"That's quite the lavish escort again, huh."
Rei murmured as he surveyed the woodcutter guards surrounding them at the Treant Forest—or more precisely, the people stationed to respond in case someone else teleported in.
Aside from Byune, the usual members were all present: Elena, Ara, Vihera, and Marina, plus Set, Ielo, and Zozo.
That many people connected to Rei alone, and in addition, several B-Rank Adventurers dispatched from the Guild, along with several Knights who had come under Daskar's orders.
Beyond them, there were also the usual adventurers present to work as woodcutter escorts and assistants.
Among the adventurers, some looked as though they wanted to ask what this excessive combat power was all about.
They were probably people who had been working a different job yesterday and didn't know the situation.
By comparison, the woodcutters were all the same faces from yesterday, so there was no sign of confusion among them.
Though a few appeared slightly bewildered by the sheer number of clearly skilled individuals present.
"Given the gravity of this incident, that's only natural."
"...You're acting pretty nonchalant about tagging along, but is Elena really okay being here? From the Noble Faction Nobles' perspective, wouldn't her presence be unacceptable?"
Elena was someone who bore the alias of Princess General and could be called the very symbol of the Noble's Faction.
For such a person to be in a place like this carried a very real possibility of causing an uproar over appearances.
But to Rei's words, Elena shook her head, indicating there was no need for concern.
"This incident requires us to gather information as quickly as possible. In truth..."
Elena paused there, directing her gaze toward several of the gathered adventurers.
Some of those she looked at blushed happily at meeting her eyes, while others quietly averted their gazes.
"Agents connected to the King's Faction, the Noble's Faction, and likely Neutral Faction nobles as well are probably among them. Each seeking whatever information they can get."
"...Is that how it works?"
Rei responded to Elena's words, though on reflection, it wasn't all that strange for them to want intelligence they had gathered themselves rather than information filtered through Daskar.
The King's Faction in particular was increasingly being recognized as a hostile faction due to the Eyeball incident that winter.
In reality, there were many subgroups within the King's Faction, and apparently only one of them had been responsible... but even so, there was no mistaking that the King's Faction was still the King's Faction.
"It is. More importantly, shouldn't we begin logging soon? Yesterday, the work ended rather early."
As if they had heard Elena's words, the woodcutters took up their axes—tools of their trade—and entered the Treant Forest.
They had already felled a considerable number of trees, but a vast area still remained.
Viewed from above on Set's back, the Treant Forest had taken on a rather distorted shape from the continued logging, but from the ground, that was difficult to discern.
"Well then, let's get to work too."
At Rei's words, everyone other than the woodcutters began their respective tasks.
Some helped the woodcutters, others patrolled for monsters approaching the Treant Forest, and still others—like Lunora and Zozo's groups—kept watch for anyone who might teleport in.
That said, while the first two were actual work, staying alert for teleportation was incredibly dull.
After all, since there was no telling when a teleportation might occur, they couldn't stay tense the entire time.
Concentration simply couldn't last that long.
In that sense, Rei and his group were well-versed in the art of maintaining moderate relaxation.
They had been caught up in all sorts of troubles many times before, so they were likely accustomed to the act of staying vigilant while still letting their guard down appropriately.
"Standing around like this isn't getting us anywhere. Should I teach Zozo some words?"
At the remark that suddenly slipped from Rei's mouth, Zozo turned his gaze toward him.
He couldn't understand what Rei was saying, but he recognized that his own name had been called.
"Studying here?"
"I mean, there's nothing else to do, right? Besides, the Green Demi-humans including Lunora, and the Lizardmen other than Zozo, are all studying even as we speak. If Zozo is the only one not studying while acting alongside us, then he alone will end up unable to converse with us."
"That's..."
Marina fell silent, unable to argue with Rei's words.
In truth, she did want Zozo to understand their language if possible.
However, Zozo would never leave Rei's side, and Rei was an indispensable asset for the Expansion Construction.
Given that, the most suitable person to teach Zozo words was Rei, who was always at his side.
From Zozo's perspective, troubling the hands of the person he served would probably be uncomfortable for him, but as a practical matter, not being able to communicate was extremely inconvenient.
Simple communication could be managed through gestures, but anything more complex made mutual understanding exceedingly difficult.
Given that, if Zozo was going to act alongside Rei, they absolutely needed him to learn the language.
"So that's how it is. I'll be teaching you words. Rei."
"Rei."
Rei's name had been taught yesterday, and above all, since Rei was the person Zozo served, there was no way he would get it wrong.
Rei nodded at Zozo's response and then pointed at Zozo.
"Zozo."
"Zozo."
This being his own name as well, he murmured it without any sign of error.
Rei wasn't particularly surprised by this either, and after musing over whose name to have him say next, he looked at Vihera.
Honestly, the pronunciation of the name Vihera seemed like it might be difficult for Zozo, but since she had defeated him in the mock battle before breakfast this morning, Rei thought he might remember it more easily.
He had considered starting with Elena or Ielo, but given Zozo's attitude toward them, he might find even calling their names too daunting.
In that sense, Vihera—who had fought a mock battle against him and won—was just right.
"Vihera."
"Bigena."
"Close. A little different. Vi-he-ra."
"Vihera."
"Hmm... the pronunciation is fine, but the ending is slightly off somehow. One more time. Vi-he-ra."
