The spatial ripples shone with a dazzling light.
Unable to predict what would emerge from them, Rei and Set remained ready to intercept at a moment's notice.
Behind them were the woodcutters and the adventurers tasked with protecting them.
However, since nearly all of those adventurers lacked the strength to handle a truly powerful foe, a formidable enemy emerging from the spatial ripples would only make them a liability—and lead to casualties.
Since they had at least been working on a Treant Forest-related job, Rei harbored some degree of goodwill toward them, and he wanted to avoid casualties on their side if at all possible.
With that in mind, he sharpened his focus, preparing to detect any incoming attack through presence alone even amid the blinding light. Yet, though he sensed several presences appearing very close by within that brilliance, none showed any indication of attacking.
(What?)
It was the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack, and yet the presences showed no sign of aggression whatsoever, leaving him puzzled.
The situation held as the light spreading across the surroundings eventually faded...
"What?"
At the sight unfolding before him, Rei let the word slip out before he could stop himself.
He had been on guard, fully expecting some unknown monster or the like to emerge. But what currently stood in his line of sight was clearly people.
That said, they were neither human, Elf, nor Dwarf. What stood before him were demi-humans with greenish skin.
There were about thirty of them.
From the swellings on their chests, it was clear that men and women were mixed together.
...Though whether it was a racial trait or not, the swellings were quite modest.
If Kenny and Lenora had been here, Kenny would have felt compelled to concede to Lenora: "Lenora... you win."
Furthermore, a strong scent of iron rust hung in the air. To both Rei and Set—well acquainted with that smell—its source was the green liquid oozing from several... no, the majority of the green-skinned demi-humans.
Noticing that, Rei furrowed his brow.
It was obvious that these demi-humans had brought some kind of trouble with them.
Above all, the fact that their blood was green was strange in more ways than one.
In Elgin, blood was red for the vast majority of people.
As a minor exception, there were those whose blood was a color other than red, but as far as Rei knew, no one had green blood.
Under Rei's watchful gaze, the green demi-humans each checked on one another's safety, then glanced around as if trying to avoid being discovered by someone. Naturally, they spotted Rei's group, who had been observing the entire series of events unfold.
"......"
Rei and one of the demi-humans locked eyes, exchanging a wordless stare.
Behind Rei, several of the adventurers tried to ready their weapons. Sensing this, Rei muttered sharply.
"Stop. Don't raise your weapons. We don't know that they're hostile."
"But—"
"I said stop. Didn't I?"
Rei shifted his gaze away from the green demi-humans and looked back as he spoke.
At his tone, the adventurers couldn't bring themselves to defy him and lowered their weapons.
After confirming that, Rei set Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear on the ground as well.
He would have preferred to store them in the Misty Ring, but he had no way of knowing how the demi-humans might react to seeing his weapons suddenly vanish.
Sure enough, upon seeing Rei's actions, the demi-human who had met his gaze—and the others who had noticed Rei's group by following that demi-human's line of sight—all breathed sighs of relief at the sight of weapons being set aside.
(Still, isn't that relief a bit much?)
The demeanor of the demi-humans before him raised questions.
Even with weapons set aside, the fact that they felt relieved upon seeing Rei's group was puzzling in itself.
(Or maybe they already know about humans and such?)
That could explain why they were relieved to see Rei and his group.
Harboring such doubts, but with the other side showing no aggressive response for the time being, Rei approached the demi-human man who had met his gaze earlier, keeping his hands free of weapons.
Seeing Rei approach, the demi-human man briefly tried to step back, but then held his ground and stepped forward instead.
Rei and the demi-human man drew closer. The group of demi-humans behind showed worried expressions, but took no actual action.
Eventually, when Rei and the demi-human man had closed the distance to within arm's reach, both came to a halt.
"●●●●●●●●●"
"...Huh?"
The moment the man opened his mouth, the words that came out were utterly incomprehensible to Rei.
"Umm... hey? Can you understand me?"
Rei asked, though it was a tentative attempt at best, and the demi-human man before him tilted his head as if he had no idea what Rei was saying.
"Ah... right. So the language is different. Which means..."
They came from another world?
The question forming in Rei's mind rapidly gained credibility.
"What should I do?"
With the other party being a complete unknown, he had no idea how to handle this situation.
If they had been the type to attack without thinking, Rei would have fought back without hesitation.
But they wore proper clothing, carried what appeared to be self-made weapons, and despite all that, made no move to attack. Instead, they sought dialogue.
They were not monsters like Goblins. They clearly possessed intelligence and were trying to interact peacefully.
Moreover, the iron-rust scent drifting from them confirmed that they were bleeding green blood—meaning some of them were definitely wounded.
"Umm, Rei-san. A lot of them seem to be injured. How about we try treating them? And while we do that, we should send word to Gilm."
The man leading today's adventurers offered that suggestion, but Rei couldn't fully agree.
Likely, Rei was the only one here who could worry about such a thing.
That is, if these green demi-humans were beings from another world, then the question was whether it was safe to use the potions that Rei and his group relied on.
