Having promised Nielson that he would return the next morning before noon, Rei moved away from what he believed was the vicinity of the fairy settlement.
"So, what will you do now? Are you heading back to the woodcutters?" Elena asked.
"No, I'm going to the underground space where the Wisp is. I want to check that Anastasia and the others are actually doing their work. Plus, I have a few things I need to take care of."
Rei had given Grimm a Dragonias corpse the day before.
He already knew that Dragonias corpses became useless after a day, which was why this particular corpse had been left in the world where the Centaurs lived.
There was a chance that even now, a day later, the corpse hadn't deteriorated and could still be used as Magic Item material. Rei definitely wanted to know the outcome.
"I don't mind, but... what about Ara?" Elena asked.
"If Lady Elena is going, I have no objections," Ara replied.
"Then it's settled."
With that, Rei and his group headed toward the underground space at the heart of the Treant Forest.
There was a fair distance between them and where the fairy had been, but with Set around, there was no risk of getting lost.
...In truth, if asked whether Rei could have found his way back to the fairy's location alone, the honest answer would have been doubtful at best.
Since Set remembered the way by scent, Rei wasn't worried.
In reality, Set had a slight tendency toward being directionally challenged, but Rei had completely forgotten about that particular trait at the moment.
Fortunately, nothing troublesome happened as they made their way through the Treant Forest—specifically, they weren't attacked by any monsters or animals—and their journey through the woods was a comfortable one.
"Looking at it like this, the Treant Forest really is a pleasant place to be," Rei murmured.
"Indeed," Elena agreed.
The forest was dense with trees, and their canopy softened the harsh light of the assertive summer sun.
Rei hesitated over whether "sunlight filtering through the leaves" was the right way to describe it, but given the circumstances, it was the only expression that fit.
(Though in my mind, dappled sunlight is a springtime thing. In summer it feels... different, somehow. How should I put it... well, no point dwelling on it.)
As his thoughts wandered, Elena spoke again.
"Those who work in this Treant Forest are lucky, at least in that they can escape some of the summer heat."
"Maybe so. But they're constantly moving around, so they'll end up getting hot regardless."
Even if the forest was somewhat cooler than the outside, the woodcutters still had to swing their axes over and over to fell trees.
Naturally, they would sweat.
...If they could bring down a tree in a single swing like Rei did with Death Scythe, that would be one thing. But ordinary woodcutters couldn't pull off such a feat, so sweating was inevitable.
The adventurers doing miscellaneous work for the woodcutters also had to move their bodies—cutting branches off felled trees and gathering the logs in one place for easier transport.
In that sense, those on guard duty had it somewhat easier, since they didn't need to move around as much.
...Of course, if monsters or wild animals attacked, the guard adventurers would have to respond immediately, working harder than anyone else.
"Still, compared to the people actually working on the expansion construction, it's definitely far more comfortable here."
Elena and Ara both nodded in understanding at Rei's words.
Working on the expansion construction under the intense, direct summer sun was undeniably harsh. At the very least, Rei had no desire to do such a thing voluntarily.
Since it was their job, they had to do it whether they wanted to or not—that much was an undeniable fact.
"Gruu."
Set, who had been weaving between the trees, suddenly purred.
It wasn't a warning cry indicating an approaching enemy, but a sound signaling that they were nearing their destination.
"Oh, we're here. Set, you'll probably have to wait up on the ground, so feel free to wander around and amuse yourself."
"Gruu..."
It was the same kind of purr, but the emotion behind it was a touch of loneliness.
If someone had been there to play with him, Set might not have been quite so disappointed.
(If Mirene or Yohanna were here, Set wouldn't feel lonely at all... but somehow, if I called their names right now, saying I needed someone to keep Set company, I feel like they'd appear out of thin air. That's terrifying.)
Logically speaking, it was completely impossible. He knew that. But with Mirene and Yohanna, their love for Set was so intense they just might defy that logic—and that was the frightening part.
When it came to those two specifically, "impossible" simply didn't apply.
Rei had a strange conviction that for Set's sake, there was no telling what unreasonable lengths they might go to.
He held that conviction, but the thought that Mirene and Yohanna might actually show up made him quickly shake his head.
"Anyway, Set, feel free to do as you like around here."
Rei repeated himself, and though Set didn't understand why Rei had shaken his head, he tilted it in puzzlement and nodded anyway.
"Gruu."
Rei stroked the nodding Set... then turned his gaze toward the passage leading to the underground space.
"Shall we? You don't mind, right?"
"Of course. Otherwise, why would I have come all this way with you?" Elena replied without hesitation to his precautionary question.
Naturally, since Elena was going, Ara had no option but to accompany them into the underground space.
And so, Rei and his group left Set behind and headed underground.
