The Dolan Workshop. It was said to produce the finest golems in all of Egginis.
Rei had been planning to purchase a golem from them in exchange for Crystal Dragon materials, but...
"Figured as much."
Seeing the name of the Dolan Workshop—or more precisely, the name of a person belonging to the Dolan Workshop—listed as the one who had commissioned his assassination in the contract seized from Blood Blade's base, Rei was more convinced than surprised.
The reason he knew the writer belonged to the Dolan Workshop was simple: the affiliation was clearly stated on the contract.
There was always the possibility that the person who made the request had falsely claimed to belong to the Dolan Workshop, or that someone else had arbitrarily used another person's name. However, Blood Blade, while not on the same level as Fusetsu, was still a major assassin guild.
Naturally, they would have thoroughly investigated such things.
After all, the target was Rei.
When dealing with an alias-holding A-rank adventurer, they could not afford to neglect that kind of groundwork.
There was also the possibility that Fusetsu's assassins had schemed to frame Rei and pit him against the Dolan Workshop out of dislike for him. However, Fusetsu's side naturally knew how dangerous Rei was. Given that this was information Rei desperately wanted, they should have been handling the contract with the utmost care.
Considering those circumstances, there was no need to even entertain the possibility that Fusetsu's assassins were deceiving him.
Thinking thus, Rei looked over the contract once more.
(The Dolan Workshop is targeting me, huh. I can think of a few reasons, but the most likely one is what I heard from Ridon, as expected.)
The rumor that the Dolan Workshop's golems used human body parts as components.
When he had first heard that rumor from Ridon, he had dismissed it as the idle gossip of those jealous of the Dolan Workshop's success.
In this world, there were people who, upon seeing someone succeed, would wonder why they themselves were not recognized while someone like that was.
Those who did not hone their own skills and were simply resentful that someone other than themselves was being acknowledged were precisely the reason they went unrecognized... but the jealous could never understand that.
As a result, their pointless pride and ego alone swelled further, and unable to express it outwardly, they tried to vent their frustration by badmouthing others.
When he had heard the rumors about the Dolan Workshop, he had assumed it was the jealousy of that sort of person.
In reality, incorporating human bodies into golems would mean there was a chance of discovery during maintenance and the like.
They could hardly tell someone who purchased a golem from the Dolan Workshop to come all the way back to Egginis whenever it needed repairs or maintenance... and even if they did, the chances of that being followed were slim.
These were nobles and merchants who had gone out of their way to travel to Egginis to purchase golems.
Naturally, such people might have their own alchemists on retainer.
They might not be able to manufacture a golem from scratch, but when it came to routine maintenance...
(Or perhaps they're after the Crystal Dragon materials?)
The second motive that came to mind was that.
When Rei had submitted his paperwork to purchase a golem from the Dolan Workshop, he had written that he was prepared to provide materials from an unknown dragon—an S-rank monster.
That an alchemist would desire materials from an unknown monster was obvious just from looking at Roger.
Even the not-particularly-high-ranked Orc Naga materials had been received with that much enthusiasm.
Under those circumstances, when it came to an unknown S-rank monster dragon, it would not be strange for an alchemist to want it by any means necessary.
However, in the course of the golem transaction, even if Rei successfully contracted with the Dolan Workshop, the Crystal Dragon materials they would obtain in return would never be all that substantial.
Naturally, Rei had no intention of handing over rare materials like the magic stone, nor did he plan to part with limited-quantity materials like the eyeballs or the largest fang.
He was planning to offer materials that existed in abundance, like the scales, and it was possible the Dolan Workshop had anticipated as much.
Moreover, the fact that Rei had a hobby of collecting monster magic stones was fairly well-known.
Given that, if the Dolan Workshop had looked into Rei and decided they absolutely wanted to get their hands on the magic stone... it would not be strange for them to conclude that obtaining it through negotiation was impossible, and that killing him instead might give them a chance to acquire the Crystal Dragon's magic stone for themselves.
Of course, in that case, there was the question of how the Dolan Workshop would actually obtain the Crystal Dragon's magic stone and materials, which they would assume were stored in the Misty Ring.
Fundamentally, the Misty Ring could only be used by Rei.
Given that they were alchemists of the Dolan Workshop, it would not be strange for them to know at least that much.
(No—rather, precisely because they are alchemists, wouldn't it be stranger if they didn't have some means of dealing with another person's Misty Ring... or Item Box?)
Thinking along those lines, since the contract he held was an extremely important document, he stored it in his Misty Ring for the time being.
"The Dolan Workshop, huh?"
"Eh? Is that so?"
At the words that slipped from Rei's mouth, Soleil let out a surprised voice for some reason.
Since he had been the one to hand the contract to Rei, he could have read it then and there—or so Rei thought. But it seemed that since this was information Rei needed, Soleil had judged that reading it on his own would be inappropriate.
Noting that he was being handled with considerable honesty on that front, Rei nodded.
"That's right. That's what's written on the contract. I have no idea what they were thinking, targeting my life, but they've caused me a troublesome problem."
As the Dolan Workshop currently possessed the highest technical skill in Egginis, he could not exactly storm them head-on with only this much evidence.
(In that case, I guess I have no choice but to rely on Roger, after all.)
Thinking thus, Rei suddenly recalled that the person before him belonged to Fusetsu, the largest assassin guild in Egginis, and asked on a nothing-to-lose basis.
