A knock—kon kon—sounded at the reception room door.
Rei called out permission to enter.
The man who stepped into the room was someone Rei had never seen before.
He appeared to be in his thirties, with a narrow, fox-like face and thin eyes. Had he possessed fox ears, it would not have been strange to mistake him for a Fox Beastman.
Upon seeing Rei, the man offered a genial smile. However, that smile struck Rei as the kind that came from believing oneself to hold the upper hand.
What the man—almost certainly Garby—was actually thinking, Rei could not know for certain. It was simply how it seemed to him, nothing more.
Given the matter with Anne and what he had heard from the director, preconceived notions surely played a part. But it was only natural that Rei could not form a favorable impression of the man who was presumably Garby.
"I am Garby. I understand my subordinates took it upon themselves to do something outrageous. I do apologize."
Convinced that the man before him was indeed Garby, Rei simultaneously found the words coming out of his mouth entirely predictable. He had likely ordered his subordinates to seize Seto at first, but upon grasping Rei and Seto's overwhelming strength, he had changed his tune. Having realized that, he must have judged that opposing Rei here would accomplish nothing and decided to somehow smooth things over.
That said, even understanding the other party's intentions, Rei had no obligation to play along.
"Took it upon themselves? From what I heard from those men, it was on your orders. Are you just going to cast your subordinates aside to save your own skin because you realized they're no match for me?"
"No, no, I have no recollection of issuing such an order. Those men must have decided that on their own and acted accordingly. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to—"
"Huh. You think you can just play dumb and get away with it?"
"You may say that, but I truly have no knowledge of this."
Garby told him this with a troubled smile.
Until now, in Buldan, even an attitude like Garby's would have sufficed. After all, given Garby's strong influence, there were not many in Buldan who could speak firmly to him.
However, in this particular instance, he had picked the wrong opponent.
"Huh, you have no knowledge of it. In that case, I'll have to take appropriate measures myself. You're fine with that, right?"
At the words "appropriate measures," Garby reacted. He probably could not imagine what Rei might actually do.
"Appropriate measures? What exactly do you mean?"
"Who knows. If I told you, it wouldn't be much of a punishment, would it?"
Rei answered Garby's question thus, but in truth, he had not decided specifically what he would do in this situation. One option was to report the incident to the Jalis Workshop—a major establishment in Egginis—through Roger, since Buldan traded with Egginis, and have them cut off trade with Garby. Of course, that would only work if the Jalis Workshop was actually doing business with Garby's guild.
Another possibility was to raid Garby's guild warehouses or something similar. Naturally, Rei would be suspected, but without proof, nothing could be done. In the first place, even if Garby tried to complain to the guards, since he himself was engaged in shady dealings, that too would be difficult. Then again, considering Garby's influence in Buldan, perhaps he could manage even that.
(Beyond that... let's see. As an A-Rank Adventurer, I could report to the Guild in Egginis that Garby is up to something suspicious? Or I could have Lord Daskar or Elena apply pressure.)
For Rei, there were plenty of other options available.
As he considered this, Garby—perhaps reading something into Rei's demeanor—showed a hint of confusion.
The thugs from earlier had believed that as long as Garby was around, anything in Buldan could be handled. Garby, however, knew the wider world far better than those thugs did. He also knew that Rei was an alias-holding High-Rank Adventurer. He might even know that Rei had become an A-Rank Adventurer.
With such an opponent smiling meaningfully, Garby could not simply leave things be, even while wondering if it was a bluff.
"What exactly are you thinking?"
"Who knows. But... well. Let me just say this: I wouldn't mind if things took a turn that would make me want to say 'my condolences.' If a ducal house were to get involved... no, never mind."
"!?"
Naturally, Rei's mention of a ducal house was no slip of the tongue. It was a deliberate move, based on the belief that merely hinting at it would be enough to keep Garby in check.
Indeed, upon hearing the words "ducal house," Garby was visibly shaken. By any normal reckoning, a ducal house was the highest rank among nobles. Above them stood only the Royal Family. That was precisely why Garby could not afford to carelessly let Rei's words pass.
Garby held significant influence in the city of Buldan. But ultimately, that was power that worked only within Buldan. If something like a ducal house entered the picture, it would be like summoning a Dragon to defeat a single Orc.
Garby understood well what kind of existence he was. What's more, as far as he knew, the adventurer named Rei had connections to Elena, the daughter of Duke Kerebel's House and holder of the Princess General alias.
If that was the case, then the ducal house Rei had just mentioned could only be Duke Kerebel's House. Given that Duke Kerebel's House was said to be especially powerful even among ducal houses, there was no way Garby could possibly do anything about such an opponent.
In that case... Garby watched and waited for Rei's next move.
Amidst all this, the fact that he did not know a woman named Maruka Quento, daughter of Duke Quento's House, was currently in Egginis, and that this Maruka had built a friendly relationship with Rei... was, in a sense, fortunate.
"What... do you want?"
