Looking at the lizard and two-headed rhino corpses Rei had produced, the Chief moved beside them and gently touched the bodies.
After placing her hand on each of the two corpses for several seconds, she eventually returned to her original spot.
"Yes. Both possess a reasonable level of strength, so I don't think there will be a problem."
"Wait, the lizard corpses work too? That's a bit surprising."
To Rei, the lizards hadn't seemed like particularly strong monsters, even in the Smog Panther forest.
Well, they had been locked in a three-way standoff with the deer and the spider, so they certainly must have possessed a commensurate level of strength.
But that was only because they acted in groups—or so Rei had perceived them.
Of course, if group behavior was the standard, the two-headed rhinos had also moved in packs.
Moreover, the rhinos had been driven to the area around the nearby village after being pushed out of the Smog Panther forest.
Given that, it was only natural for Rei to think they might rank lower than the lizards.
However, while both the lizards and two-headed rhinos were monsters that formed groups, the numbers in those groups differed greatly.
The lizards had formed packs in far greater numbers than the two-headed rhinos.
Given that, it was only natural for Rei to be surprised upon hearing that these two types of monsters possessed similar strength as individuals.
That said, in that sense, it was certainly convenient for him.
"Yes, of course there are various differences in strength when it comes down to the details. But from what I can see here, lizard magic stones should be sufficient. ...However, let me think. Depending on the circumstances, I may need to use that two-headed monster's magic stone as well."
"No, if the lizards work, I still have plenty to spare. Use those."
Saying that, Rei stored the two-headed rhino corpse back into the Misty Ring and took out three lizard corpses.
"But as you can see, the corpses haven't been dissected. The same goes for the Smog Panthers—many of them are still intact. Would you mind handling the dissection on your end? I heard from Nielson that you might be willing to do it."
"Dissection? Yes. It might take some time, but I don't mind. I have magic that can be used for such things."
"...That's convenient," Rei murmured with genuine feeling.
As far as Rei was concerned, he had no idea how the fairies went about dissecting things.
Somehow, the image of small fairies ordinarily dissecting a corpse felt shocking, or rather, gory... he felt there was something fundamentally mismatched about it, so learning that the truth behind it was magic was hardly surprising.
Honestly, Rei wanted to learn that magic more than he wanted the Fog Sound Magic Item.
For someone like Rei, who defeated large numbers of monsters, magic that could perform dissection was something he wanted badly enough to reach down his own throat for.
"Hey, I know it's really... truly late to be asking this, but instead of the Fog Sound, that Magic Item you're making for me—could you teach me that dissection Fairy Magic instead?"
"Impossible."
The Chief told him flatly, without so much as a few seconds of deliberation.
Rei found himself puzzled by her words and asked straightforwardly, "Why?"
"Fairy Magic is called Fairy Magic because only fairies can use it. Rei-san, you are not a fairy. Given that, I believe it would be impossible for you to acquire Fairy Magic."
"That's..."
The Chief's words carried strong persuasive power.
But at the same time, Rei thought that if that was the only obstacle, there might still be a way.
After all, Rei possessed an enormous amount of magic power.
Using that magic power, he was able to use magic such as Light Magic and Holy Attribute magic, albeit in a rough manner—through the absurd method of pouring ten thousand... no, tens of thousands, or in some cases, hundreds of millions of magic power into a spell that would normally require only about ten, forcibly activating it.
In that sense, there was no doubt Rei harbored the thought that he might be able to use Fairy Magic.
That said, such a notion quickly vanished from his mind.
(Ah, no good. The other attribute magic I use ultimately takes the form of being imbued with Flame-system magic anyway.)
For example, among the magic Rei used, there was a spell that purified corpses to prevent them from becoming Undead.
But that was strictly achieved by burning the corpse with flames.
Given that, even if Rei were taught the dissection Fairy Magic by the Chief, whether he could actually use it was doubtful at best.
The phenomena of dissection and fire were not something he could imagine combining in any way.
(If I had to force an image, it would be something like burning away all the unnecessary parts during dissection? ...No, if that happened, the other parts would naturally burn too... that won't work.)
Even from imagination alone, he could predict that his own magic would end up burning the magic stones, materials, Subjugation Proof Parts, meat—all the parts he actually wanted—and he immediately concluded that trying to force himself to use Fairy Magic would be impossible.
"Then... could you make a Magic Item? Not the Fog Sound, but a dissection Magic Item."
"That as well would be difficult. It might not be entirely impossible, but to determine whether it can actually be done, I would need to try various things. Even conducting those experiments would require various materials, so it could take ten years, twenty years... in some cases, perhaps over a hundred years."
"That's, well..."
For Rei, it was undeniably an intriguing prospect.
But waiting that long was something he had to question.
Of course, Rei's body was created by the Zephyle Clan with the utmost of their technology.
Given that, he could easily wait a hundred years without any problem whatsoever... but even so, emotionally speaking, Rei found the idea too troublesome.
Having dissection magic or a Magic Item would certainly be convenient, but there were already methods like requesting the Guild or a dissection shop.
"I guess I have no choice but to give up on that, then."
"I apologize. But, let me think. It is not exactly in repayment, but if you have any undissected monster corpses, please bring them out. I will dissect all of them on my end."
