The surprising ecology of Zozo and his people had been revealed, but that didn't mean anything would particularly change because of it.
...Though for those other than Rei, Elena, and the rest, who believed that Zozo and Lunora's group had come from a different continent of this world, it was quite a startling revelation.
However, for Rei, who was convinced they had come from another world entirely, he found himself more interested in the existence of a god capable of such things.
Being born with a certain level of inherent knowledge—just how significant that was, was not difficult to imagine.
(Ah, but if that's the case, then could the fact that Lunora and the others are struggling to learn letters and language actually be related to that?)
If they could understand letters and words from birth, then it was even possible that Lunora's group, currently studying at the Lord's Manor, was learning letters and language for the very first time in their lives.
Of course, in reality, when it came to learning letters and words beyond those that their god had taught them, there was also the possibility that they had studied such things back in their own world.
"For now, I can store this tree already, right? Then I'll go ahead and store it."
"Huh? Oh, right. Got it, thanks."
At Rei's words, the woodcutter nodded, surprised by the sudden change of topic.
Leaving the woodcutter be, Rei stored the felled trees—both the ones that had just been cut down upon his arrival and the ones that had been cut before—into his Misty Ring.
"Then, I need to go around checking on various other things, so please continue felling trees."
"Got it. ...Oh, but like I said earlier, there's a new woodcutter joining today. He doesn't know you, so... well, with Set and Zozo here, I don't think he'll do anything like look down on you, but just in case something does happen, go easy on him with the punishment."
This wasn't out of concern for the new woodcutter specifically.
Well, in the sense of preventing the man from getting injured or developing psychological trauma, it could be said it was for the new woodcutter's sake.
But the woodcutter's true reasoning was that with tree-felling already being rushed as it was, if the newly arrived man ended up unable to work, they'd be in serious trouble—a thought born from wanting to avoid making things even harder on himself.
Whether Rei fully understood that or not, he judged that the woodcutter had spoken out of concern for a comrade, and nodded in return.
"Right. Losing woodcutters would be a problem for me too, so I'll try to avoid that kind of thing as much as possible."
"...I'd want you to say 'absolutely' instead of 'as much as possible,' but well, I'm not gonna push it. Take care."
Rei gave a brief wave to the woodcutter as he said that and continued on through the Treant Forest.
The stumps were somewhat in the way of walking, but thinking of Lunora and the Green People, he couldn't bring himself to remove them.
(If possible, I'd like at least a few of Lunora's group to be sent over here... but I suppose that's difficult.)
Rei thought about how things would be with the Green People present, but then realized that casually making the stumps grow would lead to all sorts of complications.
Transporting trees was manageable with Rei around, but if a felled tree had leaned against a neighboring one, dropping it back to the ground could endanger those nearby.
(If that's the case, then cutting from deep within the Treant Forest... no, that would end up the same. In that case... properly logging with the Green People's abilities as a given premise. Maybe we should discuss that at some point.)
Surveying his surroundings, Rei pressed on through the Treant Forest.
Along the way, he encountered several woodcutters, and all the felled trees were stored into the Misty Ring.
Then, the next woodcutter he met was a face Rei was seeing for the first time—in other words, the one who had joined today, just as the first woodcutter had mentioned.
"Hey, you're the woodcutter who started working today, right? I'm Rei. I'm in charge of collecting and transporting the felled trees."
The woodcutter, who had been taking a break, turned toward the voice at Rei's sudden approach... and the moment he saw not just Rei but Set and Zozo, he reached for a nearby axe and quickly assumed a stance.
At the woodcutter's reaction, the adventurers serving as guards and assistants nearby spoke up in a panic.
"Calm down. It's fine. Those are Rei's tamed monsters. They won't attack us."
"...Is that so?"
The man, who stood maybe just under two meters tall with a solidly built frame befitting a woodcutter, was visibly imposing.
(No, that's not it. That movement just now wasn't that of a woodcutter—it was someone who knew combat. In other words... a former adventurer, or perhaps a soldier?)
It wouldn't be strange for a former adventurer to be working as a woodcutter.
Adventurers, depending on their skill, could earn a great deal—Rei himself was living proof of that—but at the same time, the dangers were significant.
No, precisely because the dangers were great, the rewards were also large.
If it were safe and profitable, there would be no need to hire adventurers to do it—the person with the request could simply do it themselves.
For such reasons, those who earned a certain amount of money and then quit adventuring to start a second life were by no means rare.
Of course, those who squandered their earnings on alcohol, women, and gambling were also far from few.
"A former adventurer, huh."
"...Yeah. Though I'm a woodcutter now."
Judging from Rei's demeanor, the man must have realized his way of moving had given away his past. After a brief silence, he admitted it readily.
"I see. So, how are the trees in the Treant Forest? From the looks of it, you've already finished felling a few."
A short distance away, several trees with their branches stripped lay on the ground, awaiting Rei's collection.
However, compared to the other woodcutters' work, the cut surfaces of the trunks were somewhat rough.
That was likely proof that this man was still not accustomed to the trees of the Treant Forest.
The Treant Forest, given the circumstances of its creation, was vastly different from ordinary forests.
A normal forest was created over years, decades, centuries... in some cases, even longer.
But this Treant Forest, though it was unclear exactly when it had been formed, had definitely been created in less than a month.
