"No, hmm... I never expected things to turn out like this first thing in the morning."
The knight surveyed the surroundings with a sigh.
For him, this was likely a completely unexpected situation.
That said, there was no way they could just leave things as they were given the circumstances.
At present, they were using potions to treat the injuries of the green demi-humans.
Perhaps because they had watched Rei use potions on them earlier, the green demi-humans showed no particular surprise when the same was done to them.
Rei had used his potions on those with the most severe injuries, so the knights, soldiers, and adventurers now conducting treatment were tending to those whose wounds were less serious.
"Honestly, I was thinking the same thing," Rei replied. "That said, the green demi-humans are just as friendly as before, so that's fine. The problem is the Lizardmen."
He glanced at the unconscious Lizardman—the one Zozo had defeated.
Zozo's blow must have been tremendously powerful, as the creature still showed no signs of waking.
Judging by its monster rank, it was likely on par with Zozo, and it appeared to be a similar type of creature. However, Zozo's strength had grown significantly through just a few days of training.
That wasn't to say his raw power or speed had suddenly increased overnight. Rather, the experience of battling strong opponents—even in mock fights—had clearly made a major difference.
That alone might not have seemed like much, but in this particular battle, the gap between them had been glaring.
"For now, they're showing signs of following Zozo's lead, so it doesn't seem like there's much cause for concern, does it?" the knight offered.
"For now, yes."
Rei turned his gaze back to the unconscious Lizardman and spoke again.
"But these are the ones who originally followed this one. While it's unconscious, they're following Zozo's orders. Whether they'll keep doing the same after it wakes up, though... I think that's somewhat doubtful."
"That's..."
Following Rei's line of sight, the knight looked back and forth between the unconscious Lizardman and Zozo.
If this Lizardman woke up, what exactly would happen?
Neither Rei nor the knight could say for certain.
If anyone knew, it would be Zozo alone—but Zozo still couldn't speak.
"Should we just kill this one?" the knight asked.
He said it as though joking, but the look in his eyes carried a certain degree of seriousness.
Rei also felt that having this Lizardman alive could lead to trouble. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to nod in agreement to killing it.
If they killed it here, there was a real possibility that even the green demi-humans' friendly attitude would be lost.
If so, they would still need to somehow bring the Lizardman under control after it woke.
That said, when it came to making it submit to him the way Zozo had, Rei couldn't agree to that either.
Zozo alone was one thing, but he had no intention of increasing the number of beings like Zozo any further.
If things continued as they were, there was a strong possibility that more and more Lizardmen would try to follow Rei the way Zozo did.
That was absolutely out of the question.
After all, it was precisely because of Zozo that he was currently lodging at Marina's house instead of the Wheat Inn at Dusk.
Normally, Zozo would have stayed in the Wheat Inn at Dusk's stable. But Zozo, conscious of his role as Rei's servant, refused to accept that arrangement.
As a result, Rei was sleeping in a courtyard-facing room at Marina's house, while Zozo waited just outside—either in the courtyard or the hallway. That had become their daily routine.
This raised an obvious question for Rei: could Zozo actually sleep? But at the very least, for now, the Lizardman showed no signs of sleep deprivation.
"You'd better not do that," Rei said. "The fact that it lost to Zozo means... probably—and I really do mean probably—it'll end up following Zozo. Better to wait and see how things play out."
Considering that Zozo had submitted to Rei after being defeated, it seemed likely—truly likely, though still only probable—that the Lizardman Zozo had beaten would come to follow Zozo as well.
Well, that's assuming the personality... or nature, maybe? ...that makes someone submit isn't unique to Zozo as an individual, but shared by his kind.
With that thought lingering, Rei continued.
"If it follows Zozo, there's no need to kill it. If it doesn't... then someone else might need to fight it, win, and test the result. If we repeat that process and it still doesn't work out... I won't stand in the way of whatever comes next."
Whether Rei's words had been persuasive, or whether the knight simply judged that killing the creature here would only make things more troublesome, was hard to say. But the knight dropped the matter and no longer suggested executing the unconscious Lizardman.
"If you say so, I'll go along with your opinion. You adventurers would know more about these things than I would, after all."
While knights did fight monsters on occasion, their training was primarily geared toward human opponents.
...Of course, being a knight of Gilm on the frontier, there was no doubt that if a monster stampede or the like occurred, he would need to fight alongside adventurers. But that was beside the point.
"In any case, with this many of them, we'll need several carriages. Should we have Gilm prepare them?"
"I've already sent an adventurer on horseback. It's up to Gilm to decide and send carriages now, so all we can do is wait."
Rei nodded at the knight's words and fell silent.
It was swift action, but given that teleportation events had been occurring for several consecutive days, one would naturally become accustomed to the routine.
That said, even with such familiarity, there were still those who couldn't quite manage to respond smoothly.
"In that case, let's disarm the Lizardmen just as we did before."
When Zozo had first arrived, and again when those who came after him appeared, the equipment had been confiscated from the hot-blooded Lizardmen.
Zozo alone was permitted to remain armed—not only because he demonstrated an attitude of following Rei, but also because he was clearly of a higher rank among the Lizardmen.
Then again, perhaps the most important reason was that Zozo was recognized as Rei's Tamed monster.
As long as Zozo held that status, Rei would be held responsible if Zozo caused any kind of disturbance in the city on his own.
