Rei considered the words the woman before him had just spoken.
What she had just said seemed to suggest that Fusetsu—the largest assassin guild in Egginis—would act as Rei's hands and feet.
Whether that was actually true, Rei could not bring himself to believe.
At the very least, he did not believe they would cooperate with him genuinely, from the bottom of their hearts.
But even so, it was persuasive enough to make Rei reconsider destroying the assassin guild known as Fusetsu.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. However, as a matter of course, I cannot promise to follow Lord Rei indefinitely from here on out. This arrangement applies solely to this current matter."
The woman declared that point non-negotiable.
Rei did not grow angry at this. If anything, the moment she limited the scope of her obedience, her words gained more weight in his eyes.
If she had claimed to follow him completely from here on, Rei would not have believed a word she said.
"Blood Blade. Is that the assassin guild targeting me?"
"Yes. While inferior to us at Fusetsu, they possess upper-tier strength among the assassin guilds within Egginis. According to the intelligence we have gathered, there is no doubt about it."
"And you're saying you'll destroy this Blood Blade, and also investigate who ordered my assassination?"
"That is correct."
"As an assassin guild, is it acceptable for you to do such a thing?"
"If asked whether it is acceptable, it is certainly not. However, compared to opposing a seasoned warrior like Lord Rei, I believe it is the better option."
If they followed Rei's order to destroy Blood Blade, it would naturally become what could only be called a stain on Fusetsu's reputation.
That much was certain. But if they did not accept that stain, Fusetsu would perish.
In other words, the only options were to continue opposing Rei and be destroyed, or to follow Rei and survive while carrying a mark of disgrace.
In reality, the option of neither fighting Rei nor following him—simply fleeing—also existed. But in that case, there was no guarantee Rei would give up, and depending on how things went, the outcome could be far worse than simple annihilation.
Given that, the better if not best option was the woman's proposal: follow Rei, destroy Blood Blade, and gather information on who had requested Rei's assassination.
"What do you say? Could you accept that compromise?"
"Hmm..."
Rei pondered the woman's words.
Learning that an assassin guild called Blood Blade was targeting him was significant.
Until now, gathering information on the disappearance of the Bandits and the Golias matter had been difficult.
Even when he hunted Bandits and gathered information, many of them had only come to the area after hearing they could make a living around Egginis, and knew nothing about the underside of what Rei was investigating.
Some Bandits had heard rumors that Egginis was profitable, but what they had heard had come only from connected Bandits saying as much, and they knew nothing about who was causing the Bandits to disappear.
In that sense, being able to use Fusetsu, which wielded significant power in the underworld, even temporarily, was a major advantage.
The information they could gather would undoubtedly differ greatly from what he and his companions could find on their own, and at the same time, he could also launch an attack on Blood Blade, the assassin guild targeting him.
That said, regarding Blood Blade, I could just have them tell me where their base is and go crush them directly myself. Ah, but if I go directly, Blood Blade would likely dispose of as much information connected to the client as possible. So in the end, is it better to leave that to Fusetsu, who is experienced in such matters?
Risks and returns, and the situation of having assassins—even temporarily—under his command. Rei considered what the best course of action would be.
The negotiator remained silent so as not to disturb Rei's thoughts.
If she carelessly spoke up here and, as a result, Rei decided it would be better to destroy Fusetsu, there would be nothing she could do.
Every second, every instant they spent like this, the future of what would become of them hung in the balance.
For the woman, the tension inevitably mounted.
Though it did not show on her face, from the moment she had met Rei, cold sweat had been oozing in copious quantities down her back.
Amidst that tension...
"Understood. I'll accept that proposal."
"Thank you very much. We at Fusetsu will never betray Lord Rei's expectations."
Without revealing that she had been stretched to the absolute limit of her nerves, the woman smiled as though it were only natural and offered her gratitude to Rei.
"So, what exactly happens from here?"
"Yes. Fusetsu will assault Blood Blade tonight. At that time, we will seize as much information about the client as possible. As for the treasures Blood Blade has accumulated, we will hand them over to Lord Rei at a later date. Naturally, we will not steal any of it, so please rest assured."
For the woman, concluding the negotiation with Rei had cost her her sanity... no, more than that—a feeling as though it had shaved away even her lifespan.
Having the negotiation she had so painstakingly completed reduced to nothing over some worthless desire was something she absolutely had to avoid.
"That's quite fast."
The woman's words were enough to surprise Rei.
Based on the flow of the conversation, he had assumed they would disperse for the day, then begin preparations and reconnaissance for the assault starting tomorrow, with the actual attack coming a few days later.
That was why the prospect of attacking tonight was completely unexpected.
"Yes. Blood Blade has surely learned that Lord Rei attacked our base. Precisely because of that, they should not expect us to launch an assault at this timing."
"Catching them off guard, huh. I understand, and I think it's effective. But on a related note—is everyone in Fusetsu on board with following me? Couldn't someone who dislikes the idea leak information to Blood Blade?"
Rei understood that the woman before him was a Fusetsu executive.
However, judging by her movements, her combat ability was merely decent—nothing particularly outstanding.
