Gazing into the distance from Seto's back, the shape of Egginis eventually came into view.
Seeing the city, Rei felt relieved that, at the very least, there had been no notable commotion this time around.
There had been no real trouble on the journey from Egginis to Gilm, and the fact that the return trip had been equally uneventful... given his constitution that could only be described as a trouble magnet, it was undoubtedly an extremely rare occurrence for Rei.
(Well, there wasn't any kind of commotion even when I passed over the town with the orphanage, so thinking about it that way, it's only natural that no trouble has occurred all the way to Egginis.)
Rei thought so, and in a way, that was only natural.
However, being unable to simply have a normal, uneventful trip was exactly what defined Rei.
Even though he was traveling mounted on the flying Seto, he normally wouldn't even need to consider getting caught up in incidents.
That said, Rei wasn't necessarily opposed to getting tangled up in trouble.
Being caught up in incidents usually meant a high probability of some kind of gain.
When saving a merchant being attacked by bandits, the rewards from the merchant, selling the bandits into slavery, and claiming whatever treasure the bandits had hoarded was a significant payoff.
Even in other cases, it was an undeniable fact that things generally turned out to Rei's benefit in some way.
"Alright, Seto. Land somewhere a bit away from Egginis."
"Grr!"
In response to Rei's words, Seto purred in acknowledgment and descended toward the ground.
If this were Gilm, he would be permitted to land directly within the city itself.
But that was only for the time being. Once the Crystal Dragon matter settled, the permission to freely take off from or land directly in the city would almost certainly be revoked.
Unlike Gilm, Egginis was not yet so familiar with Rei and Seto's presence.
Given that, it was only natural to avoid landing near the Main Gate.
...Though in reality, the fact that Seto was Rei's tamed monster was widely known, so there were certainly no few people who wanted to see Seto up close.
Especially since those who came to Egginis were predominantly nobles and successful merchants.
Naturally, there were also those who were afraid of Seto.
Normally, if a creature over three meters long, recognized as an A-Rank monster, came dropping out of the sky, more people would be frightened.
(Perhaps it's precisely because they're different from the ordinary that they succeed as nobles and merchants.)
If one were the same as everyone else, they would naturally blend into the crowd.
To avoid that, something different from the ordinary was necessary.
Of course, just because someone possessed something extraordinary didn't mean it would always work in their favor.
For example, a noble imposing heavy taxes on the residents of his own territory.
Thinking such thoughts, Rei landed while still mounted on Seto and headed toward the Main Gate.
Along the way, several individuals who appeared to be nobles or merchants tried to strike up a conversation, but since being held up by them would be a hassle, Rei pretended not to notice.
Those who tried to approach Rei here were generally people who already knew about Rei and Seto.
If that was the case, they would naturally know that Rei showed no mercy to his enemies, so no one tried to force a conversation.
...Of course, there were also those who knew nothing about Rei and tried to accost him simply out of curiosity, wanting to obtain Seto. But fortunately, no such individuals were present at the moment, and nothing escalated into a commotion.
(Nothing went wrong when I went to Gilm, and nothing went wrong coming back to Egginis. Could it be that I'm no longer a trouble magnet?)
Rei had been thinking along those lines, but perhaps forming that thought had, in a way, been raising a flag.
The moment he entered Egginis and took a few steps forward... a scream suddenly rang out.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the waaay! The horses are out of control, get out of the waaay!"
The source of the scream was someone riding on a carriage.
He was desperately trying to rein in the runaway horses, but they paid no attention to the coachman and were running wild to their hearts' content.
What was more, both of them together.
For runaway horses, the two weren't veering off in different directions or anything of the sort—they were charging straight toward Rei.
Perhaps because they were in a frenzy, even upon sensing Seto's presence, the two horses showed no sign of cowering.
They were foaming at the mouth and their eyes were half-rolled back; seeing that, it was even possible that the two horses hadn't perceived Seto's presence at all.
(What do I do?)
His hesitation lasted only an instant.
After all, there were many pedestrians behind him.
From behind, he could even hear children crying, likely startled by the sudden event.
In this situation, it wouldn't be difficult for Rei to evade the runaway carriage himself.
But if he did, the pedestrians behind him would undoubtedly suffer the consequences.
Since the pedestrians had no relation to Rei whatsoever, no one would blame him if he abandoned them here.
...No. Rei himself would blame himself.
Making that judgment, Rei acted swiftly.
Against the carriage rapidly closing the distance, he advanced forward barehanded.
Going in without a weapon seemed like sheer suicide to those watching.
After all, they hadn't noticed Seto nearby, and because Rei was small, he was perceived as a child—though still recognized as a teenager at least—and so it looked as though a child, driven by terror, was doing something reckless.
Rei felt the gazes trained on him, but he showed no sign of stepping back.
Stepping forward of his own accord to close the distance with the carriage, the two horses pulling it eventually... rather than judging Rei as an obstacle, simply didn't have him in their sights at all, just like Seto, and charged straight ahead.
"This is going to sting a little!"
Saying so, Rei grabbed one of the two charging horses in each hand... and the next instant, forcefully forced them down to the ground.
