After wrapping up his conversation with Maruka and Nicky, the two returned to their own rooms.
Seeing them off, Rei considered what he should do next.
He could look around Egginis with Seto, search for Golias, meet with Lindy to ask about various things, or check out Magic Items and Golems. As he was mulling it over, a sudden knock came at his door.
"Who is it?"
'Excuse me. I serve a certain individual. My master wishes to meet with Lord Rei—would that be possible?'
That was fast.
That was Rei's first thought regarding whoever was on the other side of the door.
It had only been a few minutes since Maruka and the others had left.
The fact that someone had come to his room within those few minutes meant they had likely been waiting for Maruka to leave—at least, that was his best guess.
In other words, were they watching this room from the hallway? ...No, there was no sign of that. So does that mean it really was a coincidence?
If so, there might be some kind of Magic Item involved. But dealing with nobles or merchants in his current situation sounded like a hassle, so he spoke up.
"Sorry, but I'll be heading out shortly."
'Is that so. Understood. I will convey as much to my master.'
Rei was impressed by how readily the other party backed down.
They must have known that stubbornly trying to press the issue would only leave a bad impression.
I suppose I could meet with them next time they come.
With that in mind, he got ready and stepped out of his room.
The person who had spoken to him earlier was no longer in the hallway.
Figuring that staying would only invite more visitors, he hurried off toward the stables.
"It's quite bright out here. Magic Item lighting too, huh."
"Gruu."
By the time he'd finished talking with Maruka, the sun had already set.
Summer was drawing to a close, so night fell earlier than it used to.
That said, when he checked his pocket watch, it was still just shy of seven in the evening.
Given the hour, plenty of people were eating and drinking at taverns and dining halls. Some drunks had gotten into fights and were being restrained by those around them, and a few brawls had escalated enough to require the guards.
"They don't use Golems around here, huh."
Since garbage collection was left to Golems, Rei had figured the guards' work might be at least partially handled by Golems too. That guess turned out to be wrong.
But when it came to picking up trash, the targets were just garbage. Even if a Golem made a mistake, it wouldn't cause a major problem.
Brawls between drunks were a different story. With people intoxicated, their behavior was hard to predict, and that meant the possibility of a Golem injuring someone couldn't be ruled out.
That was precisely why guards, rather than Golems, were best suited for breaking up drunken fights.
Well, if the rumored high-performance Golems are as good as they say, maybe they could even handle jobs that currently require a human touch.
Splitting a sandwich he'd bought nearby with Seto, Rei wandered through Egginis.
Naturally, Seto's presence drew plenty of attention. But to Rei, that was nothing out of the ordinary.
Back in Gilm, lots of people would look at and approach Seto specifically to dote on him. The gazes directed at him now, by contrast, were filled with fear and curiosity.
Rei could guess that the curious ones were probably Alchemists cut from the same cloth as Roger.
Fortunately, unlike Roger, no one was trying to harm Seto, so neither Rei nor Seto paid the curious stares much mind.
"This sandwich is decent. ...Would've preferred to try some kind of Egginis local specialty dish, though. My bad—should've asked Lindy or Roger about that. ...And most of the shops are already closed."
Since it was night, most of the shops had naturally shuttered their doors.
The dining halls, taverns, and various establishments in the entertainment district were still open and just hitting their stride, but the shops selling Magic Items and Golems had already closed up.
Not every shop was dark—there were probably still some open if he searched hard enough. But unfortunately, Rei had only just arrived in Egginis and wasn't well-versed in that sort of thing.
If Lindy had been around, she might have been able to point him toward shops that were still open.
Then again, would Nicky be the better choice? He did call me "Brother" and all, so maybe he could at least show me around... but he can't just leave Maruka alone, and there's no way he could take her out into the city at night, so that's out.
Maruka was a tomboy, but even so, turning her loose in the city at night was out of the question.
Given that, Rei gave up on the idea. Nicky, as Maruka's bodyguard, wouldn't be able to guide him around outside the inn either.
Nicky had a lighthearted personality, but he was the person entrusted with Maruka's safety in Koan's stead. For someone like that to abandon his post and go out on the town with Rei... Though considering Nicky's personality, Rei couldn't help but wonder if he just might.
"For now, let's just look around casually and head back. If I stay at the inn, there'll probably be plenty more people coming to visit."
For nobles and merchants, wanting to become acquainted with Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker, was only natural. Rei understood that. But if asked whether he wanted to humor them, the answer was no.
With that in mind, he strolled through the streets with Seto, browsing shops and snacking as they went.
While some people were initially startled by Seto, Rei figured that if he kept parading him around like this, people would eventually stop being afraid.
In a sense, today was a meet-and-greet.
"Hmm, still... there really aren't any unusual dishes."
"Gruu..."
He checked out several stalls, but every one of them only sold ordinary fare. If he had to name something unusual, it would be the salt-grilled river fish at best. There was a fairly large river near Egginis, and the fish apparently came from there—but river fish was used reasonably often in cooking back in Gilm, too.
