The green demi-humans and Lizardmen who had newly appeared in the Treant Forest.
Some of the woodcutters had been terrified of the Lizardmen, but having been told that they were docile and would not attack, they chose to believe it for the time being. Still, the nagging thought that something could go wrong made it impossible to shake their fear entirely.
Woodcutters, by nature, tended to be tough—rough, even, in personality. Many were the type to get into brawls in town. But that was only when dealing with ordinary humans, not monsters like Lizardmen—let alone ones who were trained soldiers.
Watching the woodcutters head into the Treant Forest with their adventurer escorts to resume logging, Rei waited on the spot with Set, Zozo, and the knight.
"Hey, Rei. What happens if that Lizardman regains consciousness at this point?"
"Huh? Oh... well, that's a possibility."
The Lizardman knocked unconscious by Zozo's strike could wake up at any moment. And if it did, it might challenge Zozo to a fight again—or, depending on the circumstances, it might attack Rei, whom Zozo obeyed. Alternatively, it could go after the green demi-humans.
In any case, from what Rei could see, even if the Lizardman woke up, he couldn't imagine it calmly following his instructions.
"Then I'll tie it up for now."
So saying, Rei pulled a rope out of his Misty Ring.
Zozo's subtly displeased expression at the sight of the rope was probably because he himself had been bound hand and foot with rope after being defeated by Rei, rendered completely unable to move. Thanks to the fact that he had ultimately chosen to obey Rei, he had avoided being tied up himself—but the Lizardman at the receiving end of Zozo's gaze would likely face the same fate, or so Rei reasoned.
That said, having it go on a rampage in the current situation would be genuinely problematic, so even with a displeased look on his face, Zozo did nothing to stop Rei from binding the unconscious Lizardman's hands and feet with the rope.
Finishing in under a few minutes, Rei made a show of wiping sweat from his forehead as though he had completed a hard day's work.
The Dragon Robe had a simplified air conditioner function, so it wasn't as though he couldn't sweat at all—but even so, he wouldn't sweat from something like this. Much less now, when it was still spring and still morning.
"This should hold even if it thrashes around. Now it's just a matter of when the carriages arrive... about when should they get here?"
"Ah, right. I was told this matter is top priority, so the moment the messenger reaches Gilm, they'll dispatch them immediately. Though what Lord Daskar is really after is probably the green demi-humans."
Rei understood that as well. After all, the green demi-humans' ability to grow plants would unquestionably bring enormous profit to Gilm.
"The fact that Lunora's companions were among them gives Lord Daskar reason to act quickly on this one."
The knight nodded deeply at Rei's words.
Though that said, while Lunora's group is one thing, I wonder what they'll do about the Lizardmen? Zozo is officially my tamed monster, so he should be fine, but...
Lunora and his people had green skin and blood. However, their appearance was not significantly different from ordinary humans, so they were regarded as the same kind of demi-humans as beastmen, elves, and dwarves. This world actually had a fair number of demi-human species that existed only in small populations, so if they were presented as one such species, it was believable enough.
That being the case, the problem was inevitably Zozo and the Lizardmen. They had limbs and walked on two legs, so they could perhaps be called humanoid, but their faces were clearly not human—they were lizard faces. Accepting such beings as demi-humans would be difficult.
If that's the case, should I just have all the Lizardmen treated as tamed monsters? No, I don't necessarily need to tame them all myself. I could just have someone suitable... no, some random person off the street might get strange ideas, so I'd need a reasonably decent person to take on the Lizardmen as tamed monsters...
That was what he thought, but it was clearly different from ordinary taming. If so, what Rei had just thought of couldn't be accomplished so easily.
Still, as things stood, only an unfortunate ending awaited the Lizardmen, so something had to be done—that much was certain.
"Oh, Rei. They're here."
Turning his gaze at the knight's voice, he saw carriages entering the Treant Forest. Ten of them.
He couldn't help but think it might be a few too many, but considering that the green demi-humans and Lizardmen couldn't be placed together, it was probably the right number.
"Made it in time before it woke up... or in a way, is the timing just right?"
The Lizardman Rei looked at had apparently just woken up at that exact moment, thrashing about with its hands and feet still bound. From its mouth came a cry full of rage, and the other Lizardmen who had been listening nearby cowered at the roars of the one who had led them.
That said, since Zozo currently held those Lizardmen under his control, even as they cowered from the roars, none of them made a move to help.
"Zozo, hold it down. Silence it."
Telling Zozo to restrain the Lizardman that was roaring at him, Rei took out a cloth from his Misty Ring and wrapped it around the roaring Lizardman's mouth.
Is this literally silencing someone? Though wait, can it breathe with this? ...Ah, it looks like its mouth can open a little, so it should be fine.
With its mouth bound and unable to make a fuss, the Lizardman was loaded onto a carriage, and the green demi-humans and other Lizardmen also boarded the carriages.
Zozo was placed in the carriage with the large group of Lizardmen, in case anything happened. Zozo had wanted to ride in the same carriage as Rei, but Rei somehow convinced him by pointing out that it was a nearby carriage.
Whether it was because Rei had been the first to use potions on them, or because he had Zozo—who was clearly exceptional even among Lizardmen—under his command, Rei didn't know the reason, but his favorability rating among the green demi-humans was extremely high.