Potions and similar items were, naturally, created with the assumption that they would be used by the inhabitants of this world.
If the blood these green demi-humans bled had been red, Rei wouldn't have given it a second thought.
But their blood was green.
If they used their own potions on such demi-humans, there was a real possibility that an adverse reaction could kill them.
(But considering this thick scent of blood, they might die from blood loss if nothing is done. Then what about Recovery Magic? No, I can't use Recovery Magic in the first place. And before that, would Recovery Magic even work on them any better than a potion would?)
Rei wavered on what to do, but while he hesitated, one of the green demi-humans collapsed to the ground.
The person was clearly weakening, and at this rate, they might not survive.
Making that judgment, Rei exhaled a breath of resignation and retrieved a potion from his Misty Ring.
Not a cheap one, but a high-quality potion that cost several Gold Coins to purchase.
He held it out to the green demi-human man before him—the one watching his fallen companion with concern.
"●●●●●●●●●●●●?"
The demi-human looked at the offered potion with a puzzled expression and spoke in words that were, as before, completely incomprehensible.
From that reaction, it was obvious the demi-human had no idea what the potion was.
In other words, either potions didn't exist in the world these demi-humans came from, or they were so rare that ordinary people could never obtain them.
Rei couldn't discern the truth, but the collapsed demi-human had a very high chance of dying at this rate.
Through frantic gesturing, Rei managed to convey that the potion's contents should be poured over the injured areas. After several minutes of back-and-forth, his intent finally got through to the demi-human man.
It probably helped that Rei's group had taken no hostile actions, but the man took the potion and went to his fallen companion.
(I remember seeing or reading something back in Japan about how you could get by with body language even without shared words. Turns out that was actually true.)
Thinking that, he watched to see whether the potion would truly work on the demi-humans.
If it didn't, he planned to try the jewel that sealed Recovery Magic—the one he'd obtained during his trip to Anesis.
...However, just like potions, Recovery Magic was also premised on being used on the living creatures of this world. He had no idea whether it would have any effect on these demi-humans, but having some kind of fallback in an emergency was reassuring nonetheless.
Under Rei's watchful gaze, the demi-human who had received the potion gently sprinkled it over the collapsed, injured companion.
That said, perhaps because they hadn't fully trusted the potion Rei handed them, they applied it little by little—just a drop or two at a time—onto the wounds.
The effect was dramatic.
"●●!"
The injured person cried out.
For a moment, Rei thought it hadn't worked after all and reached for the jewel that sealed Recovery Magic. But his hand stopped immediately.
The face of the injured demi-human who had cried out had shifted from pain to surprise.
If the potion had no effect, the man would have felt pain from even the slight impact of a drop being applied, and would have either winced or cried out in agony.
But what had appeared on his face was surprise. That had to be a good thing.
Watching closely, Rei saw the demi-human man apply another drop, then another, to the wounded area.
(But isn't that effect too strong for just one or two drops? It's definitely a high-quality potion, but I still wouldn't expect it to work that dramatically.)
Such doubts crossed his mind, but given the current situation, that unexpected potency was something to be grateful for, not to complain about.
Under the watchful eyes of Rei, Set, and the other adventurers, the collapsed demi-human eventually used about half the potion, and every one of the multiple wounds scattered across their body healed completely.
(Those are... cut wounds, right?)
Though he observed from a somewhat distant position, Rei's senses were sharper than an ordinary person's. Even from where he stood, he could clearly make out the wounds the man had suffered.
Looking over the other demi-humans again, he noticed that some bore injuries beyond just cuts. A few even had arrows embedded in their arms. Rei reconsidered what he knew about these demi-humans.
They carried this many wounds, and only about thirty of them had arrived.
The simplest explanation was that they had lost a battle and fled to this world seeking refuge.
(In that case...)
He could imagine the reason behind their flight. But if his guess was right, it would definitely lead to serious complications.
If the teleportation technique was unique to these demi-humans, there would be no problem.
But if teleportation between worlds was a widely known technique, and those who had attacked them hadn't given up the pursuit...
"Someone needs to inform Lord Daskar immediately... No, should I go myself? But..."
He started to speak, then hesitated over what to do.
This matter had to be brought to Daskar's attention without delay.
If Rei rode Set, he could reach Gilm almost instantly.
But what if, while he was away making the report, hostile beings from another world came pouring through in pursuit of these demi-humans?
Nearly everyone here was, as adventurers... no, as adventurers of Gilm, not particularly skilled in combat.
If at least the members of Crimson Lotus Wings—Rei's own party—were here, he could either leave this place in their hands or have them grab onto Set's legs for the trip to Gilm.
(No, dwelling on that won't help. In that case...)
Rei thought briefly, then made his decision.
"Who here is confident on horseback?"
Several hands went up.
Who among them was the best rider was something Rei had no way of knowing.
So he picked one man at random from those who raised their hands and spoke.
"Use one of the carriage horses and get to Gilm as fast as you can. You have my permission to use my name. Go to the Lord's Manor and report this situation to Lord Daskar."
At those words, the adventurer broke into a sprint toward the horse hitched to the carriage.