Leaving the clinic, Rei told Zozo that he had secured permission for Gaga's stay, then headed straight for the Treant Forest.
Since they had done it many times already, Rei was accustomed to riding on Set's back with Zozo alongside him.
...Though there was no avoiding the stares from people on the highway, who looked at them as if to ask, "What on earth is that?"
It took longer than flying, but it was still faster than traveling by horse or carriage. Before long, they arrived at the Treant Forest.
"Oh, you're back. Heard the news. Sounds like things went smoothly, at least."
An adventurer called out upon spotting Rei, who nodded in reply.
"Yeah. Technically there were a few hiccups, but overall it went fine."
"Ah... right. Heard about that too. Hang in there."
The adventurer spoke with unmistakable sympathy, and others nearby chimed in to encourage him.
A massive frame roughly three meters tall, a love for combat, and the Third Prince of the Gran Dragonia Empire. In every sense, there was no doubting he was a special existence.
The fact that they now had to put up such an individual at the place where they lived — though Rei wasn't sure "freeloader" was even the right word — was reason enough for the others to sympathize.
Rei himself, however, wasn't particularly bothered. Marina, the homeowner, had shown what was less permission and more quiet resignation.
Rei got along reasonably well with Gaga, so having him at Marina's house didn't faze him. Vihera would probably welcome the arrangement, given that Gaga was a strong opponent. And since Marina had already heard the details from Rei, she certainly wouldn't object.
That left Elena, Ara, and Byune.
(Hmm... Elena is one thing, but Ara seems likely to oppose.)
Even with Zozo's case, Ara had never been fully satisfied. She had kept silent, though — perhaps because it was plain to see that Zozo was completely obedient to Rei, misgivings and all.
If Gaga were added to the mix... having unknown entities like Gaga and Zozo near Elena, whom Ara respected and adored, would be something she could hardly tolerate.
And given Gaga's build, it would be immediately obvious that he ate a lot. Byune, who loved food, might also oppose his presence on those grounds alone.
As for Gaga's food expenses, Marina had declared she would extract them from Daskar — "extract" being the operative word — so their own meals wouldn't actually suffer.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Gaga said he wants to stay where I'm lodging."
"Huh? You can't fit a guy that huge into the Wheat Inn at Dusk, can you?"
The adventurer responded without missing a beat. Since Rei had been staying there for years, most people assumed he was still living at the Wheat Inn at Dusk.
...And it wasn't exactly wrong. Even now, while staying at Marina's house, he still kept a room at the inn and paid for it.
Unsure of how to explain the situation, Rei opted to deflect.
"Yeah. Can't blame you for thinking that. Honestly, nothing's been decided on that front yet."
Gaga's stay at Marina's house was already set in stone, but Rei chose not to spell it out.
Judging that continuing this line of conversation would only invite trouble, he changed the subject.
"What's the situation with the Green People? Did they make contact while I was gone?"
"Hm? Oh, at least we haven't had any contact with them. A few groups are out searching together, but no one's reported finding anything. It was Gaga, right? Since that Lizardman showed up, it stands to reason the Green People could teleport into the Treant Forest too."
The adventurer had clearly arrived at the same conclusion Rei had, based on the pattern so far. He cast an uncertain gaze toward the Treant Forest.
If they had teleported in, they had to be somewhere inside.
Which meant they needed to be found quickly.
When the Treant Forest first formed, it had been devoid of animals and monsters. Now, however, it was home to a fair number of both.
The woodcutters were protected by adventurer escorts, so they'd be fine. But if the Green People, who despised fighting, ran into vicious monsters — the outcome didn't bear thinking about.
In fact, even when the Green People had been oppressed by the Lizardmen, none had apparently resisted by force. At least, that was what Zozo had told Rei.
(Food isn't something I need to worry about, though.)
The Green People didn't need to eat in the conventional sense. As long as plants were available, they could grow them and convert that growth into their own energy.
If they were simply draining energy from plants, Rei could have made sense of it. But for some reason, the Green People actually grew plants to obtain energy.
This was Elgin — another world, a so-called fantasy world. Rei had no intention of arguing about the law of conservation of mass or getting into scientific debates, but even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that something about it was fundamentally unreasonable.
"In that case, I suppose we need to search the forest after all."
"No, like I said, the other adventurers are already on it. What I'd really like is for you and Set to stay where we can see you."
Rei understood what the adventurer was thinking. With no telling when Lizardmen or Green People might teleport in next, he wanted Set — who could detect their arrival — right beside them.
"I'll leave Set here with you. Count on it."
"Gruu?"
Set purred, as if asking, You're not taking me?
Rei patted the dejected gryphon's head and continued.
"You can sense when Lizardmen teleport in, right? I need you to use that ability to protect everyone here."
Set nodded, looking reluctant but accepting.
He was sad that he couldn't stay with Rei, but the fact that the adventurers here pampered him and gave him food went a long way toward softening the blow.
If his presence could put everyone at ease, then that was reason enough to stay.
Like Rei, Set was merciless toward anyone who made an enemy of him. But once he judged someone as an ally, he was even warmer toward them than Rei was.
...And yet, he could sense those who tried to use him — through instinct, intuition, or what might be called a sixth sense. According to Set's senses, there was no one here trying to exploit him.