That was why the carriage Rei rode in was one of those carrying the green demi-humans. Rei had actually thought it might be better to keep an eye on the bound Lizardman.
Since they were riding in the same carriage, the green demi-humans naturally tried to talk to Rei, but of course, the language barrier meant they couldn't understand each other. So for now, Rei managed with gestures.
Lunora, I'm begging you earnestly—please learn the language quickly and translate.
While interacting with the green demi-humans with such thoughts, Rei noticed that the name Lunora came up repeatedly in their words. This Lunora was probably the same Lunora that Rei knew, but the problem was that he couldn't understand anything else they were saying.
For the time being, to introduce himself, Rei pointed at himself and repeated "Rei" over and over. After some time passed, everyone began calling him Rei, and the other green demi-humans also introduced themselves—just their names, truly nothing more.
The atmosphere inside the carriage became surprisingly peaceful... but in complete contrast, the carriage Zozo rode in was silent.
From Zozo's perspective, he had wanted to ride in the same carriage as Rei, and ending up in a separate one was unpleasant. For the other Lizardmen as well, being with Zozo made them tense, and they certainly had no inclination to cause trouble.
As for the carriage carrying the Lizardman who had fought Zozo, several soldiers rode along as guards, but seeing the creature still enraged despite having its mouth shut left them with no peace of mind at all. The only saving grace for the soldiers was that, despite being furious, the bound Lizardman did not physically thrash about. If it had actually started thrashing, there was no way they could have spent the carriage ride in peace.
In this manner, with one carriage peaceful, another heavy with oppressive atmosphere, and yet another thick with hostility, the carriages made their way toward Gilm.
That said, the distance between the Treant Forest and Gilm was not that great. While Rei was talking with the green demi-humans, Gilm came into view.
Since it was still morning, there were more people leaving Gilm than entering. As the hours progressed, the number of people coming into Gilm would gradually increase. Thanks to that, and because the teleportation incident had been thoroughly communicated in advance, Rei's group was able to enter Gilm with only a brief, face-check level of procedure.
And the carriages that entered Gilm headed, naturally, to the Lord's Manor.
"This way!"
They must have been contacted here as well. A soldier serving as gatekeeper led the carriages through the grounds of the Lord's Manor, eventually arriving at the knights' training plaza.
Since the group arriving this time was fairly large, they had been brought here rather than being let directly inside the manor itself.
Waiting there was Daskar.
Rei couldn't help but wonder if the lord's duties were all right, but to Daskar, the teleportation of green demi-humans and Lizardmen was an extremely significant situation. The green demi-humans held the hope that, if things went well, they might become one of the driving forces behind Gilm's future development. The Lizardmen, in the exact opposite sense from the green demi-humans, were without a doubt a major concern. They were fundamentally warlike in nature, and encountering them would almost certainly result in battle. What's more, considering that among the Lizardmen there were beings that appeared to be Rare Species or High-ranking Species like Zozo, adventurers more skilled than before would be needed as guards for the woodcutters.
"Rei, thank you for coming back safely."
To Rei, who had appeared from the carriage, Daskar called out with a bold smile. At Daskar's demeanor, Rei opened his mouth with a slightly bewildered look.
"I don't think 'came back safely' really applies in this case, does it?"
Indeed, the most dangerous being in the Treant Forest had been the one that appeared to be Zozo's counterpart, but that opponent had been defeated effortlessly by Zozo. If so, using such an exaggerated phrase was strange—or so Rei naturally thought.
But Daskar shook his head at Rei, dismissing the notion outright.
"It's precisely because you were there that we were able to safely bring the Green People under protection this time as well. I can't thank you enough."
"...Green People?"
Rei responded to the unfamiliar word. Though from the name itself, it was obvious it referred to Lunora and his people.
"Indeed. Calling them 'green demi-humans' indefinitely reflects poorly on us. So for now, I've decided to call them Green People. Of course, once Lunora's group learns the language and their official racial name becomes clear, we'll call them that instead."
"Ah, I see. Understood."
To Rei, calling them green demi-humans didn't seem particularly strange. But that was only because he was in his own position that he felt that way. If someone in a position like Daskar's were to refer to Lunora and his people as green demi-humans, it would cause various problems—or so it was said, and Rei had no choice but to accept that. Besides, calling them Green People rather than green demi-humans was shorter and undeniably easier to say.
"I'm glad you understand. So, regarding the Green People, thanks to you, they've been cooperative with us."
Saying so, Daskar turned his gaze to the Green People who had descended from the carriages and nodded in satisfaction. It was indeed true that Rei had earned the goodwill of the Green People in today's incident, so Daskar's words weren't far off. Of course, Rei hadn't used potions on the Green People with any such calculation in mind.
"I'll leave that area to you, Lord Daskar. As long as I'm reimbursed for the potions I used, that's enough for me."
"I know. Later, for the cost of the potions... no, would you prefer the potions themselves? I'll prepare whichever you like."
"Then I'll take the potions in kind."
Judging that receiving the actual potions was easier than taking money and going out of his way to buy them himself, Rei told Daskar as much.