"Oh, somehow it feels like it's been a very long time since I last came back."
Standing in front of Marina's house in the Noble District, Rei murmured reflectively.
It was a house that somehow evoked a certain sense of nostalgia.
Finding himself feeling so deeply about Marina's house as he looked at it was, even to Rei, slightly unexpected.
That said, the unexpectedness wasn't particularly unpleasant.
"You're right. One way or another, we spent quite a long time in the other world. More importantly, it's fine to feel nostalgic, but we should go inside soon. There are some people watching, you know?"
Vihera's gaze as she said that was directed at several adventurers walking along the road.
They were the guards hired to protect the mansions of the nobles in this Noble District and to keep suspicious individuals from entering the grounds.
Their numbers had visibly increased since the Expansion Construction began.
Some had wandered in by accident due to the construction, while others entered the Noble District harboring questionable intentions.
For those reasons, the number of adventurers employed by the nobles of the Noble District had clearly increased compared to before.
...However, adventurers hired in the Noble District were evaluated not only on skill but also on trustworthiness.
In that sense, they were fundamentally adventurers recommended by the Guild, and such people naturally knew about Rei and his group.
In fact, the gazes of the adventurers watching Rei's group standing in front of Marina's house, located toward the edge of the Noble District, carried less of the wariness one would direct at a suspicious person and more of the curiosity of wondering what they were doing, or the warm gaze of watching something endearing.
Their attitude stemmed from understanding that Rei, Vihera, and Set were staying at Marina's house.
"...Shall we go in?"
Noticing the adventurers' gazes thanks to Vihera's words, Rei muttered that with a hint of concealed embarrassment.
Vihera had no objection to Rei's words either, and together with Set, she entered the grounds of Marina's house.
Compared to the other large mansions built in the Noble District, Marina's house was quite small.
But even so, the fact that it was built in the Noble District meant it was clearly larger than a typical standalone house in the city.
And above all, what set Marina's house apart from the other noble mansions was that it was protected by Marina's Spirit Magic.
Those with malicious intent could not enter the mansion's grounds, and should someone try to force their way in under such circumstances, they would be attacked by spirits.
In that sense, what other nobles accomplished by hiring adventurers, Marina accomplished through her own Spirit Magic.
This alone was enough to understand just how highly skilled Marina was as a Spirit Mage.
In fact, Rei had seen Anastasia — herself a fellow Spirit Mage — surprised upon visiting Marina's house.
The fact that Anastasia and Fana chose to stay at the Wheat Inn at Dusk rather than Marina's house this time was likely related to that.
Rei, Vihera, and Set proceeded through the grounds of Marina's house.
Their destination was not inside the house... but the courtyard.
It was the place where Set always played with Ielo, Elena's familiar.
Normally, no one would be outside in midsummer, but here too, Marina's Spirit Magic kept the temperature within the grounds comfortable.
In Rei's case, since he wore the Dragon Robe, he didn't benefit from it.
"Oh, Rei. Vihera and Set too. ...I'm glad to see you all returned safely."
Elena set down the teacup she had been drinking from onto the table that had been brought into the courtyard. Pushing up her drill-curl hair, she smiled as she spoke.
There was no doubt she was happy that Rei's group had returned, but at the same time, she seemed confident that they would come back safely.
"Yeah, for the time being, things somehow wrapped up. ...Though a new problem came up."
"Ho, interesting. Let me hear more about it. ...Ara, tea for Rei and Vihera as well. And something for Set to eat... no, serving Set a meal can wait."
Watching Ielo fly through the air and approach Set... and seeing Set look happy to see Ielo in return.
Seeing the two of them like that, anyone present could easily imagine that if some dish were served to Set now, he would abandon it and start playing with Ielo. Elena — no, anyone here — could have readily predicted that.
"Sorry, but go ahead and do that. Set's probably happy to see Ielo again after so long, too."
"Those two get along well despite being different species, don't they."
Looking at the two already running around the courtyard together — though Ielo was flying — Vihera murmured reflectively.
Thinking about it normally, there was a gryphon exceeding three meters in length and, though still a child, a Black Dragon present.
If someone with no prior information saw this sight, they would without a doubt be confused... and depending on the person, might feel not just fear but despair.
However, Rei and his group, who knew Set and Ielo's personalities, paid it no particular mind even when seeing such a sight... or rather, they felt as though they were watching something endearing.
Harboring such feelings, they sat in chairs Ara had brought out from inside the house, and tea was promptly served.
"So? What request did Lord Daskar give you next?"
"Fairies."
Under normal circumstances, Elena was a companion to Rei, but she wouldn't be someone he should talk to about the fairies.
Daskar had given him permission to tell those who absolutely needed to know, but Elena was simultaneously Rei's companion and a person dispatched by the Noble's Faction.
Considering those circumstances, perhaps it would be better not to mention the fairy matter after all... But to Rei, Elena was someone he could trust from the bottom of his heart.
Even if information leaked because he told Elena, he wouldn't regret it.
That was how much he trusted Elena.
This was the same not only for Elena but also for Marina, Vihera, and the others.
"Fairies? ...Did something happen with fairies?"
