All three of them possessed a Falna, but none of them were above Level 1.
Rayleigh had killed them instantly without using even a tenth of his strength.
A pity.
Judging from the conversation just now, these men deserved to die.
That was why he had struck without hesitation and without holding back.
Human traffickers were the sort of filth that made people sick to their stomachs, no matter what world they were in.
...
The blond young lady stared at the masked man in front of her, a little frightened.
It wasn't as if she had never seen bloody scenes before.
But this was the first time she had ever seen someone cut cleanly in half with a single slash, or watched a head fly from its body while the severed face still wore the same expression it had a moment before.
Feeling afraid of someone so brutal was only natural.
Her two long legs, wrapped in white stockings, trembled slightly.
Rayleigh walked toward her step by step and raised the blade in his hand.
'Am I going to die?' The blond girl's eyes widened.
For some reason, now that the moment had come, she could not even close them.
The blade fell.
The girl stared blankly at the ropes that had been cut apart, and then at the cloth gag that had fallen from her mouth.
For a moment, she had no idea how to react.
"You can scream if you want. But if possible, I'd like you to answer a few questions first."
Rayleigh's electronically distorted voice made the girl blink her watery eyes several times.
She did not scream, nor did she call loudly for help.
Her instincts told her that the person before her would not hurt her.
"Your voice... is really interesting."
Rayleigh: "???"
Was this girl missing a screw somewhere?
Forget it.
As long as she could help him gather information, that was enough.
"First question. Do you know the goddess Phobos?"
"Huh?"
The girl froze for a moment, then answered, "I know of her, yes. But why are you looking for that goddess?"
Rayleigh had no intention of satisfying her curiosity. He went straight to the next question.
"Then my second question. How can I meet her?"
"Tomorrow, there will be a ceremony held at the Great Cathedral. All the gods, including the Father of the Nation, will be present. Naturally, that includes the goddess Phobos as well."
"A ceremony?"
Rayleigh immediately understood.
So tomorrow was the day Ares would bestow Falna upon new members.
All the gods would be present, huh.
He wondered how tight the security would be.
With gods present, he did not dare to use Sakanade's Bankai.
If even the gods were affected and their perception of friend and foe was reversed, causing them to unleash their divine power and start attacking one another at full strength, this world would be flattened by the full might of the gods in less than five minutes.
Shikai would be fine.
But Shikai had a limited range.
Even if he could take the goddess away, he would have to endure a pursuit across hundreds of kilometers.
He was only one person. Sooner or later, his strength would run out.
If he could use a high-level spatial transfer Kidō, that would be another matter entirely.
He could simply teleport straight back to Orario.
But that sort of ability was nothing more than a fantasy before Level 6.
It was not something he could accomplish just by burning a little lifespan or overdrawing his Reiatsu.
The best-case scenario was still to quietly take the target away.
If he could delay exposure by one or two days, that would be ideal.
By then, he would have already fled far enough that catching up to him would be nearly impossible.
"And after the ceremony?"
"After that, there will obviously be a banquet." The girl answered without even thinking.
Rayleigh's eyes flickered.
'A banquet, huh.'
'That sounded like a good opportunity.'
The question was whether he could sneak inside.
Seeing him fall into thought, the girl suddenly took the initiative and asked, "Do you want to attend the banquet?"
"Hm?"
"I can take you there."
"You?"
Rayleigh looked surprised.
It wasn't that he was surprised she had the ability to do so.
Whether it was her appearance, her bearing, or her clothing, everything about this girl radiated nobility.
It was not the kind of presence a fallen aristocrat could possess.
She was someone tied to power, and at quite a high level at that. She had to come from a renowned noble house.
The problem was, why would she help him?
Just because of what had happened here?
Did she really not suspect anything?
Rayleigh felt somewhat doubtful... but this was a good opportunity.
But if it was a trap, it might lead him straight into danger.
"You think I'm going to do something bad, don't you? Let me make this clear first. I only want to repay you for saving my life. As for who you are or what you intend to do, I'm not interested at all!"
The girl seemed extremely displeased at being suspected.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave a small huff.
It was such a tiny movement, yet it caused a deeply convincing, heart-shaking bounce.
'Tch.... Very persuasive indeed.'
"Besides, even if you wanted to do something to a goddess, it would be impossible. That much is common knowledge."
The blond girl smiled.
But a trace of unwillingness flashed through her eyes.
It seemed she knew that mortals could not kill gods.
And from that expression... had she actually tried to kill one before?
"Fine. Then I'll be relying on you."
"Hehe. In that case, may I ask for one tiny condition?"
"A condition?"
"Mm! You're strong, right? I can tell. You took down those three bad men instantly, before they even had time to react."
"I'm guessing you must have been a Level 2!"
Unfortunately.
She was just a little off.
But Rayleigh did not show it. He simply chose to remain silent.
In the girl's eyes, that was as good as confirmation.
"I want you to be my bodyguard until you finish your business. How about it?"
"Bodyguard?"
Rayleigh's expression turned strange.
The girl before him had a noble status.
Even those traffickers had said that the knights outside did not dare approach the Great Cathedral simply because they were afraid of offending her.
That alone proved she was absolutely among the highest ranks of Rakia Kingdom's social pyramid.
And she was likely someone with tremendous potential as well.
In a country ruled by the war god Ares, even a duke could become a fallen noble overnight if he could not demonstrate enough value.
After all, Ares was a war god.
He was interested only in war.
His only demand of his Familia was strength. Nothing else.
In that case, her safety should have been treated as a top priority.
Yet now she wanted a complete stranger to serve as her bodyguard. No matter how he looked at it, something about this was strange.
Even so, Rayleigh did not refuse.
"Fine. Until my business is finished, I'll protect you."
The moment he agreed, the girl immediately broke into a delighted smile.
"Then it's a promise. No matter what, you have to protect me... Ahaha, I suppose that's asking a little too much. Then let's put it this way. When you feel that things have become too dangerous, I permit you to abandon me."
Halfway through making her promise, the girl suddenly lowered the standard herself.
That made Rayleigh even more confused.
In Rakia Kingdom, what kind of danger could a great noble's daughter possibly encounter that would make her sound so pessimistic?
'Oh no.'
'This was starting to feel a little interesting.'
He would just treat it as accepting a side quest.
"Then please take me back first."
The girl smiled sweetly and even spread her arms toward him.
"You wouldn't make a lady walk all that way herself, would you, Sir Knight?"
Rayleigh shook his head inwardly, then stepped forward and lifted the girl into his arms.
Her golden hair spilled downward, almost dragging along the ground.
Rayleigh reacted quickly. With a single leap, he shot straight into the air.
After that, he continuously created footholds with Reiryoku, jumping higher and higher.
In the blink of an eye, he had reached the sky above.
"Wah!"
When the girl realized that she was actually being carried through the air, not only was she unafraid, her eyes instead filled with sparkling excitement.
'Amazing.'
'This is just like a dream.'