After Set strengthened its Fire Breath, we returned to the campsite.
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any other monsters after the Two-Headed Snake attacked us.
What Rei saw upon returning to the campsite was the Water Wolf confronting a group of researchers.
"Ah... yeah."
Just from seeing that scene, Rei vaguely understood what had happened.
The researchers had probably come to investigate the lake.
Since there was a carriage parked a short distance away, Rei quickly realized they had brought supplies and come to the lake in a different carriage from the one that had transported the women away.
Most likely, scholars who had heard about the Water Wolf incident had arrived.
For the scholars, the Water Wolf—an entity that understood their words and was rational enough to negotiate with—was undeniably a fascinating subject.
If the Water Wolf had been a monster from this world, it might not have attracted so much interest from the scholars. But the Water Wolf was a being that had been teleported here from another world along with a massive lake.
Given that, it was only natural for the scholars to harbor such strong interest.
Isn't that the case with Zozo and the others too?
Rei thought that, but the scholars' interest was still directed solely at the Water Wolf.
From the looks of it, they were trying somehow to get information out of the Water Wolf, but it was growling warily at them.
"What happened? ...Well, I don't even need to ask. I can mostly guess from looking at the situation."
"Exactly what you'd guess. At first, the Water Wolf was humoring the researchers, but they got carried away. And well, it ended up like this."
Judging from the current situation, Rei didn't think the adventurer was lying.
So? What am I supposed to do about this?
With the surrounding adventurers and Lizardmen directing expectant gazes at him, Rei naturally knew what they were hoping for.
He could predict it, but... whether he could actually do as they expected was another question entirely.
First of all, it was clear even to Rei that the researchers were the ones at fault here.
The fact that they had made the Water Wolf—a friendly entity—this wary was enough to easily guess that the researchers were in the wrong.
"Honestly, shouldn't someone other than me handle this..."
Rei's gaze shifted to the knight, who was the person in charge here.
But the knight's gaze was also directed at Rei.
As the one who could negotiate with the Water Wolf, he was silently asking Rei to sort out the situation.
I can sort of understand that feeling, but since he's the one in charge of this place, I wish he'd be a bit more...
Rei wanted the knight to properly take control of the situation.
That said, letting the relationship between the Water Wolf and the researchers deteriorate further would likely cause trouble later, so Rei approached the researchers.
"Could you stop that? As you can see, the Water Wolf doesn't like it. If you try anything strange in this situation, there's a chance it could turn hostile at worst."
"Woof!"
The Water Wolf, understanding Rei's words, let out a bark as if to say that's right.
For the Water Wolf, it was one thing if the other party was someone staying at this campsite, but it didn't appreciate being approached in a friendly manner by people it was seeing for the first time.
In fact, there were even researchers who had tried to collect the water that made up the Water Wolf's body.
Naturally, the other researchers had stopped that kind of behavior.
If no one had stopped them, the Water Wolf and the researchers might have ended up in a full-blown—and far more dangerous—standoff, and it wouldn't have been strange.
In that sense, the current situation could be attributed to a few researchers running wild.
That said, Rei could somewhat understand their feelings.
The Water Wolf was a special existence in many ways.
Its body structure made of water, its high intelligence that could understand this world's language. And yet, it treated those at the campsite in a friendly manner.
For the researchers, it was an ideal research subject.
...The problem was that the Water Wolf had no desire to be one.
"No, but... just look at it. This Water Wolf, was it? It's an extremely fascinating entity. If we could study it, just think how much progress it would bring..."
Seeing the researcher's demeanor as he said that, Rei let out a deep sigh.
How to deal with a researcher who seemed to think that anything was permissible as long as it was done in the name of research.
At the very least, to Rei, this researcher looked like the type who wouldn't think twice about dissecting the Water Wolf—whether or not he actually could—in order to satisfy his thirst for knowledge.
And he likely believed that the results of such a dissection would bring him honor and profit.
Of course, Rei didn't have particularly deep relationships with researchers.
Only a select few, like Anastasia.
But this researcher who appeared fixated on the Water Wolf seemed like a dangerous person in a different way than Anastasia.
"Don't try to force research on a party that doesn't want it. If the Water Wolf becomes hostile here, what's your plan?"
"Ngh... but if I were to study it, there would be various benefits, you know? Or are you planning to entrust this Water Wolf to a different researcher?"
"That's right. Rather than leaving it to you, I think it'd be better to leave it to another... a researcher who would be more considerate of the other party, even when conducting research."
"What..."
The researcher was speechless at Rei's words.
He had said it thinking that the other party would surely back down, and yet he had been told this to his face directly.
"Whether you know this or not, this place is built on a very delicate balance."
At Rei's words, the adventurers who had been listening nodded.
Indeed, it was a fact that this campsite was built on a truly delicate balance.
The Lizardmen, the lake monsters, and the people of this world.
Three races from different worlds had gathered here, and yet they weren't at war.
Of course, it wasn't as if there had been absolutely no conflict up to this point.
The monsters that made the lake their home had attacked the campsite many times, and monsters from this world sometimes came attacking from the Treant Forest. Also, when they first encountered the Lizardmen, there had been a battle.
Even so, through one thing or another, they had reached the current situation.
Thinking about it that way, Rei's words—that the current peace was built on an exquisite balance—were by no means wrong.
"Guh... hmph, how unpleasant. I'll be filing a report about this matter, so be prepared for that!"
