"It looks like the Seto Cage is fine."
Riding on Seto's back, Rei eyed the cage the griffon carried and spoke.
Nielson, perched on Rei's shoulder, piped up with a dissatisfied look.
"Maybe I should have gone in the Seto Cage too."
"Hey, I did ask you, didn't I? What you wanted to do. And you chose to ride on Seto with me. Why bring that up now?"
"Because, I'm a little curious."
Nielson sulked, but Rei could only shoot her an exasperated glance.
That said, even as he gave her that look, he could somewhat understand how she felt.
The idea of eating fairies that Bob had mentioned earlier was clearly still bothering her.
Nielson had gotten along well with Bob, all things considered, but it wouldn't be strange for her to think that being shut inside the enclosed space of the Seto Cage with him might be dangerous.
Even if something happened, there was always the Fairy Circle as a means of teleportation, so she shouldn't have needed to worry that much.
"Anyway, we got plenty of Smog Panther magic stones, so first let's head to the Fairy Dwelling. Whether to let Bob inside is something the Chief will need to decide, though."
They'd made an unexpected find during a detour on the way—or rather, picked up an unexpected person—but what Rei and his group needed to do now was, naturally, hand over the Smog Panther magic stones to the Chief of the Fairy Dwelling.
Receiving the Fog Sound, a Magic Item crafted by the fairies, depended on it.
"Right. The Chief can make that call. It's too difficult for me to judge."
Nielson said this with a surprisingly confident air, but was that really okay? Rei couldn't help but wonder.
From his perspective, it seemed like the Chief was trying to raise Nielson.
...However, Nielson herself didn't seem to have the slightest awareness of that.
(Originally, maybe Nielson should be the one making these kinds of judgments. But then again, she doesn't seem to notice that at all. That's... well, not really something for me to press on. If it doesn't work out, the Chief will probably say something later.)
Naturally, if that happened, it wouldn't be strange for Nielson to be scolded—or even chewed out—by the Chief.
Whether Nielson's thoughts extended that far, Rei couldn't say, but he figured if she was fine with it, then it was fine.
"Still, are you sure about the ones who attacked us last night?"
Nielson suddenly changed the subject—though content-wise it wasn't really a change—and Rei nodded with a fair degree of confidence.
"According to what Bob told me, we don't know exactly how they're tracking us. But whatever method they're using, even if they rush, they can only move by carriage or... on horseback. If that's the case, even if they can track Bob, they can't catch up to Seto flying through the sky."
Seto's flying speed was overwhelmingly faster than a carriage rolling across the ground or someone traveling on horseback.
Generally, riding a horse at a full gallop was the fastest way to travel overland, but Seto's flight speed easily surpassed that.
Of course, there might be exceptions—riding a Tamed Monster or a Summoning Room creature with a faster movement speed instead of a horse... but even so, Rei's understanding was that very few beings could exceed Seto's flight speed.
(Ah, but if it's teleportation... Still, a teleportation Magic Item isn't something you can get your hands on that easily.)
The only teleportation Magic Item Rei knew of was the one developed in the Bestia Empire.
There was also the possibility of finding such a Magic Item in a dungeon, but that aside.
The teleportation Magic Items manufactured in the Bestia Empire were strictly managed.
Naturally so. Teleportation was an extremely dangerous tool depending on how it was used.
Under the right circumstances, it was even possible to teleport inside a castle.
That said, in reality, it was rumored that a fair number of teleportation Magic Items had been smuggled out during the turmoil of the civil war.
Even so, Rei didn't think the enemies who attacked last night could obtain one so easily.
Also significant was the fact that teleportation Magic Items required proper preparation at the destination.
In this case, if the enemy wanted to teleport into the Fairy Dwelling, they would need to set things up inside beforehand.
That was simply impossible—or so Rei predicted. No, rather than a prediction, it would be more accurate to call it a conviction.
"Hmm. Well, if you say so, Rei, I guess it'll be fine."
Nielson seemed to accept it, satisfied for now simply because it came from him.
Honestly, he wasn't sure whether she actually understood and accepted it.
Or perhaps she found thinking about it troublesome and was leaving it to Rei.
"Anyway, as long as we're being targeted by a suspicious group, we can't afford to make detours like before. It might be a letdown for you, Nielson, but we're heading straight to the Fairy Dwelling."
"Understood. I think that's for the best."
"...Knowing you, Nielson, I figured you'd insist on making more detours. Are you sure you're fine with this?"
"Listen here, Rei, what exactly do you take me for? I know perfectly well what I need to do. Besides... if the Chief found out I wanted to make detours in this kind of situation, who knows what would happen."
Rei could guess that the talk about knowing what to do was just a front, and her real reason was to avoid being punished if the Chief caught wind of it.
From Rei's perspective, the Chief didn't seem like the type to be that strict.
But that was only from his point of view; to Nielson, who was one of her own people, it might be an entirely different story.
"Then that's settled. ...Alright, Seto. Take care of it."
"Grrrrrrl!"
In response to Rei's words, Seto let out a cry as if to say he understood.
With a heavy thud, the Seto Cage was lowered into the Treant Forest.
A place not far from the Fairy Dwelling.
