"Wow... this is amazing. I heard about it from you, Rei, but I never imagined such a lake would actually be spread out here."
Upon arriving at the location where the Birth Tower and the lake stood, Anastasia's face showed genuine astonishment.
The question of where Anastasia would live while researching the Wisp had been a source of deliberation. She had even suggested camping out in the Underground Space directly.
But Rei could not allow that.
If Anastasia settled into the Underground Space, there was a possibility she might come into contact with Grimm, depending on the circumstances.
Grimm was kind to Rei and his companions, but that kindness was strictly limited to that specific group.
Rei found it hard to believe that Grimm would extend the same courtesy to someone like Anastasia, whom he was meeting for the first time.
Depending on the circumstances, there was even a chance that Anastasia could be killed by Grimm.
Moreover, even setting Grimm aside, Rei thought it would be problematic in various ways for Anastasia—an Elf—to live in an Underground Space with no greenery.
From what Rei had observed, Anastasia seemed to have the kind of personality where once she focused on something, everything else became irrelevant.
If he left her in the Underground Space as things were, there was a high likelihood she would fixate entirely on researching the Wisp without ever surfacing.
Having decided that something needed to be done about this, Rei proposed bringing Anastasia to the location of the Birth Tower.
Anastasia had been reluctant at first, but upon learning she would be able to see the lake and the Birth Tower, she agreed to relocate, looking somewhat pleased.
"Wow... this is... hey, Rei. Can I try going into the lake a little?"
Her eyes sparkling with curiosity, Anastasia asked.
But Rei shook his head.
"No, there are monsters in the lake. Monsters that would normally stay in deeper waters sometimes come up to the shallows."
What came to Rei's mind was the giant fanged fish.
That fish would charge into the shallows even when it could no longer move.
No—perhaps after sensing prey, it could see nothing else, completely indifferent to the fact that it was about to strand itself.
From what Rei had heard, it was a fish best described as ferocious—reckless would be an apt word.
"Monsters? That's rather intriguing, too."
Anastasia, genuinely intrigued as her words suggested, turned her gaze toward the lake. But someone was approaching the two of them—Set was off playing with the Lizardman Children.
"Rei, who is that woman?"
The one who asked was the knight serving as the person in charge of this location.
His tone was polite, but his gaze carried a hint of accusation.
It was only natural. This lake was supposed to be kept hidden as much as possible, yet Rei had brought Anastasia there without warning.
The three adventurers who had been pursued by Cobolts were currently detained precisely because they had learned about this lake.
That said, rather than the Knight Order headquarters, they were being held in the underground dungeon of the Lord's Manor—a facility used to confine individuals of relatively high status—so the conditions were not as harsh as the Knight Order's cells.
Nevertheless, even adventurers who had stumbled upon this place by chance received such treatment. The knight could well imagine what fate might befall Anastasia, whom Rei had brought of his own accord.
With that implication in mind, the knight fixed Rei with a sharp stare.
But Rei simply shook his head to indicate there was nothing to worry about, then spoke.
"This woman is Anastasia. She's here investigating various things at Lord Daskar's request."
"Lord Daskar's...?"
The knight's gaze softened slightly.
If this was a request from Daskar, then it would not be strange for her to know about the lake.
...Of course, that assumed Rei was telling the truth.
The knight trusted Rei, but given the gravity of what this lake represented, he could not simply take it on faith without any guarantee.
"When a carriage arrives, I'll send a letter to confirm with Lord Daskar. Would that be acceptable?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Anastasia plans to use this place as her base."
"...What?"
The words from Rei's mouth were apparently unexpected for the knight.
But that was only natural.
Everyone stationed here—sleeping and living as guards for the Birth Tower—was male.
There was a female Lizardman who had come through when the Birth Tower was teleported, but to humans, Beastmen, and Dwarves, her facial structure was so different that she could not be considered in that light.
Anastasia, however, was another matter.
She may not have had particularly feminine curves, but her features possessed a beauty that—barring highly unusual tastes—could rightfully be called those of a beautiful woman.
It was easy to imagine that if such a beauty were to base herself here, sleeping and living among only men, various problems would inevitably arise.
The adventurers stationed here had been recommended by the Guild as trustworthy individuals, but even so, whether they could restrain their desires in front of a beautiful woman was questionable at best.
Bringing someone likely to cause trouble into a place full of such men could even be seen as obstructing their work.
"I understand what you're getting at, but there's nowhere else. She needs to walk through the Treant Forest nearly every day, so commuting from Gilm would be difficult."
"...The woodcutters and their escort adventurers commute from Gilm every day, do they not? Besides, even with a Cerberus having appeared, isn't it dangerous for a woman—even an Elf—to wander about alone?"
The knight's words were reasonable.
Rei understood that as well, but the woodcutters only worked the outer parts of the Treant Forest.
Compared to that, where Anastasia needed to go was the central part of the forest.
As for the monsters that appeared in the Treant Forest, as long as Anastasia intended to continue her research in the Underground Space where the Wisp resided, she would not be in danger except when traveling back and forth between here and the forest's center.
And if she was researching the Wisp, there was no option but for Rei to lend a hand. Asking Set to escort her would pose no problem.
...That said, since the matters concerning the Wisp and the Underground Space still needed to be kept secret, Rei could not explain any of this to the knight, even as one of Daskar's subordinates.
"It'll be fine."
The one who rescued Rei—still at a loss for how to explain—was Anastasia herself.
