Anastasia reached her hand toward the Wisp.
The Wisp was, in essence, a flame floating in the air.
Because of that, it wouldn't be surprising to get burned if she touched it carelessly.
Since it was a flame generated around a Magic Stone, it could hardly be called an ordinary flame. Regardless, Anastasia gently touched it.
Naturally, her hand wasn't left unprotected—it was shielded by Spirit Magic.
(Wind Spirit Magic?)
Seeing what appeared to be wind covering Anastasia's hand, Rei wondered.
That said, whether it was truly wind or not was something he couldn't tell, and in the current situation, there was no need to concern himself with that.
What he should be concerned about right now was whether Anastasia's arm could actually touch the flame comprising the Wisp's body without any problems.
"…How is it?" Rei asked Anastasia, who had just touched the Wisp's flame.
His expression was deadly serious. He already held a potion in his hand, drawn from his Misty Ring, ready to heal any injury immediately should something go wrong.
And not just some potion sold at an ordinary shop, but a high-end one—from which he could expect potent results.
Curiosity was likely her strongest motivation, but Anastasia was willing to use her own body to investigate the Wisp. Seeing that, Rei felt the need to be ready to respond at a moment's notice if anything happened.
"Let's see. First off… this Wisp is…"
Anastasia paused to think, then dispelled the Wind Spirits surrounding her hand.
Rei was naturally startled by the sudden action. He instinctively tried to pull Anastasia away from the Wisp, but she held out her other hand—the one not plunged into the Wisp—to stop him.
"It's fine. Look, see?"
With that, Anastasia withdrew the hand she had plunged into the Wisp's body and showed it to Rei.
What he saw was Anastasia's hand, completely pristine without a single burn.
"This is…"
Seeing Anastasia's beautiful hand without a single burn or scratch, Rei let out a voice of surprise. Since it was a Wisp, its body was naturally burning, and he had assumed that touching it would result in a burn.
"Mind if I have a turn? I'd like to try it too…"
"I'd advise against that."
Rei directed a questioning glance at Anastasia, wondering why. If it was safe for Anastasia to touch, then he should be able to do the same without issue. That seemed like a natural assumption.
However, Anastasia spoke as if to reason with him.
"I've heard from Daskar. The magical power you possess is immense… no, that word can hardly begin to describe it, can it? If someone with such magical power were to touch the Wisp, there's no telling what might happen."
"That's…"
Rei was well aware that his own magical power was extremely vast—so much so that he was confident there likely wasn't anyone in this world of Elgin with greater magical power than his own.
…In fact, before obtaining the Ring of the New Moon, a Magic Item that concealed his magical power, many of those who could sense magical power through some means had shown fear, terror, collapsed, lost control of their bladders, vomited… and various other reactions just from seeing him… no, in some cases, just from approaching him.
Having had such experiences, it would have been harder not to understand just how immense his magical power was.
"Understood."
After deliberating for a few seconds, he ultimately complied with Anastasia's words and withdrew the hand he had been reaching toward the Wisp.
Anastasia watched Rei's demeanor with satisfaction, then reached out toward the Wisp once more.
"Still no reaction at all, huh. Since it's alive, it wouldn't be strange for it to show some kind of response when touched."
Anastasia withdrew the hand that had touched the Wisp and stared intently at her own fingers, wondering if there was any kind of abnormality.
But unfortunately… or perhaps fortunately, nothing had happened to the fingers that had touched the Wisp.
"What in the world could this mean? …I'd love to investigate more thoroughly, but given the current situation, that's difficult."
"Yeah. If there were other Wisps like this one, that would be surprising in a way."
"Ahahaha, you're right. …You really are right."
Only with that first laugh did Anastasia smile as if genuinely amused, but the words that came out of her mouth the next moment were serious—far too serious.
What colored her expression was a strong sense of frustration and impatience.
She wanted to investigate the Wisp before her to her heart's content. But if she carelessly laid hands on the Wisp here, there was a possibility it might die as a result—a possibility she couldn't deny.
Why couldn't she investigate the Wisp right in front of her? Such feelings existed strongly within Anastasia.
Considering the current situation, she knew it couldn't be helped.
She knew that, but even so, as a researcher, the thought that such an attractive—an exceptionally attractive—research subject was right before her eyes, yet she couldn't investigate it… one that even an Elf, who lived far longer than humans, might encounter only once in a lifetime…
"Anastasia?"
"!? …Sorry. I got a little distracted by the Wisp."
Anastasia, brought back to herself by Rei's voice, expressed her gratitude and took a deep breath.
For Anastasia, Rei's words just now were truly appreciated. If no one had been here, and it had been just her and the Wisp, she had no idea what she might have done to it.
Given Anastasia's intense curiosity, such self-awareness was only natural. And having become aware of it, she couldn't just leave things as they were.
Right now, Rei was here. But Rei wouldn't be with her forever.
She had heard from Daskar just how capable an adventurer Rei was, and she had heard similar things from the other adventurers during last night's dinner. In other words, there was no guarantee the current situation would continue.
