"Hah!? Is that true!?"
Daskar's shout burst out before he could stop himself, prompted by the report from an adventurer who had just arrived from the Treant Forest.
Thanks to the incident involving the Lizardmen and the Green People—though "thanks to" was hardly the right expression—at the very least, it had given him grounds to decline all meetings with merchants seeking to discuss the Expansion Construction.
Naturally, he couldn't avoid seeing merchants entirely, so he had them meet with staff members at a location separate from the Lord's Manor.
...Because of this arrangement, Daskar's workload had become somewhat lighter compared to the previous year.
Though new tasks had indeed increased thanks to the Green People and Lizardmen situation.
Above all, what troubled Daskar the most was, as expected, housing for the Lizardmen.
As for the Green People, their green skin and hair color was certainly unusual, but since their appearance was otherwise completely human, even non-adventurers would be startled—and ultimately, that would be the extent of it.
This was also why Daskar was considering entrusting the Green People with spice cultivation.
But Lizardmen were a different matter.
Given that they were unmistakably monsters, he couldn't let them roam freely through Gilm.
If he were to claim they were tamed, the way Rei had, that would be another story entirely.
Alternatively, if the Lizardman race were a relatively obscure monster, he might have been able to pass them off as a type of Beastman—though whether calling a lizard a "beast" was appropriate was debatable in itself.
Unfortunately, the monster known as the Lizardman was already somewhat well-known.
And known as a monster of considerable strength, at that.
Which was precisely why, when told that a massive horde of Lizardmen had appeared—led by a giant Lizardman clearly in a class apart from the rest—it was only natural for Daskar to think, Give me a break.
"Yes, sir. Based on what the adventurer from the Treant Forest reported, there is almost no doubt."
"No, that's... honestly, what am I supposed to do about that?"
Daskar hoped, if at all possible, that it had been a misspoken word or a misunderstanding, but what came from his subordinate's mouth was confirmation.
"Well... what should we do, then? Should we simply build a settlement in the Treant Forest and have the teleported Lizardmen live there? If all goes well... in the future, woodcutters working in the Treant Forest might not even need to hire guards."
Originally, that had indeed been one of the initial plans.
Settle the Green People in the Treant Forest, accelerating tree growth to serve as Gilm's resources.
Then station the Lizardmen in the Treant Forest as guards to protect the Green People.
However, that plan had shifted once the Green People's plant-growing ability proved to exceed expectations, revealing the possibility of cultivating extremely valuable spices and special medicinal herbs within Gilm itself.
(No, originally the Lizardmen and the Green People were hostile... no, the Green People were unilaterally persecuted. Considering that, rather than having them live together, would it be viable to settle the Green People in Gilm and the Lizardmen in the Treant Forest?)
Daskar wasn't entirely dismissive of the idea, but either way, to enable communication, the Lizardmen would need to learn the local language and writing.
They were searching for a Magic Item identical to the Stone Tablet Zozo possessed, but given that even Rei's master had only owned one, finding another would be no easy task.
In that case, would the only option be for Lizardmen who had already learned the language and writing to serve as instructors? He wondered, though whether that was even possible remained uncertain.
He had received reports that a few Lizardmen were beginning to successfully pronounce words, albeit slightly, but considering the current situation, Daskar had a premonition that their numbers would keep increasing before they could even learn the language.
"For now... the Lizardmen who teleported today can be housed here, correct?"
"Yes, sir. Space-wise, there should be no issue."
"I see. Then the problem is how to transport those Lizardmen here."
If around ten had teleported, transporting them by carriage would have been easy.
But with a large group like this, moving them by carriage was difficult.
If ten or twenty carriages were lined up in a procession, anyone who saw them would wonder what was going on.
Additionally—no, more than anything else, there was one other matter weighing on Daskar's mind.
"Were no Green People found?"
Until now, whenever Lizardmen teleported in, the Green People had been with them.
Or conversely, when the Green People teleported in, the Lizardmen had accompanied them.
In Daskar's honest opinion, the Green People were of higher importance than the Lizardmen.
While the Lizardmen's significance was also considerable given their affiliation with the Gran Dragonia Empire, in terms of direct benefit to Gilm, it was the Green People who mattered most.
Furthermore, the fact that the Gran Dragonia Empire was not from another continent but, according to Rei, from another world entirely, likely influenced this line of thinking.
(If the entire country were to teleport here, it would be troublesome... but that won't happen, right?)
If a nation on the same scale as the Kingdom of Mireana were to teleport here—and one ruled by an emperor who displayed an aggressive streak, judging from his treatment of the Green People—there was no way Gilm alone could handle it.
Of course, the very idea of a nation the size of the Kingdom of Mireana teleporting here seemed far-fetched for a variety of reasons.
For one, given the sheer land area involved, it wouldn't be strange for some kind of cataclysm to occur.
It seemed unlikely, but judging that there was no point dwelling on such thoughts, Daskar issued his orders.
"Ten carriages... no, considering the possibility that Green People have also teleported and haven't yet rendezvoused, send twenty. Do we have enough carriages to spare?"
Daskar had said twenty without hesitation, but immediately followed up with the question.
Under normal circumstances, he could prepare that many, but with Gilm's Expansion Construction underway, a fair number of his carriages were already lent out.
That was why he asked, but...
"Thirteen... no, fifteen carriages, we can somehow manage."
