"Um, huh? Hey, Rei. Did you really already defeat that... big Smog Panther?"
Having watched Rei's Death Scythe effortlessly sever the neck of the Smog Panther's Commander Individual, Nielson asked, still struggling to process what she'd just witnessed.
That said, she wasn't the only one questioning the series of events that had just unfolded.
If anything, Rei himself—the one who had actually killed the Commander Individual—was even more surprised by this unexpected development.
"Yeah, looks like it's down. Whether it was inherently weak as an individual, or if the light you released weakened its power... honestly, I can't tell which. What about you, Nielson? Did you learn anything from that light?"
"Huh? Hmm, let's see..."
Nielson pondered Rei's words for a moment, then suddenly emitted light.
Just as before, it shot off in the direction she pointed.
"...You got the hang of producing it pretty quickly."
"Oh, yeah. Somehow, I just... could do it after using it once."
"After using it once... that's certainly..."
Hearing Nielson's explanation, what came to Rei's mind was a bicycle.
He remembered learning to ride one back in elementary school.
At first, he couldn't stay balanced, so a parent had to hold him from behind.
But once he figured it out, he could ride so freely it made him wonder what all the earlier struggle had even been about.
Even after a long winter without touching one, he could hop back on come spring with no problem at all.
Years could pass without him riding, but as long as he'd grasped the concept once, he'd be able to ride normally.
It seemed the same principle applied to Nielson's light.
Now that she'd learned how, seeing her actually fire it off a second time made her claim entirely convincing.
"Hehe, pretty amazing, right?"
"Well, if you're asking me whether it's amazing or not, I'll honestly say it is. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't forget that I'm the one who worked hard protecting you until you could use that power."
"I know that. It's definitely thanks to you that I can use this power. I'm grateful."
Nielson said it so casually that, from Rei's perspective, it didn't exactly sound like gratitude from the bottom of her heart.
That said, given their current situation, he didn't have the luxury of bickering with her over it.
"Grrrrl!"
At Seto's cry, Rei turned to look.
All the Normal Species Smog Panthers had been defeated by Seto.
What was fortunate for Rei was that the Commander Individual had materialized due to Nielson's power.
Because of that, the Normal Species Smog Panthers had also been forced out of their fog state and into material form.
As a result, the panthers that were killed had no damage to their magic stones.
Rei had figured that if the Smog Panther stones were too damaged for the Chief to accept, he'd simply sell them to the Guild or a merchant—or just let them gather dust in his Misty Ring.
But if the Chief could take them as-is, that would be far better.
Attacking them in fog form spread damage evenly across their entire bodies, but striking them in materialized form like this made it possible to bring them down without harming the magic stones at all.
"Alright, as for the Smog Panthers... at the very least, I want to dissect the Commander Individual here."
For Rei, the Commander Individual's corpse was far more important than the numerous Normal Species Smog Panther carcasses scattered across the ground.
(The question is whether to give this Commander Individual's corpse to Death Scythe or Seto. ...Seto, I suppose.)
His deliberation lasted only an instant.
Rei immediately decided that Seto would get the magic stone.
Death Scythe had diverse attack options beyond its Skills—the Twilight Spear and magic, for instance—whereas Seto relied on physical attacks apart from his Skills.
Though in Seto's case, his Skills were actually more varied than Death Scythe's.
Additionally, Seto hadn't yet used the spider's magic stone.
Since they hadn't found a second spider, that was only natural.
In contrast, Death Scythe had already absorbed both the spider's and the deer's magic stones.
Given that, Rei judged that the magic stone from the Commander Individual before him—though he still couldn't tell whether it was a High-ranking Species or a Rare Species—should go to Seto.
(Besides, the Skill it acquires will probably be fog-related. Since Seto already has the Fog Skill, there's a high chance it'll get enhanced.)
While mulling over what kind of Skill Seto might acquire or have enhanced, Rei began storing the Smog Panther corpses lying on the ground into his Misty Ring one after another.
"Nielson, we've taken down the Commander Individual that was leading the Smog Panthers, and we've killed a considerable number of the Normal Species ones. Isn't that more than enough magic stones to bring back to the Fairy Dwelling?"
"You're right. With this many, the Chief won't have any complaints. If anything, she might be quite pleased."
Nielson looked relieved, clearly feeling that with this many Smog Panther magic stones, the Chief would have nothing to reproach her for.
Not only that, but Nielson had gained a new power from this whole experience.
"So in the end, what was that light you emitted? It's a fairy's power, right? I was sure the Chief had done something to you."
"That's right. You're not wrong about that. The Chief definitely stimulated the power dormant within me and made it easier to awaken. In that sense, it is thanks to her... but I still don't know exactly what I can do with it. I'll need to test it a bit more."
"I see."
Confirming the specific effects of one's own abilities—that was something Rei understood well.
Whenever he acquired a new Skill or had one enhanced through Beast Magic, he and Seto always tested it themselves.
That said, there were also Skills like Poison Claw that couldn't be tested carelessly.
