Once the Green Demi-humans' treatment was finished, Lunora stepped forward on behalf of the group and bowed his head toward Daskar.
It was clear that the gesture expressed gratitude, and Daskar smiled and nodded in response.
(Bowing to show gratitude — I guess that's common in Lunora's world too. Come to think of it, even though we can't communicate through words, it seems safe to assume most gestures and mannerisms are broadly similar.)
Rei had a fair amount of interaction with the Green Demi-humans and the Lizardmen. In fact, considering he had been present when both groups teleported into this world, it was fair to say he had the longest relationship with them. After all, it was Rei who had managed to communicate with Lunora and Zozo's groups.
"From what I can see, it seems like Lunora's group — the Green Demi-humans — have a disposition that thoroughly avoids conflict. No, perhaps I should say it's a characteristic rather than a disposition."
At Rei's words, Daskar wore a complicated expression. Naturally, if the Green Demi-humans they were about to take in were pacifists, that would be welcome news. But in this world of survival of the fittest, he was likely wondering whether such pacifism could truly be maintained.
"Lord Daskar?"
At Gyuramer's words, Daskar shook his head as if to dismiss the concern.
"No, I was just thinking that we should be able to get along well with the Green Demi-humans. ...So then, I'd like to see this reported ability to grow plants. Would that be possible?"
He directed the question at Rei — undoubtedly because he understood that Rei was the closest to the Green Demi-humans.
"If you're asking whether it's possible, I think it can probably be done. Conveying our request to them is the hard part, though."
"...The language barrier is something we'll need to address. We'll handle that on our end, so for now, please bear with it and show us."
With Daskar putting it that way, Rei found it hard to refuse. And since demonstrating the Green Demi-humans' ability would factor into their future treatment, he figured it was better to show it properly. He nodded.
"Please wait a moment. Umm..."
At Daskar's words, Rei looked around. Fortunately, this was a place where knights conducted combat training. Even without ornate flower beds, the edges of the training ground had some grass and flowers, thanks to it being spring.
"Lunora!"
"●●●?"
Hearing Rei's voice, Lunora — who could recognize his own name — approached. Leading him along, Rei headed toward the area at the edge of the training ground where flowers were growing.
Naturally, Daskar and his subordinates followed, and since Lunora had moved, the Green Demi-humans trailed after him. Since Rei had moved, Set and Zozo followed as well, and since Zozo had moved, the rest of the Lizardman unit came too. In the end, nearly everyone present had moved, and a crowd gathered around the flowers at the edge of the training ground.
"Please grow this."
Saying that, Rei pulled some bread from his Misty Ring. He had gone through a similar exchange in the Treant Forest, where Lunora had drawn nourishment from a plant and in return accelerated its growth.
As if remembering that occasion, Lunora nodded at Rei's simple gestures and gently reached his hand toward the flower.
A few seconds passed.
Then, around the blooming flower, buds began to open, and the stems themselves elongated as the flowers grew rapidly. It was a sight astonishing even to Rei, who was seeing it for a second time. For those witnessing it for the first time, the scene unfolding before their eyes left them capable only of staring in blank amazement.
"This is..."
The one who murmured that was Daskar. He had received a prior report that the Green Demi-humans possessed such an ability. Even so, seeing it with his own eyes was still astonishing. Others gasped in surprise, and some were so shocked they couldn't even make a sound.
Under the weight of those stares, Lunora wore a slightly bewildered expression. Borrowing power from a plant and circulating it between himself and the plant to accelerate its growth was, for Lunora and his people, nothing particularly special — an ordinary act, no different from a person eating a meal. That was precisely why he couldn't understand why they were so amazed.
"Amazing. I can only call it amazing. But... my knowledge isn't all that deep, yet even so, I've never heard of demi-humans like this. Rei, you were the disciple of a highly skilled mage, right? Then do you know anything about this?"
Originally, Rei had the cover story of being the disciple of a highly skilled mage. In Gilm, Rei's own abilities were what mattered, and that detail hadn't drawn much attention — until the eyeball incident that winter.
The eyeball inhabited the gaps between dimensions, something that should normally have been extremely difficult to deal with. Though it was an entity not of this world, Rei's master — or more precisely, Grimm, whom Rei had asked — had effortlessly dragged it out from the spatial rift. And not at the mansion near Gilm's Noble District where the eyeball had originally appeared, but outside the city entirely.
Knowing that, it wouldn't be strange for Rei's master to know about these Green Demi-humans. It was only natural for Daskar to think so.
But the only response Rei could give was to shake his head. At the very least, he had no knowledge of beings with green skin and even green blood.
"I see. Then, what about your master?"
"I can't initiate contact from my end, so I can't say for certain. He might know, but I have no way to confirm it."
"...I see." Daskar replied with evident disappointment. If possible — truly if possible — he had hoped Rei or Rei's master would know something about these Green Demi-humans.
"So, what will you do then?"
"What else is there to do but teach them our language, or alternatively, learn theirs?"
"In that case, the former would be better."
