"Lord Rei, is this about right?"
"Hmm... yeah, I think it's fine. Right?"
At Rei's words, the adventurer he had addressed nodded with a somewhat troubled expression.
"I only did tree felling a long time ago, so I can't say for certain, but I think it's roughly like this."
The adventurer was looking at the trees from the Treant Forest that Rei had felled.
Felled trees normally needed to be dried to remove their moisture.
However, in the case of Treant Forest trees, since the alchemists needed to perform magical processing on them, the drying process—normally the most time-consuming step—could be skipped entirely.
Even so, while drying wasn't necessary, other work still remained... specifically, cutting off the branches.
That said, trimming branches was actually a fairly labor-intensive task.
But Rei had Zozo.
Under Zozo's direction, the Lizardmen had worked together to strip the branches from every tree Rei felled.
Rei had asked the adventurer about the results, but the adventurers hired as guards for the Birth Tower were highly skilled individuals who, naturally enough, had never done anything like assisting woodcutters.
Or even if they had, it was a very long time ago... back when they were still green as adventurers.
That was precisely why, upon seeing the Lizardmen trimming the branches, they couldn't give a confident answer when asked whether the work was acceptable.
...If anything, in that regard, Rei would be the more knowledgeable one, having transported felled trees so many times.
"I see. Then I'll store them."
So saying, he began storing the felled trees into his Misty Ring one after another.
Even for those who knew Rei possessed an Item Box, the sight was enough to inadvertently captivate them.
The trees of the Treant Forest adjacent to the Birth Tower had been cleanly felled.
Additionally, the stumps had already been dug out by Rei using Death Scythe's Terrain Manipulation.
Normally, stumps were necessary for the Green People to use their ability to grow trees.
But precisely because this area was adjacent to the Birth Tower, removing the stumps here was essential.
If trees grew back again through the Green People's power, that would certainly not be a welcome outcome.
The stumps, pulled up along with their roots, were also stored in the Misty Ring for now, since they might prove useful for something later.
Using them as firewood would require drying, so keeping them in the Misty Ring wouldn't serve that purpose.
They're actually quite heavy, so just dropping them from the sky would make for a decent weapon.
While riding Set, he could drop stumps from an altitude of a hundred meters... or even higher.
Hitting a specific target pinpoint might be difficult, but against a group... such as an army, it would be possible to launch a one-sided attack from the air.
That said, dropping rocks or something similar stored in the Misty Ring would undoubtedly make for a more powerful attack than dropping stumps.
"Alright, I've stored all the trees around the Birth Tower for now. I'll go show my face to the woodcutters first, then head to Gilm to deliver the felled timber. I'm sure things will be fine, but I'm leaving the guard duty here to you."
"Yeah, I'll handle whatever comes up. ...Though there's someone far more reliable than us here... or rather, a Lizardman."
The adventurer muttered that, glancing toward Gaga.
In truth, Gaga possessed top-class combat ability among everyone gathered here.
If mercenaries were to attack here again, Gaga alone would be more than enough to defend the place.
"It's fine to rely on Gaga, but don't let your guard down too much."
"Yeah, I'll be careful. You be careful going to Gilm too, Rei. For a souvenir, fruit water sounds good. It looks like it's going to be pretty hot today."
"Now that you mention it, you might be right."
Inside the Treant Forest, even when the sunlight was strong, the tree branches blocked it, so you were never exposed to direct sun.
But the Birth Tower was positioned right next to the Treant Forest, and Rei had already felled the trees that had been growing immediately beside it.
Thanks to that, the disadvantage of being easily approached by enemies had been overcome, but in exchange, resting in the shade was no longer an option.
It's still spring, so it's only warm at most, but once summer arrives... it might get a bit harsh.
Rei wore the Dragon Robe, which had a simplified air conditioner function, so even if he were active in a place without a single patch of shade in midsummer... or even in a desert, there would be absolutely no problem.
However, there couldn't possibly be that many Magic Items with such a function... if summer came like this, those assigned to guard the Birth Tower would likely suffer from heatstroke and similar ailments.
Thinking about it that way, we really do need some kind of structure that can provide shade. Well, it doesn't have to be a proper building—maybe a tent could manage? Also, water and such... we're transporting it from Gilm along with food, but if possible, I'd want a well at least.
Whether they could dig here and create a well, Rei didn't know.
But if they could make a well, at the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about water.
Deciding to ask Zozo about it later, Rei called out to Set, who had just returned with children on his back, and headed toward Gilm.
"Phew, today was especially intense... in a different way."
"Guruu?"
Rei, having handed the felled trees over to the alchemists, stretched his back while walking down the road with Set.
The woodcutters, just as Rei had told them, were working with considerable zeal today, and the amount of felled timber was clearly more than usual. ...In exchange, perhaps because they had overexerted themselves, they were more fatigued than usual.
That large quantity of wood was snatched up by the alchemists almost as if they were stealing it.
The brawl that had broken out over dwindling construction supplies had lit a fire under the woodcutters' pride.
At the same time, it must have also lit a fire under the pride of the alchemists who performed the magical processing on the wood the woodcutters felled.
For that reason, the alchemists who usually came asking about eyeball monster materials were, just for today, far more focused on the wood than anything else.
