Rei watched Fekts and his companions reeling from shock, but decided there was no point wasting any more time here.
After a small sigh, he spoke up.
"At any rate, your current situation is the result of your own actions, so save your despair for later. Once we get back to Gilm, you'll be thoroughly chewed out by the other woodcutters, your families, friends, and lovers."
He hadn't heard from Kenny exactly who had submitted the request to the Guild. Even so, Rei could easily guess that whoever had requested the search was someone among the people he had just listed.
"...Yeah."
Even Fekts, who hated adventurers, was quiet and subdued now.
Before coming to the Treant Forest, he could have stubbornly insisted that they could manage perfectly well on their own without adventurers. But considering they had been attacked by monsters with no adventurers around and were utterly helpless, he couldn't possibly claim adventurers were unnecessary now.
For the time being, staying quiet and compliant was the wisest course.
"Come on, we're leaving the forest. It doesn't look like there'll be any more attacks for the moment, but there's no telling when they'll come at us again. ...Marina, how's it looking over there?"
"No sign of further attacks so far," Marina replied, bow in hand.
The Wind Spirits that had wiped out the vines earlier had already vanished, and there was no one else in particular around her. A woodcutter who had witnessed the battle against the vines seemed about to say something to her... but ultimately kept his mouth shut. He most likely understood that there was no room for careless remarks in this situation.
"Good. Then let's get out of the forest. Whatever they're planning, they'll have the advantage while we're still inside."
Muttering this, he began storing the Treant corpses they had defeated into the Misty Ring one after another.
Selling the materials was one thing, but above all, the absence of Magic Stones bothered him.
Monsters without exception possessed Magic Stones. That was Rei's common sense, the common sense of adventurers, and above all, the common sense of this world called Elgin.
Yet the Treants Rei and his party had defeated had no Magic Stones.
If it were simply a matter of being unable to find the stones within their bodies, that would be one thing... but if Magic Stones truly didn't exist, then this place called the Treant Forest was abnormal in more ways than one.
...Though, to be fair, a forest that expanded by about ten meters every night was already abnormal in its own right.
"Wait a minute!"
Seeing Rei storing the Treants into the Misty Ring, Fekts suddenly spoke up. Rei turned only his gaze toward him, not stopping his work.
"What is it? As things stand, there's a high chance of another attack. I'd like to get out of the Treant Forest as quickly as possible."
"I know. I know, but... please, I'm swallowing my pride to ask. A little further ahead, there should be trees we felled lying on the ground. I want you to take those with us too."
"...Are you serious? At this stage, you want me to help you profit?"
Fekts met a gaze heavy with exasperation, but shook his head.
"That's not it! ...Well, you're not entirely wrong, but the money from selling those trees isn't going to us. I want you to put it toward the cost of dispatching you out here."
"Oh?"
Rei let out a surprised sound, simply because he never expected such words to come from Fekts's mouth. He had been completely convinced that the money from selling the trees would go into their own pockets.
But instead, Fekts was asking that it be used as part of the reward for Rei and his party.
(Well, the reward I receive is basically going to be in Flame Ore anyway, so even if they sell the trees... no, would they buy Flame Ore with that money and count it as part of my reward?)
Or perhaps the money would be put toward something else entirely. Still, seeing Fekts bowing his head like this, Rei felt somewhat inclined to make a concession.
Above all, if the trees those men had painstakingly felled were left here only to feed this forest's growth...
(Hmm? Just now, something...)
Rei felt as though an idea had sparked, but he immediately pushed it aside. Getting out of this Treant Forest took priority. He could think about whatever it was after this whole affair was settled.
"Fine. Besides, if we just leave them here, the monsters might put them to some use."
He nodded. Having just finished storing all the Treants, Rei and his party resumed walking.
He kept watch on their surroundings, ready to respond immediately if new monsters appeared, but strangely, none showed themselves.
(Are they afraid of Set?)
Ordinary monsters wouldn't dare approach upon sensing Set's presence. Of course, there were exceptions—monsters with low intelligence like Goblins, or those whose hearts were ruled by raw aggression. But creatures with a certain degree of intelligence, like Treants, keeping their distance because of Set wasn't unusual at all.
(But then again, this Treant Forest itself is far from normal.)
A normal forest didn't expand by about ten meters every single night. The monsters lurking in such a forest were anything but ordinary, and Rei couldn't possibly view them as the same kind of creatures as those found elsewhere.
(Regardless of the reason, if they're not attacking, that's a relief for us too. My party is one thing, but fighting while protecting the woodcutters would be difficult.)
If it were just one or two people, it might be manageable, but there were over ten woodcutters. Protecting that many with just three humans and one griffon was far harder than their combined strength would suggest. Not having to do so meant Rei had no complaints whatsoever.
As they continued walking with careful alertness, the edge of the forest came into view. Fekts and his group hadn't actually gone that deep into the forest to begin with, so getting back out was quick.
...Though it was exactly that short distance that Fekts and his men had been unable to overcome.
If Rei and his party hadn't arrived, there was no doubt they would have been wiped out.
Upon stepping out of the forest, cries of joy erupted from the woodcutters.
