"Jarda?"
Rei's voice echoed through the room.
The entity they had been calling Unbris actually had another name.
It wasn't just Rei who was startled to hear this from Grimm on the other side of the Paired Orb—Elena and Marina were equally surprised.
Among them, however, Marina was the quickest to accept Grimm's words.
"That's right. Unbris is a name given by the people who encountered it three hundred years ago. If that's the case, it wouldn't be strange for Unbris... no, for Jarda to have appeared before then and been given that name. Though it is questionable that the name hasn't been passed down."
"Girl, there is no need to force yourself to use the name Jarda that I use. This name too was originally something that those who encountered it temporarily named, just as you all did. If the name no longer survives in this era, then Unbris is fine."
Marina was surprised that Grimm had suddenly responded to her murmuring.
She had been watching him converse amicably with Rei, but she never expected him to be this friendly toward her as well.
"Um, is that really alright?"
Marina asked Grimm, who had lived far longer than herself.
Perhaps taken with Marina's attitude, Grimm let his laughter echo through the surroundings once more.
"Fofofo. I do not mind. You are an important person to Rei, are you not? So, what about this Jarda... no, Unbris?"
"Take a look at this."
Rei moved the Paired Orb to show Vihera lying on the bed, unconscious and appearing to be asleep.
"Hoh?"
Whether it should be called the wisdom of age, Grimm seemed to grasp what kind of state she was in just from seeing Vihera on the bed through the Paired Orb.
He muttered with a slightly interested air.
"We tried to defeat the Unbris and had it cornered quite badly... but then it suddenly teleported. It appeared next to Vihera... the woman sleeping in this bed, and then, just like when it evolves demi-human monsters, it sank into her body."
"Hmm, so the Unbris that Rei fought had the ability to evolve demi-human monsters."
At Grimm's murmured words, Marina opened her mouth as if she had suddenly noticed something.
"Come to think of it, Grimm-sama, you mentioned earlier that it evolves specific monsters... Then, when it was called Jarda, it wasn't evolving demi-human monsters?"
Marina treated Daskar as if dealing with a child, but it seemed she could not adopt such an attitude when facing Grimm.
She asked in a polite tone of voice.
Without appearing to mind Marina's attitude, Grimm nodded and spoke.
"Umu. As far as I know, there was an Unbris that evolved only beast-type monsters, an Unbris that evolved only bird-type monsters, and I had also heard of an Unbris that evolved only insect-type monsters."
"You know that much about Unbris?"
The Unbris that had appeared in this incident was the first discovered in three hundred years.
Being told that he knew of so many different types of Unbris, it was only natural to be confused.
"Indeed. However, it is not as though I personally saw and confirmed all of them. Some were stories I heard through others, so it may be dangerous to believe everything as is."
"I see..."
For Marina, the fact that he knew of so many accounts of Unbris—even through hearsay—was nothing short of astonishing.
Still, being able to hear information about Unbris like this was something she could only wish for.
(Though if I spread the information obtained here, it would raise the question of how I know it... that would be rather difficult.)
If she carelessly leaked information heard from Grimm, she could very well be branded a criminal.
Communicating with monsters in itself was not particularly rare.
After all, Tamers communicated with monsters and made use of their power.
But if the one being communicated with was a Lich Lord... and the remains of a necromancer from the era when the Majin called Zephyle was still alive, it would be an entirely different matter.
No matter how she looked at it, the reputational damage would be far too great.
And if someone harboring ill will toward Marina learned of it, they would gleefully spread word of her infamy.
Marina had accrued her fair share of resentment—grudges, really—during her time as an adventurer, and the same held true now that she was active as the Guild Master.
Furthermore, far more numerous than such people were the nobles and heads of large merchant guilds who had taken a fancy to Marina's beauty, scheming to make her their own.
For men of such wealth and power, even knowing that it could lead to their own ruin, it was only natural to want to make Marina theirs upon seeing her beauty.
Naturally, Marina had no intention of letting such people do as they pleased with her.
That was precisely why information about Unbris was not something that could be made public so easily.
There was also the matter of needing a certain degree of verification.
It was not that she thought Grimm was lying. It was simply that monsters were creatures whose behavior could change depending on the time and place.
In fact, the Unbris that Marina knew of—including the one from three hundred years ago—possessed the ability to evolve demi-human monsters such as Goblins, yet according to Grimm's explanation, there had also been Unbris with the ability to evolve other types.
"Putting aside individual differences between Unbris."
Elena interjected, cutting into the exchange between Marina and Grimm.
"So, Grimm-sama. Following the course of events Rei described, Unbris fused with Vihera's body... I'm not sure if 'fused' is the right word, but regardless, this is the situation that occurred. Correct?"
Rei and Marina, given confirming looks by Elena, immediately nodded.
"Yeah. We've had Recovery Magic users and doctors examine her, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with her body, yet she shows no sign of waking up. It's been nearly two months since she lost consciousness now."
"Hmm... the most likely possibility is that the Unbris is trying to take over the body of that woman... Vihera, was it? The reason she still hasn't woken is probably because that woman is fighting against the Unbris."
Everyone nodded in agreement with the words that came from Grimm's mouth.
That was the same prediction that the doctors and Recovery Magic users had pointed out as well.
"In other words, the next time she wakes up, we won't know if it's Vihera... or the Unbris."
"Indeed."
"And yet... even so, is there really no way to help Vihera?"
Rei was unwilling to simply stand by and watch the battle between Vihera and the Unbris without doing anything.
Elena and Marina both nodded in agreement with Rei's words.