Plenty of people gathered in Egginis—not as many as in Gilm, but still a significant number. There should have been more dishes rich in local color. Or rather, because Rei had been expecting exactly that, he felt thoroughly let down.
"Well, maybe it was my mistake to expect unusual cuisine in a city famous for its Golems."
"Hey there! You there, brother. You can't just say something like that and expect a guy raised in Egginis to stay quiet."
Whether he'd overheard Rei's muttering or not, a man standing a short distance away called out to him.
For a moment, Rei braced for more trouble, but there was no malice in the man's voice.
When he turned his gaze toward the source, he found a young man in his late teens—looking slightly older than Rei himself.
Rei opened his mouth to respond, but the man started talking first.
"From what you just muttered, I'm guessing you only just got to Egginis, brother? Then you don't understand the fun parts of this city at all yet. For you to act like you've got Egginis figured out already—well, that's a bit of a problem."
"Even if you say that... from what I can see, there's nothing particularly unusual here. ...Well, aside from the sheer number of Golems."
Compared to daytime, this was probably because there were more drunks about.
The garbage littering the sides of the road had clearly increased. In response, the number of cleaning Golems had also grown, and they were busy continuously picking up trash.
It might have been Rei's imagination, but the Golems collecting garbage somehow looked like they were enjoying themselves.
Then again, cleaning Golems were, as the name suggested, built to pick up garbage. Being able to do their job to their heart's content might have genuinely been a joy for them.
"Is that so? In Egginis, this sight is an everyday thing. To me, it's nothing special."
Rei nodded in understanding. It made sense.
Even if someone's hometown had a famously beautiful ocean or lake—or any other breathtaking scenery—to those who saw it every day, it was just daily life. Among such people, there were even those who found it strange that others could be moved by what they took for granted.
In that sense, to the man before him, cleaning Golems were simply a fact of life. It wouldn't be odd for him to question why Rei seemed so impressed.
"That kind of thing varies a lot from person to person. For me, having this many cleaning Golems walking around the city is pretty unusual."
Thanks to the cleaning Golems, Egginis was definitely cleaner than other cities. Those who had grown accustomed to it probably couldn't grasp just how fortunate they were.
"You don't hear many people put it that way. ...Well, fine. More importantly, if you think Egginis is just an ordinary, uninteresting place, how about I show you somewhere that really captures the spirit of the city? If you like Golems, I think you'll be pretty satisfied."
Those words piqued Rei's interest.
Just walking around aimlessly didn't seem likely to lead to anything particularly interesting. There was a chance some drunk might spot Seto and pick a fight, or that someone might use that as a pretext to approach them. In that sense, something interesting could happen—but if he had the option to see a place that embodied the spirit of Egginis, that was naturally where he'd rather direct his attention.
"I'd appreciate that. But is there some reason you're offering?"
"No particular motive. You came all the way to Egginis, so I just thought I'd like you to enjoy it if possible."
"Huh. ...Seto, what do you think? Want to go check it out?"
"Gururuu."
At Rei's words, Seto considered for a moment before purring.
Sure, let's go. That was what he conveyed.
Seeing Seto express his own willingness, Rei nodded toward the man.
"Seto says he's fine with it, so lead the way."
"...Did he just say he'll go? Well, whatever. But, um—Seto, was it? With that size, there's no way he's getting inside. You'll probably have to leave him waiting outside."
"Unfortunately, Seto not being able to enter shops is a regular occurrence. But if anyone tries to harm him while he's waiting outside, I won't be responsible for what happens to them. Especially here in Egginis, where there are plenty of Golem specialist Alchemists—there's bound to be no shortage of people who'd want Seto's materials."
Partly because of the incident with Roger attacking Seto, Rei made sure to lay this out in advance.
At his words, the man looked somewhat troubled. Judging by his reaction, he was probably thinking that the kind of situation Rei described might actually come to pass.
In truth, the place the man was about to take Rei was one frequented by unusual enthusiasts. It also attracted Alchemists who made Golems and people who simply liked the atmosphere—but still.
Given the nature of such a place, it wouldn't be strange for someone to spot Seto and try to meddle with him.
If that meddling took the form of wanting to dote on Seto, then there was no problem. But if someone acted like Roger—trying to claim Seto for themselves—that person wouldn't be killed, but they would certainly end up injured at the very least. And if the injured party turned out to be someone of standing, it would without a doubt become a problem later on.
"Um, it would really help us out if you could avoid injuring anyone as much as possible... or, well, since Seto would just be bored waiting outside, maybe you could leave him at the inn?"
"Leaving him at the inn isn't an option. The whole reason I'm walking around with Seto today is to show everyone what he is and give the impression that he's not scary. ...Though thinking about it that way, having lots of drunks around isn't bad—it means there are people whose inhibitions are already lowered."
"No, with drunks, depending on the person, wouldn't they completely forget what they did while they were dead drunk?"
Rei urged the man on, and together with Seto, let himself be guided to whatever place was supposedly characteristic of Egginis.