Night had fallen, and Rei was heading alone toward the Slum District of Egginis.
Naturally, Seto walked at his side.
If Rei had wanted to conceal his presence, he never would have brought Seto along.
But this time, he needed to make it known that he—Rei—had come.
Being targeted by assassins and falling back on the defensive wasn't necessarily a bad move, but to Rei, it didn't feel like the best one.
Unless he took the initiative, assassins would keep coming, one after another.
To prevent that, he needed to go on the offensive himself.
Of course, that was only possible because of Rei's own strength and his reliable partner, Seto.
Just like with bandit hunting, attempting such a thing without the power to back it up wasn't courage—it was recklessness, and it would only get him killed.
Since his opponents this time were assassins, the difficulty was naturally higher than with bandits.
That was precisely why not just anyone could pull off what he was about to do.
"Still, I need to let them know I'm here first, then have them come at me. So I need to make some noise. It'll also make other Assassin Guilds hesitate before targeting me."
Just as the entrance to the Slum District came into view, Rei murmured while stroking Seto.
Egginis was an autonomous city on a scale comparable to Gilm.
Moreover, it had developed through the golem industry—an extremely rare field of trade. Naturally, great profits flowed through it, and countless people flocked in pursuit of those riches.
Given the kind of city Egginis was, Rei couldn't believe there was only one Assassin Guild operating within it.
Even if he crushed the Assassin Guild currently targeting him, another might take its place and come after him.
To prevent that, he needed to teach every other Assassin Guild a clear lesson: targeting him would lead to their destruction.
"Gurururu."
As they walked through the Slum District, Seto suddenly purred.
What is it? Following Seto's gaze, Rei spotted two men who looked every bit like thugs slipping into a side alley, fleeing from his path.
At first, they had seen only Rei and likely pegged him as easy prey wandering into the Slum District. They were probably about to hassle him.
But as they closed the distance, they noticed Seto at his side. Recognizing the danger, they abandoned the idea and fled.
The fact that they bolted the instant they spotted Seto suggested their Danger Detection Ability was fairly sharp.
That said... Rei wasn't the type to honestly let such people escape just because they ran.
"Seto!"
"Guruu!"
From that single word—his name—Seto understood exactly what was needed and immediately broke into a sprint.
The two men who had fled must have heard Rei and Seto's voices, because they cast a fearful glance over their shoulders... and realized that Seto, over three meters in length, was bearing down on them.
"W-wait, why?!"
"Shut up, just run!"
They probably never expected Seto to chase them. The men cried out in alarm, but if a massive creature like Seto was pursuing them, there were plenty of places in this Slum District to lose him.
They lived here. They had the layout memorized. They could escape.
The two ran, half convincing themselves of that.
Under normal circumstances, that reasoning wouldn't have been wrong.
But the one chasing them was Seto, and he was by no means an ordinary creature.
With buildings of the Slum District's caliber, he could smash through them with his body, and he could also use his Size Change skill to shrink himself temporarily.
And beyond all that... the very premise that the men could escape to such hiding places while Seto was the one pursuing them was fundamentally mistaken.
"Uwah!"
"Hey—!"
The two runners suddenly lost their balance and tumbled to the ground.
Why? They looked back, wondering what had happened... and there, bathed in moonlight, was Seto, looking every bit as though he were deliberately stoking their terror.
Since when? That question flashed through their minds even as they instantly understood why they were in this situation.
They had no idea what specific method he had used.
Testing their limbs, there was no particular pain.
Well, to be precise, their backsides ached from hitting the ground, but there were no wounds from any visibly dangerous attack—no gryphon's beak or claws had struck them.
What on earth had happened to them?
They stared in blank bewilderment, but by now, the thought of running had already vanished from their minds.
Even if they tried, they didn't believe Seto would let them escape. And while they had escaped this time without any serious injuries, there was no guarantee they'd be so lucky if Seto acted again the next time they attempted to flee.
Both of them felt the same way... and then, Rei appeared.
When they had first spotted him from a distance, they had taken him for a small-statured mark, just right for shaking down some valuables.
But seeing him up close, they understood that he was not someone they could possibly handle.
Then again, it might have seemed that way simply because Seto had frozen them in place.
"Now then."
They flinched.
Hearing that short word leave Rei's mouth, their bodies trembled involuntarily.
"W-What's your problem? Did we do something to you? We didn't, right? So why are you doing this?!"
It was a line born half from bravado.
Looking at it objectively, the two thugs hadn't actually done anything to Rei.
It was true they had been about to, but they had stopped the moment they saw Seto.
In that sense, it was a scene that could only look like Rei threatening two thugs who had done nothing.
"You didn't do anything, huh... Well, that's fine. I just have a few things I want to ask."
"Things... to ask?"
They had been fully expecting a beating or a robbery, but the words that came out of Rei's mouth were entirely unexpected.
Given how caught off guard they were, their bewildered voices were understandable.
