Leaving the Lord's Manor, Rei climbed onto Set's back alongside Zozo and headed toward the Treant Forest.
Among those waiting in line to enter Gilm and those traveling the highway toward the city, many already knew of Set—and quite a few had interacted with him directly.
However, while seeing Rei ride Set alone was one thing, the sight of Zozo the Lizardman perched behind him naturally startled them.
The fact that Rei had recently tamed a Lizardman was still unknown to many of Gilm's residents.
Unsurprisingly, a steady stream of people trying to enter Gilm displayed sheer astonishment at the sight of Zozo.
That said, it was Gryphon Seto and Zozo the Lizardman. Compared to seeing Set for the first time, the surprise was far lesser.
The gap in rarity between a gryphon and a Lizardman was simply that significant.
...Incidentally, the Stone Tablet Zozo used had been stowed inside Rei's Misty Ring, as it would likely get in the way while riding on Set.
The Stone Tablet was a precious Magic Item that allowed Zozo to communicate with others. Daskar had issued orders to collect that tablet or similar items, but since only Zozo could currently use it, there was no room for the risk of damage or loss.
"Arrived."
Rei knew he was drawing plenty of stares, but to him, that was nothing new. Ignoring the gazes, he arrived at the Treant Forest—a place he could safely call familiar by now.
"Oh, it's Rei. Heard you'd be running late today, but I guess not."
One of the adventurers keeping watch around the Treant Forest noticed Rei and called out.
Seeing no particular urgency on the man's face, Rei judged that either no teleportation had occurred yet today—or if one had, there hadn't been any contact.
Even so, given the circumstances, he figured he should ask. He opened his mouth as he dismounted from Set.
"So, any problems today? Run into any Green People or Lizardmen?"
"Nothing like that. Well, for now at least. ...But with you showing up, doesn't it feel like they'll teleport in soon?"
"Hey now, it's not like I'm summoning them."
Rei shot back with exasperation. He knew the adventurer wasn't being serious—which was exactly why he played along.
The adventurer seemed to understand that too. He flashed a grin.
"Really, though? You've been involved in a pretty big share of the incidents in Gilm lately. If that's the case, you can't exactly rule it out this time either, can you?"
"I get how you see me now, that's for sure."
Rei fired back, though he privately suspected this whole affair might stem from Grimm's experiments using the Eyeball's materials. If that were true, since Rei was the one who had defeated the Eyeball, the man's claim wouldn't be entirely wrong.
"I doubt it's just me, though. ...Anyway, that was quite an entrance again, same as yesterday."
This adventurer had apparently seen Rei arrive on Set with Zozo the day before, which was why he made the remark.
Rei wanted to push back on the phrasing, but the sight of Rei and Zozo riding atop a gryphon sprinting across the ground at full speed was, from any angle, undeniably "impressive."
Though the kind of "impressive" the man meant was probably different from what Rei had in mind.
"Right. Just keep thinking it's impressive. I'm going to go store the felled logs, so keep watch around here."
"Got it."
After the brief exchange, Rei led Zozo and Set deeper into the Treant Forest.
That said, with logging ongoing since last year, the forest was gradually shrinking.
They walked a short while longer until Rei spotted a freshly felled tree toppling in the distance.
(Controlling the direction of a falling tree so precisely—now that's the mark of a first-rate woodcutter.)
The adventurers serving as the woodcutter's escorts and assistants swiftly stripped the branches from the fallen trunk. Their efficiency was remarkable—enough to make one wonder if their true calling was woodcutting rather than adventuring.
The woodcutter, having finished the felling and pausing for a breather, noticed Rei and waved broadly.
"Hey, Rei!"
"...What? You're in quite a good mood. Something happen?"
This woodcutter was someone Rei had worked alongside before, a man he'd spoken with on numerous occasions. If it were his first time meeting Rei, getting excited about Set or the adventurer known as Crimson would be understandable—but Rei couldn't imagine this particular woodcutter getting worked up over something like that.
What's more, this was a worksite where Green People or Lizardmen could suddenly teleport in at any moment. There was no reason for anyone's mood to be good here.
So why was he so cheerful? Sensing Rei's questioning look, the woodcutter flashed a rugged grin.
"You've been saying we don't have enough hands, right? Well, today a new woodcutter finally showed up. ...Though it'll probably take a few days for him to get used to this forest."
"Ah... I see. Well, he's arrived at quite a terrible time. It helps us, though."
That was Rei's honest reaction. For the Expansion Construction, building materials crafted from Treant Forest lumber were always in short supply. In that sense, a new woodcutter was welcome news—not just for Rei, but for everyone involved in the construction.
But the Treant Forest had become a special place in many regards, one where Green People and Lizardmen could teleport in without warning. Coming to such a place was hardly ideal in terms of personal safety.
Then again, perhaps because Gilm's upper leadership fully understood these circumstances, woodcutter wages had risen considerably since the teleportation incidents began.
