The connection between Garby and the Dolan Workshop predating his expectations came as a surprise even to Rei.
That being the case, what came to mind was...
"Just to be sure, I'll ask. Was Anne the only one you handed over to the Dolan Workshop as a slave?"
Yes, that was it.
Why the Dolan Workshop had taken notice of Garby was something Rei could understand if he thought about it. Garby held significant influence in Buldan, could manage most things, and, true to his nature as a merchant, desired money. On top of that, the only city with direct routes from Buldan was Egginis, so it was sufficient for handling any troublesome situations that arose there.
That said, considering that—just as Rei had stuck his nose into things now—complete information isolation was impossible, Garby was likely a lizard's tail, meant to be swiftly discarded in an emergency.
"Ugh..."
At Rei's question, Garby was unable to say anything.
That reaction meant Garby had been handing slaves over to the Dolan Workshop for some time.
"Tell me everything. Otherwise, I'll take appropriate action on my end too. You've already betrayed the Dolan Workshop like this. Saying anything more than that at this point is hardly a new development, is it?"
"That's... true, but if you learn about this matter, won't you do something to me, Rei-san?"
His demeanor, suggesting he had something quite shady to hide, made even Rei consider throwing a punch right then and there.
Still, judging that saying anything more here would be pointless, Rei opened his mouth while feigning reluctance.
"If you explain the situation properly, I won't do anything like attack you. Is that acceptable?"
"...You truly mean that? You're not going to make that promise and then later claim you never made such a promise, are you?"
"Yeah, I won't. Go ahead and tell me without worry."
Garby did not entirely trust Rei's words, but given the current situation, he must have judged that the only thing he could do was talk to Rei. As if resigning himself, Garby explained what he had been employed to do for the Dolan Workshop up until now.
Some of the content was considerably worse than Rei had expected, but while listening, Rei made sure not to let disgust show on his face as he took in the account.
About an hour passed, and when Rei finished hearing everything Garby could remember, he stood up in silence.
"U-um..."
Glancing at Garby as he asked that, Rei headed straight outside the building.
Honestly, Rei had no desire to stay in the same room as Garby.
But Garby, perhaps not realizing Rei felt that strongly, hurriedly spoke up to Rei, who had stood and turned his back.
"Rei-san. Um, how about it? If you'd like, I could host a banquet for you."
To Garby, the power Rei held—not physical strength, but particularly his connections to a ducal house—must have seemed especially daunting, leading him to understand there was nothing he could do about it. That was precisely why, rather than making an enemy of Rei, he tried to forge a friendly relationship and invited Rei to a banquet.
Had someone other than Garby extended the invitation, Rei might have accepted. But the one inviting Rei was Garby... a man who had ensnared numerous people living in the same city and sold them off as slaves to the Dolan Workshop.
At first, Rei had wondered why the Dolan Workshop had specifically targeted Anne, but in reality, it was nothing of the sort—Garby had simply been enslaving residents of Buldan for some reason and selling them to the Dolan Workshop all along.
That said, the people Garby sold couldn't be just anyone. The Dolan Workshop would designate an individual, and Garby would enslave that person. Despite being designated by the Dolan Workshop, in most cases, those chosen were people whose enslavement wouldn't cause much of an uproar. Of course, the fact that Garby had navigated matters reasonably skillfully played a large part in that as well.
"I don't need a banquet. ...Right, maybe I should put it bluntly. Your existence irritates me considerably. So much so that, were it not for the promise I just made, it wouldn't be strange if I killed you right here and now. So don't speak to me anymore. Ah, but I will say this one thing."
Rei paused, then glared at Garby, filled with killing intent.
"Eek!"
The thugs couldn't even sense his gaze, but Garby, despite being a merchant, clearly felt Rei's killing intent.
Whether that meant the thugs were that incompetent, or whether Garby was competent even as a merchant—Rei judged it was likely the latter. Garby, after all, conducted trade with the Dolan Workshop. It wouldn't be strange for him to be able to read killing intent at least. Or perhaps he couldn't quite sense killing intent, but simply judged from the sharpness of Rei's gaze that Rei was an opponent he could do nothing about.
"If you continue trading with the Dolan Workshop from today onward, the next time I come here... it might not just be me. I could end up bringing the ducal house or the Guild's upper brass. Though whether the Dolan Workshop will even continue to exist going forward, even if you want to keep trading, is another matter."
"Eh? What do you mean by..."
Garby tried to ascertain the true intent behind Rei's words, but Rei offered no reply and left the room.
To his back, Garby was still saying something, but there was no need to listen.
(Since he said he sent them to Egginis as slaves, I thought he had sold them to a slave trader... but to think he was selling them directly to the Dolan Workshop. Does that mean asking that slave trader to investigate would be pointless?)
Still, a slave trader might have the kind of information that even Rei himself didn't know. Judging so, Rei decided for the time being to have the slave trader look into it.
