"Wau..."
Upon seeing Rei, the lead wolf let out a low whine.
Seeing the wolf react that way, Rei understood why Set had not perceived them as a threat. These were the same wolves he had encountered in the Treant Forest earlier that day.
And not just any wolves—they had been so emaciated that it would not have been surprising if they had dropped dead from starvation at any moment.
At first, Rei had considered cutting them down if they attacked. But seeing their starved state, he had taken pity on them and given them boar meat.
The amount he had handed over was decent, but still not enough to fill the bellies of the entire starving pack. Yet the wolves had eaten the meat, taken the edge off their hunger for the time being, and departed.
So why were they here now?
Rei wondered that for a moment, but then he caught the scent drifting through the air—the mouthwatering aroma wafting from the bag of skewers among the luggage Nielson had purchased in Gilm—and the answer was immediately clear.
A wolf's sense of smell was extremely sharp. If an appetite-stimulating scent like that was drifting through the Treant Forest, and the wolves were hungry, it was not strange at all for them to be drawn to it and come all the way here.
"Nielson, what will you do? Looks like they came following the smell of your skewers."
"Huh?"
Nielson was surprised by Rei's words, but quickly understood. Given the situation, it was obvious that his assessment was accurate.
Still, what was fortunate for Nielson and the others was that the wolves drawn in by the scent had not attacked immediately. Whether that was because they remembered Rei and his group, or because they were hesitating in the presence of a fairy like Nielson, Rei could not say. But it was lucky nonetheless.
Fortunate, yes—but the real problem was what to do about the situation now. They were locked in a strange standoff with a pack of wolves that could have attacked at any moment, and Rei could not imagine that stalemate lasting indefinitely. They needed to break the status quo somehow.
...That said, there were not many options available.
"Nielson, how about giving those skewers to the wolves?"
"Huh? Wait, seriously? I bought those, you know?"
Nielson protested, but in reality, it was Daskar who had provided the money, and Rei who had purchased the skewers with it. In that sense, her objection was off the mark—but this was not the time to quibble over such things.
Granted, since the wolves were ordinary animals and not monsters, Rei would win if it came to a fight. He knew that. But given the circumstances, he would prefer not to hurt them if possible. He had given them boar meat and saved them from starvation, only for them to come at him again here. If they did, he would have no choice but to take their lives.
Of course, if they attacked given the current situation, he would deal with it. Even so... that was how he felt.
(Should I just give them some of the skewers from my Misty Ring?)
Naturally, Rei's Misty Ring contained a massive amount of food. Having hundreds—no, even close to a thousand skewers would not be strange. These were not ones he had bought today, but ones he had been gradually stockpiling over time. In reality, they were consumed at a considerable pace, so if he counted every skewer purchased to date, the number could well be in the thousands, if not tens of thousands.
"So, what's it going to be? Given that they followed the scent here, I don't think they'll just quietly back down."
"That's..."
Nielson considered Rei's question for a moment before opening her mouth with evident reluctance—genuine reluctance.
"I guess there's no choice. I'll just have to steel myself, huh?"
That surprised Rei. It sounded like she was saying she would fight the wolves.
Fairies could use teleportation freely and unleash powerful attacks disguised as pranks. Considering their abilities, Rei could well imagine they would manage somehow against a pack of wolves.
But the words that came out of Nielson's mouth next were not what he expected.
"Rabinara, can I ask you something? I want you to persuade those wolves."
"Ehh... I have to do it?"
Despite facing down a wolf pack, Rabinara murmured in her usual laid-back manner. Looking at her, it was hard to believe she possessed any power to resolve the situation.
Even so, the fact that Nielson was relying on her—entrusting her with complete confidence—meant she must have the ability to handle it.
(For now, let's see what she can do. At worst, I can step in and manage something myself.)
The wolf leading the pack was a fairly intelligent one. It surely remembered Rei, who had given it boar meat earlier today. And beside Rei was Set. Being wolves, they should not recklessly attack Rei or the fairies as long as Set was present.
"I guess there's no choice. ...Come on, over here, this way."
Rabinara spoke slowly as she approached the wolf. The wolf watched her with a puzzled look, and that was all.
(Hm? Setting aside attacking, it's not even growling?)
Rei found the wolf's behavior toward Rabinara puzzling, but she paid no mind to his confusion and simply spoke to the wolf.
"Come on, over here. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
The wolf showed no particular reaction. It did not attack, but neither did it show any sign of quietly obeying.
(What's going to happen? Or rather, what is she doing? Does she have a Tamer's ability?)
If she were a Tamer, it would not be impossible for her to make the wolves obey. Of course, the Tamer ability was extremely rare, and Rei had no idea whether it could work so easily. That was precisely why he watched the sequence of events with deep interest, but...
