The day after the incident with Bob's defilement, Rei finished getting ready and went to see the Chief.
Bob, for his part, truly had no tent or anything of the sort and had slept directly on the ground.
Strangely enough, though, the temperature the previous night had been quite warm.
Rei had his Dragon Robe, so he hadn't given it much thought—but that was simply because he was Rei. If he'd been wearing a robe without the simplified air conditioner function, dinner time still would have been warm enough.
(She probably did something for him.)
What exactly the Chief had done, Rei couldn't say. But she was altering the environment of the Fairy Dwelling, if only partially. The only one who could pull off something like that was, after all, the Chief.
...There was also the possibility that Nielson had done something. She had been getting trained by the Chief lately—though whether she herself realized it was an open question—and she had been well-disposed toward Bob. For someone like Nielson, the thought that Bob might catch a cold could have been enough to prompt her into action.
Rei considered that, but quickly dismissed the idea.
"Nah, probably not."
"Grr?"
Today, unusually, the wolf pups hadn't come, so Seto, walking alongside Rei, purred as if asking what was wrong.
Rei shook his head at Seto to indicate it was nothing and continued through the Fairy Dwelling.
As he walked, several fairies gathered around him and Seto, just like always.
The wolf pups aside, this part never changes.
Thinking that, Rei noticed that Nielson wasn't among the fairies who had approached.
(Hm? What happened to Nielson? Come to think of it, she wasn't around this morning either.)
If it were Nielson, it wouldn't have been strange for her to come visit as usual. And yet, for some reason, she was nowhere to be seen.
Noticing this, Rei decided the quickest approach was to ask a nearby fairy.
"Hey, what happened to Nielson? Normally she'd be the first one here at a time like this. Yesterday too, she didn't come see us after the defilement incident. Do you know anything?"
"Eh? Nielson? If it's Nielson, she's doing something with the Chief."
What exactly that "something" was, unfortunately, Rei couldn't tell. But given the current situation, he could guess it was related to yesterday's defilement.
"Related to the defilement, huh. Well, the Chief was impressive yesterday."
"Right?! That music the Chief played... it was so amazing I'd love to hear it again!"
When one of the fairies exclaimed that, the others nodded in agreement one after another. For the fairies as well, yesterday's incident must have been a very significant event—though that significance was less about the defilement itself and more about the music the Chief had played.
"Right now, several fairies are practicing music."
"Ah, so that's why it seems like there are fewer fairies in the Fairy Dwelling."
Fairies inherently prioritized their own interests and curiosity above all else. Since they were currently interested in music, many of them must be off practicing. As a result, the number of fairies before Rei was small.
(Still, it's also true that fairies are fickle. How long they'll stay interested in music is another matter entirely.)
When it came to fairies and music, Rei thought it was a fairly fitting combination. But music wasn't something where you'd dramatically improve the day after learning it. ...Then again, if you were the type of genius, that might be a different story.
"Anyway, I understand what's going on, but don't you all need to practice your music?"
"Hmm, listening is fine, but I'm not that interested in playing myself."
Rei nodded in understanding. Among the fairies, there were those who had listened to the music and wanted to try performing it themselves, and those who were perfectly satisfied just being listeners. What exactly constituted that difference, Rei couldn't say. Even so, he found himself accepting it when told that was simply how fairies were. If someone told him that fairies were just that kind of being, he'd accept it without argument.
"I see. Well, I hope music catches on in the Fairy Dwelling."
"Hey, hey! I gave you information, so pay up the information fee!"
A different fairy from the ones who had been talking with Rei piped up and made the demand.
Information fee? Rei thought. But considering what was currently trending among the fairies—and the associated importance of everything related to the defilement—it was obvious just how valuable that information was. He was asking casually enough, but to someone who knew what to listen for, they would pay any amount to obtain intelligence straight from a fairy rather than through hearsay. It was the kind of precious information where paying gold coins... no, platinum coins... or even light gold coins wouldn't be out of the question, depending on the circumstances.
That said, Rei had no intention of paying that much.
"Here, will this do?"
Even so, by coming to the Fairy Dwelling this time, he had managed to learn a fair bit. The news that music was currently popular in the Fairy Dwelling was, in Rei's assessment, not a bad takeaway, so he decided to pay a reward.
That reward, however, was dried fruit.
But for the fairies, receiving dried fruit from Rei was far more delightful than getting something like gold coins. If you were like Nielson and went outside the Fairy Dwelling to Gilm, gold coins would have their uses—but here, dried fruit was king.
"Alright then, that should do it. ...Oh, do you know where the Chief is?"
Rei had been watching the dried fruit he'd handed over get snatched and fought over among the fairies, but now he asked how to go about meeting the Chief.
...The fairies, however, were all too busy trying to secure their own share to show any sign of having heard him.
"Well, can't be helped. Then... let's see. For now, let's head to where the Chief usually is. She's probably there."
"Grrr?"