After thinking it through thoroughly, his subordinate gave the answer.
Daskar nodded, but his brow remained faintly furrowed.
"Fifteen, then. If we find the Green People later in addition to the Lizardmen, we'll be short on carriages. That's assuming the Green People are comparable in number to the Lizardmen, though."
"In that case, wouldn't the only option be to first transport either the Lizardmen or the Green People to Gilm, then send the freed-up carriages back to the Treant Forest?"
"...I suppose that's the only way. Fortunately, the Green People are reportedly docile in temperament."
Daskar had been receiving various reports from those teaching the Green People—Lunora's group included—the language and writing.
Among those reports, the most common observation was that the Green People were uniformly mild-mannered.
There were individual differences in their docility—some would smile and brush off mildly rude remarks, while others would make it clear through their demeanor that such things were unacceptable, or slowly raise an objection.
That said, since they hadn't yet fully learned the language and writing, it remained unclear whether their actions stemmed from an accurate understanding of the words.
"At any rate, if the Green People haven't been found yet, we'd better bring the Lizardmen to Gilm while we can."
"Agreed. However... if more than ten carriages go back and forth, it will naturally attract attention."
"It will. But that ship has sailed, hasn't it? Fortunately, Rei's been walking around town with Zozo in tow."
Rei may not have intended it, but as a result, the Lizardmen's existence was already common knowledge in Gilm.
...Information leaking from the woodcutters and Fleeing Adventurers working in the Treant Forest had likely played its part as well.
"Anyway, handle it along those lines. But what do you think we should do about that giant specimen among the Lizardmen? It would be ideal if he could fit in a carriage, but..."
Standing roughly three meters tall, Gaga's physique was correspondingly massive and heavily muscled.
Daskar didn't know this, but the Lizardman possessed enough physical ability to clash on even terms with Rei wielding the Death Scythe.
Regardless, his sheer size was apparent, so if he couldn't be loaded onto a carriage, he would have to walk.
And if that happened, he would inevitably be seen by others.
A three-meter-tall Lizardman was bound to draw attention.
And upon seeing a giant Lizardman the likes of which they had never encountered before, it wouldn't be surprising for some to feel fear, curiosity, or see it as a seed for some new business venture.
Such a situation would undeniably become troublesome, so if possible, Daskar could only pray that even that Lizardman could fit in a carriage.
"Right. If it comes down to it... how about spreading the rumor that Rei tamed him?"
"...Rei? He's already been burdened with so much as it is. I'd prefer not to pile more onto him if I can help it."
The Lizardman situation aside, above all was the matter of the Expansion Construction.
Thanks to entrusting Rei with transporting felled lumber from the Treant Forest, the savings in both cost and time were undeniably significant.
Beyond that, there was no question that Rei had been put through all manner of trouble.
"It can't be helped, sir. Based on past results, claiming Rei tamed him is the quickest solution. Besides, that's only if the Lizardman can't fit in a carriage. If he can ride one, there's no problem."
"But he's the Third Prince, isn't he? Declaring someone of that rank a tamed monster is undeniably dangerous in more ways than one."
So what should be done about this situation, then?
He thought about it from every angle, but no good idea came to mind... and in the end, Daskar and his subordinate could only pray that the Lizardman would fit in a carriage.
"...Hm?"
"Ow! That hurts! Okay, I was wrong, so stop!"
Around the time Daskar was racking his brains over the incident involving Gaga and the large group of teleported Lizardmen, Vihera—on patrol in Gilm—absently turned her gaze skyward, toward the direction of the Treant Forest.
Beneath Vihera, a man was thrashing about, his arm locked in a joint hold and unable to move, but the person performing the hold showed not the slightest concern.
"Hey, um, Vihera-san? Vihera-san!"
One of those patrolling Gilm alongside Vihera, a female adventurer, called out to her in a panic.
As if snapping back to reality at the sound of that voice, Vihera turned a puzzled gaze toward her and spoke.
"What is it?"
"Mm."
The one who pointed this out to Vihera was Byune, who was accompanying her.
It was her usual single-word utterance, but it was apparently enough for Vihera to grasp the meaning.
Looking at the man who was screaming in pain, she spoke.
"Why are you screaming this much over something so minor? You broke that person's arm, didn't you? And over nothing more than a slight bump."
The person he'd bumped into had immediately apologized, but this man, a braggart of strength who had only recently arrived in Gilm, refused to let it go... and as Vihera had just stated, inflicted the serious injury of breaking the other party's arm.
Vihera and her group had happened to be passing by at that very moment.
Being on patrol, they couldn't possibly overlook such an incident... but a mere braggart of strength had no chance whatsoever against Vihera, and the result was the current situation.
"Just because you're a little proud of your brawn, don't you understand there are things you should and shouldn't do?"
If anyone who knew Vihera had heard those words, they would all be dumbfounded.
Or perhaps they would cry out in unison, You're one to talk!
The only one present who could have delivered a retort to Vihera was Byune, and the rest either admired or feared her, so no such retort was forthcoming.
"O-Okay! I'm sorry! I apologize, I apologize, so let go!"
After watching the man scream in pain for a few seconds, Vihera finally released her grip... and turned her gaze toward the Treant Forest.
(I feel like I missed a delicious moment... or is that just my imagination?)
With her fearsome woman's intuition, that was what she thought.