Perhaps judging that his authority as a researcher wouldn't get him anywhere, the researcher left the area.
That said, since the researchers had come in the same carriage, even if this one researcher wanted to leave, he couldn't just take the carriage.
To return from here, he would inevitably have to walk alone to Gilm, but... while he might be a first-rate researcher, whether he had the ability to handle monsters on his own was an entirely different matter.
In Anastasia's case, she could use Spirit Magic, so she had a corresponding level of combat ability.
But the majority of researchers didn't have the combat ability to handle monsters... especially monsters of the frontier.
After confirming that the researcher had left, Rei looked toward the Water Wolf and spoke.
"Well, that takes care of the problem for now."
At Rei's words, the adventurers looked pleased, while the researchers wore uneasy expressions.
For the adventurers, as long as they were living at this campsite, they wanted to stay on good terms with the Water Wolf.
Partly because the Water Wolf had a friendly attitude, but more importantly, they had seen with their own eyes the Water Wolf battling Rei.
The figure of the giant Water Wolf was visible even from the lake shore.
Also, the smaller—though only small compared to the giant Water Wolf—wolves spawned by it were weak but numerous and troublesome opponents.
Unlike Goblins, they wouldn't flee even when shown the difference in strength; they would keep attacking.
Enraging a Water Wolf with such abilities was nothing short of suicidal.
Compared to the adventurers, the researchers wore uneasy expressions because they felt they had been put in their place by Rei.
They understood that if they tried to push for an investigation in this situation, they would undoubtedly end up the same way as the researcher from earlier.
"Thank goodness. ...Now then, to the researchers, please continue your investigation of the lake. Everyone else, carry on as usual. However, if the researchers request your cooperation, assist them as much as possible."
The knight expressed his gratitude to Rei and issued instructions for everyone's next actions.
At the knight's words, the adventurers and Lizardmen immediately sprang into action.
The researchers were slightly slower to start moving, but even so, a lake teleported from another world was undeniably fascinating.
They had conducted investigations of the lake many times before, but they still weren't satisfied.
Especially since the earlier commotion had wasted their investigation time, it was only natural that they wanted to conduct as much investigation as possible.
The researchers exchanged conversation among themselves as they headed off to their investigation.
"Now then, what should I do... The organization in the Slum District is still around, but..."
"Woof?"
At Rei's mutter, the Water Wolf, which had been playing with the Lizardman Children, let out a bark.
Looking at the Water Wolf's demeanor as if asking What's wrong?, Rei reconsidered and decided that perhaps he should stay here for today and tomorrow at least.
Thinking about the incident with the Water Wolf and the researchers only made him feel that way more strongly.
"No, it's nothing. Take care of the Lizardman Children."
He said that while watching the Water Wolf walk on the surface of the lake, a behavior unique to it.
The Water Wolf let out a happy bark at Rei's words.
As if competing with the Water Wolf, Set also placed the remaining Lizardman Children on his back and walked around the area.
As expected, the rarer one was more popular, and more people wanted to ride the Water Wolf than Set.
Rei, who had been watching the interaction between Set and the Water Wolf, thought about what to do next... and remembered the dissection of the Two-Headed Snake's corpse.
"Come to think of it, does anyone here know about this monster? I ran into it on the way back here with Set."
Saying that, Rei took out the Two-Headed Snake's corpse to show the surrounding adventurers. ...Though it had only one head left, since Set had crushed the other.
Since he had already drained the blood, he judged there was no risk of the smell attracting monsters.
For the adventurers, while they were technically assigned as guards here, they basically had nothing to do unless a problem arose, so several of them gathered around Rei partly to kill time.
"Let's see?"
"Huh? This is... whoa, that's rare. It's an Oubral Snake."
"An Oubral Snake? Oh, you're right. One of the heads is crushed. Wow... what a waste. I think the fangs of an Oubral Snake sold for quite a bit."
Listening to them talk about the monster called the Oubral Snake, Rei looked at Set, who was walking with a child on his back, and spoke.
"One of the heads was crushed by a strike from Set's front leg."
Rei said that, but he didn't sound particularly disappointed.
Even if they sold for a high price, Rei wasn't particularly short on money.
If they were materials for Magic Items, that would be a different story.
More than anything, the Magic Stone obtained from defeating monsters was what mattered most in this case.
So the Oubral Snake corpse Rei currently had was essentially just a bonus.
"I see. Can't be helped if it was Set. ...Now then, as for the dissection, there aren't any sellable parts in the internal organs, so we can dispose of them all together."
"Got it. Water Wolf! Want to eat!?"
"Woof, woof woof!"
Whether it heard Rei's words or not, the Water Wolf, which had been walking on the water's surface, ran over to Rei while still carrying the Lizardman child on its back.
When he handed over the Oubral Snake's internal organs, the Water Wolf swallowed them.
Watching them disappear instantly inside its body seemed quite convenient for disposing of unwanted parts.
That was, of course, assuming the Water Wolf would eat them.
"First, we skin it like this... see, this hide also sells for a decent amount. It can be used as Magic Item material or for small bags."
When one of the adventurers skinned it, what remained was something that could only be called a mass of meat with the head removed.
"After that, this meat is pretty tasty, so we can grill and eat it. There are quite a lot of bones, so you need to be careful."
At those words, for the time being, everyone present skewered the Oubral Snake meat and grilled it over the campfire to eat.