Of those who had attacked the Birth Tower, the majority ended up being captured in the end.
Despite Rei and Set pursuing them, a furious Zozo attacking with lethal intent, and the Birth Tower's defenders leaving behind only a skeleton crew to give chase, some still managed to escape.
Part of it was that the attackers were highly skilled, but the biggest reason was their escape tactics — when they fled, they didn't run as a group. They scattered in every direction.
From the perspective of those fleeing, the natural instinct would be to stick together.
But these attackers scattered to the four winds.
When they did that, whoever was targeted had a high chance of being captured or killed, but everyone else's odds of escaping increased significantly.
In that sense, the attackers had been remarkably cunning.
"So, did you figure out what kind of people these guys are?"
Rei could capture them, but interrogation wasn't exactly his forte.
If these had been ordinary Bandits, they would have spilled everything after Rei demonstrated his power by killing a few of them. But this time's attackers were what you might call true professionals — not even comparable to Bandits.
That was why, even when Rei roughed them up a little, they refused to talk, so he had left them to someone with the relevant skills.
"Yes. It appears they are not Adventurers, but mercenaries."
"Mercenaries, huh..."
Just as Adventurers had participated in the war against the Bestia Empire, it was undeniable that Adventurers also possessed a mercenary-like aspect.
Among such groups, mercenaries were indeed a breed apart.
They fundamentally only took on jobs involving combat against other humans, and did not accept requests like monster subjugation.
Many of them didn't even register as Adventurers, citing that they were mercenaries and therefore had no need to.
...In reality, since there was no guild for mercenaries like the Adventurer's Guild, a fair number did register as Adventurers in order to obtain a Guild Card as identification.
"I've heard rumors that many mercenaries are hired as escorts for Merchants coming to Gilm, so these men likely came here that way as well."
"Troublesome. But if they're mercenaries, it makes sense — the efficiency of their retreat earlier and the fact that they were fighting on even ground when they attacked this place."
As Rei had initially predicted, if the attackers had been the likes of Bandits, they would have won easily.
But the attackers were not Bandits — they were mercenaries.
That was precisely why they had struggled as much as they did.
The fact that they had been fighting while defending the Birth Tower to prevent the attackers from breaking in was also a significant factor.
"So, what was the reason for the mercenaries attacking this Birth Tower? ...It might be an important place for Gilm, but for the mercenaries, it's not exactly a lucrative target, is it? After all, the ones inside are Lizardmen."
In reality, they were Lizardmen, yes, but not the Lizardmen of this world — they were Lizardmen from another world, and ones capable of founding a nation at that.
And if the scale of that nation was on par with the Kingdom of Mireana, then they could hardly be called ordinary Lizardmen.
But since only a small number of people knew about that, Rei thought it was a weak reason for the mercenaries to attack the Lizardmen in the Birth Tower.
"It seems they were hired to do so."
"...Hired?"
"Yes. Though they did not reveal who hired them."
"So they're keeping their professional code even as mercenaries. If we take more time with the interrogation, can we get them to talk about that?"
"I wonder. As for further interrogation, I think it would be better to leave it to the Guards."
After hearing the words of the Adventurer who had conducted the interrogation, Rei turned his gaze toward the Knight, silently asking what he thought.
The Knight, receiving Rei's gaze, opened his mouth with a stern expression.
"If we can obtain the information as quickly as possible, we have no objections on our end. This Birth Tower is an extremely important matter for Lord Daskar as well. Furthermore, Zozo and the Lizardmen are an existence friendly to us. Precisely because it is such a place, I want to eliminate the danger as quickly as possible."
Zozo nodded with satisfaction and happiness at the Knight's words.
For Zozo, this Birth Tower was also an important matter.
That the Knight valued such a place so highly made it only natural for Zozo to feel favorably toward him.
"Then, for now, let's tie these guys up, shove them into a carriage, and send them to Gilm."
At Rei's words, everyone who had been listening nodded with expressions indicating no objection.
"So, that matter aside... why did so many Lizardmen come here this time?"
The Knight asked Rei while looking at the Lizardmen who had disembarked from the arrived carriage... and above all, at Gaga, whose physique was far larger than the other Lizardmen.
The Lizardmen were showing signs of agitation, having heard that the Birth Tower had been attacked.
That they didn't lash out was probably because Gaga had done a good job of keeping them in check.
They had judged that if the Lizardmen went on a rampage here, it would ultimately work to their own disadvantage.
That they made such a judgment while also assessing this incident as a potential political card was likely a result of his position as the Third Prince.
"Lord Daskar judged that the people here alone wouldn't be enough to defend the Birth Tower. Since they were going to guard it anyway, it was decided that it would be better to have the Lizardmen guard it."
"That's... no, but wouldn't that cause all sorts of problems? When we bring food and supplies, they'll mistake us for enemies, won't they?"
At the Knight's troubled words, Rei indicated there was no problem, turning his gaze to Zozo beside him.
"Since Zozo will be staying here, we can communicate using the Stone Tablet. Any situation where a battle breaks out due to a language barrier should be avoidable. ...Though, given what happened this time, they'll probably treat anyone approaching as an enemy, regardless of whether they can communicate."
"I can't deny that. Actually, if they can understand our words to some extent, wouldn't someone try to deceive them?"
If they couldn't communicate, it wouldn't be strange for them to attack without question anyone approaching the Birth Tower.
But if communication was possible, that meant conversation was possible, and in that case, if someone silver-tongued served as a negotiator, there was a very real chance they could deceive Zozo.
"Even so, I am still technically a member of the Imperial Family. I am accustomed to dealing with silver-tongued individuals."
