"Eh?"
Whether it could even be called a cry was unclear, but the sound that came from the Golem's mouth nonetheless drew an involuntary response from Rei.
Perhaps Rei's voice was enough. The Golem that had let out the cry looked back, faced the other Golems, and emitted a rapid series of sounds—"pipipipipi."
What specific meaning those sounds held, Rei couldn't tell. But he could at least understand that the Golems were communicating with each other in some way.
"Gruu?"
What should we do? Set seemed to ask from beside Rei.
If all these Golems attacked at once, things would get ugly fast. That was why Set was asking whether they should strike first—but Rei shook his head.
"Let's not. I don't think we'd get away unscathed fighting this many Golems."
If these had been ordinary Golems, Rei might have actually considered a preemptive strike. But the Barrier concealing this lake had been placed by the Zephyle Clan. As proof, Rei and Set had passed through it without any resistance whatsoever.
Rei couldn't possibly chalk that up to coincidence.
"Pipi... pi."
Had the communication ended while Rei was talking with Set? The first Golem that had spoken let out another cry, bowed deeply, and left the area. The other Golems followed after it one by one.
"Saved, huh," Rei muttered with relief once every last Golem had disappeared.
If those Golems were products of the Zephyle Clan, it wouldn't be surprising for them to possess extraordinary combat prowess despite their unassuming appearance.
(Besides, the Zephyle Clan had Takumu Suzunose, who was likely summoned from the same era as me—or close to it. I wouldn't be surprised if those Golems were actually equipped with beam cannons. Well, okay, I'd definitely be surprised—but still.)
Twenty Golems armed with beam weapons would pose a threat rivaling, perhaps even exceeding, the Crystal Dragon. And that was assuming only twenty existed; the only reason to think that was because only twenty had shown up. Considering the size of this lake—or rather, the interior of the Barrier—it wouldn't be strange if there were not just two hundred, but two thousand of them.
"Those Golems are probably maintaining the environment inside this Barrier," Rei reasoned.
"Gruruu?"
Is that so? Set asked.
Even from Set's perspective, the interior of this Barrier was enormous. Maintaining the environment of such a vast area would require considerable effort.
"Pollinating the flowers and everything else—that's probably all handled by those Golems. And because they were made by the Zephyle Clan, they didn't eliminate us."
Rei's own body was a creation of the Zephyle Clan. In that sense, he and those Golems might not quite be brothers, but there was a real possibility they were at least like distant cousins. And Set was a being brought into existence through the Beast Magic developed by the Zephyle Clan. Both Rei and Set were entities connected to the Zephyle Clan.
So it made perfect sense that the Golems would see them and choose not to eliminate them.
Of course, this was purely Rei's conjecture. He couldn't deny the possibility that the Golems had been created by someone entirely unrelated to the Zephyle Clan, and that there was a different reason Rei and Set hadn't been attacked.
"Anyway, as long as the Golems aren't going to attack us, there's no doubt we can take it easy here."
Not even animals existed in this space, let alone monsters. A safer place in the Forest of Magic would be hard to find—perhaps only the Hidden Base that Rei and his group used as their stronghold.
...Assuming the Golems didn't attack for some reason, that is.
"Grururu."
Hearing Rei's words, Set apparently decided to relax here as well. It immediately shifted into relaxation mode and began surveying the surroundings.
And truthfully, the view from here was spectacular. It was the kind of scenery that wouldn't be out of place in a tourist destination.
...Though since this place was hidden by a Barrier, only a very small number of people—including Rei—would ever get to see it.
"It's a bit disappointing there are no fish, though. It would've been fun to do some fishing."
Muttering that, Rei peered into the lake. The water was so clear that he could see all the way down to the bottom. There were water plants growing, but no fish—nor any frogs or insects, for that matter.
(The Golems probably handle pollination for the plants, but how do they manage the water plants?)
Rei had never kept fish, so he wasn't well-versed in such matters. Still, he could vaguely appreciate that aquatic organisms had a significant impact on aquatic plant life. With no such creatures present, the Golems likely tended to the water plants just as they did the surface vegetation—but he couldn't be certain of the details.
"Grurururu!"
A sudden, delighted sound drew Rei's gaze. He turned to find Set splashing about in the lake.
"Hey—Set!?"
Rei's voice came out in involuntary alarm. And no wonder—the interior of this Barrier was managed by the Golems. Moreover, if Rei's conjecture was right, it had some impact on the Forest of Magic... supplying water to sustain more monsters, for instance. Jumping into the very lake that served as the water source and swimming around in it—he had no idea how the Golems would react.
The Golems had apparently tolerated Rei and Set's presence inside the Barrier, but whether that meant they were free to do as they pleased was an entirely different question. And since these Golems were presumably Zephyle Clan creations, predicting their behavior if something went wrong was virtually impossible.
That was why Set's sudden action had caught him so off guard...
