A considerable number of fairies were in the Treant Forest.
Hearing this, Daskar let out a heavy sigh.
The fairy that Rei and his party had seen was supposed to be just one.
But if Rei was saying there were many, Daskar had no choice but to believe him.
Rei was a skilled adventurer who had actually encountered a fairy on the Seremuse Plain before. It would not be strange for his words to carry strong credibility. No, rather, as an adventurer, it was only natural.
"Many, huh? How many do you think are there, specifically?"
"If things went badly, it wouldn't be surprising if they'd built a settlement. If this were an ordinary forest, I wouldn't go that far, but given that it's the Treant Forest, it wouldn't be strange for something like that to have happened."
"...I see."
After a few seconds of silence, Daskar managed to reply with just that.
Indeed, the Treant Forest had currently become a special place in many ways. Originally, the area where the Treant Forest now stood had been grassland, yet it had become a forest in a short time. And now Lizardmen and Green People had teleported from another world, and even a lake had teleported in. On top of that, it was connected to the world where the Centaurs and Dragonias were... Most of that had been caused by the Wisp in the Underground Space, but regardless, there was no doubt that the Treant Forest was a special place in many ways.
If so, it would not be particularly strange for fairies to be drawn to that uniqueness and build a settlement there. No, rather, Rei could even accept that himself.
...Or perhaps it should be called logic that wasn't quite logic. There was no basis for it other than Rei's intuition, but somehow he felt as though his own words were correct.
Above all...
"This is the frontier, after all. It wouldn't be strange no matter what happened."
When Rei said that, Daskar had no choice but to agree. The frontier was the frontier precisely because unexpected events occurred there.
That said, upon hearing of a fairy settlement, Daskar pressed a hand to his head. Between Gilm's Expansion Construction, the entities teleporting into the Treant Forest one after another, and now the possibility of a fairy settlement on top of all that, if anyone other than Daskar were in his position, it wouldn't be strange for them to have developed stomach ulcers from stress. It was precisely because Daskar was tough in many ways that he could still be here now.
(If nothing else, at least the situation with Anastasia and the others was resolved, I suppose.)
Daskar thought this with deep feeling. When it came down to it, the thing that had dealt the most damage to Daskar's stomach was the fact that Anastasia and Fana had gone to another world. Now that it was resolved, even if a being like a fairy had appeared... or so he thought, but he immediately denied that notion. The existence of fairies would damage Daskar's stomach in an entirely different way than the incident with Anastasia and the others.
"Anyway, about the fairies. Let me ask you directly—what do you think the fairies that appeared in the Treant Forest are after?"
"No, even if you ask me that... I hardly know anything about fairies myself."
Asked by Daskar, Rei could only reply thus. To begin with, the reason Rei knew about fairies at all was because he had met one on the Seremuse Plain before. It wasn't as though he had talked with it at length or traveled together; he had simply fallen victim to a fairy's tasteless prank alongside Theorem and Elk. It was resolved by the chief of the fairy who had set up the prank... or rather, it was more accurate to say it had been left vaguely unresolved.
"I have about as much knowledge as what's written in the Monster Encyclopedia and the like, but there wasn't very detailed information there either."
Fairies were beings that played pranks, but for a person to actually see one... as could be understood from what happened in the Treant Forest, it wasn't absolutely impossible, but the probability was still extremely low. That was precisely why Daskar was asking Rei about fairies.
"Even so, it's also a fact that among those here, you're the only one who has actually seen a fairy, Rei."
Daskar's words were also true. If it was about being on the Seremuse Plain where the fairy's prank occurred, both Daskar and Vihera had been there as well.
"Hmm... the first thing that comes to mind is that while fairies have quite high abilities, their personality and such were childlike. Compared to that, the chief seemed to have solid... human-like common sense. Though that's only compared to a typical fairy."
Recalling the events on the Seremuse Plain, Rei conveyed this. Since the time he had actually met the chief was short, that was about all he could think of immediately.
"Oh, but... since it called itself a chief, it's certain that fairies live in groups of a certain size. Thinking about it that way, I feel like the idea of them building a settlement in the Treant Forest isn't so far off."
"A settlement after all... If a fairy's abilities are strong, could they handle the monsters in the Treant Forest without issue?"
"Hmm... I wonder. If the Treant Forest were anywhere other than the frontier, I could nod immediately, but..."
Monsters that appeared in places other than the frontier were generally weak. Of course, that wasn't absolute, and sometimes High-Rank Monsters would appear. By comparison, in the frontier, there was a possibility of High-Rank Monsters appearing anywhere. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Rei had not yet experienced it, but he had heard from Marina before that there had been a case where an A-Rank Monster suddenly came close to Gilm. That was why Rei could not carelessly answer Daskar's question.
Low-Rank Monsters around there... or perhaps C-Rank Monsters, then given the abilities of the fairy Rei had seen, they could probably manage somehow. And if it was a fairy chief, they might be able to handle B-Rank... or possibly even A-Rank Monsters. Since Rei didn't know exactly how powerful the fairy chief was, this was merely speculation on his part.
