The time rewound slightly, to when Antelme was threatening to burn down the Treant Forest...
"......Hm?"
At night, Rei woke up in his bed with a start.
It wasn't because he sensed killing intent.
But someone had burst into his room for an entirely different reason.
"Rei! Ah, you're awake. Listen, it's terrible, terrible, terrible! It's an emergency!"
"......What happened?"
He realized that the one making the commotion was a presence about the size of his own palm.
In other words, Nielson the fairy.
At first, he thought she might have come crying to him for some reason—like not being allowed to drink any alcohol.
But it was already night.
No, given that it was around the time the date was changing, if this were Japan, there would be those who'd insist it was still early evening.
But here in Elgin, the hour when the date changed was firmly considered the dead of night.
......That said, even at such an hour there were people who drank and made noise, but this was Marina's house.
Given that, there was hardly anyone who would be drinking at this hour.
Moreover, Nielson's face as she entered Rei's room was illuminated by the moonlight, and her expression was dead serious. ......Fairies played pranks in all seriousness, so her current demeanor didn't necessarily mean she could be trusted.
Even so, seeing her look so earnest, he judged that this surely wasn't a prank.
......If it was, he'd have Marina—whom Nielson was terrible with—scold her.
"It's terrible! I got a communication from the Treant Forest, and apparently someone is searching the place where we live!"
"Wait."
Rei understood the reason for Nielson's agitation.
But in a sense, it was within his expectations.
If someone learned of the existence of fairies, and a greedy person got hold of that information, it was only natural they would try to capture them.
Though, given that very few people currently knew about the fairies, he did wonder who could have leaked the information.
Those who knew about the fairies at present were, first and foremost, Rei's party.
But all of them were in this house, and it was utterly unthinkable that any of them would have leaked information during the day.
Next was Daskar, but he too properly understood what the existence of fairies meant, so he wouldn't do something like let it slip.
Fairies were beings that would bring great benefits to Gilm in the future.
There was no way he would sell out such an existence so easily.
That left Anastasia.
Given her extremely strong curiosity, she would likely want to investigate fairies herself, and due to that curiosity, there was a very real possibility she might leak information about them in exchange for something even more intriguing.
Considering those circumstances, the most suspicious person in this matter would inevitably be Anastasia.
(Anastasia after all, huh? Then...... no, wait. Communication? She definitely said communication just now, didn't she?)
Nielson had unquestionably said "communication."
But if so, the question of how remained.
In the first place, if she could communicate with other fairies, it would be strange for Nielson to have been granted full authority over negotiations......
(No, maybe that's not it? Was the judgment that since she could contact her comrades, there was no problem entrusting her with full authority for negotiations? If so, it makes a certain amount of sense...... but when she was negotiating with Lord Daskar, it didn't seem like she was contacting her comrades.)
Deciding that anything he didn't understand he could simply ask the person directly, Rei questioned the frantic Nielson.
"When you say you can communicate, how do you do it?"
"!?"
From Rei's words, Nielson likely realized at last that she had said something she shouldn't have.
She reflexively gasped.
Originally, she should have tried to hide the reason somehow.
But in this situation, if they hid the circumstances, Rei wouldn't believe her words.
If so, what Nielson should do now was decided.
"It's a Magic Item."
"Figured."
The words that came from Nielson's mouth were perfectly convincing to Rei.
After all, fairies were originally skilled at making Magic Items.
Other than that, he had thought it might be a fairy-specific ability—something like the teleportation ability using a Fairy Ring—but that apparently wasn't the case.
"......I'll explain about that later. So for now, I need you to go to the Treant Forest as quickly as possible! Based on the communication I received, that human seriously intends to do something about us!"
Rei nodded at Nielson, who was desperately pleading with him.
"Understood. I'd like to say I'm heading to help right away...... but the problem is that it's night. If it were daytime, we'd have had more options."
Naturally, Gilm's gates closed at night.
Unless there were special circumstances—such as a lord's order—the closed gates wouldn't open until morning.
Since this matter involved fairies, Daskar would likely grant permission immediately if the situation were explained.
But...... the problem was whether they could go from here to the Lord's Manor, wake Daskar, and explain the situation.
Thinking about it normally, even for Rei—said to be Daskar's right-hand man—he couldn't expect to visit at this hour and meet Daskar without any fuss.
Well, he would probably be able to meet him eventually, but that would take far too much time.
(What should I do? Should I just fly over the city walls? Without any kind of barrier in place, if I have Set, getting outside wouldn't be a problem. ......It'll definitely cause problems later, though......)
Naturally, leaving Gilm by crossing the wall without permission during the Expansion Construction was a serious matter.
To the extent that it was impossible to know how much punishment would be handed down.
"Go. Set can fly over the wall without any problems, right? I'll talk to Daskar on my end."
Rei immediately understood whose voice that was, ringing out so suddenly.
In the first place, there was only one person in this house who could refer to Daskar without honorifics.
"Marina...... is this okay?"
"It's fine. Right now, saving Nielson's comrades comes first, doesn't it? Given my position, I can't abandon the fairies either."
"......Your position?"
"Never mind that, just get going already. You need to hurry even a little right now, don't you?"