Understanding that, Anastasia thought for a moment… and then she spoke.
"Hey, Rei. I'd like to arrange for someone to be my assistant."
"Huh? An assistant? …Wouldn't that be difficult? Even Lord Daskar struggled considerably to find the personnel needed for researching this Wisp. Considering this Wisp's abilities, what's needed in this case isn't just capability as a researcher—the most important thing is whether they can be trusted."
Rei paused for a moment, then stared intently at Anastasia with a serious expression. After a few seconds had passed, he spoke again.
"And the one Lord Daskar finally found… no, not found, but the one who appeared before Lord Daskar was you, Anastasia. Do you think someone just as trustworthy as that could be arranged immediately? At the very least, I think it's impossible."
Anastasia probably agreed with Rei's assessment as well. She fell silent, unable to voice any counterargument.
"…Still, why did you suddenly say you want an assistant? You don't need one for the investigation you're doing now, do you?"
"That's true. But I realized that if I'm to investigate the Wisp alone, there's a problem."
"…A problem?"
From what Rei could see, he didn't think there was any such problem as Anastasia described. If anything, they had only just begun the investigation, and he honestly couldn't see how an assistant would be needed at all.
(Could it be that she wants an assistant for things like preparing meals? If that's the case… well, I suppose I could understand…)
He thought that, but judging from Anastasia's demeanor, it had nothing to do with anything like that, and she only looked desperate. That was also a fact.
And yet, why?
She must have noticed the question showing on his face. Anastasia hesitated with a somewhat troubled expression… and then she spoke.
"It's a fact that I'm capable as a researcher. I'm glad Daskar thinks of me that way. …But you see, I have a major flaw as a researcher. Well, some people might call it a strength, but at the very least, I consider it a flaw."
"…A flaw?"
"Yes. I'm abnormally curious for an Elf."
"Isn't that a necessary quality for a researcher?"
Rei hardly knew the researchers of this world, but when he was in Japan, he remembered hearing that excellent researchers were strongly curious. He didn't remember the exact details, but it was definitely along those lines. If so, Anastasia's intensity of curiosity didn't seem like a negative trait for a researcher.
…That said, that was merely what Rei thought, and it was entirely possible that for researchers in this world, it was different.
"That's right. I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate way to put it, but a moderate level of curiosity is no problem. However, the strength of my curiosity is considerably higher than normal. So much so that when I become absorbed in something that interests me, I concentrate so hard on it that I become completely oblivious to everything else."
"That's…"
Rei hesitated over what to say in response. Certainly, if she became that engrossed in the object of her curiosity, it wasn't necessarily an advantage for a researcher.
"Right? That's why I want someone as an assistant who can stop me if, by some chance, I become too focused on the Wisp. It's fine today because you're here, Rei, but you can't be with me every day, can you?"
"Ah… well, that's true. I actually have a surprising amount of work I need to do."
In particular, an essential daily task was transporting the lumber felled in the Treant Forest to Gilm. If Rei didn't do this, the adventurers would have to use multiple linked carriages to transport the felled trees. Naturally, that would take far more travel time compared to Rei, who could store the lumber in his Misty Ring and travel on Set.
Currently, with High-Rank Monsters like Cerberus appearing in the Treant Forest, they couldn't afford to neglect escort duties for the Woodcutters under their protection. Considering all that, Rei transporting the lumber was after all the most efficient approach.
…Though, if he was being honest, Rei would prefer to avoid going to the Alchemists' location if at all possible.
"Right?"
Anastasia hadn't heard the details of Rei's circumstances, but having heard at least something from Daskar, she responded accordingly.
"That's exactly why I need an assistant who can stop me in case of emergency."
"I understand that. I understand, but… I think it'll be quite difficult. That assistant would naturally have to be someone Lord Daskar can trust, too."
Until Anastasia appeared, there had been no researcher who could be entrusted with the Wisp investigation. In such a situation, if Anastasia wanted an assistant, Daskar would have a headache over it.
"I'll speak to Daskar directly about that. Even if it's something Daskar can't understand from his perspective, there may be researchers whom I, looking at them as a researcher myself, can understand… can trust."
Daskar's eyes judged others strictly as a lord… or as a knight. In contrast, Anastasia's eyes judged others strictly as a researcher. Thinking of it that way, it wasn't strange that precisely because she had the eyes of a researcher, she could perceive and trust someone in a way that a non-researcher couldn't.
"For now, I understand what you're saying. It's up to Lord Daskar what he actually thinks, but… just don't go picking some strange person as your assistant, alright?"
If this were, say… something involving the Green People's Spices, Rei wouldn't be this concerned. Of course, it would be great if Spices became cheaper to buy in Gilm.
But with the Wisp situation, if things went well, it might allow him to return to Japan, even if only temporarily.
That was why his honest feeling was that he didn't want any kind of mishap to occur.
Whether Anastasia understood Rei's thinking, or whether she took it to mean something else entirely, was unclear, but she nodded seriously at his words.