One of the men listening in on the conversation between Rei and Daskar interjected.
"Would it? Getting all of them to learn a language seems difficult."
"Even so, sir. We don't know where the Green Demi-humans came from, but from their perspective, there's no guarantee they can return to where they originally lived anytime soon. If that's the case, they'll be living here, and it would be inconvenient if they can't speak the local language."
Or are you planning to assign interpreters to every single one of them? Faced with that question, Daskar had no choice but to concede. A day or two would be one thing, but if they had no prospect of returning, the likelihood was high that the Green Demi-humans would settle in Gilm. Assigning interpreters to this many people for the rest of their lives was far from realistic.
"You're right. Given those circumstances, we do need them to learn our language. But even if we teach them, how should we go about it? The same way we teach children?"
In this region — no, across the Kingdom of Mireana, the Bestia Empire, the surrounding nations, and indeed the entire continent — there was only one language. Because of that, very few people had ever experienced teaching a language to adults. Given that, was it best to bring in someone who could teach language the way one taught children? To Daskar's question, the subordinate nodded.
"That would be the best approach. Fortunately, the Green Demi-humans appear mild-mannered, so they likely won't struggle too much with studying."
"Right. But... if that's the case, the problem would be..."
Pausing his conversation with his subordinate, Daskar shifted his gaze to Zozo, who stood waiting at Rei's side, and to the Lizardmen gathered behind him. These were Lizardmen clearly different from ordinary monsters, possessing what appeared to be high intelligence.
Of course, some monsters did possess high intelligence. It was not uncommon for monsters to use cries like language when hunting, and at the level of S-Rank Monsters, it was not unusual for them to possess intelligence far exceeding that of humans. But Lizardmen were not among such monsters, and above all, Zozo could not be called an ordinary Lizardman in many respects. His body was significantly larger than the other Lizardmen, and the scales covering him were clearly of superior quality. And then there was the fact that such a Lizardman followed Rei's orders.
Though on that last point, given Rei's track record of taming Set, Daskar could accept it.
"The other Lizardmen aside, Zozo follows my orders, so I don't think there'll be a problem. It seems Zozo holds the highest position among them. However... just as Zozo and his group teleported into the Treant Forest, there's no guarantee other Lizardmen won't teleport in as well. And if among them there are those of higher rank than Zozo..."
There was no telling what would happen. That was what Rei conveyed.
In truth, that concern was not to be taken lightly. Even Zozo had initially attacked Rei, and only after being struck down in retaliation did he settle down and adopt an attitude of obedience. If other Lizardmen teleported in and, like Zozo at first, attacked those present, it was certain that someone of considerable skill would need to be on hand.
...Someone like Vihera, for instance.
(In that sense, leaving Vihera at the Treant Forest was definitely the right call. That said, we can't keep her there forever, so we'll need to send a replacement.)
If new Lizardmen appeared in the Treant Forest when no one was there, it would obviously become a serious problem. And if the Green Demi-humans were present alongside them, just as Rei had seen before, there was a very real possibility that the Lizardmen — frustrated at being teleported to an unfamiliar place — would lash out and kill the Green Demi-humans.
Furthermore, now that such teleportation had occurred, escorts for the woodcutters — who previously hadn't required particularly skilled fighters — would now need to prioritize ability, sending capable hands.
"In other words, we still can't take our eyes off the Treant Forest. Is that what you're saying?"
"I believe so. I've left Vihera at the Treant Forest for now, but keeping her there indefinitely won't be possible."
"Right. And also..."
Daskar paused and directed his gaze toward Zozo, who waited at Rei's side. Even under Daskar's scrutiny, Zozo showed no particular concern — comporting himself as if declaring through his very bearing that he was Rei's subordinate. No, his vassal.
"Regarding the Lizardman Rei tamed — if the other Lizardmen share the same trait of obeying whoever defeats them, that could cause various problems. There are bound to be adventurers who'd want to bring a Lizardman under their command."
"Yeah... not really my place to say, but I hear the number of people aspiring to be Tamers has been increasing."
Needless to say, the cause was Set's existence. In reality, Set had been created through Beast Magic, but that was known only to a very limited few. The vast majority believed Rei had raised Set from a hatchling and successfully tamed him. And with Set enjoying such high popularity in Gilm, it was only natural for some to want a partner like Set as a Tamer.
That said, taming a monster depended entirely on individual aptitude. Even within the same species, the method to tame it varied wildly, and discovering a method suited to oneself was extremely difficult. For such people, a Lizardman like Zozo — one who would obey upon being defeated — would be the object of ravenous desire. Though if what they sought was something as endearing as Set, a Lizardman might not fit the bill.
"Exactly. That's precisely why I'd like to handle the Lizardmen on our end if possible... but there's not much point in discussing that right now."
"True. We don't even know for certain whether additional Lizardmen will teleport in."
Rei didn't say it aloud, but given the possibility of teleportation from another world, he figured the likelihood of more arriving at the Treant Forest was considerably lower than with ordinary teleportation.
And so, Rei continued his discussion with Daskar about what lay ahead.