"……What?"
Daskar looked up from the documents he had been reading upon hearing Rei's report.
Naturally, the expression on his face was a stern one.
If they had gone out of their way to send a reconnaissance party, it was safe to assume they had already known about the lake.
Or perhaps they had come out of interest in the Birth Tower itself.
The detailed reasons for their visit remained unknown, but interrogating the Black Garb men that Rei and his party had captured could potentially yield some useful information.
Rei proceeded to recount the various developments surrounding the incident for Daskar.
Hearing the account, Daskar's stern expression shifted to one of clear displeasure.
"In that case, the first priority is indeed to investigate who hired those Black Garbs—or rather, who their master is."
"Agreed. Honestly, with this incident, there's no telling what else might happen. There's a chance they could conduct more reconnaissance…… or even launch an attack."
"Indeed. We need to do something about that on our end as well. ……Good grief, they've gone and done something troublesome."
Daskar's tone was bitter.
It was certain that this incident would lead to all sorts of complications.
Daskar in particular was already overwhelmed with work; for days on end, his routine consisted solely of sleeping, eating, or working.
Moreover, there were times when he ate while working, or when the sheer volume of work prevented him from getting enough sleep.
The fact that Daskar remained in good health despite such a punishing schedule was largely due to his own robust physique and a Magic Item futon that allowed him to fully recover from fatigue with only short periods of sleep.
He had actually prepared the futon the previous year, anticipating that he would become busy—a decision that had proven to be remarkably prescient.
In an already demanding situation, even more work would be added…… and not simple work, but the troublesome kind.
That was by no means acceptable.
That said, just because it was unacceptable did not mean he could simply do nothing.
"In any case, I understand the situation. ……Originally, I was thinking of relieving you from Birth Tower guard duty soon and having you move on to other work."
That, too, could be called a miscalculation on Daskar's part.
In terms of pure combat skill, there were a small number of adventurers who could rival Rei.
While not quite at Rei's level, those who were skilled by general standards were quite numerous in Gilm alone.
But in this case, what was needed was not only the ability to respond in an emergency, but more importantly, sharp five senses that could detect approaching enemies.
When it came to those five senses, Daskar could not think of anyone sharper than Set, Rei's Tamed Monster.
And the fact that Set was utterly devoted to Rei was something anyone who knew the griffon would readily attest to.
Because of that, they could not assign Set alone to guard the Birth Tower.
Furthermore, given that many people needed Rei's abilities for the Expansion Construction, Rei would ride Set and use his mobility to make appearances at various locations.
In other words, no matter how one looked at it, it was more advantageous to have Rei and Set operate as a pair.
If anything, having them take separate actions could very well cause problems for that very reason.
"Can't be helped. Honestly, I also thought it might be fine to end the watch. But with what happened last night, there's no telling what might happen next."
What Rei feared was that Zozo, Gaga, and the other Lizardmen could be harmed by being treated as monsters, that self-serving Merchants might catch the scent of money and ruin the lake, and above all…… that someone might do something foolish to the Slime that still continued to burn from his magic.
The Slime that continued to burn near the lake was undoubtedly a Slime, yet it was also a being that possessed fearsome abilities. ……No, rather, even without some sort of special ability, its massive body and mass alone made it a sufficient threat.
What would happen if a Slime of that size came charging into Gilm?
Given that the Expansion Construction meant barriers and the like were not in perfect condition, in the worst case, the city walls could be destroyed and that Slime could breach Gilm's interior.
Should such a thing occur, the damage would be enormous.
That was why Rei, if possible…… no, absolutely did not want anyone meddling with that Slime.
From the looks of it, that Slime seems like it'll keep burning forever. It might even become a kind of tourist attraction, just like the lake. ……Yeah, I shouldn't think about anything strange.
If he carelessly entertained the thought and it somehow came true, things would get quite bad indeed.
Judging so, Rei shifted the topic—partly to change his own mood, and partly hoping it would serve as a brief change of pace for Daskar as well.
"Come to think of it, about the lake…… I'm not sure if it can be called a monster since it had no Magic Stone, but we caught a giant fish. And a fish with huge fangs, at that."
"A fish with fangs? That's not particularly rare, is it?"
Daskar tilted his head at Rei's words.
For someone who had been to various places as a knight and seen all manner of monsters as the lord of Gilm, a fish with fangs was nothing unusual.
He figured something of that level wouldn't be unusual for Rei either, who had been to…… no, who had actually been to more places than Daskar himself in the few years since arriving in Gilm. That was the question Daskar harbored.
However, to Daskar's doubt, Rei shook his head with a confident look.
"It's probably not the kind of fangs you're imagining, Lord Daskar. There are fish with fangs, but usually those fish have fangs about the length of a finger, right? But the one that appeared in that lake was…… let's see. About……"
Saying so, Rei indicated the distance from his elbow to his fingertips.
"Fangs about this long. And two each on the top and bottom, four in total."
"……That is, well……"
A fish with fangs of that length was something even Daskar had never seen.
If it had been an animal-type monster rather than a fish, there were a fair number with fangs that large.
But what Rei had described was a fish.
Furthermore, since the creatures in the teleported lake did not possess Magic Stones, it was unknown whether they were monsters or not. There was even a possibility that it was simply a normal fish with such fangs and not a monster at all.
