ray stands up and says that he can't do whatever he wants as long as he joins the Third Prince's faction.

"This way!"

　You must have heard the voice. Eventually soldiers appear, raking through bushes.
　As he stepped out of the bushes, he suddenly receded to the sight which had spread before him -- the Gryphon lying down and looking at himself -- and yet he soon recovered his position and spoke.

"Mr. Ray and Mr. Vihela are calling." He wanted to introduce Mr. Ray to the military officers, so he asked me to come."

　I'm a little nervous, but I can't see any negative emotion in the soldier's eyes at Ray or Sett.
　Ray, who decides that Vichela has probably chosen the soldiers to use as messengers, speaks, thanking her in private.

"All right. Then shall we go at once?"

　After nodding and saying so, he turns his eyes to Seto.

"So what about Seto? Are you resting here for a while or..."
"Grull!"

　Without telling him to finish, he purr and Seto gets up.
　For Seto, it's certainly a good idea to sleep here. In fact, the sunlight falling from the clear autumn sun is easily blocked by the forest, and this place, which has turned into a leaking sun, is perfect for taking a nap.
　Perhaps because he understands it, Ray caresses Seto on the head.

"I don't mind if I'm alone. I don't have to force Seto to come..."
"Rolling".

　At Ray's words, Seto purports to go and looks at Ray with round eyes.
　He must have judged that he could not stand up to Seto's gaze. Ray smiles happily before nodding.

"All right, then shall we go with you?" I'm sorry, but please show me around."

　Talk to the soldier looking at Gryphon and Ray's conversation with surprise, and re-suck the hood he had put down for breakfast.

"Oh, yes. Right away."

　Reacting to Ray's voice, the soldier nodded hurriedly and headed for the position, leading Ray and Sett.





"There are quite a few of them in this light,"

　As Ray was walking in the position guided by soldiers, he muttered, looking around.
　Many soldiers turn away when Ray looks at them, but for some reason some look at them with hatred and others look at them with longing eyes.
　However, some of them couldn't understand who Ray was, so they couldn't help but gasp at the sight of Sett walking by him.
　In the midst of this, when a person with the ability to sense magic turned his eyes to Ray, he could feel the magic that Ray had in mind and stopped moving, but that was not something he had become accustomed to.

"Well, some of the lords of the original third prince's faction, some of the Imperial army adored Theorem, and others, like Ray, are gathering."
"...and the adventurer?"

　Ray bows at the words of the soldier guiding him.
　It is important for adventurers to earn money, but most of all, their main purpose is to survive, and therefore, they thought that if the difference in military power was so large, they would almost always side with the Empire.
　Of course, there will be some eccentricities who will be on the lesser side of the war. Ray himself is classified as a freak.

"Your majesty Mercurio, Mr. Vihela and Mr. Teoreme are popular not only with the Imperial army but also with adventurers."
"... oh, I see,"

　We talked a little bit with Mercurio and couldn't say anything, but since we were quite close to each other, such as Vihela and Teoreme, it was a story that Ray could understand to some extent.
　Walking with that thought in mind, you'll eventually arrive at the tent in the middle of the position.
　The size of the tent itself was only slightly larger than that of an ordinary tent, and Ray could somehow imagine that the tent in front of him was a kind of magic tent he had.

"Stop,"

　The two men who seemed to have been standing near the entrance of the tent.
　Stick out the harbour you had in your hand and block it from passing through the tent door before opening your mouth.
　To these knights, the soldier bowed his head slightly before opening his mouth.

"By the order of Mr. Vihela, we have brought Mr. Ray, a Rank B adventurer."
『……』

　Knights staring at Ray at the soldiers' words.
　The good news would have been that he didn't show his face completely in his hood. If you had seen Ray's face, which you could describe as a woman's face, you might have been underestimated.
　...however, if you look at Sett on Ray's side, few would dare to do so.

"Wait a minute,"

　One of the knights says so and walks into the tent.
　When the knight disappears, the three of them wait silently.
　a few minutes listening to soldiers coming from a short distance Eventually a knight emerges from the tent.

"You don't mind coming in,"

　Tell him so, and return his halbirds to the right and left of the tent doorways.

"Well, shall we go?"

　The guide said so and went into the tent with Ray.
　Seto lies a short distance from the tent and slowly closes his eyes.
　There was a slight twitching look on the knight's face as he walked into the tent with the soldier.
　Despite the fact that the tent was no different from a regular one, Ray went inside and saw a space about 30 tatami mats in size.
　There were tables and sofas that were not spectacular, but easy to use, and about 15 people sat down and had a conversation.
　Of course, there are many other faces Ray knows and sees for the first time, such as Mercurio, the leader of the army, his sister Vichela, Theoreum, the confidant of Mercurio, and Tiyur and Gurgast.