Seeing Rei and the others like this, Grimm let out a slightly gentle laugh... and then opened his mouth.
"What you all can do is enter that woman's... Vihera, was it? Enter Vihera's Mental World and lend her aid... but frankly, it would be quite severe."
"Severe?"
"Umu. Entering another person's mind naturally places an appropriate burden on both parties. And not just on the one being entered, but on the one entering as well."
Grimm's words carried a tone of concern for Rei.
For Grimm, Rei was a valuable existence in many ways.
The fact that he could interact with him so casually was one thing, and the fact that he had inherited the Beast Magic created by the Zephyle Clan was another.
And through incidents like this one, he had also learned that the people around Rei would not become confused or raise a fuss upon seeing him.
That was why he could not really recommend something like entering another person's Mental World.
Of course, since it was Grimm himself who had brought it up, he could not simply pretend it had never happened.
(Hm?)
Was there no alternative plan?
When Grimm thought of this, his gaze turned toward Marina.
More precisely, toward her ears, which were longer than a human's.
Those ears and her dark brown skin were proof that Marina was a Dark Elf.
And speaking of Dark Elves... thinking along those lines, Grimm suddenly recalled a story he had once heard.
"You are a Dark Elf, are you not?"
"Eh? Ah, yes. I am."
"Then, in your homeland, there is a World Tree, is there not?"
Why had the word "World Tree" come from Grimm's mouth?
Though she wondered about this, she could not deny it here.
Perhaps... such a thought did cross Marina's mind.
Watching Marina's demeanor, Grimm opened his mouth again.
"If you use the power of the World Tree, you can increase a person's mental strength... in other words, it would become a great power for the unconscious woman to confront the Unbris."
"...The World Tree has such a power?"
Marina was of a bloodline that could practically be called a Shrine Maiden of the World Tree, yet she had never heard of such a thing.
Since it had come from Grimm's mouth, it probably was not an outright lie... but even so, she could not fully believe it.
Grimm must have read Marina's demeanor. He gave a single nod before speaking.
"It is understandable that you find it hard to believe. However, is it not worth trying? I, for one, would prefer not to send Rei into something like a Mental World. Given that, I see no point in lying here."
Looking at Rei's image projected in the Paired Orb, Grimm's words did not sound like a lie to Marina.
The same was true for Elena, who could only silently watch Grimm's face.
A silence fell between Grimm and Marina.
The one who broke it was Rei's voice.
"The World Tree in Marina's homeland had a bit of a problem just a few months ago. Considering that, I don't want to push it too hard."
"However, as far as I know, that is the shortest path to restoring that woman's consciousness."
"...Even if you say that."
Rei turned his gaze once more toward Marina beside him.
Marina was troubled, her beautifully shaped brows furrowed.
Marina was also a Dark Elf, born of a bloodline connected to the World Tree.
As such, even now that she was away from the settlement, she still held strong feelings toward the World Tree.
The World Tree had undoubtedly been weakened by the uproar that had occurred just this spring.
Whether it was acceptable to borrow the power of that World Tree... honestly, Marina could not make that judgment.
"Grimm-sama, is there no other method?"
She wished there was another way if possible.
So Marina hoped, but Grimm, projected in the Paired Orb, shook his skull of a face from side to side.
"If you ask whether I have any other ideas, I would answer yes. However, can you obtain something like a dragon's heart, a Phoenix's tears, or the healing tail of a nine-tailed fox?"
"That is..."
Everything Grimm had just named was extremely rare... the kind of things that appeared only in legends and heroic tales.
It was by no means something that could be found quickly by searching.
On top of that, the monsters Grimm had just given as examples were all S-Rank monsters.
They were not opponents that could be defeated so easily even if one set out to do so.
"A dragon?"
The one who murmured with a slightly anxious expression was Elena.
She must have been worried because her familiar, Ielo, was a Black Dragon's child.
Perhaps bothered by Elena's demeanor, Grimm's gaze on the other side of the Paired Orb was directed toward Elena.
"Do you have some leads regarding dragons?"
"The familiar I created with Dragon Language Magic is a Black Dragon's child."
"Hmm, unfortunately, what is needed is an Ancient Dragon... well, perhaps not quite that, but the heart of a dragon that has lived for years close to that. A familiar that has only just been created would not be of use this time."
At Grimm's words, Elena let out a breath of relief.
Even though Ielo held the position of a familiar... no, precisely because of that, Ielo had become an important existence to Elena.
(Besides, even if Vihera were to regain consciousness with Ielo's heart, she definitely would not be happy about it.)
Rather, it was easy for even Rei to imagine that she would fly into a rage.
"Is there anything else? A different monster's heart, or a Magic Stone, or..."
Imagining a furious Vihera and feeling a chill run down his spine, Rei shook off the thought and asked Grimm.
"Hmm, let me see. It would not be as dramatically effective as the things I mentioned earlier, but if it is the heart of an S-Rank monster, I could manage with some assistance from myself."
Hearing that, everyone thought: Then couldn't Grimm just do it from the start? But even while talking like this, Grimm was a monster.
Though formerly human, Grimm was now Undead, and there was no forcing a change in his way of thinking.
In any case, when S-Rank monsters were mentioned, what crossed Rei's mind was Set, who was treated as equivalent to S-Rank due to being a Rare Species among A-Rank monsters.
Naturally, he could not do anything that would sacrifice Set.
(Something else... something else... hm? S-Rank? Wait a minute, could it be...)
Shifting his gaze from Grimm to Elena, Rei opened his mouth.
"Silver Lion."