"......Alright. Well, harvesting materials can wait."
Rei picked up the Derutoroi's head, severed by Death Scythe. Seeing that its feet were still stuck to the branch, he flashed the blade once more.
He cut through the branch and stored both it and the head in the Misty Ring.
"If it had been as large as an Aerowing, it probably could have broken free of the Bubble Breath."
Set's Bubble Breath had the property of transforming into an adhesive liquid. However, it was still only a Level 1 skill, and its adhesive strength wasn't overwhelmingly powerful.
If a target had even a moderate amount of flight capability, body weight, or sheer muscle power, escaping the sticky liquid wouldn't have been all that difficult.
But...... the Derutoroi was an owl-type monster, one specialized in stealth. Because of that, it simply didn't have the physical strength to tear itself free from the branch.
"Bad matchup for it. ......Then again, the moment it faced Set, who has the tools to handle all kinds of enemies, its fate was probably sealed."
Rei glanced at the tree where the Derutoroi had been perched, then left the area.
It had taken more time than expected, but finding the Dark Elf children was the priority right now.
(It would be faster to go straight back, but......)
Making his way through the area where everything was coated in sticky residue from the Bubble Breath was something Rei had no desire to do. He could probably force his way through if he had to, but having already defeated the Derutoroi, there was no need to push himself that hard.
His mission was to rescue the Dark Elf children, and while that was urgent, forcing a straight path back to Set would just leave him covered in adhesive liquid. Dealing with that mess would only end up delaying the search anyway.
Retracing his steps and pushing aside overhanging branches as he went, a faint scent of blood suddenly drifted through the air.
(What's that?)
Puzzled but not for a moment thinking it was Set's blood, he pressed on until he reached the spot where Set had been waiting.
There, five Orcs lay strewn across the ground.
Some had their necks twisted at impossible angles. Others were missing chunks of their torsos. A few didn't have heads at all.
Naturally, all five were dead—and there was no question about who had done it.
"Set, good work."
"Guruuurururu!"
At Rei's voice, Set purred with obvious delight.
Blood from the Orcs clung to its front legs and beak. Broken longswords and spears lay scattered among the corpses on the ground. Yet seeing Set looking so pleased with itself, no one would have pictured such a gruesome scene.
"The spears...... obviously can't be used. Still, they actually attacked you, huh? The abnormality hasn't let up, it seems."
At first, Rei had wondered whether Set had spotted the Orcs and struck first. But Set's position had barely shifted from where it had released the Bubble Breath earlier. Which meant it wasn't Set who had attacked the Orcs—the Orcs had attacked Set.
(Well, once they showed themselves, the result would have been the same anyway.)
Like Rei, Set was fond of Orc meat. Though Orcs were low-ranked, their meat was an exception—exceptionally delicious.
(I've had Iberico pork, Kurobuta, and Agu pork a few times, but even compared to those, Orc meat tastes better. Then again, what I ate was the kind of brand-name pork you find at a supermarket. If it were truly top-tier brand pork, maybe it'd beat Orc meat.)
Recalling the taste of pork from his time in Japan, Rei surrendered to the pressure of Set's round, pleading eyes and stored the five Orc corpses in the Misty Ring.
"Set, next time you go on the attack, try to leave the torso intact. You'll lose a lot of the spare rib meat. ......Dealing with the innards is a hassle, too."
"Guruu......"
Set rumbled an apologetic sound, clearly reflecting on its actions.
Rei gently patted its head and continued in an encouraging tone.
"Well, a little damage can't be helped. Besides, the Orcs were fighting back desperately. Thinking about it that way, taking all of them down cleanly in a single hit would be tough——hey!"
"Gyagyagyo!"
Instead of his left hand, which had been stroking Set, Rei activated the Eye of Nebula with his right. An arrowhead materialized in his palm, and with a snap of his wrist, he hurled it toward a thicket some distance away.
A Goblin's scream——one that had been lying in wait for an opening between Rei and Set——echoed through the surrounding trees.
"Sheesh. I don't know if you were after me, after Set, or trying to steal the Orc corpses, but there are just too many of you!"
Calling out in irritation, he drew Death Scythe from the Misty Ring and plunged into the thicket.
Set charged in right after him...... and it took less than a minute for the nearly ten Goblins hiding there to be reduced to corpses.
"......I heard there were a lot of Goblins, but this is ridiculous. How many have we killed already?"
"Gururu?"
Watching Set tilt its head, Rei decided that counting Goblins was a fool's errand. He shook the blood from Death Scythe's blade and spoke.
"Anyway, we can't stand around here forever. Let's get back to searching for the children."
"Guruu!"
Set cried out as if to agree, and Rei swung himself onto its back.
As before, the Goblin corpses were left where they lay. Set kicked off the ground and surged through the forest.
After that, they came across several small groups of Goblins on the move. But rather than stopping each time, Set fired off Wind Arrows and Ice Arrows as preemptive strikes, and as they swept past, finished the creatures off with swipes of its front legs, strikes from its beak, and slashes from Rei's Death Scythe——all delivered from atop Set's back.
They spent several tens of minutes racing through the forest, cutting down Goblins along the way. Yet the missing Dark Elf children were still nowhere to be found. Nor had they heard the sound of whistles that other searchers would blow upon finding them.
(This is wrong. With this many people combing the forest, the children should know they're being searched for. So why haven't they come out on their own? ......Are they even still alive?)
The worst possible scenario flashed through Rei's mind.
Because they were children, they likely wouldn't be used as seedbeds.
But...... conversely, that meant they wouldn't even serve as seedbeds. And those who didn't even qualify for that fate would naturally end up in the stomachs of Goblins, Cobolts, Orcs, and the like.