By any normal reasoning, an impossible feat.
But Rei accomplished it with ease...
"Tch!"
But the moment he forced the horses down, the coachman—perhaps having lost his balance from the animals' sudden halt—came charging in.
(No, that's wrong!)
It was true the coachman was charging in, but in his hand, he gripped a short dagger.
A dagger coated in some kind of black liquid on its blade.
The coachman came plunging in with his entire body... No. An assassin.
Rei had understood that he was being targeted by assassins, ever since the assassin disguised as a maid had come to the Star River Inn, but he never expected to be attacked so soon after returning to Egginis.
And with a method so blatant, hardly befitting the word "assassination."
However, Rei had survived countless crises before.
Moreover, being targeted by assassins was something he had experienced many times back in the Bestia Empire.
Given that, Rei had no intention of panicking over a situation of this level. He decided to simply catch the dagger's point with his Dragon Robe.
The Dragon Robe was a Magic Item made from dragon hide.
Not just ordinary hide, either—it was constructed with dragon scales sandwiched between layers of leather.
Furthermore, its creator was Esta Nor, said to be the greatest alchemist in history.
With a Dragon Robe like that, it might be a different story if it were a powerful Magic Item like a Magic Sword or Magic Spear, but a mere dagger, even if coated in poison or some other liquid, could never pierce its defense.
Indeed, the dagger's point was swallowed by the Dragon Robe, blocked by the scales, and ultimately failed to break through.
The assassin disguised as a coachman, realizing that his attack—which was supposed to deliver a fatal blow—had failed to inflict any damage whatsoever on Rei, wore a look of sheer dismay.
From the assassin's perspective, this attack was absolutely guaranteed to succeed—or so he must have believed.
And that wasn't wrong.
If the target of the assassination had been anyone other than Rei, this attack would likely have succeeded.
But... the one the assassin had attacked this time was not some ordinary person off the street. It was Rei.
The assassin had judged his own attack a failure, but having used the momentum of the horses being restrained to throw his entire body at Rei, he was pressed tight against him, and he was not in a situation where he could escape.
If Rei had only grabbed his clothes, he might have somehow managed to break free. But in Rei's case, he hadn't just seized the assassin's clothing—he had a firm grip on the body itself.
To escape from such a hold, the assassin would have had to do something like letting the flesh Rei was gripping be torn from his body.
No—even if he tried to escape by such means, there was no way Rei would let him go in that situation. What the assassin could do now was already decided.
"Guh..."
"Huh?"
Letting out a small groan, he collapsed on the spot, vomiting blood from his mouth.
Since Rei was still gripping his body, the assassin didn't fall to the ground, but seeing his body convulsing and spitting blood, it was clear what had happened.
"Poison!"
Rei shouted, but it was already too late.
It seemed the man had concealed a fairly fast-acting poison in a back tooth or somewhere similar, and by the time Rei identified it as poison, the assassin was already dead.
Looking at the dead assassin's state, Rei clicked his tongue.
For the onlookers who had just witnessed the scene, it was only natural that they couldn't comprehend what had happened.
One moment a carriage was suddenly bolting out of control toward them, the next Rei caught the horses and forcefully forced them to the ground, and then Rei shouted "Poison!"—of course those watching would wonder what on earth was going on.
However... seeing the man who had been beside Rei vomiting blood and collapsing to the ground, it naturally sparked a major commotion.
If this were Gilm, the residents would be somewhat accustomed to bloody brawls, given the large concentration of adventurers.
But this was not Gilm. It was Egginis.
A city famous for its golem industry, and as such, the townspeople were not so accustomed to seeing blood.
...Though, as Rei had witnessed a few days prior, things like using bandits on a mountain for golem performance tests probably happened to some extent.
But that was something the alchemists who manufactured the golems did, and it wasn't something the townspeople would witness.
That was precisely why so many people were at a loss to understand the sudden scene before them.
However, among them were some who had not seen the exchange with the dagger and interpreted the coachman vomiting blood and collapsing as a result of the accident itself.
Adventurers... particularly those with considerable skill, had recognized that the coachman had drawn a dagger and charged at Rei, so some were discreetly surveying their surroundings.
They had no desire to involve themselves with Rei, who was being targeted by assassins, but now that one had caused this commotion, it wasn't strange to think there might be others lurking about.
And if there were more assassors, they worried about being caught in the crossfire, and so they were preparing to respond immediately should anything else happen.
"Are you alright! What happened!"
Amidst all this, guards finally arrived, apparently having heard the commotion.
Rei had thought "finally," but in reality, not even a few minutes had passed since the carriage went out of control and charged at him.
Since the exchange just now had involved an assassin, Rei had been too focused, and as a result, the guards' arrival felt almost leisurely to him.
"A carriage accident?" the guards asked, but Rei shook his head.
"No, it was an assassination."
"!?"
Startled by Rei's words, the guards spoke with serious expressions.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. I was attacked with the dagger lying over there. I intended to take him alive, but the moment he realized he'd been caught, he apparently swallowed poison."
In the direction of Rei's gaze as he spoke lay the corpse of the assassin, blood still flowing from his mouth.