Rei had originally thought there would be nowhere to set the Seto Cage down unless they were outside the Treant Forest, but whether due to monsters having rampaged through or some other reason, there was a gaping clearing not far from the Fairy Dwelling.
Of course, even though it was a clearing, it wasn't a properly maintained area.
It was a clearing only in the sense that no tall trees grew there.
And it was a rather narrow one at that—so tight that even the flying Seto had difficulty lowering the cage to the ground.
It was precisely because it was Seto that he managed to set it down at all.
Once the Seto Cage was on the ground, the rest was easy.
Freed of the extra weight, Seto immediately landed on the ground.
"Pfaah! T-That was amazing! This Seto Cage thing... it was my first time riding in one, but it was just incredible!"
Bob emerged from the Seto Cage, practically vibrating with excitement.
Seeing his enthusiasm, Nielson drifted toward the cage with apparent interest.
"Well, that's to be expected. Not many people have ridden in the Seto Cage. If you'd claimed you'd been in one before, I definitely would have called you a liar."
"You're right. The ride was comfortable too. ...But, if a cage this big is flying through the sky, wouldn't people on the ground spot it?"
Still buzzing with excitement, Bob posed the question that had been nagging at him during the flight.
Thanks to the Seto Cage, the fact that he could fly through the sky was genuinely amazing.
But if it were just Seto flying, that would be one thing—carrying such a huge cage suspended below him would surely make him easier to spot from below.
It was only natural to have such doubts.
However, Rei shook his head.
"Don't worry. The Seto Cage has Optical Camouflage... though that might be a bit hard to understand. Simply put, it has a function that makes it blend in with the surrounding scenery. Do you know what a chameleon is?"
At the word "chameleon," Bob immediately caught on.
"I know chameleons. Quite a while back, I hunted a giant chameleon in a forest."
"Giant... that's a monster, isn't it?"
As far as Rei knew, chameleons weren't that large.
They were supposed to be small enough to fit on the palm of a hand.
That was why it was only natural for Rei to suspect that the giant chameleon Bob mentioned was a monster.
"That's right. It had a magic stone too. Though... I got lowballed on it."
For Bob, a hunter, he probably didn't have much experience negotiating magic stone buybacks.
Compared to negotiating the sale of meat, it shouldn't be all that different—or so Rei figured.
However, Bob didn't seem particularly bothered by it, so Rei didn't dwell on it.
"I see. Magic stones can fetch a high price, so be careful. ...Anyway, the Seto Cage can blend into its surroundings, so even if someone on the ground looks up, they won't be able to spot it. If they have a Magic Eye or an ability to sense magical power, it might be a different story, though."
"Hey, stop chatting over there and let's get going. Bob is traveling with us until partway, so hurry up and come!"
Rei and Bob obediently complied.
They didn't think continuing the conversation here would serve any particular purpose.
"Is this the Fairy Dwelling? It looks like an ordinary forest. But... yes, something feels a little off."
"Oh, you can tell? This is the Treant Forest. A place that suddenly turned into a forest a few years ago. It wasn't formed naturally, so that might be what feels off."
"...Huh?"
For a moment, Bob apparently couldn't process what Rei meant.
A dumbfounded sound escaped his lips.
But it was only natural.
The trees growing around them were all magnificent.
Some looked decades old—and there were even ancient trees that seemed to have stood for nearly a century.
To be told that such trees had only sprouted a few years ago was impossible to believe.
Bob, as a hunter, had experience working in many groves, forests, and mountains.
Even from his perspective, he couldn't possibly accept Rei's words as truth.
...But at the same time, he couldn't imagine Rei lying in this situation either.
If that was the case... Bob's gaze shifted toward Nielson.
However, Nielson shook her head at his unspoken question.
"I'm telling you, we only arrived here recently. I don't really know the story of when this forest came to be."
"Is that so? I assumed that since you're fairies, you'd lived in the same place all along."
"Bob, are you possibly having strange dreams about fairies?"
"Wait, aren't you the one saying that?"
A fairy asking whether someone was having dreams about fairies—what kind of logic was that?
Rei thought as much, but Nielson spoke up with a perfectly straight face.
"I can say that because I am one."
"Yeah, yeah, I suppose that might be true."
"Grrrrl."
As Rei chatted with Nielson and Bob, Seto suddenly purred.
At Seto's reaction, Rei checked his surroundings... and understood why.
There was still a faint layer of fog lingering around them.
It was the fog produced by the Magic Item called the Fog Sound.
In other words, proof that they were drawing close to the Fairy Dwelling.
"It looks like we're getting close to the Fairy Dwelling. ...Nielson, where should we have Bob wait?"
"Right. Wouldn't it be better to get a little closer? If he stays here, animals and monsters from the Treant Forest might wander by."
"That's what she says, but what do you think, Bob? Just so you know, as we get closer to the Fairy Dwelling, the fog gets thicker and your sense of direction will go haywire. On top of that, if you do anything careless, you might be attacked by the wolves guarding the Fairy Dwelling."
"Hey, Rei. Don't just list the bad parts. If you're in the fog, you won't be attacked by the monsters and animals in the Treant Forest, and as long as you don't act strangely, the wolves won't be a problem since I'll talk to them properly. ...So, what'll it be?"
Bob hesitated for a moment at Nielson's question... and then opened his mouth to answer.