After all, Poison Claw did exactly what its name suggested: it inflicted poison on an opponent.
On top of that, Seto's Poison Claw was currently at level seven—its maximum.
Beast Magic Skills, once they reached level five or above, were enhanced to the point of seeming like entirely different abilities.
Poison Claw would be no exception.
That was precisely why he couldn't afford to use it recklessly.
(But with Goblins, I don't need their magic stones no matter how many die... no, Goblins would be too weak to gauge exactly how much power Poison Claw actually has.)
To properly test Poison Claw's effects, he'd need an enemy whose materials and magic stones were disposable, yet one that possessed a certain degree of strength.
"Rei, what's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh. Well, we don't need to stay in this forest anymore, but in the end we never found a second spider."
"Ah, right. You did say you were collecting magic stones. ...But wasn't getting even one spider magic stone good enough?"
Better to have obtained one than none at all.
When Nielson put it like that, Rei nodded, still looking faintly dissatisfied.
"True. I'm glad we managed to get at least one rather than coming away empty-handed. I am... but still, as someone collecting magic stones, I really wanted that spider's. Or magic stones from monsters other than the spider, deer, lizards, and Smog Panthers."
This was a vast forest.
Naturally, the types of monsters inhabiting it wouldn't be limited to just these.
Rei and Seto probably just hadn't found the others, but there should have been many more creatures living here.
Rei would have loved to track down as many of them as possible and claim their magic stones, but in their current situation, dwelling on that was undoubtedly pointless.
Of course, if they actually tried to search, it would needlessly eat up time.
What's more, if they went looking for unknown monsters even once, they might never manage to leave this forest again.
(Actually, as a way to kill time, is it really that bad an idea?)
The reason Rei was here in the first place was that he couldn't return to Gilm after the Crystal Dragon incident, and Egginis was busy dealing with the aftermath of its own turmoil... which was partly why he'd taken refuge in the Fairy Dwelling.
In that sense, spending time in this forest wasn't a bad proposition.
"Hey, Nielson. Since we came all the way out to a forest like this, why don't we take it easy a bit longer? Maybe we'll stumble across something even more interesting."
"Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden? We've already got plenty of the Smog Panther magic stones we came for, so there's no reason to stick around this forest, is there? Besides, I need to tell the Chief I've gained a new power."
Under different circumstances, Nielson might have readily gone along with his suggestion.
But having acquired a new ability, she was itching to report it to the Chief as soon as possible.
...Not to mention, she also wanted to show it off to the other fairies.
At any rate, Nielson had decided there was no need to remain in the forest any longer.
(Hmm, judging by her attitude, getting her to stay in the forest is a lost cause. Then what? Send Nielson back alone? That's just asking for trouble. She'd probably stop by some village along the way and pull pranks.)
She said she wanted to inform the Chief about her newly awakened power, but whether she could actually resist the urge to pull pranks when passing near a village was another matter entirely.
Knowing Nielson's usual behavior, Rei simply couldn't bring himself to trust her on that.
"Can't be helped. Let's head back."
In the end, Rei chose to return to the Fairy Dwelling.
If he sent Nielson back alone, there was no telling whether she'd arrive safely.
Even if she piled detour upon detour and didn't show up until years later... Rei wouldn't have been particularly surprised.
That was exactly why he couldn't just leave Nielson to her own devices—he'd decided to return with her.
The Chief had done a lot for Rei.
She was crafting the Fog Sound, a Magic Item, for him, so carelessly offending her here was out of the question.
If Rei did something to upset her, given the Chief's personality, she probably wouldn't go so far as to refuse to make the item.
But there would inevitably be a difference in quality between something she crafted with Rei in mind versus something she slapped together out of obligation.
That was why Rei had no desire to do anything that might sour the Chief's mood.
"So you've decided to head back. Let's get going, then. With Seto's speed, it won't take long to reach the Fairy Dwelling from here, right?"
Hearing Rei say they were leaving, Nielson chimed in.
It hadn't taken them long to get to this forest in the first place.
She said that precisely because she knew it.
...Of course, that assumed Rei and Seto wouldn't get lost along the way.
"Right. And assuming no bandits or the like show up."
They were in a bit of a hurry, true, but if they ran into bandits, Rei couldn't just look the other way.
That said, it wasn't out of any sense of justice—he hunted bandits as a hobby.
"Bandits? If those types show up, I'll take them down in one hit!"
Nielson declared, brimming with enthusiasm.
Rei found her reaction a little puzzling.
Setting himself aside—he was the one who actually hunted bandits—for Nielson, they were a completely distant concern.
So why was she this fired up about hunting them?
It would be unreasonable not to wonder.
"Nielson, did you hate bandits that much? Well, I can't say I've met many people who actually like bandits."
"When I was in Gilm, I had chances to hear all sorts of stories."
When she put it that way, Rei could accept it.
But Nielson had basically been at his side the whole time. When exactly had she had the spare time to hear stories about bandits? He had his doubts.
That said, given the current situation, there was no real need to press the point... and so it was settled: they would leave the forest as they were.