"Yeah, things to ask. If you give me what I need, I'll pay for the information. But you understand what happens if you lie about something you don't actually know, right?"
"Guruu."
Along with Rei's words, Seto dragged his claws across the ground and purred.
That alone was enough for them to understand exactly what would happen if they lied for the sake of the information fee.
Seeing the thugs' reaction, Rei judged this would work and put forth the crucial question.
"I heard there's an Assassin Guild stronghold somewhere around here. Do you know where it is?"
"?!"
The moment they heard the words "Assassin Guild," the thugs' cheeks twitched in unison.
That was a name that could never be spoken lightly in this Slum District.
"G-Give us a break. If they found out we talked, who knows what they'd do to us..."
"Yeah. Please. Can't you just let us go?"
Rei could tell at a glance that their fear was genuine.
That was exactly why he spoke the decisive words that would show them their fear was unwarranted.
"You don't need to be that afraid. The assassin stronghold you're about to tell me about... is going to be wiped out tonight."
"Huh?"
What was he talking about?
Utterly unable to comprehend, the two thugs stared at Rei.
To the thugs—no, to anyone living in this Slum District—the Assassin Guild was a symbol of terror.
That was why, even when Rei claimed he would destroy the Assassin Guild, they couldn't bring themselves to believe it.
No—rather than believing it, their first thought was: What on earth are you talking about?
"Um, is that some kind of... joke?"
One of the thugs asked timidly, responding to Rei's claim about destroying the Assassin Guild.
The fact that he hastily switched to polite speech suggested he still had a shred of composure left.
"A joke? I'm being completely serious. They're the ones sending assassins after me. Even if it's just business, they attacked me first, so they should fully understand that they might be attacked in return."
Oh, this guy's serious.
Hearing the casual certainty in Rei's voice, one of the thugs understood that Rei meant exactly what he said.
But precisely because he understood that, he also realized that he and his partner were in an extremely precarious position.
If he gave up the information here and Rei went to crush the Assassin Guild...
If Rei could actually pull that off, fine. No problem there.
But what if he couldn't?
What would happen to them then?
Without a doubt, the Assassin Guild would come after them for leaking information.
On the other hand, what if they said nothing?
Then they had no idea what Rei would do to them.
Either way, their current situation was bad in every possible sense.
Bad enough that being told they were checkmated wouldn't have surprised them.
"What's wrong? You heard me, and you understand what I'm saying, right?"
"Y-Yeah. Of course we heard you, and we understand."
The one thing they absolutely could not do right now was provoke Rei's ire.
That was the judgment they made, and one of the thugs hastily replied.
Rei seemed satisfied enough with that answer.
Without any visible change in mood, he continued.
"Then let's continue. Tell me specifically where the Assassin Guild is located."
"That's..."
"Like I said, you don't need to worry about what happens after you leak the information. That Assassin Guild is going to be destroyed tonight."
"But... you don't know that for sure! And even if the Assassin Guild is destroyed, not everyone will die! Survivors could come after us for retaliation!"
It was the other thug—the one who hadn't been doing the talking—who finally cracked and shouted.
If giving up the information here could cost them their lives, that was understandable.
Under normal circumstances, they might have feared that refusing would get them killed by Rei. But fortunately or unfortunately, while Rei was utterly merciless toward his enemies, he wasn't the type to brutalize someone who wasn't hostile toward him.
"Like I said before, I'll pay for the information. And the Assassin Guild is going to be destroyed today. If you want, you could leave this Slum District... or rather, leave Egginis entirely and go somewhere else. How about it?"
"That's..."
Leave Egginis and go somewhere else.
Those words were clearly the last thing the thugs had expected.
They turned wide eyes toward Rei.
Naturally, the thugs didn't want to spend the rest of their lives in the Slum District.
But they had never been able to bring themselves to leave it, either. That was an undeniable fact.
Hearing Rei's words, a flash of hope lit up their eyes for just a moment.
Even so, one of them quickly shook his head.
"Even if you say to leave, what the hell are we supposed to do about it? You can't get by on pocket change!"
"Fair enough. A few gold coins... and if these are acceptable, I've got plenty."
What Rei produced was an axe.
One of the many axes that had been stockpiled in the bandit hideout alongside the iron ingots.
Rei had taken them on a whim, but they were weapons he had no real use for.
The iron ingots hidden in the Underground Warehouse had been far more useful.
If he had to assign them a purpose, they'd serve as throwing weapons, much like spears.
Of course, he could have sold them at a weapon shop for a fair price, and that would have been fine too.
Unlike the broken spears he collected purely as disposable throwing weapons, these axes were built solidly—above average in quality.
However, throwing an axe meant it would spin as it flew through the air, unlike a spear.
That meant the handle or grip could end up being what struck the target instead of the blade, making them ill-suited for use as ranged weapons.
So, figuring he might as well, Rei began producing the axes—ten, then twenty... and by the time the count neared thirty, the two thugs finally nodded at Rei's proposal.