After explaining the situation to Maruka and the others, the truth that came to light was that the Dolan Workshop had commissioned Blood Blade to assassinate Rei.
This was certainly a shock to Maruka and the others, but...
"Thinking about it, it might actually make sense."
Rei and Nicky turned their gazes toward Maruka as she spoke.
In response to their unspoken looks asking what she meant, Maruka gathered her thoughts and continued.
"Rather than the Crystal Dragon materials Rei possesses, the talk of Golems made from human materials... it might be a rather exaggerated statement, but for a while now, even the new Golem models in Egginis were mostly just slightly reinforced versions of previous ones, or ones with slightly altered intended uses. For Roger, who came yesterday, it would be a story he wouldn't want to admit, though."
Maruka looked at Rei and Nicky as if to confirm they had no objections.
Since Nicky had come to Egginis to serve as Maruka's guard, he naturally knew about this.
Rei, however, had come knowing only that high-performance Golems had recently begun being sold in Egginis—information he'd heard in Gilm—so he wasn't aware of the detailed circumstances. He nodded at Maruka's words as if to say, "So that's how it was."
Maruka briefly shot Rei an exasperated look, but quickly continued.
"In that state—something one might call a technological stagnation—the Dolan Workshop's Golems clearly stood out. That's precisely why so many people came directly to Egginis seeking them. But if you think about it normally, it's hard to believe Golems built on completely different technology from before would just appear so easily, wouldn't you say?"
"So that means they're Golems made from human materials?"
"Probably. That said, that raises its own questions."
"Since they're using human materials, there's the possibility it would be discovered when something goes wrong—during repairs or inspections when a Golem malfunctions, right?"
Rei understood what Maruka was getting at.
He had thought all along that if human materials had been used in Golems for some time, keeping it hidden forever would be nearly impossible.
Maruka nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about Golems, but even so, before coming to Egginis to purchase one, I did look into them briefly. Based on that, if they are using human materials, I wouldn't go so far as to say hiding it is impossible... but it is certainly quite difficult. Even I can sense that much. If a professional Alchemist were to examine one, it would definitely be discovered."
"I think the same. But... that's only if the human materials were used in a form that could be recognized as such, right? What if that weren't the case—specifically, what if the human materials were processed so that at a glance, no one could tell what they were?"
"In that regard, it would probably be difficult even for me to distinguish. But that's only if it were me. As I said earlier, if a professional Alchemist examined it, there's no way they wouldn't figure it out, is there?"
"Hmm, I feel like what you're saying makes sense, but for the people who bought those Golems, they've already purchased Golems that use human materials, right? In that case, could they really tell others what they bought?"
"There would certainly be those who couldn't. But... we don't know exactly how many Golems the Dolan Workshop has sold so far, but it would be strange if every single buyer had absolutely no reaction, wouldn't it?"
In this world, there were those who kept their mouths shut about things disadvantageous to themselves, but there were also more than a few who acted according to their own sense of justice.
Or perhaps people who simply calculated that staying silent would lead to an outcome they'd find even less amusing.
"Hmm, in that case... one possibility, though it somewhat contradicts my earlier explanation, is that the materials are processed so well that even a professional Alchemist couldn't tell they were human. What about that?"
"That's another possibility. That said, there's the question of whether something like that could be done easily."
"I wouldn't know about that part. My knowledge of Alchemy is only at a general level. I only studied up on Golems before coming to Egginis, after all."
Honestly, Rei wasn't sure whether what a duke's daughter studied could really be described as "general."
But since she herself called it general knowledge, he accepted that it must be so.
"In that case, it would be best to ask a professional about that part... but I wonder. Considering Roger's personality, if I asked him something like that, he'd question why I was asking. And if I told him the truth, he might charge straight into the Dolan Workshop."
"Ugh... I'd like to deny it, but I can't."
Maruka and Roger weren't particularly close.
They weren't close, but Roger was apparently an easy enough person to read that even she could tell.
In fact, there was no doubt in Rei's mind either that Roger was a very easy-to-read person.
"But still, there's no one else I know who's knowledgeable about Golems."
To be precise, there was no shortage of people in Egginis who were knowledgeable about Golems.
Since it was a city with a thriving Golem industry, that was naturally the case.
However, when it came to people he could trust, the number shrank drastically.
No—rather than shrinking, the honest truth was that Roger was the only one who came to mind.
As for anyone else, they might report to the Dolan Workshop, or they might try to analyze the Golems and claim the technology as their own.
How that would turn out was extremely uncertain.
Given the importance of this matter, Rei had no intention of consulting anyone other than Roger.
"Does the Lady have any acquaintances who are knowledgeable about Golems?"
"Me? Hmm, let me think. If it's just someone knowledgeable about Golems, there are a few, but whether they can truly be trusted is another matter. I don't have that deep a relationship with them. Ah, but if I returned to the duchy, that would be a different story."
"If you returned, huh. In that case, I could also go to Gilm... yeah, well."
The reason he trailed off without finishing was probably because he remembered the Alchemists in Gilm.
Of course, Rei understood that not all the Alchemists in Gilm were like that.
