"Rei!? I waited and you never showed, so I figured you weren't coming to the Guild today."
Seeing Rei step through the entrance, Lindy hurried over to him.
Unlike yesterday when he'd last seen her, she was alone—which meant she probably wasn't here to take on a request.
"I actually came by a little while ago. You weren't around, but Roger was. I've been talking with him up until now."
"…What happened?"
From Lindy's perspective, the last time she'd seen them yesterday, Rei and Roger had clearly been at each other's throats. Given that, she couldn't fathom why they'd be chatting like old friends today.
"Various things. That's just how guys are."
"…How vulgar."
Whether she'd misunderstood something in his words or not, Lindy gave him that clipped response. Rei didn't seem inclined to press the matter further and smoothly steered the conversation elsewhere.
Part of his reason was that he didn't particularly want word getting around that he'd handed over materials from the Orc Naga—a new monster species—to Roger. It wasn't that he absolutely needed to keep it secret, just that he'd prefer to stay quiet about it if possible.
"So, are you not taking on any requests today?"
"No. I finished one yesterday, so I've got a few days off."
Rei had half-wondered whether she'd taken the day off specifically to search for Golias, but from the sound of it, she was simply enjoying a regular day of rest.
"So you came to the Guild because you had business with me, is that right?"
"Yes. It's about Golias. …Though this isn't really the place to discuss it. Shall we head to the tavern?"
"While we're at it, why don't we go somewhere with better food? My treat."
It wasn't that Rei found the food at the Guild's attached tavern unappetizing. But based on what he'd eaten yesterday, most of the dishes were, at best, passably average—so naturally, he wanted something that actually tasted good.
"Eh? Really? Then I know a place that's a little pricey but delicious. Would that be okay?"
"Yeah, if it's delicious, that's fine with me."
Rei kept a fairly comfortable margin when it came to spending money on meals. Even if he felt he'd overspent a bit, he could always go bandit hunting and make back more than he'd laid out.
That said, according to the intel he'd gathered from bandits he'd encountered before arriving here, their numbers around Egginis were rapidly dwindling.
What Rei had heard, of course, came from bandits themselves. How did the people of Egginis—particularly Lindy, who as an adventurer sometimes clashed with bandits—view the situation? That was something he wanted to ask.
With that in mind, Rei left the Guild with Lindy… and, bringing Seto along, headed for a restaurant situated a fair distance from the Guild hall.
"This is… delicious."
The food served at the restaurant Lindy led him to was indeed delicious. It wasn't an exquisite masterpiece that put all other establishments to shame, but good food was good food.
"Right? Hehe. I hardly ever get to come here myself, so I'm really glad you're treating, Rei."
"Yeah? It's certainly a bit pricier than other places, but you earn a decent amount, don't you?"
She wasn't among the top earners at the Guild, but Lindy was undoubtedly making a respectable income. At the very least, she had to be earning far more than anyone still labeled a rookie.
If that were the case, even if she couldn't afford to come every day, there was no reason she couldn't treat herself once every ten days or so.
"Impossible. Um… things aren't that easy, you know."
Things aren't easy? Rei puzzled over her words.
As an adventurer, she fundamentally had to supply her own equipment and various tools herself. If she were in a party, or had someone from her hometown who'd looked after her for years, she might get hand-me-downs. Or if she'd caught the eye of someone more experienced, that sort of thing might happen too.
To put it bluntly, Lindy's features were reasonably attractive—she could probably earn money through less savory means if she chose to. Though when it came to that sort of thing, it was entirely possible she had no desire to do so whatsoever.
"You don't look like you're struggling that much for money, though. …Debt?"
"No way. I send money to the orphanage. My earnings alone won't make things comfortable for them, but it's still better than nothing, right?"
That, Rei could understand.
Lindy's income as an adventurer was certainly enough to support herself without much difficulty. But if that money was going to an orphanage—one full of growing children with hearty appetites, plus staff members—then it was no surprise that, as she said, it wouldn't go very far.
"I see. In that sense too, finding Golias is essential."
"…Right."
At the mention of Golias's name, Lindy's eating slowed. She'd been savoring the taste of freshly grilled meat smothered in a rich nut sauce, but now the flavor seemed to lose a little of its savor.
Among the adventurers who'd come up from the orphanage, Golias had been a leader-type figure. Lindy respected him deeply—and harbored other feelings for him as well, to some degree. Naturally, she wanted to find the missing man, no matter what.
"If it turns out he's just outside Egginis on some request… that'd be the best-case scenario."
"That would be the best outcome, yes. But that doesn't mean we can count on it."
For Lindy, too, it would be wonderful if Golias had simply forgotten to mention a job to her and the others—the other orphanage-born adventurers—and had actually left Egginis on an escort mission or something of the sort. But given the current situation, she knew full well that hoping for something so convenient was unrealistic.
"In that case… right. Is there any chance he took on a bandit subjugation request, for example?"
