Having learned about the stone tablet, Rei immediately asked to borrow it.
Fortunately, Grimm had no particular need for the stone tablet Magic Item, so the matter was quickly settled.
...In reality, it was also likely due to the fact that Grimm was, despite everything, soft on Rei... and on Elena and the others around him.
How to receive the stone tablet was another issue, but for Grimm, crossing through space was not particularly difficult. Once he decided to lend it to Rei, the stone tablet appeared in the room where Rei and the others were just seconds later.
This house was protected by Marina's Spirit Magic. If anyone were to sneak in without permission, the Spirits would surely sense it. And yet, Grimm had teleported the stone tablet without the Spirits detecting anything at all.
The stone tablet placed on the table was roughly thirty centimeters tall and fifty centimeters wide.
"So this is..."
"Yes. However, that stone tablet will become exclusive to whoever uses it first. ...To be precise, there is apparently a Magic Item that can undo that, but unfortunately I do not possess it."
"That's... slightly inconvenient to use."
"But the one who'll be using the stone tablet is Zozo, right?" Marina said.
Rei muttered in bewilderment at Grimm's words from the Paired Orbs, but at Marina's words, he nodded in agreement.
As long as Zozo was absolutely determined to stay by Rei's side, studying the language was out of the question. Moreover, it was unclear whether a Lizardman could even physically speak the words Rei and the others used.
(No, maybe I don't need to worry about that.)
As far as Rei knew, Zozo had been able to call out his name.
Thinking that far, Rei suddenly looked at the stone tablet and raised a question.
"Huh? Grimm, I'm planning to have Zozo—a Lizardman we think came from another world—use this stone tablet, but what happens in that case? Even if Zozo wants to say something and it's displayed on the tablet, if I can't read the words or characters he's using..."
In the end, wouldn't it be meaningless?
At Rei's words, Grimm on the other side of the Paired Orbs quietly averted his gaze.
Grimm had naturally noticed that as well, but even so, the only Magic Item that seemed usable for this situation was this stone tablet. And he hadn't brought it without some reasoning of his own.
"Once... in some ancient document, I read a tale of someone using this type of Magic Item to communicate with a party they could not share a language with."
"So you're saying the same thing can be done with this stone tablet?"
"I do not know. What I saw was merely an ancient document... it was a quite old book, and what appeared in it was not this stone tablet but an entirely different Magic Item."
"In other words, the only thing we can do is try it out."
"Yes."
Perhaps it was his imagination, but Grimm appeared somewhat delighted. He was probably happy to have a chance to confirm whether the contents written in the ancient document were true.
"In that case, let's try it out for now. What will you do, Grimm? If the Paired Orbs are here, they'll definitely be found when I bring Zozo into the room. That could lead to all sorts of trouble."
"Hmm. But I would also like to see what happens."
Vihera, who had been watching the conversation between Rei and Grimm, noticed various small objects placed in the corner of the room.
"Then how about hiding the Paired Orbs among those trinkets?"
With no other good ideas, Vihera's suggestion was adopted. What was fortunate for Grimm was that his overwhelming presence could not be felt through the Paired Orbs. They positioned the small objects to hide the Paired Orbs among them, blocking Grimm's line of sight as little as possible while concealing his appearance as much as they could.
"How is it? Is the view blocked?"
"Yes, there is no problem."
So said Grimm, but the fact that an Undead of Grimm's caliber was in such a situation left even Rei, who had actually arranged it, feeling somewhat conflicted. However, the person himself—or rather, the Undead himself—did not seem to mind at all.
"Alright, I'm going to call Zozo in now, so make sure you don't make a sound."
"Leave it to me."
Leaving Grimm looking confident, Rei opened the door to the room. And, as expected, Zozo was there.
"Rei●●? ●●●●●?"
"Come inside for a bit."
Speaking, he gestured for Zozo to enter the room. Zozo obediently followed Rei's words and stepped inside.
This room was by no means large, so with Zozo entering in addition to Rei and the others who were already there, it felt strangely cramped. Zozo entered without any particular concern since it was Rei who asked, but perhaps wondering what he should do here, he turned his gaze toward Rei.
Receiving that gaze, Rei handed Zozo the stone tablet from the table.
Zozo probably had no idea what the stone tablet he was handed was. He looked toward Rei with doubt... and being looked at in return, Rei tried to get him to use the stone tablet right away, only to freeze.
(Wait, how do I make him use this thing?)
Until now, interactions with Zozo had been done through gestures. And since they were fundamentally communicating that way, they could manage rough understanding, but fine communication was difficult.
If Zozo actually used the stone tablet, he would surely understand what Rei was trying to say, but Rei had heard from Grimm that only the first person to use the stone tablet could use it. With that in mind, the option of Rei trying the stone tablet himself disappeared instantly.
"Ah... what should I do?"
"Why don't you try using some other Magic Item you have on you, Rei?" Marina suggested to the hesitating Rei.
At those words, Rei nodded in understanding. If it was a Magic Item, Rei had plenty inside his Misty Ring. No, not just inside the Misty Ring—he also had many Magic Items he was normally wearing.
That said, he couldn't exactly take out long items like the Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear here, so after a moment of hesitation, what Rei produced was the Dagger of Flowing Water.
