"This is..."
What Rei saw upon returning to the Birth Tower while cutting down Goblins was a massive number of Goblin corpses.
"Oh, Rei. You're back? Would've been nice if you'd come back a little sooner."
One of the Adventurers, spotting Rei, called out to him with a grin.
As expected of men recommended by the Guild as skilled guards for the Birth Tower, not a single one of them had suffered any major injuries despite the Goblin attack.
...A few had sustained minor scrapes and were being teased by their fellow Adventurers for getting hurt fighting Goblins, but ultimately, it was nothing more than that.
"What happened? ...Well, I don't need to ask. One look at this situation tells the story."
"Yeah. Not long after you and your group left, Goblins suddenly hit us."
The Goblin corpses scattered on the ground numbered nearly a hundred.
Including the ones likely still hidden somewhere in the Treant Forest, that number would be even higher.
"I ran into Goblins a few times while escorting Anastasia and Fana, but... looking at this, there might be a large-scale Goblin settlement somewhere in the Treant Forest. ...Troublesome."
Goblins were weak, so defeating them wasn't a problem.
In this case, though, the problem was their sheer numbers.
No matter how weak Goblins were—dying in a single hit—and no matter how strong every Adventurer present was, a single hit was still a single hit. During the time it took to swing that blow and kill one Goblin, there was no guarantee another wouldn't attack.
"A Goblin settlement, huh. No doubt we should deal with it sooner rather than later. ...Which means we need to find it first. ...Rei, can you handle it?"
"Probably should. But if they built the settlement using the trees as camouflage, finding it won't be easy, you know?"
"Even with Set?"
"Even with Set. ...The chances are definitely higher than a normal search, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy."
At Rei's words, the Adventurer wore a troubled expression.
He had assumed Set could easily find a Goblin settlement.
But hearing there was a possibility it wouldn't be found, it was only natural for him to be disappointed.
(He thinks Set can find it... I get why he'd think that, and the odds are actually pretty good that Set can. But we won't know for sure until we try. If that's the case, I probably shouldn't say anything about it for now.)
For the time being, he'd have Set fly around later and search for the settlement.
Having made that decision, Rei was about to speak to the Adventurer when—
"Hey. Is that really okay?"
He muttered it at the sight entering his field of vision.
Because at the end of his gaze, Adventurers and Lizardmen were carrying Goblin corpses and feeding them to the Water Wolf.
The current Water Wolf was not in the slightly smaller state he had seen before leaving; it had grown considerably larger.
It was still smaller compared to when it had fought Rei the night before, but it was large enough to swallow a person whole.
And what the Water Wolf was swallowing whole was not a human... but a Goblin corpse.
It gulped down the Goblin corpses diligently carried over, dissolving and absorbing them inside its body one after another.
What it was doing was obvious just by watching the Water Wolf.
But even understanding that, the question of is that really okay? arose—and the reason was the foulness of Goblin meat.
For example, if those were Orc corpses instead of Goblins, everyone would gladly butcher them for meat.
But was it truly fine for the Water Wolf to be eating Goblin meat, which could only be described as miraculously foul? It was only natural to wonder.
At Rei's words, the Adventurer nodded with a deeply knowing expression.
Having been born and raised in this world and working as an Adventurer, he obviously understood just how foul Goblin meat was.
"We were surprised at first too. But from what I can see, the Water Wolf is eating them without any issue at all. Maybe it doesn't have a sense of taste."
"No, it should have one."
The Water Wolf had eaten the block of Orc meat Rei gave it last night with obvious relish.
Its eating method—swallowing whole and dissolving the meat inside its body—was the same as now, but it had still savored the meat with clear satisfaction.
Considering that, Rei couldn't help but wonder exactly why the Water Wolf had no problem eating Goblin meat.
"It does? But it's eating Goblins without a care? Well, it helps us out, though."
For the Adventurers here, Goblin materials, Subjugation Proof Parts, and Magic Stones were cheap enough that there was no need to bother carrying them back.
In fact, considering the labor involved, most would consider it a net loss.
"If I had to guess, maybe it can toggle its sense of taste on and off at will, or maybe Goblin meat is genuinely delicious to the Water Wolf."
The ones judging Goblin meat as foul were the taste buds of this world's inhabitants.
...Strictly speaking, Rei was from another world, but since his body had been created by the Zephyle Clan, it wouldn't be strange for his sense of taste to be specific to this world.
But since the Water Wolf was a being that came from another world, its sense of taste wasn't necessarily the same.
That was merely Rei's conjecture, but the fact that it spared them from burning Goblin corpses was extremely welcome.
Burning Goblin corpses naturally produced smoke, and since that smoke came from roasting Goblin meat, calling it a stench was appropriate.
Some people even complained that it stung their eyes.
Considering the effort of disposal, having the Water Wolf absorb them was without a doubt highly appreciated.
(At worst, there's the option of using Terrain Manipulation to bury them... but well, if the Water Wolf just eats them as is, I only need to leave it to the creature.)
Rei made that judgment and decided to leave the Goblin corpses to the Water Wolf.
(Ah, the corpses I left in the Treant Forest... no, I don't need to worry about those. Let's just hope the animals or other monsters eat them.)
