Thanks to the swift response of the guards, the assassin incident didn't escalate into a major commotion.
Part of the reason was that very few people had actually seen enough to recognize that the coachman who charged at Rei with the carriage was an assassin, but the guards' quick action was the biggest factor this time.
That said, Rei wasn't simply released on the spot. The guards questioned him about the incident.
However, Rei had only just returned to Egginis.
He had been attacked by an assassin less than ten minutes after entering the city, so he was treated as a straightforward victim.
If Rei had been an ordinary civilian, the guards might have needed to take further measures. But Rei was an A-Rank adventurer.
The fact that they judged him capable of handling any situation himself was also a significant factor.
In effect, he was released on the grounds of self-responsibility.
Still, Rei had no complaints about the guards' handling of the matter.
From his perspective, he was actually grateful that no pointless time was wasted on interrogation or consultations about future protection.
(I did mention that the bandit disappearances might be related, as a possible reason someone would target me... but I wonder.)
Rei had heard the rumor before—that the bandit disappearances might be connected to the Dolan Workshop's new golems.
In an autonomous city thriving on the golem industry, the Dolan Workshop, which currently possessed the foremost golem manufacturing technology, naturally wielded enormous influence.
If this were a city governed by an ordinary noble, there might still be some hope... but thinking that, Rei shook his head.
(No, that's unlikely. Even a noble wouldn't say anything if the Dolan Workshop were using people as golem materials, so long as it benefited their city and increased their own income. Especially since the victims would be bandits.)
If anything, they would probably be grateful that someone was eliminating the bandits lurking around the city.
Even if the Dolan Workshop was replenishing the very bandits they eliminated.
"Hey, look, that's... the guy from earlier, right?"
"He's got a gryphon with him, so there's no mistake."
"Huh? What? What is it?"
"See, that person in the robe. I told you about the runaway carriage earlier, right? He's the one who stopped it."
"Oh, the one where the coachman died..."
As Rei and Seto walked through the streets of Egginis, snippets of such conversation reached them.
The onlookers had witnessed the accident—or incident—but apparently hadn't realized it was an assassination attempt, as they weren't skilled enough to read the coachman's movements.
For Rei, that was fine. It meant he avoided the hassle of being questioned in detail or subjected to fearful stares.
"Gurururu?"
Seto purred, asking what was wrong. Rei patted his head, indicating it was nothing, and continued toward the Star River Inn.
Given the commotion that had just occurred, he had no desire to stop by any food stalls.
He could easily imagine the trouble—receiving strange looks, being peppered with questions about what really happened with the carriage.
Food stalls were a customer-facing business, and most stall owners loved to chat with their patrons.
Though there were some run by the quintessential taciturn craftsman types.
So Rei skipped the stalls and headed straight back to the Star River Inn...
"Rei, are you alright!?"
"Rei, are you safe!?"
"Rei, art thou unharmed!?"
"Rei no aniki, you okay?!"
The moment he parted ways with Seto at the stables and stepped inside the Star River Inn, four voices called out to him simultaneously.
Roger, Lindy, Maruka, and Nicky.
These were the people he was closest to in Egginis, and they had called out the instant he walked through the door.
What they were worried about was obvious without even thinking.
It had to be the incident where Rei was attacked by an assassin the moment he entered Egginis.
Well, accurately speaking, since almost no one knew about the assassin, they probably assumed it was a carriage accident.
However, those who knew that Rei had been targeted by an assassin at this very inn before—with Roger as the exception—wouldn't be blamed for worrying that the carriage incident was another assassination attempt.
After all, the fact that he had been attacked by an assassin was indisputably true.
"Yeah, no problem. It was just a carriage accident."
Naturally, with a commotion like this, the inn's guests and staff were all looking their way, wondering what had happened.
Given the audience, he couldn't exactly start talking about an assassination attempt.
Besides, the guards had asked him not to reveal that the coachman was an assassin.
It wasn't a strict order forbidding him from speaking, more of a request to keep it quiet if possible.
If Rei had been a low-rank adventurer, they might have issued a firm command.
But to Rei—an A-Rank adventurer and alias holder—they couldn't possibly make such a demand.
Rei himself didn't fully realize it, but an A-Rank adventurer carried that much influence.
So, while he wouldn't mind telling those who were worried about him, he figured it was better to play it off as a carriage accident for everyone else who had nothing to do with it.
(Ah, but Roger doesn't know about the assassin situation. Well, with the Dolan Workshop matter and the fact that I've commissioned him to build a golem, maybe I should let him know.)
Thinking this, Rei decided they should move first and spoke up.
"Making a scene here is a problem too. Why don't we relocate? My room is... well, it's spacious enough for this many people, but I'd prefer somewhere a bit larger if possible."
"Hmm, how about my room then?"
Maruka's suggestion was, in a sense, the obvious choice.
Roger and Lindy didn't have rooms at the inn.