It was originally a Magic Item that could freely manipulate water to use as a whip-like weapon, but it was fatally incompatible with Rei, who specialized in Flame Magic, and could only serve as a substitute for a faucet. In exchange, perhaps due to Rei's enormous magical power, it could produce water with a taste that could only be called Celestial Nectar—something that even nobles and royals might not be able to drink.
"Watch."
He also took out a cup and poured magic power into the Dagger of Flowing Water to produce water. The water collected in the cup.
Rei pointed at the stone tablet in Zozo's hands while drinking the water from the cup. He repeatedly pointed back and forth between the stone tablet and the Dagger of Flowing Water, producing water each time. ...Incidentally, from the second cup onward, Elena and the others helped themselves to the water.
Eventually, Zozo looked at what Rei was pointing at... the stone tablet he was holding. He could understand from their interactions so far that Rei was using a Magic Item. And seeing Rei repeatedly point at the stone tablet in his hands, he somehow began to grasp the meaning.
Zozo poured magic power into the stone tablet he held... and the next moment, the stone tablet glowed faintly. A light that could by no means be called dazzling.
When that light faded from before those present, Zozo was standing there holding the stone tablet, unchanged.
"Is this good, Rei?"
"I wonder. I think it's probably fine, but..."
To Elena, who asked with a bewildered look, Rei could only give the same uncertain answer. After all, since this was the first time using the stone tablet, he had no idea whether the light just now meant it had worked properly.
Feeling slightly bewildered, Rei directed his gaze toward a certain spot... the Paired Orbs hidden among the ornaments.
As if receiving Rei's gaze, Grimm gave a slight nod on the other side of the Paired Orbs.
(Hey, did you just hesitate for a moment?)
Rei felt somewhat worried that Grimm's demeanor seemed a bit off, but regardless, there was no doubt he had succeeded in getting Zozo to use the stone tablet.
(Wait, I'm technically borrowing this stone tablet, right? But once it's used, only that person—well, Zozo is a Lizardman, but—can use it, isn't that right? Then even if I return the stone tablet, it'll be meaningless... And Grimm said he didn't have the Magic Item to delete the registered user either.)
It was a truly belated realization. Normally, he should have noticed that much earlier, but he had probably been giddy at the prospect of finally being able to communicate properly with Zozo.
Deciding he could ask about that matter later, he turned to Zozo, who was showing a slightly bewildered demeanor. Praying that, even if it differed from its intended use, they would be able to communicate properly.
"Zozo, do you understand what I'm saying?"
The moment Rei said that, characters he had never seen before—at least, characters not used in this area—began appearing on the stone tablet Zozo held.
"!?"
Looking at the stone tablet, Zozo displayed an expression that anyone would describe as sheer astonishment, looking at the tablet, then at Rei, then at the tablet, then at Rei again.
After repeating that several times, he opened his mouth. Naturally, what Zozo was saying was mostly incomprehensible, but...
'Are the characters displayed here indeed the words spoken from Lord Rei's mouth?'
On the stone tablet Zozo held, those exact words were unmistakably displayed... in characters Rei could read.
'Ohoh.'
Not just Rei, but voices of surprise rose from everyone present.
...Rei felt like he also heard a voice of surprise from Grimm on the other side of the Paired Orbs, but for now he decided to chalk that up to his imagination. After all, from the Paired Orbs, it was not possible to see the stone tablet Zozo was currently holding. Though, if it was Grimm, it wouldn't be strange if he could somehow manage to see it anyway.
When the surprise had settled just a little, Rei nodded.
"That's right. These characters are displaying exactly what I said... I think. Unfortunately, I can't read the characters you use, so I can't say for certain."
Rei's words were once again displayed on the stone tablet.
Seeing that, Zozo nodded and opened his mouth.
'As expected of Lord Rei. To possess such a Magic Item. With this, I can now understand Lord Rei's words as well.'
Looking at the characters displayed on the stone tablet, Rei nodded while simultaneously harboring a question. Thinking of the Zozo that Rei knew—not the current Zozo, but the Zozo from when he had first charged at him—would he really use such polite language? If asked, Rei had to tilt his head in doubt.
"Hey, isn't Zozo's manner of speaking... a bit strange?"
Rei asked, but what Elena and the others knew was only Zozo after he had lost to Rei and become submissive. If that was the only Zozo they knew, there was nothing particularly off about the current Zozo's manner of speaking—well, characters—sounding so butler-like.
"Is it? I think it suits Zozo quite well," Elena said, representing the group.
Marina and Vihera both nodded as if agreeing with Elena's words.
But for Rei, who remembered when he first met Zozo, he could not accept Elena's assessment.
(Since this was originally an item intended for communicating with beings from another world, maybe these characters aren't accurate? ...Well, even so, it's far easier to communicate than not understanding each other's words at all. Speaking of will... is it because he's a being from another world?)
Half-forcing himself to accept it, Rei turned his gaze back to Zozo.
Zozo seemed to have some doubts about being able to interact with Rei via the stone tablet, but he was clearly happy that, unlike before, he was now able to converse with Rei.
To Zozo, Rei opened his mouth.
"Now that we can communicate like this, let me ask again. Zozo, who are you? Specifically, where do you belong?"
Rei's words were converted into words Zozo could understand and displayed on the stone tablet.
Seeing those characters, Zozo bowed to Rei and then opened his mouth... and those characters were displayed on the stone tablet.
'Allow me to introduce myself again, Lord Rei. I am Zozo, the Thirteenth Prince of the Gran Dragonia Empire.'