In the end, they couldn't immediately decide what Lindy would do.
Even so, Lindy insisted that since no assassin had been sent after her, she would complete a request with her party members tomorrow.
Traveling with her party would have been the safest option, but Rei himself had plenty he needed to do.
He'd been planning to return to Gilm in a few days to collect a portion of the Crystal Dragon materials, which meant he couldn't afford to act alongside Lindy anyway.
Moreover, if he traveled with her, he'd have no time to investigate the disappearances of the Bandits and Golias.
That too was likely one of the reasons Lindy had decided not to travel with him.
From her perspective, her honest feeling was probably that she wanted Rei to use that time investigating Golias's case rather than staying by her side for her own safety.
Lost in thought, he soon arrived at the Star River Inn.
"Ah, Lord Rei!"
The moment he stepped inside, one of the staff members spotted him and immediately rushed over.
Rei already knew what this was about, so he offered an apology.
"Sorry, I had a bit of an emergency. I pushed the inn a little."
"No, um... I apologize."
"Huh?"
If it had been a complaint or a scolding, Rei would have understood the staff member's attitude. But being apologized to here was completely unexpected.
"Um, why would you need to apologize?"
With a vague sense of dread, he asked.
The staff member bowed once more, then led him toward the back of the inn—to what was apparently the staff room.
Inside stood a man who looked more like a mercenary than an inn employee. The moment he saw Rei, he bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. The assassin who came after you... she escaped."
"...I see."
From the staff member's attitude, Rei had already sensed the general direction of the conversation. He gave a short reply, then pressed further.
"So how did she escape? When I left the inn, she was unconscious, so I figured you'd have tied her up with rope or something. From the looks of things, it doesn't seem like her comrades stormed in to take her back by force, either."
"Right. We checked her for any suspicious items and bound her so she couldn't move. But when we looked again, she was gone."
"Was no one watching her?"
Saying she was gone when they noticed meant someone had taken their eyes off her. Why that had happened, Rei honestly couldn't fathom. Normally, even after capturing an assassin, no one would dare look away.
If this had been some cheap inn on a back street, or a place that hired Low-Rank Adventurers as guards, then sure, losing sight of an assassin would be understandable. But this was not that kind of place. It was one of the finest inns in Egginis, patronized by Nobles and wealthy Merchants alike.
Naturally, the adventurers hired for emergencies were skilled hands.
That was exactly why Rei found it unbelievable that the man had let the assassin slip away.
"There wasn't. No—to be precise, there was, but so many guests were demanding explanations about the incident that we had to pull people away to handle them."
"That's..."
Rei's first thought was that one of the adventurer-guards might have been in league with the assassin. But hearing the man's explanation, he could see the other side of it too.
The Female Assassin, disguised as a Maid, had entered the Star River Inn and even reached the second-floor hallway outside Rei's room. If she'd been truly skilled, pulling that off might not have been surprising.
But from what Rei had seen, the assassin wasn't that accomplished. Mid-to-upper tier at best—lower-upper even if she pushed herself.
Combat ability aside, the very fact that she radiated killing intent toward a different person right next to her target meant she didn't even pass as a competent assassin. By that measure, she was lower-middle at best.
Still, given the kind of operative she was, it wasn't hard to imagine the inn having staff who might have let her slip in.
"I know an apology won't fix this. But... even so, I'm sorry."
The man bowed deeply to Rei. Beside him, the staff member who had led Rei here followed suit.
"I am truly sorry. I know it's inadequate, but we would like to waive your lodging fee for this stay. Would you be willing to accept that? We will also prepare an additional gift of apology to follow."
A cheap inn would be one thing, but the Star River Inn catered to Nobles and wealthy Merchants. It turned away walk-ins; without an introduction from someone of influence, you couldn't even secure a room. It was the kind of place where even Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker, might not have gotten a room with just Roger's letter of introduction had Maruka not put in a word. The lodging rates were simply beyond what an ordinary person could afford.
The offer to waive that fee spoke volumes about how seriously the inn was taking this.
And on top of that, they were preparing a separate gift of apology. It showed just how much weight they placed on the incident.
And rightly so. An inn that served Nobles and wealthy Merchants had let an assassin infiltrate its walls, reach a paying guest's room, and attack—then, after that guest had subdued and captured her, had let her slip away clean.
The attack itself was already spreading through the rumor mill, so nothing could be done about that. But if word got out that the captured assassin had escaped, the damage to the inn's reputation would be severe.
The Star River Inn was one of the finest in Egginis—but it was among the finest, not the undisputed best. Several other inns held similar standing. If bad word spread about the Star River Inn under those circumstances, the consequences were obvious.
...Though even the rumor of an assassin infiltrating alone would likely deal a heavy blow.