The contemptuous look he had worn when he first met Rei was already gone. The way he looked at Rei had shifted to the recognition of an opponent he could not possibly contend with, no matter what he tried. He was convinced that Rei could unquestionably mobilize a ducal house.
"Hm? Giving up already?"
Wondering if Garby was yielding a little too quickly, Rei asked this half out of provocation.
However, Garby fixed Rei with a resentful gaze and spoke.
"After bringing out something like a ducal house, I must say I find it questionable that you would say such a thing. And the matter with the Jalis Workshop is quite painful as well."
"I see. As long as you understand that much, fine. ...Now then... in that case... right. There's no need to waste any more time, so I'll ask you directly. Why did you enslave Anne from the orphanage?"
"That is... naturally because her looks were to my liking, of course."
"For all that, you didn't keep her on hand and apparently sold her off as a slave in Egginis right away?"
Garby faltered for a moment at Rei's words, but nonetheless opened his mouth to reply.
"Her looks were to my liking, but her personality was not. That is all. That's precisely why I sold her off before she could get any funny ideas."
"I see."
Seeing Rei nod, Garby breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had somehow managed. He felt relieved... but it was also true that it was a bit too early for such a maneuver.
"I'll ask just to be sure. Are you really sure that's your answer to my question?"
"O-Of course."
"...Are you certain? What happens to you from here on out depends on that answer. Are you really sure that's the answer you want to give?"
He was serious.
Looking into Rei's eyes, Garby could only conclude as much. He didn't know specifically what Rei was serious about, but even so, he fully understood that giving the wrong answer here would mean his ruin.
Having understood that, there was only one thing Garby could do.
"It was a request from the Dolan Workshop."
"...I see."
Hearing why Garby had done such a thing, Rei understood. He understood, but the name that came out of his mouth was undeniably unexpected. Given the timing of this incident, Rei had considered the possibility that the Dolan Workshop might be involved. But that was only to the extent of thinking it was a possibility, and for it to actually be the case was undeniably unexpected for Rei.
(This lends more credibility to the theory that they're using human materials to make golems. Still... why Anne?)
Hearing about the request from the Dolan Workshop, that was the question that arose. For example, if it were someone like Golias, who had gone missing in Egginis—someone competent as an adventurer, in other words, someone with high physical abilities—it would be understandable to assume they would make excellent material.
But Anne was just a girl working at the orphanage. There was no chance she was secretly working as an adventurer while helping at the orphanage. At the very least, from what Rei had seen, Anne's movements clearly showed she was not someone who had trained.
So why use Anne as material?
(If I had to guess... compatibility? Not just anyone can be used as material? No, but then I can't explain why the bandits have been disappearing one after another.)
It was true that adventurers in Egginis or alchemists sometimes killed bandits as part of golem performance trials, but even so, there was no denying that a significant number had vanished. Given that, if the Dolan Workshop was using humans as material for golem production, they must unquestionably be using bandits.
Rei thought about it from various angles, but he could not figure out why the Dolan Workshop had wanted Anne.
(Could it be that she actually had a strong talent for magic, and I just didn't notice?)
Rei possessed an enormous amount of mana, but he did not have the ability to sense other people's mana. Given that, even if Anne actually had latent talent as a Young Mage and possessed mana, he would not have been able to detect it.
"I'll say it again: it was truly a request from the Dolan Workshop, right? You understand what will happen later if it turns out it was actually something else, don't you?"
"Of course. This matter was without a doubt a request from the Dolan Workshop. They asked me to sell them a girl named Anne by name."
"Did they come to you because of your influence in Buldan?"
"I believe so. Besides, the people at the orphanage would never have agreed if told to sell Anne as a slave. So I arranged things from my end to make the orphanage struggle financially..."
"Wait."
The words that had just come from Garby's mouth were unexpected even for Rei. He had been convinced that Garby receiving the request from the Dolan Workshop was a recent development. But based on what Garby had just said, it meant the Dolan Workshop had wanted Anne for much longer.
"Wasn't the request from the Dolan Workshop for Anne a recent matter?"
"Eh? Yes. It's a matter from quite some time ago."
"...Was the reason you stopped aiding the orphanage after becoming the head of the guild also because of that?"
"That's right. Of course, even without the request from the Dolan Workshop, aid to the orphanage doesn't bring any profit to the guild, so I think I would have stopped it eventually."
In terms of profit, providing aid to the orphanage would undoubtedly improve one's reputation. But Garby must have decided he had no need for such a reputation. He likely reasoned that even without it, he held strong influence in Buldan.
That was not actually wrong, but even so, Rei couldn't help but think: wasn't that reckless? He didn't know exactly how much aid had been provided, but it surely couldn't have been that large a sum for Garby's guild. Even so, to Garby, it must have been nothing but wasted money.
Thinking this, and learning that the Dolan Workshop had had its eye on Anne for far longer than expected, Rei found himself at a loss for what to do.