In the end, those who had tried to flee from the blue smoke were defeated by Rei and Seto, or had their movements halted by grass extending from beneath their feet and vines creeping in from their surroundings through Nielson's magic. Unable to escape, they were knocked unconscious by Rei's group.
The fact that this was inside a forest made it overwhelmingly disadvantageous for their opponents, who had to face not only Rei and Seto but Nielson as well.
While it wasn't a barren wasteland like a desert with no surrounding vegetation, in a place where plants were scarce, Nielson's magic would never have exhibited such powerful effects.
In a battle deep within a forest surrounded by this much nature, it was simply too poor a location for anyone facing Nielson, who could manipulate that nature to a considerable degree.
The one saving grace was that she had no magic that used plants for direct attacks.
However, that point was rendered meaningless by the presence of Rei and Seto.
Nielson would halt their movements, and Rei and Seto would take down the targets.
Such a combination was more than fatal enough for the enemy.
"Well, first things first—what do we do with these guys?"
"What do you mean, what do we do?"
"There's a high possibility they're associates of the ones targeting Bob. If so, there's no doubt they're connected to defilement. That means we either take them to the Fairy Dwelling as is, or we head back to Gilm and hand them over to Lord Daskar. One or the other."
"Going back to Gilm is fine, but I don't think the Chief will let them into the Fairy Dwelling."
"That's... probably true, isn't it."
Even Bob had been forced to camp outside the Fairy Dwelling on the grounds that he carried defilement.
Only after preparations were made to seal the defilement into a jewel shaped like a flower was permission to enter finally granted.
Thinking about it that way, even if they brought the unconscious individuals to the Fairy Dwelling, they probably wouldn't be granted entry, just like Bob.
(No, wait. Bob's contact with defilement should have only been when he wandered into that cave. In other words, the defilement likely wasn't that strong—or rather, that concentrated. In contrast, these guys have been in contact with defilement for far longer than Bob was... I think. If so, wouldn't the Chief also find it troublesome if we brought these people along?)
Even so, it was also a fact that the person most knowledgeable about defilement was currently the Chief.
If all ten unconscious people before Rei's eyes were connected to defilement, then the Chief, who was worried about the very same thing, would likely want to extract information from them.
"Hey, Rei. If these people are connected to defilement, bringing them to the Fairy Dwelling means they'll be near Bob."
"...That's a fair point. That said, I don't think they could do anything to Bob even if they tried. Not that we should let our guard down, though."
Saying that, he recalled how the person who had spoken with him earlier had said something along the lines of "kill him."
For them to say such a thing upon seeing Rei meant there was a high possibility that "him" referred to Bob.
In that sense, it might be dangerous to bring these people to where Bob was, just as Nielson had pointed out.
That was what he thought, but Rei couldn't possibly believe they could do anything to Bob in the Fairy Dwelling where the Chief was present.
"Then let's split them in half. That should work, right?"
The choice Rei ultimately settled on was just that.
There was no mistaking it was the quickest way to resolve the current situation.
"First, we take these ten near the Fairy Dwelling. If the Chief says she'll take five of them, we hand those over to her and take the rest to Gilm. How's that?"
"I don't know what the Chief will say... but if that's the only option, I guess that's what we'll have to do."
"Grr."
"Gah..."
As if to punctuate Nielson's words, Seto let out a cry and lightly brought his foreleg down on the head of a man who had been on the verge of waking up.
The man promptly lost consciousness from that single blow and fell back into a faint.
"At this rate, it's going to be rough on Seto, so we should decide as quickly as possible."
If Seto's foreleg had to swing down every time one of the ten started to wake, he would never have a moment's rest.
Amidst all this, perhaps thinking to make things a little easier for himself, Seto began gathering the unconscious individuals into one place.
If they were scattered across different spots, he would have to go back and forth, which was probably more trouble than it was worth.
Seeing Seto behave like that, Rei also concluded he should wrap things up as quickly as possible.
"The problem is how to transport these guys. Can't you do something with your magic, Nielson?"
"Of course I can't. My magic doesn't have anything for carrying people like this. What about you, Rei? Can't you figure something out?"
Those words made Rei hesitate a little.
In truth, if asked whether the situation was completely hopeless, the answer would be no.
However, that wasn't a matter of resolving things through abilities, but rather a method of forcibly dragging them along by sheer strength.
For instance, if he had magic or a Skill that could create golems, or if he had multiple golems as Magic Items, transporting the unconscious people wouldn't be difficult.
He did have golems made for him in Egginis, but those were strictly cleaning golems and defensive golems—not transport golems.
Or if this were normal times, he could probably just buy transport golems at some workshop or another.
Unfortunately, Egginis was currently rushing restoration work due to the aftermath of the Necro Golem's rampage.
In fact, transport golems would be in demand everywhere for carrying rubble and the like.
"No luck there. The best I can do is tie these guys up with rope and haul them to the Fairy Dwelling. Though given these guys' nature... or rather, their personalities, I doubt they'll go quietly."
It was still only circumstantial evidence, but even so, within Rei's mind it was already half-decided that the unconscious individuals were connected to defilement.
While there was no definitive proof, once enough circumstantial evidence piled up, that alone was sufficient to reach a conviction.
If this were Japan, no matter how much circumstantial evidence there was, without clear physical evidence, they wouldn't be found guilty.
However, this was not Japan but Elgin.
Moreover, the people before Rei were individuals found in the Treant Forest—a place they shouldn't have been without Daskar's permission in the first place.
