Carrying the fairy Nielson, Rei and his group walked through the Treant Forest.
For some reason, Nielson was flying circles around Rei, looking delighted.
"Why are you so happy?"
"Come on, it's a place with lots of people, right? Of course I'm excited."
"...I'm telling you, pranks are forbidden."
"Huh?"
Perhaps the phrase "pranks forbidden" was unexpected, Nielson froze midair.
The fact that she didn't drop to the ground even so suggested she had impressive control.
"You're joking... right?"
"I'm serious. And to go further, showing yourself in front of people is forbidden too."
"Hey, no matter how you look at it, that's too much!"
"Even if you say that. Listen, Nielson. You fairies are generally known as a phantom race, you know? The vast majority of people only know of you from fairy tales. In that situation, what do you think would happen if a fairy like you flew around doing as she pleased?"
With that, Rei imagined Nielson darting freely through Gilm.
...It would without a doubt become a major commotion.
On top of that, plenty of people would try to capture Nielson.
If that happened, it went without saying that Gilm's expansion construction would be the least of anyone's concerns.
"You don't want to get caught by someone and put on display, do you?"
"It's fine. If I get caught, I just escape."
Rei pressed a hand to his head at Nielson's nonchalant reply, remembering that this particular fairy had that trick up her sleeve.
Even if she were caught and locked in a birdcage or something to be put on display, she possessed teleportation ability through fairy circles — there was no way they could keep her confined.
...Unless the alchemists created something like a Magic Item birdcage capable of nullifying teleportation, that would be another story entirely.
"For now, even so. Lord Daskar... the person Nielson will be negotiating with is basically calm, but if you recklessly cause a commotion... and on top of that, bring Gilm's expansion construction to a halt, there's no telling what might happen."
Rei's words carried strong conviction.
Even from Rei's perspective, the workload Daskar shouldered was enormous.
On top of that, the various matters Rei had discovered — though it wasn't Rei's fault — had been dumped entirely on Daskar's lap.
If Rei were in Daskar's shoes, he was confident he would have gotten sick of everything and thrown in the towel from the dumped workload alone.
Daskar was burdened with an enormous amount of trouble and feeling the stress.
Because of that, if something set him off, the fallout would be catastrophic.
Knowing that, Rei didn't want to place any further burden on Daskar.
(In that sense, bringing a prank-loving fairy along here... I wonder what will happen to Lord Daskar.)
Rei felt a vaguely unpleasant premonition, but when it came to the fairy situation, he and his group couldn't just decide things on their own.
The question Daskar had tasked Rei with investigating — why the fairies were in the Treant Forest — would undoubtedly be answered once they returned to Gilm.
Of course, that was assuming Nielson negotiated honestly with Daskar.
(Normally, I wouldn't need to worry about that. But Nielson is a fairy. What kind of troublesome stunt will she pull, I wonder.)
As far as Rei knew, Nielson was a relatively reasonable specimen among fairies.
...Since the number of fairies Rei actually knew was small to begin with, "relatively" was doing a lot of work in that assessment.
That said, compared to the fairies he had encountered on the Seremuse Plain, Nielson was at least somewhat better, since she was capable of holding a conversation.
The fairies he met on the Seremuse Plain could technically converse, but... when it came to whether actual communication had been achieved, Rei couldn't honestly nod in agreement.
The Chief who came to retrieve those fairies, however, had communicated without issue.
"Make absolutely sure the others don't find you. Otherwise, it'll definitely become a problem."
Rei repeated himself, but Nielson let his words go in one ear and out the other.
(What am I supposed to do about this? At this rate, it'll definitely...)
If Nielson were spotted by the people in Gilm, it would absolutely cause trouble.
Thinking that, Rei considered how to handle the situation...
"Grr!"
Set suddenly purred toward Rei.
Rei knew it was a warning — not about a monster appearing, but that someone was approaching.
And when he registered from his surroundings that they had unknowingly wandered to the outer edge of the Treant Forest... right where the Woodcutters and Fleeing Adventurers were stationed — it wasn't hard to guess who was coming.
"Nielson!"
"Eh? Wait, what—!"
Snatching Nielson out of the air as she flew beside him, Rei shoved her into his Dragon Robe almost reflexively.
From Nielson's perspective, she had been snatched mid-flight, so it was only natural for her to let out a shriek and voice her complaints.
But given the situation, they absolutely couldn't afford to let the Adventurers or Woodcutters catch sight of Nielson, so hiding her was non-negotiable.
If so, Rei's action was the only natural course.
"Keep quiet."
Rei's instruction to the struggling Nielson inside the Dragon Robe and the appearance of several Adventurers from the other side happened almost simultaneously.
Whether the timing was good or bad, Rei couldn't tell — but managing to avoid the fairy being discovered by the Adventurers was fortunate nonetheless.
When the Fleeing Adventurers noticed Rei's group, they were startled, but unlike last time, they didn't draw their weapons. Instead, one of them spoke up.
"Rei, what are you doing out here? ...Well, knowing you, you're probably busy with something or other."
"Yeah, I'm heading back to Gilm right now. ...How are the felled logs? If they've piled up, I'll take them."
"Ah, right. The Woodcutters were working pretty hard this morning, so there should be a fair amount. We'd appreciate it if you took them."
