That night, Daskar listened to Worker's report over dinner at the lord's mansion.
"Hmm. An encroaching forest... and one likely connected to Treants, you say?"
"Yes. I had Rei-san carry out a preliminary investigation, and it seems to cover a considerable area. Furthermore, I can't say whether it's encroaching, multiplying, or moving, but it's reportedly heading toward Gilm."
Worker, who had been enjoying a sauté of spring vegetables, swallowed his mouthful before responding to Daskar.
It was true that the forest was creeping toward Gilm, but the reason neither of them looked particularly desperate was simply because it wasn't that close yet.
Even if it was a forest, if it was only closing to within a few minutes' walk of Gilm, then it hardly constituted an emergency.
Of course, that didn't mean they could just ignore it.
Even so, Worker wasn't deeply concerned.
After all, Gilm had Rei—an adventurer who excelled at Flame Magic.
If it came down to it, he could simply burn the entire forest to ash.
That fact gave Worker peace of mind.
And Daskar, who knew Rei even better than Worker did, was mildly wary of the suspicious forest but wasn't particularly worried, thanks to Rei's presence.
...At least, not until this very moment.
"Lord Daskar, may I have a moment?"
A butler who had appeared in the room announced himself.
The fact that he had come to address them directly in the middle of their meal meant something had definitely happened.
If it had been some trivial matter like needing a signature on a document, Daskar would not have been so forgiving.
"What is it?"
"Yes, Lord Zumous has an urgent report."
"From Zumous? ...Show him in."
"Yes."
The butler nodded at Daskar's words and departed.
Zumous was one of the alchemists belonging to Daskar's—or more precisely, the knight order maintained by Daskar—staff.
Daskar had set Zumous to investigate the tree branch Worker had obtained from Rei, the one picked up in the forest during the investigation, on a whim that it might prove useful for something.
Treant bodies were, by nature, a material well-suited for crafting staves.
If the entire forest consisted of Treants, it would certainly become an enormous source of income.
In fact, if they didn't destroy the whole forest at once, but logged a portion and then let it regrow... it would become an endless source of revenue.
If they knew in advance that it was a forest composed of Treants, they should have been able to manage the danger adequately.
As a person, Daskar was not without sympathy for the adventurer party that had been consumed by that forest.
But Daskar was the lord of Gilm.
As such, he needed to do whatever he could to develop the city.
"I wonder what happened?"
"I had him investigating the branch you brought back, so he must have made some kind of discovery. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come rushing to report to me like this."
"I suppose so. But when we examined it, all we could determine was that it was a branch with slightly more magical power than usual. I wonder if there's something else?"
"Well, who knows. He's about to tell us now. ...Look, here he comes."
Right on cue, the butler who had left earlier re-entered the room, accompanied by a man.
"Lord Daskar, where did you obtain this branch!?"
The man who asked this the moment he stepped inside looked to be in his thirties.
His build was neither heavy nor slender—just average—yet there was something about his demeanor that made him appear frail, a rather peculiar man.
However, seeing his eyes gleaming brilliantly despite that seemingly fragile exterior, most people would probably think twice about getting involved with him recklessly.
But among the alchemists employed by the knight order, he was an individual of exceptionally high skill.
Because of that, Daskar couldn't help but hope he had found something in the current situation.
"It's from a tree in a forest that appeared a short distance from Gilm. A place where Treants... or monsters of a similar nature are breeding in concentration."
"Does that mean it's a Treant Forest?"
"I already told you, that much is unclear. According to the survivor who was first attacked by that forest, they were assaulted by Treants. But according to Rei, who went to confirm it, the trees of the forest were apparently not Treants."
At the name "Rei" from Daskar's mouth, Zumous fell to thinking.
Living in Gilm—no, working as Daskar's subordinate—Zumous naturally knew of Rei.
Of course, he only knew of him by reputation and had never actually spoken to him, but since he had obtained things like Set's feathers and fur as materials for Alchemy, it would be fair to say he was rather grateful to Rei.
Furthermore, his abilities were beyond doubt when considering his past achievements.
Because of that, perhaps it was only natural.
He couldn't believe that Rei and Set would overlook the existence of Treants.
"So what does that mean in the end?"
"I don't know. But... be that as it may. You came rushing here for a reason, didn't you? Tell me."
"Ah, yes. ...This tree branch, at first glance, appears to be nothing more than a piece of wood with slightly more magical power than normal."
Worker nodded at Zumous's words.
Marina, a Dark Elf-kin who possessed outstanding abilities even among her kind and held high expertise regarding plants and magic, had stated this definitively, so there was no disputing it.
Daskar also had a long acquaintance with Marina, and he had no objections either.
Before the two of them, Zumous continued his explanation.
"However, upon investigating this branch, I discovered that when a certain specific liquid is applied and a fixed amount of magical power is channeled through it... it gains considerable density and can also acquire magical defensive properties."
"...What?"
At Zumous's explanation, Daskar, who had been about to bring a piece of bread to his mouth, stopped mid-motion.
Such was the shock of what Zumous had just said.
Worker, too, stared intently at Zumous as if to confirm the truth of his words.
The lord of Gilm and the Guild Master. To those two, if what they had just heard was true, it meant they might be able to obtain a limitless supply of armor—or so they thought.
Given that it was wood, using it as a weapon would be difficult.
But what about as a shield or armor?
Harboring such expectations, Daskar spoke.