"Yeah, when we came back from the other world to this one and exited the Underground Space to the surface, there was a fairy right in front of us. Of course, the fairy spotted us and immediately ran away. ...Looking back on it now, I wish we had somehow caught it back then."
If they had captured the fairy at that time, they could have asked why they came to the Treant Forest, and whether it was indeed fairies who were pulling pranks in the Treant Forest. ...Aside from that, there was no doubt they could have learned many things.
The reason they failed to do so was because the fairy's appearance was so utterly unexpected.
That a fairy would be right there the instant they stepped out onto the surface was something Rei hadn't imagined at all.
That was why he stood stunned the moment he saw the fairy... and in that opening, the fairy escaped.
That said, even if it had been someone other than Rei, whether they could have caught the fairy — whether there was anyone who could confidently say they would have been fine — was uncertain.
"Fairies, huh. I've never directly seen a fairy either. ...I'll ask just in case, but is there a possibility you mistook what you saw?"
"No. For one thing, it wasn't just me — Vihera, Anastasia, and Fana saw the fairy too."
"...I see."
"Besides, apparently all sorts of pranks have been happening in the Treant Forest recently. And not just pranks that could be called simple mischief — there have been fatal ones, too."
For an adventurer, having the contents of the scabbard holding their longsword swapped was fatal.
If, when drawing their longsword upon encountering a monster, that longsword turned out to belong to someone else, the confusion felt would be lethal.
At the very least, if an enemy Rei was fighting showed that kind of confusion and exposed an opening, he was confident he could slay them in an instant with Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear.
Moreover, the fairies' pranks included many other fatal ones.
This was not because the fairies held malice toward the targets of their pranks; rather, their fundamental way of perceiving things was simply different.
...Otherwise, they wouldn't have committed the tasteless pranks that Rei had witnessed on the Seremuse Plain.
"So? What will you do now that you've found fairies?"
"For now, the request from Lord Daskar is to confirm how many fairies are currently in the Treant Forest, and also things like how long they intend to stay there."
The presence of fairies was a major positive factor, but simultaneously a negative one.
Given the whimsical nature of fairies, which way things would go was largely a matter of luck.
"That does sound... quite difficult. I've only heard of them in rumors and fairy tales, but they say fairies are extremely hard to find, you know?"
"Probably. I've heard something like that myself. Plus, fairies are surprisingly strong in a straight fight, too."
Of course, a fairy's size was, at most, about that of a palm.
Given an opponent like that, if it came to straightforward physical combat, fairies were quite weak. ...Of course, there were those like Rei who were small but possessed superhuman physical ability, so being small did not necessarily equate to being weak.
Even so, as far as Rei knew — from information recorded in the Monster Encyclopedia — though whether classifying fairies as monsters was even accurate was debatable — as well as from fairy tales, stories told by those who claimed to have met fairies before — whether those were lies or truth was unknown — and other traditions besides, there was no doubt that fairies were strong.
That said, their strength was not physical but came from using magic, Skills, and Special Abilities.
Moreover, given a fairy's size, landing a hit on one during a fight would be quite difficult.
And the place where fairies were currently appearing was inside the Treant Forest, where the trees growing there would serve as powerful barriers for them.
"Still... hmm. Fairies, you say."
"Lady Elena? There are people who have requested audiences for tomorrow, you know?"
Having acted alongside Elena for many years, Ara predicted what Elena was thinking the moment she heard those words and spoke accordingly.
That said, as someone who knew how Elena felt about Rei, Ara also felt somewhat guilty about depriving her of an opportunity to spend time with him.
"I know that. But the audiences were not mandatory — they were conditional on availability, were they not?"
Elena, who bore the alias of Princess General and also held the position of daughter of Duke Kerebel's House, which led the Noble's Faction, naturally had many who wished to become acquainted with her.
That was why hopeful visitors came almost every day.
...But since she couldn't meet with all of them, the ones she did meet with were naturally chosen on Elena's side.
In that sense, if Elena absolutely didn't want to, there was no need to hold an audience.
That said, as someone who had come to Gilm as a member of the Noble's Faction, it was naturally better for her to become acquainted with as many nobles and merchants as possible.
"That's true, but... very well. But your day off is only tomorrow, all right? Starting the day after tomorrow, I expect you to work properly."
Understanding that pushing further would definitely not change Elena's mind, Ara relented.
For Ara as well, having more time for Rei and Elena to be together was undeniably welcome.
It was likely because of those feelings that Ara decided to back down.
"Then tomorrow, with Elena... What about you, Ara?"
"Since Lady Elena is going, I will naturally accompany you. Besides... I do have my own desire to see fairies."
Ara had been trying to stop Elena, but Ara herself also genuinely wanted to see a fairy with her own eyes if the opportunity arose.
Setting aside the matter with Elena, it was clear that Ara also held a strong interest in fairies.
"Got it."
Even with Ara saying she would come along, Rei had no particular intention to object.
If it were a complete stranger, that would be one thing, but Ara was without a doubt someone Rei could trust.
...The first meeting between Rei and Ara had been the kind where, upon seeing Rei and Elena lock eyes and sense something between them, Ara judged that Rei was trying to do something to Elena and attacked him.
That the two of them, who had that sort of first encounter, now trusted each other completely... Rei found that somehow amusing.