"Mmm... mmm..."
Rei woke to the sound of a knock on the door, but even then, he remained half-asleep.
Had he been camping outdoors, he would have snapped awake instantly. But right now, he was in a room at the Star River Inn, one of the finest establishments in Egginis. Naturally, the bedding—including the bed itself—was top-class, and thanks to that, Rei had slept soundly.
Even after sitting up, he looked around as if still half-asleep... and before he knew it, the knocking had stopped. Whoever it was probably assumed he had already woken up and stepped out, since he hadn't answered the door.
But Rei didn't notice any of this and remained in his groggy state for about ten minutes before finally coming to his senses.
"Come to think of it, I've been staying at the Star River Inn since yesterday, haven't I?"
That triggered his memory of the incident at the Golem Tavern the previous night, and he recalled returning to the inn at an hour that was still a bit too early to be called the middle of the night.
Remembering last night's events led naturally to the question of what he was going to do today.
"I guess I should show my face at the Dolan Workshop at least once? Even if I want one of their Golems, it's meaningless if they don't know I exist. Besides, I need to make it clear that I'm willing to pay with materials."
Paying with materials was something only Rei could do among those seeking the Dolan Workshop's high-performance Golems. Well, to be precise, paying with materials alone was something others could manage too, but what mattered most in that case was how rare those materials were. When nobles and merchants paid with materials, those materials inevitably tended to be commonplace.
Alternatively, a noble with relatives in Gilm's Noble District could pull strings to obtain monster materials from the frontier, while a merchant could dispatch subordinates to Gilm or, if financially comfortable enough, purchase materials from other merchants who had traveled there.
But even compared to such people, the card Rei held was strong. After all, these were materials from monsters that inhabited the Forest of Magic—a place normally off-limits to even approach. And among those, A-Rank Monster materials would serve as an extremely powerful card.
"Yeah, it might be worth trying to negotiate on that basis. The Dolan Workshop's Golems are scarce to begin with, so the sooner I move, the better."
Having made that decision, Rei quickly got ready and left his room. There, he encountered someone who appeared to be a maid for some noble, just heading toward his room.
"Excuse me, Lord Rei. My master wishes to see you, so I've come to inquire about your schedule... Are you heading out now?"
"Yeah. There are still plenty of places in Egginis I haven't seen yet. Besides, I want to let the Dolan Workshop know I'm interested in buying a Golem."
"I see. Understood. I'll inform my master as such... Um, regarding the Dolan Workshop—the workshop itself is strictly for manufacturing Golems. If you wish to submit a purchase request, you need to go to their separate office rather than the workshop proper. Did you know that?"
"Is that so? No, this is the first I've heard of it."
From the maid's perspective, she was simply sharing what she knew about his plans out of a desire to get on his good side and secure a meeting with her master. But her advice was genuinely beneficial to Rei. Without it, he would have gone straight to the Dolan Workshop instead of the office, and there was no telling what kind of trouble that might have caused.
"I understand that the Dolan Workshop's Golems require a great deal of time and effort to produce. Apparently, there's a lot of precision work involved, and they dislike having it disrupted by unnecessary noise."
"I suppose that's how craftsmen are."
Precisely because they were skilled craftsmen, it wouldn't be strange for them to have fixations that others couldn't understand. Rei had met many skilled craftsmen in the past, so he could appreciate that much.
I thought the Dolan Workshop's Golems were scarce just because they used rare materials, but it seems they also require more advanced techniques than ordinary Golems to make. Well, if it were only about rare materials, it wouldn't be strange for alchemists at other workshops to produce something similar.
After expressing his gratitude to the maid, Rei took his leave. He was approached by several more people on his way out of the inn, but when he told each of them he was about to head out, they all stepped aside without complaint. They likely understood that making unreasonable demands of Rei here would only disadvantage the person they served. Whether the people they served actually understood that was another matter entirely.
Ultimately deciding that staying at the inn would only result in being accosted by more people, Rei gave up on using the Star River Inn's dining hall and opted to eat outside with Seto instead. Since he had woken up late, Seto had already been properly fed at the stables—but for Seto, eating a regular meal on top of that was no problem at all.
And so, Rei went shopping at stalls with Seto as they made their way toward the Dolan Workshop's office. He could have gone to the Guild to gather information from Lindy, but he figured that first, he needed to formally express his intent to purchase a Golem at the Dolan Workshop's office.
Finding the office's location was easy enough—he learned it immediately after buying some food at a stall. As the workshop of the alchemist currently possessing the highest technical skill in Egginis, it was undoubtedly famous. After all, many of those who came to Egginis wanted a Golem from the Dolan Workshop.
However, the number of Golems the Dolan Workshop could produce was not large. Because of that, many people went to the office to convey their intent to purchase one. Those with poor information-gathering, on the other hand, ended up going directly to the workshop itself and wasting a trip.
Depending on the case, there were apparently even those who demanded to be received at the workshop rather than the office, insisting that as someone of status and power, they should be accommodated there. Or rather, claiming that since they were important, the workshop should hand one over immediately and unconditionally.