The Alchemist he had spoken to when he returned to Gilm to collect the Crystal Dragon materials had possessed a perfectly ordinary sensibility.
That said, the possibility that the Alchemists Rei knew would eventually be influenced couldn't be denied.
"For now, I'll try talking to Roger. In the end, when it comes to the person I know who's most knowledgeable about Golems, it's Roger."
"...Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"If it comes down to it, I'll manage by force. With that settled, the remaining question is what to do about Lindy."
"Mmph..."
She probably understood what Rei was getting at. Maruka was at a loss for words.
The reason Lindy was cooperating with Rei in this matter was that she believed the disappearance of the Bandits might be connected to the disappearance of Golias.
To Lindy, Golias was someone she held feelings of goodwill toward—goodwill strong enough to be called love.
If the Bandits were being used as components for the Dolan Workshop's Golems, then Golias, who had vanished just like the Bandits, was highly likely to have met the same fate.
Of course, there was also the possibility that Golias's disappearance had nothing to do with the Bandits' vanishings, and he had left Egginis for some other reason entirely.
But given that he was close to Lindy, it wouldn't have been strange for him to have told her if he were leaving Egginis.
Given all that, it was only natural for Lindy to think that perhaps...
"The question is who tells Lindy."
"That would be you, Rei."
"It's got to be Brother Rei, right?"
At Rei's murmur, Maruka and Nicky immediately chimed in.
Rei looked at the two of them with a look that said, "Why is it automatically me?"
"Me?"
"Naturally. In the first place, the one closest to Lindy is you, Rei. Given that, it's only natural that you would be the one to explain the situation to her, wouldn't you say?"
"Ugh... that's..."
Since what came out of Maruka's mouth was a perfectly sound argument, Rei couldn't argue back.
In truth, the person with the longest relationship with Lindy—even if only by a hair—was undeniably Rei.
Given that, it was certainly best for Rei to be the one to explain things to Lindy.
"Got it. In that case... right, it would be better to talk to them both together. I'd like to settle the hassle all at once if possible. Besides, with both of them there, I don't think either one would go off on their own."
"...Depending on the situation, I have a feeling both of them might go on a rampage together."
Nicky, who had been listening beside them, nodded in agreement with Maruka's concern.
He didn't know Roger's or Lindy's personalities in detail, but even so, having met them just once, he could already predict they might turn out that way.
That was precisely why it wouldn't be strange for them to wonder whether the two might lose control in this matter. Whether they might charge straight into the Dolan Workshop, even.
"With Roger, since we need to hear what he has to say about Golems, we have to tell him... but do we really need to force ourselves to tell Lindy right now?"
It was true that Nicky's words had merit.
In the first place, it was still unclear whether Golias's situation had truly been caused by the same reason as the Bandits' disappearance.
Probably, perhaps, by expectation—those were the sentiments Rei held only because there was no other information available, which was the honest way to put it.
Given that, wouldn't it be fine to not tell Lindy about Golias's situation?
Rei thought so in response to Nicky's words, but after a moment's reflection, he shook his head.
"I understand what Nicky's trying to say, but Lindy is a very important cooperative partner to me."
From Rei's perspective, when it came to Adventurers in Egginis he could trust, it was truly only Lindy.
There were a few other Adventurers he had asked to cooperate in exchange for payment when they brought information, but those connections were purely transactional.
The reason Lindy was cooperating with Rei was probably partly because Rei had helped the orphanage... but beyond that, there was no doubt that searching for the missing Golias was her greatest objective.
That was why, if Rei were to obtain information that might lead to Golias and yet chose not to tell Lindy, whether she would continue cooperating with him would become a delicate question.
Once Lindy learned of it, it wouldn't be strange if she judged that Rei was no longer reliable and went off to search for Golias on her own.
Rei absolutely wanted to avoid such a situation arising.
Given that, what Rei could do in this situation was to firmly explain the Dolan Workshop matter to Lindy as well.
"Lindy might be on the verge of going on a rampage over this, but I'll manage to stop her on our end."
In the end, Rei said as much.
"Alright... let's go find Lindy and Roger. I'm pretty sure it'll be fine, but if they do go on a rampage, Seto, help me stop them, okay?"
"Grrr."
At Rei's words, Seto purred as if to say, "Leave it to me!"
Normally, having just returned to the inn a short while ago and going out again, it wouldn't be strange for him to seem bothered or reluctant. But for Seto, simply being able to go out with Rei was a happy enough occasion.
Given that, there was only joy to be had and no dissatisfaction to feel.
"First, we'll stop by the Guild to find Lindy, then head to Roger's Hidden Base. That's the plan, I suppose."
Strictly speaking, the place they had visited before wasn't exactly Roger's Hidden Base.
Even so, the first place that came to mind as Roger's location was there.
If he wasn't there, they would need to go to the workshop Roger belonged to, but Rei hoped he would be at the Hidden Base if possible.
Also, since Lindy was an Adventurer, she might be at the Guild, or she might be out on a request.
Without knowing any of that... and ultimately with a feeling of "what will be, will be," Rei headed toward the Guild together with Seto.