Seeing the Lizardman children gnawing on raw fish whole, Daskar decided the lake needed to be investigated as soon as possible.
But while the lake was certainly a priority, the question of who to entrust the investigation to at the site of the Birth Tower was a difficult one...
"So, you want us to investigate?"
"That's right. Of course, I understand that none of you—including Rei—are professional investigators. I'm not expecting a perfect survey. Just do what you can within reason."
Rei had been about to object, but the moment he learned that Daskar had loaded documents into his carriage and worked through paperwork on the ride to the lake, any complaints died in his throat.
If asked who was the busiest person in Gilm right now, the answer was undeniably Daskar.
Moreover, Rei was well aware that he had been dumping various problems onto Daskar's shoulders. When a request came from someone carrying that kind of burden, he figured he could at least humor a slightly unreasonable ask.
"In other words, guard the Birth Tower while investigating the lake to the extent possible."
"Exactly. And naturally, since I'm adding to your workload, I'll make sure you're properly compensated."
It was a certainty that Daskar currently had more work than he could ever finish, no matter how hard he pushed himself.
Still, if there was a silver lining, it was that the influx of people meant tax revenue was higher than usual, so paying the adventurers wouldn't be a problem.
"Hmm. Well, in truth, we've had almost no enemies attacking the Birth Tower, so if you're asking whether we have the leeway to investigate the lake, I suppose we do."
The only things they'd actually fought while guarding the Birth Tower were wild animals.
There hadn't been a single monster attack until this morning's Water Strider incident.
If anything, looking after the Lizardman children had been the bigger task.
Given that, even if a full-scale survey was out of the question, they could manage a simple one—gathering fish, shellfish, and plants from near the shore, for instance.
And if there was someone with a big appetite around, they could even try grilling a freshly caught fish and eating it.
Some fish were poisonous, of course, but on the whole, harmless ones were far more common. In that sense, the odds were in their favor.
(Ah, but when I was in Japan, I remember seeing something on TV about an incredibly delicious fish that humans can't digest... or something like that, where you could only eat one or two slices. In that sense, there's at least a small possibility that there are fish humans in this world can't digest either.)
Even so, Rei figured such fish were probably very rare.
"I see. Then I'll leave it to you. But only within reason—don't push yourselves."
Daskar kept stressing this point, likely because he believed there was a high probability the lake had come from a Third world—neither this one nor the world where the Gran Dragonia Empire lay.
The giant Slime and the Water Strider were proof enough that ferocious monsters inhabited that place. If such creatures existed, there was no telling what else might be lurking, which was why he kept pressing the point.
Every adventurer stationed here had been chosen for the Birth Tower guard precisely because of their skill. But that was exactly why the thought of them being attacked by some unknown entity made Daskar's repeated warnings only natural.
Rei understood, and nodded.
"Understood. We'll investigate within the scope of what we can manage. ...For now, I'll take Set and check how large the lake is and what shape it has."
That was a task only possible because Set could fly.
Without him, they would have had to trek around the shoreline on foot to determine the lake's exact size and shape.
Not that people in this world typically went around measuring lakes the way they did in Japan—such efforts were usually left to a handful of scholars.
"I'm counting on you. Well then, I should head back to Gilm. Work has been piling up."
Daskar hadn't been gone from Gilm for long. Even counting the time he'd spent observing the lake and talking with Rei, it had been less than two hours.
But in Gilm right now, two hours was more than enough for matters requiring Daskar's personal judgment to pile up. It was a certainty that such cases were already waiting.
"...That sounds rough. Please take care of yourself."
Rei's words came out almost involuntarily, prompted by the sheer exhaustion radiating from Daskar's demeanor.
Rei was good at physical activity, and he enjoyed reading. But if someone told him to do endless paperwork like Daskar, he couldn't imagine ever pulling it off.
"Hahaha. True. But once you learn to enjoy the act of reading documents, it stops being so painful."
"Enjoy reading documents? If I could do that, paperwork would certainly go faster, but..."
Rei replied as though he accepted the logic, but in his heart, he couldn't imagine ever enjoying the act of reading documents.
If someone told him to enjoy processing paperwork, he would absolutely refuse.
Yet judging by Daskar's demeanor, he didn't seem to be spouting nonsense. He seemed to genuinely enjoy it from the bottom of his heart.
"That's amazing."
It was neither flattery nor pleasantries. Rei meant it sincerely, precisely because he himself could never imagine enjoying paperwork.
But for Daskar, as the lord of the frontier territory of Gilm, being able to do this much was simply par for the course. That was why Rei's admiration puzzled him.
Even so, he had no intention of brushing off the praise.
"If you serve as a lord long enough, you generally get the hang of it. ...Conversely, if this kind of work is a burden, being lord of Gilm would be difficult."
In reality, there were more than a few lords who foisted their duties onto subordinates while they whiled away the time. For Daskar, that was simply unacceptable.
