They couldn't keep staring at the lake forever, so for the time being, Rei and the others moved from the shoreline toward the Birth Tower.
...The Slime was still burning by the lakeside, consumed by Rei's magic. It was fortunate, however, that the spell's properties prevented the heat from affecting the surroundings to any meaningful degree.
The biggest question was how long those flames would keep burning.
At the very least, given the current situation, there was no sign of them dying down.
"That burning Slime might actually make a decent lantern once night falls."
Haa...
The others, having heard Rei's offhand remark, shot him exasperated looks.
He had created—and was now staring at—the sight of a Slime ablaze, burning endlessly, and that was the best he could come up with?
"Rei, shouldn't you have other things to say? Other things to worry about?"
"Hmm? Not that I can think of."
Rei replied casually to Elena's words.
As far as he was concerned, he had poured an enormous amount of mana into that spell. Even if the Slime had been the size of a small hill or a modest mound, he hadn't worried for a second that it could escape those flames.
If anything, shouldn't he put the fire to good use? —or so Rei figured.
Though "good use" really only extended to serving as a light source.
If someone approached closer than the certain distance at which the heat was blocked, it could theoretically be used as an ordinary fire, but...
(I don't... really want to try grilling meat or anything with flames fueled by a Slime.)
At the very least, Rei had no desire to eat anything cooked that way.
"That's very like you, Rei."
Marina, who had been listening to the exchange between Rei and Elena, offered that with a smile.
That said, even Marina couldn't immediately do anything about the flames if asked.
And whether Spirit Magic could manage it was equally doubtful.
'That light is not unwelcome to the Lizardmen.'
Whether out of consideration or because he genuinely felt that way, Zozo stated as much.
Rei wasn't sure how to respond and ultimately offered only brief words of thanks before heading toward the Birth Tower.
Around the tower, the adventurers, the knight, and above all the Lizardmen gave Rei and his group a hero's welcome.
It was a scene that could truly be called a triumph.
But that was only natural. After all, a Slime of that size had appeared out of nowhere.
It was fortunate that the creature had gone after Rei and Set. Had it headed toward the Birth Tower instead, the Lizardmen would have had no choice but to flee—carrying as many eggs as they could manage, and resigning themselves to the rest being devoured by the Slime.
...In truth, though Rei himself hadn't yet realized it, that Slime had been tracking prey based on mana.
Setting aside Rei, who concealed the bulk of his mana with the Ring of the New Moon, the Slime had fixated on the gryphon mana that Set possessed.
Or perhaps the fact that Set was no ordinary gryphon, but one created using vast quantities of Rei's own mana, had also contributed to the Slime's obsessive fixation on him.
"Rei, you... I can't believe you actually chose to fight a monster like that."
One of the adventurers called out, his face a portrait of genuine astonishment.
He wasn't alone in that impression; the other adventurers and the knight felt exactly the same.
A short distance away, Gaga—who had also clashed with the Slime, after a fashion—was receiving admiring words from the other Lizardmen. He himself, however, didn't feel he had contributed much in the fight and wore only a conflicted expression.
"I had Marina investigate, and apparently there are no other monsters in the lake on the scale of that Slime. ...Though that only means there are none as massive as that one was. The possibility of other monsters being present is still very real."
At Rei's words, the adventurers looked surprised but nodded in understanding.
Whether they accepted it because they figured a lake this size would naturally have monsters, or because it seemed obvious that no other creatures as large as that Slime would exist—Rei couldn't tell which.
In any case, having a lake nearby brought benefits, but also plenty of problems.
For example, procuring water—essential for survival—would become far easier. But wild animals and monsters drawn to the lake as a watering hole could just as easily attack the Lizardmen at the Birth Tower.
There were outstandingly strong individuals like Gaga, and Zozo possessed considerable strength among the Lizardmen as well. The other Lizardmen, being fundamentally soldiers teleported from another world, also possessed commensurate combat ability.
Even so, Gaga returned to Marina's house in Gilm at night, and above all, this was the frontier. There was no guarantee that High-Rank Monsters might not appear out of nowhere.
(Huh? For the Lizardmen, doesn't this lake bring more drawbacks than benefits?)
Certainly, having a water source nearby was a significant advantage, and being able to catch fish for food was a plus. But it seemed to Rei that the downsides outweighed the benefits.
For someone like Gaga who loved battle, the prospect of fighting High-Rank Monsters might be welcome. But for the Lizardmen, the Birth Tower was a place to protect their children and eggs, and simultaneously their only link to their own world.
Even if told to abandon such a place, most Lizardmen would refuse.
Even Zozo, who harbored strong loyalty toward Rei—it was easy for Rei to predict that even he might not accept such an order.
In that case, they had no choice but to coexist with the lake.
"Well, what to do about this lake isn't something I can solve by thinking about it. I guess I'll have to leave it to Lord Daskar."
"That's right. If we leave it to Daskar, there shouldn't be any problems for now."
"You both... aren't you dumping far too much on Lord Daskar, no matter how you look at it? He already has the Expansion Construction in Gilm to deal with. Piling any more work on him could very well affect his health."
Elena, who had been listening to Rei and Marina's exchange, made the point with a note of concern. But as a practical matter, leaving it to Daskar was the only real option.
"Ah."
Rei suddenly let out a sound.
