Rei's party made their way through the Treant Forest.
Still, there was no sign of any fairies.
The branches overhead blocked out much of the sunlight, making it impossible to tell the sun's position. Even so, judging by his hunger, Rei figured it was getting close to noon.
"I'm getting hungry. How about we have lunch? Even if we keep walking through the Treant Forest like this, a fairy isn't just going to stroll out in front of us."
"Hmm. I agree with Rei. What about you, Ara?"
"As you say, Lady Elena. I am a little hungry myself."
Neither Elena nor Ara had any objections. They moved a short distance ahead to a spot where the trees thinned out and settled down for lunch.
"So, what are we having?"
"That depends on what Elena wants. Is there anything you're craving?"
"In that case, yaki udon."
"That's unusual."
Since Elena lived at Marina's house and frequently ate meals with Rei and the others, she naturally knew about yaki udon. Even so, the sight of someone like Elena—a woman who could only be described as a luxurious beauty—eating yaki udon, a commoner's dish, still felt oddly out of place to Rei.
That said, Elena lived a normal life and ate all kinds of food.
The meals at Marina's house weren't limited to lavish, noble-style cuisine. Many of the dishes Rei brought back or Marina prepared were simple, everyday fare.
...After all, Elena was the daughter of Duke Kerebel's House, but she was also the Princess General who rode across battlefields. The food served on the battlefield was certainly not what nobles were accustomed to.
True, there were nobles in the Noble Faction who brought their own cooks to the front lines, demanding meals suited to their station. But Elena would never do such a thing.
"So, why yaki udon all of a sudden? I mean, I'm not complaining—it's delicious."
As he spoke, Rei pulled servings of yaki udon from his Misty Ring—enough for everyone, with five portions for Set—and handed them out along with forks.
This was the same yaki udon Rei had tried before and found exquisite. Even the preparation required considerable effort.
First, the udon was boiled thoroughly, rinsed with water, then grilled on an iron plate. This evaporated the excess moisture while adding char marks, making it easier for the sauce to coat the noodles. That was the secret behind this yaki udon.
Additional steps included steaming the grilled noodles with alcohol when separating them, and applying sauce to the noodles alone—rather than the meat or vegetables—before stir-frying everything together. These meticulous details had a profound impact on the finished dish, resulting in a yaki udon whose flavor was second to none.
"The defining feature of yaki udon is this appetite-stimulating aroma, isn't it?"
"Well, that's true."
The scent of sauce caramelizing on the iron plate stimulated the appetite like nothing else. In reality, it wasn't quite the same sauce used for yaki udon in Japan—or, more specifically, for yakisoba—so the smell differed slightly from the familiar scent of summer festivals and shrine fairs in Rei's memory. Even so, there was no denying it was an aroma that stirred the appetite.
Also, while Rei was a soy sauce man when it came to yaki udon, if not yakisoba, there was undoubtedly a slight sense of incongruity with this version. That much was certain. Yet it was equally undeniable that it was thoroughly delicious.
"This aroma stimulates the appetite. If that's the case, then not only animals and monsters, but... if we're lucky, a fairy might grow curious and come closer."
"I see. But do fairies even eat? I mean, I suppose it wouldn't be strange for a living creature to eat something, but..."
Rei couldn't picture the fairies he knew eating anything.
If someone told him they ate berries, he could believe it. If someone said they drank morning dew, he could accept that too. But that was merely his preconceived image. When he thought back to the fairies he had encountered on the Seremuse Plain, there were aspects he simply couldn't reconcile with that notion.
That was why, even when told a fairy might be drawn in by the scent of yaki udon, Rei couldn't rule it out.
Besides, with the yaki udon already laid out in front of them, its appetite-stimulating aroma wafting through the air, Rei couldn't endure his own hunger any longer.
"Anyway, let's eat. If I were too hungry to handle a fairy's prank, that would be no laughing matter."
With that, Rei twirled the yaki udon around his fork like pasta and brought it to his mouth.
The chewy texture of the udon, the fragrant char from the grill. The crisp bite of the leafy vegetables, the robust flavor of the meat. Without a doubt, this was top-tier yaki udon, with no room for complaint.
It'd be even better with bonito flakes and aonori... But there's no point thinking about that here. If we go to the sea, there might be something similar, even if not bonito flakes themselves.
If Rei had known how to make bonito flakes, he could have spread the knowledge. Unfortunately, he had no idea how they were made. Back in Japan, he'd seen them being boiled—or maybe steamed—on TV, but that was the extent of it.
Was it just a matter of boiling them and drying them in a well-ventilated spot? He thought so, but he couldn't possibly believe it was that simple. They would probably just rot. That was why Rei understood there was nothing he could do about it in his current situation.
Oh, but I did see something about yakibushi somewhere. If it's called yakibushi, does that mean you just grill it? No, I feel like that would just make it grilled fish...
Pondering these questions, Rei continued eating his yaki udon.
The fragrant aroma drifted through the surrounding air. Savoring the flavors of the noodles, meat, and vegetables, Rei kept watch on his surroundings. Was there a fairy somewhere in the Treant Forest, drawn closer by the scent of the yaki udon? That was the thought behind his vigilance.