Or perhaps they would become nutrients for the trees growing in the Treant Forest.
While pondering this, he spotted Set approaching the Water Wolf.
(Yesterday, when it was in its large state, Set got jealous. Today, when it was slightly smaller than Set, he didn't. In that case... what happens at its current size?)
With that question in mind, Rei watched Set approach the Water Wolf.
The Adventurer next to Rei followed his gaze and watched Set's actions too, wondering what would happen in this situation—
"Grru."
"Wauf? ...Wan."
To Rei, it looked like they were exchanging something.
Of course, Set could communicate through cries even with Ielo, a completely different species.
Thinking about it that way, it wouldn't be strange for it to communicate with the Water Wolf too.
Rei accepted that, but at the same time, he was genuinely curious about what they were saying in this situation.
"Hey... are they actually having a conversation?"
"Hard to say. I don't know that much about it. Maybe they're just pretending."
Even recalling last night's events, it hadn't seemed like Set and the Water Wolf had been communicating properly.
If they were now, that would mean they'd learned to converse in this short amount of time.
(Maybe the Water Wolf came near Set last night and talked to him? No, as of yesterday, Set should have been quite wary of the Water Wolf. I don't think that's it.)
But it was also an undeniable fact that Set and the Water Wolf hadn't spent much time in contact.
If so, it was only natural for Rei to watch and wonder.
...The fact that Set and the Water Wolf could communicate wasn't inconvenient for Rei, so he had no particular intention to dwell on it.
"Setting aside whether Set and the Water Wolf can actually communicate, not having to worry about disposing of the Goblin corpses is huge. From the looks of it, the Water Wolf doesn't seem like it'll get full."
The swallowed Goblin corpses dissolved and were absorbed within the Water Wolf in the blink of an eye.
Given that, Rei thought it was possible the Water Wolf would never get full.
Though eating too many might make it grow tired of the taste.
"Yeah. It takes effort to carry the Goblins over, but other than that, it eats them for us, so it helps. The only drawback is that it seems connected to the lake water, so it can't go too far."
"Ah... it does seem that way."
From what Rei could see, the Water Wolf was basically inside the lake.
Sometimes it came up onto shore, like when he saw it that morning, but even then, the Water Wolf was connected to the lake water.
To put it simply, the Water Wolf and the lake were linked by what could be called a rope of water.
What would happen if that rope was cut?
Rei didn't even know whether the Water Wolf they were looking at right now was its main body, or whether it was just shaping and moving a Water Wolf form.
(No, thinking about that won't get me anywhere. What kind of existence the Water Wolf is, I'm sure I'll find out eventually. Fortunately, it's somehow friendly toward us.)
Incredibly, the Water Wolf was treating Rei and his group in a friendly manner.
So much so that he couldn't help but wonder why exactly is it being that friendly?
Since Rei was benefiting from it, he had no complaints.
"Anyway, whether or not we can find the Goblin settlement, we need to find it quickly. ...Set!"
"Gru?"
Set, who had been talking with the Water Wolf, approached with a purr as if asking what is it? at Rei's call.
Stroking Set's head, Rei spoke.
"Having Goblins around is a real nuisance, so I'm thinking of flying over the Treant Forest to search for a settlement. Will you help me?"
"Grrrru!"
Set purred at Rei's words as if to say Of course!
Part of it was because Rei was asking, but more than that, Set found it extremely annoying to be attacked by Goblins while traveling through the Treant Forest.
Normal monsters would usually flee upon understanding the difference in power and rank between them and Set, but Goblins uniquely did no such thing, and would attack on sight.
And yet, the moment they realized they had no chance of winning, they would immediately bolt.
Since they were truly the most troublesome opponents, it wouldn't be strange for Set to want to crush their settlement first if one existed in the Treant Forest.
"Alright. Then I'll head out for a bit. ...Water Wolf, do your best cleaning up the Goblins."
"Wauf!"
The Water Wolf let out a happy bark at Rei's words.
Judging by that reaction, it did indeed seem to find Goblin corpses delicious.
(Maybe to beings from the world the Water Wolf came from, Goblins taste good?)
Since it was a being from another world in the truest sense, it wouldn't be strange for there to be major differences in taste.
...Of course, that then raised the question of why it had also found Orc meat delicious when it was considered tasty even in this world. That was a mystery to Rei as well.
"I'll think about that later. ...Set, let's go."
When Rei, mounted on Set's back, gave the call, Set took a running start, flapped its wings, and bounded up into the sky.
Ascending to its usual altitude, it began scanning the Treant Forest for any Abnormality... or more precisely, for a Goblin settlement.
The Treant Forest was quite vast, but even so, flying above it was no particular effort for Set.
Also, building a settlement would naturally be hindered by the trees growing there.
If they had high intelligence, they might use the trees as camouflage from the air, but unless they were an exception like a High-ranking Species, Goblins wouldn't do such a thing.
That was what Rei had thought, but...
"Yeah. Well... that figures."
Not much time had passed since taking to the sky, so in a way, finding it was only natural.
In a part of the Treant Forest—quite far from where Rei's group was and where the Woodcutters were felling trees—he discovered a Goblin settlement in an area where the trees grew sparsely.