The soft moonlight that had been blocked by the forest canopy now poured down on them, as if celebrating their safety. For the woodcutters, who had been in genuine mortal danger, it was probably the most welcome sight imaginable. Some of them were shedding tears as they gazed up at the moon.
"We made it through somehow," Marina said to Rei as he watched the woodcutters making a commotion while petting Set.
Vihera stood beside Marina, also watching the rambunctious woodcutters. But while Marina seemed content, there was a look of dissatisfaction in Vihera's eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I was just thinking the battle ended far too quickly."
The dissatisfaction in Vihera's eyes wasn't directed at the woodcutters, but at the battle itself. In truth, a single strike from her Magic Impact Palm had destroyed a Treant from the inside, and the fight was over almost before it began. Having heard Rei's stories about the Treant Forest beforehand, she had probably expected to clash with strong enemies to her heart's content. Because her expectations had been so high, the disappointment she felt was equally great.
As if to cheer her up, Rei spoke.
"You don't need to be that disappointed. It's true today's fight was nothing much, but we know there's something wrong with this forest. We can't just let the Treant Forest keep expanding forever, right?"
"I understand that, but... do you really think that day will come? Looking at how the Guild has responded so far, they only see this forest as a resource, you know?"
"Well, it's true that it's genuinely useful as a resource. That's exactly why the woodcutters are out here in the first place."
"Then wouldn't they avoid something like a full-scale eradication?"
"No, they'll do it."
"...What's your basis for saying that so confidently?"
Vihera asked with genuine curiosity at Rei's flat-out declaration. Rei looked out at the Treant Forest as he answered.
"I get that you're unhappy you didn't get a proper fight, but think about it. First of all, the forest isn't only expanding where we are. Even if you cut down the trees in this one section, the forest will keep spreading from other locations."
"Well, I suppose so."
Even if woodcutters and adventurers devoted an entire day to felling trees, the range they could clear was only about ten meters. Gather more people and they could make more progress, but clearing ten meters along the entire perimeter of the forest was a pipe dream.
What's more, the range by which the forest expanded and encroached on its surroundings was roughly ten meters, but not necessarily exactly ten. In fact, Rei had confirmed areas where it had spread by about fifteen meters.
That being the case, it was certain that the forest was gradually—truly only little by little, but steadily—continuing to expand toward Gilm. If left unchecked, there was a very real danger that the trade road would be encroached upon as well.
(As the lord of Gilm, Lord Daskar would absolutely never allow that to happen.)
Because Gilm was situated in the frontier, it wasn't completely self-sufficient. Wheat and similar goods in particular relied on merchants who came to sell from other towns and villages. Beyond that, all sorts of items that couldn't be obtained in the frontier naturally depended on merchants as well.
Given that, if the trade road became impassable... no, even if it didn't go that far, if word got out that the road was threatened by the forest's encroachment, the number of merchants visiting Gilm would certainly drop. Goods would undoubtedly sell once they reached Gilm, but whether they could arrive safely was another matter. And if the trade road was swallowed by the forest, traveling by carriage would become impossible altogether.
(Well, worst case, there's always the option of me flying to other towns and villages on Set to do the shopping... but for everyone living in Gilm? That's not very realistic.)
Of course, there were many supplies that could be obtained in Gilm itself. Meat in particular was plentiful, since there were as many monsters as one could want.
(Ah, Goblin meat.)
For a brief moment he thought about Goblin meat, but quickly reminded himself he was in the middle of a conversation with Vihera.
"At any rate, it should ultimately come down to doing something about this forest. When that happens, I think you'll get the kind of battle you're hoping for. ...Well, I can't say that with absolute certainty."
"...I see. Well, for now I'll take your word for it."
Though reluctant, Vihera accepted Rei's reasoning.
Watching the two of them, Marina judged the conversation was over and interjected.
"Rei, let's head to Gilm. We should get them back as quickly as possible."
Naturally, Marina's gaze was directed at the woodcutters. Now that they had exited the Treant Forest, there was no particular danger. But if the forest expanded and swallowed them back inside, another battle would erupt. Of course, Rei was confident he wouldn't lose even then, but the behavior of the woodcutters—freshly relieved at being saved—was unpredictable. Under the circumstances, Marina's advice to leave this place as quickly as possible was sound.
"Yeah, I'll do that. But I made a promise, so I'll go store those trees first."
At the end of Rei's gaze were the trees felled by Fekts and his men. Having promised to take them along, he had no intention of going back on his word.
"Once I've stored those trees, we're leaving immediately! Everyone get ready!"
Rei called out to the woodcutters, who were still rejoicing over having made it out of the Treant Forest. The sound of his voice seemed to bring them back to themselves, and they immediately began preparing to leave.
Of course, preparing didn't really involve much. Their axes were already in their hands. A few had lost theirs during the fighting, but those men had even less to do. Once they calmed down, they were as ready as they'd ever be.
Watching the woodcutters, Rei reached out for the felled trees and stored them into the Misty Ring. The felled trees themselves weren't all that numerous. As a result, it didn't take long for every last tree to be stowed away... and Rei and his party departed from the Treant Forest.