Rei woke for the second time since arriving at the Fairy Dwelling.
Just like yesterday, he rose inside the Magic Tent, dressed, and stepped outside.
There, exactly as before, the two wolf pups were fast asleep, using Seto as a pillow.
Seeing the identical scene from yesterday play out again, Rei cracked a smile.
...Seto, pinned in place and unable to move, shot Rei a slightly resentful glare for that smile.
It wasn't that Seto disliked the wolf pups who had taken such a liking to him. If anything, he probably felt genuine fondness for them.
But still, being immobilized like this was a bit of a problem.
If they weren't in the Fairy Dwelling—if this weren't a place where he could let his guard down—Seto would have roused the pups using him as a pillow and taken action the moment something happened.
In that sense, the fact that Seto could be rendered so immovable was proof of just how peaceful the Fairy Dwelling was.
Though I'm not quite sure what will become of that peace after today.
Today, the Chief who governed this Fairy Dwelling would do something about Bob's defilement.
Whether that should be called purification, annihilation, or something else entirely, Rei unfortunately had no way of knowing.
"Gruu."
Just like yesterday, Seto purred at Rei, begging to be rescued.
Rei shook his head at him and, once again mirroring yesterday, set about preparing breakfast.
He figured the wolf pups would wake to the smell of cooking, just as they had before.
...Though calling it "preparing" breakfast was generous; all Rei really did was take food out of his Misty Ring.
Today's spread included river fish soup, black bread that he'd suddenly craved for the first time in a while, a spicy stir-fry of meat and vegetables in a peppery sauce, and a few other small dishes to serve as palate cleansers—though he'd be using a fork, knife, and spoon rather than chopsticks.
"Today's main dish is... river fish soup."
Soup made from simmered sea fish wasn't unusual, but river fish soup was a rare treat.
...To be precise, the dish itself wasn't all that rare.
Gilm, Rei's home base, was far from the sea, and fresh fish was hard to come by.
With magic or Magic Items, one could transport fresh fish—sometimes even keep them alive in transit—but that naturally sent transportation costs soaring, making the price incomparable to the salted or dried fish that merchants sold.
Wealthy nobles might not mind, but an ordinary eatery couldn't pull off something like that.
For that reason, the typical fish in Gilm came from rivers, lakes, or swamps.
For Rei, growing up in Japan, his family home had been in the mountains with a river not far away. His parents had held fishing rights, so catching river fish had been almost like a game to him. He was used to eating it.
In that sense, he wasn't so different from the residents of Gilm.
That said, Gilm drew people from all over. Many of them considered sea fish the norm... but fresh sea fish commanded a hefty price and wasn't easy to get your hands on.
In that respect, it was only natural for river fish cuisine to flourish in Gilm.
"Woof!"
Perhaps catching the scent of breakfast, one of the wolf pups barked as if to say it was hungry.
At that bark, the other pup opened its eyes and let out a similar bark.
"Alright, the pups are up too, so let's eat. There's a good chance today will be busy, so let's make sure we eat well and are ready for whatever happens. ...That goes for you too, Seto, right?"
"Grurururu!"
Seto purred, as if to say "of course."
As far as Seto was concerned, no matter what happened today, he intended to do his part alongside Rei—to help deal with Bob's defilement.
...In reality, he didn't really understand what defilement was, though.
Then again, Rei was in the same boat.
After all, when it came to defilement, all he knew was the Chief's explanation that it was "bad magical power."
And when it came to dealing with it, the specifics had been left entirely to the Chief, so Rei didn't know either.
Given the current situation, he could understand that there was nothing else he could do.
He could understand that... but even so, feeling a little uneasy was only natural.
As Rei, Seto, and the wolf pups finished breakfast and were resting after the meal...
"Ah! Hey, Rei! You already finished eating!?"
Nielson came flying over, shouting.
Yesterday she had called Rei a traitor, but her attitude had already returned to normal.
Rei was grateful for that, though he couldn't help wondering if that was really okay.
"Like I said, if you wanted to eat, you should've come a bit earlier."
"It can't be helped. I was helping the Chief."
"Helping the Chief? You mean with Bob's situation?"
That was the first thing that came to mind when Nielson mentioned helping the Chief.
In truth, the Chief didn't just have Bob's situation to deal with—there was also the Fog Sound to hand over to Rei, sorting through the massive quantity of materials he'd given her, and perhaps... though this was purely Rei's hopeful speculation—researching a dissection Magic Item. She undoubtedly had plenty of other tasks as well.
Even so, the reason Bob's defilement came to mind first was partly because Nielson, who was closely involved with Bob, had come to fetch him. But largely, it was simply because Rei was genuinely concerned about that matter.
"Sorry. Next time you come during a meal, I'll get you something. ...So, what did you come here for?"
"Huh? Oh, right, right. The Chief asked me to come get you. ...Hehe. You'll probably be surprised too."
Nielson flashed a knowing smile.
