The Magic Item Rei would receive from the Chief was decided: the Fog Sound.
Of course, neither Rei nor even the Chief of the fairies could say exactly when it would actually be ready, which made the whole arrangement somewhat uncertain.
Even so, the ability to use fog to create a space that disoriented anyone around him was something Rei deeply appreciated.
If he was being completely honest, he wished he'd had this Magic Item when he was fighting the Dragonias in the other world.
At any rate, once the matter of the reward was settled, the Chief offered to guide Rei through the fairies' dwelling.
That said, even as a fairy dwelling, there was nothing particularly unusual to see.
"I heard they lived here, so I figured there'd at least be some simple houses."
Rei muttered this as the Chief led him through the Treant Forest.
But the Chief showed no sign of displeasure at his remark.
If anything, she wore an amused smile, as though she were anticipating something entertaining.
Nielson, perched on top of Set's head, shared the same expression. She even turned around deliberately to flash a knowing grin.
(Is there something going on?)
Rei wondered, but judging by their demeanor, he figured they'd let him in on it before long. He kept quiet and followed along.
Eventually, after they had pushed quite deep into the dwelling, the Chief—who had been flying alongside Rei as he rode on Set's back—came to a halt.
Hovering in midair without moving forward, she smiled at Rei and spoke.
"Now then, everyone. Come on out."
The moment the Chief said that, dozens of fairies peeked out from the surrounding trees.
...And not from the gaps between the trunks. Literally from within the wood itself.
At first glance, it looked as though the fairies' bodies and faces were sprouting directly from the tree trunks.
Whether one found the scene comical or eerie depended entirely on the observer.
"This is...?"
"For us, there's no need to go out of our way to build houses. The trees themselves are our homes."
As the Chief spoke, the fairies embedded in the trunks pulled their entire bodies free.
It reminded Rei of how ghosts could pass through walls, and for a fleeting moment he wondered if fairies were actually a type of Undead.
But interacting with them made it abundantly clear that wasn't the case.
In other words, this was one of the fairies' Skills.
"So you have a Skill like that?"
"I'm not sure 'Skill' is the most fitting word, but it's certainly one of the abilities fairies possess."
"...I see."
Could their weakness toward Marina, the Shrine Maiden of the World Tree, have something to do with this? Rei speculated.
By what mechanism, he had no idea—he'd satisfied himself for now by chalking it up to a Skill—but the fact remained that they lived inside trees.
To fairies like these, the World Tree, which could be called the king—or queen—of all plants, would be akin to the chairman or president of the company managing their apartment building.
And the Shrine Maiden of the World Tree would be a close aide to that chairman or president.
That was likely why the fairies couldn't take a firm stance against Marina. At worst, they could be evicted from the very trees they lived in—or worse, forbidden from inhabiting trees altogether.
Whether such a thing was actually possible, Rei didn't know. It was purely speculation on his part, nothing more.
While he was still processing his surprise, the sound of dog-like yipping came from deeper in the forest.
This, at least, didn't startle Rei. If anything, the familiar sound helped him settle.
"Come to think of it, you mentioned there were wolf pups here."
Just as Rei said, two wolf pups emerged.
Perhaps because they were still young, they cut quite adorable figures.
And precisely because they were young, they showed no fear of Set. Instead, they approached him brimming with curiosity.
"Grrruu."
Set purred happily at the pups who showed no fear toward him. He was a sociable creature by nature.
Monsters aside, animals generally tended to be frightened of him, so getting to play with one like this was a rare treat.
Even animals that were initially afraid could grow somewhat accustomed to him after spending enough time together, but having them not be afraid from the very start like these wolf pups was... not unheard of, but certainly uncommon.
"I see. The fairies' dwelling, huh. ...Fitting, I'd say."
At Rei's words of genuine admiration, the Chief looked pleased—satisfied, perhaps, that she had succeeded in surprising him.
Even as a Chief, she was still a fairy at heart, and fairies did love their pranks.
"I'm glad you seem to enjoy it."
"Enjoy might not be the right word—surprised would be more accurate. ...Did Marina know about this?"
Rei suddenly thought of Marina and wondered, but the Chief only smiled without saying a word. Surprising Rei, it seemed, was satisfaction enough.
"You seem surprised, but not just any tree can serve as a dwelling. It has to be one with a compatible wavelength."
"In that case, coming to this Treant Forest was..."
"Exactly. Because there were so many compatible trees. I was astonished myself—this forest has an enormous number of trees whose wavelengths match ours."
"Ah... well, that makes sense."
Rei could see the logic in the Chief's words.
After all, this Treant Forest was no ordinary forest. It had appeared here suddenly, and it was special in every conceivable way.
The Gigant Turtle had been found here. The Underground Space below contained the Wisp. It had drawn in Lizardmen, the Green People, and even an entire lake through Teleportation. And the Underground Space where the Wisp resided was even connected to another world.
There was no treating this forest the same as any other.
And precisely because it was such an extraordinary place, it had undoubtedly become an ideal dwelling for the fairies.
