"It seems he was surprised at how delicious breakfast was."
Upon arriving at the Birth Tower, Rei immediately asked what Gaga had been trying to say during breakfast and nodded in understanding.
Gaga, too, nodded in satisfaction now that Zozo had translated what he had been trying to express.
(As expected, without Zozo... no, without the Stone Tablet for translation, things are going to be difficult. Should I try contacting Grimm tonight?)
So Rei thought, but then he remembered that Grimm had said he only possessed the one Stone Tablet that Zozo was currently using.
If that was the case, then contacting Grimm would be meaningless.
(Besides, if he's in the middle of experimenting with the Eyeball monster's materials, he wouldn't want to be interrupted.)
Considering Grimm's personality, he wouldn't get all that angry even if Rei contacted him here.
But since Grimm had said he didn't have any others, pushing the matter would be pointless.
If Rei were requesting something that actually existed, that would be one thing, but asking for something that didn't exist was simply futile.
If Rei were to place his hopes anywhere, it would be in Daskar searching for a Magic Item with similar functionality.
"Breakfast, huh... It really was delicious. What about your breakfast, Zozo?"
'They brought it over from Gilm for me to eat. ...It simply couldn't compare to the meals I had with you, Lord Rei.'
Rei understood those words.
The food that had been brought over was by no means bad.
But compared to the cooking at Marina's house, the flavor inevitably fell short.
That was only natural.
Moreover, for Zozo, the fact that he couldn't eat meals together with Rei—whom he deeply admired—was a significant factor.
Even so, the reason he had remained on standby at the Birth Tower was largely because Rei had told him that just because he was devoted to Rei didn't mean he had to be by his side constantly.
"I see. Well, I brought lunch with me, so we'll eat together here. It'd be nice if you find it tasty."
Today, Rei was also assigned to guard the Birth Tower for the entire day.
Fortunately... truly fortunately, no foolhardy individuals had attacked the Birth Tower last night.
But since mercenaries had attacked during the daytime, they couldn't afford to slack off on security.
For that reason, to avoid a repeat of yesterday, the combat power known as Rei had been stationed here at the Birth Tower today.
With Rei here, Set was naturally present too.
Additionally, since Gaga would also be at the Birth Tower during the day, it demonstrated to anyone harboring strange ideas that they would absolutely not be able to achieve their goals.
'I envy Brother Gaga, who gets to eat meals with you, Lord Rei.'
"Do you? ...Well, being able to eat delicious food must make Gaga happy too."
In fact, it wasn't just today's breakfast—even with previous meals, Gaga had eaten with clear satisfaction.
In that sense, Zozo envied Gaga considerably.
'From my perspective, it seems like he's indulging in the height of luxury. ...Truly.'
Zozo murmured earnestly, and while his words contained envy toward Gaga, there was no trace of jealousy.
Thinking that this was probably one of Zozo's virtues, Rei turned his gaze to his surroundings.
Since he had come here as a guard, he wanted to check if there were any abnormalities...
"Gruu!"
In the direction of his gaze, Lizardman children were playing with Set.
The adult Lizardmen, perhaps instinctively understanding Set's strength, did not approach him too closely.
Rei could guess that this was precisely because Lizardmen were monsters—they feared Set, who fell into the same category of monster.
But the children, rather than the adults, showed no fear of Set.
Rei had wondered whether, being children, they might instinctively sense dangerous opponents—but watching them like this, it seemed unrelated to that. They appeared to recognize Set as a trustworthy companion.
'The children have really taken to Set. ...That's a good thing.'
Watching the children playing with Set, Zozo murmured thoughtfully.
For Zozo, as a fellow Lizardman, the children were surely beloved beings.
Granted, Zozo was clearly different from an ordinary Lizardman, and Gaga's appearance was even further from what could be called normal.
(Ordinary Lizardmen can't breathe Fire Breath, after all.)
That said, Gaga hadn't used Fire Breath during his mock battle with Vihera.
Given that the venue was Marina's courtyard, this was only natural.
Even without Fire Breath, Gaga possessed more than enough strength.
Though it couldn't be called a truly serious fight, Vihera had undeniably been satisfied with the mock battle.
Vihera hadn't used anything like Magic Impact Palm either, fighting Gaga purely with martial arts techniques alone.
In that sense, the battle between Gaga and Vihera was appropriately called a mock battle.
"So, changing the subject... did no one teleport in last night?"
'Hm? Ah, yes. No one teleported in, including the Green People.'
"I see... Up until now, there was at least one teleportation per day. I guess the Birth Tower teleporting here was a major factor? But what in the world caused something like that to teleport here?"
What had teleported in until now were Green People and Lizardmen. Moreover, they had teleported from the forest where the Green People lived.
And yet, this Birth Tower had been located in the Imperial Capital of the Gran Dragonia Empire. Furthermore, it had been part of the castle.
The situation was clearly different from previous teleportations.
'That is... I wonder why as well.'
Responding to Rei's words, Zozo looked toward the Birth Tower with a bewildered expression.
Zozo didn't understand why he himself had teleported here, nor did he know the reason the Birth Tower had teleported.
"Maybe a large-scale teleportation like this means there won't be any more for a while? ...I don't have any real conviction behind that, though."
He didn't have certainty, but between teleporting an entire structure like the Birth Tower and teleporting individual Lizardmen or Green People, the energy consumed—whether it was magical power or some other force—had to be different.
