Setting aside the whole matter of another world, once it was confirmed that the lizards also lacked magic stones, Rei let out a long, heavy sigh.
Since he relied on magic stones to enhance his Beast Magic, being unable to obtain them was a serious blow.
Moreover, the Water Strider had possessed an attack akin to an acid Water Cutter, and the lizards could fire their fangs like bullets.
If they had indeed carried magic stones, there was a high chance he could have absorbed those skills. But without them, that was off the table.
(Though honestly... really, at this point, I don't even know whether magic stones from another world can be used with Beast Magic.)
Half-forcing himself to accept this reasoning, Rei moved on.
It wasn't entirely baseless, though. Beast Magic was a sorcery created by the Zephyle Clan in this world. Given that, whether it could process magic stones from outside this world was an open question.
Perhaps—truly perhaps—if he tried to use a magic stone from another world, some unexpected problem could arise.
Thinking of it that way, the lizards not having magic stones might have been a blessing in disguise.
Even as he thought in a manner close to sour grapes, Rei stored the lizard corpses—both dissected and undissected—into his Misty Ring one after another. He planned to bring them to the Guild tomorrow.
"Materials, huh. I wonder what kind of materials these lizards would yield. I'm also curious about how the meat tastes."
Lizard meat originally had a taste and texture similar to chicken. Considering that, it wouldn't be strange for these lizards to be delicious too.
"Materials, huh. Wouldn't alchemists be pleased? Though I have no idea what kind of Magic Item they'd produce."
"It's a new species of monster, so I'm sure the alchemists would be thrilled."
Listening to the adventurers' conversation, Rei made his way back to the campsite.
The still-burning slime was extremely useful as a light source when dissecting monsters at night, but that didn't mean he wanted to spend the evening beside it. It was fine that it kept burning, but there was a very real—albeit slight—possibility that the slime might suddenly start moving again.
For that reason, after finishing the dissection and confirming the lizards had no magic stones, Rei and the others returned to camp and prepared for bed.
The lizards had emerged from the lake right around when dinner was wrapping up, so time-wise, turning in for the night wouldn't have been unusual.
After quickly deciding the watch rotation, everyone spent their free time as they pleased. Some slept to recover from fatigue, some chatted with companions, and some tried to somehow hold conversations with the Lizardmen.
While the adventurers did as they liked, Rei spent time with Set.
"Set, the dissection made it clear. Most likely... no, without a doubt, the monsters in this lake don't have magic stones. So you don't need to worry about the Water Strider incident anymore."
"Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set tilted his head as if to ask, Is it really okay?
In terms of body size, Set was nearly twice Rei's. Despite that, the sight of Set fawning over him carried a certain quality that made observers nod in understanding.
Those who saw it recalled the story of how Rei had made Set his Tamed Monster—how Rei had raised Set from when he was a hatchling. That had to be why Set doted on him to such a degree.
...In reality, that was a Cover Story Rei had deliberately spread.
But considering that Set was a being created by Rei's Beast Magic, the fact that Rei had something of a parental role was undeniable truth. So that Cover Story wasn't entirely a lie, either.
"Tomorrow, the Guild is definitely going to be in an uproar. After all, a monster that truly lacks a magic stone is being brought in."
"Gurururu!"
Perhaps sensing from Rei's demeanor that he genuinely wasn't bothered by the Water Strider incident, Set let out a happy cry and nuzzled his face against Rei.
Rei smiled and rubbed Set's head. It was an action born of Set trusting Rei from the bottom of his heart and holding deep affection for him. Such devotion was, without question, something that brought Rei joy as well.
That said, with the night watch to consider, he didn't have the luxury of playing with Set indefinitely.
After spending a few minutes with him, Rei stepped inside the Magic Tent he had pulled from his Misty Ring.
Incidentally, when Daskar had visited that morning, he had brought along several tents as gifts. Naturally, among the adventurers, there were those who preferred sleeping inside the Birth Tower, feeling safer within an actual building, so not everyone used tents. Still, those who felt a tent beat sleeping on the hard floor of the Birth Tower set up Daskar's tents around the tower's perimeter and bedded down there.
"Well then, see you tomorrow. ...I think it'll be fine with Set around, but if anything happens that you can't handle, call for me right away."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a lively cry as if to say, Got it!
Several adventurers watching the exchange reflected that if a situation arose that even Set couldn't handle, then they themselves would be completely powerless. And that thought was by no means wrong.
Against an opponent that even an S-Rank-equivalent Set couldn't handle, there was no way the adventurers here could do a thing. The adventurers gathered here were skilled, but even the best among them was B-Rank.
Rei was also B-Rank, but in his case, his actual strength and rank didn't match—it was something you might call rank fraud.
If such a situation truly came to pass, they would have to be prepared for even total annihilation.
"Hey, Set really is an S-Rank-equivalent monster, right?"
"Obviously. He's a Rare Species gryphon, you know? Why ask that now?"
"No, I mean... look at him. Can you really think that? When he's fawning over Rei like that, he just looks like a pet."
That was clearly a misconception. A misconception, and yet... actually seeing how attached Set was to Rei, no one could bring themselves to deny it.
