"Hmm... looking at this, I really do feel like we've come back."
Riding Set through the Treant Forest, Rei murmured to himself.
Some time had passed since Rei returned to this world.
Grimm had taken such a strong interest in the Dragonias corpse that he prioritized researching it over asking about the other world in detail.
...Though even if he had asked, Rei didn't know all that much.
At most, the only information he had was that a race called Centaurs existed there, and that people had built nations in places far from the grassland.
If anything, what drew Grimm's interest the most among everything he'd learned was the information about the Dragonias—and above all, the corpse itself.
Grimm knew how much magical power Rei possessed and how powerful his spells were.
Given that the Dragonias had endured Rei's magic, expecting Grimm not to be intrigued by the red-scaled creatures would have been unreasonable.
Calling it absolute defense against fire and heat might have been an exaggeration, but there was no doubt they possessed extremely strong defensive power and durability.
Grimm had also wanted corpses of Dragonias with other colored scales, but when Rei told him those had been completely burned away by his magic, Grimm's disappointment was palpable.
At any rate, Grimm had a strong interest in the Dragonias, and was probably now focused entirely on researching them.
For that reason, Rei was currently heading toward the campsite.
Today, during the daytime, Rei had suddenly dashed out of the campsite with Set.
Naturally, those who had witnessed it would be wondering what on earth Rei had done, and Rei couldn't very well avoid explaining what had happened regarding the abnormality.
Above all, he also needed to explain why Anastasia and Fana hadn't returned even though night had fallen.
"Grrr?"
Set, running through the Treant Forest, suddenly purred.
Rei wondered what the sound meant, but eventually he understood.
There were several presences in the surroundings.
More accurately, Rei and Set had charged right into an area where multiple presences already existed.
The fact that Set wasn't on guard even in that situation was likely because those presences were familiar ones.
Rei, too, noticed the owners of those presences, albeit slightly later than Set.
(It can't be helped.)
The owners of those presences were the adventurers tasked with guarding the Birth Tower.
Today, during the daytime, Rei had suddenly sensed the abnormality, left with Set, and hadn't returned for hours.
Under those circumstances, it was only natural for them to think something had happened to Rei and his group.
And if something had happened, staying on alert against their surroundings was the obvious course of action.
"Hey, it's me! Set is here too!"
When Rei called out, the tension he had sensed from the surrounding presences rapidly dissipated.
They couldn't completely rule out the possibility that someone was mimicking Rei's voice... but even so, they must have recognized it as his.
Or perhaps they simply had confidence that they could handle the situation themselves, even if it wasn't Rei.
The adventurers guarding the Birth Tower were excellent, trusted by the Guild.
They surely knew that fighting Rei himself would not end well, but they might have figured that if it was someone merely impersonating him, they could manage.
At any rate, the adventurers who heard Rei's words revealed themselves.
Then, even by moonlight, they clearly confirmed Rei's identity—or rather, before that, the mere sight of Set was enough to recognize that the one calling out was Rei.
Pretending to be Rei wouldn't be that difficult.
But preparing a gryphon to substitute for Set, who was always at Rei's side? That would be exceedingly difficult.
"Rei, you're late. It's been quite a while since you dashed out. What happened?"
"What about Anastasia? It seems Fana isn't here either."
The adventurer infatuated with Anastasia asked, but Rei was at a loss for how to answer.
The Underground Space... and the Wisp as well were known only to a truly limited number of people.
Given that, there was no way he could tell them that a hole leading to another world had opened in the Underground Space, and that Grimm was keeping it stabilized.
"Sorry, but I can't talk about that. I don't have Lord Daskar's permission either."
Given the current situation, that was about all Rei could say.
For Daskar, this matter involving the Wisp was extremely important.
It was not something Rei could carelessly speak about here.
At Rei's words, the adventurer worried about Anastasia's whereabouts fell silent.
He had things he wanted to say, but when Daskar's name was invoked, he had no choice but to close his mouth.
If it had been some ordinary adventurer, they probably wouldn't have held back and would have said all sorts of things. But being someone recommended by the Guild, he had no choice but to accept it.
Rei headed toward the campsite along with the adventurers who had been nearby.
Among those scattered around the perimeter were Lizardmen as well, and Rei's eyes were drawn to them.
(Yeah, they're completely different from Dragonias after all.)
Judging by appearance alone, Dragonias could seem somewhat similar to Lizardmen, but looking at a Lizardman up close like this made the differences obvious.
However, if asked whether they more closely resembled humans or Lizardmen, the majority would probably answer Lizardmen, perhaps because of the scales.
'Lord Rei, is something the matter?'
Seeing Rei looking at the Lizardmen who were his allies, Zozo asked.
By moonlight, reading the text on the Stone Tablet wasn't particularly difficult.
"No, it's nothing. Just... when we get back to the campsite, I'd like to talk to you for a bit, Zozo. Actually, would it be better to have Gaga there too? At any rate, there's something I want to ask the Lizardmen."
'Ah, I have no objection to that.'
From Zozo's perspective, he was prepared to answer whatever Rei asked.
Even if it were something like royal secrets—though given Zozo's standing, there was hardly anything that could truly be called a royal secret that he had been able to learn.