(Should I tell them? They seem thoroughly satisfied here, but if they learned the true reason this forest came into being, it might change how they feel about it.)
Rei debated this internally, but there was no telling how the Chief and the others would react.
There was a chance they'd be unsettled by it and abandon the Treant Forest entirely.
Then again, there was an equally good chance they wouldn't care at all—a forest was a forest, after all.
"Well? What do you think of our dwelling?"
"I'll say this—it's incredible. I never imagined they'd live directly inside the trees. ...By the way, what's it actually like in there?"
"You ask what it's like, but it's perfectly livable. It's a shame I can't convey the experience to you, Rei."
"I figured. I'd love to try living inside a tree at least once, if I could. ...And purely out of curiosity—is there a Magic Item that would let the rest of us go inside trees and rest too?"
Being able to use any tree as a substitute tent—though fairies required one with a compatible Magic Power Wavelength—would be incredibly useful for Rei.
Granted, since he already had a Magic Tent, whether he'd actually use such an item was debatable.
But when traveling with a group rather than alone, having a Magic Item like that would significantly reduce the footprint of a Campsite.
In other words, fewer people would be needed for night watches.
If that were the case, such a Magic Item would be a tremendous asset when moving in a sized group—like the time an Orc settlement had cropped up not far from Gilm.
In fact, while the fog Magic Item was certainly valuable, he thought something like this might be an even better choice for the Magic Item Daskar would provide...
"Unfortunately, no such Magic Item exists. To begin with, sleeping inside a tree is something every fairy can do naturally. Given that, there'd be no reason to go out of our way to craft a Magic Item for it, would there?"
When the Chief put it like that, Rei had no choice but to concede.
Magic Items crafted by fairies inherently took an enormous amount of time to complete. Rei didn't know the exact timeframe, but he could at least understand why they would prioritize making items they actually needed or found convenient for daily life.
If he were in the Chief's position, with a limited capacity for producing Magic Items, he'd have made the same call.
"I suppose that makes sense. ...Come to think of it, they don't absolutely have to sleep inside a tree, do they? They can sleep normally too, right?"
Recalling Nielson's stay at Marina's house, Rei asked the question.
As far as he knew, Nielson had never disappeared into a tree while at Marina's home. Then again, there weren't any trees planted in Marina's courtyard to begin with.
In that sense, it wasn't strange at all that Nielson slept in a regular bed rather than inside a tree. How the other fairies viewed that practice was another matter entirely.
"That's right. It's not as though we absolutely must sleep inside a tree. It's simply that for us fairies, sleeping inside one is more comfortable and does a better job of restoring our energy. That's all."
Hearing the Chief's explanation, Rei couldn't help but wonder if Nielson was pushing herself by sleeping at Marina's house without that benefit.
But looking at Nielson now, she certainly didn't appear to be struggling. She hadn't shown any sign of a restless night, nor did she look sleep-deprived or weary when she woke up.
"Nielson sleeps normally when she stays at Marina's place, but is it really fine for a fairy not to sleep inside a tree?"
"Yes, there's no hard requirement to sleep inside one. But... it goes without saying which is safer—sleeping inside a tree or outside one, doesn't it?"
Rei found the Chief's reasoning perfectly sound.
If you were sleeping inside a tree, you didn't have to worry about being attacked by enemies.
If the opponent's goal was simply to capture a fairy, then the fairy could escape at any time using Teleportation via a Fairy Ring—but that only applied if the fairy was still alive.
Against predators who wanted to eat fairies, or killers who wanted to harvest them for materials, the Fairy Ring's Teleportation ability meant nothing at all.
To survive such foes, not being found in the first place was the best strategy by far.
In that sense, the fairy habit of sleeping inside trees was far from a bad one.
"Sleeping inside a tree, huh. ...I'd love to experience it just once."
"That's impossible, I'm afraid. If you were a fairy, Rei, you might have been able to."
The Chief delivered this so matter-of-factly that Rei simply nodded. He'd expected as much.
"Unfortunately, I'll just have to accept that. ...By the way, next time I want to come here, do I have to be with Nielson?"
"That's right. Given how this Magic Item works, that's how it has to be. But Nielson will be spending more time on your side, so it shouldn't be an issue, should it?"
"Whether it's an issue or not, there technically is one."
From Rei's perspective, Nielson was a fairy—which meant there was no telling when she might disappear.
If she happened to be gone the next time he needed to come here, he'd have no recourse.
"Relying on Nielson is... a little unsettling."
"Eh? Hey, what are you suddenly talking about?"
Nielson must have overheard him. She spoke up, clearly displeased.
From her perspective, being told something like that in front of the Chief made it sound as though her competence was being called into question.
If that impression took hold, she might end up barred from going to Gilm.
The various goods available for purchase in Gilm were the stuff of dreams for the fairies.
In that sense, Nielson absolutely had to avoid being stripped of her role here.
At her visible distress, the other fairies exchanged meaningful glances.