There was no magic stone.
At those words from the adventurer dissecting the water strider monster, those listening naturally erupted into a commotion.
Naturally so.
The adventurers present here were those who possessed high abilities even among adventurers.
In other words, that meant they had fought that many monsters. ...Of course, there were some adventurers who raised their rank without ever fighting, but still.
At the very least, given that the adventurers here had been hired to guard the Birth Tower located outdoors on the frontier, it was only natural that those accustomed to fighting monsters had been chosen.
Being precisely such people, it was common knowledge to them that magic stones existed within monsters' bodies.
And yet, there was no magic stone inside the water strider.
Taking over for the one who had been searching for the water strider's magic stone, another adventurer searched through its body, but...
"None, huh."
Just like the first adventurer who had searched, he muttered quietly.
"What's going on? There's no way a monster doesn't have a magic stone."
"The possibilities I can think of are a few. First, this water strider was actually an animal, not a monster."
"Would an animal that hasn't become a monster launch an attack with acid like that?"
"As a possibility, I can't say it doesn't. But well, I don't think so either. ...So, second, it's able to move its magic stone within its body."
Fundamentally, a magic stone was embedded in the heart, but among monsters, there were some that could freely move their magic stones within their bodies.
A prime example was the slime, and given that a giant slime had been in this lake, that theory carried a certain degree of persuasiveness.
"In that case..."
The gazes of those listening to the conversation gathered on the water strider's head.
More precisely, on the place where the head had been.
The head had been blown apart by Set's strike, and the fragments had sunk into the lake.
By now, that head was probably becoming feed for the fish.
"Grr."
Seeing the state of those around him, Set let out an apologetic cry.
But the adventurer who had suggested the magic stone might have been in the head opened his mouth as if to comfort Set.
"I can't say for certain, but I doubt this monster was one that could freely move its magic stone. Generally, monsters that can freely move their magic stones tend to be ones without solid internal organs and such."
At those words, Set purred happily and thumped his tail.
His body was that of a lion, a feline, but right now Set looked completely like a canine.
"So, if the first and second are both out... what about the third?"
"Something like a mutant monster that doesn't possess a magic stone."
"That's... I really have to question that. A monster without a magic stone is impossible."
"That's exactly why I said it's a mutation."
Rei had been watching the adventurers argue, but then it suddenly occurred to him.
Wasn't he himself predicting that this lake had teleported from a third world—not this world, nor the world where the Gran Dragonia Empire existed?
If so, it wouldn't be strange for a world to exist where monsters without magic stones existed.
"Zozo."
'Yes, what is it?'
Despite being spoken to so suddenly, Zozo immediately replied to Rei.
To Zozo, it was only natural since he served Rei.
Rei looked at Zozo, then glanced around at the adventurers still debating while eyeing the water strider, gestured for him to follow, and moved slightly away from the area.
A few of them seemed to notice Rei and Zozo, but they continued their debate without particularly minding.
Naturally so. A monster without a magic stone was a first-time experience even for the skilled adventurers entrusted with guarding the Birth Tower.
Even if Rei and Zozo stepped away briefly, it wouldn't be strange for the others to assume they had some business to attend to.
"For now, if we come this far, they won't be able to hear our voices. ...Right then. Getting straight to the point since beating around the bush is a hassle—in your world's monsters... including you Lizardmen, do they have magic stones?"
'Huh? Magic stones? Yes, of course they have them.'
Zozo stated it so casually.
Rei had always thought it was a given that monsters possessed magic stones, so he had never particularly felt the need to ask before.
But after the incident with that water strider monster, he had decided to ask explicitly...
"I see."
With Zozo's words, what Rei had been thinking for some time now became clear—that the lake had teleported from a third world, not this world nor Zozo's world.
Perhaps... and this was truly a distant perhaps, there was a possibility that monsters without magic stones existed even in this world or Zozo's world.
But Rei still found it more convincing to believe they had come from a third world than that monsters without magic stones existed in this world or Zozo's.
(A third world after all... I should let Lord Daskar know about this. Fortunately, he said he'd be coming here this morning.)
The timing was good, one might say.
While feeling fortunate about that, Rei opened his mouth.
"For now, I understand about your world. But with things being this way... setting aside you and your people, there might be someone who could figure out that this lake teleported from another world."
Those who possessed the concept of another world were not many.
But they weren't entirely nonexistent either.
If such a person learned about a monster without a magic stone, it wouldn't be strange for them to arrive at the idea of another world.
Judging that he needed to discuss that aspect with Daskar as well, Rei returned to where the adventurers, the knight, and the Lizardmen were gathered around the water strider.
"About the water strider matter, Lord Daskar is supposed to come today, so we can just report it then. I'll hold onto the corpse for now, is that alright with everyone?"
Ownership of the water strider's corpse had been recognized as Rei's during the initial discussion.
But that was only because everyone had assumed the water strider was an ordinary monster.
A monster without a magic stone—an existence impossible by the common sense of this world—made its value immeasurable.
Rei did think that selling the corpse alone could yield a decent profit, but selling it at the wrong place would definitely entangle him in trouble.