"See any?"
"Nothing," Rei replied to Ara's question, his disappointment evident.
"Grr..."
Set purred as if in agreement. It wasn't just Rei—Set had also been scanning for any sign of a fairy while eating his yaki udon, but he seemed to have come up empty as well.
"Fairies have abundant curiosity, just like Anastasia. If an unfamiliar—and appetite-stimulating—scent is drifting through the air, it wouldn't be strange for one to come investigate."
How do you make aonori again? Rei muttered to himself. If Anastasia had been present, one could only wonder what she would have thought. Anastasia was well aware that she possessed strong curiosity—no, that she was driven by it. Even so, she would have insisted that her curiosity was not the same as a fairy's, and she wouldn't have been wrong to make that claim.
"I thought a fairy might come, but... if it won't, let's finish eating quickly and get back to searching."
Normally they would take a post-meal rest, but with no concrete leads on the fairy search, it would just mean riding Set through the Treant Forest. Since they'd only be looking around from atop Set's back without doing anything in particular, Elena must have judged a rest unnecessary.
In fact, Rei had no objections. The fairy search was urgent, but there was nothing they specifically needed to rush through, so skipping a proper rest wouldn't be a problem.
"That said, that was a bit of a miss. Just like Elena first thought, I was sure the fairy would be drawn to the smell of yaki udon."
"Indeed. I won't deny that either. That's exactly why I suggested it."
The aroma of yaki udon was extremely appealing to Elena as well. At the very least, it was far more enticing than the dishes typically served at the inter-noble parties she so disliked.
"...It seems no fairy came, but wolves did. Not monsters like the Daar Wolf, but ordinary wolves."
Rei muttered with disappointment, judging from the approaching presence and, above all, the figures visible between the trees.
"Ordinary wolves are approaching even with Set here?"
Elena was surprised, but Rei felt the same way. Normally, ordinary animals or monsters would never voluntarily approach a creature of Set's overwhelming caliber. On the contrary, the moment they sensed Set's presence, they would bolt. There were exceptions—Goblins couldn't gauge an opponent's rank—but as far as Rei knew, wolves, whether animals or monsters, always fled.
There had been the incident with the Daar Wolf, which had hidden itself and then attacked in a rage when Rei struck its hiding spot. But this was different.
The Daar Wolf, huh. Could these wolves be related to it somehow? And since the Daar Wolf died, maybe they're trying to attack us for revenge?
He entertained the thought briefly, but one look at the approaching wolves told him that any connection to the Daar Wolf was out of the question. The pack moving toward them looked emaciated even from a distance—a group of wolves that could only be described as skin and bones.
In such a starved state, having caught the appetite-stimulating scent of yaki udon, it wouldn't be strange for them to attack driven by hunger, much like the Dragonias Rei had fought in the other world.
Well, I can't rule out the possibility that the Daar Wolf hoarded all the food and gave nothing to its underlings. But still...
Regardless, the pack was closing in, and there was no mistaking their intent to attack.
"What should we do?"
Seeing the emaciated wolves, Elena asked Rei with a hint of uncertainty. If an enemy attacked, she would fight as a warrior—Ara was no different. But the problem was that these wolves were so weakened and starved they might die on their own before long, even if no one lifted a hand against them.
Killing wolves that were attacking in such a state didn't sit well with Rei. He understood full well from battling the Dragonias that hunger-driven opponents could be troublesome. Even knowing that, he couldn't see these skeletal wolves as any real threat.
If they were monsters like the Daar Wolf, he might have fought them for their Magic Stones and materials. But they were just ordinary wolves—emaciated ones at that, whose pelts were likely worth little. Reduced to skin and bones, there was nothing to expect from them as meat either. Wolf meat wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly delicious. Monster flesh, imbued with magical power, was far superior—that much was undeniable.
"Seeing them like that makes me lose the will to kill them. Elena, would it be all right to give them some food? Once they're no longer starving, and with Set here, I don't think they'll keep attacking."
"Hmm."
Finding merit in Rei's words, Elena turned her gaze toward the pack of wolves, which was slowly closing the distance. She thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well. If they were attacking out of malice, that would be one thing, but I have no desire to kill wolves driven only by hunger. Besides, the Treant Forest is special—a new ecosystem is forming there. I'd rather not needlessly destroy it."
The Treant Forest was inherently unusual, and given the Wisp beneath it, it was only natural that the forest's ecosystem would develop in unique ways. Moreover, a lake from another world existed right beside the Treant Forest, and among its creatures, those capable of surviving on land could easily wander into the forest and make it their home.
Under such conditions, it was only natural for the Treant Forest to develop a special ecosystem.
"What about you, Ara?"
"I have no objections either. Attacking wolves in that state is a bit..."
Ara possessed Herculean Strength, and her weapon was the Power Axe, a Magic Item. What would happen if she used such a weapon on wolves that were nothing but skin and bones? That was an outcome Ara would prefer to avoid if at all possible.