"See you. Be careful... though telling that to Rei is probably unnecessary. Still, if anything happens, contact me right away. Set, you be careful too."
With that, Marina gave Set one final pat before heading home.
"Gruu..."
Set watched her go with a slightly disappointed purr.
To Set, Marina was a beloved companion. Since she had formed a party with Rei, he likely considered her one of his inner circle.
Rei stroked the disappointed Set's body.
(Come to think of it, this is really... truly late to be asking, but Set doesn't shed even when summer comes, does he?)
When Rei lived in Japan, he hadn't owned a cat.
But he had a friend who did, and he remembered hearing from that friend that cats shed their fur when the weather warmed up.
He hadn't asked which month specifically, but even so, the seasons had gone from winter to spring, and it was now early summer.
By Rei's reckoning, it was around late June to early July.
He knew that anyone living in the Kanto region would insist that July was already full summer, but for Rei, who had lived in the Tohoku countryside near the mountains, even in July it was perfectly normal for mornings to be a bit chilly.
This was something only those who lived in similar places—or even harsher environments—could truly understand.
(Well, even though Set has a lion's body, he's ultimately a gryphon. Comparing him to an ordinary feline is probably wrong. ...No, wait—even if he is feline, do non-cat animals also shed when it gets warm?)
As Rei pondered this, Set turned to look at him as if asking what was wrong.
Rei shook his head to indicate it was nothing.
He figured that if Set realized he was being treated the same as a cat, he might not be too pleased, so he thought better of it.
Granted, considering Set's usual behavior, he was essentially being treated the same as a pet cat. ...Then again, given how much he loved being doted on, the fact that he felt more like a dog than a cat was definitely not just Rei's imagination.
"Never mind, it's nothing. Anyway, let's head out of Gilm. ...One thing after another happened today, and I'm tired. You too, right, Set?"
"Gruu?"
Am I? Set rumbled.
For Set's part, he had mostly been stationed outside the buildings keeping watch on the surroundings, so he hadn't done anything particularly exhausting.
...Normally, staking out an underground organization's hideout in the Slum District would understandably come with a fair amount of tension.
But this was Set.
Something of that level showed no sign of tiring him at all. He looked full of energy with plenty of stamina to spare.
"Looks like Set isn't tired. But we still don't know what'll happen from here on. As long as that's the case, I don't want to leave any fatigue for tomorrow. ...Well, it's not like that'll happen, though."
Rei had been caught up in all sorts of trouble in this world so far, and while days where fatigue carried over to the next weren't completely nonexistent, he could count those experiences on one hand.
Even so, having been through a lot today and feeling tired, it was only natural to want a good night's sleep.
"Gruu..."
Set gave a look of resignation.
He probably wanted to play more with Rei if he could.
(Besides, I need to go pick up Anastasia and the others from the underground space in the center of the Treant Forest.)
Anastasia was researching the Wisp—a being with the ability to summon various creatures and objects, living and non-living alike, from another world.
From what Daskar had told him, there was no doubt about her competence as a researcher. But in exchange, she had a tendency to focus too intensely on her subject of study.
Because of that, if Rei didn't go pick her up, she would likely keep researching the Wisp indefinitely, showing no interest in anything else.
She might not even eat or drink anything at all.
(Plus, if Anastasia stays in the underground space, Grimm won't be able to research the Wisp either.)
Grimm was also interested in the Wisp and focused on his own research.
But if Grimm, an undead, showed himself, it would naturally cause an uproar.
...Considering Anastasia's personality, she might be so absorbed in the Wisp that she wouldn't even care if Grimm was right in front of her.
That said, Anastasia wasn't the only one in the underground space.
Fana was there too, serving as Anastasia's assistant.
And Fana's job was to support Anastasia—which included making sure she ate and drank when she became too focused on the Wisp.
Rei couldn't help but wonder, Is that really an assistant's job? but if Fana herself was fine with it, Rei had no particular reason to say anything.
"Come on, it's already evening. Let's head outside Gilm and go pick up Anastasia."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set rumbled in acknowledgment. Got it!
Together with Set, Rei left Gilm.
Since it was already evening, there were many people who had finished work and were going through entry procedures into the city.
But those heading outside at this hour... weren't nonexistent, though even including Rei and Set, the numbers were few.
Of course, since Rei and Set were known by name and face, the guards didn't suspect them or give them any trouble.
"Hey, Rei. Set too."
Once outside Gilm, Rei and Set were greeted with a call.
Who could that be? Rei turned his gaze toward the source of the voice and found woodcutters and the adventurers assigned as their escorts.
They were familiar faces.
Rei offered a smile to the woodcutters and adventurers and spoke.
"Coming back to Gilm means today's work is done?"
"Obviously. You think we can go felling trees at night? It's dark, and you never know when monsters will show up. Luckily, the lumber shortage has mostly sorted itself out too."
"Sounds like it."
Due to the Birth Tower and the lake being teleported in, the Treant Forest had been temporarily off-limits.
But when entry was prohibited, naturally the woodcutters couldn't enter either, which meant they could no longer procure the lumber used as building materials for Gilm's expansion.
