After discussing the matter with Daskar and agreeing to explain the situation to Marina so she could investigate it, Rei left the Lord's Manor.
There were still plenty of things they should have discussed, but aside from Rei, the simple reason was that Daskar was buried under a mountain of work and could not spare the time.
For Rei, there was also a measure of relief in having managed to shelve the matter regarding Grimm for the time being.
With that settled, Rei walked through the City of Gilm together with Set.
His destination was the clinic—the place where Marina used Spirit Magic to treat patients.
Given the current situation, Rei could not help but wonder whether it was really all right to take Marina to the Treant Forest.
But when asked which was more important—investigating the Wisp or treating the injured—the answer was naturally the former.
The fact that the clinic had others who could provide treatment besides Marina was also a significant factor.
Though, it was true that none of the others could hope to match the dramatic recovery that Marina could provide.
Regardless, in contrast to the clinic where replacements were available, when it came to someone trustworthy who could investigate the Wisp, Marina was currently the only candidate.
(Besides, I've been staying overnight at the Birth Tower for the past few days, so I haven't seen Marina and the others in a while.)
That was why wanting to see her face for the first time in several days was Rei's honest feeling.
Even on the way to the clinic, he bought food from stalls and, if he found it tasty, bought it in bulk and stored it in his Misty Ring.
He did so more frequently than usual.
Part of the reason was to prevent the adventurers and Lizardmen at the Birth Tower from growing dissatisfied as much as possible.
...The fact that when he went to see Daskar, he received a few Gold Coins as necessary expenses along with that advice, also played a big part.
A few Gold Coins was far too much for this kind of snacking, but Daskar was aware that he was pushing various tasks onto Rei—and Rei was aware he was being pushed—so it also served as a reward.
Knowing that Rei enjoyed the act of eating, it was likely Daskar's hope that buying his favorite foods would help him relieve some stress.
Continuing onward while buying food along the way, the destination eventually came into view.
Perhaps because it was still mid-morning, the clinic did not appear to be busy.
When Rei had previously visited the clinic, injured people had been lined up even outside the building, but right now there was no one waiting out there.
"Alright, Set. Wait here for a bit."
Handing Set a sandwich stuffed with vegetables and grilled chicken, Rei knocked on the clinic's door.
"Yes, are you inj—... oh my?"
The person who came out of the clinic, thinking an injured person had already arrived, called out to Rei but stopped mid-sentence.
Having seen Rei's face at the clinic before, she likely understood what he had come for.
"Do you have business with Marina-sama?"
"That's right. I'd like to borrow Marina for a bit, would that be all right? If she's busy, I can wait a little."
"No, it's fine. There are hardly any injured people coming in right now. ...Right now, at least."
There was no telling when injured people would come.
They were existences born from some kind of mistake, after all.
That was likely why she emphasized right now... but for Rei, as long as there were few injured people at the moment, there was no problem.
"I see. Then I'll be borrowing Marina. Marina!"
At Rei's voice, Marina, who had been talking with someone who appeared to be an elderly pharmacist, turned around.
Noticing Rei's presence, she approached with a smile.
Despite working at the clinic, Marina was dressed in a white party dress today.
The chest was fairly well-covered, but perhaps as compensation, a large area of her back was exposed—such was the dress.
It was an appearance that made one wonder if many people might come not for treatment, but to catch a glimpse of Marina's alluring figure.
"My, Rei. It's been a while."
"No, a while? It's only been a few days."
"For me, even a few days is plenty long enough. Elena and Vihera were lonely too, you know?"
"Sorry about that. But there might be some progress on that front. I came here because I want a little help with that... Is now a good time?"
"Yes, of course. An invitation from you? I'd be happy to, now that I'm not busy. ...But I want to come right back if something happens, so could we go to a shop nearby? You're here to talk, right? Then, there's a shop nearby that serves light meals, let's go there. I'll be at the Fruit Pavilion, so let me know if anything happens that you can't handle."
After telling the others inside the clinic this last part, Marina linked arms with Rei and left.
From Marina's delighted demeanor, her beauty exuding feminine allure, and her flashy party dress, those who saw Rei and Marina together assumed they were heading off on a date somewhere.
Given Marina's outfit, they imagined it was not a casual date, but rather an overnight date where they would spend passionate time together.
...In reality, they were just going to a nearby shop so she could listen to why Rei had come to see her.
With their arms linked, Marina's brown breasts pressed against Rei's arm.
Though the party dress covered her chest, it was likely because of the season. The fabric of the dress was by no means thick.
Of course, it was not a sheer garment like the ones Vihera wore where you could see through to the other side, but it was still thin enough to feel the overwhelming, soft fullness through the dress.
Set, having finished his sandwich, followed behind the two.
Marina, looking happy about being on a date with Rei, guided them to a small shop less than a ten-minute walk from the clinic.
From the name Fruit Pavilion and Marina's description of it serving light meals, the image Rei had of the shop was a café.
Of course, the cafés Rei had seen in Japan were only those that appeared in TV, anime, and manga.
Whether because it was the countryside or simply because Rei just did not know of any, cafés of that sort did not exist within his living area.
"Is this it?"
"Yes, that's right. Come, let's go in. Ah, sorry Set, you can't come in, so wait outside, okay? It's a small shop..."
"Gruu!"
At Marina's words, Set purred in acknowledgment.
Though he was sad to be separated from Rei, he decided it would not be a problem as long as he could stay nearby.