When Marina put it like that, Rei couldn't possibly refuse.
"Understood. I'm heading out now. I'll leave reporting to Lord Daskar to you."
"Yes."
"Nielson!"
"Understood."
At Rei's words, Nielson replied with an expression of utter relief.
Together with Nielson, Rei adjusted the bare minimum of his attire, and rather than bothering to go through the living room to reach the courtyard, climbed straight out the window.
"Set!"
"Gruu?"
At Rei's call, Set, who had been sleeping in the courtyard, reacted instantly.
Judging from Rei's demeanor, it must have determined that something had happened.
It trotted straight toward Rei.
"We're heading to the Treant Forest. Fly us there directly from here."
"Gruu?"
Is that okay? Set purred at Rei's words.
Set had also lived in Gilm for quite some time.
It could easily grasp that what Rei was asking was normally something they shouldn't do.
However, Rei nodded to Set, indicating there was no problem, and patted its head.
"Marina is heading to the Lord's Manor now to explain the situation. Considering that, you can assume there's no need to worry for the time being."
"Grurururu."
As if convinced by Rei's words, Set crouched down to make it easier for Rei to mount, seemingly eager to hurry.
Rei immediately straddled Set's back...... and Nielson slipped inside Rei's Dragon Robe.
Since they would be flying to their destination, she must have judged that would be safer.
(Nielson being small was fortunate for both me and Set. ......At this size, Set can fly without any problems.)
Perhaps because it had been created through Beast Magic, Set had several shortcomings that a normal gryphon probably wouldn't have.
One of them was that the act of flying became significantly restricted when anyone other than Rei rode on its back.
It could carry a child and fly, but when it came to adults, carrying someone on its back while flying was extremely difficult.
......Despite that, it could easily grab a huge bear with its talons and fly, so this was likely an effect of Beast Magic.
Also, grabbing onto Set's legs while it flew was something it could do with ease.
For those reasons, if Nielson had been an adult, it might have been impossible for her to ride Set alongside Rei...... but since as a fairy she was palm-sized, there was no need to worry about that.
"All right, Set. Take us to the Treant Forest."
"Grurururu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a sharp cry and ran through the courtyard.
Marina's courtyard was of a reasonable size, and there was no problem using it as a runway.
Indeed, it immediately flapped its wings and began climbing into the sky.
Once they reached a certain altitude from the courtyard, Rei could feel them pass through the spirit's spatial barrier covering Marina's house.
Even so, he pushed that thought aside immediately.
Rising straight up into the sky, Set eventually banked and began flying toward the Treant Forest.
If anyone had spotted Set's figure right now, they would have been bewildered.
......Though that was assuming there was anyone bothering to look up at the night sky at this hour.
"Now, the problem is...... Nielson, where exactly should we go? The Treant Forest is broad even when you say it as one phrase."
Indeed, the Treant Forest was quite vast.
Rei and his group were racing toward the Treant Forest at Nielson's urging, but they had no idea where specifically to go.
Given that, they needed to ask Nielson, who was exchanging information with the fairies via a Magic Item, where they should head.
"Wait a moment....... Hmm, how should I put it? Seeing it from the sky is a first for me too, so it's hard to describe."
"Fairies can fly, right? Maybe not this high...... but can't you fly to a certain altitude?"
"Don't be unreasonable. The higher the altitude, the stronger the wind. If that happens, someone like me would get blown away in an instant."
Nielson grumbled with clear dissatisfaction at Rei's words.
From Nielson's perspective, what Rei was suggesting was something she couldn't possibly accept.
"Then what do we do?"
"Wait a moment....... There. Look, that way."
Peeking just her face out from the Dragon Robe, she pointed in a specific direction after concentrating for a few seconds.
The fairy over there was probably the one who had contacted Nielson.
Making that judgment, Rei indicated the direction to Set.
"Set, that way. I don't know what's there, but be careful. ......Nielson, do you have any idea what's happening?"
Rei asked after giving Set its instructions, but Nielson shook her head.
"I don't know that much."
Seeing Nielson shake her head, Rei understood that while communication itself was possible, detailed exchange of intent was not.
(Well, even considering Nielson's words and actions up to now, it was clear that was a likely possibility.)
Rei had known Nielson for a reasonable amount of time.
The impression he'd formed during that time was by no means mistaken.
(I can think about that later. ......For now, the priority is saving the fairies, who are almost certainly under attack.)
The existence of fairies was extremely significant for Rei as well, in terms of Magic Items.
Because of that, ignoring the danger facing the fairies was not an option for him.
"Gruru?"
We're going? Set asked the Rei on its back.
Rei nodded.
"Take us down."
"Grururururu!"
Hearing Rei's words, Set let out a sharp cry, flapped its wings, and began descending toward the ground.
Rei had no idea what was happening on the ground, but even so, considering Nielson's demeanor, there was no doubt that a troublesome situation was unfolding.
With that in mind, he drew Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring, ready for whatever might happen.
As the ground rushed up to meet them, a thick stench of blood drifted in.
And the moment Set landed on the ground, snapping branches as it descended, what entered Rei's field of vision was...... countless wolf corpses lying on the ground.