In other words, Rei had an obligation to stop Zozo if it tried to cause problems.
Wait... could the fight earlier actually have been a problem? But this isn't inside Gilm. It's probably fine. Probably.
It was a somewhat forced rationalization, but he told himself that anyway.
"Rei? What is it? Aren't you going to disarm the Lizardmen?"
Rei had been dwelling on whether Zozo's fight would cause problems, but the knight's words snapped him back to attention. He nodded.
"Right. ...Zozo, could you tell the Lizardmen over there to place their weapons and armor on the ground?"
With a series of gestures, Rei conveyed his intent.
Zozo understood what Rei wanted and issued the order to the Lizardmen.
Normally, they would have prioritized the unconscious Lizardman's commands over Zozo's. But unfortunately for them, their leader was in no state to give orders.
As a result, the Lizardmen followed Zozo's command and disarmed one by one.
Rei, matter-of-factly, collected the weapons and armor, storing them one after another into his Misty Ring.
"Well, at least this means the Lizardmen are no longer a danger. All that's left is to wait for the carriages, but... shouldn't we call the woodcutters and let them get to work? Right now, they're being told to fell as many trees as they possibly can, after all."
The knight considered this for a moment.
From what he could see, the Lizardmen showed no signs of rebelling.
They had also been disarmed, so even if they did go on a rampage for some reason, subduing them wouldn't be particularly difficult.
If so, Rei's suggestion made sense.
It was true that he had been instructed by his superior to fell as many trees as possible, just as Rei had said.
In that case, having the woodcutters resume work here was by no means the wrong call.
"True. But keep in mind—the Lizardmen who teleported here might not be limited to the ones present. We'll need to keep the guards strict."
"Yeah. We already brought plenty of guards because of yesterday's incident, so I think we'll be fine against ordinary Lizardmen."
Yesterday, while Rei and Set had gone to Gilm, a new group of Lizardmen had teleported in.
Fortunately, the woodcutters who first encountered them had screamed, allowing Rei to rush to the scene.
If Rei hadn't been there, the adventurers guarding the woodcutters and the Lizardmen would have undoubtedly clashed.
In fact, when Rei had arrived, it had been a hair-trigger situation.
As things stood, the only one who could sense teleportation precursors was Set.
Rei could feel a faint sense of unease, but whether that actually indicated a teleportation event was never clear.
That was why they had brought along a large number of skilled guards today—to ensure they could adequately protect the woodcutters if anything happened.
Ideally, we'd avoid getting into a fight with the Lizardmen altogether.
If they ended up fighting the Lizardmen even once, there would inevitably be those who came to see them as enemies.
Likewise, on the Lizardmen's side, there was a very real possibility they would come to recognize the people of Gilm as foes.
If so, the best choice to avoid sowing seeds of future conflict was to prevent a battle from breaking out at all.
That said, there was no way he could tell them not to fight back if the Lizardmen attacked.
With Zozo keeping things from turning against Rei, something like that shouldn't happen—but still.
"Hey! Bring the woodcutters here! And don't forget to tell them that Lizardmen are present on-site!"
"Yes, sir!"
One soldier, following the knight's order, took off running.
Rei watched his retreating figure and pondered what to do next.
As long as Zozo was here, the Lizardmen likely wouldn't go on a rampage.
But the Lizardmen were following Zozo, not Rei.
In the event of an unforeseen situation, there was more than enough of a chance that the Lizardmen might turn on Rei.
If Set were here, they probably wouldn't even entertain such a foolish notion.
The Lizardmen would naturally be able to instinctively comprehend Set's overwhelming strength.
Understanding that gap in power, it was hard to imagine them foolishly attacking him.
Then again, even that wasn't an absolute certainty.
These Lizardmen were highly likely to be soldiers of a nation.
If that were the case, there was a real possibility they wouldn't simply flee on instinct when faced with a powerful enemy.
After all, even the soldiers of Gilm... no, of the Kingdom of Mireana, included many who wouldn't retreat when ordered to fight, even against a stronger foe.
Though, naturally, there were always some who would flee in the face of an overwhelming disparity in power.
"For now, these Lizardmen will probably follow Zozo's instructions, and there's the matter of the one Zozo defeated to consider as well. Taking all that into account, I guess I have no choice but to take them back to Gilm with me."
"Looks like it. Sorry, but I'm counting on you."
Sending Zozo meant that Rei naturally had to go along with him.
If Rei told Zozo to go alone... Zozo was fundamentally absolutely obedient to Rei's orders, but even so, being separated from Rei was something he simply could not accept.
Furthermore, when it came to communicating with Zozo through gestures, it was undeniably better to have someone accustomed to it.
Weighing all that, the option of Rei not returning to Gilm simply didn't exist.
Not that Rei was particularly enthusiastic about going back to Gilm when he had only just left it a short while ago.
Additionally, at this hour, the area in front of the Main Gate was likely still fairly congested, and he wasn't too keen on drawing attention.
"Well, it's true that I'm the only one who can handle this. ...I should have brought Elena."
Zozo followed Rei, but he also held a deep reverence for Elena and Ielo.
Enough that she could issue commands to Zozo even without Rei present.
That said, thinking about someone who wasn't here served no purpose. So, with some reluctance, Rei resigned himself to returning to Gilm.
...That was, once the carriages arrived.