In place of the sandwich, Rei left some skewers and fruit for Set.
Leaving Set there, already eating the skewers, they entered the Fruit Pavilion.
Inside, just as could be seen from outside, it was by no means a spacious shop.
However, flowers were displayed as decorations, and the sunlight had been adjusted to stream in, making it a bright and comfortable space at a glance.
The reason the majority of the customers were young women was clear.
"I didn't know there was a shop like this."
"It's not very popular among men. Ah, but sometimes couples come here for dates, you know?"
Hehe.
Pulled along by Marina, who floated a meaningful smile, Rei sat down at an empty seat.
"What are you ordering? There's quite a variety even just for fruit water."
"Even if you ask me that, it's my first time coming to this shop, so I'm not really sure. I'll have your recommendation and something light to eat."
Marina nodded at Rei's words, called the shop clerk, and quickly placed the order.
Once the order was finished and the shop clerk left, Marina once again turned her gaze to Rei sitting across from her and asked.
"So? Rei, who should be busy at the Birth Tower, what did you come here for? Of course, if you came because you missed me, I'd welcome it with open arms. ...But knowing you, that's not what this is about, is it?"
"No, what kind of eyes are you looking at me with?"
"My, do you want to know?"
Rei shook his head at Marina, who asked with a mischievous smile.
If he said anything here, it would undoubtedly turn into a conversation disadvantageous for himself.
While they were at it, the shop clerk brought fruit water and bread.
Whether they were lucky or the bread had been reheated after ordering, a sufficiently appetizing, fragrant aroma drifted from it.
After the shop clerk bowed and left, Marina urged him to try it, so Rei took a sip of the fruit water.
Normally, a straw would be fitting for a moment like this, but unfortunately, straws did not exist in this world.
Well, perhaps they existed somewhere, but Rei had never seen one.
"It's good."
Rather than fruit water, it would be better described as juice due to the high proportion of fruit content.
At first, a refreshing sweetness spread across his entire mouth, and by the time the fruit water passed down his throat, a faint acidity lingered, making for an enjoyable aftertaste.
Also, the fact that it was chilled by a Magic Item was welcome in this warming season. ...In Rei's case, he was wearing the Dragon Robe with its Simplified air conditioner function, so that did not matter much to him.
"Hehe, I'm glad you like it. The bread over there is recommended too, you know?"
Told that, Rei tried a bite of the bread and found the distinctive fragrance and softness of fresh-baked bread, along with tree nuts similar to walnuts kneaded into it.
This bread, too, had a taste that could confidently be declared delicious, just like the fruit water.
Enough to make him want to buy large quantities of both bread and fruit water to store in his Misty Ring.
"Well then, shall we get to the main topic?"
"Yeah, that would help. ...Could you use Spirit Magic so our voices won't be heard by the surroundings?"
"...Understood."
From the words that came out of Rei's mouth, she likely understood that it was an important matter.
Marina asked the Wind Spirit to prevent their voices from leaking to the surroundings.
"So? What exactly happened?"
"Simply put, the cause of the otherworldly Teleportation currently occurring in the Treant Forest has been identified."
"How?"
"Grimm took an interest when I was talking with him. When he looked into it a little last night, he figured it out right away. Honestly, it makes me think that as long as Grimm is around, I don't need anything else."
He had found the cause that they could not have discovered no matter what they tried, in a matter of minutes.
Seeing that, it would have been impossible not to feel anything.
From Rei's demeanor, Marina somehow seemed to understand the circumstances, and directed a somewhat exasperated glance at him.
However, since Marina herself had also been interested in the Teleportation from another world, she withdrew her exasperated gaze and prompted him to continue.
Prompted by that gaze, Rei explained about the Wisp, and once the explanation was finished, he told her about what he had reported to Daskar, explaining that it might be good to have Marina research it as someone trustworthy.
"Me, research the Wisp? ...Isn't that a bit unreasonable? I'm not a researcher or anything."
"I know that. But Lord Daskar said that since you've lived a long time, Marina, you can manage to imitate a researcher to some extent."
Perhaps something clicked from Rei's words, Marina's movements stopped.
She fell silent for several tens of seconds... and then let out a sigh.
"It can't be helped. As for Daskar, I'll spread some embarrassing rumors about him later..."
"Hey, go easy on him. Lord Daskar is quite exhausted from back-to-back grueling work right now, you know?"
So Rei told her, but he himself was involved in some of that grueling work.
Various matters he had dumped entirely on Daskar.
"Really? Well, if you say so, I'll hold off on spreading rumors."
She would stop spreading rumors.
That meant—Rei judged—she would instead go directly to tease Daskar about what could be called his dark history, but he thought that was better than having it spread as rumors, so he said nothing more.
"Oh, of course it's not that serious a past, you know? Just a minor failure."
"Ah... yeah. Let's set that aside for now. What I want to talk about is a different topic. Can I count on you to research the Wisp?"
"Let's see. It's undeniably interesting, so I don't mind. But... I'm a little worried about the clinic."
"As for that, Lord Daskar said he'd arrange something. Though I don't know exactly how he'll manage it."
Among the Knight Order, there were those who could use Recovery Magic.
Rei predicted that someone of that sort would likely be sent over, but that was merely a guess.
What would actually happen depended on Daskar.
"Really? Then... shall I go talk to the clinic first and head to the Treant Forest?"
At Marina's words, Rei nodded, feeling saved.