(As for the rest... at least I now know Anne is in the Dolan Workshop, so it's about time I made my move. Actually, if I don't act here, Lindy might go off prematurely.)
Lindy was already anxious over the disappearance of Golias, someone she held dear. Given the rumor that the Dolan Workshop used humans as materials for golems, it would be no surprise if she judged they needed to act even more hastily.
And now, there was Anne.
(This time it was Anne, but from what I heard of Garby's account, it seems he enslaved quite a number of people and sold them to the Dolan Workshop. Lindy might know some of them.)
If Lindy learned that acquaintances beyond Anne had been enslaved, she would undoubtedly go on a rampage. Of that, Rei was certain.
And even if Lindy did rampage, she wasn't particularly strong. She would without fail be captured by the Dolan Workshop... and depending on the circumstances, there was a high probability that Lindy too would end up as golem material.
Rei was now fully convinced that the Dolan Workshop used humans as materials in their golems. Even with the information he had gathered so far, the suspicion had been strong, but he still hadn't been certain. However, considering this incident, he could no longer help but be certain.
(In that case, after returning to Egginis, I should actively launch attacks against the Dolan Workshop. But in a way that doesn't get seen by anyone.)
The notion that the Dolan Workshop used humans as golem materials was based entirely on circumstantial evidence; there was no definitive proof. And Egginis was a city where the golem industry flourished. In such a place, making a fuss without definitive evidence would only result in being arrested by the guards. From Egginis's perspective, the Dolan Workshop's golems were currently the finest products they could sell.
Of course, there might be some who, upon hearing that humans might be used as materials, would believe it and investigate—but such people would undoubtedly be few in number.
(If they had only used bandits and not laid hands on anyone else, I wouldn't have been able to say anything about it.)
That was Rei's honest sentiment.
In this world, bandits were treated essentially as humanoid monsters. The very reason Rei faced almost no criticism for making bandit hunting his hobby was because of that.
The reason he said "almost" was that even in this world, human life was considered more important than anything, and there were those who insisted that even bandits should not be killed. To such people, Rei—a person who made bandit hunting his hobby, killed bandits without hesitation, and even when sparing them, sold them as criminal slaves—was an existence that could never be forgiven.
Naturally, that was not the general common sense of this world, however.
In any case, defeating bandits was rather praised, and few complained even if they were killed. So even if the Dolan Workshop used humans as materials, if they captured bandits and used them as materials... while golem sales would decline compared to now, it still would not constitute a crime.
The fact that they risked danger to use people other than bandits as materials meant...
(There's probably still some kind of secret.)
Emerging from the building, Rei found Seto, the guards, the thugs daisy-chained with rope, and spectators who seemed to find the scene unusual.
Normally, the thugs would have intimidated the spectators and driven them away, but from what Rei could hear, the majority of the onlookers were of higher standing than the thugs.
(Then again, considering how weak those thugs are, those below them would be far fewer in number.)
Exasperated, Rei ignored the thugs and headed toward Seto.
The guards looked like they wanted to say something, but in the end, they did not call out to Rei. They must have judged that it was better not to speak to Rei here.
And around Seto, there was no one else. Despite the fact that the thugs had come to steal Seto, and that people of even higher standing than those thugs had gathered here, it seemed no one had provoked Seto.
(Or maybe someone did provoke him and got taken down. Considering there's no scent of blood or anything like that, it seems Seto didn't kill anyone even in that case. Well, if you break someone's neck, you can kill them without shedding blood.)
Thinking such violent thoughts, Rei approached Seto, who immediately woke from his half-asleep state and purred happily upon seeing Rei.
"Grrrrrru."
"Sorry, did I make you wait?"
As Rei was about to leave the area after that exchange, he suddenly turned back and looked at the thugs, still daisy-chained together.
"You guys had better think carefully about what you're going to do from here on out. He's been enslaving and selling off this city's residents, so the possibility that you'll become targets too is quite real. After all, you're people who couldn't even become adventurers. What do you think Garby thinks of the likes of you?"
Having said that, Rei was about to leave...
"Hey, hold on a sec. What exactly do you mean by that? You saying Garby's gonna do something to us too?"
It wasn't one of the thugs, but one of the people surrounding them—a particularly important-looking man among those of higher standing than the thugs, who called out to Rei.
In response to the man's words, Rei stroked Seto beside him and directed his gaze toward the man... then nodded.
"Yeah. That's how it'll be. How many, how dozens... no, possibly even more than that—how many residents of this city do you think Garby has enslaved and sold off? Given that, what such a Garby would do to those lackeys who are of no use to him, I don't think it takes much thought to figure out."
Whatever he thought of Rei's words, the man who had spoken to Rei showed a moment of contemplation.
From the attitudes of those around him, Rei could guess that he was likely a particularly important figure among those gathered here, but Rei had no intention of going out of his way to hear the details. Understanding that much, Rei indicated with his attitude that the rest was up to them and left the scene.
(I said I wouldn't lay a hand on Garby directly, but this isn't direct, after all.)
Thinking that to himself.