When Rei emerged from the bushes, both the alchemists and the adventurers initially assumed he was merely a passerby who had wandered in by chance.
There was also the possibility that he was a surviving bandit, but in that case, killing him would settle the matter.
An alchemist who wasn't solely specialized in golems but also possessed deep knowledge of magic items might have been able to see through the concealment effect of the Dragon Robe Rei wore. Unfortunately, given that they were alchemists in Egginis—a city where the golem industry flourished—most of them inevitably specialized in golems.
That was precisely why the adventurers present did not consider Rei particularly strong upon seeing him. The gap in ability between them and Rei was so vast that they couldn't discern his true strength from the slight movements he made.
So when Seto appeared right behind Rei, everyone present froze in astonishment.
"A... gryphon...?"
One of the alchemists barely managed to mutter upon seeing Seto.
Seeing Rei alongside the creature, they naturally understood what kind of person he was.
"The Crimson... Rei..."
"Correct. Sorry, I didn't mean to spy. I was searching for bandits when Seto found this place."
Rei addressed those who had looked at Seto and realized his identity.
Perhaps because Rei spoke in such a relaxed manner, the tension not only in the alchemist who had spoken his name but in the others as well began to ease.
"Is that so. This was a golem performance test, and we would have preferred to keep it from prying eyes, honestly."
The alchemist spoke to Rei in a polite tone.
Those who knew of Rei understood that antagonizing him pointlessly served no purpose—or rather, that it was simply dangerous.
That attitude was the correct call. If they had attacked Rei for witnessing their golem's performance test, or out of a desire for Seto's materials, Rei would have naturally retaliated.
In that light, the alchemist's judgment was sound.
Of course, alchemists hunting bandits as a golem performance test wasn't illegal by any means. In fact, considering it reduced the number of bandits around Egginis, it wouldn't have been strange for them to receive praise for it.
Naturally, having someone witness the combat of a golem they were secretly testing was not a satisfactory outcome for the alchemists.
"A battle was taking place in these mountains. I thought perhaps someone was under attack by bandits. In reality, it was the opposite, though."
"Is that so. We were paying attention to our surroundings, though. And initially, even her magic item didn't register any response."
The male alchemist who had been speaking with Rei directed his gaze toward the female alchemist wearing the goggles as he said this.
Under normal circumstances, they would have preferred to conceal who it was that had spotted Rei. However, since the woman had been the first to announce someone's presence, they must have judged that they could no longer hide it.
In truth, Rei was quite intrigued by the goggles the woman was using. Given that an alchemist was employing them, they were undoubtedly a magic item—but as someone with a hobby of collecting magic items, it was only natural for him to be curious about exactly what kind of performance they offered.
"The magic item that detected me and Seto—what kind of capabilities does it have exactly? If it can locate hidden opponents, it seems like it would be quite handy in all sorts of situations. I'd want one myself, if possible."
"I apologize, but that magic item is not for sale. It is not something we created; it was obtained from a dungeon. Furthermore, it cannot be used by anyone other than its first user."
"...I see."
Rei's response sounded genuinely disappointed.
In truth, Rei had held a very strong interest in the goggles the woman had been using. He didn't know exactly what kind of abilities they possessed, but it was only natural for him to feel that way, since he was nearly certain they would be useful to him as well.
Still, the fact that it was obtained from a dungeon and became exclusive equipment for only the first person to use it... does that mean that woman delved into a dungeon herself? And for that kind of magic item to appear, she must have gone to quite a deep floor.
In Rei's impression, alchemist was not a class well-suited for combat. This was likely because his impression of the alchemists in Gilm was so strong—but that was merely Rei's impression. It wouldn't be strange for there to be alchemists in the world who were fully capable of handling combat as well. After all, if they were alchemists like those in Egginis who could use golems, they could simply have the golems fight for them.
Like that golem, for instance.
Rei directed his gaze toward the golem that had overwhelmed the bandits.
Perhaps noticing Rei's look, the man who had been speaking on behalf of the alchemists opened his mouth proudly.
"You were watching our golem in combat, weren't you? From the perspective of an alias holder adventurer, what did you think?"
"The bandits were too weak, so it's hard to say. But compared to the golems in the Wild Matches, this one is clearly superior."
Whether because Rei's critique wasn't satisfying enough for the man, a hint of displeasure crossed his face.
For the alchemists present, this golem was one they had created by pooling the pinnacle of their techniques. It was a golem they had built with the very goal of defeating the golems of the Dolan Workshop. That was why they had wanted to hear words of far greater praise from Rei's mouth—but what came out was something that, while complimentary, fell well short of what the man had hoped for.
"Is that so. By the way, though—Rei-san, what do you think would happen if you fought our golem?"
Those were words spoken by the pride of one of the golem's creators. He thought that with the golem they had built, even if the opponent was Rei, they could win—or perhaps not that far, but at least they could make him struggle considerably, or so he believed.
"Let's see. One second... maybe two?"