In fact, Lindy was an orphanage-raised adventurer whose rank wasn't particularly high. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be able to set foot in a high-class establishment like the Star River Inn.
The only reason Lindy hadn't been stopped from entering was partly because she was Rei's acquaintance, but mostly because she happened to be with Roger.
That left only Maruka and Nicky...
"My lady, letting other people into your room is definitely problematic."
Nicky said so firmly.
Maruka was still young, but she was still a woman.
And as the daughter of a duke's house, Nicky's honest feeling was that she shouldn't do anything that might spark strange rumors.
Part of it was concern for Maruka's sake, but more than that, he was worried about what would happen if word reached Koan—who served as Maruka's primary bodyguard with deep loyalty.
"But then what shall we do? Thy room can't hold this many people, and Nicky's room is no different from Rei's. If my room is out too, then there's nowhere suitable."
"In that case, how about my room?"
A voice spoke up unexpectedly.
Rei recognized it immediately and knew exactly who it belonged to.
"Ridon, you were here?"
"But of course. I heard you had returned. I'm glad to see you're unharmed."
Ridon, a noble of the Neutral Faction led by Daskar, was probably the most knowledgeable among them about Rei's situation of being targeted by assassins.
After all, the fight with the assassin who had infiltrated the inn disguised as a maid had occurred right where Ridon's attendant was stationed.
Given that, it was only natural that Ridon knew the most about the assassin situation.
Also, since Ridon was a man, bringing others into his room wouldn't cause any particular commotion.
And Ridon's room was quite spacious, making it the perfect choice.
"Yeah, it was a bit close."
Rei answered Ridon's concern.
Truthfully, an enemy had lunged at him when both his hands were occupied.
Without the Dragon Robe, he would have likely taken serious damage.
Ridon looked slightly surprised at Rei's words, then spoke.
"In any case, lingering here will be a nuisance. As I suggested, shall we continue this conversation in my room?"
No one objected to Ridon's proposal. And so, with curious stares from onlookers fixed upon them, Rei and the others made their way to Ridon's room.
"Now then, are introductions necessary?"
At Ridon's words, everyone except Rei nodded.
Rei knew everyone present, but the others had strangers among them, so it was only natural.
When Rei had returned, the four who called out to him first could have introduced themselves to each other, but they had apparently been too worried about Rei to have the presence of mind for such pleasantries.
And so the introductions began. As expected, Maruka's identity as the daughter of the renowned Duke Quento's House came as a surprise.
...Though Ridon already knew Maruka, so the ones shocked were only Roger and Lindy.
Roger aside, Lindy was surprised but didn't seem to fully grasp the magnitude of what that meant.
Roger was one of the finest alchemists in Egginis, so it wouldn't be strange for him to have a decent understanding of noble society.
In contrast, Lindy was merely an adventurer... and an orphanage-raised one at that.
Given that Egginis was an autonomous city, it was unavoidable that her knowledge of nobles was lacking.
Once she ranked up and became a high-rank adventurer, she would interact with nobles more frequently, and her knowledge would naturally grow.
Strictly speaking, she would need to acquire at least a basic understanding, or risk the worst-case scenario.
With introductions concluded, Rei explained the assassination attempt that had occurred the moment he returned to Egginis.
"Hmm... normally I would be surprised, but when it comes to Rei, it's not quite so shocking."
That was the first thing Maruka said after hearing Rei's account.
Roger and Lindy turned bewildered gazes toward her.
They had only known Rei for a short time, so while they knew he was a skilled adventurer, that knowledge was purely informational.
Even Lindy, a fellow adventurer, couldn't claim to fully grasp Rei's true ability.
That was why, given the current situation, they couldn't understand why Maruka was muttering so optimistically.
"Yeah. Honestly, I didn't expect to be attacked the moment I got back to Egginis either. I'm guessing there's someone among the guards who's connected to an underworld organization like an assassin guild."
This wasn't particularly unusual.
Even in Gilm, where Daskar worked hard to prevent such corruption, there were still a fair number of guards with ties to underworld organizations.
That was likely unavoidable.
In practice, it wasn't entirely a bad thing either.
If underworld organizations were truly useless and brought nothing but harm, the lord would have eradicated them entirely.
Of course, the underworld organizations would fight back if attacked, and it wasn't inconceivable that the lord would end up dead while the organizations survived.
But even so, the majority of underworld organizations would be destroyed.
The reason that didn't happen was simply because the underworld organizations were beneficial to the lord as well.
Keeping the underworld in order and preventing unnecessary commotions.
Relaying information unique to the underworld to the lord.
Driving off underworld organizations that infiltrated from other territories.
Paying bribes to the lord in exchange for various forms of leniency.
There were many other reasons besides... and it was undeniable that these factors allowed the underworld organizations to continue existing.
That said, it was unthinkable that Rei would simply sit back and take it when targeted by such organizations.