The stall owner had thoroughly mocked the sort of people who said such things, while earnestly warning Rei not to do the same.
I don't know exactly what position the person who pulled something that stupid held, but since they called themselves important, they must have had some degree of status. In that case, they surely had escorts too. And those escorts were dealt with somehow, which means the Golems pack a corresponding level of strength.
Alternatively, it was possible they had used some kind of Magic Item rather than a Golem, but since the Dolan Workshop had made its name through Golems, Rei figured they probably used Golems to handle the escorts.
"Grrrl."
Seto, walking beside Rei, suddenly purred. He was telling Rei that it was over there—indicating the location of the Dolan Workshop's office.
"Yeah, over there. Thanks for pointing it out."
Rei had been deeply absorbed in thought, but he had still been paying attention to his surroundings. Even so, since Seto had gone to the trouble of showing him, Rei voiced his thanks and gave him a stroke. Pleased by this, Seto purred... and as they continued walking, they eventually arrived at their destination.
"Well now... I figured since it was an office, there'd be fewer people here."
Seeing about five people lined up in front of the office, Rei was surprised—and then nodded in understanding. As expected of the Dolan Workshop's office. These were the highest-performance Golems currently in Egginis. It was only natural that there would be many seeking to purchase one. Having only five people in line could actually be called lucky.
"Alright, Seto. Will you line up with me?"
Normally, when Rei had business inside a building, Seto would wait outside. But right now they were lining up in a queue in front of the office, which meant Rei would also be outside. Given that, waiting in line together with Seto wasn't particularly strange.
"Whoa! A G-Gryphon!?"
The man at the very back of the line was visibly startled by the sight of Seto. However, though initially shocked, the man knew about Rei and was aware of Seto's existence as Rei's tamed monster. And apparently possessing a fearless personality, he quickly grew accustomed to Seto's friendly disposition and began stroking his body.
"Since you're lining up here, you're looking to buy a Golem too, right?"
"Yeah. Though to be precise, it's not me—it's my master."
The man introduced himself as someone serving a Count's House in a rural area. A Count's House was a middle-ranking title among the nobility. Above it stood Marquises and Dukes, and below it were Barons and Viscounts. A Margrave like Daskar would also rank above a regular Count's House in terms of title. In that sense, a Count was situated almost right in the middle of the noble hierarchy.
That said, Count's Houses naturally came in all varieties. While middle-ranking in title, there were Count's Houses poorer than Viscount's Houses, and conversely, Count's Houses with assets on par with Duke's Houses. The person in front of Rei, while not quite at the level of a Duke's House, was undoubtedly wealthier than an average Count's House. After all, he was willing to compete with many nobles and successful merchants just to get a Golem.
"When you want a Golem from the Dolan Workshop, you submit a request at this office... and then what happens?"
"Apparently that part changes every time. Sometimes they sell to whoever offers the highest price, sometimes to whoever brings in a specific material... For you, Rei, the best option would probably be the one where they sell to whoever fights their Golem and wins."
"Is that true?"
For Rei, having them sell a Golem if he fought and won was exactly what he wanted. When it came to strength, Rei had a fair amount of confidence. Given that, it would be the most welcome outcome if the method this time turned out to be selling upon winning a fight.
...That said, Rei didn't expect things to go that conveniently for him. With only the modest hope that it would be lucky if that turned out to be the case, he waited for the line to move forward while chatting with the man.
The line moved at a reasonably brisk pace. Thanks to that, the queue kept advancing while Rei and the man talked. The people who lined up behind Rei also seemed wary of Seto at first, but after interacting with him a little, they quickly realized he wasn't a threatening presence. The line proceeded in an atmosphere far more peaceful than Rei had expected... and eventually, his turn came.
"Alright, Seto. I'm going inside the office for a bit, so wait here for me."
"Grrl."
After exchanging those words with Seto, Rei stepped inside. The office contained multiple reception counters, and the people who had entered before him were each speaking with Dolan Workshop staff members—who appeared to be clerical workers rather than alchemists.
Rei was called to Counter Seven and headed that way. The woman there, in her twenties with features that leaned toward beautiful, looked at Rei—whose hood was now down—and wore a worried expression.
Based on his age, he appeared to be someone still in his mid-teens. No, even if he were in his mid-teens, an active adventurer could certainly possess a corresponding presence. But the Rei standing before her didn't look at all like the sort of adventurer who was active in such a way. Moreover, precisely because he appeared to be such a person, she couldn't imagine that Rei had the kind of money needed to purchase a Golem from the Dolan Workshop.
If this were an ordinary workshop, they might have been able to resolve such concerns to some extent through mutual discussion. But doing such a thing at the Dolan Workshop would mean there was no telling what the other customers might do to them. The majority of those seeking to purchase a Golem from the Dolan Workshop were people with considerable assets, status, and power. If a child like Rei tried to buy a Golem that such people were vying for—and worse, actually succeeded in purchasing one—there was no knowing what measures they might resort to.
She had been worried about all of this, but in the end, she decided that as a clerical worker, she needed to do her job properly, and opened her mouth to speak.