"Huh?"
Rei had answered casually, but the meaning of his words was entirely unclear. One second, two seconds of what, exactly? It wasn't just the alchemist who had asked Rei, but the others as well who were similarly bewildered, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
"Umm, what exactly does that mean?"
"I'm saying that with about two seconds, I could destroy the golem."
Faced with the words that had just come out of Rei's mouth, they were at a loss for how to respond.
Was he perhaps making a joke? They likely thought so because they fully understood the performance of the golem they had built. But when the man looked at Rei, he didn't seem to be waiting for them to laugh. If that was the case, it meant that the one or two seconds just now had been said in earnest.
"That's... no matter how you look at it, aren't you underestimating the golem we built far too much? You were watching the fight just now, weren't you?"
"Yeah. Having seen the fight, I'm saying I could destroy it in a second or two."
Rei had voiced the man's worst possible expectation. As the man opened his mouth to respond—
"Hey, wait a moment!"
Just before the alchemist could speak, the adventurer man hastily clamped a hand over his mouth.
The man hadn't been able to discern Rei's true strength, but given that Seto was present, he understood that if they caused a problem here, they stood no chance of winning.
Rei could also understand why the adventurer had done such a thing. They must have interpreted his words as a provocation.
Even while understanding that, so long as he held the conviction that he could easily win even if he actually fought the golem, he had no intention of saying anything further.
Compared to the golems he had seen in the Wild Matches, the movements of the golem that had been fighting the bandits here were good. Rei acknowledged that, but if asked whether he would lose, the answer was no.
If he used the magic he specialized in, melting the golem's rocky body would be an easy feat. Or perhaps, rather than melting it, he could blow it to pieces.
Even without magic, he could easily destroy it with the Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear.
Not to mention what would happen if he used one of the Death Scythe's skills. That was obvious without even needing to think about it.
"Well, here's the thing. I'm registered with the Guild as an adventurer, so if I receive a Nomination Request for a golem mock battle, I'd be willing to accept. The golem would suffer considerable damage, though."
In truth, issuing a Nomination Request to Rei would require an appropriate fee. An A-Rank adventurer—and an alias holder to boot—would naturally command a fee far different from what one would pay an ordinary adventurer.
"Ugh..."
The alchemist whose mouth was being covered by the adventurer groaned in dissatisfaction at Rei's words.
Looking at the golem's strength that had trampled the bandits, the golems these alchemists had developed were clearly high-performance. As a result, the workshop these alchemists belonged to was of a corresponding scale, and they were undoubtedly financially comfortable—but even so, whether they could easily produce the amount of money needed to request someone like Rei was another question entirely.
In reality, Rei sometimes took magic items as payment instead of money, and depending on the situation, he would accept requests at a bargain price on a whim.
Those goggles... if I could use them, I'd definitely want them as a reward.
Rei was brimming with interest in the goggles the female alchemist was using. That said, if they could only be used by that woman, there was no point in Rei forcing the issue.
Though that's assuming it's actually true that only she can use them.
As one could tell from seeing how much Rei wanted them, the goggles the female alchemist was using were a very high-performance magic item. Given that, there were naturally many who would desire them—which meant a countermeasure was needed to avoid having to hand them over.
The best approach would be to simply not use them. If she didn't use them, they wouldn't draw attention in the first place. But given that it was a high-performance magic item, not using it was not an option. If there were some kind of limit on the number of uses, that would be one thing, but the goggles were not that type of magic item.
In that case, the most straightforward reason to discourage those who wanted it would be to say that it couldn't be used by anyone other than the current user. If told that, most people would ordinarily believe it. However, that was only what they would think given the current situation—it wasn't necessarily an absolute certainty.
"At any rate, if you intend to issue a request, keep that in mind. For a Nomination Request, I'm fine with the reward being a magic item instead of money."
"...Does that mean a golem would also be acceptable?"
It was a different alchemist from the one whose mouth was being held who asked the question.
Since golems were technically classified as magic items, those words were by no means incorrect. That said, Rei couldn't simply nod in agreement.
"A golem, huh. Unfortunately, I've already applied at their office to purchase one from the Dolan Workshop, and even if that falls through, Roger has promised to sell me one."
At the words "Dolan Workshop" and "Roger," the alchemists showed surprise and visible tension. As alchemists in Egginis, they would naturally know about the Dolan Workshop, and Roger was also known as an alchemist with top-class skill in Egginis, so it wouldn't have been strange for them to recognize his name.
"Honestly, from what I saw at the Wild Matches, I thought I may have been expecting too much from golems. But seeing this one here, I'm relieved to know there are golems that are properly usable."
That was intended as a compliment from Rei. After all, from his perspective, he genuinely thought the golem here could serve perfectly well as a respectable combat asset.
However, those words were apparently not something the alchemists—especially the man whose mouth was being held by the adventurer—could tolerate.
Though it didn't quite reach the level of killing intent, the man glared at Rei with unmistakable anger.