(As expected)

　A guide soldier opens his mouth next to Ray, who is inwardly convinced that the tent was a magic tent.

"Excuse me. I brought Mr. Ray in crimson!"

　At the soldiers' voices, the eyes of those present were all on the soldiers... no, but on Ray standing beside them.
　But Ray is amazed at the way he looks at him.
　I had always expected to be looked at with horror, awe, and hatred, but most, except a few, looked welcome.
　Some of them--three of them, to be exact--were looking hateful, abominable, or envious at Ray, but that seemed to be the more common of Ray.
　It's only natural that you should be able to look at the damage you have inflicted on the Westian Empire.
　However, there are no Mercurio or Tiyur among the three.
　Being able to understand the situation, for better or for worse, he did not act foolishly in public to be overlooked by Ray.

"Ray, you're here at last." It was a little late. What's the matter?"

　Meanwhile, Vihela, standing up with a smile, walks towards Ray.
　While watching it, the three men, who had earlier cast a hateful glance at Ray, look away in an unfunny way.
　Originally, he would have liked to laugh with one of his tongues or nose, but if he was a Vihela, he could not have done such a thing, so he had to look at it calmly.
　Watching at such a few people, Ray opens his mouth with his hood down.

"I had breakfast with Seto, and I was too slow." I was resting in the woods until the soldier called me."
"Well... should I have brought him with me then?"

　Whispering, he pulls Ray to the center of the tent.In addition, the soldier who brought Ray to this point moved to the edge of the tent.
　Vihela pulls Ray, but her clothes are as light as prostitutes and dancers wear, and if Vihela holds Ray's arm, his rich chest will be crushed by Ray's.

"... Mr. Vihela, no matter how much you know and have a nickname, you are just an adventurer. You ought to refrain from making light contact with strangers."

　One of the men who had a hateful look at Ray says so when he sees Vihela's behavior.

"Well, that'said he. It's no use saying that it's impossible for a princess of the Empire to imitate someone she doesn't know."
"You say he's notorious, but what can he do with such a child? It's certainly amazing that he has a Gryphon as a slave, but isn't he relying entirely on it?"

　Starting with the words, the two men around the man who spoke first agreed.
　But Vichela, who was being spoken to, looked happy to see Ray, but gradually her eyes became cold toward the men.
　That's natural, isn' It's true that Ray is, in many ways, a mysterious horsebone -- not surprisingly, because he came from the earth.
　But that didn't mean that Vichela would be offended by the bad treatment of her first love.
　It's all those who used to make advances to Vichela now, pretending to be loyal to her.
　Those who eventually fought and lost against Vihela and were stuck in not surrendering themselves to a weaker opponent than they were to whom Vihela believed.
　Still, they couldn't give up Vihela, so they also came to this battle.
　However, even if it was to obtain Vihela, considering that he would join the third prince's faction in this overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation, it might be because he was genuinely thinking of Vihela.
　Therefore, it was unbearable for the men to have a partner in love with Vihela in this army, and Ray, who, though notorious, was a mere adventurer.
　Or perhaps Ray's appearance, like Theoreum's, would have been different if he had the power, dignity, and greatness that you could tell by looking at him. However, if she has the ability to feel magic, she seems only to be a girl-faced child.
　What's good about it? Are you a fledgling adventurer?
　Therefore, it was only natural in a way to be taken lightly. But...

"Oh? Ray won second place at the last competition, and the loser is the constant noise of a Rank S adventurer."
"What!"
"I won second place in the competition..."
"Is there a child like this?"

　I can't believe Vihela's words... or men muttering that they don't want to believe.
　Vichela opens her mouth to these men as if she were chasing them.

"You may not believe it, indeed, as far as Ray is concerned." So, how about a little fight, and you'll understand Ray's ability?"

　the words of a smiley Vihela
　For the men, there was no way they could back down here after being provoked by the Vihela they were after.
　One of the reasons why he didn't back down was that Ray didn't seem strong.
　Perhaps if we beat the person in front of us, Vihela's favor might be won.
　If they knew Ray, they would never seem like that, and the men glanced at each other and confirmed their intentions silently.

(...is this army really all right?)

　Even in Ray's eyes, the men's abilities are not so great. The good thing is that it's a little above the average knight.
　Having several of these people in this magic tent means they are welcomed as executives.

"Don't worry, sir," There may be a lot of problems with them, but those who are sent as assistants are capable in their own way. or I won't take anything in."

　a whisper in Ray's ear
　The appearance must have seemed intimate to the men. The men speak decisively.

"All right. We will see for ourselves whether that man, Ray, is the right match for His Highness Vihela."