The Green People, who could accelerate plant growth.
When Rei mentioned this, the fairy perched on Ara's shoulder showed clear surprise.
(Is this going to work?)
Rei felt a glimmer of hope at the fairy's reaction, though a question simultaneously nagged at him: why was the fairy showing interest in this particular situation?
If it had been an elf rather than a fairy, it would have made sense for them to take interest in the Green People's plant-growing ability, given that elves lived in nature.
But fairies and elves were vastly different.
...At least, that was the impression Rei held.
That said, it was merely his own assumption, and the possibility that elves and fairies were actually closely related beings couldn't be entirely dismissed.
"Don't you think we can find common ground? You seem interested in the Green People too."
"That's..."
At Rei's words, the fairy's expression shifted to one of having let something slip.
It probably realized it had made a mistake in allowing its thoughts to be read so easily.
...And in fact, since Rei felt that pressing on that exact point might get him somewhere, the fairy's judgment was by no means wrong.
"How about it? If things continue like this, your side could end up suffering serious damage too, you know?"
That was almost a direct threat.
Looking at Rei and his companions, the fairy understood that the threat was no exaggeration.
Fairies were undoubtedly a race skilled in magic.
But when it came to direct combat ability, they fell far short.
It wasn't that they lacked offensive power entirely, and against an ordinary opponent, they could certainly hold their own.
However, the ones currently standing before the fairy were Rei, Elena, Ara, and Set—individuals who ranked among the strong even in Gilm, a city that gathered skilled individuals, though the Expansion Construction meant that wasn't necessarily the case at the moment.
Among them, the two people and one creature other than Ara could be called the cream of the crop even among the strong.
Faced with such opponents, the fairy couldn't delude itself into thinking it could win.
If this had been somewhere more ordinary than Gilm—somewhere that wasn't a frontier—it might have been difficult for an adventurer to prevail against a fairy.
Of course, what the fairies had sought was the Treant Forest, and the Treant Forest existed precisely because it was a frontier.
Given that, the fairies' presence here was a natural consequence.
"What will it be?"
At Rei's prompting, the fairy thought for a moment... and then spoke.
"Alright. I'll go inform the Chief. After all, I can't make decisions about our people on my own."
"I see. Understood."
Though he accepted the fairy's words, a flicker of surprise crossed Rei's face.
Given the fairy's temperament, he had expected it to make decisions casually, on little more than a whim.
In fact, the fairy Rei had encountered on the Seremuse Plain, and the one they had nearly captured earlier in this very forest, were exactly the sort who wouldn't think twice about deciding their future course on a whim.
(In other words, it's not just the Chief I met on the Seremuse Plain who was special—there are genuinely smart... sensible individuals among the fairies too?)
If the fairy had known Rei well, being called "sensible" by someone like him might have stirred complicated feelings... but fortunately, this fairy had only just met Rei, and their acquaintance was by no means a long one.
"Then, I'll go check on things. Wait here for me, please."
With that, the fairy vanished in a ring of scale dust, just like the one Rei had encountered earlier.
He had seen it before, but watching it this close up, it became clear that the fairy's teleportation ability could cover considerable distances.
(Unlike the seven-colored Dragonias, there doesn't seem to be a limitation to short-range teleportation only.)
He had no definitive proof.
It was possible the fairy had teleported to a nearby branch or thicket and then flown to wherever its Chief was, but judging from its confident demeanor moments ago, that somehow seemed unlikely.
Of course, that feeling stemmed not from concrete evidence but from something closer to instinct.
"So, Rei. What do we do now? Wait here for that fairy to come back?"
At Elena's question, Rei thought for a few seconds and nodded.
"Right. If we leave, that fairy won't be able to reach us even if it does come back. The most troublesome part is that it might capriciously change its mind about negotiating just because we're not here."
Knowing the capricious nature of fairies, it wouldn't be strange at all for one to say something like "On second thought, never miiiind" the very next moment.
Naturally, Rei had his own complicated feelings about dealing with such fairies, but given the current situation, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Then shall we rest a bit? Lady Elena, Lord Rei, shall I prepare some tea?"
Told they would be resting, Ara made the suggestion.
To Ara, resting probably meant drinking tea.
That was something she could say only because of where they were right now; while operating with the Knight Order, she would never make such a remark.
...In the first place, as commander of Elena's Escort Knight Order, Ara would not normally brew tea for others while acting in her official capacity.
"Tea... maybe we should hold off, given the scent. Not that it matters now."
Coming from Rei, who had just eaten yaki udon whose charred sauce aroma still hung in the air of the Treant Forest, those words carried slightly less persuasive weight than they should have.
Tea did leave its fragrance in the surrounding air, but compared to tea, yaki udon was undeniably far more intense where smell was concerned.
"I see. Then let us skip the tea."
Ara murmured, looking disappointed.
For Ara, brewing tea for the Elena she revered wasn't so much a duty as it was something closer to a hobby.
But she must have understood that the current situation allowed no room for such indulgences.
"How about we just eat these and wait quietly?"