Given how often Rei was swarmed by merchants and alchemists, he judged it more advantageous to hand the corpse over to Daskar and receive a reward in return.
Furthermore, Rei had told only Daskar—aside from his own people—that the Birth Tower likely came from another world.
That was precisely why being able to convey his prediction that this lake had also teleported from a third world was significant.
(The question is how many of these water strider monsters there are.)
Confirming that everyone nodded at Rei's words, he stored the corpse in his Misty Ring while thinking this.
As far as Rei knew, water striders tended to be found in somewhat gathered numbers.
At the very least, the water striders he had seen when he was in Japan were mostly in groups of a certain size.
Given that this was a different world and they were monsters, there was no telling whether these water striders shared the same habits as the ones Rei knew.
But given that they possessed a dangerous attack method that could be called an acid Water Cutter, if such monsters were moving together in groups of several... say, a dozen or so, and attacked all at once, the casualties would certainly be significant.
The one saving grace was that while the water strider had extremely high attack power, its defense was weak.
This had been confirmed not just from Set's single strike, but from the results of the adventurers dissecting the corpse.
"Hey, what do you think would happen if a whole bunch of these water striders came out when Lord Daskar arrives?"
The one who muttered that was one of the adventurers.
It was known that Daskar was a considerable expert... one who could effortlessly brush aside an average adventurer, but that didn't change the fact that Daskar coming to a place with such dangers was nothing but risky.
"Even so, Lord Daskar judged that he needed to see this lake with his own eyes. Unless there's definite danger, we can't tell him not to come."
In response to the adventurer's words, the knight stated this.
Rei nodded in agreement. That's right.
Given Daskar's personality, he didn't think the water strider incident would make him cancel his inspection of the lake.
Also, with Rei and Set here, it wouldn't be strange for him to judge that they could handle whatever danger arose.
"Knowing Lord Daskar, he probably won't change his plans, but still, shouldn't we let him know about this water strider situation?"
At Rei's words, the knight thought for a moment, then nodded.
"You're right. I need someone to go inform Lord Daskar about this matter, but..."
At the knight's words, the adventurers who had been listening quietly averted their gazes.
Part of it was that they had just woken up, but more importantly, it was almost time for breakfast.
When Rei wasn't around, they ate food brought from Gilm, but with Rei here now, they could eat freshly made cooking... and from the restaurants Rei considered delicious, at that.
Even when it came to bread, they could eat freshly baked bread that would normally be difficult to get—at least in terms of timing.
Considering that, they couldn't dismiss it as just breakfast.
If there had been only one adventurer here, he might have gone to inform Daskar himself, judging the danger to him.
But precisely because there were a fair number of them, many thought they didn't need to be the one to go.
The knight must have noticed the adventurers' demeanor as well.
Scratching his head slightly, he opened his mouth again.
"Whoever does me this favor can go have a meal at any restaurant they like after reporting the situation to Lord Daskar."
When he said that, the adventurers' eyes changed.
...The adventurers here were all individuals with abilities above a certain level, and none of them were hurting for money.
But even so, there was no way they wouldn't be tempted by a free meal.
Of course, it was still what could be called early morning.
Even if they were to eat after delivering the report to Daskar, the high-end restaurants the adventurers were hoping for wouldn't be open yet, and it would mostly be stall-type establishments.
Or, at a slightly early-opening place, there was a possibility a dining hall might be open.
"Alright, I'm counting on you."
"Got it."
The adventurer nominated by the knight rejoiced at his luck in being chosen and immediately headed for the horse tethered near the Birth Tower.
He hadn't yet heard from the knight specifically what to report, but from the flow of the conversation so far, he could well enough understand that much.
There was a monster without a magic stone, shaped like a water strider.
And it could spit acid sharply.
Because it was shaped like a water strider, there was a possibility that many more of the same type of monster existed.
...And additionally, the slime that Rei had set ablaze with magic was still burning even now.
Being able to quickly assess all of that could be said to be fitting of a skilled adventurer entrusted with guarding the Birth Tower.
"I'll pay you back for the meal cost after you return!"
"I know. So hurry up and go."
After a final confirmation, the adventurer mounted the horse and swiftly rode away.
The other adventurers watched the one who had stolen a march on them with envy, but before them, Rei clapped his hands.
"Everyone's up now, so let's have breakfast. I'll serve up food that won't lose to Gilm's stalls... no, food that's even more delicious than that."
Food that won't lose to the stalls.
At those words from Rei, a few of them seemed to vaguely grasp the situation.
Thinking about it, there was no way high-class restaurants would be open this early in the morning.
Considering that, there were those who thought being able to eat the food Rei chose was the better deal. ...Then again, stalls varied greatly from day to day.
Depending on the case, there were stalls that served food rivaling even first-class restaurants.
Finding such a stall would be a lucky break, to be sure.
Though finding a stall that served food that delicious wouldn't be so easy.
"Alright then, today's breakfast is freshly baked white bread and soup loaded with fish and seasonal vegetables. Plus Orc bacon and autumn fruit. ...And for the three who helped with the dissection, I'll throw in yaki udon from what I currently consider the best stall in Gilm as a bonus."
At Rei's words, the adventurers raised a cheer.