Fortunately, the lake incident was—truly fortunately—still largely unknown.
That the lake had teleported in right beside the Birth Tower was likely the biggest reason. Those assigned to guard the Birth Tower had been selected as trusted adventurers, and they were not the type to casually leak information.
...That said, they would probably still talk after a few drinks at a tavern, and there was every chance it would come up as pillow talk at a brothel. Considering that, it wouldn't be long before word of the lake spread.
Had this been just the Birth Tower, the mysterious building would have piqued some curiosity, but no one would have made that much of a fuss. A lake, however, was an entirely different matter—it wasn't some abstract curiosity but something directly tied to daily life. Naturally, far more people would take an interest in it than in the Birth Tower. Once that happened, information about the Birth Tower would inevitably slip out as well, and there was no doubt that many would come flooding here.
"So, is it alright if I ask what Lord Daskar intends to do about the lake situation?"
Amonai had been gazing out at the vast expanse of the lake to clear his head, but Rei's question snapped him back to reality. He had been so captivated by the majestic sight that he had completely forgotten his recent exhaustion, and he felt slightly annoyed at being pulled from that moment of respite. Even so, given the gravity of the situation, he couldn't exactly voice such a complaint. He opened his mouth to respond.
"You're right. It will be difficult to keep this incident completely hidden, so we'll likely need to make an official announcement about the lake in the near future. When that happens, we'll naturally have to disclose the Birth Tower's existence as well. ...I can only hope the Lizardmen won't be subjected to any unpleasant treatment."
"I think that part will be tricky. Someone operating under a misunderstanding might try to force their way into the Birth Tower and end up in a fight with the Lizardmen. It wouldn't surprise me at all."
To the Lizardmen, the Birth Tower was a sanctuary for protecting their eggs and children. If someone tried to enter such a place without permission, a fight was only natural.
But the real problem was that the ones occupying the Birth Tower were Lizardmen—in other words, monsters.
Those who had interacted with Zozo and Gaga, or who understood the situation to some degree, could grasp that Zozo and Gaga were not ordinary Lizardmen. To everyone else, though, it would simply look like monsters had taken over a location, and they would see no reason why attacking it should be forbidden.
That, in turn, could reflect poorly on Gilm. Would Daskar, the lord of Gilm, really side with monsters over his own people?
"Besides, it seems the King's Faction is making moves, too."
"...What did you say?"
Whatever Rei had just let slip, it was apparently news to Amonai. His gaze sharpened in a way that seemed unbecoming of a civil official.
For Amonai—no, for any of Daskar's subordinates—the King's Faction was the group behind the Red Cloth, the Cobolts, and the massive Eyeball. They were the ones who had caused enormous trouble from last year into this one. Given that, Amonai was not about to let Rei's words pass without further inquiry.
"When you say the King's Faction is making moves, where did you hear that?"
"Heard isn't quite the word. A woman from the King's Faction—someone claiming to serve the Royal Family, no less—actually approached me directly. She mentioned contacting Lord Daskar as well, or that she already had. I just assumed he was already in the loop. ...You didn't know?"
"No. Unfortunately, I didn't." Amonai's expression tightened. "That said, it's not as though I'm Lord Daskar's most trusted confidant. There are things I simply have no need to know."
Fair enough, Rei accepted with a nod. As an adventurer who had been caught up in his fair share of trouble, he understood that information could be a double-edged sword—having it was an advantage, but sometimes knowing the wrong thing could work against you. So he didn't press the point.
"Still, the King's Faction, huh. A lot of them like to throw His Majesty's authority around as a shield, which makes them a real headache."
"Is that so? I've met a few King's Faction nobles over the years, but I never got that impression."
Maruka was still young, so she wouldn't think to leverage authority like that. Besides, she possessed exceptional magical talent in her own right. Rei had forgotten who he'd heard it from, but there was a rumor that the King's Faction eventually intended to position Maruka as their symbol—much like how Elena served as the figurehead for the Noble's Faction.
Maruka was still a child, but even now, she had the kind of appearance that would undoubtedly blossom into great beauty. The idea of making her the King's Faction's symbol wasn't entirely misguided.
...Of course, whether Maruka herself would have any interest in playing that role was another matter entirely.
"Then you were lucky," Amonai said. "The King's Faction does have a lot of members, so there are bound to be a fair number of decent nobles mixed in. But if you ever cross paths with the bad ones, watch yourself. Especially an Alias Holder like you, Rei-san—they'd love nothing more than to bring you under their heel."
For a noble, having a High-Rank Adventurer as a subordinate carried enormous weight. In a world where quality could trump quantity, a single High-Rank Adventurer could possess enough power to turn the tide of an entire battlefield. The prestige of commanding one alone was enough to loom large among peers. And if that adventurer was an Alias Holder, the significance only multiplied.
Rei, however, was more than just an Alias Holder. He had Set—a Rare Species on par with S-Rank—as his Tamed Monster, and he possessed an Item Box, an artifact so rare that only a handful were known to exist in the entire world. To the nobility, Rei was exactly the kind of asset they would stop at nothing to acquire. To that end, many would wield the greatest advantage of belonging to the King's Faction: the King himself standing behind them.
"If it's the Royal Family coming to me directly, that's one thing. But I won't pull punches against some nobody swinging his backing's weight around, so don't worry about that. ...Though if the Royal Family does get involved, depending on how things go, I might end up getting driven out of the country."
