"For now... we'll talk in detail in the morning. There's no point wasting time talking here. If we end up sleep-deprived tomorrow and can't make proper decisions, then it's meaningless."
Nielson and Bob both agreed with Rei's words.
They had originally been attacked in the middle of the night while sleeping.
Considering that, it was indeed better to get a solid night's rest until morning.
...Though that was strictly Rei's own perspective.
Rei was accustomed to these kinds of life-or-death situations, so he could sleep normally whenever he wanted to.
Bob, however, was different.
He was a skilled hunter, and sometimes camped outdoors during his travels or even slept in the forest at night while tracking prey.
But that was precisely because nothing was happening — those were the times he could sleep.
Someone was targeting him... and not just ordinary bandits, but opponents who could approach close enough without even alerting Seto, a high-rank monster.
Knowing he was being targeted by such foes, Bob was not thick-skinned enough to sleep without a care.
"Rei-san, um... is it really okay?"
"Seto is here, so even if those guys come back, you can rest assured they won't be able to harm you."
"But..."
Bob looked at Seto worriedly.
The opponents had approached without even alerting Seto.
So it was only natural to wonder whether it would really be okay.
As if to reassure Bob, Nielson, who had been listening, spoke up.
"I don't know what kind of method they used. It's probably true that they were able to get close to Seto. But ultimately, Seto sensed something was off and noticed their presence, right? Then even if something similar happens again, wouldn't he notice right away?"
"Probably. Plus, it was Seto's first time dealing with that, which is likely why he didn't notice. But now that he knows something like that can happen, he should be able to detect them before they get this close, unlike last time."
There was no particular basis for those words.
He was simply saying it would be fine because it was Seto — and it seemed like nothing more than that.
Nevertheless, for some reason, Bob found himself deeply convinced as he listened. Rei's words alone were enough to convey the depth of trust he placed in Seto.
He could tell that Rei truly believed it from the bottom of his heart.
It was enough to make anyone who heard those words believe in Seto without question — and it wouldn't seem strange at all.
And indeed, Bob accepted Rei's words and nodded in genuine agreement.
"Understood. If you say so, Rei-san, I believe you. Besides... at the end of the day, I have no choice but to rely on Seto."
Huh, Rei thought.
Rei felt a small measure of admiration at those words from Bob.
For Bob, relying on Seto was understandable, but there was another option available to him.
That was the Magic Tent Rei was using.
If he went inside, the outside of the Magic Tent would be protected by Seto, and the inside by Rei.
From Bob's standpoint, that would have been the best approach.
Bob probably understood that as well, but perhaps remembering that Rei hadn't offered to let him use the Magic Tent, he hadn't said anything about it.
Pleased by Bob's attitude, Rei changed his mind.
"I've changed my mind a little. Bob, you can come inside the Magic Tent."
"Huh? Um... is that okay?"
Though he was a hunter and not an adventurer, Bob didn't know just how precious a Magic Item the Magic Tent was.
However, from Rei's attitude, he could guess that it was quite valuable.
Whether it was really okay for him to use such a Magic Item — it was only natural to wonder.
"Yeah, I don't mind. Honestly, if you had come to me asking to use the Magic Tent, I wouldn't have let you. But because you didn't take that attitude, I've judged you as someone worth trusting. However..."
He paused, putting force into his gaze before continuing.
"I don't think it'll happen, but if you try to steal the Magic Tent or do anything suspicious, I will kill you. If you're fine with that, then use the Magic Tent."
"Thank you. I'll take you up on that, then."
Without a moment's hesitation, Bob accepted.
Bob was naturally curious.
He was probably interested in the Magic Tent Rei used.
But if he had let that show, he wouldn't have known what Rei might do to him.
That was likely why he had never asked to try using it himself before now.
"Understood. I didn't expect you to nod so readily... but alright, then."
Rei had intended to speak with a fair amount of threatening intent.
However, Bob nodded without appearing the least bit bothered by Rei's demeanor.
Was it because he was confident he wouldn't do anything to the Magic Tent, or did he think Rei's words were an empty threat?
Rei couldn't tell which it was, but he hoped it was the former.
If Bob believed the latter, Rei would end up dealing with him himself before the attackers from earlier could get to him.
"Well, that settles that. I'm going to sleep soon too. I was thinking of sleeping in the Magic Tent, but this is better after all."
Nielson, who had been watching the exchange between Rei and Bob, said that and slipped inside a nearby tree trunk.
"Huh? Wait? Um... what? Hold on... Rei-san!?"
Bob looked as though he couldn't comprehend whether what he had just seen was real.
From his perspective, it must have looked like Nielson had simply vanished into the tree.
Though it was a familiar sight to Rei and Seto, Bob was seeing it for the first time.
That was why he was panicking — but Rei didn't seem bothered at all.
"Nielson is a fairy. More importantly, get inside. I want to get some sleep early to prepare for tomorrow."
"Huh? Is it really okay to just brush off what you saw so casually!?"
"Don't make me say it again. Nielson is a fairy. It wouldn't be strange for her to be able to do something like that."
Saying so, Rei promptly headed into the Magic Tent.
Following Rei, Bob also stepped inside.
