"Oooooooooooh!"
The day after Rei defeated the Cerberus—right after finishing breakfast—several people who had heard about yesterday's incident asked to see the corpse. Rei had no reason to refuse, so he pulled it out of his Misty Ring for them.
Every adventurer present was highly skilled, yet even they couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the Cerberus's body.
Of course, it wasn't just the adventurers who were surprised. The Lizardmen, too, seemed utterly fascinated by it.
"By the way, has anyone here ever dismantled a Cerberus before?"
Rei wasn't particularly skilled at butchering, so he asked the group. The response was everyone shaking their heads.
As a monster that ranked high even among B-Rank Monsters, it wasn't something one could easily encounter, even near the frontier city of Gilm.
Then, one of the adventurers suddenly spoke up.
"I can't do a Cerberus, but I've dismantled wolf-type monsters before. Thinking about it, I don't think it'd be impossible. What do you say? If there's payment in it, I wouldn't mind doing it. It's not like there's much to do here guarding the Birth Tower anyway."
Rei nodded in understanding.
A Cerberus wasn't a wolf, but a dog. Strictly speaking, it was neither, but if anything, it leaned closer to a dog.
Still, wolf-type and dog-type monsters shared many similarities in how they were butchered. Given that, it made sense to leave the job to someone willing to do it in his place.
The Guild would handle dismantling if asked, but that would naturally cost money.
"What do you want for payment?"
"I'd like to say the Cerberus fangs... but meat is fine."
"Oh, if that's the deal, count me in too."
The moment Cerberus meat was offered as payment, several more people volunteered.
With a few exceptions, the higher the rank of the monster, the tastier its meat generally became. The meat of a Cerberus, which ranked high even among B-Rank Monsters, was naturally expected to be exquisite.
(Meat, huh.)
Watching the adventurers, Rei deliberated.
Honestly, he had already consumed the Magic Stone through Beast Magic, so what he wanted most from dismantling the Cerberus was the meat. Rei liked eating, and Set was the same—no, Set liked eating even more than he did.
Beyond that, he also wanted to use it as an ingredient when eating meals at Marina's house.
That said, a Cerberus was roughly three meters long. Considering that, Rei felt it would be better to hand over some meat as payment and have it butchered here.
...Though the undeniable truth was that he also wanted to eat Cerberus meat as soon as possible.
"Understood. But I can't give you too much. About this much."
He gestured roughly with his hands—about a kilogram's worth.
A Cerberus could easily weigh a hundred kilograms. No, two hundred, or even three hundred depending on the individual. However, that figure accounted for bones, internal organs, fur, claws, fangs, and all the other non-meat parts combined.
"Hmm... I'd like a bit more if possible, but I guess it can't be helped. I'm fine with that."
One of the adventurers nodded at Rei's proposal. As an adventurer, he probably wanted a larger cut of meat. But if he got greedy here and was told "then you don't need any," that would be unbearable.
(Or rather—does Rei understand the value of this meat? To casually hand over a chunk like this...)
A B-Rank Monster was not something easily obtained, even in the frontier city of Gilm. It was such a rare find that you might only encounter one if you traveled somewhere with massive numbers of monsters. Naturally, its materials, Magic Stone, and meat would fetch very high prices.
(Well, Rei doesn't seem to be hurting for money, so maybe he's doing this fully aware of its worth.)
With that thought, the man promptly began preparing for the butchering.
Rei didn't interfere and simply watched, but that too was a learning experience.
...In Rei's case, he had ranked up at a speed incomparable to other adventurers, so there were things he should have known as a Low-Rank Adventurer that he simply didn't.
As for dismantling, he had been taught by various people and had practiced on monsters he hunted himself, but his skill was barely at the level of a competent professional. That was precisely why he needed to watch other adventurers work and learn from it.
As the adventurer had mentioned earlier, anyone who could dismantle wolf-type or dog-type monsters would be able to handle a Cerberus, since it belonged to the same category.
(I can butcher a chicken just fine, but in this world, chicken-level butchering doesn't serve much purpose. Oh, but if it were a bird-type monster... are there bird-type monsters about the size of a chicken?)
While Rei was lost in such thoughts, the dismantling of the Cerberus progressed. As expected of someone experienced, the adventurer's hands moved smoothly. Since it had three heads, there seemed to be some slight hesitation when skinning the neck area. Had Rei killed the Cerberus by any means other than severing its heads, the butchering might have taken even longer.
"Impressive, Set."
"Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set rumbled in response, also watching the butchering.
Rei observed the scene for a while, until he noticed that the Lizardmen had gathered around the ones doing the dismantling, watching with deep interest.
"What's going on?"
The one Rei called out to was Zozo. Understanding Rei's words through the Stone Tablet, Zozo bowed his head with a slightly troubled expression.
'My apologies, Lord Rei. In our world, there is no such monster as the Cerberus... was it? That is why we find it so fascinating.'
"They don't exist? No Cerberuses? ...Well, now that I think about it, that makes sense."
