Rorolunora, Gyuramer, and Rei.
The three of them tried to discuss what each should do from here on out, but with no shared language between them, there was only so much they could manage.
They could communicate basic intent through gestures, but that only went so far. Anything more nuanced was difficult to convey.
"All right... for now, let's set aside Rorolunora's group and focus on what to do with the Lizardmen. I was thinking of packing them into the carriages the guards arrived in and taking them back to Gilm. Would that work?"
For the time being, he would deal with what could be dealt with first.
With that in mind, Rei turned to Gyuramer for his input.
Gyuramer, however, could not immediately offer an answer.
If these were ordinary Lizardmen, they would have been killed without a second thought. But given the current circumstances, doing anything so rash was out of the question.
"Hmm? That's right. Looking at how they are now, they probably won't cause any trouble, so..."
Right as Gyuramer said that, a loud voice echoed through the area.
"●●●●●!"
As always, they could not understand the shout, but anyone who heard it could tell that it was filled with furious rage.
Gazes gathered in the direction of the voice, and naturally, Rei turned to look as well.
What stood there was a bound Lizardman—but not one of the others gathered nearby. It was the one that had attacked Rei and suffered a counterattack.
"Its hands and feet are tied with rope, and yet it's full of energy."
The creature swung its long, thick tail, striking the ground like a whip. The force behind it—saying it ruptured the ground might have been a slight exaggeration, but it was undeniable that it carried enough power to produce a similar effect.
"Maybe it's angry about being tied up?" Rei wondered.
He turned his gaze toward Rorolunora. After all, the one in this place who knew the most about those Lizardmen was, without a doubt, Rorolunora.
...That said, with them still unable to exchange words and knowing only each other's names, even asking for an explanation wouldn't help much. That much was an undeniable fact.
And indeed, Rorolunora, receiving Rei's gaze, appeared troubled over what to say.
(No, but... he looks troubled, yet there's also surprise?)
Within the look Rorolunora directed at Rei, there was unmistakably a hint of surprise, just as Rei had suspected.
Showing surprise in this kind of situation was something Rei could only describe as unexpected. Why would Rorolunora show surprise upon hearing the shout of an opponent that had likely attacked his people? And...
(Why is that Lizardman looking at me?)
The Lizardman that had been thrashing about had stopped its shouting and was now staring intently at Rei for some reason.
Well, if that were all, Rei probably wouldn't have paid it much mind. But in this case, the problem was that there was no trace of hatred in the eyes looking at him.
Compared to when it had been leading the other Lizardmen or looking at Rei with disdain, the gaze it now fixed on him was clearly different. It was only natural to find it strange.
"Rei, that Lizardman seems to be looking at you. Is it just my imagination?"
Gyuramer, too, had apparently noticed, and posed the question.
Hearing that, Rei decided to test it and moved a few steps to the side. The Lizardman turned its head, tracking his movement. Rei moved further, and the Lizardman continued to follow him.
"Yeah, it's definitely watching me. But it doesn't seem like it has any fight in its eyes."
"Is that so? I'm an amateur when it comes to combat, so I can't really tell. I'll ask just in case, but you're the one who defeated that Lizardman, right, Rei?"
"Yeah, that's for certain."
"Then wouldn't it... well, I don't know if it's a he or a she, but doesn't that Lizardman want a rematch with you?"
"It doesn't look that way to me."
There was nothing resembling fighting spirit in the Lizardman's gaze. Instead, it seemed to carry something far more composed—yet simultaneously intense. A contradictory feeling of sorts.
"For now, why don't you try approaching it? Untie the ropes, too."
"Are you serious? That Lizardman is definitely an enemy—the kind that would attack you without a second thought. And it was the one leading the assault on Rorolunora's group."
"I know that. But looking at how it is now, it really doesn't seem like it'll lash out. Am I wrong?"
Put that way, Rei couldn't deny it. In the Lizardman's eyes, there genuinely didn't appear to be any hostility.
"...All right. I'll give it a try."
Rei approached the Lizardman, doing so readily because he had essentially gauged the creature's strength. Even if the Lizardman, freed from its ropes, attacked him, Rei was confident he could respond instantly.
Of course, Rei also knew that the power it had displayed during their first encounter might not represent its full capability. The Lizardman had clearly been underestimating him at the time, so there was no doubt its strike had been a pulled punch.
But even factoring in that hidden strength, Rei was certain he could handle whatever came. And if, by some one-in-a-hundred-million chance, its true power exceeded his expectations, Set was also here.
That was why he judged there was no problem, and approached the Lizardman.
Having apparently overheard the conversation between Rei and Gyuramer, the guard stationed nearby didn't try to stop him. Rather, he stepped forward and untied the ropes himself.
Freed from its bindings, the Lizardman stood up as if nothing had happened and fixed its gaze on Rei.
Standing before Rei, it was clearly larger than the other Lizardmen. It stood well over two meters tall, and Rei even had to tilt his head back slightly to meet its eyes.
