The battle with Rei—perhaps too flashy to be called a mock battle—came to an end, and Optis laughed in high spirits.
"Hah hah hah. I had heard you were the man Marina brought back, so I wasn't particularly worried, but... you were truly beyond my expectations."
"...Should I be happy about that?"
Rei muttered as he stored the Death Scythe into the Misty Ring. Optis wore a slightly puzzled expression at those words, but apparently decided this was not the time to press the matter.
Tapping the ground with his staff—a staff that could fittingly be called a weapon—he turned his gaze toward the entrance of the plaza.
A large crowd had gathered there, having learned of Optis's actions, and many were directing admiring looks toward Rei.
Some among them wore bitter or frustrated expressions, but Optis paid them no particular mind and spoke to Rei.
"Look, your companions have arrived, son-in-law."
"...Son-in-law..."
Rei was dumbfounded for a moment, but once he grasped the meaning of those words, he looked in the indicated direction to see Marina lightly waving her hand.
Beside Marina stood the familiar faces of Elena, Vihera, and the others, but the gazes they directed at Rei were slightly sharp.
The reason was clearly the word "son-in-law" that Optis had just spoken.
Receiving those two sharp stares, Rei once again addressed Optis.
"So, what am I supposed to do now? Will I be put under house arrest again?"
"No, no, there's no need for—"
"Of course he should! That man brought harm to the World Tree! If anything, he should be grateful simply to be kept alive!"
A voice rang out, cutting off Optis's words.
The loud voice echoed across the entire plaza, drawing the attention of everyone who had been watching the battle between Optis and Rei.
Seeing the man who had spoken, Optis's face grimaced for just a moment.
Marina, meanwhile, cast a displeased look at the man standing some distance away.
"Ragdo, this man is my granddaughter's husband. And he came all this way specifically to treat the World Tree. The very act of confining him is already an insult—is that not enough, that you would demand more on top of it?"
"Of course. The moment this man entered the settlement, an anomaly occurred in the World Tree. Nearly everyone who was present at the time saw it, felt it, and experienced it firsthand, did they not?"
The man called Ragdo made this declaration while looking around at the crowd.
His gaze met Marina's as he did so, and he wore a smug expression—having been more or less out-argued by Marina during a recent meeting, he was clearly relishing the opportunity now.
However... Marina showed not the slightest hesitation in responding to Ragdo's words.
"Oh my, I don't believe you can say that pulsation was necessarily a bad thing for the World Tree, can you?"
"You can still say such a thing after feeling that pulsation? The World Tree is already weakened as it is. To have such a pulsation added on top of that... it can only be harmful. Would you not agree?"
"Then let me ask you—what does Ragdo intend to do about the World Tree's current weakened state? Weren't you the ones who couldn't handle it anymore and called me back to ask for help?"
Marina's words were, in fact, the truth.
If the people who had remained in this settlement had been able to manage the World Tree on their own, there would have been no need to call back Marina, who had left the settlement.
It was precisely because they could not that they had summoned her, and the solution she brought was Rei—yet now they were trying to drive him away. That was something Marina could not tolerate.
Moreover, given that they were acting in complete disregard of the danger Rei posed, Marina honestly found it unsurprising if this settlement were to be engulfed in flames at any moment.
Fortunately, it seems a relationship of trust was built between him and Grandfather... but if people like Ragdo keep appearing, there's no denying the possibility that Rei's attitude could change. Besides, if this is left alone, it's likely to cause problems later...
Under normal circumstances, she would have let it be. They would discuss things, she would push her position, listen to Ragdo's arguments, and so on.
But right now, they were in a state of emergency in the truest sense of the word.
Considering that wasting time indulging Ragdo could lead to the World Tree weakening further—and in the worst case, both the labyrinth barrier and the physical barrier disappearing entirely—it was better to push things through forcefully.
"That is... if proper measures are taken, the World Tree should surely recover."
"It is precisely because those proper measures cannot be taken that I was called, was I not? Or am I wrong?"
Faced with Marina's natural rebuttal, Ragdo fell silent.
The truth was that Ragdo and everyone else present were powerless to do anything about the World Tree in its current state.
Of course, the settlement had not simply been sitting idle.
But even so, they had been unable to find a way to treat the World Tree.
No—they had managed some treatment by channeling magic into it, but with Dark Elf magic, the results were only marginally better than maintaining the status quo.
When that point was pressed, Ragdo had no choice but to be at a loss for words...
Then, one of the Dark Elves standing near Ragdo suddenly noticed something and looked at Rei.
He whispered something into Ragdo's ear, and seizing upon those words as a fortunate opportunity, Ragdo spoke.
"How strange. This man here is a friend of mine named Resume, who possesses the ability to sense magic... according to him, the magic of the human man standing there is by no means high. Well, it may be high compared to an ordinary human, but compared to us Dark Elves, it is clearly inferior."
At Ragdo's words, many of those in the plaza turned astonished gazes toward Rei.
If that were true, it would mean there was no point in Marina having brought Rei.
At the same time, however, many also had doubts.
Those who possessed the ability to sense magic were not all that numerous, but among them, Marina was supposed to have top-class ability.
Would someone with such ability really fail to notice that Rei's magic was low?
In fact, when several of the Dark Elves tried to sense Rei's magic, what they found was only a slightly higher-than-average amount for an ordinary human.
