"Please stay the night here. However... we have no lodgings meant for humans, so I'll need to prepare a space for you now."
It was decided that Nielson would accompany Rei, but they wouldn't be departing right away.
Rei was looking forward to the Smog Panther's magic stone as it would be his first time fighting one, but the Chief likely felt it best not to send Rei off the moment he'd arrived.
To the fairies of this Fairy Dwelling, Rei was a benefactor.
He had eliminated those who tried to force their way into the Fairy Dwelling, served as a bridge between them and Gilm's Daskar, and was now arranging to have the Smog Panther's magic stone handed over to them.
That was precisely why she showed such consideration for Rei, their benefactor.
...Though, as the Chief herself had noted, there were no facilities in the Fairy Dwelling to lodge a person.
Furthermore, fairies slept inside trees—and this was no metaphor—so inviting Rei into the spaces where fairies rested was simply out of the question.
"A place to stay? Then there's nothing to worry about. I have a Magic Tent, so as long as there's a spot to set it up, I'll have no problem sleeping. There's always the option of going back to Gilm, but..."
"You can't go back, can you?"
"Something like that. Besides, if I'm heading to where the Smog Panther is with Nielson tomorrow, going to Gilm would just mean making the trip back here all over again."
Given Seto's flight speed, traveling from Gilm to the Treant Forest didn't take much time.
In fact, when Rei was helping with Gilm's expansion construction, he had come to the Treant Forest many times to store felled lumber in his Misty Ring and transport it to where the alchemists were working.
The woodcutters operated along the outer perimeter of the Treant Forest, while the Fairy Dwelling lay deep within—a difference that meant little to the airborne Seto.
For those reasons, going back to Gilm was certainly an option, but naturally, if Rei returned, a large number of people would try to contact him over the Crystal Dragon incident.
Rei—or rather, Seto—had been granted permission to fly directly into Gilm and land.
However, descending from the sky to Marina's house would inevitably draw attention.
There was no doubt that the number of people seeking an audience with Marina—or with Elena, who used Marina's house as her base—would only increase.
That was exactly why staying in the fairy forest to avoid such trouble was something Rei appreciated.
"I see. Then please set up your Magic Tent wherever you like. ...Nielson, guide Rei-san."
"Understood."
Nielson was normally a cheerful and mischievous fairy, but she couldn't defy the Chief's orders.
If she were to foolishly defy the Chief here, she might genuinely be used as live bait for the Smog Panther.
Knowing this full well, Nielson immediately nodded at the Chief's words.
Looking satisfied with Nielson's response, the Chief bowed to Rei and departed.
Incidentally, the Dwa Fruit Rei had given her earlier was still floating beside the Chief, subtly undercutting her commanding presence... but Rei decided to ignore that for the time being.
At the same time, he pretended not to notice that the departing Chief was humming cheerfully to herself, clearly in a good mood.
It wasn't just Rei—Nielson did the same.
"So, Rei, this Magic Tent, right? How much space do you need to set it up?"
"I don't need a particularly large area. Anywhere around here should be fine."
"Really? Well... sure. I'll take you to a suitable spot. It's an order from the Chief, after all."
Rei set out with Nielson to find a place to pitch the Magic Tent.
However, Rei and Nielson naturally stood out in the Fairy Dwelling.
It was a place populated almost entirely by fairies... and the wolf pups that had been playing with Seto earlier, so it was only natural that Rei walking through would draw attention.
Many fairies swarmed toward them.
Fairies were inherently curious creatures, and even setting that aside, many probably remembered the Dwa Fruits Rei had given them or the souvenirs he'd brought on a previous visit.
"Hey, hey, Rei, what are you doing next?"
"Aren't you going to play with us? I'm really good at tag!"
"More importantly, give us some sweet treats!"
Rei gave suitable replies to the fairies crowding around him.
"Tonight I got the Chief's permission to stay in this Fairy Dwelling, so I'm just picking a spot to sleep. If it's tag you want, Seto would be happy to play. Sweet treats will have to wait until next time."
He kept moving as he conversed with them, but there were some fairies among the crowd who eyed him with open wariness.
Fundamentally, fairies were curious by nature, but not all of them wanted to be friendly with Rei; a small number were wary of him.
The fairy I first met today was probably like that too. Personally, it stings a bit, but when I think about the Fairy Dwelling as a whole, having individuals with strong wariness isn't a bad thing at all.
As far as Rei was concerned, he had no intention of harming any fairy.
Being regarded with suspicion despite that was naturally not a pleasant feeling.
However, setting his own feelings aside, he could acknowledge that having such cautious individuals was a net positive for the Fairy Dwelling.
"Hey, that's enough! Rei is mi—I was asked by the Chief to guide him, me!"
Nielson shouted at the fairies swarming around Rei.
In Nielson's mind, she was the one closest to Rei.
Seeing him getting along with the other fairies didn't sit entirely well with her.
Beyond that, if she didn't carry out the order to guide Rei properly, she couldn't rule out the possibility of being used as live bait for the Smog Panther.
"Ah, Nielson's jealous!"
One fairy called out teasingly.
