Having finished a somewhat late breakfast with Daskar, Rei immediately set out to return to the Birth Tower with Gaga.
Fortunately, there was a carriage large enough for Gaga to ride in, and since they decided to bring along a few Lizardmen as well, the trip once again turned into a multi-carriage affair.
That said, Rei's companions—Elena, Marina, Ara, Ielo, and the others—had their own work and obligations to attend to, so they did not come along to the Birth Tower.
Naturally, Zozo was accompanying Rei.
Thanks to Rei's words, Zozo had agreed to act alongside his fellow Lizardmen rather than staying by Rei's side at all times... but even so, he seemed genuinely pleased to be with him.
(To inspire this kind of loyalty just from being defeated... I'm not sure what to think about that.)
It was gratifying that Zozo felt such loyalty toward him. It was gratifying, yes, but he still couldn't help feeling it was somewhat excessive.
『What is it?』
"No, it's nothing. I was just wondering whether you'll do a proper job at the Birth Tower, Zozo."
Rei replied to the text on the Stone Tablet.
It wasn't what he had actually been thinking, but it was said out of consideration for Zozo.
Eventually, the carriages progressed and returned to the Birth Tower.
They had departed for Gilm just past nine in the morning, and the current time was nearing noon.
The conversation with Daskar at the Lord's Manor had lasted about two hours.
"Can lunch wait a little longer?"
『That would be fine. I brought some sandwiches.』
The sandwiches served at the Lord's Manor training ground had been meant for a group of heavy eaters—Rei, Set, Gaga, and the like—so the Lord's Manor's cook must have prepared them in massive quantity.
In the end, they couldn't finish everything at breakfast, and Daskar had told Rei to feed the rest to the other Lizardmen. The remaining sandwiches were now stored inside Rei's Misty Ring.
Rei had found the bite-sized sandwiches tasty, so he accepted Daskar's gesture without reservation.
"Lunch will be these sandwiches... though the Lizardmen who came with us should probably eat first."
Rei's group had eaten breakfast past nine, but the other Lizardmen had finished eating much earlier.
If that was the case, it was only natural that the Lizardmen would eat lunch first.
『That seems likely. ...Lord Rei, it's come into view.』
At Zozo's words, Rei looked out the window.
There, just as Zozo had said, was the Birth Tower.
But... upon seeing it, Rei felt something was off.
"Zozo, doesn't something about the Birth Tower look strange?"
『Eh?』
Zozo turned his gaze toward the Birth Tower at Rei's prompting, but nothing seemed particularly wrong to him.
He stared at the tower for a while, but eventually shook his head.
『I can't tell, but is something wrong?』
"Probably... Sorry, but I'm going on ahead. What will you do?"
『I will accompany you.』
If there was a particular reason, that was one thing, but without any reason at all, the option of not staying by Rei's side simply didn't exist for Zozo.
Rei said nothing more to Zozo and leaped out of the carriage door, landing on Set's back as the gryphon ran alongside them.
Rei had been tracking Set's presence through his aura and cries the whole time. That was what made the move possible.
Zozo followed after Rei, landing on Set's back as well.
Rei was one thing, but Zozo, standing about two meters tall, carried considerable muscle mass—inferior to Gaga's, but substantial all the same.
In other words, he was heavier than he looked, but Set didn't seem to mind at all, absorbing both Rei and Zozo on his back without so much as a stumble.
"Set, hurry to the Birth Tower! I don't know what's happening over there, but we need to rush!"
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set cried out sharply and broke into a full sprint.
As Set was about to overtake the carriage, Rei called out to the Coachman.
"Something seems to be happening at the Birth Tower, so I'm going on ahead! I'd appreciate it if you could pick up the speed!"
He started close enough to the carriage, but by the end he was shouting as he pulled away. Even so, his words must have carried.
The carriage's speed had definitely increased.
Not only that—perhaps because Rei had half-shouted, his voice reached the other Coachmen as well, and every carriage in the convoy sped up.
As expected of Coachmen in Daskar's service, Rei thought, even as his mind raced to figure out what could have happened at the Birth Tower.
(Since there are adventurers and knights left behind as guards, I didn't think anything too dangerous could happen... No, wait. Did Lizardmen teleport in again? And when they saw adventurers and knights near the familiar Birth Tower, a fight broke out? ...That seems likely.)
When the Birth Tower itself had teleported, Set was able to sense it.
But when Lizardmen or Green People teleported in, unfortunately, even Set couldn't detect it unless they were already in the Treant Forest.
If a teleportation had occurred while Rei and Set were in Gilm, it wouldn't be strange at all if a battle had broken out in front of the Birth Tower by now.
Thinking that, Rei had hoped from atop Set's back that it hadn't turned into some kind of disaster...
"What is that..."
Set's running speed was faster than a horse's.
Though slower than flying, the Birth Tower was rapidly drawing closer.
If the Birth Tower had teleported into the Treant Forest, the dense trees would have blocked any view of its condition.
But precisely because it had teleported outside the forest, it was easy for Set to reach—and they could observe the tower's state from a distance.
The reason Rei let out a cry of surprise upon seeing the approaching Birth Tower was not that those fighting the adventurers and knights assigned as guards were Lizardmen... but humans.
To be precise, there were also beings that appeared to be Beastmen, Dwarves, and Elves mixed in, but the majority were human.
"Not Lizardmen? What is this?"
Seeing a crowd of people, Rei first thought they might be Bandits, but Bandits wouldn't come all the way out to the frontier in the first place.