Nobles and wealthy Merchants were exactly the sort of people who might find themselves targeted by assassins. Considering that, Rei wouldn't be surprised if nearly half the guests checked out by tomorrow.
"Understood. Losing the assassin stings, but if she comes after me again, I'll just capture her then. I'll accept that. As for the gift, a practical Magic Item would be ideal."
Honestly, he could have turned down the Magic Item altogether. But since the inn was offering, and he was in Egginis anyway, receiving one would be satisfying enough. He'd planned to look for Magic Items alongside Golems, so getting one for free was no problem at all.
...Assuming, of course, that his request for something practical was honored. A Magic Item that was technically useful but couldn't be put to practical use wouldn't hold much interest for him.
Reading that sentiment in Rei's gaze, the staff member nodded immediately.
"Understood. I can't promise we'll meet your expectations, Lord Rei, but we'll do our very best."
"Good. Then we'll leave it at that. If the assassin shows up again, I'll just grab her on the spot and make her talk."
He said it lightly.
The man blinked in surprise. Rei had apparently taken the assassin down with ease, but assassins were not normally the kind of opponents you could defeat or capture so casually.
Rei hadn't actually fought the assassin this time, so he didn't know her exact skill level—but he could at least tell she'd have been troublesome in a real fight.
Skilled adventurers were hired as Guards here, but if asked whether they could hold their own against an assassin... honestly, more than a few people would have doubts.
As expected of an Alias Holder and A-Rank Adventurer, huh.
Naturally, the man overseeing the adventurer-guards knew exactly what kind of person stood before him. The moniker of Crimson was widely known throughout the Kingdom of Mireana, after all.
...Even so, guessing from his appearance that this was that very individual would have been a stretch.
"Understood. If you say so, then we will humbly accept your generosity this time."
The man in charge of security offered those words and bowed once more.
From Rei's perspective, losing the assassin was unfortunate—but if she came back, he'd simply capture her and extract what he needed.
Still, not getting any intel is a real blow. I went to see Lindy because I was sure the Bandit and Golias cases were connected, but it turns out she wasn't attacked at all. Maybe they planned to hit Lindy after killing me?
He considered it, but in that case, the order would have been reversed. If they'd gone after the easier target first and then moved on to Rei, they should have been able to kill at least one person.
Whether they could have actually pulled that off was another matter entirely.
"Oh, one more thing. Lord Rei."
Just as Rei decided the business was concluded and turned to leave what appeared to be the staff room, the staff member called after him.
"What is it?"
"Your Tamed Monster seemed quite restless in the stables. Would you perhaps go check on him?"
"Seto?"
Rei was mildly surprised, but on reflection, it made perfect sense. He and Seto were connected through a magical bond, and with Seto's keen senses, he would naturally have detected Rei's presence—or rather, his sudden departure.
Given that, rushing out without a word to Seto and then expecting him not to worry would have been asking the impossible.
...If this had been Gilm, their home base, Seto probably wouldn't have been so anxious. But unfortunately, this wasn't Gilm—it was Egginis. A place they'd arrived at just a day ago. Under those circumstances, it was only natural for Seto to feel uneasy.
...Logically speaking, there were very few beings who could pose a threat to Seto, rated as S-Rank equivalent. But even so, not having Rei nearby clearly left him feeling vulnerable.
"Got it. I'll go check on the stables."
With that, Rei finally left the staff room.
"Grrrrl!"
The moment Rei showed his face in the stables, Seto purred with delight. Seto had surely sensed him approaching.
Rei had bolted from the Star River Inn without warning, leaving Seto anxious and on edge. Now that Rei stood before him, his joy was only natural.
"Sorry about that, Seto. I was in a rush."
Rei stroked Seto, who purred happily and nuzzled against him, as he offered the apology.
The truth was, when he'd burst out of the inn, he'd judged that Lindy might also be in an assassin's crosshairs—possibly already under attack. He simply hadn't had the composure to stop and explain. On top of that, with Drunkards flooding the streets at that hour, traveling with Seto would have likely kicked up a commotion.
Even so, that was just Rei's reasoning. For Seto, left behind without a word, the result was all that mattered.
...That said, even Seto could guess that for Rei to leave like that, something truly urgent must have happened. That was probably why he settled for being just a little sulky and seeking affection rather than throwing a full fit.
"An assassin showed up. The quality was low, so it wasn't much of an issue—but if today's incident was triggered by the Bandit and Golias disappearances, there was a chance one had been sent after Lindy too. That's why I rushed over."
"Grrrl?"
So what happened to Lindy? Seto's purr seemed to ask. He had traveled with Lindy that day, after all. Hearing that an assassin might have come for her, there was no way he wouldn't worry.
"She's fine. There was no assassin anywhere."
At Rei's words, Seto purred happily in relief.