Hearing it, those closest to him—Elena, Marina, Vihera, Byune, and Ara—wore subtle expressions.
Whenever Rei made a sound like that at a moment like this, it usually meant he was about to say something none of them could have anticipated.
That said, there was no option to simply not listen.
Marina, hesitating slightly, called out to him.
"What is it?"
"Ah... it's nothing. I just remembered that King's Faction nobles have started making moves regarding Zozo and the Lizardman situation. Since they're originally citizens of the Gran Dragonia Empire who teleported here, I thought if we left it to the King's Faction, it might lighten Lord Daskar's burden."
"The King's Faction, huh. ...Why did they come to you about that?"
"Who knows? At least I got a free meal at a fancy restaurant out of it, so I don't think I left a bad impression."
Hey—
It wasn't just Marina who wanted to interject.
"Listen, Rei. You're going to get duped with food one of these days. ...Well, whatever. Still, you sure trusted those King's Faction nobles. After all the trouble they've caused."
"You say that, but... oh, right. The one who contacted me was with the King's Faction but wasn't actually a noble. Though he did mention having a Royal Family member behind him or something."
Royal Family.
At those words, everyone except Rei... even the nearby adventurers who happened to overhear, stopped dead.
In the Kingdom of Mireana, the Royal Family wielded exactly that much influence.
Enough to halt the movements of Elena and Ara, who belonged to the Noble's Faction—opposed to, if not outright hostile toward, the King's Faction. Enough to stop Marina, who by virtue of living in Gilm and her relationship with Daskar was classified as Neutral Faction. And enough to freeze even Vihera, a former imperial princess of a neighboring nation.
Only Byune seemed entirely uninterested in the mention of royalty, content to play with Set and Ielo.
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. At the very least, the person himself said so. I imagine word has probably reached Lord Daskar's side as well."
"...Honestly, that's a delicate situation. If a member of the Royal Family has stepped forward, the King's Faction will move. Not the rabble that's been throwing its weight around so far, but the real King's Faction. The mainstream, you could say."
"Is that how it works? As long as the King's Faction moves and lightens Lord Daskar's burden, I think that's fine."
"Good grief, it's not that simple. Up until now, Daskar handled things alone. It was tough on him, sure, but at the same time he also got to reap the benefits—well, maybe not monopolize them entirely, but he received the lion's share. But with the King's Faction stepping in... and a Royal Family member at that, it won't be that easy anymore."
At Marina's explanation, the others nodded in agreement.
It wasn't that Rei hadn't considered such things himself.
But if Daskar continued shouldering his current workload, it would undoubtedly take a toll on his health.
If it had only been the matter of the Green People and the Lizardmen, things might have somehow been manageable. But with a lake of this scale having teleported in as well, it would far exceed Daskar's capacity.
"I think Lord Daskar will manage something about all that, though."
"You do have a peculiar trust in Daskar, Rei. I wonder why."
"He's done a lot for me over the years."
In reality, Rei had also been doing various things at Daskar's request. Even regarding the Expansion Construction currently underway in Gilm, there was no doubt that without Rei, it would not have progressed nearly as smoothly.
Thinking of it that way, it was very much a two-way street.
"Hmm... well, if you say so, Rei, then fine. More importantly, we need to think about what to do with this lake. For now it's fine, but given time, people who saw your flames will absolutely come to investigate."
"Right. Is there no way we can restrict access?"
At Marina's point, Rei turned his gaze to the knight and posed the question.
As one of Daskar's subordinates, and someone who held significant influence among Gilm's forces, Rei hoped the knight might have an idea for keeping people away from the lake.
"Impossible."
The knight stated this without a moment's hesitation.
"Hey, you could at least think about it a little."
"There's no need to think about it. It's impossible. Look at how vast this area is. If someone really wanted to get in, they could enter from anywhere. Completely preventing that is not feasible. ...Why not just do what you did to keep the Cobolts out in winter, Rei? Use earth magic to wall off the lake and the Treant Forest."
It was an offhand remark, but it was by no means impossible.
Building a wall with Terrain Manipulation would also mean that small monsters like Goblins wouldn't be able to get in, either.
...At the same time, since animals like Deer and Boar wouldn't be able to breach an Earth Wall, the prey the Lizardmen could catch in the Treant Forest would also drop drastically.
However, birds could still come and go regardless of a wall, and above all, now that a lake had appeared, there was also the option of catching Fish. And since food was fundamentally being transported from Gilm, they wouldn't starve.
"Hmm... I could probably do it if I tried, but... I don't have the time."
The Treant Forest and the lake... both were enormous.
If the goal was to prevent anything from getting in, ideally the Earth Wall would need to be built far enough away that neither the lake nor the forest could even be seen from outside.
That would require constructing a wall over a vast area, and Rei's Terrain Manipulation was only Level 4—effective within a radius of seventy meters centered on himself.
At Rei's current ability, building an Earth Wall to enclose the entire Treant Forest and lake would require far more time than he had.
While not as overwhelmed as Daskar, Rei himself was undoubtedly quite busy.
Given that, he simply had no time to spare on such a project.
Walling off the entire area with Terrain Manipulation would mean there was no telling how long it would take.
Doing so while also juggling the Expansion Construction and various other duties could easily take years—and that wouldn't be surprising at all.
When Rei explained this, the knight nodded in understanding.