There might be Bandits targeting those traveling for Gilm's Expansion Construction, but they would strike near Abuelo or Sablusta rather than so close to Gilm itself.
Or perhaps they had come to Gilm to hunt monsters, Rei thought, but dismissed that idea immediately.
Of course, defeating monsters around the frontier city of Gilm and selling their materials on the black market could earn money, but the monsters around the frontier were mostly strong.
Those who couldn't work as adventurers—with some exceptions—and had turned to banditry would find it impossible to defeat the monsters around Gilm.
And naturally, taking on such monsters, or picking a fight of their own accord with Gilm's renowned knights, would be nothing short of suicidal.
(In that case, what are they?)
If they weren't Bandits, what were they thinking, attacking the Birth Tower?
Moreover, as they drew closer, Rei could clearly confirm that the attackers' equipment was different from what Bandits would carry—not quite top-tier, but well-maintained and heavily used, as even his eyes could discern.
Their combat methods weren't the improvised, individualistic fighting or crude coordination of Bandits, either. They were employing sophisticated coordinated tactics while engaging the guarding knights and adventurers.
(Adventurers from Gilm? No, if they were adventurers, they'd be even more aware of the danger of making an enemy of Gilm. They'd never do something this foolish.)
To Daskar, the Birth Tower was an extremely important matter.
If he learned that at a site teleported from another nation, eggs and children—in human terms, fetuses or newborns—along with their caretaker, had been attacked, what would happen?
It went without saying that he would never forgive the nation responsible.
In the worst case, it could even lead to war.
Fortunately, since the Gran Dragonia Empire existed in another world, it wouldn't come to that immediately.
But the fact that the Birth Tower had teleported here meant there was no telling when the Gran Dragonia Empire might teleport in next.
Given that, those who attacked the Birth Tower would unquestionably be executed... no, being merely executed would be a merciful fate for them.
Understanding that danger, Rei couldn't fathom why they would do such a thing.
"In any case, defeating those bastards comes first. Set, charge in!"
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set cried out in acknowledgment.
Zozo, riding behind Rei, also knew that the Birth Tower—where his people's eggs and children were—was under attack. Even without Rei saying anything, he was ready to eliminate the attackers.
And... naturally, those attacking the Birth Tower also noticed Set's figure charging toward them.
"Tch, damn it! Why is Crimson already back?! He only just went to Gilm, it hasn't been that long, has he?!"
One of the attackers cursed, shouting Rei's epithet in frustration.
Hearing that—and the fact that they even remembered when Rei had gone to Gilm—Rei realized that the attackers, by whatever means, possessed information about him.
(Someone leaked information... No, did one of their associates infiltrate this side?)
At the shout that Rei had arrived, the attackers broke off their assault and scattered in different directions.
It wasn't a coincidental occurrence; it clearly looked like a predetermined plan.
No matter how fast Set was, and no matter how strong Rei was, if they all fled in completely different directions, capturing every one of them was impossible.
Given that, what Rei could do now was capture as many enemies as possible as sources of information.
"Don't let them escape!"
At Rei's shout, the knights and adventurers who had been defending the Birth Tower reacted instantly.
As expected of those who could be called an elite force, they left only the minimum number needed to guard the tower, and all the rest immediately gave chase to the enemies scattering in all directions.
In particular, those who had fled into the Treant Forest were being captured at a reasonable rate, as the fleeing party seemed largely unfamiliar with the forest's interior.
Those like Elves, for whom the forest itself was home ground, proved difficult to capture.
Amidst all that, Rei and his group pursued the enemies trying to flee outside the Treant Forest.
"Set, Zozo, don't kill them!"
Rei shouted, but while Set was one thing, Zozo didn't have the leeway to check the Stone Tablet and likely hadn't fully understood those words.
However, given the large number of enemies and the fact that Rei, Set, and the Birth Tower's defenders were all focused on capturing them, Rei decided there was no need to worry if Zozo ended up killing enemies rather than taking them alive.
Right now, reducing the number of attackers by even one was the top priority.
With that thought, Rei, Set, and Zozo each pursued the enemies fleeing in different directions.
What Rei drew was not his usual Death Scythe or Twilight Spear, but the Eye of Nebula, which could generate arrowheads using magic power.
Since the enemies were neither monsters nor individuals possessing exceptional abilities, attacking with the Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear would likely inflict far more damage than Rei intended.
At times like this, the arrowheads generated by the Eye of Nebula were extremely convenient.
They inflicted intense pain on the target while rarely causing fatal injuries under normal circumstances.
And yet, using Rei's magic power, he could produce arrowheads in nearly limitless quantities.
...The only drawback was that since the arrowheads had to be thrown, the effective range was shorter compared to hurling a spear.
However, the short-range problem was resolved simply by Rei closing the distance.
Rei's running speed, while inferior to Set's, was far faster than any human, Beastman, or Elf could manage.
Dwarves, due to their physique, were inevitably slower runners, so in that sense, they were nothing but prey to Rei.
As he closed in on the fleeing enemies, Rei used the Eye of Nebula to generate magic arrowheads and immediately hurled them.
The released arrowheads pierced the fleeing enemies' legs, slashing through them and gouging flesh.
The enemies ran without paying any mind to their fallen comrades—indeed, looking as if they hoped Rei might slow down because of them—but ultimately, every one of those targeted by Rei suffered injuries to their legs, greater or lesser, and was captured on the spot.