In other words, she was likely not the type within Fusetsu who worked in the field—engaging in negotiations like this one, or using seduction to extract information from targets.
Given that, while he had accepted the woman's proposal, there was a possibility that even if the matter were settled here, when she brought it back to the organization, they might say it was meaningless or refuse to acknowledge it.
It was only natural for Rei to have such doubts.
However, the woman smiled as if there was no problem, even upon hearing Rei's words.
"It is fine. I have been granted full authority regarding this matter."
Judging by the woman's confident smile that there was no lie, Rei was satisfied and nodded.
"Understood. Then I'll take you at your word. So, when will you bring the information and everything else?"
"Since I cannot say when the battle will end, I cannot give an exact time. However, within a few days at the latest, we will send word to the Star River Inn. Therefore, it would be helpful if you could inform the staff there that a person named Soleil will come to see you."
"Soleil, huh. Is that your name?"
"No, it is a pseudonym for the contact role. I am called Nina."
Rei nodded as Nina introduced herself at this late point, then murmured one final word.
"Don't betray me."
A single short word.
But the power contained in that one word carried overwhelming force.
All Nina could do was nod in response.
As an executive of the assassin guild Fusetsu, Nina had met with many individuals over the years.
Among them were those who, while not to the same extent as Rei, possessed overwhelming strength and had enough power to inflict significant damage on the organization of Fusetsu if they fought.
Yet even with such opponents, Nina had negotiated firmly, and at times had even managed to draw in as allies people who should have been her enemies. But even among all that, the current situation was a level of danger for Nina that was simply incomparable to any of those times.
Seeing Nina's state, Rei was apparently satisfied for the time being.
Eventually, he turned and left. Once Nina confirmed that Rei's figure had vanished from before her, she exhaled violently, to the point where she wondered if her previous composure had been some kind of mistake.
"Hahh, hahh, hahh, hahh..."
While she had been talking with Rei, her expression had been as composed as ever, but now Nina's face was covered in heavy sweat.
In truth, it would not have been strange for that to happen the moment she began speaking with Rei, but she had suppressed it through sheer willpower.
Now that Rei was gone, she no longer needed to do such a thing, and relief welled up from the very bottom of her heart.
A monster... a monster, that one is.
While steadying her ragged breathing, Nina thought to herself.
A genuine monster.
That was the only way Nina could describe him.
That said, having successfully concluded negotiations with that monster was an undeniable fact.
In that sense, these negotiations were by no means meaningless.
Thanks to this, Fusetsu had survived—that was an undeniable fact.
"Hahh, hahh... phew."
Rei was gone, and several minutes had passed.
As her breathing finally settled, Nina felt a slightly gloomy mood thinking about what lay ahead.
Having concluded negotiations with Rei and thereby securing Fusetsu's survival was certain.
However, that was contingent on Fusetsu annihilating Blood Blade, obtaining information on who had ordered Rei's assassination, and furthermore, handing over the treasures Blood Blade had accumulated to Rei.
For Fusetsu, the largest assassin guild in Egginis, being told not to feel humiliated by that would be impossible.
But the fact that they could not have survived otherwise was also true.
For now, all she could do was rejoice that she—and the organization—had survived.
Thus, having steadied her breathing, organized her thoughts, and calmed her heart, Nina headed underground to take action immediately.
"Gururu?"
Seto purred quizzically at Rei as he emerged from the building.
It understood that Rei had come here to destroy the assassin guild Fusetsu, had entered the building, and yet no battle worthy of the name had occurred.
There was no way something like Rei having fought underground without Seto detecting it could have happened. If Rei had been fighting, Seto should have been able to sense it.
And yet, Rei had come back outside.
It was only natural for Seto to find that strange.
"We've joined forces with the assassin guild called Fusetsu. More accurately, it seems they'll work under me until this matter is resolved. Apparently, that will also be finished within a few days."
"Gururu..."
Though Seto could understand Rei's words, why things had turned out that way was beyond its comprehension.
"They came to me with a negotiation. As a result, I judged that having them work for us was better than annihilating them here. Besides, it won't be a cooperative arrangement for that long, so I don't think it's a problem. If anything, the real question is whether Fusetsu can carry out the proposal they made to me on top of their existing work."
They had said they would assault Blood Blade tonight, but if Fusetsu was the largest assassin guild in Egginis, it would not be strange for them to have various other jobs in hand beyond the Blood Blade matter.
Of course, that was merely Rei's assumption, and the possibility that they actually did not have that much work could not be denied.
After all, Fusetsu was an assassin guild, and when it came to their work, it was naturally assassination. It would not be normal for such a guild to have jobs coming in around the clock.
If major merchant houses or workshops were at war with each other and sought to annihilate the opposition, that would be a different story.
Fortunately, nothing of the sort was happening at present.
At the very least, Rei was not aware of any such situation occurring.
"Anyway, things turned out differently from what I initially expected, but in a way, the results exceeded my expectations. Looking at it that way, it's not a bad deal."
"Guru? Gurururu."
Seto felt some doubt at Rei's words, but still—if Rei said so, it accepted. And so the person and beast headed back to the inn.