"Then, that forest... it'll be inconvenient without a name. Shall we call it the Treant Forest for now? Is it possible to create armor from the trees growing in that Treant Forest?"
From what Worker had heard of Rei's account, he felt it might not be appropriate to call them Treants, but given that they needed to assign some name to the forest for the time being, he had no intention of raising unnecessary objections.
Zumous, subjected to the expectant gazes of Worker and Daskar, shook his head apologetically.
"Unfortunately, it does not possess enough strength to be used as armor."
"...I see."
Daskar sighed openly, but Worker, who had been listening alongside him, suddenly noticed something.
"Wait a moment. It doesn't have enough strength to be used as armor. Which means... is there some other use for it?"
At those words, Daskar turned a look full of expectation toward him, and Zumous nodded as if his point had been understood.
"Yes. What... occurred to me is its use as a construction material."
"Construction material?"
He probably hadn't expected such a word to come up here. Daskar displayed a puzzled expression for a moment, but in the next instant, he drew a sharp breath.
As the lord, precisely because he understood Gilm's current situation, he grasped the meaning of those words all too well.
Gilm still had some breathing room at present, but if the population continued to grow as it was, reaching a saturation point in the near future was inevitable.
When that happened, various problems would inevitably arise.
That was why Daskar had been wanting to carry out Gilm's expansion construction by any means possible, but doing so required vast amounts of materials, personnel, funds... and many other things besides.
But the trees in the Treant Forest would naturally spread and grow back no matter how much they were logged.
And if, while not strong enough for armor, they possessed sufficient strength to be used as construction material...
"Mmh."
Daskar groaned.
He was seriously deliberating what to do next, but from an outsider's perspective, it looked like nothing more than him glaring at Zumous, who had brought the report about the wood.
The fact that Zumous showed no sign of cowering was probably because he had been working under Daskar long enough to grow accustomed to this sort of thing.
If anything, it was Worker rather than Zumous who looked surprised by Daskar's current state.
Then again, Worker and Daskar's relationship was still relatively short.
Considering that, Worker's surprise was only natural.
Daskar sat in silent thought for several minutes before eventually turning his gaze to Worker.
"Worker, what does the Guild intend to do about the Treant Forest?"
"...That's a difficult question. Given that adventurers were attacked, I had thought it would be better to simply burn it down... but if the trees can be used for staves, they can be treated as a resource."
"Indeed. Especially after hearing what was just said, we can't act recklessly. If it can truly be used for Gilm's expansion construction, then burning it all with Rei's magic is out of the question."
"I suppose so."
Worker offered no objections to Daskar's words.
The trees they had been considering as material for staves would, naturally, no longer be usable as such if they were burned to ash.
"Lord Daskar, I have a request."
Zumous, who had been listening to their exchange, interjected.
"What is it?"
"Yes. That forest... the Treant Forest, was it? If possible, I would like you to bring back not just a branch, but a whole tree. What I said earlier about it being usable as construction material is based solely on my investigation of this branch."
"In other words, if you examine a full tree rather than a branch, you might discover something more?"
Zumous answered the question.
"I won't know until I investigate it in detail. It's possible it may have different properties from the branch. But if it is to be used as construction material, I think it would be best to thoroughly examine the real article... well, perhaps that's not quite the right way to put it, but it should be properly studied."
When Zumous put it that way, both Worker and Daskar had no choice but to agree.
It hadn't yet been decided that the trees from the Treant Forest would be used as construction material, but Daskar was actively considering it.
Given that, thoroughly investigating the properties of the Treant Forest's trees was certainly the right call.
"Besides, since it was only a tree branch this time, I was only able to examine a small portion."
For Zumous, that was probably the biggest reason, more so than any talk of construction materials.
In a way, it was quite befitting of an alchemist.
However, Zumous's opinion was by no means wrong.
Even among monster materials, differing properties between body parts was not uncommon.
...Though, in truth, what Rei had handed over this time was not a Treant branch but an ordinary tree branch.
"Worker."
"Yes, I understand. Rei-san is already going to check on the forest's condition every day, so I'll ask him to bring back a tree when he goes tomorrow."
If this were an ordinary adventurer, Worker wouldn't be able to make such a request so easily.
Even if it was just a tree, what Daskar wanted brought back was one with a certain thickness—specifically, a tree that could be used as construction material.
A tree of that size would require considerable effort to fell, and considering its weight, transporting it all the way to Gilm would be difficult.
They would have to either hitch together several carts or cut the tree into manageable pieces on the spot.
But since Rei was an Item Box User, whether it was a tree or anything else, there was no need to worry about him transporting it.
In every sense, felling and retrieving a single tree was a request perfectly suited to Rei.
Well, in exchange, he'll probably demand additional compensation, though.
He thought as much, but fortunately, since this request originated from Daskar, there was no worry that Worker's own pockets would take a hit when it came to the reward.
"Lord Daskar, having him fell and bring back a tree is fine, but in that case, it becomes an additional request on top of his observation duties. Naturally, that would incur additional compensation..."
"Ah, I'll cover that. How much, specifically?"
"Hmm... let's see. For a B-Rank adventurer who's an Alias Holder, I'd say around several Gold Coins."
Daskar was surprised it was cheaper than expected, but the fact that the Treant Forest was nearby was a significant factor.
Since it was cheap, there was nothing to complain about... and Daskar nodded at Worker's words.