Having finished his conversation with Grimm, Rei parted ways with the undead and looked around the Underground Space. Grimm was working on creating a Magic Item, and Rei moved about casually, careful not to let his behavior tip anyone off about his connection to him. It was a precautionary measure born of that concern.
That said, even as a precaution, taking a look around the Underground Space wasn't a bad idea. After all, yesterday they had returned to this world and immediately headed for the surface, so he hadn't had the chance to properly explore it.
Well, knowing Anastasia, she certainly would have looked around to see if anything had changed when she came here today.
Given Anastasia's abundant curiosity, she would have undoubtedly investigated what condition the Underground Space was currently in—whether anything had changed while they were away. She would have definitely examined such things with keen interest.
That was why even if Rei investigated the area now, it was unlikely he would find anything in particular. ...But still, given the situation, he judged it best to confirm things thoroughly. Or perhaps he held the faint hope that he might find something Anastasia had missed.
"Disappointing."
After making a full circuit of the Underground Space, Rei ultimately couldn't find anything of note. Still, he told himself that the possibility of finding something was merely a "maybe" at best.
"So? Did you find anything interesting?"
When Rei returned to where everyone was, Anastasia immediately asked the question. She had already surmised that he had found nothing.
...Still, even if he wanted to retort, since he had actually found nothing, it would only sound like sour grapes. In truth, he had gleaned some information about fairies from Grimm, but he obviously couldn't mention that here.
"No, I didn't find anything in particular. It was just somewhat interesting to walk around for the first time in a while."
"Is that so? You have a strange hobby."
"...I don't want to hear that from you of all people."
"Both of you, leave it at that. Anastasia is busy with her research, and Rei has other things he needs to do, I'm sure."
Elena intervened, putting an end to the exchange between Rei and Anastasia.
"Right. I've looked around this Underground Space for now, so it's about time we head back to the surface."
Rei had come to the Underground Space to ask Grimm about the state of the Dragonias corpses. With that errand finished, there was no need to stay any longer. Besides, as Elena had said, Rei had other matters to attend to. He couldn't remain down here indefinitely.
"Are you good on your end? I ended up dragging you along."
"Umu. I heard many interesting things from those two. Stories about the other world beyond what Rei told me, for instance."
Saying that, Elena directed her gaze toward the space connected to the other world. Anastasia and Fana had been on their own in the other world before rejoining Rei. She must have been asking what had happened during that time.
Rei was also somewhat curious about those matters. After all, before he knew it, the Centaurs of a certain settlement had come to feel deeply indebted to Anastasia and the others, treating them almost as if worshipping gods. It was only natural to wonder what else they had gotten up to.
...Though he had no intention of asking directly in the current situation, as they probably wouldn't give him a straight answer.
Besides, I can always ask Elena later.
With that settled, Rei decided to head back to the surface.
"Then I'll be going soon... What are you doing tonight, Anastasia? Are you heading to the Birth Tower, or the Wheat Inn at Dusk? I don't plan on staying at the Wheat Inn at Dusk for a while, so I don't mind if you use it."
"No, I'll go to the Birth Tower. There are many interesting creatures in the lake and such."
"I see. Well, good luck."
Normally, anyone would want to sleep in a proper bed. But if it were Anastasia, Rei could entirely accept her choosing to satisfy her curiosity over a comfortable night's rest.
...He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Fana being dragged along. Even so, it was clear that Fana regarded Anastasia as someone worthy of respect—or perhaps she simply felt she couldn't abandon her. Regardless, she showed no sign of dissatisfaction with sleeping in a tent near the Birth Tower instead of an inn.
"I'm telling you, don't go doing anything strange just because we're not around. The lake creatures haven't all been fully documented yet, and some of them might carry strange poisons. Given those circumstances, it'd be better not to go poking at anything."
Rei offered the warning as a precaution, but with Anastasia, it was easy to predict she wouldn't listen. The real concern was that if she did something strange, it might lead to another major abnormality. Normally there would be no need to worry that far ahead, but given the other world incident, it was a different matter entirely.
I thought I had quite the knack—or maybe trait?—for getting dragged into trouble, but Anastasia goes even beyond me.
The woman who surpassed Crimson. Rei was tempted to call her that, but saying it out loud felt like it would just spark another strange commotion.
"What is it? I'm taking precautions to make sure that doesn't happen, so rest easy. Even if something like that does occur... I'll handle it properly."
"...By 'handle it,' you don't mean acting to satisfy your curiosity, do you?"
He pressed the point as a precaution. Normally, there would be no need to go that far. But when it came to Anastasia, he could sense that not pinning things down would lead to trouble down the line.
"O-Of course."
Anastasia stuttered at Rei's words. Looking at her reaction, what she had been thinking was painfully obvious. Rei wanted to call her out on it, but felt that pressing the issue would only drag out the conversation, so he decided to leave it at that and move on.
