When Rei and his party returned to Gilm, the surroundings were already completely bright.
Naturally. They had fought a massive monster like the Gigant Turtle and were utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically.
They had tried to recover from that exhaustion somewhat before heading back, when everyone suddenly realized something.
Wouldn't there be a shortage of carriages?
The carriages that Rei's party had taken to the Treant Forest had already been sent back with those who were not participating in the battle, since they would get in the way during the fight against the Gigant Turtle.
The reinforcement adventurers who came to aid in the battle against the Gigant Turtle had arrived by carriage, but with them around, the number of people who could ride in the carriages was naturally limited.
There was some room to spare, so a few people could ride without issue, but fitting everyone was simply out of the question.
However, that problem was resolved by having those who had fought the Gigant Turtle take the carriages.
Most of the adventurers harbored goodwill toward those who had experienced the battle against the Gigant Turtle, so few were displeased by this.
...Though "few" meant there were still some who were unhappy about it.
Even so, none dared to openly complain to Rei, and as a result, those who had come as reinforcements ended up walking back to Gilm.
"I've been waiting for you, adventurers! Well done resolving the Treant Forest situation!"
That was the voice that greeted the adventurers as they arrived in front of Gilm's main gate and stepped down from the carriages.
Those who heard the voice fell silent for a moment, and the next instant, a murmur spread through the crowd.
Naturally — the one coming out through the main gate to welcome them was none other than Margrave Daskar Larkus, the ruler of Gilm.
Beside Daskar stood the current Guild Master, Worker.
With Gilm's key figures assembled, the figures of knights serving as guards were naturally present as well.
(Even though it's morning, it's still not time for the main gate to open yet.)
Since the number of people who could ride in the carriages was limited, Rei had returned to Gilm riding on Set.
At that time, he had been curious about what time it was and checked a clock — it was still before 5 AM.
Considering the distance from there to Gilm, it was probably still before 6 AM.
Having this many knights mobilized at such an hour must have been quite a nuisance for them — or so it was only natural for everyone, including Rei, to think.
"Lord Daskar coming out to greet us in person... that was a bit surprising."
The one who said that was Marina, who was accustomed to these kinds of negotiations as a former Guild Master.
The reason she used a more polite tone than usual when dealing with Daskar was because she understood this was not a personal exchange, but an official one.
Daskar seemed to understand that as well, raising an eyebrow for just a moment at Marina's words before immediately smiling and speaking.
"A Treant Forest suddenly appearing near Gilm. A massive monster emerging from that forest... and its roar reached all the way here, after all. There was an earthquake, too."
"...Now that you mention it, was there any damage from the earthquake?"
"Ah. Fortunately... though that might not be the most appropriate expression, the shaking in Gilm was minimal. Compared to that incident when I was a child..."
"Now that you mention it, something like that did happen. Quite a few houses collapsed back then."
Rei... and most of the others could not understand what the two were talking about, but it seemed the veteran adventurers among them grasped the circumstances.
They exchanged nods with wry smiles.
However, noticing that many did not understand what they were discussing, Daskar gave a small cough before speaking again.
"In any case, well done, everyone. We're preparing a place for you to rest and recover. Those who are injured will receive treatment. Naturally, there's food and drink as well."
"Uwooooooooh!"
The adventurers each raised voices of joy at Daskar's unexpected hospitality.
Even those who had been saying they wanted to rest quickly before arriving raised both hands in delight at Daskar's offer.
"My, you're quite well-prepared."
"...Hmph. Regarding the Treant Forest matter, I need to hear various details. Besides, I'd like to keep this story from spreading as much as possible."
"But that Gigant Turtle's roar was heard all the way here, wasn't it? Hiding that is impossible, isn't it?"
"Of course, we will properly announce that much. However, I don't want unnecessary information spread needlessly. I'm planning to dispatch the Knight Order and guards to the Treant Forest and make it off-limits for a while."
"Making all of that vast forest off-limits is impossible, you know?"
"I know. That's exactly why I'd like to declare this matter safely resolved as quickly as possible. By the way, is this Gigant Turtle the same as the giant turtle monster from the report?"
"Yes. Though it's not an official name — Rei just named it for the time being."
"Rei, huh. I'm not sure whether to praise him or scold him... no, in this case, it's our fault for not informing him about how we planned to utilize the Treant Forest."
While the adventurers were each raising voices of joy, Daskar and Marina, no longer the center of attention, conversed in their usual manner.
A nearby knight could hear their exchange, but showed no concern, treating it as routine.
He probably figured that the public exchange was over for now.
And so, Rei and his party were all taken to the lord's mansion as they were.
A few adventurers wondered why the lord's mansion — but rather than explaining that it was to keep the Treant Forest matter from spreading, they were told that at this early hour, there were limited places where a feast could be prepared.
Naturally, not everyone believed that... no, most of the adventurers understood the general circumstances, but none let it show.
For the adventurers who had been dispatched as reinforcements only to arrive after the battle was already over and found themselves with nothing to do, this feast likely served to soften their frustration at being forcibly woken up.
They weren't complaining about anything either.
No, rather, many were delighted at the prospect of eating and drinking for free.
