The gigantic being that had teleported in — an opponent that could undeniably be called a Lizardman giant — surveyed the area without uttering a word.
Perhaps, not knowing where he was, he was simply taking in his surroundings.
As the giant Lizardman's eyes swept the area, Rei, Set, Zozo, and naturally the woodcutters and adventurers all came into view.
"●●●●, ●●●?"
The Lizardman suddenly spoke, directing his words at Zozo.
Rei couldn't understand the language, of course, but he could tell the voice carried something like a dominating aura — a presence that compelled obedience from others.
In fact, several of the adventurers who heard it unconsciously retreated a step.
"●●. ●●●"
Zozo replied.
Hearing the exchange, Rei noticed that Zozo had angled the Stone Tablet in his direction.
His intent was obvious — Zozo was trying to relay even a little information to Rei.
The Stone Tablet couldn't translate the giant Lizardman's words, but it could translate what Zozo said.
"Brother, have you also come to subjugate the green ones?"
The text on the Stone Tablet was clearly shorter than whatever Zozo had actually spoken, but regardless, Rei now understood who the giant Lizardman before him was.
He had guessed as much from the Lizardman's appearance, which was distinctly different from the others. But as expected, this one was also a prince of the Gran Dragonia Empire.
(With a body that massive, I thought he might even be the emperor himself... but in that sense, was it fortunate that he's only a prince?)
Thinking this, Rei compared him to Zozo's other brother — Zaza, currently bound in Gilm's underground cell — and realized that while both were brothers, the Lizardman before him was unmistakably of a higher rank.
And not just figuratively. The difference was literal.
Zaza, while below Zozo, wasn't so far beneath him that they couldn't be considered roughly the same level.
But the giant Lizardman before him was overwhelmingly superior — not just to Zaza, but to Zozo as well.
"Yes, this is Lord Rei. The one I lost to and now serve."
While Rei had been lost in thought, the exchange had continued, and those words appeared on the Stone Tablet.
(So he asked who I was, and Zozo answered.)
At Zozo's words, the giant Lizardman briefly displayed surprise, then studied Rei with evident interest.
Granted, Rei — barely half the giant Lizardman's height — was holding the Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear.
From an outsider's perspective, it was clearly an abnormal sight.
That was precisely why Rei must have been a fascinating existence to him.
"●●●●, ●●●●●●, ●●!"
He couldn't understand what was being said, but Rei recognized that the Lizardman had directed some words his way.
Since he couldn't comprehend the language, the only way to know what the other party was saying was to rely on Zozo and the Stone Tablet.
"Zozo."
"That you have subjugated me must mean Lord Rei is a powerful warrior."
"Ah... I see."
Reading Zozo's words on the Stone Tablet, Rei turned his gaze toward the giant Lizardman.
But this time, the Lizardman looked not at Rei but at Zozo, and said something.
"Yes. Though words do not pass between Lord Rei and us, using this Stone Tablet, my words are displayed in the script Lord Rei uses, and Lord Rei's words are displayed in the script I use."
Zozo's words must have piqued the giant Lizardman's interest.
From within that massive body, a hand — visibly enormous even relative to his frame — extended toward Zozo.
He said nothing, but what he was demanding was easy enough to understand.
Zozo shook his head.
"This can only be used by the one who first wielded it. We tested it, and for some reason, no one other than myself could read the text displayed upon it."
Despite Zozo's words, the giant Lizardman — perhaps unable to accept it — reached further toward him.
Facing that outstretched hand, Zozo wore a troubled expression, then turned to Rei.
"Lord Rei, may I lend this Stone Tablet to my brother Gaga? My brother Gaga will not be satisfied unless he tries it himself."
From Zozo's words, it became clear that Gaga was the giant Lizardman's name.
Still... Rei mused, turning his gaze toward Gaga.
Judging by appearances alone, his massive frame suggested a personality that could aptly be described as a simple-minded brute.
Since the Stone Tablet was borrowed from Grimm, it would be extremely problematic if Gaga destroyed it out of frustration upon finding he couldn't use it.
"That Gaga, was it? Is he not the type to destroy the Stone Tablet just because he can't use it?"
"He will be fine."
What surprised Rei was Zozo's confident assertion.
When dealing with Zaza, Zozo had been more or less dismissive — even appearing to look down on him — yet toward Gaga, he seemed to harbor trust. No, even reverence.
"Understood. But if anything happens, I'll attack Gaga immediately. Is that acceptable?"
Having heard Rei say "Gaga" several times, Gaga must have caught that word alone.
Gaga, whose hand was still extended toward Zozo, turned his gaze to Rei.
But Rei paid no mind to Gaga's reaction, keeping his eyes on Zozo.
"There is no problem. My brother Gaga, despite how he looks, is not short-tempered."
A strange laugh — "guh, guh, guh" — escaped from Gaga's mouth.
Rei and Zozo were conversing using the Stone Tablet, but to display text on it, one actually had to speak the words aloud.
In other words, Zozo's words must have been clearly audible to Gaga.
The fact that he laughed instead of growing angry was proof that he didn't possess the kind of short temper that would flare up over a few mild insults.
Judging that Gaga at least had a more reasonable disposition than Zaza, Rei granted Zozo permission to lend him the Stone Tablet.
Afterward, Zozo explained to Gaga what kind of object the Stone Tablet was, instructed him to handle it with care, and then handed it over.
"●●●"
Muttering softly, Gaga spoke to the Stone Tablet.