"I see. But no monsters that powerful have appeared in the Treant Forest so far, have they?"
"That's true... However, something might come out of the teleported lake, or there might be monsters like that."
The lake's monsters were just as troublesome to Rei as the Dragonias. After all, since they didn't have Magic Stones, they weren't rewarding opponents for him. ...Even so, their meat was edible, and the materials had unquestionable uses for Magic Items, weapons, armor, and various other things.
Regardless, the most troublesome thing was that it was unclear what kind of monsters were currently in the lake. Rei understood that the Slime he had set ablaze—and that was likely still burning—was a powerful monster, but what other monsters were there? If among the monsters that even Rei didn't know about, there was one that considered fairies prey, it was certain to lead to all sorts of trouble.
Rei couldn't imagine that fairies would hold back against a monster trying to eat them alive. And if a large number of fairies used magic however they pleased in a fight... it could very well cause damage not only to the Treant Forest but also to the area around the Birth Tower, which the Lizardmen were currently using as a base.
"I'd like to warn the fairies about that if possible, but... that seems difficult."
"Unless we know specifically where the fairies are, there's nothing we can do. But... is there no one else?"
Daskar's gaze turned toward Rei. Rei, of course, understood what Daskar's gaze meant. And he also understood that he couldn't refuse this matter.
After all, those who could enter the Treant Forest were currently limited. Moreover, now that the existence of fairies had come to light, Daskar would need to restrict entry to the Treant Forest even more strictly than before. Under such circumstances, when it came to who would contact the fairies... no, before that, who would find the fairies, Rei was naturally the top candidate.
Since he traveled with Set, being able to use Set's five senses was a major advantage. Above all, Daskar held the expectation that since Rei had contact with fairies twice before, he might be able to make contact again. The latter was entirely a matter of luck, but for Daskar, it likely showed just how much importance he placed on the existence of fairies.
"I'd like to bring Marina along if possible, but... would that be difficult?"
"That's right. It would be quite difficult. Recovery using Marina's Spirit Magic has become a great ray of hope for those who are injured."
Daskar's expression as he said this was slightly complicated. Probably because he had known her since she was young, and she even knew things that could be called Daskar's dark history. But he hadn't rejected Rei's words out of such feelings; it was simply that her healing ability through Spirit Magic was exceptionally high.
Currently, a great many people had gathered in Gilm seeking work. That many people were working in the height of summer. Making mistakes during work due to the heat and getting injured, becoming irritable from the heat and getting into fights... some even suffered heatstroke.
In this world, heatstroke was not a known condition. Even so, perhaps people instinctively understood that it was dangerous to move around without hydrating in the heat, so most people did stay hydrated. But with such a large number of people working, heatstroke cases were bound to occur.
For such people, if it were anyone other than Marina or those performing treatment or pharmacists, the only thing they could do was have them rest. But with Marina's Spirit Magic, while not immediate, they could return to duty in a little over ten minutes. For the injured, while it would normally take time to heal, with treatment using Spirit Magic, many could return to the field quickly.
Because of that, Daskar's judgment was that he couldn't remove Marina, who used Spirit Magic, from the Treatment Center. And when Daskar explained it, Rei had no choice but to accept his words.
"Is that so. I thought it would be easier to find the fairies if Marina, who uses Spirit Magic, were there, though."
"...If you absolutely cannot find them, I'll consider it, but for now, please try searching on your own first, Rei."
Daskar would prefer Marina to focus on recovery at the Treatment Center if possible. But at the same time, it was also necessary to definitely find the fairies that had appeared in the Treant Forest. If he was told that Marina was needed to find the fairies, then the option of having her go there was also necessary, wasn't it? Troubled by this, he must have decided to leave it to Rei for the time being.
"Hmm... I see. Understood. But in that case, I think I can handle transporting the felled trees, but I won't be able to get involved in matters within the city, alright?"
"I don't mind. Just having you transport the wood felled in the Treant Forest is a huge help for us. That's the place that needs the most manpower, but we couldn't carelessly send people there."
For Daskar, Rei was stepping into the most difficult place right now and solving that problem. On top of that, asking him to search for fairies as well, there was nothing he could do but be grateful to Rei.
"Understood. Then let's go with that. Also, about the gemstones... can I really take all of the remaining ones? I barely used any in the other world."
"Of course. I told you that beforehand, didn't I? Thanks to you, we were able to save Anastasia. I'll prepare the Flame Ore as quickly as possible as well."
"Thank you very much. ...Oh, and regarding the other world... it might become possible to travel between that world and this one with a certain degree of freedom."
"...What? Is that true?"
Perhaps because Rei's words were unexpected, Daskar muttered with surprise. From Daskar's perspective, the connection to the other world could be severed at any time without it being strange. Because of that, Rei's words must have been unexpected.
...Anastasia also directed her gaze toward Rei, but Rei ignored it.
"That's only a 'perhaps.' It's more like my master might be able to do something about it... maybe."
At those words, Daskar nodded deeply.