He hadn't fully come to terms with the Nielson situation yet, but once inside the Magic Tent, Bob's attention shifted from Nielson to the interior he now found himself in.
"This is... huh? Is this the Magic Tent?"
He couldn't comprehend the scene unfolding before his eyes.
He had heard the name Magic Tent before.
He understood from the name that it was a Magic Item, and Rei hadn't particularly tried to hide that fact.
But... it was only now, by actually entering it for the first time, that he learned what exactly a Magic Tent was.
He had known the interior might be larger than the outside suggested. He'd known that much, but even so, the interior being an actual room was completely unexpected for Bob.
Bob's sheer astonishment was enough to satisfy Rei.
Seeing his reaction, Rei felt a small sense of pride and smiled as he spoke.
"That's right. This is the Magic Tent. Even when camping outdoors, you can properly rest and recover from fatigue."
"Well... looking at this, that goes without saying."
The reason you couldn't fully recover from fatigue while camping was partly because you couldn't sleep soundly while worrying about enemy attacks, but also simply because the sleeping environment couldn't compare to an inn in town.
However, with this Magic Tent, none of that mattered. Even outdoors, it provided a sleeping environment on par with a proper inn — no, far more comfortable than some cheap inn.
"Tomorrow will be an early one. I don't know what will happen, but either way, you'll definitely be busy. Get plenty of rest. Use the sofa over there."
There was only one bed inside the Magic Tent.
Given that, although Rei had let Bob inside, he had no intention of letting him use the bed.
Bob had no objections to sleeping on the sofa and nodded readily.
"Understood. Honestly, if you told me to just fall asleep right here, I'd have trouble doing so because there are so many fascinating things to look at... but thinking about tomorrow, I should get to sleep as early as possible."
Bob spoke with a complicated expression.
For Bob, being told not to be curious about where he currently was would have been unreasonable.
At any rate, too many things had happened in a single day.
In many ways, he couldn't fully grasp his current situation.
No — it was more accurate to say that so many things had happened that he couldn't fully comprehend his circumstances.
To sort out those thoughts, he naturally needed to organize his mind... and sleeping was the quickest way to do that.
"Right. Whatever we do from tomorrow on, it'll be tough if your thoughts aren't in order. Given that, it really is better to get to sleep early today."
Bob nodded honestly at Rei's words as well.
Truthfully, Bob also wanted to investigate his current situation — especially regarding this Magic Tent.
However, it was also a fact that he was sleep-deprived from being woken up mid-sleep by the attack.
Once he knew the inside of this Magic Tent was safe, Bob was powerless against the drowsiness that assaulted him... and drifted off to sleep right there on the sofa.
"Well, Bob's all set. I should get to sleep too. Tomorrow's going to be busy."
Yawning broadly, Rei also headed for the bed.
"Morning, huh."
Rei woke up and immediately got ready.
Normally, he would spend a few dozen minutes in a daze after waking up, but perhaps because someone other than himself was inside the Magic Tent, and because of last night's attackers who had approached without Seto noticing, he didn't feel groggy at all.
When he stepped out of the bedroom, Bob was sound asleep on the sofa.
Having fallen asleep immediately from exhaustion the night before, that fatigue probably hadn't fully been cured yet.
From Rei's perspective, that was better than having Bob wandering around inside the Magic Tent.
"Wake up, Bob."
Rei gave the sofa a light kick to rouse him.
Whether from fatigue or because he had woken up once in the middle of the night, kicking the sofa once or twice wasn't enough to wake Bob.
Even so, after a few more attempts, Bob eventually stirred from his deep slumber.
"Nnh... huh? Where am I... and you are..."
Bob, roused by Rei, initially looked around with no idea where he was. But upon seeing Rei's face, he wore a puzzled expression, and before long recalled where he was and who was standing in front of him.
"Ah, Rei-san. Good morning."
"Looks like you're awake. You were sleeping quite soundly — did you recover from your fatigue?"
"Well... there are still some things I haven't sorted out, but I think I've managed to organize things to some extent."
"I see. Well, anyway, once we've had breakfast, we're heading to the Fairy Dwelling. Though whether you'll be allowed inside is up to the Chief."
"Understood. I'm interested in the Fairy Dwelling too. Fairies show up in fairy tales and such, after all."
"...Just so we're clear, don't eat them, okay?"
"No, I mean... that was just because there's a fairy tale like that, so I said what I did — I have absolutely no intention of eating fairies!"
Bob shouted desperately.
From his perspective, being suspected of potentially eating fairies over a carelessly spoken remark was honestly something he took issue with.
He had absolutely no intention of doing such a thing.
"Easy for you to say. But you're the one who actually said it, so it can't be helped.... In the first place, why did you suddenly say something like that? If you had just said you were happy to meet a fairy, bringing you to the Fairy Dwelling wouldn't have been that much of an issue. Well, what the Chief decides is a separate matter, though."
In the end, it was the Chief who would decide whether Bob could enter the Fairy Dwelling.
Even if Nielson liked Bob, if the Chief said no, then no it would be.
Or if Rei asked, the Chief — to whom he owed a favor — might listen... but unfortunately, Rei had no intention of using his favor with the Chief in a situation like this.