There would be no problem judging them as defilement-related individuals right off the bat.
"Hmm, I understand what you're saying, Rei, but wouldn't that end up being kind of troublesome in its own way?"
"I'm not denying that. Looking at these guys' attitudes, there's no doubt they'd try to escape at the first opportunity."
"Then... oh, right. If we can't bring these guys to the Fairy Dwelling, what about bringing the Chief here?"
It was a good idea.
Nielson looked like she wanted to say as much, but Rei pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Setting that aside for a moment, can the Chief even leave the Fairy Dwelling?"
If she couldn't, then there was no point in having this conversation in the first place.
Considering Nielson's personality, if that turned out to be the case, she might have suggested it simply because it sounded amusing.
That was exactly why Rei had asked, but...
"I wonder. Right, I'll have to ask the Chief first, so I'm heading back to the Fairy Dwelling for a bit. Rei, you keep an eye on these people."
"Ah, hey. Nielson!?"
Acting the moment an idea struck her.
Nielson, behaving in exactly that manner, headed straight back toward the Fairy Dwelling, as if she couldn't hear Rei's voice... or perhaps she was genuinely so focused on her own actions that his words hadn't registered at all.
After seeing her off, Rei considered what he should do.
That said, Nielson had already disappeared from before his eyes.
Given that, whatever Rei tried to do here was meaningless.
"I can't exactly leave these guys here, either."
If he left these individuals, who appeared to be connected to defilement, right here as they were, Rei could probably manage to chase after Nielson.
However, just because he was chasing after her didn't mean he could actually pull off something like that.
Even if he tied them to nearby trees with rope, since they were individuals highly likely to be using the power of defilement, he had a feeling they would easily break free and escape.
"Grr!"
Seto purred at the hesitating Rei, as if telling him to leave it to him.
From Seto's perspective, he was probably saying that he would watch over the defilement-related individuals here, so Rei was free to head to the Fairy Dwelling.
Rei understood Seto's feelings as well, but shook his head.
"I'll pass on that. It's not like I absolutely have to stop Nielson."
While Nielson was gone to speak with the Chief, Rei had nothing in particular to do here, so he simply needed to wait.
There was the saying that time is money, but in this case, it was also a fact that there was no need to force any particular action.
If so, he would be a little bored, but it was simply a matter of changing his perspective and deciding to rest here until Nielson returned.
Protecting the defilement-related individuals from the monsters and wild animals in the Treant Forest wasn't something he felt entirely indifferent about.
However, it was also a fact that he could endure that much if he set his mind to it.
"Grr? Grr!"
At Rei's words, Seto pondered for a moment before purring as if to say "Understood!"
From Seto's perspective, he had been thinking about taking on the job of watching over the defilement-related individuals here, but if Rei was going to stay with him, then that was something to welcome rather than not.
"Well then, first let's tie them up so they can't act immediately even if they wake up. Fortunately, there's no shortage of trees around to tie them to. ...Ah, but before that, I should strip them of their weapons and tools. It'd be a hassle if they unleashed that blue smoke again. Plus... they seem reasonably handy to use."
From Rei's perspective, the Magic Item that produced that blue smoke seemed like it could have many different applications.
Using it to escape, as they had done this time, would be one option.
Or, when facing a large number of enemies, creating a cloud of blue smoke and charging in to strike them down indiscriminately would also work.
Even without charging in himself, it could simply be used to sow confusion among the opposition.
Beyond that, while nothing came to mind immediately, he might think of some other use for it.
That was why he wanted to confiscate it now while he had the chance.
(Plus... "they won't die," was it? I still don't quite understand the meaning of those words either. Perhaps there are Magic Items that do something like that.)
If there existed a Magic Item that could undo someone's death, he would want to obtain it no matter what.
That was what Rei thought, and anyone else would likely feel the same.
He dragged each unconscious person, one by one, to a different tree, removed their weapons and Full Plate Armor, and extracted anything that appeared to be a Magic Item along with their wallets.
Among the ten unconscious individuals were women as well, but Rei mercilessly stripped them of their equipment, tools, and money.
If there had been another woman here, he might have been able to leave the task to her.
But the only ones present were Rei and Seto.
He obviously couldn't have Seto do something like stripping people of their weapons, Full Plate Armor, tools, and money.
Of course, if Rei asked, Seto would handle something of that level without issue, but Rei wasn't inclined to make Seto do such a thing.
At any rate, he successfully managed to tie them all up.
"Now then... the weapons, Full Plate Armor, and potions are fine, but there are a few here whose uses I can't figure out."
Standing before the assortment of items seized from the ten unconscious people, Rei muttered to himself.
There were several objects that appeared to be Magic Items, but without knowing their specific effects, they couldn't be used even if he wanted to.
That said, he couldn't just pour mana into them and activate them blindly either.
Carelessly setting one off here only to discover it was a self-destruct device would cause no laughing matter of damage.
For Rei, that was an outcome he could by no means welcome.
Given that, he wavered over what to do... and suddenly raised his gaze.
Standing there, having appeared at some point, were the figures of the Chief and Nielson.
Nielson had said she would go call the Chief, but her return was faster than expected.
Or perhaps Rei had simply taken too long tying them up with rope and stripping them of their weapons, Full Plate Armor, and tools.
Reason aside, the Chief had come, so he was about to ask what to do next... when he noticed that the Chief was directing a stern gaze—not at Rei himself, but more precisely, at what appeared to be a Magic Item among the items laid out in front of him.