"Chief? What is it?"
Rei asked this of the Chief, who had suddenly turned her attention toward Rei—more precisely, toward the items in front of him—wearing a stern expression.
Currently placed before Rei were the items taken from those who had intruded into the Treant Forest—opponents Rei suspected were connected to the defilement and likely targeting Bob.
Seeing the Chief gaze at them with such severity, Rei was bewildered for a moment before quickly realizing the truth.
(Ah, could these Magic Items be related to the defilement?)
Rei already knew that the Chief considered the defilement dangerous.
Since it was said that, in the worst case, the continent itself might be destroyed, he could understand why she was so vigilant about it.
Though he understood that much, for Rei, who still knew almost nothing about the danger of the defilement, he couldn't quite grasp the reality of it.
"Lord Rei, what exactly are those?"
The Chief, who had been directing a stern gaze at the items that appeared to be Magic Items, finally spoke, shifting her gaze away from them and toward Rei.
As someone who had a hobby of collecting Magic Items, Rei felt a desire to somehow gloss over the Chief's words, but he instinctively sensed that doing so in this situation would be dangerous, and opened his mouth to speak.
"Even if you ask what they are, you've heard the story from Nielson, haven't you? That we captured people suspected of being connected to the defilement. These are what they had on them. Looking at your expression, Chief, it seems I can't just go ahead and use them myself, can I?"
"That is right. Those are objects created by the defilement. If you were to use them, there is no telling what might happen."
"I figured. Though I might have heard this from Nielson too, apparently one of these Magic Items has the effect of undoing one's death... ah, no good, huh?"
Understanding that the Chief's gaze grew even sterner at his explanation, Rei immediately gave up.
What it meant to be able to undo one's death, he didn't know.
Whether it simply meant the ability to bring someone back to life, or something else entirely.
Those were points of curiosity, but judging by the Chief's demeanor, using that Magic Item was definitely a bad idea.
If so, Rei judged that it would be best to stop fixating on the Magic Items any longer.
"Yes. Magic Items created by the power of defilement will only bring about the worst results if used. However, the problem is what to do with these Magic Items."
Perhaps understanding that Rei had given up on the Magic Items, the Chief showed a slightly relieved expression, though she murmured in a troubled tone.
"What to do with them? Couldn't we just remove the defilement from these Magic Items the same way you removed it from Bob?"
"In order to store the extracted defilement, the jewel you also saw is necessary."
"The flower-shaped jewel?"
The Chief nodded at Rei's question.
However, her expression was colored with anguish.
Why on earth was she making such an expression?
Rei wondered that, but somehow understood.
In other words, the flower-shaped jewels were not that numerous.
"The flower-shaped jewels... so you're running low on them, huh."
"That is correct. Of course, it is not as though we have none at all. However, considering what lies ahead, I would prefer not to consume them if possible. Lord Rei, could I ask a favor of you?"
"Huh?"
At the Chief's sudden words, Rei couldn't understand at first what was being asked of him.
However, when he realized she was asking him to do something about these Magic Items, he couldn't help but wonder, Why me?
As far as Rei was concerned, he had wanted the Magic Items placed before him.
But he had wanted them only in the sense of using them himself, and if the defilement was affecting them, he understood that it would be best to avoid using them.
In this kind of situation, what on earth could she want?
As he harbored such doubts, the Chief directed her gaze toward Rei—more precisely, toward his right hand.
On his right hand was the Misty Ring.
Seeing that, Rei understood what the Chief was hoping for. No, it would be more accurate to say he understood all too well.
"You mean for me to store them in the Misty Ring?"
"Yes. Regarding Item Boxes—setting aside the ones currently being manufactured, the Item Box that you possess, Lord Rei, does not allow time to flow for stored items, correct?"
"That's right."
"Could you store these Magic Items in your Item Box—the Misty Ring, Lord Rei?"
Genuine Item Boxes, of which only a few had been confirmed to exist in the world at present.
Mass-produced Item Boxes also existed, though they were quite expensive.
The major difference between the two was storage capacity and whether time flowed after something was stored.
In other words, if the items were stored in Rei's Misty Ring, it would be, in a sense, close to sealing them.
While there were restrictions, such as the inability to store living creatures, given the Misty Ring's abilities, it could be considered a powerful seal.
The Chief understood this as well, which was surely why she asked Rei to store the Magic Items in the Misty Ring.
"Even if you ask me so suddenly..."
Rei understood the Chief's reasoning.
He understood it, but whether that meant he had to comply was another question, and the answer to that was no.
At the very least, Rei couldn't just immediately nod in agreement.
(There are several problems, but the biggest one is whether I can manage to never use these Magic Items.)
For Rei, who had a hobby of collecting Magic Items, these were unknown Magic Items—and if what the unconscious people had said was accurate, they should possess the ability to undo death or perhaps bring someone back to life.
Though Rei was classified among the strong in this world, he was still not immortal.
Or if members of his party—Marina, Vihera, Byune—or those he wasn't partying with but should call his comrades, like Elena and Ara, were to die, he couldn't deny the possibility that he would use such a Magic Item if he had it.
Setting that aside, if for some reason someone learned that Rei possessed such a Magic Item, there would be many who would try to obtain it.
Depending on the circumstances, there was a very real possibility that not only nobles but even the Royal Family of this country would make a move.
If that happened, naturally, Rei—having made an enemy of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Mireana—would not be able to remain in this country.