"Even at this hour, there are quite a lot of people around."
Despite it being early morning, there was a fair number of people in the streets.
As Rei muttered this while walking alongside Set, Luno, who had been walking nearby, opened his mouth with an exasperated tone.
"Obviously. Once it gets light... depending on the season, there are plenty of people already moving around even when it's still dark. For that matter, adventurers gathering at the Guild is also early in the morning. ...Rei, you're among a minority who go to the Guild late because you dislike crowds."
"In my case, it's not like I need to force myself to take requests."
In Rei's case, he already had more money than he could ever spend.
Even if he absolutely needed to earn money, he could hunt monsters and sell their Subjugation Proof Parts, Magic Stones, and materials to make as much as he wanted.
Going to the Guild was more about gathering information and meeting Lenora and Kenny.
Rei said something that would make any ordinary adventurer want to thrash about in jealousy, but he was already known as that kind of person.
While they were talking like this, the group arrived at the lord's mansion.
Then, right away, those who were hungry headed to the dining hall where food had been prepared, and those who were injured went to receive treatment, each going their separate ways.
Rei had also been inclined to eat... but, naturally, Marina pulled him along, and all the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings headed to the lord's office.
Only Set lay down and relaxed near the stable, happily waiting for a maid to bring him food.
(I'm jealous. I want to sleep and eat, too.)
It was only natural for Rei to think that.
However, since Rei was the only one who had directly communicated with the root puppet — the incarnation of the Treant Forest — through image-language, Daskar and Worker needed to hear the details from him.
The Treant Forest was not strictly indispensable for Gilm's expansion, but it was an undeniable fact that having it would be extremely helpful.
Because of that, they needed to discuss what would happen to the Treant Forest going forward... and how they would interact with it from here on.
Thus, upon arriving at Daskar's office, everyone took their seats on the sofas.
Daskar understood that Rei and his party had been up all night and hadn't eaten anything for a long time, so he ordered a maid to bring some appropriate food.
With that, only the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings, Daskar, and Worker remained in the room.
"...Phew. I suppose I should start by thanking Rei. I never expected such an entity to exist within the Treant Forest. I'm grateful that you discovered it and defeated it. I'm grateful, but..."
As his words suggested, Daskar was indeed grateful to Rei.
However, the reason he still wore a complicated expression was, as expected, because it affected Gilm's expansion.
Of course, Gilm's expansion was possible even under the current circumstances.
A frontier was, after all, a place where that much wealth gathered.
Even so, the lower the costs, the better.
...Though cutting corners in construction just to keep costs down would defeat the purpose.
This was, after all, the frontier.
If the outer walls meant to protect the people living in that frontier were built shoddily, the price could very well be paid in lives.
Daskar and Worker exchanged glances, and eventually Worker, seated beside Daskar, spoke up.
"The truth is, Rei-san... there is a plan to expand Gilm in the near future."
"...Is that so?"
Rei had assumed the conversation would be about the Treant Forest, so he hadn't expected such a topic to come up here.
He directed a slightly surprised look at Worker.
"Yes. And naturally, expanding a town requires a great deal of material."
Hearing that, Rei understood what Worker was trying to say.
In other words, they had been eyeing the Treant Forest as a source of material for the expansion work.
And why they had gone out of their way to hire woodcutters... no, even adventurers hired under the guise of escorts to do such a thing.
Also, regarding the felled trees Rei had brought in his Misty Ring — normally he could have simply transported them somewhere himself, but instead he was made to hand them over to a limited group of people, which was likely related to the expansion work as well.
"But... I don't mean to be rude, but it's just lumber, right? I understand using it as construction material, but wouldn't the town's outer walls be more important?"
"Transporting enough lumber to build a single house wouldn't be difficult. But if we're to increase Gilm by fifty percent..."
"Fifty percent!?"
At the unexpected words from Worker's mouth, Rei's face openly showed surprise.
If he had been wearing a hood, it might have flown off given the degree of his astonishment — or so one might think.
But it was only natural. Gilm was already an exceptionally large settlement.
So much so that one might reasonably call it a city rather than a town.
To expand a Gilm of that size by another fifty percent... even Rei could understand just how massive a construction project that would be.
Of course, he didn't know exactly how large the project would be, but he could roughly estimate it.
Seeing Rei's eyes widen in surprise, Worker continued his explanation.
"I believe you understand that it's a project of that scale. On top of that, we've also discovered that wood felled in the Treant Forest can, with some processing, exhibit a certain degree of defensive power against magic. That's exactly why the trees of the Treant Forest were quite valuable for various reasons, but..."
"And I went and defeated it?"
"No, no. Honestly, as Lord Daskar mentioned, having you defeat that giant turtle monster... the Gigant Turtle, was it? That's extremely helpful. We never knew when such a monster might appear. Besides..."
Hearing a knock at the door, Worker paused his words.
Then Daskar ordered them to enter, and a maid placed various dishes... likely the same food being served at the feast... on the table before leaving the room.
"Please, go ahead and eat for now. We can continue our discussion after that."
Following Worker's words, Rei reached for the food on the table.