Or perhaps he judged that even if there were, they were few in number.
In any case, having Set here put Rei at ease, so he took Zozo and set out to explore the Treant Forest.
Mindful not to forget collecting the felled trees from the woodcutters along the way, he walked deeper into the forest... but unfortunately found no trace of the Green People.
"Hmm. Zozo, is there any way to detect Green People using a Lizardman-specific ability or something?"
['I'm sorry. It's impossible.']
The words appeared plainly on Zozo's Stone Tablet.
Rei wasn't particularly disappointed. He had asked already expecting as much.
In the first place, he had never heard of Lizardmen possessing such an ability. But these were Lizardmen from another world — perhaps there was a chance? Or so he had thought.
Also, like Gaga, Zozo seemed to belong to a higher species than ordinary Lizardmen, which might have opened up another possibility.
"I see. Then we'll have to search the hard way. ...Come to think of it, we still don't know why they're teleporting here in the first place."
['Yes.']
According to Zozo, there was no particular Magic Item involved, nor were there any ruins or similar structures where the Green People had lived.
They truly had no idea why they had been transported to this world.
(Teleporting to another world would require tremendous power — that much is certain. I can't imagine it's something easily done. ...Is that Eyeball involved after all?)
The eyeball with tentacles they had fought during the winter had emerged from a rift in space.
According to Grimm, it was an entity from outside this world.
Being from outside this world meant it could potentially reach other worlds too — that was Rei's theory.
However, the eyeball was already dead.
(I thought it might have been caused by Grimm experimenting with the eyeball's materials, but he flatly denied it.)
Rei hadn't considered that Grimm might be lying. Perhaps due to the matter with Zephyle, Grimm seemed to treat Rei with genuine sincerity.
...From an outsider's perspective, it was entirely like a grandfather doting on his grandchild. But neither Rei nor Grimm recognized it as such.
In any case, even if Grimm wasn't the cause, the fact that Lizardmen were teleporting in right next to where the eyeball incident had occurred — Gilm and the Treant Forest were somewhat distant from each other, but by the standards of towns and villages, they were practically next door — made it only natural to suspect some kind of causal connection.
It would be stranger to call it a coincidence.
['Lord Rei, over there...']
Zozo tugged lightly at Rei's Dragon Robe and held up the Stone Tablet.
Rei abandoned his musings about the teleportations and the eyeball, turning his gaze in the direction Zozo indicated... and felt a twinge of disappointment.
He had assumed the Green People had appeared, but what emerged from between the trees was a boar.
More precisely, a Fang Boar.
With its charging power and sharp tusks, it would be a dangerous opponent for an amateur. But to the adventurers of Gilm — particularly those currently stationed in the Treant Forest — it was nothing but small fry.
Given its ferocious disposition, someone could get hurt if they let their guard down. Even so...
"Still, if there might be Green People somewhere around here, I can't just leave this thing running loose."
He muttered and drew Death Scythe from his Misty Ring.
Normally, Death Scythe was unwieldy in a forest like this.
However, to bring down a Fang Boar of that size — no, to kill it cleanly — a scythe capable of delivering a slashing strike was more effective than a spear, which was primarily a thrusting weapon.
Alternatively, the Twilight Spear could work by bludgeoning with the shaft instead of the blade. But considering bloodletting, severing the head was still the best approach.
"Bumoooooh!"
If Set had been here, the Fang Boar might have fled without fighting.
However, Set wasn't here.
...Instead, there were Rei and Zozo — both clearly stronger than the Fang Boar. But the creature chose not to flee. It chose to fight.
"Zozo, step back."
Rei started to move forward, but Zozo, hearing his name called, apparently took it as an order to bring the Fang Boar down and stepped forward alongside Rei.
Had there been time to check the Stone Tablet, Rei's intent would have been perfectly clear.
But the Fang Boar was already charging at them, and there was no time to glance at the tablet — that was the reason.
As a result, Rei and Zozo collided mid-stride, both caught off guard.
Each had probably assumed the Fang Boar was theirs to handle.
"Whoa!"
"●●!?"
Their surprised voices rang out through the surrounding trees, and both froze for a split second.
But the Fang Boar wasn't about to slow its attack just because they were startled.
...If this had been a mock battle or a tournament, against an opponent capable of understanding language, they might have been caught off guard and stopped moving. But the Fang Boar, already charging with its tusks aimed to impale them, wasn't about to halt for something like that.
"Sorry!"
Rei barked the word and shoved Zozo aside with the shaft of Death Scythe.
He hadn't swung it sideways blindly — it was more of a firm push with the shaft than a sweep.
Rei was worried about how Zozo fared after being sent flying, but dealing with the Fang Boar bearing down on him took priority.
The Fang Boar didn't care in the slightest what Rei had done. It simply kept charging, aiming to drive its tusks into Rei — since Zozo was no longer in the way.
But with Zozo gone, the Fang Boar was nothing more than outmatched prey.
Rei dodged the head-on charge and simultaneously swung Death Scythe upward in a single clean arc.
The head sailed off in some direction.
The headless body of the Fang Boar kept its momentum, crashed into a nearby tree, and sprayed blood across the surrounding ground.