"Is that so. ...Anyway, I'll start investigating the lake right away. Please look for someone who specializes in this sort of work on your end, Lord Daskar."
"Understood. I can't promise anything immediately, but I'll reach out as quickly as I can."
Fortunately, Gilm was a frontier.
Precisely because it was a frontier, there were monsters, animals, plants, and ores unique to the region, which meant a fair number of scholars had gathered to study them. If he reached out to them, he'd surely find one or two interested in investigating the lake.
If he explained it was a lake from another world, it wouldn't be surprising if scholars came forward clamoring to be first in line.
(Then again, "another world" might be a bit too stimulating. Maybe it's better not to mention it. But if they come here, they'll see the burning Slime and the Birth Tower. The Slime can be passed off as just a giant specimen, but there's no explaining away the Birth Tower.)
The idea that Lizardmen possessed the intelligence to build such a tower was impossible by this world's common sense.
Moreover, one glance at the tower made it clear that a considerable number of years had passed since its construction. The scholars would undoubtedly be fascinated by it as well.
Mulling over which scholar to choose, Daskar boarded his carriage and headed back to Gilm.
He didn't forget to remind them to submit the Water Strider corpse to the Guild later.
"Right then, let's get started. Anyone who's free, let's do a preliminary investigation of the lake. Those who are free... well, yeah, of course you all are."
Almost everyone who heard Rei's words raised a hand and volunteered.
They knew it was dangerous—the giant Slime and the Water Strider had made that clear. But despite the danger, there was no one present who wasn't fascinated by the teleported lake.
The fact that the Lizardman children were happily playing at the water's edge probably helped.
"First off, everyone going at once won't work. ...What do you think?"
Rei sought an opinion from the Knight—the person with the highest command authority present.
If the Fleeing Adventurers discussed it among themselves, everyone would likely try to claim the spot for themselves. Better to have one person make the call.
"Let's see. We've still got Birth Tower guard duty, so how about splitting into two halves and rotating after a set time?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Zozo, what about the Lizardmen?"
"I intend to gather volunteers from those who can swim. ...Brother Gaga is eager, as you might expect."
Rei glanced toward Gaga at Zozo's words and found him looking ready to charge into the lake at any moment.
(Could Gaga actually be fascinated by the lake?)
Given his personality, it wouldn't be surprising if a teleported lake alone piqued his interest, let alone one harboring monsters like the giant Slime and Water Strider.
Rei wondered whether Lizardmen were even suited for cold water as he watched the enthusiastic Gaga, but then reconsidered—if he got cold, he could just warm up near the burning Slime.
Come to think of it, the perpetually burning Slime might actually be quite handy for cold weather or whenever fire was needed.
Of course, that was only viable while the burning Slime remained alive.
...It had been burning all night and was still going. Rei had absolutely no idea how long it would last.
It might burn out today or tomorrow. Then again, it might keep burning for months, years, or even decades. Even Rei, who had cast the magic, had no way of knowing.
"Understood. Then we'll split in half. Gaga goes in the first group. Zozo, divide the other Lizardman volunteers. Oh, and if anyone gets cold in the lake, head over to the burning Slime and warm up."
"Eh?"
The one who responded wasn't just Zozo—the Fleeing Adventurers who'd been listening echoed the same reaction.
"Hm? What is it?"
"The idea of using that Slime for warmth never occurred to me," the Knight admitted.
The Fleeing Adventurers all nodded in unison.
Even Zozo and the Lizardmen who'd heard from him were nodding along.
Rei hadn't thought he'd said anything particularly strange. The burning Slime was right there—why not put it to use?
"It's right there. No point pretending otherwise. Anyway, let's start looking around."
With that, Rei naturally fell in with the group the Knight had selected and headed toward the lake.
A few people blinked at the sight of him joining the investigation team, but they figured having Rei around was reassuring rather than alarming, and said nothing.
"Set, let's get a good look at the lake from above."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred happily, lifted Rei onto his back, and launched into the sky with a few running steps.
A few people watched the pair go with a touch of envy, but the investigation took priority, so they turned toward the lake.
After seeing Rei off, Zozo called out to Gaga and the other Lizardmen, then followed toward the water.
The Lizardman children watched the group with eyes bright with curiosity, wondering what was about to begin. ...while gnawing on a fish they'd grabbed bare-handed, starting from the head.
"Whoa, this is... seeing it from up here, it's absolutely massive."
Rei murmured from atop Set's back, gazing down at the sprawling lake below.
Normally they flew at an altitude of about a hundred meters, but not today. To get a clear view of the entire lake's shape, they were flying considerably higher than usual.
The lake's shape was roughly an oval.
It wasn't a perfect oval, of course—there were plenty of irregular sections. But at its core, the shape was close enough to an oval that Rei could sketch a rough outline onto the paper he'd pulled from his Misty Ring.