Tearing her gaze from the lake, she continued while looking the knight in the eye.
"I may not look it, but I'm a fairly skilled Spirit Mage, even among Elves. If anyone tries anything funny with me, I don't think I need to spell out what would happen to them."
At Anastasia's confident words, the knight was somewhat intimidated.
No—it was not just the knight. The adventurers who overheard reacted the same way.
An Elf and a Spirit Mage.
For anyone living in Gilm, that combination would inevitably bring one person to mind: Marina.
In reality, as a Spirit Mage, Marina was an extraordinary practitioner even by the standards of Elves and Dark Elves, and a typical Spirit Magic user could not even come close to her level of skill.
Even so, for an adventurer in Gilm, the two words "Elf" and "Spirit Magic" inevitably evoked Marina.
The knight, too, as one of Daskar's subordinates, knew of the relationship between Daskar and Marina. He was also frequently told by Daskar just how extraordinary Marina's Spirit Magic was, so it was equally natural for him to think of Marina at those words.
"Ah... right. Well then, I suppose there's no problem for now. However, I doubt you'd want to sleep on the floor alongside the men in the Birth Tower, so I'll prepare a separate tent for you. Oh, or would you rather use Rei's Magic Tent? That would be more comfortable."
"No, please prepare a tent for Anastasia."
If this had been a familiar woman—someone like Elena—Rei would not have refused to share his Magic Tent.
But to Rei, Anastasia was someone introduced by Daskar, not an inner-circle companion. She was an outsider.
Given that, he could not share a Magic Tent and sleep alongside a woman like Anastasia.
"That's right. It would help me if you did that. I'll probably be organizing my thoughts or writing things down on paper inside the tent. Having Rei around at times like that would just be a bother."
Anastasia's words were not born from considering Rei a dangerous man—she said it for her own convenience.
That said, it suited Rei just fine, so he did not say anything in particular about it.
"Alright, I'll leave that to you then. Also... Zozo!"
At Rei's call, Zozo, who had been waiting a short distance away, approached.
"What can I do for you, Lord Rei?"
Zozo's words appeared on the Stone Tablet he held... and upon seeing them, Anastasia's eyes went wide.
"Wait, huh!? What is this!"
Seeing Anastasia's reaction, it occurred to Rei that he had not yet explained this Magic Item to her.
"My master gave me this when I consulted him about not being able to converse with the Lizardmen. With this Stone Tablet, I can talk normally with Zozo... that Lizardman. Though some of the Lizardmen have started learning our language, so it probably won't be necessary eventually."
"This Stone Tablet... I feel like I may have read about it in some book before... or maybe not... but... no, still..."
With her gaze fixed on the Stone Tablet Zozo held, Anastasia fell into thought.
Rei glanced at her with a hint of exasperation, then turned to address Zozo again.
"Zozo, this woman is Anastasia. She'll be sleeping and living here for a while starting today, so let the Lizardmen know."
"Understood. ...Shall I assign a female caretaker for her?"
"No, as long as they can't communicate, she might just get in Anastasia's way. And it's not like Zozo can stay by her side all the time, right?"
"Unfortunately, that is correct."
He may lose to Gaga, but Zozo wielded considerable influence among the Lizardmen.
At the same time, as the only one currently able to communicate with the people of this world using the Stone Tablet, Zozo was constantly being called upon whenever something came up. He was far too busy to serve as Anastasia's caretaker.
Which meant preparing an attendant for Anastasia was difficult after all...
"That works for you, right, Anastasia?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Perhaps still mulling over the Stone Tablet Zozo held, Anastasia showed a puzzled expression at Rei's words.
Though their acquaintance had been brief, Rei had more or less grasped Anastasia's personality, so he explained the situation as if talking sense into her.
"Since you're a woman, they offered to assign a female Lizardman as your caretaker. But I declined, saying that without being able to communicate, it wouldn't work. That's fine with you, isn't it?"
"Hm? Hmm, now that you mention it, yes. It's fine to decline. I'm interested in the female Lizardman too, but... if we can't communicate, that would be problematic in various ways. Instead, that one over there—Zozo, was it? I'd like to ask Zozo about various things. Would that be impossible?"
"That's a bit difficult. Thanks to this Stone Tablet, Zozo is currently acting as a coordinator for the Lizardmen. So I don't think he has time to accompany you."
Also, though Rei did not say it aloud, the one Zozo truly followed was Rei and Rei alone.
The people at this location had spent enough time with him that he had opened up to them to some degree. But Rei was concerned that if Zozo dealt with Anastasia, he might take a curt attitude toward her.
...If Rei firmly instructed him on the matter, Zozo would probably treat Anastasia with at least a certain level of politeness. But even so, the current situation felt precarious in various ways—that was an undeniable fact.
"Hmm, is that so? Then it can't be helped."
Anastasia herself had perhaps expected the refusal, for she did not press the matter any further.
"Now then, about Anastasia's tent... where do you want to put it? Set is here, and there are skilled adventurers, so the chances of monsters attacking from the Treant Forest are low. But the lake's monsters don't seem to be deterred by that sort of thing. Plus, even among the forest monsters, there are some that attack despite Set's presence, so I can't let my guard down."
"I see... Then, could I ask to be placed next to your Magic Tent? That way, I'd feel more at ease about various things, wouldn't I?"
To Anastasia's question, Rei thought for a moment, then nodded.