A pulse struck without warning while they were eating.
The same pulse had occurred when Rei first entered this settlement, which was why he didn't panic this time.
"Whoa! W-What was that just now? Huh? Wait, did something just happen? Like... a thump kind of feeling?"
Feeling the World Tree's pulse for the first time, As frantically looked around.
He wasn't the only one. Poro, who had been right beside him pulling meat off a skewer, reacted the same way.
"Poru!? Pororororo!?"
Still clutching the meat in his paw, Poro glanced around in alarm.
But seeing that no one besides himself and As seemed particularly flustered—startled, yes, but not to the point of panic—he relaxed slightly, swaying his nine tails.
Leaving the man and the creature bewildered by their first pulse, Rei and the others exchanged glances.
"You felt that just now, right?"
"Obviously. Honestly, if there was someone who didn't feel that pulse, I'd seriously have to question what's wrong with them," Vihera said, setting the bread she'd been holding back onto her plate.
Elena, Marina, and Ara nodded in silent agreement.
Only Byune nodded without so much as pausing her salad-eating hand.
"Do you have any idea what happened?"
"...No, there's no way to tell from here. We'd need to go to the base of the World Tree. Still, that pulse just now... how should I put it... it felt similar to the one when you first entered the settlement, yet somehow different."
"Different?"
Rei understood that a pulse was a pulse, but he couldn't quite grasp what that difference was.
And it wasn't just him. The others were equally at a loss.
The only one among them who understood it was Marina, whose bloodline carried deep ties to the World Tree.
"Anyway, let's head to the World Tr—!?"
Rei had been about to finish that sentence when he knocked over his chair and leapt backward.
Those around him wondered why he would suddenly do such a thing, but Rei had no room to answer them.
He had felt it again—that gaze that had been directed at him intermittently ever since he arrived at this settlement.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have needed to pay it much mind. True, ignoring it entirely would have been impossible, but he still wouldn't have reacted this sharply.
But now, at this exact moment—feeling that gaze the instant the World Tree's pulse struck the settlement—he couldn't write it off as coincidence.
Even so, he didn't draw Death Scythe from the Misty Ring. The gaze... or rather, the consciousness directed at him carried no hint of hostility.
"Rei? What's wrong? All of a sudden..."
Vihera asked, watching Rei kick his chair away and drop into a combat stance, even as her own eyes swept the surroundings.
Elena, Marina, Ara, Byune, and even As did the same.
Despite his appearance, Rei was the adventurer with the alias of Crimson.
If someone like that was taking this kind of action, there had to be something there.
Everyone present understood that.
They rose from their chairs one by one, ready to react at a moment's notice.
Set, who had been gnawing on a large chunk of meat, shifted into position to back Rei up instantly if needed.
Thump. As if it had been waiting for exactly that moment, the pulse struck again.
But this one felt distinctly different from all the previous ones. And more than anything else...
"What is that?"
The words slipped from Rei's lips.
There, in the corner of the courtyard, a sphere of light had materialized at some point.
Had it been night, the sight might have seemed fantastical.
But the light sphere that had appeared at this particular moment was unmistakably connected to the pulse and the gaze Rei had felt.
(Still no hostility toward me... right?)
Gazing at the irregularly flickering sphere of light, Rei half-intuitively sensed that it bore him no ill will, and stepped closer.
"Hey, is that really okay?"
Only As voiced the question aloud.
Everyone else was equally concerned for Rei's safety, but their silence stemmed from trust in who he was. The difference between those who had known Rei for a fair amount of time and As, who hadn't even known him a full week, was on full display.
"Don't worry. It's probably fine."
With that reassurance, Rei closed the distance slowly—step by careful step—ready to react if anything unexpected happened.
The light sphere took no particular action against the approaching Rei.
It simply flickered and waited for him to come closer.
Then, while everyone including As watched in silence, Rei reached out... and touched the light sphere.
Thump. The pulse came again.
But this one was fundamentally different from every pulse before it.
What flowed through the point of contact was a pure, desperate plea for help. And the terror of a life under threat.
It wasn't a clear message conveyed in words—it was more like an intense image had been poured directly into his mind.
"!? Hah... hah... hah..."
Rei yanked his hand away and sucked in ragged breaths.
"Rei!?"
Seeing his state, Elena nearly drew Mirage, but Rei reflexively held up a hand, signaling that he was fine.
"I'm fine! ...Really, I'm fine. It was a sensation I'd never felt before, that's all. Just caught me off guard."
"Are you truly alright?"
Nodding to the worried Elena, Rei turned his gaze back to the light sphere before him and spoke.
"You're... connected to the World Tree, aren't you?"
At Rei's words, spoken with quiet conviction, the light sphere flickered.
Perhaps overjoyed at being understood, its flickering turned violent—so intense it made the eyes of Rei and everyone watching ache.
"Calm down."
At those softly spoken words, Rei narrowing his eyes slightly, the light sphere settled down.
They couldn't communicate with words, but somehow Rei and the light sphere were managing clear mutual understanding.
Those watching from the sidelines each reacted in their own way.
The most shaken was Marina, who shared a particularly deep bond with the World Tree.
Her bloodline made her certain: the light sphere now floating before Rei was connected to the World Tree.