Zozo tried his best to say Vihera in response to Rei's words, but no matter what, his pronunciation carried a lingering sense of incongruity.
Then again, maybe Lizardmen and humans have different vocal organs? No, he can say my name normally, so that probably isn't the case.
Rei called out Vihera's name several more times, and before long, the people around them began paying attention to Zozo.
Some knew the circumstances—that Zozo was a Lizardman, moreover one who had teleported here just yesterday—and some did not.
Both groups were watching Zozo.
The very act of having Tamed a Lizardman would have been unusual enough to draw attention.
That said, if they learned that the person who had Tamed that Lizardman was the same Rei who had Tamed Set, many would find it perfectly understandable. And then...
"Vihera."
"Oooh."
After about ten minutes of practice, Zozo finally succeeded in pronouncing Vihera's name cleanly.
Perhaps because he had been so focused on getting it right, Zozo hadn't realized just how many people were watching him.
Unusually, he glanced around with a bewildered expression.
"Zozo, ignore your surroundings for now. Right now, your studies come first. ...Though I guess you can't understand me."
Rei tried to caution Zozo, but since Zozo couldn't understand the words, he wouldn't know he was being scolded.
Even so, because Rei had called the name Zozo, he was at least able to look toward Rei.
"Next. Next is... Marina. Ma-ri-na."
Pointing toward Marina, Rei said this.
Since it was his second time, Zozo practiced the word without any particular sign of nervousness.
"Byabija."
"Ma-ri-na."
Just as with Vihera, Rei repeated it many times... and this time, within a few minutes, Zozo succeeded in accurately pronouncing Marina's name.
Next he had Zozo say Set's name, and since it was only two syllables, he managed to learn it even faster than Marina's name.
Ara's name also took a bit of effort, but he could pronounce it accurately within a few minutes.
Could it be that Zozo is smart, too? Well, he's considered to be a Rare Species or High-ranking Species among Lizardmen, so it wouldn't be strange if he were.
Reasoning that a fool wouldn't be able to command other Lizardmen, Rei thought about whose name to do next... and realized that only Elena and Ielo were left.
He could have used the names of other adventurers or Knights, but after some thought, Rei pointed at a tree.
Since he was teaching words in the first place, he judged it would be better to teach things besides names as well.
"Tree."
"Ki?"
"Oh, you're getting the hang of it. You said it in one try. Alright, next."
Grass, sky, sun, cloud, dirt—Rei had Zozo practice one word after another, grabbing whatever came to hand.
Zozo had been bewildered at first, but gradually he became able to pronounce the words smoothly.
Rei hadn't noticed, but Zozo had been acting alongside him since yesterday and had heard him conversing with the others countless times.
And he had been desperately trying to understand those words, so in a sense, he had been doing advance study.
The results of that preparation were showing now, which was exactly why he was picking up words so rapidly.
"Alright, the vocabulary is good for now... but what should I do next?"
Rei had never taught anyone a language before.
He had studied English in school back in Japan, but as someone who was never particularly good at it, he found himself at a loss for how to go about teaching it.
"Zozo seems pretty smart, so maybe if you just teach him vocabulary, he'll figure out how to speak on his own?"
Vihera murmured casually, but in terms of what could actually be done for language study right here, that was about all they could come up with.
If so, then they had no choice but to leave that part to Zozo himself, and Rei nodded.
"Got it. Let's try that for now. Zozo, listen to us talk and learn to converse as quickly as you can. I'll keep teaching you vocabulary from here on out."
Zozo probably understood that the conversation was about him, since his own name had come up.
He couldn't grasp exactly what Rei was saying, but since he understood from the flow so far that Rei was teaching him words, he bowed to indicate his acceptance.
Seeing Zozo's behavior, Rei looked relieved, knowing that even at this stage, Zozo understood their intentions to some degree.
"Still, if someone suddenly told me to have a conversation, I'd be at a loss too."
"Really? If it's just talking, it's not that hard, is it?"
Rei wondered, Is that so? at Marina's words.
Acting normally, he wouldn't particularly struggle with conversational topics, but if he were suddenly told to say something, Rei would definitely be stuck.
"I suppose so. Then how about we talk about Lunora and his group? It's relevant to what's happening around here."
Following Marina's suggestion, Rei and the others began discussing Lunora and the Green Demi-humans.
"If you ask me what was surprising, it would definitely be their appearance. I've been to all sorts of places as an adventurer and seen all kinds of people, but a demi-human with completely green skin is a first for me. And their blood is green too, right?"
"Yeah. Well, Lunora and the others might be a people beloved by green... by nature itself. They do possess the ability to grow plants, after all."
"That ability is what made Daskar decide to shelter them, so who knows if their fortune is good or bad."
"Hard to say. From my perspective, I'd say they're quite fortunate."
Rei wasn't deflecting or making excuses—he genuinely felt that from the bottom of his heart.
After all, if Daskar hadn't protected Lunora's group, there was a real possibility they could have been treated as monsters.
No, in an even worse case, there was also the possibility that Slave Traders might have captured them and enslaved them.
Then again, there's no guarantee a Slave Collar would even work on them... No, actually, it probably would work normally. Potions worked on them just fine, after all.
Rei, feeling relieved that Lunora and Zozo's groups had not met the worst possible ending—even if it couldn't be called the best—continued his conversation for Zozo's benefit.