Getting Lunora and his group onto the carriages proved to be quite an ordeal for Rei and the others.
Carriages didn't seem to exist wherever Lunora's people lived, and the Green Demi-humans were reluctant to board them.
Since simply looking at a carriage from the outside hadn't been an issue, Rei couldn't fathom why they resisted so strongly.
After talking Lunora around with frantic gestures, Rei managed to get them aboard—but it had undeniably taken a considerable amount of time.
Compared to Lunora's group, the Lizardmen were far less trouble.
When Rei urged them to board, Zozo climbed into the carriage without the slightest resistance.
The rest of the Lizardmen had initially seemed reluctant, but the moment Zozo let out a cry, they immediately complied and filed on.
...As for the weapons the Lizardmen had been carrying, Rei stowed them all inside his Misty Ring. Loading them onto the carriages would have been a hassle and taken up too much space.
To the people of Gilm, this was already a familiar sight, but for the Green Demi-humans and Lizardmen—many of whom were seeing it for the first time—a glance or two wasn't enough to dispel their astonishment.
Watching longswords, shields, spears, and various other weapons vanish one after another was more than enough to leave them stunned.
That said, the surprise subsided to some extent—naturally, or rather, forcibly—once they were actually aboard the moving carriages.
"●●●●, ●●●?"
Inside the carriage, Lunora called out to Rei.
Rei couldn't understand what was being said, but he grasped perfectly well that Lunora was asking about something. And since he was looking toward the carriage window, it was undoubtedly something about the outside.
"Ah, the carriage is moving, so the scenery outside moves too. The carriage moves because horses pull it. Make sense? ...Guess not."
Rei pointed toward the front of the carriage for the time being, but only came away with a renewed appreciation for just how inconvenient a language barrier could be.
Simple communication wasn't a problem. But trying to convey anything more detailed through gestures alone, as he had just demonstrated, was nearly impossible.
(I really need to have them learn our language as soon as possible... It'd be nice if there were a Magic Item or something that could translate. But there's no way something that convenient exists. I suppose it's "learn by doing" for now?)
While Gilm's Magic Items were somewhat inferior to the Bestia Empire's, the city still attracted some of the finest Alchemists in the Kingdom of Mireana, drawn by the rare materials obtainable on the Frontier.
Rei felt that such individuals might be able to craft a translation Magic Item, but they were currently swamped with the Expansion Construction, and few had any time to spare.
On top of that, many people were hounding Rei to hand over the tail of the giant Eyeball he had defeated that winter. His honest feeling was that he'd rather not deal with any of them if he could help it.
At any rate, Lunora naturally couldn't understand a word Rei said and simply tilted his head.
Seeing this, Zozo, who was sharing the carriage with Rei, shot Lunora a displeased glance.
For Zozo, who had pledged himself to Rei, the current situation—Lunora casually striking up conversation—was probably unwelcome.
Still, he said nothing, perhaps because Rei himself didn't seem bothered.
(Will those Lizardmen be alright?)
Three carriages in total were currently heading for Gilm.
One carried the Lizardmen, another carried the Green Demi-humans, and the last one held Rei, Lunora, Zozo, Gyuramer, and several others who had come along for the negotiations.
Knights flanked the carriages as escorts.
In all of this, the ones who drew the short straw were the adventurers.
Originally, Gyuramer and his team had only brought one carriage. The remaining two were supposed to carry the adventurers back.
Having had their rides commandeered by the Green Demi-humans and Lizardmen, the adventurers were now making the trip back to Gilm on foot.
Their only consolation was that although their work had been cut short, they would still receive a full day's pay.
Besides, when Rei wasn't around, they had to load felled timber onto strings of cargo wagons and haul it themselves. Compared to that, this was an easy journey by any measure.
"Oh, Gilm's coming into view."
Rei, who had been following Lunora's gaze out the window, muttered the words at the familiar sight.
The carriages passed through Gilm's gate almost without inspection.
Normally, the guards would at least briefly check inside each carriage, but they didn't this time—likely because Gyuramer was present.
What's more, with guards riding along in the carriages, those at the gate understood that this was related to the Treant Forest incident and had no reason to be suspicious.
The carriages' destination within Gilm was the Lord's Manor.
Under normal circumstances, the possibility of danger would have warranted going somewhere other than the Lord's Manor. But Lunora's group all had gentle temperaments, and among the Lizardmen, Zozo obeyed Rei while the rest obeyed Zozo.
Judging from those facts, Rei concluded there was no danger, and they decided to head straight for the Lord's Manor.
It should be noted that the reason Daskar and the rest of Gilm's upper leadership already knew about Zozo's group was because, while Rei had gone back to Gilm to fetch Vihera, one of the knights had returned and explained the situation.
Even setting Zozo's group aside, however, the moment they learned of Lunora's group's ability—to grow plants in place of eating—this kind of reception would have been a given.
As building materials for Gilm's Expansion Construction, the trees of the Treant Forest were being felled one after another.
It had already been surveyed and confirmed that the forest held a sufficient supply of wood for the construction. But Treant Forest timber had uses far beyond mere building material.
It could serve as material for Land Ships, or depending on the circumstances, be sold elsewhere as lumber.
That said, a forest is finite.