Since there were Lizardmen—a race Rei also knew of—yet they were clearly more intelligent than this world's Lizardmen, enough to build a nation... in other words, a superior version of this world's Lizardmen, he had assumed Zozo's world was much like this one.
But come to think of it, since the worlds themselves were different, it wouldn't be strange for there to be types of monsters that existed in this world but not in Zozo's.
'Yes. I have never seen a dog monster with three heads like this before. Of course, I do not know everything about our world, so there is a possibility that such monsters exist in places I am unaware of.'
Rei nodded in understanding. At the same time, his curiosity grew regarding Zozo's world—the world where the Gran Dragonia Empire was located.
If Cerberuses didn't exist there, then conversely, it was entirely possible that monsters absent from this world could be found in the world of the Gran Dragonia Empire.
"When we eventually find a way to visit your world, things could get interesting."
'That is... I wonder. Our world might strike you as rather unpleasant, Lord Rei.'
"You think so? Well, that's all just talk about if the opportunity ever arises. I don't think getting to your world will be that easy."
If they could somehow manage to control the Wisp that existed in the Underground Space beneath the Treant Forest, traveling to other worlds was a very real possibility.
In particular, the world where the Gran Dragonia Empire was located was likely connected to the Wisp, given that Lizardmen like Zozo had been teleported here from there.
If so, reaching the world of the Gran Dragonia Empire would naturally be less difficult than returning to Rei's homeland of Japan.
...That said, with the investigation of the Wisp having made no progress at present, there was no telling when that might happen.
'So there are all sorts of monsters in this world. There are weak ones—monsters like Goblins, for instance—and then there are ones with mighty power like Set.'
"That's right. But it's probably the same in your world, isn't it? If there are weak monsters, there are also strong ones—hold on."
He paused mid-sentence and looked back toward the Cerberus.
They were currently skinning the Cerberus's hind legs, and that adventurer's movements were extremely instructive.
He wasn't exerting any particular effort; if anything, he looked like he was doing it casually, almost humming through his nose. And yet, his technique was clearly superior to the other adventurers'.
Rei had been watching those movements with intense focus, finding them truly instructive, when—
"Gruu!"
Set suddenly rumbled.
It wasn't his usual playful sound, but one urging caution.
Naturally, Rei—who had been focused on the butchering—and the ones actually doing the work all reacted to Set's cry.
Everyone living together here knew full well just how sharp Set's five senses were. When a Set like that suddenly let out a warning cry, it would be impossible not to react.
"An enemy!?"
"I don't know. But there's definitely something there. ...Zozo, just in case, get the children and the caretaker Lizardmen to the Birth Tower."
At Rei's instruction, Zozo quickly issued orders. The meaning of those cries was lost on Rei.
...If they had the Stone Tablet, he could have had it translated and properly understood.
Regardless, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
As a precaution, Rei took his Death Scythe and Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring and readied them.
Those who had been butchering the Cerberus, their hands soiled with blood, bodily fluids, and fat, headed toward the lake a short distance away to wash up.
If Set's wariness had been directed toward the lake, they wouldn't have dared. But Set's alert was pointed toward the Treant Forest.
(What's coming? No, the presence isn't that large. But there are more signatures slightly further back. Are they... being chased?)
Readying his weapons and gazing toward the Treant Forest, Rei probed the approaching presences.
The presence in front was fleeing desperately. Behind it came something bloodthirsty.
What that meant was obvious.
The biggest factor was probably the Cerberus he had fought in the Treant Forest last night. Until now, there had been a fair number of monsters in the forest, but none of particularly high rank. Last night, however, he had battled a Cerberus—a B-Rank Monster. Considering that, caution toward activity in the Treant Forest was only natural.
(I should report this to Lord Daskar or the Guild too.)
Even now, there were many Woodcutters working inside the Treant Forest. Adventurers accompanied them as guards, but if they were suddenly attacked by a B-Rank Monster, there was no telling whether they could fully protect the Woodcutters.
Even so, the fact remained that lumber from the Treant Forest was essential for Gilm's expansion. That meant they would need even more skilled adventurers as guards—but gathering the adventurers assigned to the Birth Tower alone had already required considerable coordination.
If so, how on earth would they gather guards for the Woodcutters... While he was still turning that over in his mind, the bushes at the edge of the Treant Forest began to shake.
"Here they come!"
At Rei's words, everyone readied themselves for whatever might come. Eventually, five individuals who appeared to be adventurers burst through the foliage.
The moment they cleared the bushes and saw Rei's group, they shouted in desperate voices.
"P-please help us! We're being chased by Cobolts!"
Cobolts? Hearing that, those present felt a flicker of disbelief.
For the adventurers here, Cobolts were not a significant threat—even a pack of ten or twenty would be manageable.
(Are these guys brand-new adventurers?)
He studied the men, but their weapons and armor showed signs of use. Rei found that slightly odd, but receiving hand-me-down equipment from seniors or family wasn't particularly unusual, so he set the thought aside.
Right now, dealing with the pursuing Cobolts took priority above all else.
"Waooooooon!"
That howl rose from beyond the bushes—and a pack of over ten Cobolts came bounding out.