With that being the case, Daskar's interest was piqued, and he urged Rei to continue.
"And? So what happened to that fish?"
"It was delicious."
"You ate it!?"
Perhaps because the words that came out of Rei's mouth were so unexpected, a shout slipped from Daskar.
Even as he shouted, Daskar's tone carried strong curiosity, making it hard to believe he was the same person who had been frowning over paperwork just moments ago.
That was how different the impression Daskar gave was—hunched over documents versus now, with curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
"Yes. The lake's fish have been confirmed to be harmless to eat for now."
"Even so, it hasn't been properly investigated yet. So, how did it taste?"
To Daskar, who asked while exercising caution yet still clearly curious about the flavor, Rei offered a smile and spoke.
"As I believe I just said, it was delicious."
It was not quite a masterpiece, but the fish was undoubtedly delicious.
……That said, that evaluation was partly because Rei had eaten so many High-Rank Monsters; by normal standards, the taste would have unquestionably earned such praise.
"I see. It was delicious, huh. I'm jealous."
Daskar cast an envious glance at Rei, but then seemed to suddenly remember something and spoke up.
"About the Cerberus meat you brought, Rei. I had it last night and it was incredibly delicious. It was as if power was welling up from within my body…… no, overflowing. Thanks to that, I've been able to tackle today's work with vigor."
Those words were neither a lie nor an exaggeration.
Having eaten the meat of a Cerberus, a creature that stood at the very pinnacle of B-Rank Monsters, Daskar's accumulated fatigue had been blown away entirely, and he was currently brimming with vitality.
Cerberus meat was something that possessed exactly that kind of effect.
"Is that so. I'm glad to hear it. ……Everyone here enjoyed it too, but if given the choice, you'd want to eat a dish prepared by a professional Cook, wouldn't you?"
In particular, the Cook that Daskar employed possessed first-rate…… no, skills that could be called ultra-first-rate.
What would happen if such a Cook prepared Cerberus meat?
That was obvious without even needing to think about it.
"Hah-hah-hah. I was envious of you for eating the fish, but it seems I've managed to make you envious as well."
"……For the record, I still have the fillets of that fanged fish. But letting you eat them, Lord Daskar, would probably be a bad idea."
"Nngh."
Daskar wanted to argue with Rei's words, but whether eating the lake's fish was actually safe was, at present, based solely on the experiences of Rei and the other adventurers.
If the lake had been teleported from somewhere else in this world, it might have been possible to conclude that eating the fish caught there posed no problem…… but alas, the lake had come from another world.
What kind of side effects the fish might have could only be determined after scholars had properly investigated them.
From Rei's own experience of having eaten it, he thought there was nothing to worry about, but considering Daskar's position, it was only natural that he could not take such a risk.
Daskar himself also understood that Gilm was currently operating without major problems, for better or worse, because of his presence.
Because of that, fish from another world…… and a giant fish with clearly abnormal fangs at that, was not something he could eat.
"For now, I'll keep the fillets in my Misty Ring so they can be eaten once scholars investigate and deem them safe. Though, considering it was fairly easy to catch in that lake, it might be possible to catch one whenever we want."
"Indeed. Then I'll look forward to that day. ……Oh right, about the scholars."
Since Rei had brought up the word scholars, Daskar took the opportunity to make a report of his own.
"There's a scholar I was indebted to when I was a knight, and I was able to get in touch with that person. Rather, they came to Gilm because of the Expansion Construction and showed their face."
Given that he was going out of his way to talk about a scholar in this situation, what that meant was clear.
"In other words, you're entrusting that person with the Wisp's investigation? But, um…… I don't mean to doubt your judgment, Lord Daskar, but is this person reliable? For them to come to Gilm at this exact time seems a bit too convenient……"
"I understand your concern, Rei. But this is a person who dislikes those in power. The worries you have shouldn't be an issue."
"No, but…… it's been a long time since you last saw this scholar, hasn't it, Lord Daskar?"
People could change over the course of several years…… no, depending on the circumstances, even in a matter of days, hours, or minutes.
If Daskar had been close to that scholar during his days in the Knight Order, that would have been quite a long time ago.
If so, the possibility that their personality had changed over that much time could not be denied.
However, as if reading Rei's thoughts, Daskar spoke.
"Anastasia is reliable. That is a fact."
"……Anastasia? Is that the scholar's name?"
Having assumed that the scholar Daskar had been indebted to was a man, Rei was surprised by the name Anastasia, which was unmistakably a woman's.
"Yes. She's an Elf."
"……You certainly have a connection with Elves, Lord Daskar."
Marina, who had known Daskar since he was young, was a Dark Elf.
And the person he had been indebted to when he was a knight was an Elf.
Elves and Dark Elves were extremely few in number, and to have met two Elf-kin—Marina and Anastasia—amidst such scarcity was an incredible coincidence.
……Though, if anything, Rei himself had met far more Elves and Dark Elves.
"Have I? Well, perhaps that's true. In any case…… you should try meeting her for a bit. Once you do, you should understand that she's not someone you need to worry about."
"Well, if you say so, Lord Daskar, then I suppose I have no objections."
To Daskar's words, which carried a strangely forceful insistence for some reason, Rei nodded.