While Rei and his companions were working in the Treant Forest and trying to teach Zozo to speak, back at the Lord's Manor in Gilm, Lunora's group was naturally receiving language lessons as well.
Ideally, they would have wanted the students to learn written characters too, but they had judged that mastering spoken language came first.
The ones chosen to teach them were tutors who normally instructed the children of nobles and prominent merchants.
Among those tutors, anyone with a loose tongue was excluded. Only those who could be fully trusted were selected for the study sessions.
Some tutors felt dissatisfied at not being chosen, but given that this matter required the utmost caution, such complaints went unheeded.
"Incredible, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"Oh, it's not just those Green Demi-humans—I never imagined we'd be teaching Lizardmen to speak."
Since studying too long in one sitting would be inefficient, the lessons ran for about an hour before a short break was given.
During one such break, the tutors were chatting among themselves.
"True enough. Though honestly, I was surprised at how docile the Lizardmen turned out to be. I had my doubts about teaching language to monsters."
The other tutors nearby nodded at the man's words.
For anyone living in Gilm—no, for most people in this world—Lizardmen were monsters, and the idea that they could understand language was unthinkable.
Of course, it was known that they could communicate intentions through their cries, but that was an entirely different matter from the current situation.
"Apparently, they're so well-behaved because their boss ordered them to."
"Huh? Boss?"
"Yeah. He's not here right now, but there's a boss among the Lizardmen. Seems like he ordered them not to cause trouble or go on a rampage."
"A boss, huh. ...So where is this boss now?"
"He's out in the Treant Forest with Rei."
The woman who had asked about the boss's whereabouts showed a look of surprise at those words.
"Is that true? How did that even happen?"
"Word is, Rei tamed the Lizardman."
"Tamed... well, it's Rei we're talking about, and he does have Set-chan with him, so it's not entirely unthinkable. But a Lizardman?"
The female tutor apparently belonged to the Set Enthusiasts, and her expression was conflicted.
From the standpoint of someone who adored Set, she was likely worried that Rei taming a Lizardman might have some negative effect on him.
"What, you didn't know? Apparently Rei walked through town with that Lizardman in tow when he came here today."
"Huh. Well, that's..."
Beyond that, they discussed matters such as how exactly to go about teaching the Lizardmen language.
They chatted casually while sipping tea, and before long, it was time for class to resume.
"Alright, it's about time for lessons to start again. Shall we?"
When one of them said that, the others took it as their cue and headed toward the room where their students—the Green Demi-humans and the Lizardmen—were waiting.
In Daskar's office within the Lord's Manor, Daskar was discussing future plans with several of his subordinates.
"For the time being, the Treant Forest will continue operating under its current conditions. I'd ideally like to prohibit entry entirely, but given the expansion construction, we can't afford that luxury."
No one objected.
In truth, the lumber felled in the Treant Forest was a critically important building material for the expansion construction.
Given that fact, making the Treant Forest off-limits was simply not an option, no matter what.
"However, wouldn't problems arise depending on who or what transfers in?"
"True. Which is exactly why maintaining the status quo is the best approach. ...So, has anything been learned about Lunora's group's abilities?"
Daskar had shifted the topic somewhat forcefully, and the person he turned to shook his head.
"Given it's only been a day, we haven't gotten that far yet... However, as you saw yourself, Lord Daskar, they undoubtedly possess the ability to accelerate plant growth. If so, then naturally, placing them in the Treant Forest... no, there are various other potential applications as well—"
"Hey."
Daskar directed a sharp glare at the man, who had been speaking with growing enthusiasm.
From Daskar's perspective, Lunora's group—whom they had taken under their protection in this incident—was extremely valuable.
So valuable that the very notion of treating them as tools to be "used" was utterly out of the question.
And yet, the man currently explaining things to him was clearly looking down on Lunora's group, regarding them as beings beneath himself.
That was something Daskar could not possibly tolerate.
Once someone developed that kind of perception, even if they never let it show on their face afterward, they would undoubtedly continue to look down on Lunora's group in their heart.
To Daskar, that was absolutely unacceptable.
"M-my apologies..."
Judging from Daskar's demeanor, the man must have sensed the depth of his anger.
The man who had suggested exploiting Lunora apologized immediately.
He understood that if he were to defy Daskar here, an outcome decidedly unfavorable to himself would undoubtedly follow.
To avoid that, he needed to apologize swiftly and never repeat the same mistake.
Though whether a man who had already come to see Lunora's group as inferior beings could actually change that perception was another matter entirely.
"Be careful from now on. Lunora's group is extremely important to Gilm. Treating them amicably is the bare minimum if we want them to use their abilities for Gilm's benefit. ...Now, what sorts of things do you think their abilities could achieve?"
"Yes, sir. First, regarding the Treant Forest, in the long term I believe the impact would be substantial. Additionally, since we don't yet know under what conditions they can grow plants, we'll need to either wait until they've learned our language and exchange opinions properly, or investigate by having them actually attempt it..."
This was likely a proposal the man had thought through carefully.
Though showing a cautious demeanor, he continued speaking.