Nielson stared back at her as if to ask what on earth she was talking about.
"Hey, what are you talking about? Listen—I was asked by the Chief to look after Rei."
"Ahahaha. You're panicking, you're panicking."
The fairy who'd called her jealous laughed with evident delight at Nielson's reaction.
Nielson, apparently finding the teasing fairy insufferable, dove after her.
Since she was a fairy herself, she was naturally a skilled flier.
Watching them chase each other through the air, the surrounding fairies apparently decided it looked like fun.
The ones around Rei joined in on the game of tag.
Nielson too, perhaps forgetting her original reason for chasing during the excitement, was soon laughing out loud before anyone noticed.
"Yeah, well... they're fairies, after all. When you think about it, this outcome isn't really that strange."
Rei murmured to himself as he watched the impromptu game of tag unfold in the air above.
Normally, being abandoned like this would justify some annoyance on his part, but the sight of so many fairies darting through the sky playing tag was entertaining enough just to watch.
Perhaps they had some special rules of their own, because every so often the chaser and the chased would swap roles.
Rei watched for a while, but while five minutes was one thing, at ten or fifteen minutes he was growing bored.
He wondered whether the fairies would ever tire of tag, but they were surprisingly absorbed and showed no sign of stopping.
Since simply standing around waiting was getting dull, Rei called out to Nielson.
"Live bait."
With a jolt, Nielson froze mid-air.
Hearing Rei's murmur, she had stopped dead.
...And yet she showed no sign of descending to the ground, remaining suspended in the air—suggesting she flew not with the wings on her back but through some form of magic.
In any case, the hovering Nielson eventually drifted down and landed directly on Rei's right shoulder.
"Ah, ahahaha. Come on, Rei, what are you talking about? I was just about to guide you. Come on, let's go."
Judging that staying here would only lead to more playing and spell danger, Nielson tugged desperately at Rei's Dragon Robe.
The other fairies had initially shown some interest in Nielson's behavior, but quickly decided that playing was more fun and started up another round of tag.
Nielson, pulling at the Dragon Robe, cast a slightly envious glance at her companions, but she hadn't forgotten the words "live bait" that had just come from Rei's mouth, and so she pressed on.
In the end, Nielson had done her job properly—at least in the sense that she'd managed to scatter the other fairies who had swarmed around Rei.
"So, where are you taking me? Sightseeing the Fairy Dwelling like this isn't bad, but we can't stay like this forever, right?"
"Hmm, let me think. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
"Not particularly. I'll leave that to you."
"That's the most unhelpful answer you could give... oh well, fine. I'll take you to my favorite spot, then."
Saying that, Nielson pulled Rei toward the edge of the Fairy Dwelling.
The Fairy Dwelling itself wasn't particularly large, so they reached their destination before long.
At its edge was a pond.
Not a particularly large one.
Small enough that a big fish might have found it cramped.
But no fish swam in that pond... instead, countless flowers floated on its surface.
Every bloom was one Rei was seeing for the first time. ...Of course, Rei wasn't especially knowledgeable about flowers to begin with, so there were countless flowers he wouldn't have recognized.
"Heh... this is a really nice spot. Are these some kind of special flowers?"
"That's right. They're flowers we grew using magic."
Nielson said proudly.
Rei found himself captivated by the beauty of the blossoms floating on the water—blue, red, yellow, green, black, white... a dazzling array of colors.
Had Rei known what prices these fairy-grown blooms fetched on the market, he probably wouldn't have been able to appreciate their beauty so freely.
Even if he had known, he wouldn't have done something so crass as uproot them all.
"Hehe, impressive, right? So you can sleep here."
"Yeah. I think I will. Falling asleep while looking at this isn't a bad way to spend the night. ...Though once I'm actually inside the Magic Tent, I won't be able to see this view anymore."
"Is that so? Then make sure you get a good long look before you go inside that Magic Tent thing."
The flowers on the pond must have been something Nielson was truly proud of.
She fluttered happily above the water as she spoke.
Listening to her, Rei withdrew the Magic Tent from his Misty Ring.
Nielson immediately gave in to curiosity. She had been flying above the flowers, but zipped over to where Rei was and began circling above the tent.
"Huh, so this is a Magic Tent? From the outside, it doesn't look any different from the tents by that lake over there."
"Hm? This just occurred to me, but... hasn't Nielson ever seen a Magic Tent before?"
Rei asked, suddenly curious, but Nielson only tilted her head.
"Was that the case? I don't remember that. Well, if I didn't remember it, it must not have been that important."
Put that way, Rei could accept it.
More precisely, he accepted it precisely because it was Nielson.
"Really? Well, I guess that's fine. Anyway, want to come inside?"
"Eh? Really? I'm going in, I'm going in!"
At Rei's words, a delighted squeal rang out through the air.
Listening to that cheerful cry, Rei stepped into the Magic Tent alongside Nielson.
"Wow, wait, this... what in the world is going on!? Amazing, amazing, amaziiiing!"
Listening to Nielson's delighted cries echo through the tent, Rei allowed a satisfied smile to spread across his face.