"Oh, is Gillum so strange?"

　Lanigs mutters admiringly at Ray's explanation of Gillum.
　It doesn't look like a performance at all.
　In fact, Lanigs was not acting or anything, but listening to Ray with surprise, so it's only natural.
　The Baron Musay family in Raniggs's family naturally collects information in Guillum.
　The Baron Mussey family itself is not so large, partly because it is a baron, but it is the royal faction of the largest faction and has a great influence in that respect.
　Several royal aristocrats have sent their men and relatives to Gilm, who share information.
　Not all information is shared completely, and given that there are several more factions in the royal faction, the information obtained in the circumstances is different.
　There's still a lot of information available, but actually listening to Ray in this way is something else.

"Well, Ray. Is it true that a huge forest suddenly formed near Gillum?"

　Terrez, who had been listening to Ranigus, suddenly asks such a question.
　Generally speaking, it is impossible for a forest to suddenly form near the city if you want to find a forest somewhere.
　But... in the remote region of Gilm, it's possible.
　It's no wonder that there's a forest near the city.
　I wouldn't be surprised if I had such an impression.

"Oh, it's done. It's called the Trent Forest, and it's been magically processed by alchemy and used for the current extension work."
"Oh... remote areas can be like that. It's kind of interesting. Can't Arra be active in the forest?"

　The words that Terres said while looking at Aara were probably due to her use of Power Axe as a weapon.
　As its name suggests, it is shaped like an axe, so it can be active in the forest.

"I won't deny it,"
"Oh,"

　Terres, who had always thought Arra was dissatisfied with her words, casts an unexpected glance.
　But Arla doesn't think she was particularly sarcastic about Terrez's words about being active in the forest of Trent.
　No, I guess that's what Telle meant, but I didn't really care because I knew how my weapon had developed.

"But if you were to cut down trees, it would be enough to have Ray."

　I've never seen Arla in person, but I know her by listening.
　Even an ordinary woodcutter can cut down a single tree for several tens of minutes... and in some cases it takes an hour, but a death-sized ray can complete it with just one flash.
　Compared to Ray, even if he has a magic item called Power Ax, he is far from more useful.

"Oh,"

　Terres muttered a little regretfully, as he had expected to rush at him as usual.
　Still, he is interested in Arla's words, "It's enough to have Ray," and Terres's gaze turns to Ray.

"Can Ray cut down trees so easily?"
"If you ask me if I can do it, I guess I should answer that I can. But basically, I didn't cut down trees, but I was mainly doing the work of transporting the trees that were cut down by the woodcutters."
"Oh, I see. Considering Ray has an item box and the weight of the tree, is that more efficient?"

　Lanigs nodded approvingly.

"That means it's more difficult to carry the felled trees than to cut them down, right?"
"Well, think about it, too. Which is more difficult, felling trees or transporting them to guillem? I'm sure the forest of Trent was built on guillem's side, but it's not right next to guillem. It just means it's closer than anywhere else."

　Lanigs's words are correct.
　In fact, it's not a short walk to the forest of Trent.
　Furthermore, it could take several hours to carry the distance in a custom carriage with felled trees.
　However, if you have an item box and you have a transportation system called Set, you will arrive at Gilm in a few minutes.
　Teles nods at Ranigus's explanation, but... suddenly he realizes.

"Oh? Then, isn't it not just about transporting trees, but also about cutting down trees? That's why you can cut down trees right away, right?"

　Why don't you just do it with Rey?
　As Terres looks at her, Ray puts his hand down from eating the sandwich that his maid brought him.
　By the way, this sandwich is not Georgima's sandwich...
　Georgima, who was taught about ramen, immediately tried the prototype, and that's far from it.
　So he brought sandwiches made by Georgima's men -- or perhaps his disciples.
　Unlike last night's and this morning's meals, the taste definitely goes down, but that's only compared to Georgima's.
　Especially the sandwiches that were served for breakfast...still made by the Duke of Quevel's cook, they are clearly better than the sandwiches served in the bakeries and dineries there.
　Despite the fact that sandwiches are such a simple dish that even Ray could cook, Ray was a little concerned about why the taste was so distinctly different, but now he had to answer Teles' questions first.

"I can cut down trees, but I'm just cutting them with all my might. If I'm a real woodcutter, I'll cut down trees thinking about which ones are suitable for building materials. But I cut down all the trees that grow in the Trent forest."
"Then there's no point in looking at the good or bad of the trees."
"I don't deny it. I'm just... I'm not just involved in extension work. I need to do a lot of other work."