The Treant Forest, moreover, was no ordinary forest; its very origins were peculiar in a number of ways.
Given that, its trees couldn't be treated the same as those from any other forest.
And into the midst of all this, a group of Demi-humans with the ability to grow plants had suddenly appeared via Teleportation—right in the middle of the Treant Forest, no less.
On top of that, they had a cooperative disposition. Not expecting anything from them under those circumstances would have been unreasonable.
Eventually, the carriages rolled to a stop, and Rei and the others stepped down...
"Huh!?"
Rei caught his breath at the sight spread out before him.
They had disembarked at the plaza where the knights conducted their combat training.
He had expected Daskar to be there.
But the dozens of knights assembled in addition to him could mean only one thing: this was a deliberate show of force to intimidate Rei's group—no, to intimidate Lunora and Zozo's groups.
(Well, it's not like I can't understand the sentiment... but isn't this overkill?)
Lunora and Zozo's groups shared no common language and had been in conflict. Or rather, from what Rei had witnessed, it would be more accurate to say that Lunora's group had been attacked unilaterally.
The proof was that not a single Lizardman had sustained so much as a scratch.
Regardless, there was no denying that a display of military force was the quickest way to keep both sides from acting up.
(Even I can figure that much out, so maybe there's some other meaning behind it... but I wouldn't know.)
Given how masterfully Daskar governed Gilm, Rei couldn't believe he would go to such lengths solely for the purpose of intimidation.
If that were the case, there had to be some other reason. But before Rei could voice anything, Daskar, stepping forward under the guard of knights, spoke.
"I would like to say, welcome to my city... but it is a shame we cannot share a language."
At Daskar's words, Lunora and the other Green Demi-humans showed a flicker of anxiety.
The Lizardmen may have had their own thoughts about the armed knights surrounding them, but with Zozo remaining completely calm, they showed no signs of agitation.
Seeing the demeanor of the two groups, Daskar's expression turned briefly puzzled.
It was quickly replaced by a smile, however.
(Lord Daskar was probably expecting Zozo's group to react the same way the Green Demi-humans did... so in that sense, his plan backfired, I suppose.)
Watching Daskar, Rei arrived at that conclusion for the time being.
There might be other reasons for receiving them in this manner, but since Rei didn't know what they were, he decided to set them aside for now.
"We have a large number of people this time, so our meeting must take place in a setting like this. I ask for your understanding."
"●●●?"
At Daskar's words, Lunora tilted his head with a puzzled look.
He didn't understand what was being said. That much was clear.
"As expected, the language barrier remains. Gyuramer, how did you manage to communicate with them?"
Daskar had likely known beforehand that they didn't share a language.
But perhaps entertaining the possibility, he had addressed them directly—and as expected, the message hadn't gotten through.
That was why he now turned to Gyuramer, the one who had brought Lunora's group here.
In response, Gyuramer stepped forward, gave a bow, and spoke.
"Since we don't share a language, our communication has been through gestures. However, I don't think it will take them very long to learn our words. At the very least, they picked up Rei's name and mine right away."
Saying that, Gyuramer turned his gaze to the figure at the front of the Green Demi-humans.
"This is Lunora. While I can't say for certain, based on observation, he appears to be the one leading these Green Demi-humans. And..."
Gyuramer's gaze shifted next to the Lizardman, Zozo.
"This is Zozo. As you can see, he stands above the other Lizardmen, and in fact, he leads the rest of them."
Daskar's gaze settled on Zozo.
That said, for Daskar, the only ones worth welcoming were Lunora and his group with their plant-growing ability. Zozo and the Lizardmen were entirely unexpected.
Hearing that they had attacked Lunora's group, Daskar actually considered them a nuisance.
Even so, the reason he received them on the same terms as Lunora's group was because the knight who had brought back the report stated that Zozo was completely obedient to Rei.
And seeing Zozo standing there now, it was plain enough that this was the truth.
Even at this very moment, Zozo was waiting faithfully at Rei's side.
That was undeniably a welcome outcome for Daskar as well.
"Gyuramer, I'm told several of them are injured. What's the situation there?"
"Yes. We used potions to heal their wounds as much as possible... However, since we treated them in order of severity, we ran short for a few of them."
As Gyuramer spoke, his gaze turned toward several of the Green Demi-humans—some of whom had been punched or slashed by Lizardmen.
All of the injuries were minor, but even so, it wasn't a pleasant sight.
"Treat them."
At Daskar's command, a knight stepped forward and began applying potions to the wounded Green Demi-humans one after another.
This was likely because they had already experienced potion treatment at the Treant Forest; the Green Demi-humans showed no resistance to the knights administering it.
Daskar watched the scene for a moment, then turned his gaze to Rei and beckoned him closer.
Rei, who had been stroking Set—which had traveled alongside the carriages—while watching the potions being applied, moved to Daskar's side.
Zozo tried to follow, but Rei held out a hand, signaling with a gesture to stay put.
"What is it?"
"...So you really did Tame that Lizardman. But more importantly. From what I've been told, those Green Demi-humans were attacked and wounded by the Lizardmen. Is that correct?"
"It is."
"Then why do they hold no grudge against the Lizardmen?"
Even asked point-blank, Rei could only tilt his head.
After all, the one who wanted to know the answer to that more than anyone was Rei himself.