『…………』
For several seconds—no, for over ten seconds—Rei and the Lizardman exchanged looks in silence. When it had first looked at Rei, the creature had worn an unmistakably mocking expression. Now, there was no trace of that anywhere.
Everyone in the vicinity—even the Green Demi-humans who had been attacked by the Lizardmen—watched the exchange between Rei and the Lizardman with bated breath.
Several more minutes passed. Just as Rei was thinking that staying like this any longer would be... and was about to open his mouth, the Lizardman moved.
Not to attack Rei. It knelt before him.
Like a knight kneeling before a king.
"Eh...?"
This happening so suddenly was apparently completely unexpected for Rei, and a bewildered voice escaped his lips.
And it wasn't just him. The others nearby—and above all, the group of Lizardmen—let out sounds of surprise and confusion.
Several tens of seconds passed in that state, but the kneeling Lizardman didn't move a muscle.
(What exactly am I supposed to do here?)
Never expecting the very Lizardman that had been mocking him to kneel in submission, Rei genuinely struggled with how to handle the situation.
But deciding that leaving things as they were would stall any progress, he finally spoke.
"For now, please stand."
He told it that, but naturally, there was no way they shared a language.
"●●●?"
The Lizardman said something, but since it was still bowed low, its expression couldn't be read.
That said, they couldn't stay like this forever. Rei stepped closer to the kneeling creature.
He no longer sensed any hostility from it toward him. If anything, as its kneeling made clear, the reverence and respect it held for him were unmistakable.
(No need to overthink it—it's probably because I beat it.)
Whether this was a trait common to Lizardmen from another world or simply a quirk of the one kneeling before him, Rei couldn't determine. But since it was undeniable that this situation had arisen because the creature had lost to him, figuring out what to do about the present state took priority.
Above all, in the current situation, getting both the Green Demi-humans and the Lizardmen transported to Gilm was going to take time.
(For now, at least, it doesn't seem hostile.)
That was the reason Rei didn't sense any particular danger from the Lizardman before him. There was always the possibility it was merely hiding its hostility, so he wasn't letting his guard down entirely, but...
Rei placed his hand on the kneeling Lizardman's right shoulder.
In that instant, he heard the voices of the other Lizardmen watching the scene stir in commotion.
(Huh? Did I just do something wrong?)
The way the Lizardmen were looking at him gave the feeling he had committed some kind of fatal blunder. That said, given the circumstances, dealing with the kneeling Lizardman first had been the priority.
The Lizardman whose shoulder was touched flinched—enough that Rei could feel it, no, enough that anyone watching could tell—and in the next moment, it slammed its whip-like tail against the ground.
Under normal circumstances, that could rightfully be taken as an act of hostility. In fact, the guards, knights, and adventurers watching the scene half-reached for their weapons by reflex.
But seeing that the kneeling Lizardman did nothing further, they let their hands fall away.
"●●●, ●●●●●●, ●●●."
Murmuring something, the Lizardman rose to its feet. Then, with a deep bow, it stepped to Rei's side and stood at attention.
As if declaring through its very posture that it was Rei's vassal.
"Umm... so this is..."
Rei couldn't hide his bewilderment at the Lizardman's behavior. And who could blame him? For some reason, the very Lizardman he had knocked flying with the Death Scythe was now showing every sign of serving him.
No, submitting to the one who defeated you was not an uncommon story in itself. But usually, those who were forced to submit by sheer power wore their displeasure openly. And yet, on the face of the Lizardman standing at Rei's side, there was not a trace of dissatisfaction.
If anything, it looked as though it wanted to say it was happy to be there.
"Rei, what are you going to do?" Gyuramer approached and asked.
The Lizardman glanced at Gyuramer but otherwise showed no reaction. Seeing that Gyuramer was conversing with Rei, it apparently judged him to be no enemy.
"You're asking me? I mean... you think this is really because it lost to me, so now it wants to follow me or something?"
"...I can't think of anything else."
Gyuramer muttered with a hint of exasperation. From his perspective, Rei's actions invariably defied common sense.
That said, he had to admit he was grateful for them. The Lizardman now following Rei was clearly the one that had commanded the others. As long as it served Rei, the rest were unlikely to act up.
"Considering how this whole thing turned out, we might have gotten lucky. Show them your strength, and they fall right in line."
"True enough," Gyuramer nodded, though his gaze drifted toward Rorolunora.
The Green Demi-humans had been attacked by Lizardmen led by the very creature now serving Rei. Thinking back on that, Gyuramer wondered—would they not harbor resentment toward him?
But Rorolunora, even seeing the Lizardman standing at Rei's side, showed no sign of dissatisfaction. If anything, he seemed almost pleased.
(Why?)
Seeing that it wasn't just Rorolunora but the other Green Demi-humans as well wearing similar expressions, Gyuramer found himself puzzling over that very question.