"It's possible—this is truly a 'maybe' at best—but with Lunora's group, it might be possible to produce spices right here in Gilm."
A murmur rippled through the office.
Those present stirred at the man's words.
Naturally so. Spices were extremely valuable.
If Gilm could produce them, it would unquestionably become a major source of revenue for the city.
Daskar had been considering Land Ships as a future flagship product for Gilm, but there was no telling how long it would take to convert Sand Ships into Land Ships.
Furthermore, even if Land Ships were successfully developed, while prices might eventually come down, the initial cost would inevitably be very high.
The exact price had not yet been determined, but it would certainly not be an amount that an ordinary merchant could easily afford.
In all likelihood, only those who could be called nobles or great merchants would be able to purchase one.
Then there were the construction materials made from Treant Forest trees that had undergone magical processing, but even though the Treant Forest was fairly large, the expansion construction would undoubtedly consume a considerable volume, and naturally, the trees would diminish as they were felled.
And even after processing, transporting a single log was quite an undertaking for an ordinary merchant.
Considering all of these circumstances, being able to sell spices would be enormously significant.
"Also, while we don't yet know if this is possible either, there's a chance they could cultivate special plants that exist only because of the frontier."
Special plants unique to the frontier.
If that proved possible, it would unquestionably yield profits equal to or greater than spices.
"Is that true?"
"As I just said, this is strictly a possibility. To determine whether it's actually feasible, we would need to conduct various trials."
"I see. But... if that's the case, wouldn't it be dangerous to have Lunora's group live in the Treant Forest?"
To accelerate the growth of the trees in the Treant Forest even slightly, having Lunora's group live there would be the most straightforward approach.
But if they could freely grow spices or rare plants native only to the frontier, then placing them in the Treant Forest would be far too dangerous.
In the Treant Forest, powerful monsters rarely approached on their own.
However, that was not an absolute guarantee, and more importantly, there was now the possibility that Lizardmen like Zozo's group could teleport in.
If the information Daskar had received was correct, Zozo's group had been attacking Lunora's group.
If so, then letting them live in the Treant Forest—considering that Lizardmen... no, not just Lizardmen, but potentially some other hostile force might teleport in again—made it impossible to house Lunora's group there.
"You're right. Though if we posted guards, that would be a different matter..."
"Aren't we already hiring adventurers as escorts for the woodcutters? What about them?"
One of Daskar's subordinates, standing slightly apart, interjected, but the suggestion was immediately dismissed with a shake of the head.
"Those are escorts only for as long as the woodcutters are working. Besides, as someone living on the frontier, would you want to go outside Gilm at night?"
Put that way, the man naturally shook his head.
For anyone living in Gilm, those who would want to venture outside the city at night—while not entirely nonexistent—were unquestionably few.
"In that case, wouldn't it be best to dispatch them alongside the woodcutters during daylight hours only?"
"That would be the sensible approach. Though that too would have to wait until Lunora's group has learned our language. ...What about the Lizardmen? Zozo, was it? The Lizardman that Rei tamed apparently gave them some kind of instruction."
The conversation shifted from Lunora's group to the Lizardmen.
However, unlike with Lunora's group, there was no strong interest there.
Unlike Lunora's group, who possessed the ability to grow plants, the Lizardmen had shown nothing particularly remarkable.
Well, the fact that they had built what appeared to be a national organization indicated considerable intelligence, and the trait of obeying those who defeated them, as Zozo did, was not without interest... but even so, when it came to this particular matter, Lunora's group took priority.
"They seem to be following those orders and staying quiet. It's like absolute obedience to their superiors' commands. Whether that's a characteristic shared by all Lizardmen, or specific to Lizardmen who belong to an organized military of a nation, I couldn't say."
"Obeying orders, huh. It's certainly helpful for us, but..."
Daskar showed a vaguely unconvinced expression.
Daskar himself had originally been a knight, so he had fought Lizardmen on a fair number of occasions.
But even from his experienced perspective, the Lizardmen led by Zozo had many undeniably strange aspects.
"So, has it been determined where Lunora and Zozo's group came from?"
"...No, sir."
One of his subordinates shook his head at Daskar's question.
Where Lunora and Zozo's group had teleported from.
That was something not just Daskar, but many others wanted to know.
After all, leaving aside Zozo's group of Lizardmen, no one had ever seen or heard of demi-humans like Lunora's group before.
Whether it was their appearance or their abilities, for beings that distinctive, it would have been strange for at least some information about them to have spread.
And yet, no one knew anything about Lunora's group.
That could only be called bizarre.
Which meant the possibilities were not numerous.
"Another continent... huh."
Daskar muttered quietly, yet clearly enough for those around him to hear.
In this world, it was known that several continents existed besides the one where the Kingdom of Mireana was located, and trade—however faint—did actually occur with a nearby continent.
But those who had actually been to another continent were exceedingly few, and the information that reached them was extremely limited.
Even the ships arriving in port cities like Emosion were, almost without exception, vessels that had come from ports on this same continent.
"Let's hope this doesn't turn into something troublesome."
Daskar's murmured voice echoed through the office.