A few days after the Rays got back the materials for the bistles... Ray was in front of the main gate.
　Again today, I was trying to transport lumber cut down in the forest of Trent in a misty ring when I encountered a bistle trying to get out of the guillem.
　To be exact, should we call it a party of businessmen led by Bistol?
　When Bistol finds Ray and Seto, he approaches them with a happy smile.
　It was undoubtedly very noticeable here, too, that Ray was dressed in feminine clothing, as he had seen her before.
　However, he calls out to Ray without any particular concern, wondering if it is usual for him to stand out like that.

"Oh, Ray and Seto!" Are you going to work today?"
"Oh, what about you? Are you leaving Gillum?"
"Yes,"

　As he spoke, Bistol's tone was full of power.
　In that voice, Ray understands that Bistol is not running away from the guillem.

"What are you going to do from now on? You said you were going to gather more energy".
"Yes, I'm going to do something about it here." I'm sorry to them that they're going to withdraw."

　Ray could immediately tell who the word 'they' came out of Bistol's mouth.
　When there was an attack, they would have fought and dispersed to get rid of the Bistles.

"Are you Ray?"

　That's how Ray was talking to Bistol, but suddenly he was approached.
　I turned my eyes to the voice and found a man in his forties.
　The adventurer's work seems to be getting tougher -- with many exceptions -- but the person in front of Ray shows no sign of such decline.

"Well...?"
"Oh, excuse me. My name is Odorsta, and I am in charge of the escort of Mr. Bistol's business force. I should have liked to come and see you sooner, but I'm busy with all sorts of things."
"Oh... I suppose,"

　The commercial force suffered considerable damage from the raids by a group of private soldiers.
　Various actions were required to be taken to compensate for this, and Odorsta had to fill the reduced number as a bodyguard, and to communicate firmly so that they could work together.

"I hear that Ray mourned for the Buys. ...thank you."

　an odolsta with a deep bow
　At first Ray, who is called Buy, doesn't know who it is, but by saying he mourned, he understands it was killed in a private raid.

"No, that's not the sort of thing to be told. It was during the break of course.
"But I think I'll be happy."

　Having guarded Bistol, a man of strong habit, Ray seemed to be quite a man of character as an adventurer.

(Well, if it were not of that nature, it would be impossible to escort Bistol.)

　Ray feels keenly as he looks at the sight of Bistol stroking his set in many ways.

"Now, Ray," We're going now. What are you going to do with Rey?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm going soon, too. and we need to pick up the trees that have been cut down in the woods of Trent."

　So telling him, Ray had parted ways with Bistol and Odorsta for the forest of Trent.





　When Ray and Sett fly into the sky, in the lord's house, Dusker throws the papers grumpily on his desk.

"Well, did you finally throw up?" --but I don't think it's a noble."

　Dusker throws it out with a deep, abominable air.

"Well, to be honest, I thought this incident was the work of the King's faction... but it turned out quite unexpectedly."

　One of Dusker's aides muttered so.

"I'll tell you that they're lying in their master's name, aren't they?

　Passing through Dusker's mind is perhaps a ploy to antagonize neutrals and aristocrats.
　Not so long ago, the three factions, the King, the Lords and the Neutralists, were clearly hostile.
　Now, however, the aristocracy and the neutrality are not hostile, but rather friendly neutrality.
　It would be no surprise, then, if the royalists, who felt uncomfortable about it, wanted to split between the aristocracy and the neutrality.
　His aides shake their heads at Dusker's words.

"No, I think it's probably not. Fortunately, the wings of the Red Lotus have taken many prisoners. It's not difficult to maintain the integrity of prisoners' information."
"...I see. Honestly, I don't want to quarrel with the nobles."

　As he says so, Dusker thinks about how to retaliate.

"This case, perhaps, does not involve the Duke and Duchess of Quevel."
"Well, I'm sure I'm doing pretty well with the Duke of Quevel. But I suppose some of the aristocrats think it's not interesting."

　Most aristocrats have great pride in their nobility.
　He also takes the same pride in his affiliation with the aristocratic faction.
　It would be unacceptable for such aristocrats to be tolerant of common people.
　No, if you're at odds with yourself, you can make fun of yourself by wagging your tail at the common people.
　But when they become friends with the aristocracy, they are no longer able to do it -- at least ostensibly.
　Of course, the Duke of Kelebel has enough sense to separate public and private matters.
　For that reason, the aristocrats probably didn't expect the two factions to join hands so easily...that's why the Gillum was built.
　Regardless of the actual situation, Guillem, which had been nominally a smaller and less prestigious city than the city, began to build an extension.
　With the possession of cities by neutrals who had not owned them before, the Duke of Kelebel may be seen as a fit partner... by no means a few.
　Another reason I don't like is that neutrals monopolize the enormous profits from the frontier.
　Moreover, it is not difficult to obtain information that Elena Kelebel, the only daughter of the Duke of Kelebel and also known as the princess general, is close to Ray.
　Most people think that their friendliness is only a friend, not a heteros*xual one, but they are still men and women.
　Moreover, Ray showed his ability in the war against the Empire of Bestia against Elena, who had vowed to surrender himself only to a stronger opponent.
　Many believe that Seto... has to have a Gryphon, but some have enough eyes to see the truth.
　Many others regard Ray as dangerous for a variety of other reasons.
　And as long as Ray was based in Guillum, it was only natural that hostility should be directed toward more neutrals.