"Are you sure? Even with the Fog Sound and the defilement matter to deal with?"
For Rei, having her offer to do the dissection was extremely welcome.
However, since he was already asking the Chief for various things, he felt it would be wrong to ask for anything more.
Of course, if she was still willing to do it, Rei had no reason to refuse.
"Yes, leave it to me. ...The fact that Nielson awakened to her new power is likely because she was with you, Rei-san. Given that, this much is no trouble at all."
"My presence influenced Nielson's power awakening?"
This was quite unexpected, so Rei asked the Chief with a spontaneous expression.
To such Rei, the Chief smiled and nodded.
"Yes. There is no doubt that Rei-san had an influence. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, Nielson had dormant power and talent. But how that talent would bloom depended entirely on Nielson herself. In that regard, the fact that the current situation arose while she was with you..."
Being told that it was due to his influence, Rei was unsure whether he should feel happy about it.
(Nielson was delighted about awakening to her new power. Thinking about it that way, there's no need for me to feel bad about it. ...Though I am a little curious how she might have been influenced if she had been with someone else.)
In any case, since the Chief was willing to dissect the monsters for him, Rei thought about the undissected corpses and spoke up.
"Is it fine to take the corpses out here? There's quite a lot, so if there's somewhere else that would be better suited for this, I think doing it there would be fine."
"Let me think. ...Very well, please come with me."
Saying that, the Chief led Rei to a different location.
It was toward the edge of the Fairy Dwelling—a place where there was nothing in particular, just a few flowers blooming here and there.
Perhaps because it was such a place, there were no other fairies around either.
(Ah, maybe she brought me here because there are no other fairies around? If so, even with monster corpses present, the fairies probably won't gather around.)
Given how curious the fairies were.
If there were a large number of monster corpses, they might come gathering to see them, touch them... and possibly even play with them like toys.
Given that, the Chief's decision to bring Rei here was by no means a mistake.
"Please place the corpses here. You mentioned there were many, but roughly how many?"
"Let's see... for now, it'd be fastest to just show you."
Saying that, he began taking out numerous corpses from within the Misty Ring.
The most numerous among them were, as expected, Smog Panthers.
The Commander Individual had led a large number of Smog Panthers, and the fact that they had found so many thanks to Nielson also played a role.
"My, my... I had heard about it, but to think there were this many Smog Panthers..."
"A lot happened. But many of the Smog Panther magic stones were obtained by defeating them in their fog state, so depending on the case, the magic stones may be damaged and I'm not sure whether they can be used for the Magic Item the Chief wants to make."
Smog Panthers could turn into fog.
If a Smog Panther was forcibly defeated in that state, it would sustain damage across its entire body.
That was why there was no doubt that the magic stones had also sustained a certain degree of damage.
Using Seto's Skill, King's Intimidation, would force them out of their fog state and materialize them so they could be attacked normally.
However, the Smog Panthers led by the Commander Individual—even the Normal Species—would not materialize even when King's Intimidation was used.
As a result, many of the Smog Panthers ended up being defeated with damage to their magic stones.
The problem in this case was that the Smog Panther magic stones were going to be used for the Fog Sound Magic Item.
They had gone all the way to the forest where Smog Panthers lived specifically for that purpose.
If the crucial magic stones couldn't be used to craft the Magic Item, it would all be meaningless.
"However, the Smog Panthers Nielson found were defeated normally, so their magic stones are fine. ...That said, I can't tell which ones were Smog Panthers forcibly defeated in fog state and which ones were fought normally, so in the end, the only way is to inspect the magic stones directly."
"I see, I understand the situation. The condition of the magic stone required when crafting a Magic Item depends on what kind of Magic Item is being made. For a simple Magic Item, a magic stone with some minor damage is not a problem."
The Chief mentioned simple Magic Items, but that was only simple by the standards of Magic Items made by fairies.
Naturally, given that they were Magic Items made by fairies, there was no doubt they would take even longer to complete than those made by ordinary alchemists.
"Understood. Then I'll leave that to you. And so... what should we do about Bob's situation? I think the Chief already knows, but Bob is currently waiting outside the Fairy Dwelling with the wolves."
"Dealing with the defilement cannot begin immediately. Even at the earliest, it would be tomorrow. Depending on the situation, it might even be the day after. So it would be difficult to allow him into the Fairy Dwelling until then."
"In that case, he'll be resting outside the Fairy Dwelling for up to two days. ...In that case, maybe the Birth Tower or the lake... no, bringing someone who knows nothing there unconditionally might cause trouble for Lord Daskar. Bob is intensely curious as it is."
Seeing how well he had gotten along with Nielson, just how strong his curiosity was must have been obvious.
What would happen when such a Bob came into contact with the lake that came from another world and the Lizardmen who spoke fluent words was painfully clear without even needing to think about it.
That being the case, the next candidate location that came to mind was Gilm, but Rei did not particularly want to return there due to his own circumstances.
If Rei returned, it was obvious that many people would come to contact him regarding the Crystal Dragon materials.
As someone who had no desire to interact with such people, Rei preferred not to return to Gilm if possible.
Of course, Rei was currently permitted by Daskar to land directly at Marina's house via Seto, so if Rei wanted to, staying in Gilm would not have been a problem.