It was Zozo who dismissed the Knight's concern with those words.
The Knight wore an uneasy expression at being told it would be fine by the very person he was worried about, but as far as Rei could tell, Zozo wouldn't be deceived so easily.
However, there was one thing that concerned him...
(Zozo is so inexplicably loyal to me that if someone used my name, I feel like he'd be deceived all too easily. ...Though, given his high loyalty, he would absolutely never forgive anyone who used my name to deceive him.)
In the mock battles held at Marina's house, the only person Zozo could defeat was Byune.
If he had a mock battle against Marina without Spirit Magic, he might be able to win, but Marina's weapon besides Spirit Magic was the bow, and while she wasn't completely incapable of close combat, her skill level was far from what you could call professional.
For that reason, Marina did not participate in mock battles, but Zozo also lost to Rei, Elena, Vihera... and even Ara.
Of course, Ara, as Elena's close aide, had originally possessed a certain level of strength, but she had been through many battles since first meeting Rei, and her strength was real enough that calling it genuine would not be an exaggeration.
Moreover, her Herculean Strength was something that surprised even Rei, and the fact that Zozo could not match Ara in sheer power had been proven in a strength comparison.
Thus, Zozo could not defeat anyone except Byune in mock battles — but that was only because his opponents were too formidable.
Against an ordinary Adventurer, Zozo had more than enough strength to win easily.
If someone came trying to deceive him using Rei's name, it was an undeniable fact that person would meet the worst possible fate at Zozo's hands.
"I doubt there are any suicidal people like that, though."
"Hm? What's that all of a sudden?"
"No, I was just thinking that someone might try to deceive Zozo using my name. But if such a person existed, Zozo would definitely..."
"I will kill them."
Instantly, without even a moment's hesitation, Zozo continued right after Rei's words.
With an aura so intense that the Knight and Adventurer who had been listening unknowingly took a step back.
"It would be helpful if you didn't kill them. A limb or two aside, we need to obtain information from them."
Rei had known just how deep Zozo's loyalty ran, so, unlike the other two who were startled, he showed no particular surprise as he said this.
"Understood. If it is Lord Rei's word."
Though he looked slightly dissatisfied, Zozo stated so briefly.
After confirming that, Rei asked the Knight and Guards about something that had been on his mind.
"By the way, how will the mercenaries be handled? If they were Adventurers, I don't think they'd do anything stupid, but mercenaries seem like the type who would."
"For now, after reporting this matter to Lord Daskar, I plan to investigate the mercenaries currently in Gilm. I don't think all the mercenaries would become our enemies, but we still need to look into what kind of people are here."
"Mercenaries, huh. I wonder exactly how many are in Gilm right now."
"If we inquire with the Guards, we should be able to get a rough idea. Of course, there are those who entered hiding their true identity, so it won't be possible to identify everyone for certain."
Ah, I see. Rei nodded in understanding at the Knight's words.
Since entering Gilm required going through the Guards' procedures, it was only natural that the Guards would be the most knowledgeable about such information.
"Then I can leave that to you. ...Zozo, protect the Birth Tower along with Gaga, the other Lizardmen, and the Adventurers staying here."
"Order me to protect it. Give me a command."
"...Understood. Then, protect the Birth Tower."
At Rei's command, Zozo bowed happily.
For Zozo, who was utterly devoted to Rei's strength, obeying an order from Rei was a joy.
Raising his head from the bow, Zozo called out to the other Lizardmen, including Gaga.
As Rei watched Zozo, who was probably explaining the current situation and the surrounding area to them, he was called by the Knight.
"Rei, I'm going to head back to Gilm with the mercenaries soon. I want to hand them over to the Guards as quickly as possible to extract information, and I also want to confirm how many mercenaries are in Gilm."
"Got it, I'm counting on you. But then, what about a replacement Knight?"
Currently, the only Knight at the Birth Tower was the one who had come last night.
If that Knight headed back to Gilm, there would be no one here.
Of course, it wasn't absolutely necessary to have a Knight here, but still, having someone who held the title of Knight would be convenient if anything happened.
Rei wanted to say that losing this Knight would be problematic.
"Right. Once I return to Gilm, I'll send a replacement Knight here right away. ...Could you let Zozo know about that? Being mistaken for an enemy and attacked would be no joke."
"Given what happened this time, there'll probably be a lot of people making mistakes. Zozo is one thing, but it'll be tough for the other Lizardmen."
Having been attacked by the people of this world once, it was inevitable that a sense of distrust would arise among the Lizardmen.
That they still hadn't completely stopped trusting was because Daskar had taken steps to protect the Lizardmen — providing them with food and shelter, and teaching them letters and language for the sake of communication.
Also, the fact that Rei — who had earned Zozo's loyalty, fought Gaga to a standstill... no, who had beaten Gaga even if neither of them had used their trump cards, and had formed a friendly relationship like that of kindred spirits — was here, was also significant.
"Understood, I'll leave that to you. ...I get the feeling that it's getting close to the limit of what Gilm's manpower alone can handle, though. What do you think Lord Daskar is thinking about that?"
If not for Gilm's Expansion Construction, Daskar could have devoted himself entirely to the Teleportation situation.
But Gilm was currently in the midst of the Expansion Construction, and it was a fact that most of the labor was being concentrated on that front.
Given that, the manpower that could be allocated to the Teleportation situation inevitably became scarce.
Was that not a problem?
As Rei conveyed this, the Knight nodded with a difficult expression.
"I think so too. But knowing Lord Daskar, he must have already taken some measures. As a Knight, all I can do is trust in Lord Daskar."
Saying so, the Knight began preparations to escort the mercenaries.