"With you here, even if Lizardmen teleport in, it won't be a problem, right?"
That was trust born from proven results. Rei nodded.
"Right. If it's someone around Zozo's level, we can manage. ...More importantly, if they're Lizardmen, Zozo's orders should handle most of it. Unless they're an exception like Zaza."
Zozo's brother Zaza was not someone who could be reasoned with. As a result, he'd been defeated by Zozo and was now locked in the underground cell.
(Zozo was the Thirteenth Prince, and Zaza the Eleventh, right? ...Not like the higher the rank, the stronger they get, I suppose.)
Rei mentioned this while continuing the conversation, then remembered he was still holding onto the Stone Tablet.
"Sorry. Give me a moment. ...Zozo."
He pulled the Stone Tablet from his Misty Ring and handed it to Zozo.
Naturally, the woodcutter had no idea what it was. He cast a puzzled glance at Rei and asked.
"This is a Magic Item I borrowed from my master. With it, I can have proper conversations with Zozo. The reason I was late today was because I was reporting to Lord Daskar about this tablet."
"...Really?"
The woodcutter found it hard to believe that Zozo—whom until now he could only communicate with through gestures—could actually be conversed with. Rei understood the skepticism and nodded.
"In that case, try talking to him."
The woodcutter hesitated for a moment, then nodded. If today had been his first time seeing Zozo, he wouldn't have agreed so readily. But fortunately, this wasn't his first time seeing Rei and Zozo together.
"Alright. ...Zozo, can you understand me?"
'Yes, I understand.'
The response to the woodcutter's words appeared on the Stone Tablet.
...However, the woodcutter tilted his head.
"He didn't say anything back."
"No, the text on the tablet. Read it."
"What? ...Sorry, I can't read."
Rei stared at the woodcutter's face, caught off guard. But come to think of it, literacy in this world wasn't particularly high. The place Rei had just come from was the Lord's Manor, where everyone could read as a matter of course. For a woodcutter, though, illiteracy wouldn't be unusual.
Adventurers had far higher literacy rates than woodcutters, since they needed to read request forms themselves to determine the nature of a job, their target, and the reward. There were people who would read on behalf of those who couldn't, so it wasn't an absolute requirement—but still.
Regardless, the woodcutter's inability to read the Stone Tablet's text was a significant miscalculation. Rei had known literacy wasn't universal in this world, but within his usual circles, nearly everyone could read, so he hadn't given it much thought. The fact that he'd never thought to ask whether someone could read was also a major factor.
(This is... honestly a bit of a problem.)
Rei had assumed that with Zozo's Stone Tablet, he'd be able to communicate with anyone. But the reality that some people couldn't read meant—
Then a question struck him.
(Wait. At the Lord's Manor... how was it they could read?)
It went without saying that Daskar and his subordinates, as well as the tutors, could read. Zozo's Lizardman subordinates, as soldiers serving the nation, wouldn't be unusual in being literate either.
But Lunora and the other Green People. Strictly speaking, they hadn't been able to decipher the text through the Stone Tablet's effect—but the fact that they had tried to read it meant Lunora himself could read.
According to what Rei had heard from Zozo, the Green People didn't live in towns but rather in places with abundant vegetation—groves, forests, mountains. If that was the case, where had Lunora and the others learned to read?
It was only natural to find that suspicious.
"Setting aside the fact that we can't communicate with Zozo and the others if you can't read... Zozo, in the place you came from, can everyone normally read text?"
'Yes. We have had that kind of knowledge since birth.'
"...I see."
Those words gave Rei even greater conviction that Zozo and the others had come from another world entirely. Possessing the knowledge to read from birth was, even from Rei's perspective, nothing short of abnormal.
Of course, they didn't possess all knowledge from birth—it was only basic knowledge, and anything beyond that would require studying on their own.
"Did something happen?"
The woodcutter, noticing Rei's expression, cast a curious glance. Rei shook his head, signaling it was nothing—but his interest in Zozo's world had grown stronger than before.
Naturally. Possessing such knowledge from birth implied the existence of something... yes, a transcendent being akin to a god. In a fantasy world like this one, it wouldn't be strange for gods to exist.
But here in Elgin, at least, Rei had never felt the presence of one.
...The Holy Light Religion did exist as a faith, but from Rei's perspective, it came across as nothing more than a dubious new religious movement. As someone who had clashed with them time and again, calling the Holy Light Religion an Evil Cult wouldn't be far off.
Not a false presence like that, but a genuine god in the truest sense. There was no way Rei wouldn't be interested.
"No, apparently in the place Zozo and the others came from, they already understand writing from birth."
"Are you serious?"
It wasn't just the woodcutter who was surprised by Rei's words—others who had overheard reacted the same way. Their eyes filled with unmistakable envy.
Considering that even those who could read had studied hard to get there, being able to read from birth was apparently that enviable.