If so, it wasn't unreasonable to think that teleportations might have paused until the energy source teleporting things from Zozo's world to this one recovered.
...Though that was ultimately just speculation.
For example, Rei's own magical power.
If a being like Rei—who harbored more vast magical power than perhaps anyone else in Elgin—existed in Zozo's world, and someone with that level of power was causing the teleportations, then it wouldn't be strange for them to still have plenty of capacity.
Naturally, there couldn't be that many exceptional beings like Rei, but the possibility wasn't zero either.
'Personally, I hope things turn out just as you suspect, Lord Rei.'
For Zozo, whose role was to protect the Birth Tower, having more Lizardmen would be better.
However, considering that Gaga... and Zaza had teleported in, there were also those for whom it would be better if they didn't teleport here.
Among the princes, there were those who, unlike Gaga, were more aligned with Zaza... no, some who made Zaza look comparatively reasonable in personality.
If such individuals teleported in, since they would hold higher status than Zozo, there was a real possibility they could cause problems.
Furthermore, some held values like Lizardman supremacy.
Because they possessed genuine strength, if such a person came here, even the worst possible outcome was conceivable. ...Yes, the worst outcome of massacring the Green People.
Though friendly relations had been established, there were those who could potentially overturn that.
...And yet, because of their Lizardman supremacy, they were gentle toward fellow Lizardmen, so they were also well-liked.
"Hm? What is it?"
Rei suddenly turned his gaze toward Set.
There, Set—carrying multiple Lizardman children on his back—was looking at Rei with round eyes, seeking something.
For a moment, Rei didn't understand what Set wanted, but he soon figured it out and nodded.
"Understood. You can go into the Treant Forest, but make absolutely sure to protect the children."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred as if to say "Obviously!" and headed into the Treant Forest.
The escorting Lizardmen were torn over whether they should stop Set or let him go, but when Gaga said something, their agitation immediately vanished.
This was likely a testament to his position as Third Prince and, above all, to the fact that he was admired and trusted as one of the top five warriors in the Gran Dragonia Empire.
Watching this, Zozo directed a gaze that mixed relief with envy.
Gaga was both a reliable older brother and a goal to strive toward.
That was precisely why, comparing the current Gaga to himself, Zozo acutely felt the gap between them.
Rei, too, could somewhat understand those feelings from observing Zozo, so he didn't try to call out to him.
"Well then, we should get to work too. Though there aren't many humans here."
Just in case something happened, a few adventurers and a knight were stationed here.
However, when it came to the defense of the Birth Tower, the Lizardmen had already become the primary force.
Humans and adventurers were still necessary, but the reason their numbers had dwindled was undoubtedly related to yesterday's mercenary incident.
(Come to think of it, what ended up happening with yesterday's mercenary situation? They said the knights and guards would be looking into it... did they get any results? No, if there were results, they'd probably tell us.)
Mercenaries—entities different from adventurers—had become a problem here.
That said, they couldn't exactly bar mercenaries from entering Gilm entirely, nor could they assign surveillance to every single mercenary.
In the end, all they could do was station some knights and adventurers here, demonstrating that not everyone in this world was an enemy.
Fortunately, the Lizardmen—led by Zozo and Gaga—were on reasonably good terms with the people of Gilm.
Daskar's decision to protect the Lizardmen and guarantee their food and shelter at the Lord's Manor was surely a major factor. ...Though when he said food and shelter, since nothing particular had been done about clothing, perhaps it should be called food and lodging.
Thanks to that, most of the Lizardmen had grown favorable toward Daskar... and toward the people of Gilm.
They had been suddenly teleported to an unknown other world—though Rei couldn't say how many of them actually recognized it as such—and rather than being attacked, they had been protected.
Unless one was utterly devoid of gratitude, it would be unreasonable to expect them not to feel goodwill and a sense of obligation toward such people.
...Though, given the mercenary attack, that trust probably wasn't complete.
"We've been told to return to Gilm once at noon. What about you, Rei?"
The one who asked was the Adventurer Man.
Given that he was assigned here, he was undoubtedly a skilled adventurer trusted by Daskar.
"I'm staying. I'll be here until evening today. ...There's no guarantee those fools won't show up again. That said, I'll be heading back to Gilm by nightfall."
The mercenaries who had attacked the Birth Tower yesterday had fled the moment they learned Rei was here.
That meant they understood just how much power Rei possessed.
Naturally, rumors of Rei—accurately, of the Crimson—had spread quite far, so it wouldn't be surprising if they knew.
In any case, if the attackers were mercenaries like yesterday's group, an assault while Rei was present was highly unlikely.
The problem was after Rei returned to Gilm at night... but going outside Gilm at night in the Frontier was extremely dangerous, so it would probably be fine.
That said, there were reckless mercenaries out there, and some who would accept danger for a high reward.
Above all, since the Birth Tower was here, it wouldn't be strange for someone to think they could simply flee into the tower if things went wrong. ...The section that had originally connected to the castle had vanished cleanly as if scooped out with a spoon, so entering and exiting through there wouldn't be difficult.
(In that sense, I think it'd be better for a combat power like Gaga to stay here too. ...Or do they think Zozo can handle things on his own?)
Rei harbored such doubts, but Gaga had his own thoughts and Zozo had his own thoughts, so they were probably fine... or so he wanted to believe.
Besides, if it truly came down to it, they would surely contact him.
With that in mind, Rei continued his conversation with the adventurers.