Rei was surprised by the alchemists' behavior, but since they didn't pester him about sharing materials like usual and instead concentrated on their own work after taking the wood, he actually found it preferable.
"Well, my errand is done for now. Should we grab something to eat before heading back? ...That's what I was going to say, but—"
With a sigh, Rei stroked Set while letting out a weary exhale, then turned his gaze toward a building a short distance away.
Following Rei's gaze, Set also looked in that direction.
In reality, Set had noticed before Rei had, but since the person didn't seem to be doing anything in particular, he had stayed quiet.
"Oh, you noticed me. Sorry for startling you. But would you care to join me for a meal?"
At those words, the person who revealed themselves surprised Rei.
This was someone who had been lying in wait for him in a place like this.
There had been no signs of hostility, so Rei had figured they were seeking some kind of negotiation. But in every previous instance, the person had been a man—yet the one who appeared was a woman.
And not just any woman—she had well-defined features, and while not quite on Elena's level, nearly everyone who saw her would describe her as a beauty. She appeared to be in her twenties.
Such a woman was casually inviting Rei to a meal.
"Just to be clear, you're not trying to hit on me or anything like that, right?"
At Rei's words, the woman showed a briefly caught-off-guard expression, but the very next moment, she burst out laughing as if she couldn't help herself.
"Pfft—ahahaha! No, I'm sorry. I wouldn't mind having a meal with a handsome boy like Rei-san, but I thought the age gap was a bit too wide for a romantic interest."
"When you put it that way, I can't really argue."
It had already been several years since Rei came to this world.
Yet even now, his body in this world had not grown in height at all, and his appearance remained that of a mid-teen.
This, despite Set having grown nearly a full meter larger.
In a sense, it might be called agelessness, but personally, he wished he were a bit taller.
Specifically, around one hundred eighty centimeters.
"I'm sorry. But if you're going to be hit on, wouldn't you prefer someone your own age, Rei-san? ...Putting that aside, so what do you say? How about a meal?"
"I don't mind eating, but the fact that you went out of your way to ambush me here means you have some business, right?"
Rei, being an alias-holding adventurer, had been approached by many individuals in the past.
Everything from invitations to become an exclusive adventurer, requests that bypassed the Guild, and in some cases, even people who wanted to fight him to prove their own strength. There were also those who wanted him to sell his materials or Magic Items.
In that sense, an invitation like this woman's wasn't particularly unusual.
That Rei enjoyed the act of eating was something anyone could find out with just a little research.
All you had to do was ask around at food stalls or eateries.
"That's true. But it's no lie that I'd like to have a meal with Rei-san. ...I've reserved a table at a slightly delicious restaurant. Would you like to go there?"
"I can't spare much time, but if that's fine with you—"
In terms of guarding the Birth Tower, he wasn't too worried since Gaga was there.
But if some kind of situation arose that required more than just guards, having only Gaga, Zozo, and the knight could lead to various problems.
Considering that, it was certain that Rei couldn't spare much time, just as he had said.
...And yet, he was drawn to the phrase "slightly delicious."
If it had been described as an incredibly delicious restaurant, that would have been a fairly common expression.
But "slightly delicious"—that modest, almost self-deprecating adjective—was what had piqued Rei's interest.
"Yes, of course that's fine. Then let's go right away."
The woman smiled and told Rei and Set... then, as if noticing something, she covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oh my, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Daisy. Nice to meet you."
To Daisy, who introduced herself like that, Rei replied while stroking Set.
"It seems you already know who I am, but I'm Rei. This is Set."
"Indeed. That's precisely why I came to see you like this. Shall we go, then? I wasn't sure when Rei-san would show up here, so I made a longer reservation, but I'm sure the restaurant staff would want to serve the food as soon as possible."
"A slightly delicious restaurant, huh. Just from that, it sounds promising... by the way, what about Set?"
"What about Set" was vague, but it was apparently enough for Daisy to understand.
She shook her head apologetically.
"Unfortunately, there isn't enough room for Set to fit inside. We'll have to have him wait outside..."
"Guruu."
At Daisy's words, Set let out a disappointed purr.
That said, Set understood his own body size, so while a food stall might be one thing, he grasped that he couldn't enter a proper establishment.
That was why, despite looking disappointed, it wasn't that bad.
"I see. ...Sorry, Set. I'll bring you back something as a souvenir, so bear with it."
"Gurururu!"
With just the word "souvenir" from Rei's mouth, Set's mood was instantly restored.
The fact that he hadn't been all that upset about not being able to eat at the restaurant in the first place probably had a lot to do with it.
"Oh my."
At Set's reaction, Daisy smiled with amusement.
Set was an A-Rank Monster... no, classified as a Rare Species, making him an S-Rank equivalent monster, but looking at him like this, she must have found him thoroughly adorable.
"Guruu?"
At Daisy's demeanor, Set tilted his head as if asking, "What is it?"
With those round eyes and such an action, combined with Set's size, it came across as all the more endearing.
A smile rose to Daisy's face, naturally and without her realizing it.
"It's Set-chan, isn't it? You won't be able to come inside the restaurant, but I'll make sure Set-chan gets a proper meal too, so be patient with that, okay."
At Daisy's words, Set purred happily... truly, from the bottom of his heart, and wagged his tail vigorously.