...Left waiting on the surface, Set let out a lonely whine once Rei and the others disappeared, but there was nothing to be done about it.
What mattered right now was being small enough—or more precisely, small enough—to fit through the underground passages.
At over three meters in length, even with the Size Change skill, Set couldn't squeeze through passages that humans could barely navigate.
If Set wanted to enter the underground space, Grimm would need to directly connect this location to it and teleport him through.
For a brief moment—a truly brief one—Rei hoped Grimm might notice Set's presence. But there was no sign of that.
Under normal circumstances, Grimm might have noticed Set. But unfortunately, he currently had no room to spare for monitoring the outside.
Well, since he was being careful not to be discovered by Anastasia and the others, it wasn't that he was completely oblivious.
Regardless, Grimm was busy investigating the Dragonias corpse Rei had left in the Centaur's world the day before, and so he couldn't detect Set's presence.
"Gruu."
Purring once more in disappointment, Set lay down on the ground a short distance from where Rei and the others had entered.
The Treant Forest's trees blocked some of the fierce summer sun, but even so, the midday heat was considerable.
Under normal conditions, trying to nap in a place like this would be far too hot.
But... Set was a gryphon. And not just any monster, but an extremely powerful High-Rank Monster on par with S-Rank.
Whether in scorching desert heat or sub-zero worlds, he could sleep without a problem.
Compared to those environments, this level of heat was nothing.
If anything, it made for a rather comfortable bed.
...As he lay there, half-asleep and half-alert for any dangerous presence approaching, several small birds with beautifully colored feathers came and landed on his sleeping body.
Normally, small birds would never approach a gryphon.
The fact that several were now perched on Set, looking perfectly at ease, was a testament to how thoroughly he had suppressed his presence.
Set understood his own situation but continued to sleep with his presence concealed.
...He had also noticed two deer hiding a short distance away, but since they weren't approaching, he decided to leave them be.
"Oh, Rei? What brings you here? And Lady Elena too..."
When Rei and his group arrived at the Wisp's location within the underground space, Anastasia called out in surprise.
She clearly hadn't expected Rei to show up.
"I was wondering how things were going down here. Specifically, whether you might have slipped off to the other world again."
"You know, you could try trusting me a little."
"Can't."
The rejection came instantly, before Anastasia had even finished speaking. So fast it was practically reflexive.
"...You know..."
Anastasia, clearly not expecting such an immediate denial, responded with a complicated expression.
But Rei knew her personality too well to take her words at face value.
(Though Grimm should be in the other world, so even if Anastasia tried to go through, he probably would have stopped her.)
For Rei, it was a deeply ironic situation—he couldn't trust Anastasia the elf, yet he could trust Grimm the undead.
"Can't blame him," Fana said, as if confirming the truth of Rei's words.
Her expression was hidden behind her usual mask, but since Fana understood Anastasia's personality better than anyone, Rei's words carried considerable weight.
Elena and Ara, who didn't interact with Anastasia much, simply watched without comment.
They likely agreed with Rei's assessment, but also wisely judged that speaking up carelessly would only lead to trouble.
They weren't wrong.
"Well, setting that aside—"
"You're setting it aside!?"
"—setting that aside. How's the Wisp research coming along? Learned anything new?"
"Look, no matter how you look at it, research isn't going to progress dramatically in a single day. Sure, sometimes breakthroughs happen out of nowhere, but... miracles are called miracles because they don't happen."
Well said.
Rei, however, ignored Anastasia entirely and spoke.
"Got it. Then keep at the Wisp research. I'm going to look around the underground space a bit."
"...Why?"
"There are some things I want to investigate related to the Wisp. I want to check if there's anything unusual."
The underground space was fairly large.
But since Anastasia's interest was focused solely on the Wisp, she presumably had little interest in the rest of the area.
...Which was exactly why Rei could use that as an excuse to come here.
If she'd been curious about the underground space itself, coming up with a reason would have been far more difficult.
Even so, he needed to be here to make contact with Grimm.
In the worst case, he could use the Paired Orbs—but the problem was that Grimm might be so absorbed in his research that he wouldn't notice the orbs were active.
And since Grimm was currently in the other world, that was all the more likely.
"Hmm. I don't mind, but don't get in our way, okay? More importantly, what happened with the fairy? Still no luck finding one?"
Rei almost said he'd found one, but quickly judged that admitting it now would result in Anastasia interrogating him relentlessly for every detail. He deflected casually.
"Do you really think fairies are that easy to find?"
"Figured as much."
Rei hadn't said he found one. ...He hadn't said he hadn't, either.
In this manner, he glossed over the conversation and managed to deflect Anastasia's questioning for the time being.
...Though Elena and Ara were both giving him looks of mild exasperation.