"Bandits? I doubt it. Especially lately—I hear their numbers around Egginis have been dropping."
"That's it. It's connected to that."
Rei cut in as Lindy brought up the bandits.
"Think about it logically—Egginis is an extremely lucrative hunting ground for bandits. After all, wealthy people flock there to buy golems. …Of course, those types usually bring skilled escorts along, so the danger is considerable too."
It was the very definition of high risk, high return. Even around the frontier city of Gilm, bandits occasionally showed up chasing that same prize, but most were wiped out—or brought to the brink of annihilation—by the diverse array of monsters that roamed the frontier, forcing them into retreat. As a result, those bandits tended to congregate around the entrance to the frontier, in places like Abuelo and Sablusta, close to Gilm.
"Despite having such profitable opportunities, the bandits are vanishing one after another. According to my sources, they're disappearing without a trace—and those who've caught on are pulling out of the area around Egginis entirely."
This was information Rei had obtained firsthand from bandits fleeing Egginis, so it was unlikely to be wrong. Lindy, being based in Egginis, was well aware of the situation as well.
"So how does the bandit situation tie into Golias's disappearance?"
"The bandits disappeared for some reason, right? In that case, isn't it possible Golias disappeared due to that same reason? Isn't that a possibility worth considering?"
Clatter.
The meaning of Rei's words sinking in, Lindy dropped the spoon she'd been holding. Whether drawn by the metallic clang or simply nearby, a staff member quickly appeared and replaced it. Cheaper establishments—even ordinary eateries and modest restaurants—often used wooden spoons, but this being a fairly upscale restaurant, all the tableware, spoons included, was metal.
Lindy thanked the staff member for the replacement. Then, after taking a moment to compose herself, she looked at Rei again.
"Is what you just said true?"
"Hard to say. Honestly, I don't know for certain. But I think it's a very real possibility. …Don't you agree, Lindy?"
"That's…"
Lindy found herself at a loss for words—because she understood that the possibility Rei had described was entirely plausible.
"Calm down. It's just one possibility. I'm not saying that's definitely what happened."
Seeing Lindy's visible distress, Rei spoke in a steadying tone. Though truthfully, those words were meant only to settle her nerves. In his own mind, he was already half-convinced that Golias had been caught up in the bandits' disappearance.
Considering everything he'd heard about Golias's character, the man simply didn't seem like the type to vanish without a word.
Then again, that's not a certainty either. If, say, he'd eloped with someone of noble birth, it was entirely plausible he'd disappear without explaining anything to avoid dragging his comrades into it.
That was pure speculation on Rei's part. But speculation or not, the possibility was real enough. Nor could he rule out the chance that Golias had gotten tangled in some kind of trouble and was unable to move freely.
"…You're right. Golias is a skilled adventurer. Whatever happens, he should be able to handle most things on his own."
It was half an attempt to convince herself, but Lindy murmured the words anyway.
"There's also the possibility that, entirely unrelated to bandits, he stumbled into some kind of trouble or got swept up in a problem. That can't be ruled out either."
The bandit situation could technically count as "getting swept up in something" too, but Rei kept that observation to himself.
"Given Golias's personality, I can't deny that," Lindy admitted. "He's the type who looks after people, whatever he might say. …He tries to hide it, but anyone who knows what to look for can see it right away."
Rei privately doubted that. Based on everything he'd been told, he couldn't see Golias that way at all. Then again, Rei hadn't noticed it himself—but given the feelings Lindy harbored for Golias, it was perhaps inevitable that she'd interpret everything in the most favorable light.
"With that kind of personality, the chances of him being caught up in some kind of trouble are certainly high. Especially if there were weaker people involved—he might have tried to help them and ended up even more stuck. That possibility can't be dismissed."
"…Right."
She probably hadn't fully bought into Rei's reasoning, but at this point, it was the only answer Lindy could give.
"Either way, the most likely scenario is still that he got caught up in whatever's happening with the bandits."
This was partly because Rei himself was genuinely intrigued and wanted to dig into the bandit situation—but bandits vanishing, and vanishing without so much as a trace, was clearly abnormal. And at the same time… well, considering that Rei had encountered bandits on his way to Egginis, the actual timing might have been somewhat offset, but the fact that Golias had disappeared at nearly the same time made it impossible not to draw a connection.
"But they're bandits, right? How are you planning to investigate?"
"When it comes to dealing with bandits, I have a thing or two to say. I'll show you I'm not called the Bandit Eater for nothing."
Rei said this with a touch of swagger, but Lindy wasn't sure whether she should take him at his word. Having strong opinions on handling bandits was all well and good, but was that really something she could trust at face value? And above all, the name Bandit Eater carried more than enough of an ominous ring to plant unease in Lindy's mind.
Still, given the situation, Rei was the only person she could turn to. And so, after a long moment's hesitation, Lindy—wearing an expression tinged with anxiety—gave Rei a tentative nod.