Then again, that was only because Rei was the one involved. Having seen Set in battle, they understood full well how much power he could unleash against an enemy.
"Hopefully Set won't have to go wild tomorrow and can just stay in pet mode," one adventurer muttered.
Everyone nodded in agreement. There wasn't a single person here who wanted an opponent to show up that would force Set to go on a rampage.
If someone like Vihera—who relished battles against powerful enemies—had been among them, it might have been a different story.
"Rei, you awake? Rei."
Rei, sleeping inside his Magic Tent, woke to the voice. Had this been mid-request, he might have been groggy, but right now he was on a guard detail.
Waking instantly without a trace of drowsiness, Rei turned his gaze toward the tent's entrance. Standing there was one of the adventurers he recognized by sight.
"What's wrong? Enemy attack?"
"No... I don't think so."
"...You don't think so?"
If it had been an enemy attack, he would have said so outright. But the adventurer who had come to wake him showed no such urgency. If anything, he had a somewhat bewildered air about him.
What on earth had happened? Rei's confusion was only natural.
"Yeah. Several glowing things appeared on the lake. All of a sudden, within a short span of time. At first we thought it might be a monster attack and kept watch, but the lights showed no sign of approaching us."
"That's... certainly hard to judge."
Saying that, Rei donned his Dragon Robe, slipped on his Sleipnir boots, and finished his preparations.
If they were enemies, they could have attacked already. But if they weren't... then what were those lights?
"Do you know roughly how far away those lights are? Any chance they haven't attacked simply because we haven't entered their range yet?"
"There's the lake in the way, so we couldn't get a clear look. That's why I came to you, Rei—you can ride Set."
At those words, Rei understood what the adventurer expected of him.
There were a fair number of adventurers here—and skilled ones at that. Beyond them, there was one knight, plus Lizardmen like Gaga and Zozo. With that many people, a decent number should have been able to swim.
But... it went without saying that not many people wanted to swim in a lake at night.
After all, they had no idea how many unknown monsters lurked beneath the surface. Given that Water Striders, lizards, and above all, a slime had all been confirmed in this lake, there was no telling what else might be in there.
Wanting to swim in such a place, at night, with practically zero underwater visibility—only someone with extraordinary confidence in their abilities or a death wish would volunteer.
The adventurers hired as Birth Tower guards were skilled, but they didn't harbor the hubris of thinking they could handle anything. Adventurers with that kind of arrogance almost never survived in a frontier like Gilm—they died. ...Though admittedly, a tiny handful blessed with both luck and skill did manage to endure.
But no such individuals were present here.
"Understood. I'll go check it out with Set. If they're enemies, I'll be back right away. Go wake everyone sleeping in the Birth Tower."
"Yeah."
After exchanging those brief words, Rei confirmed the adventurer had stepped outside, then followed immediately.
Emerging from the Magic Tent, he found that several adventurers besides the one on watch had already woken and were peering toward the lake with wary expressions.
Rei confirmed that Set, who had been lying in front of the tent, had roused and was padding toward him. As he rubbed Set's head, he turned his gaze to the lake.
With senses sharper than an ordinary person's and Night Vision to boot, Rei's eyes confirmed exactly what the adventurer had described—multiple lights floating both in the lake and in the air above it.
"There, huh... I can only call that eerie. What are they? ...Well, I suppose you came to ask me to go look because you don't know the answer to that either."
Muttering to himself, he turned his gaze toward the lake's surface at night, illuminated by moonlight, the burning slime, and the campfires. ...Setting aside the first two, the area lit by the firelight was extremely limited.
"I'm heading out with Set to check on those lights. Get ready so you can respond immediately, whatever happens! If those are enemies, we're looking at a significant number!"
The adventurers had been growing anxious watching the lights, but Rei's voice snapped them back to attention. If those were enemies, they weren't incomprehensible mysteries—they were clear targets to be taken down.
After confirming the adventurers' morale had returned, Rei addressed Set.
"So that's the situation. We're heading to where those lights are. No problem, right?"
"Gruu!"
Set let out a confident cry as if to say, Leave it to me!
For Set, flying through the night sky with Rei on his back wasn't frightening in the least.
To Rei, Set was truly a reliable partner.
Rei gave Set a grateful pat and straddled his back.
"Alright, Set. Take us there."
"Gurururururu!"
At Rei's word, Set cried out, took a few running steps, and launched himself into the night sky, wings beating.
This time, though, the goal wasn't simply to fly. Since they needed to confirm what was glowing on the lake, Set didn't climb to his usual altitude. Instead, he skimmed along just one or two meters above the ground and water.
At Set's speed, they reached their destination mere seconds after takeoff...
"Huh? You've gotta be kidding me."
The words slipped from Rei's mouth at the sight before him.
There, creatures that could only be described as jellyfish drifted with their bodies glowing at various points. Some were in the water—but others were floating through the air, drifting across the sky as naturally as if they were drifting through water.
Had this been the sea, he might have accepted it. But jellyfish in a lake? Still reeling from the surprise, Rei gazed at the fantastical scene from atop Set's back.