But no text appeared on its surface.
Confirming this, Rei then addressed not Gaga himself — or more precisely, the Stone Tablet in Gaga's hand.
"Can you understand my words?"
The moment Rei finished speaking, text appeared on the Stone Tablet.
Gaga tried to read it, but just as when Lunora had tested it at the Lord's Manor, he couldn't read the characters.
After that, Rei spoke to the Stone Tablet several more times in the same manner, but Gaga was never able to read it.
Just to be certain, when Gaga tested whether Zozo could read the Stone Tablet's text, Zozo naturally could.
As proof, Rei and Zozo each performed simple actions — raising a hand, taking a few steps to the side — and even Gaga had to accept that Zozo could indeed read the text, and that only Zozo could use the Stone Tablet.
About ten minutes passed before Gaga finally returned the Stone Tablet to Zozo.
He must have understood that truly, only Zozo could use it.
"Now then, the Stone Tablet matter is settled... Zozo, could you introduce Gaga? I understand he's your brother, but what exactly is his rank? And how strong is he?"
"My brother Gaga is the Third Prince of the Gran Dragonia Empire. And within the empire, he ranks among the five strongest warriors."
"Well now..."
The words from Zozo were close to what Rei had expected, yet somehow beyond his expectations at the same time.
Zozo was the Thirteenth Prince, and Zaza was the Eleventh Prince.
Given that, Rei could understand why Zozo showed such deep reverence, and why Gaga — whose appearance made one hesitate to even call him a Lizardman — was a being of higher rank than Zozo.
But even so, Rei never expected him to be the Third Prince. And the fact that he possessed enough strength to rank among the top five in the entire Gran Dragonia Empire was equally unforeseen.
(Even from my perspective, Gaga is a formidable fighter. Strong enough that if Vihera were here, she'd definitely want to fight him. That said...)
Along with accepting Zozo's words, Rei also harbored a question.
As far as he knew, the Gran Dragonia Empire was supposed to be a nation with roughly the same national power and territory as the Kingdom of Mireana.
For someone to rank among the top five in such a nation — one built not by humans but by Lizardmen, a race of monsters — and for that to amount to "this level" of strength.
At least, as far as Rei knew, the Kingdom of Mireana had a fair number of individuals who were equal to or stronger than himself.
Among his companions, Elena was certainly one.
In truth, Vihera had also reached that tier, but as a princess of the Bestia Empire, Rei hadn't counted her as a citizen of the Kingdom of Mireana.
Vihera herself considered herself a resident of the Kingdom, in the sense that she was by Rei's side.
Additionally, Marina was someone who should be counted among the top in terms of sheer strength, but her combat methods — archery and Spirit Magic — were entirely those of a rear guard.
In a one-on-one fight, she was inevitably at a disadvantage.
She could create walls with Spirit Magic and the like, but at Rei and Vihera's level, such measures had limited effect.
Regardless, there were several others besides those whom Rei could think of as strong.
From Rei's perspective, Gaga was strong. Unmistakably strong. But even so, Rei didn't feel he was so overwhelmingly powerful that victory was impossible.
He was formidable, and fighting him would undeniably be a hard battle.
But ultimately, Rei would be the one to win — that was what he instinctively understood.
"Why is such an important figure here? If he teleported in, that means he was in Lunora's forest, right?"
"Yes... to be honest, I don't know either. Brother Gaga, why were you in that forest? Was it by His Majesty the Emperor's command?"
Agreeing with Rei's question, Zozo turned to Gaga.
Gaga nodded with a serious expression and opened his mouth.
"Eh? Beyond myself and Zaza? That's..."
"Zozo?"
"Yes. It seems that beyond myself and Zaza, several other members of the Imperial Family entered the forest where the Green People reside and went missing. That is why my brother Gaga came."
"...The Third Prince, and one of the empire's strongest warriors, came to investigate such an unknown place?"
"My brother Gaga happened to have no duties and was bored, and thought something interesting might happen — or so he says. ...Very much like my brother Gaga."
From Zozo's demeanor, Rei could somewhat understand Gaga's personality, but the real problem was that beyond Zozo and Zaza, other imperial family members had disappeared in the forest.
(Is it simply that they haven't made contact with us yet? Considering the size of the Treant Forest, that's certainly possible.)
After all, there had already been cases where Lizardmen Rei didn't know about had teleported in and roamed the Treant Forest without his knowledge. That line of thinking was by no means unfounded.
"So that means your siblings are still wandering around in the Treant Forest?"
"There is a possibility."
Rei had never assumed that all the Lizardmen in the Treant Forest had been taken into their care, but Zozo's words made it definitive.
That was far from an amusing prospect.
There was a very real possibility that the woodcutters might encounter such individuals.
No — considering the worst-case scenario, that would actually be the better outcome.
Far worse would be if they emerged from the forest, kept walking, eventually reached the main road, and attacked the merchants and travelers passing along it.
(I heard knights are stationed around the Treant Forest... is that a silver lining? No, in this case it's a drop in the bucket.)
The knights' deployment had been ordered by Daskar to prevent unauthorized logging of the Treant Forest's trees, but considering the sheer size of the forest, it was exactly as Rei thought — nothing more than a drop in the bucket.
They could hardly hope to fully monitor a forest of this size with the current number of knights.
What's more, the number of knights that could be freely deployed had decreased due to the Expansion Construction.
In any case, Rei gazed at Gaga, troubled by the question of what exactly to do from here.