After that exchange, they parted ways with the Fleeing Adventurers.
To be precise, the Fleeing Adventurers had been intimidated by Elena's presence behind Rei — that was the more accurate read.
Those assigned to work in the Treant Forest were presumably people recognized by the Guild for both skill and character, but even so, faced with Elena and her alias of Princess General, they were clearly out of their depth.
That was why, after finishing their conversation with Rei, they bowed to Elena and quickly left.
To the Fleeing Adventurers, Elena was simply not someone they could interact with normally.
That was why they had left Rei's presence so promptly...
"How rude of them."
Ara muttered in dissatisfaction at the Fleeing Adventurers' attitude.
For Ara, who was deeply devoted to Elena, their behavior toward her was something she couldn't forgive.
"Don't get so angry. I don't mind at all," Elena said.
"But, Lady Elena..."
"Well, I think it can't be helped," Rei interjected as Ara tried to argue.
But Ara clearly wasn't satisfied, and she opened her mouth with a look of displeasure — her expression saying that no matter what Rei said, she wouldn't accept it unless it was something extraordinary.
"Lord Rei, what do you mean by that?"
"It's not that complicated. Ara, you've been by Elena's side since you were little, so it's natural for you, and we're used to being around Elena too. When you spend this much time together for so long, of course you get accustomed to her presence. But that's because we're the ones who are used to Elena."
If they were Nobles, they would have some degree of familiarity through social circles, so even meeting Elena unexpectedly, they could probably manage to handle themselves.
But expecting that from Adventurers was asking too much.
Of course, there were Adventurers who could handle a sudden encounter with Elena perfectly fine — those who frequently interacted with Nobles.
The Fleeing Adventurers just now were, unfortunately, not that type.
That was why, upon encountering Elena, they had been completely at a loss... and chose to flee rather than risk doing something careless.
As Adventurers, it wasn't an entirely wrong response.
...At the very least, the fact that they hadn't been so dazzled by Elena's beauty as to try hitting on her deserved some credit.
Then again, these were people trusted by the Guild for both their ability and character to be entrusted with the Treant Forest.
Logically speaking, none of them would cause that kind of problem.
That was precisely why Rei could relax, knowing no one foolish enough to pick a fight was around.
"More importantly, Rei. ...What happened to Nielson?"
"!?"
At Elena's words, Rei hurriedly tried to take Nielson out of his Dragon Robe...
"Ehh, I don't want to come out yet."
Saying that, Nielson clung to the Dragon Robe and refused to emerge.
"Hey. ...Why won't you come out?"
"Because it feels nice in here."
"...Ah, I see."
Rei's Dragon Robe was equipped with a simplified air conditioner function to keep the wearer comfortable.
Cool when it was hot, warm when it was cold.
And right now, it was the height of summer.
Much of the Treant Forest was shaded by the canopy overhead, and the sunlight — making its forceful presence known as only summer sun could — was blocked by the branches.
Thanks to that, the heat was comparatively mild compared to walking through an ordinary area.
But... even so, summer was summer.
Cooler than outside the Treant Forest, yes, but it didn't block the summer heat entirely.
"Cool" was only relative to outside the forest — inside, the warmth was still noticeable.
Under those conditions, the cool interior of the Dragon Robe was the perfect refuge for Nielson.
...Incidentally, back in Japan, Rei had experienced "air conditioner sickness" — a condition where joints ached from overexposure to cooling. But the Dragon Robe was crafted by Esta Nor, an Alchemist of the Zephyle Clan, using rare materials, so there was no risk of joint pain from continuous exposure to cold air.
In that sense, as a Magic Item of such high performance, if anyone in Japan heard about it, there would undoubtedly be countless — an uncountable number of — people who would want one.
In reality, since it required dragon materials, mass production was no simple matter.
"Ah... well then, just stay in there."
Rei had initially tried to pull Nielson out of the Dragon Robe, but as long as she didn't come out and start flying around, it was certainly easier for him this way.
If so, keeping her inside the Dragon Robe shouldn't cause any particular problems.
Making that judgment, Rei decided not to press the issue and left Nielson where she was.
"Well then, let's move on. Set, we're counting on you."
"Grr."
At Rei's words, Set purred and pressed forward.
A short distance later, the Woodcutters came into view.
They were gathered in a small group, talking among themselves.
"What's wrong?"
"Hm? Ah, it's Rei. We were about to start felling trees, but the axes suddenly broke. Several of them at the same time, no less."
"That's..."
Hearing the Woodcutters' words, Rei had a fairly good idea of the cause.
One or two axes breaking wouldn't be unusual.
But multiple axes shattering simultaneously — there was no way that was normal.
And Rei had a prime suspect for that abnormality.
(Probably... no, definitely the fairy's doing.)
He would have liked to pull Nielson out of the Dragon Robe and question her, but there was no way he could do that in the current situation.
(I'd like her to hold back on pranks while we're negotiating... no, asking a fairy to hold back on pranks is probably asking the impossible.)
He immediately corrected himself.
"Does that mean you can't fell trees?"
"Hm? Ah, no, we're fine. We've got spare axes. Someone's bringing them over now."
"I see. Then I'll take the felled logs in the meantime."
Saying that, Rei parted from the Woodcutters.