"Thanks."
Answering briefly, Rei headed toward the campsite.
(The possibility that that world is actually the same as Zozo and the others' world... I wonder. Considering the language issue, I think that's unlikely.)
Dragonias and Lizardmen.
They were similar, but there were also considerable differences.
Taking those circumstances into account, it was only natural to conclude they were from different worlds.
And yet... the name Dragonias alone was enough to keep him wondering about some connection to Lizardmen.
While turning such thoughts over in his mind, Rei and the others eventually arrived at the campsite.
At the campsite, there were adventurers and Lizardmen who had not gone out on patrol, as well as the knight who served as the person in charge.
Rei exchanged light greetings with them, but naturally, many of them wanted to ask where Rei had been and what he had been doing, and approached him.
"I told the adventurers in the Treant Forest, but I can't explain the detailed circumstances without Lord Daskar's permission. However..."
Rei paused, then retrieved a Dragonias corpse from his Misty Ring.
The corpse, its neck severed by Death Scythe, generated a powerful smell of blood in the surrounding air.
Woof!
As if catching the scent of that blood, the Water Wolf appeared.
...From that cry, Rei couldn't help but think it sounded more like a dog than a wolf.
"Water Wolf, you've been energetic too? Well, we weren't apart for that long, though."
Woof!
In response to Rei's words, the Water Wolf let out an energetic cry despite the nighttime hour.
...Or perhaps it was energetic precisely because it was night.
The Water Wolf, despite having no Magic Stone, was a monster that could be called the Lake Master—at least in Rei and the others' perception.
Naturally, such a Water Wolf... the very same one that had understood this world's language in the short time since the lake's teleportation, was undoubtedly a monster.
It moved around normally during the day, so it wouldn't be strange for it to become even more energetic at night.
There was also the question of when it ever slept.
"H-Hey. Rei. What on earth is this monster?"
As Rei was gazing at the Water Wolf, one of the adventurers spoke up.
That said, while there was surprise in his voice, it wasn't particularly strong.
This was, after all, Gilm on the frontier.
Unknown monsters alone were something that could exist in any number without being unusual.
If anything, it wouldn't be strange at all to discover new species of unknown animals, plants, insects, birds, or monsters at any given time.
"I can't go into detail, but it's the corpse of a monster I defeated during this incident. What do you think?"
"What do I think, you ask... hmm?"
The adventurer who had spoken to Rei looked around at his companions with a bewildered expression.
He could tell it was a new species, but he sensed something beyond that from the monster before him.
(Well, he's not wrong about that.)
As Zai had called himself the champion of the grassland, Centaurs were by no means weak.
But Dragonias were powerful enemies that it took several Centaurs fighting together to finally bring down.
If Dragonias appeared in this world, Rei could easily imagine the kind of uproar it would cause.
"For now, just keep in mind that it's a powerful monster. So, Zozo. Did monsters like this exist in your world?"
At Rei's words, several adventurers faintly... inwardly flinched, so that those around them wouldn't notice.
This was clearly a careless remark on Rei's part.
If the people around had been ordinary adventurers, there was a high possibility they would have listened without understanding the meaning of Rei's words. Unfortunately, those gathered here were all adventurers recognized as competent by the Guild.
...The fact that only those deemed trustworthy had been gathered might have been a stroke of fortune amid misfortune.
Asking Zozo, who had come from another world, whether it was a monster he knew.
Moreover, it had similarities to Lizardmen in that it possessed scales.
They probably couldn't grasp that it had a body with a lizard-like lower half, but at any rate, the monster before them did have something resembling a Lizardman.
It was only natural for someone to find Rei's behavior questionable.
However...
'No, it is a monster I am seeing for the first time.'
Though Rei had half expected this, Zozo confirmed it.
Since they had been able to communicate in that other world, Rei had predicted that it was probably a different world from the one Zozo and the others came from.
But since communication had been impossible with the Dragonias, he had asked with the faint hope that maybe—just maybe—it might be the same world. Unfortunately, that hope ended in failure.
"I see. Understood. Then that settles this matter."
Rei stored the Dragonias corpse back into his Misty Ring, then turned his gaze to the knight to do what he needed to do next.
"I need to contact Lord Daskar about this incident. Today won't work, so I'm planning to head to Gilm first thing tomorrow morning. If you have any reports to send, please have them ready by then."
"Understood. That won't be a problem."
"Also, most likely, I won't be able to come back for about ten days starting tomorrow. Actually, to be safe, assume I won't return for about fifteen days."
A stir ran through the crowd.
The adventurers, who until now had been listening to Rei and the knight's conversation without any particular agitation, began to murmur.
It was only natural. The Expansion Construction currently underway in Gilm relied heavily on Rei as a vital asset.
Under those circumstances, something arising that would keep Rei away for fifteen days was a significant problem.
"What will you be doing?"
"Sorry, but I can't say that either. Of course, I'll tell Lord Daskar, so don't worry."
Rei answered the knight's question.
The knight still seemed to have various concerns, but upon hearing that Rei would explain the circumstances to Daskar, he reluctantly accepted.
The others didn't seem willing to accept it so easily, though.