Rei hastily scanned the area and spotted several Golems standing by the lake's edge. He watched them carefully, gauging how they would respond.
If they tried to attack Set, he might have no choice but to destroy them in the worst case. And if that happened, he and Set would almost certainly be flagged as hostile—potentially pitting them against Zephyle Clan Golems in actual combat.
(Don't attack. Please.)
Rei held deep gratitude toward the Zephyle Clan. After all, if they had never developed Beast Magic, and if Zephyle had never gone looking for a successor, Rei—killed in an accident back in Japan—would have simply departed for the next world.
Thanks to the Beast Magic the Zephyle Clan created, he had gained a partner like Set. And in Elgin, he had experienced all manner of things—things that, back on Earth, he could only enjoy through manga, novels, games, and anime.
He had no desire to destroy Golems crafted by the very people he owed so much to.
With those thoughts weighing on him, he kept his eyes fixed on the Golems by the lake...
"Pi... pipi."
"Pipi."
They exchanged something—a conversation in a manner Rei couldn't comprehend—then simply went back to their work.
Rei let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Judging by their behavior, they at least weren't treating Set as an enemy for now.
Set, utterly indifferent to Rei's concern, was swimming through the lake with obvious delight, experiencing a kind of fun entirely different from soaring through the sky. It showed not the slightest awareness that it might have been attacked.
Watching Set enjoy itself, Rei decided that since they'd come all this way, he might as well take a look around.
"Set, I'm going to have a quick look around!"
"Grururururu!"
Set called back as if to say got it, then happily resumed swimming. Leaving Set in the lake, Rei set off around the perimeter.
Plants were growing in great abundance, but as expected, not a single insect was to be found. Some people loved nature but couldn't stand bugs—for someone like that, the inside of this Barrier would be paradise. Of course, whether anyone would actually venture into the Forest of Magic—and deep into it, no less—chasing that ideal was another matter entirely. Such people had to be exceedingly rare.
Reflecting on his own good fortune, Rei walked on until he spotted a Golem tending to the plants. It appeared to be trimming overgrown branches. Not wanting to interfere, Rei was quietly backing away when the Golem suddenly let out a sound.
"Pi!"
Rei tensed for a moment. But he sensed nothing resembling hostility from the Golem—though whether Golems even possessed killing intent or hostility like ordinary monsters was anyone's guess.
In the Golem's outstretched hand was a red fruit. Even unpeeled, it gave off a sweet-and-sour aroma that made it instantly clear: this would be delicious.
Rei had seen all manner of fruits since coming to Elgin, but this was something entirely new. Size-wise, it was perhaps slightly smaller than an apple.
"This is for me? Is it okay to eat?"
"Pi!"
The Golem nodded as if to confirm.
Rei accepted the fruit and was surprised by its texture—softer than an apple, closer to a mandarin. But if the Golem said it was fine, he'd take its word for it. He bit in.
A crisp crunch.
The texture was unexpectedly firm for something that had felt so soft. Rei savored the crunch as he registered the flavor...
"...Delicious..."
Those were the only words that came from Rei's mouth—spoken with quiet, genuine feeling. When you eat something truly delicious, no superfluous words are needed. All that remained in his mouth was that overwhelming taste.
Flavor-wise, it had the refreshing, juicy sweetness of a pear. In an instant, a lush and rich sweetness flooded his palate, followed by a faint tartness that lingered beautifully on the finish.
One bite, two bites, three bites.
It was so good that after voicing his impression, Rei immediately bit in again... but since the fruit was only slightly smaller than an apple to begin with, it was gone before he knew it.
"That was delicious. Thank you."
Rei spoke his gratitude to the Golem. But even as he said it, he unknowingly wore an expression that could only be described as wanting more—proof of just how incredible that fruit had been.
"Pi! Pipipi! Pipi!"
The Golem, which had been watching Rei, moved forward a short distance, stopped, and looked back. From its behavior, Rei got the impression it was telling him to follow—so he did.
They walked for a few minutes. Near the lake stood a cluster of trees... a grove, more accurately. As Rei followed the Golem into its depths, he found a single tree standing there.
Strangely, no other trees grew anywhere around it. In that respect, it was reminiscent of the Dark World Tree—but unlike that ominous presence, nothing about this tree felt sinister. If anything, it seemed to be sharing its vitality with everything around it.
But what really caught Rei's eye was the abundance of fruit hanging from its branches—the very same kind he had just eaten.
"That many..."
"Pi!"
The Golem pointed at the fruit, as if to say he could pick as many as he liked.
"Wait—are you saying I can take these?"
"Pi!"
"...How many?"
"Pipi!"
Rei couldn't understand what the Golem was trying to say. But from its gestures, it seemed to be indicating as many as you want. To be sure, he asked one more time.
"The fruits on that tree... is it okay if I pick all of them?"
"Pi!"
The Golem nodded... and Rei immediately set about harvesting the fruit.