Especially right now, a large number of people had gathered seeking expansion construction work, and the work was progressing faster than originally anticipated.
But... no matter how many workers there were, without the materials to carry out the construction, nothing could be done.
That was precisely why the woodcutters had been working so hard lately.
Rather than working hard, "desperately" would have been a more fitting description.
At any rate, that was how they had been working, so the building materials shortage had presumably been alleviated to some extent.
"Today's felled trees are gathered at the usual spot, so please store them for us."
"Got it. I'll deliver them to the alchemists tomorrow."
Even as he said that, Rei showed a look of reluctance.
The alchemists showed strong interest in Rei's magic items and materials, and their pestering was troublesome.
Rei understood that they weren't doing it out of malice but were simply driven by pure curiosity.
But just because there was no ill intent didn't mean everything was forgivable. If asked whether it was, the answer was no.
Rei by no means welcomed the alchemists who came rushing toward him.
Even so, since it was work, there was no doubt he had to do it.
In fact, the alchemists were genuinely working hard too.
That was exactly why they applied magical treatment to the felled trees, making them usable as building materials for the expansion construction.
"Counting on you. We're off to celebrate today. We worked our hardest, so we need to restore our energy for tomorrow."
Being young men, they would likely drink, eat, and make merry at a tavern, then head to a brothel afterward.
The tree felling in the Treant Forest was indispensable for Gilm's expansion construction.
That was precisely why the woodcutters' compensation was quite high.
High enough that they could easily exceed their earnings goals for coming to work here.
...That was exactly why they had enough leeway to feast like this almost every day.
Of course, if they kept living like that, their lifestyle would gradually become more extravagant over time.
Slightly more expensive alcohol and food than usual, a slightly higher-ranked brothel than usual... and so on.
When that happened, the amount of money spent per day would increase, and the amount saved per day would gradually decrease. But they showed no sign of worrying about that.
There was still time until the end of autumn when their work trip would end, so they probably figured they could earn as much as they needed.
And since woodcutters were specialists receiving high pay, that wasn't necessarily wrong.
Even so, as their nightlife grew flashier and flashier, the money they consumed would only go up.
"I see. Do your best tomorrow too."
Waving his hand, Rei climbed onto Set's back.
That alone was enough for Set to understand what Rei was thinking. After a few running steps, he flapped his wings and took off from the spot.
The woodcutters, adventurers, and others who had been lined up on the ground watched Rei and Set leave with envy.
With a few exceptions, those living in this world had no experience of flying through the sky.
And precisely because they couldn't fly themselves, they envied Set, who could soar freely... and Rei, who could ride on his back.
But since they weren't Rei, they naturally couldn't tame a gryphon.
As a result, all those left on the ground could do was watch Rei and Set go.
"Arrived."
The center of the Treant Forest.
Near the location of the underground space, Rei dismounted from Set's back.
From leaving Gilm to arriving here was truly an instant.
This too was proof of just how fast Set flew.
After setting Rei down from his back, Set immediately began scanning the surroundings.
Checking whether any monsters were nearby.
A while back—when the Treant Forest was first formed—animals and monsters hadn't existed there.
But now that a considerable amount of time had passed since its creation, monsters and animals naturally inhabited the forest.
Additionally, among the monsters in the lake summoned near the Birth Tower, there were some that could come ashore and act on land.
It wouldn't be surprising if such monsters had relocated their habitat to the Treant Forest.
The most troublesome part was that the lake monsters wouldn't flee even when they saw Set.
That was exactly why Set carefully checked the surroundings.
Using sight, hearing, and smell to confirm, and sometimes even using taste to check the flavor of the air, Set surveyed the area. Ultimately judging there to be no problems, he looked toward Rei and let out a cry.
"I see. Thanks. I'm going to go pick up Anastasia and Fana, so wait here a bit."
With that, Rei opened the path leading to the underground space and entered.
After walking a relatively long passage, he eventually arrived at the underground space.
What he found there was, as expected, exactly the scene Rei had anticipated.
Anastasia stood before the larger-than-normal Wisp, observing it, occasionally reaching out to touch it.
(Ah, but just touching the Wisp—is that progress? Well, I don't know if it counts as progress or not.)
A short distance away from Anastasia, Fana was cleaning up the scattered experimental equipment.
"Ah."
Fana, who had been cleaning up, let out a sound upon seeing Rei.
But naturally, Anastasia, who was focused on the Wisp, showed no sign of noticing Fana's voice.
Even now, she was just staring intently at the Wisp...
"Hey, wait."
Seeing Anastasia suddenly bring her face close to the Wisp, Rei couldn't help but cry out.
If she had only brought her face closer, Rei wouldn't have been that surprised.
But seeing her stick out her tongue—looking as if she were about to lick the Wisp—not stopping her would have been impossible.
Especially since Anastasia was an elf who could aptly be described as a beauty. Seeing her do such a thing gave anyone watching an incredible sense of dissonance.
That said, Anastasia, focused on the Wisp, showed no sign of noticing Rei's voice. Rei took a nut from his Misty Ring and threw it at her.