"Just to confirm—if I were to request that you kill the person in the Dolan Workshop who ordered my assassination, would you take the job?"
"That is... something I cannot say for certain, as it would depend on the leadership's decision, but I suspect it would be difficult."
"Even if I said I'd pay the full reward?"
"Yes. First of all, I do not believe this was the action of a lone individual. Given that the Dolan Workshop is clearly stated on the contract, there is no doubt that the organization itself is involved."
At those words from Soleil, Rei pulled an unpleasant face.
Honestly, he would have preferred it to be the work of a single individual within the Dolan Workshop.
However, thinking about it rationally, no single person would attempt to target him on their own. He found himself able to accept that Soleil was likely right.
"Then it's out of the question to ask Fusetsu."
"That would be the case. I believe we could manage something like killing an individual to serve as a warning, but in that case, the reward would be a substantial sum."
"I believe the agreement was that Fusetsu would fully cooperate with me until this matter was resolved, was it not?"
"In this case, I believe 'this matter' refers to the Blood Blade situation."
Soleil said this in a regretful tone.
However, Rei could tell that the regret was probably just for show.
From Fusetsu's perspective, they would not have to antagonize a dangerous party—and one of the Dolan Workshop's caliber, which currently possessed the highest technical skill in Egginis, at that.
(Golems are Magic Items, so they require materials and money to produce. But if you think about it, as long as you have the materials and money, mass-producing them isn't impossible.)
What Rei recalled was the Stone Golem he had seen in the mountains previously.
It was not a Dolan Workshop golem, but it still possessed enough power to trample the bandits one-sidedly.
Of course, there was a significant difference in strength between Fusetsu's assassins and bandits.
For instance, even if Fusetsu's assassins fought the Stone Golem Rei had seen before, they would undoubtedly win.
However, just as the bandits were replaced by assassins, the Stone Golem would be replaced by a Dolan Workshop-manufactured golem.
When that happened, it was not certain that Fusetsu's assassins could defeat the golems.
(Well, it's not like I absolutely have to defeat the golems myself. At worst, I just need to kill whoever is controlling them.)
The Stone Golem Rei had seen in the mountains before had alchemists nearby.
Since there had been multiple of them, not all of them might have been controlling the Stone Golem, but it wouldn't be strange if some of them had been doing exactly that.
...However, in that case, it might also become necessary to defeat the guards protecting the alchemists.
(If it came down to just the golems, I'd have the advantage. Basically, I can store golems in my Misty Ring. Wait—in that case, maybe I don't need to bother asking Fusetsu, and it'd be better to just storm the Dolan Workshop head-on? ...Although that would lead to all sorts of troublesome consequences. I guess relying on Roger is better after all.)
For Rei, there was no doubt that part of him wanted to straightforwardly storm the Dolan Workshop from the front.
However, doing so would not only make an enemy of the Dolan Workshop but also make enemies of many of those who had been planning to purchase their golems.
For the nobles and merchants who had been looking forward to purchasing their golems, it would undoubtedly be a severe blow if they became unable to do so because Rei had stormed the workshop.
For such people, Rei antagonizing the Dolan Workshop was not something they would welcome.
Since they knew of Rei's abilities, even if he were to become their enemy, they would not expect a direct attack.
However, there was every possibility of them striking through indirect means.
(In the end, I don't know whether the rumor I heard from Ridon about the Dolan Workshop was true, or if they were after the Crystal Dragon materials. I don't know—but the fact remains that they are targeting me, so if they come at me, I'll need to respond in kind.)
Rei thought thus... and turned his gaze back to Soleil.
"I understand that making an example of the person who ordered my assassination is off the table. In that case, can you do something like help spread rumors?"
"Rumors...? What specifically?"
"Nothing concrete yet. I'll decide on the details after discussing it with my companions... but let's see. For instance, what if it got out that I destroyed Blood Blade and obtained contracts and the like as a result?"
"I believe that would not be a rumor but a fact, but I would strongly recommend against it. Blood Blade's clients were not limited to the Dolan Workshop. Furthermore, those who had previously commissioned assassinations from Blood Blade would likely target you, Rei-san, if such a rumor were to spread."
"Ah, so that's how it would turn out."
Rei had thus obtained the contract between him and the Dolan Workshop, but Blood Blade was not an assassin guild directly controlled by the Dolan Workshop.
In other words, they had accepted underhanded requests from parties other than the Dolan Workshop as well. Among those who had made such requests, it would not be strange for some to grow anxious upon learning that Rei now knew they had commissioned an assassination, and to want to do something about it before that fact became widely known.
That said, for Rei, it was also a matter of simply dealing with that when the time came.
"If you are still fine with that, I believe they would likely accept the request to spread rumors... but what will you do?"
"No, it'd be better to hold off on that. If I were in a position of leisure, it might be another story, but given that I need to resolve the Dolan Workshop situation right now, I don't want to make unnecessary enemies."
When Rei said this, Soleil showed visible relief.
Although he had stated that he would accept a request from Rei, he had likely judged that actually carrying out such a thing would be problematic.
Nevertheless, had it been an actual request from Rei, given the current balance of power, they would have had no choice but to accept it... and in that sense, there was no doubt that he was glad Rei had withdrawn the request.