Seto purred as if asking, Is that really the best plan? But as far as Rei was concerned, while there were various things he wanted to ask about the defilement and the Fog Sound, that was ultimately all. If they could meet the Chief, he'd ask his questions; if not, it wasn't the end of the world.
With that in mind, he began walking through the Fairy Dwelling with Seto. Naturally, he wasn't just walking—he was paying attention to how the fairies in the Fairy Dwelling were doing.
"Just like that fairy told me earlier, the number of fairies flying around really is small."
Rei muttered to himself as he headed toward where the Chief would likely be. Ahead of his gaze, several fairies were playing tag as usual, but perhaps due to the smaller numbers, they somehow looked bored.
...That said, Rei had no intention of making any comments about it. If he carelessly said something here, he might get dragged into the fairies' games. The reduced number of fairies flying around was a little disappointing, but Rei had no desire to directly join in on their play.
The problem, however, was whether the fairies felt the same way just because Rei did. If anything, with fewer of them than usual, it wouldn't be strange for them to want Rei and Seto to play with them to make up the difference.
"Hey, hey, Rei! Let's play together! Seto too!"
One of the fairies noticed Rei and Seto and called out to them. If it were Bob, he might have happily played along. But Rei shook his head.
"I'm going to see the Chief for a bit, so maybe later. I think Bob will be getting up soon, so include him in your games!"
"Ehh... okay, I'll do that!"
The fairy, while somewhat dissatisfied, obediently agreed—likely because Rei had said he was heading to where the Chief was. If they interfered with Rei here and caused trouble for the Chief, there was a high probability they'd be punished. The fairies, naturally, knew full well what the Chief's punishments were like. ...In reality, the punishment Rei had seen Nielson receive before was on the lighter side, and there were far worse ones. As long as there was a possibility of receiving such a punishment, they didn't want to get in the Chief's way.
After that, several more fairies invited him in the same manner, but he declined with the same words each time... and eventually, Rei arrived at where the Chief usually was.
"Chief, are you here?"
The Chief wasn't at that spot, so Rei called out, thinking she might be somewhere nearby.
"Rei-san? Please wait a moment. I can't step away right now..."
A voice rang out. That voice was undoubtedly the Chief's. However, even though she had spoken, it was impossible to tell where she was. When Rei glanced at Seto, the gryphon also wore a bewildered expression, suggesting he too had been unable to find her. The fact that even Seto, with his heightened five senses and ability to detect magical power, couldn't pinpoint the Chief's location was, in a way, quite impressive. At least from Rei's perspective, that was undeniably how it seemed.
"Chief? Where are you?"
He tried asking, but there was no reply. What's going on? he wondered. But based on what she'd just said, she was clearly busy with something. If so, there was no point in him saying anything more here. All he could do was wait for the Chief to come out on her own.
"Grr?"
Looking at Rei, Seto purred as if asking, What do we do? From Seto's perspective, if the Chief wasn't here, there was no point in waiting, and maybe they should kill time somewhere else for now. Rei understood Seto's sentiment, but since the Chief had asked him to wait, he figured it would be fine to stay here and take it easy a bit longer.
"No, it's not like there's anything I urgently need to do, so let's just wait here. Or is there somewhere you want to go, Seto?"
Seto shook his head to indicate there wasn't. He didn't particularly have anywhere he wanted to go either. Playing with the fairies and the wolf pups was fun, but being here together with Rei like this was plenty enjoyable on its own.
Seto lay down on the ground, and Rei leaned against him, doing nothing in particular and just zoning out. Not that much time had passed since he'd woken up, but even so, leaning against Seto like this made him drowsy.
(Ah... but if I fall asleep here, the fairies will probably play pranks on me.)
He understood that well enough. But the drowsiness that came from leaning against Seto like this was an unavoidable reality. His eyelids drooping, just as his consciousness was about to slip into sleep—
"Ginyaaaaah!"
"!?"
The sudden scream—a scream he recognized—sent Rei's drowsiness vanishing in an instant. He sat up from where he'd been leaning against Seto, hurriedly looked around... and a scene that was, in a way, exactly what he expected spread out before him. The same thing he'd seen before: the forced roller-coaster punishment using the Chief's psychokinesis. And the one being subjected to it was, as before, Nielson.
"Umm... Chief? What's this about? You mentioned being busy with something... was punishing Nielson that business?"
Rei asked with a hint of exasperation, and the Chief shook her head.
"No, that's not it. It's true I had business to attend to. But... during that task, this child made a slight... a slight? No, I'm not sure I can call what she did slight, but anyway, she made a mistake. And while looking away, no less."
From the Chief's words, Rei could guess that whatever Nielson had done, it was a fairly significant mistake. Even so, the fact that she was being let off with this degree of punishment suggested it wasn't a fatal one.
"I don't know what kind of mistake it was, but go easy on her. She's helped me out a lot too."
At Rei's words, Nielson—currently being subjected to the forced roller-coaster—cast a grateful glance his way... but even so, it would still take about five more minutes before the punishment ended.