When those who had sensed Rei's magic shared that fact with those around them, the gazes directed at Rei shifted to faint suspicion.
That it did not turn into outright suspicion was likely because it was Marina who had brought Rei.
Marina possessed exceptionally high skills in archery and magic, as well as the trust and respect of the people, even within this settlement.
She had only just returned after roughly a hundred years' absence, but to Dark Elves, a hundred years felt like no time at all.
Given that, there was still a sense that she was someone who could be trusted.
Really now, he just had to go and do something unnecessary.
Marina wavered on what to do.
If it were only a matter of resolving this situation, it would not be particularly difficult.
That had already been thoroughly proven in the case of Odoban.
But doing so here would mean the other Dark Elves might direct the same gazes of awe and fear toward Rei that Odoban had.
Considering that, Marina's honest feeling was that she would prefer to avoid it if at all possible.
But the atmosphere permeating the plaza now ran contrary to Marina's wishes.
Sensing that this was the moment to press the attack, Ragdo seized the opportunity and shouted.
"What is the matter? One such as Marina-sama wouldn't have brought him all this way just because she wanted to take a trip with her lover, would she? If that were the case, I could not help but feel profound disappointment in Marina-sama!"
"That's right! Coming here just because you want to go on a trip with your lover at a time like this—what are you thinking?! Unforgivable!"
"Seriously. We've been through so much hardship here, and she's just taking it easy like this... I just can't understand it."
"Do you have any idea how much we've suffered!"
"Bringing a man along and enjoying a romance to her heart's content—she's the worst!"
Taking their cue from Ragdo's words, the Dark Elves around him each began to denounce Marina.
To an outside observer, it was a blatantly transparent spectacle.
But for those actually present, it carried a different meaning.
Since others were condemning Marina, perhaps Marina really was in the wrong? Such thoughts began to emerge in some people's minds.
Of course, there were those who held firmly to their own convictions, but there were also those who inevitably found themselves swept along by the surrounding opinion.
There were naturally Dark Elves who were favorably disposed toward Marina, but given the magic they sensed from Rei, they simply could not bring themselves to defend her.
The sight of Ragdo and those around him all condemning Marina at once looked like nothing so much as a public lynching.
Yet Marina, the target of that lynching, simply remained silent and absorbed the words condemning her.
Rather than having Rei subjected to gazes of terror and awe.
Elena and Vihera, as well as Ara, Byune, and the others around Marina also understood this, it seemed—they made frustrated gestures but kept their mouths shut.
Jusura, standing some distance away, was likewise unable to deny Marina's intentions and remained silent.
"What is the matter, Marina-sama? If you have nothing to say, then I take it you have acknowledged my words. May I consider it thus? If so, then naturally, for the crime of uttering such falsehoods—"
Ragdo had spoken up to that point when... he suddenly stopped.
It was not that anything had happened. He simply understood instinctively that he had to stop.
And it was not Ragdo alone. The others who had been condemning Marina reacted the same way.
"Shut up."
That voice echoed through the plaza.
It was not particularly loud.
But there was no mistaking that it reached the ears of everyone present.
Whose voice was that? With that thought, the gazes of the Dark Elves in the plaza turned toward the source.
What they found was the person who, until just moments ago, had been locked in an intense battle with their elder.
The same person whom Ragdo's subordinate had claimed possessed almost no magic, who was not capable of treating the World Tree—the very person who was the cause of Marina being criticized.
At Rei's words, everyone fell silent.
Only Optis, the Elder, wore an amused smile on his lips, but he apparently had no intention of doing anything further and quietly watched the course of events unfold.
"H-how dare you tell me to shut up! In the first place, it is your fault for coming here to treat the World Tree despite having no magic!"
Ragdo, too, was someone who led a small faction of his own. Having lived a fairly long life as a Dark Elf, he had a wealth of experience.
Even so, having hardly ever left the forest, standing before Rei's words placed tremendous psychological pressure on him. Still, unwilling to show weakness in front of his subordinates, he shouted back at Rei.
That doggedness, for better or worse, was very much characteristic of Ragdo.
But... such an attitude from Ragdo only served to irritate Rei further.
That was why Rei opened his mouth once more.
"I said shut up, didn't I?"
"Guh!"
Faced with an even stronger surge of unfathomable pressure, Ragdo let out an involuntary groan and stumbled several steps backward.
Realizing that he had retreated, he grew frustrated with himself for having felt fear toward Rei without even realizing it.
Seeing his subordinates around him casting imploring looks, Ragdo had no choice but to press forward.
With something close to desperation, he steeled his resolve and stepped forward.
At that, a look of surprise briefly flashed across Rei's face.
But it immediately returned to a cold gaze, and he spoke.
"You said that because I have no magic, there's no point in Marina having brought me, didn't you?"
"Y-yes."
"Then... I'll teach you that Marina wasn't wrong."
"Wait! No! Don't, Rei!"
She must have understood from those words what Rei was about to do. Marina screamed, trying to stop him.
Gone was the composed poise of a mature woman that Marina usually carried—she was purely worried about Rei alone.
Because of her, Rei would once again be subjected to the same kind of gazes that Odoban had directed at him.
At Marina's cry, Rei turned his gaze toward her for just a moment... and then, though only slightly, the corner of his lips curved into a smile as he gently slipped the Ring of the New Moon from his finger.