"Hm?"
Rabinara suddenly let out a bewildered voice. Rei could understand why—the wolf leading the pack had suddenly moved its head. Not in obedience to Rabinara, but to open its mouth.
"Gau!"
That bark was clearly filled with irritation. It did not seem like a successful Tame at all.
...Granted, Tame was merely Rei's own guess, and he had no idea what Rabinara was actually doing.
"Huh? Hmm, this one's a little unusual. It has a very strong will, you see."
"Huh!? W-wait, Rabinara! If you can't do something about those wolves, what about the things I bought!"
"Even if you say that to me, I'm stuck."
From her tone, it did not sound like she was stuck at all.
Still, Nielson tried to find a way... and suddenly turned her gaze toward the luggage she had purchased. Drifting from it was the mouthwatering scent of freshly grilled skewers. But hidden beneath that aroma was another scent—sweet and fragrant.
(This is it!)
That scent gave Nielson an idea to break the deadlock.
"Rabinara, if you do something about those wolves, I'll give you a sweet, delicious treat."
"Huh!?"
Reacting to Nielson's words—or more precisely, to "sweet, delicious treat"—Rabinara began flying in circles right next to the lead wolf.
What on earth is she doing? Those who did not know Rabinara's abilities, Rei included, wondered... but the effect became apparent immediately. The wolf, which had at first glared at Rabinara with fury, calmed down after about ten seconds.
Seeing the change, Rabinara beamed and spoke.
"Be a good boy and go that way, okay?"
"Wau..."
Prompted by Rabinara's words, the lead wolf gathered the rest of the pack and left. The other wolves—whether they had been caught in whatever Rabinara did at the start or not—followed without any sign of defiance.
(Not a Tamer... is she issuing commands through something like hypnosis or suggestion? Considering she was flying right by its face, did she use some kind of scales or powder?)
Since fairies had wings similar to those of insects, it would not be strange for something like scales to come off them. Of course, that was purely Rei's speculation, and he had no idea whether it actually worked that way.
"Is this good?"
"Yes, that's fine. Now then... um, wait a moment."
Saying that, Nielson rummaged through the luggage on the ground. Several fairies watched her with keen interest, but none reached for it. They probably understood what would happen if they laid hands on Nielson's belongings.
Being the fairy entrusted with negotiations with the Chief, Nielson was regarded as a powerful figure among her kind. The fact that she could interact with humans without issue was likely another reason the Chief had chosen her.
Of course, Nielson also loved pranks. As a fairy, it was practically instinct. Even so, she could read the situation and hold back when necessary—just as she had when negotiating with Daskar.
Nielson pulled a baked good—a cookie—from her luggage and handed one to Rabinara.
"This? Hmm, it smells like it might be delicious."
One cookie sounded like very little. But since a fairy was only about palm-sized, even a single cookie was enormous. Rabinara began eating the treat that was bigger than her face—no, nearly half the size of her entire body. A crisp crunching sound echoed through the area, and her face twisted in sheer happiness as she ate.
"It's delicious."
"Yes, I'm glad you're satisfied. So, just to be sure, do you think those wolves will come back?"
"I wonder. They might, and they might not."
Nielson was at a loss for how to respond to Rabinara's vague answer. That said, even if the wolves returned, as a fairy she had plenty of ways to deal with them. The main reason she had not done so today was that she did not want her purchased goods to suffer collateral damage from a fight.
"...Anyway, setting that aside. As for that luggage, Nielson will have to work hard and carry it herself..."
"Huh? Wai—"
Nielson looked like she wanted to protest, but Rei talked over her.
"What about the next round of negotiations? Will you head to Gilm directly next time? Though I think that would cause all sorts of problems."
If Nielson went to Gilm on her own, her pranks would likely cause chaos for a great many people there. In that case, Rei would naturally need to go pick her up.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the request Rei had received from Lord Daskar was to find the fairies, and that was already resolved. In other words, he currently had nothing particularly urgent.
...In reality, it was true that he had various tasks helping with the Expansion Construction, and he also needed to test whether the Dragonias corpse he had given Grimm could be used as a Magic Item, among other things. Even so, the fairy matter, which had been the most pressing in terms of urgency, was mostly settled.
(Ah, come to think of it, I managed to carry out Lord Daskar's request in a single day. Though since the negotiations aren't finalized yet, I guess I can't really say I've completed it.)
Feeling vaguely unsatisfied, Rei turned his gaze toward Nielson.
"Hmm, let's see. For now, if you come around late morning tomorrow, we'll decide what to do then."
"Late morning, not the afternoon? Well, I can kind of guess the reason."
Rei figured Nielson probably wanted to join him for lunch, and left it at that.