He said it matter-of-factly, but the implication was clear: if push came to shove, he would show no hesitation, even against royalty.
"W-wait, if you actually did something like that—"
"Relax, it'll be fine. If it comes to that, I can always just slip away to the Bestia Empire. ...The real question is whether Elena would come along, though I figure Vihera and Marina are a given."
"I-I-I mean it! Please don't say such reckless things!"
Amonai's composure cracked, his normally measured speech breaking down under the weight of his alarm. Rei lightly patted him on the shoulder.
"It's a joke. A joke. I'm telling you, nothing but a joke."
Amonai let out a breath of relief at Rei's laughing tone... but then he looked closer. Rei's eyes were smiling, yes, but deep within them burned a faint, unmistakable glint of genuine resolve, and a chill crawled down Amonai's spine.
If it ever truly came to that—if the Royal Family tried to force Rei into submission—Rei would not hesitate to strike back at whoever stood in his way. And if he could no longer remain in the Kingdom of Mireana, he would go to the Bestia Empire.
For the Bestia Empire, receiving someone of Rei's caliber into their ranks would be an offer they would never refuse. Many there knew firsthand just how powerful he was. During the war, they had suffered devastating losses at the hands of Rei and Set, losses that had directly decided the outcome. At the Fighting Tournament, he had put his abilities on full display, and in the civil war that followed, he had made an even greater show of force—cutting down friend and foe alike with a ferocity that had exceeded even his wartime exploits. No nation would turn away that kind of power.
That said, Rei had carved a bloody path through the Bestia Empire, and there was no shortage of people there who had lost family, friends, or loved ones to him. Coexistence with them would be impossible—conflict would be inevitable.
But the current Emperor of the Bestia Empire held the conviction that might made right, and that whatever he desired should be taken by force. In a way, it was a mindset quite befitting Vihera's father.
"You're really just joking, right?"
"Yeah. Of course."
Watching Rei nod, Amonai made a quiet decision: he needed to speak with Daskar.
For Daskar, Rei was an extraordinarily powerful hidden blade. Yes, he attracted trouble, but the help he provided far outweighed it. Letting talent like that slip away was something Daskar would never allow. Depending on the circumstances, he would likely protect Rei even if it meant clashing with the King's Faction.
"Well then, I've gotten a look at the lake, so I should be heading back. I still have plenty of work waiting for me."
With that, Amonai turned toward the Carriage. It was true that work was piling up, and he needed to report the lake situation to Daskar. But more than anything, he needed to have a conversation about Rei's protection.
"Already? Then I'll leave the lake report to you. I've got my hands full over there."
In the direction Rei indicated, the Lizardman Children were laughing and playing, clearly having the time of their lives. But the lake hadn't been fully investigated yet, and there was no telling what might surface. As long as that was the case, Rei needed to stay and keep watch alongside Set—just in case.
(Though...)
Rei shifted his gaze to the Lizardmen standing a short distance away, keeping watch over the children. Several of them. Or rather—was it "several people"? He couldn't quite remember which.
Ordinarily, monsters were counted with the animal counter—one, two, and so on. But Zozo, Gaga, and their group were Lizardmen of a vastly different caliber from the ones native to this world. On top of that, they held the status of Daskar's guests. Counting them with the human counter instead of the animal one was a deliberate signal that they were not to be treated as ordinary Lizardmen.
(There were some who grumbled about it, but Lord Daskar explicitly ordered that they be counted as people, not animals. Anyone who still has a problem with that just needs to be firmly shut down.)
Those who wanted to treat Zozo's group as ordinary monsters would undoubtedly bristle at Daskar's stance. An ordinary Lizardman could be killed without consequence. But the Lizardmen here were special, and the message had been made clear: they would not be dealt with in such a manner.
(Once Lord Daskar makes a formal public announcement about the Lizardmen, nobody will dare lay a finger on Zozo and the others.)
With that thought, Rei turned his gaze back to the lake.
Even making a proper public announcement about Zozo's group would be affected by the lake situation. Had the lake never appeared, they could have moved sooner. On the other hand, if they had already gone public about the Lizardmen before the lake teleported in, the resulting uproar might have been even worse. Perhaps it was for the best that things had unfolded this way.
"●●, ●●●"
A few of the Lizardmen called out to the children playing in the lake, wading closer to the water themselves. Seeing this, Amonai gave Rei a small bow and made his way toward the Carriage. Figuring he was heading back to report the situation, Rei raised a hand in a casual wave to see him off.
"Gururu."
With the adult Lizardmen arriving to take over, Set left the children in their care and padded over to Rei, purring as he approached. His demeanor clearly said: Want to play in the lake together? But as far as Rei was concerned, he was on the clock. If something happened—if some kind of monster surged out of the lake—he needed to be ready to respond immediately.
The adventurers guarding the Birth Tower were also casting longing looks at the water, but not one of them had actually abandoned their post to go play. Entrusted with this position, they clearly took the responsibility seriously. If random adventurers had been hired off the street, they probably would have ditched their Birth Tower duty and charged straight into the lake by now.
...Not that Rei could blame them. He and plenty of others were intensely curious about the lake themselves.
To Set, who was still eagerly inviting him to play, Rei offered a quiet apology and gently patted him on the head.