(However, Ray's presence has made everything a reality. The most recent is the Trent Forest. Was it Gigant Turtle? It was a troublesome monster.)

　Of course, there are other adventurers with high combat skills besides Ray.
　But it must be a delicate thing to say that he could have knocked it down without causing as much damage as Ray.
　Ray's ability to knock down the Giant Turtle was due to his ability to fly and attack from above, and his magic items, Dusker confirmed in his report.

"Well, all right. Anyway, I'll find out what you've been thinking about attacking me... No, I don't need to think about that. Then I need to thank Ray for reaching out to me without thinking. What should I do? In this case, is it best to ask Ray?"

　The act of flying has a high degree of mobility, and moreover, individuals have extraordinary firepower.
　If Ray had the ability to deal with the army personally, he would be able to retaliate for the sabotage that they had committed... but it would be enough to repay him.

"But without Ray, there would be a lot of delays in the extension work."Ray's item box was a great force in the ongoing expansion work... more precisely in the earlier work.
　There was no doubt that if the lay fell out, there would be a big delay in the work ahead.
　But Dusker thought for a moment, and then shook his head slightly.

"This time, it was not particularly damaging because of Ray's presence. We managed to get back the stolen materials. But if things continue as they are, the same thing may not be repeated again. Especially for the man who planned such a thing."
"Why don't you call the Duke of Quelevel, and the situation is not interesting for him, either?" If that is the case, wouldn't it be unavoidable for us to report it?"
"... I see. There's no doubt about it. But instead I owe a debt to the Duke of Kelebel. And I get to think that I'm an easy partner."

　Breathtakingly, Dusker rips his hair painfully and reopens his mouth.

"No, I don't care as long as I'm despised. But the problem is that my contempt makes him do something strange."

　If it's just a dusker, I wouldn't fight back if I tried a little too hard. It's necessary to be moderate to avoid being glared at.
　That's how many people think about it and put their hands on Gilm.
　Already, I'm very busy with extensions now.
　Usually, I'm confident enough to do whatever I want, but now I don't like it.
　In order to prevent this from happening, you need to fight back on your own, even if it's a little impossible.

"But haven't you been using Ray too much lately? What if you're sick of it and you move your base to another city?"

　Ordinarily, it is not a matter of distinction for adventurers to be asked to do so by their lords.
　But it's just an ordinary adventurer... a rank C or D adventurer.
　If this becomes a rank B or A, the more people whose personalities are distinguished by their skill, the more they become.
　Of course there are some adventurers of good character, but it is also true that more and more of them are going their own way.
　And Ray deserved the latter.

"I know that," ...but it's great to have Seto. You have both mobility and firepower, and you have item boxes and all kinds of magic items, don't you think that's why you're so fulfilling yourself.

　This is the person who is subservient to the Gryphon, the person who has high combat power, the person who has item boxes, the person who has many magic items... Thus, if each person is a different person, Dusker is easy to ask for a lot of things.
　It's not just a burden on one person, it's because you can ask more than one person to do each.
　But it's no use talking about it now.
　With only one person named Ray, it was only natural for him to concentrate on his requests.

(If the item box was for everyone, I could ask Ray to lend it to me, whether he would lend it to me or not.)

　As long as it's only available to Ray, that's impossible.

(It's said that Seto can't fly on his back unless he's Ray.) ...well, like the Vichela and the Marina, there is a way to grab and move by your feet. --that's not something anyone can do.)

　Since it flies with its forefeet gripped, the person holding it needs a lot of grip strength.
　In addition, wearing armor will make the weight heavier, and the hand that is gripped by the set will hurt if you put too much effort on it.
　Above all, Seto was friendly and attached to Ray.
　It would be unreasonable in many ways to act apart from Ray.

"...I can't do it, after all." In terms of combat power, I can't say it's as strong as Ray, but there are people who are quite strong. But in terms of travel speed, I can't help but feel inferior to Ray."
"I can't help it, can I?" "I would have liked to avoid delaying the extension work, if possible..."

　Dusker's men let out a small sigh and thought about the arrangements in their heads so that they could get ready for the construction.