In terms of a plant's natural cycle, it had been created in the blink of an eye.
Because of that, the nature of the trees growing there was considerably different from those in an ordinary forest.
Of course, that was precisely why, with magical processing, it became an indispensable building material for Gilm's expansion construction.
If the trees here were no different from ordinary trees...
(Well, even then, it would still be used as construction material since it's a forest near Gilm.)
Rei's reasoning wasn't wrong, but in that case, it certainly wouldn't have been this highly prized.
"They're fairly troublesome trees. But... I think I'll get used to them in a few days. Or if I'm quick about it, maybe even today. ...Just to confirm, felling the trees like that is fine, right?"
Rei nodded to the woodcutter, who was glancing at his own felled trees a short distance away as he asked.
"I think that can be managed during the magical processing. Actually, there have been trees with even worse cut surfaces before."
"I see. Then that's fine. In that case, I'll cut down the next tr—"
Just as the woodcutter was about to say that, Set, who had been surveying the surroundings behind Rei, suddenly purred.
Seeing Set on alert, Rei quickly scanned the area as well.
A few seconds behind Rei, Zozo, the woodcutter, and the adventurers began cautiously observing their surroundings.
That said, for Rei, who knew what had happened in the Treant Forest before, it was easy to understand what was about to occur.
(Now then... is it the Green People or the Lizardmen teleporting in?)
With that thought, he drew Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring.
This was the Treant Forest, and a considerable number of trees still stood around them.
Given that, it was obvious that using only the Twilight Spear would be better than the large scythe, Death Scythe. But Rei had taken out Death Scythe in case the ones teleporting in were Lizardmen, intending to intimidate them.
Death Scythe, given its size and shape, carried great significance when it came to frightening those who looked at it.
"Be careful. Something is teleporting in."
From Rei and Set's demeanor, the people around them had probably already understood that someone was teleporting in.
Even so, Rei issued the warning as a formality.
As a matter of course, those nearby assumed a formation that would allow them to respond immediately to whatever happened and protect the woodcutter.
The woodcutter, being a former adventurer, also gripped his axe and stayed on guard, ready to react to anything based on the demeanor of Rei and the surrounding adventurers.
There were many woodcutters with strong spirits, but that was only when dealing with ordinary people.
Or perhaps they could take down a few goblins without issue.
Regardless, in a situation where something was teleporting in—and likely something like Lizardmen or Green People—it wouldn't be strange to feel fear.
But the woodcutter here, being a former adventurer, had nerve.
In that sense, this man was probably well-suited for work in the Treant Forest.
...Of course, having quit adventuring to start the danger-free job of a woodcutter, only to get caught up in something like this, he probably had terrible luck.
Or, considering that this happened where Rei and Set were present, perhaps he had a kind of perverse luck.
"Asking what's happening would be pointless now, wouldn't it."
"Yeah. If it's the Green People, there's no particular problem for us. But if it's the Lizardmen..."
Responding to the woodcutter, Rei turned his gaze toward Zozo at his side.
Until now, contact with teleported Lizardmen had essentially resulted in combat.
But now Zozo was here—and with the Stone Tablet that allowed communication, there was a possibility that it wouldn't come to a fight.
(That is, assuming no one of the same rank as Zaza... yes, a prince-class or similar, shows up.)
Observing his surroundings and preparing to respond to anything, Rei thought.
And then... the moment arrived.
"It's coming!"
Spotting where space was distorting, Rei shouted.
But within that shout, there was a note of astonishment.
He had seen Green People and Lizardmen teleport in before, but the spatial distortion preceding this teleportation was unmistakably larger than anything he had witnessed previously.
(Now then, what kind of opponent is coming?)
Before Rei's watchful gaze, the distortion grew larger... and before he knew it—truly before he knew it—a large number of Lizardmen were standing in the forest.
Their exact numbers couldn't be determined due to the trees blocking the view, but one thing was certain: there were more of them than in any teleportation he had seen so far.
At a glance, fifty... no, it wouldn't be strange if someone said there were even more than that.
"This is..."
What escaped Rei's mouth was sheer surprise.
He had expected a teleportation, and from the size of the distortion, he had anticipated a large group. But even so, this many was beyond what he had imagined.
And above all else...
"No way... what the hell is that..."
The voice of one of the adventurers protecting the woodcutter, trembling as he spoke, reached Rei's ears.
No, the fact that the adventurer could voice anything at all was admirable.
In fact, among the other adventurers, some had been rendered completely unable to speak.
Of course, even seeing the state of those adventurers, Rei wasn't particularly surprised.
Though Rei didn't show it overtly in his demeanor, the Lizardman in his line of sight was clearly a special existence compared to the other Lizardmen—no, even compared to Zozo.
After all, it stood over three meters tall, its body possessing a presence that the description "heavily muscled" couldn't adequately capture.
A Lizardman giant.
The words came to mind, so different was it from the others.
What it held in its hand was a greatsword. Yes, a greatsword large enough to be recognized as such even when wielded by a Lizardman exceeding three meters in height.
Rather than a greatsword, it might be more appropriate to call it a mass of iron—a weapon of that nature.
Rei's gaze met that of the Lizardman giant wielding such a weapon, their eyes locking in midair.