Saying that, Rei pulled out chilled fruits from his Misty Ring—fruits with a taste and texture similar to pears—and handed them to Elena and Ara.
To Rei, pears were an autumn fruit.
In that sense, they were out of season in the height of summer, but what he had were merely fruits similar to pears, not pears themselves.
Besides, the idea that pears were an autumn fruit was purely his own impression.
It wasn't as though eating pears outside of autumn was anything to be criticized for.
"Thank you."
"Thank you for the food."
Elena and Ara both expressed their gratitude before biting into the chilled fruits.
The juicy, refreshing texture, bursting with moisture, and the sweetness.
Chilled, those two qualities enhanced each other, and the fruit moistened the throats of Elena, Ara, and Set.
Of course, Rei was eating the same fruit as well.
"It's delicious," Ara murmured sincerely.
The others shared the exact same sentiment.
Even Rei, who had produced the fruit, felt his expression soften at how good it tasted.
Waiting for the fairy... Depending on how things went, this could turn into a major incident that would shake all of Gilm, yet Rei and his group showed no particular tension.
That was surely because they had weathered similar upheavals time and again.
"Still, fairies, huh. How long do you think we can keep this under wraps?"
"If we think about it normally, it's impossible right from the start. The moment I learned of it, it became necessary to inform my father, and once that happens, others will learn the situation, and information will naturally find its way to the King's Faction. Unfortunately."
Even among those who belonged to the Noble's Faction, there were in fact agents working for the King's Faction.
Or those who were close to King's Faction nobles.
Then again, a Noble Faction noble with nothing but pride would spill everything the moment a King's Faction noble flattered him a little.
To prevent that, Duke Kerebel would need to contain the fairy information within his own domain.
"If I ask my father, he should be able to suppress the information to some degree, but even that is only a matter of time."
"Probably so."
The matters of the Treant Forest—the Birth Tower, the lake, the Underground Space where the Wisp dwelled, and the fairies.
These were still largely unknown, but the Lizardmen situation was somewhat common knowledge.
That information had spread through drunk woodcutters and adventurers telling tall tales at taverns, or as pillow talk after spending the night with a prostitute at a brothel.
Beyond that, information gathering was being carried out in all sorts of places.
Given that, it wouldn't be long before Noble Faction nobles or the King's Faction got wind of the Birth Tower and the lake.
The Wisp in the Underground Space and the fairies were known to so few that such information wouldn't get out so easily.
"Anyway, I'd like to resolve this fairy business as quickly as possible before any strange rumors spread, but this isn't something I can settle on my own."
If they were monsters that preyed on others rather than fairies, Rei could have simply eradicated them without all this trouble.
Unfortunately, the other party was fairies—beings with intelligence, capable of communicating with Rei and his group.
Given that, it was undoubtedly better to negotiate and reach a settlement rather than carelessly destroying them.
"Besides, fairies have their own distinct culture. In that sense, they're an opponent we'd be better off dealing with through careful negotiation."
"Their own culture, huh. Well, considering the intelligence they possess, that's only natural."
The two fairies Rei had met in the Treant Forest—three, if you counted the one that fled the instant it saw his face—possessed strong egos and high intelligence.
Given that, it wouldn't be strange for them to have their own culture.
The sole difficulty was that, despite having intelligence and a distinct culture, they showed no signs of stopping their pranks.
Pranks that could sometimes even cost a life.
What's more, from what Rei had seen, fairies played pranks on anyone, completely regardless of who the other party was.
Not just those present like Rei and Elena, but even someone like Daskar.
And they pulled pranks that could potentially kill, so imagining how troublesome fairies were to deal with was not difficult.
"Anyway, I'd like this to end peacefully if possible. What do you think?"
"Ah. Found me."
What was in the direction Rei had called out toward was the fairy from earlier.
If the fairy had simply returned, there wouldn't have been any problem.
But seeing it holding some kind of plant seed in its hand, asking them not to be on guard would have been impossible.
"What is that seed? Didn't you go speak with the Chief?"
"Ahaha. Yeah, of course I went and asked. This is... just a little bit of playfulness."
"...And? What is that seed?"
Pressing the fairy, who was trying to deflect, Rei asked in the exact same tone as seconds before.
The fairy tried desperately to escape the questioning... and then, without warning, tossed the seed away to nowhere in particular.
"Ah."
It must have been an unexpected move. A surprised gasp slipped from Ara almost involuntarily.
"Hey, what exactly are you up to?"
"Ahahaha. I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyway, look—you told me to go negotiate, so take me to your Chief's place."
Clearly desperate to avoid any further questioning, the fairy shut down any talk of the seed and pressed its demand.
For Rei's part, being stonewalled like that only made him more curious about the seed.
(What kind of seed was that? She's clearly panicking, so it was definitely something troublesome.)
Should he press harder?
Rei considered it, but the fairy spoke first, as if to forestall him.
"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Nielson. Nice to meet you."
Floating a smile so lovely it could only be described as a flower in full bloom, the fairy introduced herself.