(Even with sheep, they say lamb is more popular than mutton......)
Having loved lamb at yakiniku back in Japan, Rei understood full well that meat from younger animals tasted better. It wasn't uncommon for cooking manga and TV shows to feature dishes using young sheep or calves, either.
(Wait, no matter how you slice it, that's a morbid thought.)
Rei shook his head to dispel it and carefully scanned his surroundings for any sign of the Dark Elf children......
"Guruu!"
"Whoa!"
Set, mid-sprint, came to an abrupt halt.
Its four legs locked rigid, leaving what looked like four shallow furrows in the ground.
Since Set had stopped so suddenly without any warning, Rei naturally lost his balance on its back——but somehow managed to steady himself.
"What is it?"
What came from Rei's mouth wasn't a complaint. He knew Set would never do something like this without good reason. A move this sudden had to mean something.
At Rei's questioning look, Set turned its gaze toward a thicket slightly off from their path of travel.
"Gururu."
Set rumbled softly, with an oddly gentle air.
Seeing Set's demeanor, a thought struck Rei. Could it be?
"Is someone...... there?"
The moment the words left his mouth, a thicket some distance away rustled——faintly, but unmistakably.
Keeping his eyes on the swaying foliage, Rei spoke slowly, careful not to startle whoever was hiding.
The hope that had sparked in his chest was growing stronger by the second.
But even so...... if the children they were looking for were truly here, he couldn't afford to miss them.
Addressing the hesitantly trembling thicket, Rei spoke again, his voice reassuring.
"I came here because I was asked to find the children who went missing from the Dark Elf settlement. If you're from the settlement too, then you know about the World Tree, right? I'm here to treat it."
It would be incredibly embarrassing if I'm talking like this and it turns out to be some random wild animal or monster.
Keeping that thought to himself, Rei nevertheless called out toward the thicket and waited.
About a minute passed. Then, the rustling suddenly grew more pronounced.
From within the foliage, several points of light peered in his direction.
Realizing they were the eyes of Dark Elves, Rei spoke once more.
"Hey. You've seen this one before, haven't you? It's Set. It stands out, so you've probably spotted it around the settlement."
"Gurururu."
As Set rumbled gently to keep the hidden ones from tensing up, the thicket shook once more——and three children burst out.
"Please! Lugdus...... save Lugdus!"
"Please, miss! I'm begging you, save Lugdus!"
"Nee-cha, nee-cha!"
Their hair colors were silver, black, and blue——all different——but their brown skin and pointed ears marked them unmistakably as Dark Elf children.
"Calm down. Just take a breath and calm down. ......And for the record, I'm not a sister. I'm a brother. Don't get that wrong, okay?"
He knew he had a feminine face. But being called a woman like this was never something a man wanted to hear.
At Rei's words, the three Dark Elf children nodded in unison.
Seeing that they had at least settled down, Rei spoke again.
"So you want me to save Lugdus? I came out here to find you all, him included. Is he hurt?"
"Y-yeah. He shielded us from the Goblins, and......"
"Thanks to Lugdus, we made it out okay, but......"
"Nee-cha? Nii-cha?"
Watching the children speak over one another, Rei furrowed his brow slightly.
(What's going on here. Especially this third one. Looking at them, they can't be more than five years old. Then again, they're Dark Elves, so they might not actually be as young as they look.)
Looking at the three of them pleading desperately, Rei let out a sigh.
"Alright. Fortunately, I've got potions on me, so I can handle minor injuries. So? This Lugdus——he's in that thicket over there, isn't he...... looks like it."
Even from the faint scent of blood carried on the air, he could roughly gauge the severity of the wound.
But catching that scent, Rei's expression turned puzzled.
The smell of blood was barely there——just a trace.
There didn't seem to be nearly enough bleeding to leave someone unable to move.
(Which means he's just unconscious? ......Well, even if that were the case, there was nothing these children could have done about it.)
They were all children who looked well under ten years old. There was no way a group this small could have done anything for Lugdus——their leader figure——especially not in a night forest crawling with monsters.
(No, come to think of it——it was Lugdus, right? The fact that they didn't abandon him and run is impressive on its own. Though if they had scattered, they'd probably all be dead by now.)
They had survived because they stayed together, hiding in one place.
With that in mind, Rei patted each of the three on the head in turn.
"Glad you're all safe. ......Just to be sure, though. It was only you three and Lugdus who entered the forest, right? Four of you total?"
The three children nodded.
Rei let out a breath of relief at the gesture and urged them forward.
"Come on, take me to this Lugdus. We need to head back to the settlement soon."
"Yeah!"
Guided by the children, Rei started toward the thicket...... but stopped before reaching it and turned back to Set.
"Set, keep watch around us. Don't let any monsters get close."
"Gururu!"
Leaving Set behind with a rumble that said Leave it to me, Rei headed into the thicket with the three children.
"Nii-cha, is he gonna be okay?"
Patting the head of the child who asked in a lisping voice, Rei turned his attention to Lugdus, concealed within the foliage.
Just as Rei had suspected, the wound itself wasn't all that severe. He was bleeding from the forehead, but that was it.
However......
(The forehead——meaning he took a blow to the head. That's a bit dangerous. If it were purely an external wound, a potion would handle it easily, but...... this sort of thing is better left to someone with specialized knowledge. The bleeding is minimal, too.)
Rei stopped the hand reaching for a potion and addressed the three children.
"If I try to treat him carelessly, it could make things worse later. For now, we should get him back to the settlement as he is. ......Understand?"
The three children nodded obediently at Rei's words. ......The smallest one seemed to nod simply because the other two had.