Rei was about to say something in response to her demeanor, but decided to let it go for now.
From the way Nielson was acting, he figured that if he went along with her, she'd tell him what had happened. That, and even if he listened to the story here, he wouldn't know what was so surprising until he saw it for himself.
"Then let's go. Seto, you ready?"
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Seto purred as if to say "All set!"
Seeing Rei and Seto react that way, Nielson couldn't hide her displeasure.
She couldn't understand why, after hearing her words, he'd rather rush off than let her tell him the story himself.
"Hey, Rei. Wouldn't it be better to hear it from me properly first?"
"Is that so? I think it's better to actually see whatever's going to surprise me with my own eyes rather than hear about it from you."
"Muu."
The reason Nielson didn't argue back was probably because she understood he was right.
That in this situation, rather than having her explain things, Rei would be far more surprised if he saw it with his own eyes.
Having made that judgment, Nielson said nothing more and fell quiet.
Confident that Rei would be astonished once he saw the sight.
"Alright, Seto and I are going to see the Chief, so you two... either stay here or go play somewhere else."
'Woof!'
Whether they understood Rei's words or were simply barking back, Rei couldn't tell. Either way, the wolf pups answered in unison.
And then... both of them took off running from the spot together.
Watching the pups go, Rei judged they had probably understood his words. Impressed by their intelligence, he stowed the Magic Tent in his Misty Ring.
The Magic Tent was an extremely important Magic Item to Rei.
Given that, he couldn't just leave it sitting out in the Fairy Dwelling with all those mischievous fairies around.
If he left it here, the fairies would likely play pranks on it... or possibly even destroy it.
Ah, but maybe... and this is a real long shot, but if the fairies broke the Magic Tent, maybe the Chief would repair it?
Fairies were capable of creating high-performance Magic Items.
So if the Chief repaired the Magic Tent... or provided something with a similar effect as a replacement, wouldn't its performance be significantly upgraded? That was the thought that crossed his mind.
Though, for Rei's part, he had no intention of actually testing that theory.
The biggest reason was that if there was no replacement available and repairs took time, things would get quite troublesome.
"Well then, since the Chief is calling for us, let's go. I'd like to see what Nielson mentioned—something that'll surprise me—as soon as possible too."
At Rei's words, Nielson grumbled and pouted.
As expected, if it was about surprising Rei, she wanted to be the one to do it.
"Jeez, I could've just told you. ...Well, if Rei says so, I guess that's fine."
"Come on, Nielson. Guide me. As things are, I have no idea where to go. So I need you to show me the way."
"Ehh... honestly, Rei, you're hopeless. You can't do anything without me."
Rei had a few thoughts about Nielson's attitude.
But judging that staying here to talk would only waste time, he didn't bother making any retort and simply followed her lead.
The place they arrived at was...
"Whoa, this is..."
Those words slipped from Rei's mouth the moment Nielson brought him to the spot.
Naturally. After all, she had led him to what could only be described as a plaza—or perhaps a gathering place—within the Fairy Dwelling.
No, if that were all, it might not have been so surprising.
But fairies were gathered there... a number of fairies unlike anything he had ever seen before, and Rei let out that voice without even realizing it.
The fairies gathered here now were overwhelmingly more numerous than the ones who had swarmed Rei in the past, begging for snacks and souvenirs.
So many that he genuinely wondered whether this Fairy Dwelling had held this many fairies all along.
I can see why Nielson said I'd be surprised.
Rei glanced at Nielson and, seeing the triumphant smile on her face, conceded defeat. ...Though it probably wasn't really a matter of winning or losing.
"Hehe. So? Surprised?"
"Yeah. I'm honestly surprised. Or rather, I had no idea there were this many fairies in this Fairy Dwelling."
"There are some fairies who don't come out much normally, you see. ...Now then, I have to go bring Bob too, so I'm off to fetch him. Rei and Seto, wait here, okay."
With that, she gave a light wave and flew off toward the outside of the Fairy Dwelling—toward where Bob was.
After seeing Nielson off, Rei considered what to do next.
The surrounding fairies were watching Rei with keen interest, but unlike before, they didn't swarm him begging for snacks.
Perhaps the Chief had given them strict instructions, or perhaps they knew they shouldn't interfere with whatever was about to be done regarding the defilement.
Rei unfortunately didn't know the circumstances, but given the unprecedented number of fairies present, he was honestly relieved that they weren't crowding around him.
...That said, being stared at in silence like this wasn't entirely without its awkwardness either.
"Grururu?"
Seeing Rei's expression, Seto purred as if asking "What's wrong?"
Feeling the strange tension of being watched by the fairies dissolve at Seto's gesture, Rei stroked him in gratitude.
Seto, delighted to be petted by Rei, purred with a different kind of satisfaction than before.
For Seto, being petted by anyone was undoubtedly a joy.
But being petted by his beloved Rei was, without question, the greatest joy of all.