(But I've never heard of such a light sphere appearing before... Does that mean this is the first time it's ever happened?)
Even as questions flooded her mind, Marina let none of it show on her face—a habit born from her years of experience as Guild Master.
"So what you're trying to say is... you want to be saved from something. Is that it?"
At Rei's murmur, the light sphere flickered.
"...Something dangerous is approaching the World Tree. Am I wrong?"
Another flicker.
Since the light sphere couldn't speak, their communication was far from perfect.
But the image that had been seared into his mind moments ago left no doubt in Rei's mind: a crisis was bearing down on the World Tree.
"Understood. Either way, standing here talking won't accomplish anything. Let's head to the World Tree."
With only that, Rei turned toward the courtyard gate and started walking.
Set fell in behind him. Elena, Marina, Vihera, Ara, and Byune headed into the house for their equipment without a word.
Only As remained behind in silence. But the moment he realized he was the only one left in the courtyard, he bolted toward Rei's borrowed house.
He couldn't stomach being left behind. More importantly, from what he had just witnessed between Rei and the light sphere, he understood that the settlement was in genuine danger—and that something had happened to the World Tree, visible even from where he stood.
It wasn't exactly a debt for a night's lodging and a meal, but this Dark Elf settlement had welcomed As warmly.
Even if that welcome came at the behest of a request from Marina's acquaintance, the memory of exclusionary villages he'd passed through before made him feel gratitude, not resentment. Dangerous or not, he had no intention of abandoning these people.
(If I'm aiming to be a hero, I can't run now. And more than that—I don't want to. I don't know how much use I'll be as I am, but...)
For someone of As's age to reach C-Rank Adventurer was undeniably impressive.
But everyone here outclassed him. By any normal reckoning, someone of his current strength getting involved in this would be committing suicide.
Even so, As ran to retrieve his weapon.
His partner Poro clung to his left shoulder. Even if his own attacks proved useless, Poro's electricity could still serve as combat power.
(Besides, my Magic Reflection ability might just be the wildcard that turns everything on its head.)
Sprinting toward Rei's borrowed house, As cast a trusting glance at his partner on his left shoulder, as always.
"Set!"
"Grrrrruu!"
While As raced toward Rei's borrowed house, Rei had already vaulted onto Set's back and was tearing through the settlement.
Riding Set was faster than running on foot—an obvious choice that no one tried to stop.
Everyone in the settlement was still reeling from the pulse.
(I could move even faster with Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, but... there's no way I can use that inside the settlement.)
Scenery blurred past. Rei fixed his gaze on the World Tree, visible even from here.
Then, comparing it to what he'd seen the day before, a jarring sense of wrongness seized him.
(What? ...Something's...)
Beside him, the light sphere kept pace, flickering as it floated along.
Set was running fast, but for a light sphere capable of flight, matching this speed was apparently no effort at all.
Rei glanced at the light sphere, then back at the World Tree—and finally realized what had been setting off alarms in his head.
"The top... it's withering!?"
The light sphere flared intensely, as if in agreement.
Just as Rei said: the leaves on the upper reaches of the World Tree had begun to wither, visibly enough to see from this distance.
"Grrruu, grrruuu!"
Set rumbled and pushed himself even faster.
The withering of the World Tree was, of course, visible to the Dark Elves as well—and the shock hit them hard.
"No... the World Tree..."
"Why! Yesterday it was still weakened, but it was holding on! If anything, compared to a while ago, it was definitely getting better! So why... why!?"
"It's over... this settlement... it's done for..."
The abnormality striking the World Tree—their spiritual anchor—drove each of the Dark Elves to voices of despair.
Because the tree had been on the verge of full recovery, the blow landed all the harder.
And then despair struck again.
"Enemies! Monsters are attacking!"
A Dark Elf's cry of disbelief rang out across the settlement.
Those who heard it froze for a moment, uncomprehending, before turning their gazes toward the settlement's edge.
There, without question, were monsters.
Goblins, Cobolts, and Orcs—the ones that had abnormally multiplied between the Protective Barrier and the Barrier of Lost Ways—along with many other creatures besides.
Every last one of them was slamming their weapons against the Protective Barrier as though they had lost all reason.
Under normal circumstances, the monsters would have been fighting among themselves.
But right now, they acted as if the others didn't exist—as if each one were the sole creature in the world—single-mindedly, relentlessly attacking the Protective Barrier before them.
"Monsters!? Damn it, of all the times for these bastards to show up... why now?"
Rei scowled from atop Set's back.
For a split second he wavered over which threat to prioritize, but the light sphere flying alongside him flickered violently.
A flickering that seemed to insist on the answer.
"Elena, Vihera, and Marina are here. The monsters should be fine in their hands. ...Set, the World Tree! Take me to the World Tree!"
"Grrruu!"
In the end, Rei chose the World Tree.
Dealing with the attacking monsters was necessary, but Elena and the others could handle it. That was the conviction behind his call.
They were people he trusted. Leaving it to them would be fine—of that, he was certain.
At his decision, the light sphere blazed with intense flickering.
Riding Set's back, Rei and the light sphere raced onward toward the World Tree, single-minded and unwavering.
Through the midst of panicked, frantic Dark Elves, they pressed forward without pause.