Rei had no desire to be at the mercy of those in power, but fighting an entire country would be troublesome.
The fact that he thought it would be troublesome rather than impossible to fight a country alone was a testament to Rei's abnormal strength.
Aside from his strength, the fact that he had high mobility, being able to travel by riding Seto, was also a major factor in him feeling that way.
"I understand that you have various concerns, Lord Rei. However, I do not wish to expend much power on Magic Items born from defilement. We do not know just how large the defilement will become from here on out."
When she put it that way, Rei couldn't immediately refuse either.
If damage occurred due to the defilement, it was highly likely to have a major impact on Rei as well.
No, in that case, it wouldn't be just Rei.
If what he had heard from the Chief was true, it was certainly beyond the scale of what an individual could handle.
If so, perhaps it was better to comply with the Chief's request after all.
Thinking that, Rei eventually gave a nod.
"Understood. For now, I'll hold onto the Magic Items created by the power of defilement. So specifically, how long should I hold onto them?"
As far as Rei was concerned, holding onto them was fine, but he didn't want them to simply be left sitting in a semi-sealed state indefinitely.
In the worst case, he couldn't help but worry that the Misty Ring itself might be affected by the defilement—that it might become contaminated.
Of course, thinking about it normally, he didn't believe such a thing would happen, but it wasn't as though the possibility was completely nonexistent.
"Thank you. I would like to keep the time they are in your care as short as possible, but..."
She didn't know exactly when that would be.
Rei nodded to the Chief as she told him that.
Honestly, Rei also wanted the time he spent holding onto these Magic Items to be as short as possible.
But having decided to take them in once, he resolved to hold onto them properly.
"First, dealing with the defilement situation is the top priority. Now then, the Magic Items are settled. What about those people over there? It seems some of them have already woken up."
While Rei had been talking with the Chief and Nielson, several of those tied to the trees had regained consciousness.
Those who had regained consciousness immediately realized that they had been captured.
That was why, even in this situation, they had probably tried to somehow gather information.
For that purpose, they had continued pretending to be unconscious, but...
The moment they heard Rei's words, their bodies twitched.
"Judging by the Chief's eyes, I understand that these people are connected to the defilement—that they're comrades of the ones who were targeting Bob. If so, it's only natural that they would want to obtain some kind of information from us, who are connected to Bob. Furthermore..."
Rei paused his words there for a moment, then turned his gaze back to Nielson and the Chief.
"It seemed like these people were targeting not just Bob but also Nielson—or rather, fairies as well. Thinking about that, they probably want information not just about Bob but about the Fairy Dwelling too."
Since the place where fairies lived was fundamentally the Fairy Dwelling, with the Chief and Nielson present, they couldn't pull off something like obfuscating that fact.
(Ah, did I mess up? I'm supposed to bring these people to Gilm too, where they'll be interrogated, so regarding the Fairy Dwelling... no, the Fairy Dwelling is deeply involved with the defilement matter anyway, so there's nothing I can do about that part.)
Rei thought he might have made a slight mistake, but ultimately decided not to worry about it.
"I see. However, on our end as well, we cannot bring those who carry defilement into the Fairy Dwelling."
The Chief declared that firmly.
Her gaze toward the defilement-related individuals before her was like looking at a pebble lying on the side of the road—or perhaps like looking at filth.
To the Chief, the defilement was likely something that intolerable.
In Bob's case, he hadn't chosen to come into contact with the defilement of his own volition, so she had been able to tolerate him carrying it.
Even so, he was only allowed into the Fairy Dwelling after preparations were made to handle the defilement.
Unlike Bob, those tied to the trees had accepted the defilement of their own free will.
To the Chief, they were nothing but objects of scorn.
The several who had regained consciousness trembled at something they sensed in the Chief's gaze.
"About not bringing them to the Fairy Dwelling—does that mean I can hand all of them over to Gilm? The one knowledgeable about defilement is..."
"Defilement? Did you say defilement?! You call our great hope defilement?!"
Such a voice suddenly rang out.
What was that all of a sudden? As Rei turned his gaze toward the source of the voice, he saw the figure of the man who had been leading these ten people—the man who had possessed the Magic Items of defilement—directing a gaze burning with anger at him.
And those words roused the others who had still been unconscious, waking them one after another.
(That's surprising. No, or is it not?)
This was the man who had been leading the group here.
Rei had assumed he was trying to glean even the slightest information from his conversation with Rei, the Chief, and Nielson, but to openly voice his dissatisfaction like this was a surprise even to Rei.
Even from that brief exchange, Rei could understand that those connected to the defilement harbored an extraordinary devotion toward it.
If he pressed on that point, he might be able to draw out some information about the defilement.
Rei thought that, but before he could open his mouth, the man spoke first.
"Apparently you intend to interrogate us and extract information... but do you really think you can do that?"
"Asked whether I can or not, I think I can."
Rei wasn't particularly skilled at interrogation.
When dealing with the likes of bandits, they would spill information as soon as they were roughed up.
But that was only because they were bandits.
Of course, among bandits, there might be those with a strong sense of loyalty who would never talk about their comrades, but as far as Rei knew, such bandits were exceedingly rare.
"I see. Then... we shall not lose to that. So that we may see tomorrow's sun."
The man declared those words, and right before Rei's gaze as he pondered the meaning of that ominous phrase, the man who had been speaking until now breathed his last.