　In fact, while helping with the extensions, Ray acted in a variety of ways, such as going to the country of Levlarina, guarding those who had escaped from it, going to the sea and catching fish...
　And if there was no Ray alone -- one by one, to be exact, because of Set -- it would be impossible to secure building materials.
　If that happens, the extension itself could become stagnant...it was only natural to have a system in place to allow the extension work to proceed without Ray.

"Hmm. Ray is busy. Didn't you have time to spend with Mr. Elena?"
"What!"

　with a whiff
　Elena manages to avoid spouting tea while coughing at the words that burst out of Telle's mouth.
　Still, the tea has gone into a strange place, or it's been choking a few times... the powers of the Gent Dragon's magical stones make it quick to get out of the situation.
　...and the Gent Dragon, who had the magical stones inherited by Elena, would never have expected the other party to use their powers to do so.
　Anyway, Elena manages to come back and glares at Terres with an amusing smile.
　Still, the lack of the same pressure as when it came to Gaiska was probably due to Elena's self-control.

"Teles, what do you say all of a sudden?"
"Oh, I was interested in that. So are you?"

　As Terres turns his eyes, Ranigus also nods back after a moment of thought.

"Well, I've heard a lot about the relationship between them... and I've heard a lot about it in the aristocracy. Then I'd like to hear the truth about it if possible."
"To Ranigs... that's not the sort of thing I should say in public, so I'm afraid I'll keep silent."

　Nevertheless, seeing Elena's cheeks pale and red, it was obvious what Elena felt for Ray.
　Teles and Ranigues would have liked to hear the whole story from Elena, but they understood the general situation from what Elena was like today and stopped pursuing it here.
　I could have pursued it more persistently, but I have concluded that such an imitation would probably offend Elena.

"Well, let's change the subject plainly."

　Terrez's bad character is shown in his deliberate blatant remarks.
　But before Elena and Arra say anything about it, Terres continues.

"Wasn't there anything unusual about Ray's request? It could be interesting, but when you live as a nobleman, that kind of excitement is not enough."After being told the story, Ray is at a loss what to say to such a teller.
　When it comes to stimulation, Ray has taken on a variety of requests, and has been involved in incidents where it is not.
　However, there are many cases in which you can't tell people carelessly, and there are many requests that relate to other people's privacy.
　Ray's thought that not to get involved in such a thing is, in a sense, one of Ray's hobbies.

"How about bandit hunting and such as that.
"...the robber hunt? Is that just what you say?"

　a curious look at Teles
　To the aristocrat Terres, thieves are never really what he saw.
　It was nothing more than a story than a story from people or a fairy tale.

"Yes, I would attack thieves who would normally attack merchants and so on... but there are thieves who have accumulated a lot of treasure, and if they were caught, they could sell them off as criminal slaves, so they would earn a lot of money."

　Ray used to work with Seto, so it was difficult to bring the bandits he had captured alive to the streets and villages, and he basically killed them all.
　If for some reason I was travelling in a carriage, I would have sold the robbers I had caught to slave traders.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
"Well, if you think of it as a bandit, you'll get a lot of requests as an adventurer, though there are very few bandits around him."

　However, it is not uncommon for merchants who come to Gilm to hire adventurers as bodyguards and fight against thieves on the road.
　For thieves, Gilm's adventurer is also the worst opponent...and for adventurers, robbers are also the best betters.
　However, it is only on the assumption that they have the ability to defeat the thief.

"Thieves attack ordinary people, adventurers attack thieves. Given that, I wonder if adventurers are the greatest."
"What do you think? Adventurers work at the request of the general public, and without the general public, they have a lot of trouble making ends meet. Isn't it him who carries them?"

　Some adventurers have a variety of production techniques, including alchemists.
　If you're from a restaurant or a bakery, you'll be able to help your parents from an early age, and naturally learn that kind of skill.
　But it is simply not enough to satisfy everyone in the world.
　That being the case, adventurers can live their daily lives only if ordinary people do that kind of work.
　In that sense, adventurers are still the greatest...not at the top.

"I mean, if you say that, wouldn't the greatest of them be nobles or royals?"
"...you say so,"
"I don't really feel that way for a poor nobleman like me."

　Lanigs interrupts Ray and Teles.
　Lanigs's family is a baron family, an overwhelmingly inferior peerage.
　There is no doubt that he is not in a position to enjoy tea this way in the Duke's house.
　...though he never showed it.

"Is that so? I heard it's quite crowded with tableware and other baked goods?"
"I'd be very glad if Mr. Elena would say so, but it's not that expensive."

　In this way, the party enjoyed small talk, not worrying at all about the disappearance of the Geiska.