"Then we're heading out. Elena, Ara, let's go."
"Umu. I have nothing in particular to do either. ...Though I would have liked to visit the other world myself, if possible."
That was likely the real reason Elena had decided to come to the Underground Space. The fact that only Vihera had gone to the other world had been extremely enviable for her. She probably wanted to visit even just once—but for Daskar, who was entrusted with Elena's care, that was something he could by no means allow.
After all, Elena was a figure that could be called the very symbol of the Noble's Faction. There were surely many who were dissatisfied simply with the fact that such a person was currently in Gilm, which had recently established friendly relations with the Neutral Faction.
In that situation, what would happen if she went to the other world and couldn't return? Without a doubt, the current friendly relations between the Noble's Faction and the Neutral Faction would collapse. Even now, few within the Noble's Faction truly understood the significance of their cooperative relationship with the Neutral Faction.
No—to be precise, they understood that there were benefits to be gained from friendly relations, but many simply could not accept it on an emotional level. Rei didn't entirely disagree with prioritizing emotions over interests, but for those who had lived comfortably as nobles without any hardship, they likely held the sentiment of looking down on the Neutral Faction, whom they considered beneath them.
That said, it wasn't only the Noble's Faction that harbored dislike. Within the Neutral Faction as well, there were naturally those who despised the Noble's Faction. In particular, the Noble's Faction—or rather, the especially egregious ones among them—included quite a few who behaved as if they were the center of the world. As a result, many held the belief that those who were not nobles were not truly human, and there were plenty who ruled their territories with arbitrary cruelty: sentencing people to death simply because they disliked them, demanding beautiful women be handed over, or seizing someone's possessions for being too presumptuous.
Many within the Neutral Faction held territories adjacent to such Noble Faction Nobles. Naturally, those nobles would often harass their Neutral Faction neighbors they found disagreeable. It was only natural that many within the Neutral Faction would find it distasteful to enter a friendly relationship with a faction that included such people.
Even so, partly due to the Neutral Faction's smaller numbers and the high charisma of Daskar who led them, many tolerated it as something Daskar had decided.
"If anything happened to Elena, it could escalate into an issue between the Noble's Faction and the Neutral Faction. ...No, even before that, Ara would explode."
"Lord Rei is correct... is what I'd like to say, but if Lady Elena goes to the other world, I will accompany her. Given that, I don't think I would be a concern."
"...Right. Come to think of it, you're the commander of Elena's Escort Knight Order. I'd completely forgotten that lately."
"I almost forget myself sometimes. ...It's because while I'm in Gilm, I don't have to do paperwork, so that's the reason."
For Ara, who had never been good at that kind of work to begin with, her current life—where she only needed to stay by Elena's side and look after her without doing any paperwork—must be an incredibly happy existence. The fact that Ara wasn't doing paperwork meant someone else was handling it in her stead, but whether she had forgotten that or simply didn't care, she was enjoying a carefree life.
Feeling somewhat exasperated by Ara's state, Rei and the others made their way out of the Underground Space to the surface, but...
"Whoa..."
At the sight spreading before his eyes, Rei let out a cry of surprise. Elena and Ara, who had been behind him, were equally startled.
Naturally. Around where Set lay, several birds had gathered. In fact, multiple birds were walking across Set's body as if they found it a comfortable perch.
In addition, something only Rei noticed: two deer were standing a short distance from Set. Yes—the two deer that served as Anastasia and Fana's companions. Not monsters, but wild animals.
These deer had traveled alongside Set in the other world as well, but perhaps because they were originally wild animals, they never quite let down their guard around him. In fact, when Rei and the others had arrived earlier to head into the Underground Space, the two deer had bolted the moment they sensed Set's presence, so it was easy to tell how wary they still were.
Still, the deer also knew from the time they had spent together that Set was not a being that would harm them. The reason they couldn't fully let down their guard was simply that they understood Set was an existence overwhelmingly above them in rank.
"Rei, what do we do?"
"...Even if you ask me that..."
In response to Elena's question, Rei hesitated over what to do. No—considering the situation, the answer was obvious. But looking at the birds and deer relaxing before his eyes, not to mention the squirrels, mice, and rabbits scattered among them, it was only natural to wonder whether it was really all right to scatter them all.
He might be witnessing a miraculous sight, in a way. Rei couldn't help but think so.
...However, Set was not one to miss Rei's presence.
His beloved Rei had returned from the Underground Space—once he noticed, there was no chance he wouldn't react. If anything, his sleep had been so deep this time that he was slow to notice, and he jolted his body awake with vigor. But what happens then?
The birds walking on Set's body panicked and took flight, the animals scrambled to flee the area, and... naturally, the two deer, who should have been old acquaintances by now, instantly bolted from the scene as well.