Having destroyed the Water Golem, Rei headed toward the Dolan Workshop building with Lindy at his side.
Strictly speaking, they were already inside the premises—but the area they had just come through was more like a garden.
Given that, there was no option but to head toward their target building.
Watching Rei's back as he led the way, Lindy felt a wave of relief from the bottom of her heart. That was because, had Rei refused to infiltrate the Dolan Workshop to rescue Anne, she had been prepared to come here alone.
Had that been the case, defeating the Water Golem with Lindy's abilities would have been difficult. Even when Rei severed its arm with his Death Scythe, the thing had regenerated immediately. Considering that, taking down the Water Golem with Lindy's longsword... while not impossible, would have been an extremely tall order.
The longsword Lindy carried was an ordinary one—nothing that could be called a Magic Sword. Nor could she use magic or possess any kind of Skill.
Phrased that way, it made Lindy sound considerably lacking. But in truth, those who could use magic were quite rare, and those with Skills, while not as scarce as mages, were still uncommon. Looking at the overall proportion of adventurers, the vast majority could use neither.
Gilm was an exception, with an unusually high number of magic users and Skill wielders, but that was precisely because Gilm sat on the frontier of the Kingdom of Mireana. The adventurers who gathered there were mostly skilled veterans, so naturally, many could use magic and Skills.
By comparison, Egginis didn't have nearly as many capable adventurers assembled. There were talented ones, of course, but as a ratio, they were clearly in the minority. And Lindy was by no means a standout among Egginis's adventurers. Given that, it went without saying that she could use neither magic nor Skills.
In other words, had she come here without Rei, she would have been unquestionably doomed.
Even before that, there was a high likelihood she wouldn't have been able to clear the wall surrounding the Dolan Workshop without tripping the security equipment in the first place.
"Lindy, we're about to reach the building. Ready?"
"Yes. Though at this point, I've no choice but to rely on you."
"Don't worry about that. Just handle things properly when we encounter Anne."
Those words were tantamount to saying he didn't expect Lindy to contribute as combat power. Naturally, she wasn't pleased to hear it. But given their current situation—with Rei helping her—she couldn't exactly voice complaints. Besides, with no way of knowing what condition Anne was in, it was only sensible to have Lindy, someone who knew her personally and a fellow woman, ready to look after her if needed.
"Understood. ...I just hope Anne is here."
"That depends on what information we can gather."
Honestly, Rei didn't think they would keep someone like Anne—a person they had forcibly enslaved—in such an obvious location. He didn't think so, but even so, he was certain there would be at least one or two staff members or alchemists with information.
Given what happened with that Water Golem, it wouldn't be surprising if its developer is here.
Rei couldn't know exactly what role that Water Golem served or why it had been let loose on the grounds. But he could guess it likely served an experimental purpose. Given that, it seemed only natural to Rei that the alchemist who built it would want to see how it performed. If it were an alchemist Rei knew, they would absolutely do the same.
The many alchemists in Gilm were voracious when it came to knowledge. They would never miss a chance to see their creations in action.
That said, that only applied to the alchemists Rei knew. The alchemists of the Dolan Workshop weren't necessarily the same. Much less when the Dolan Workshop's alchemists used human beings as materials to manufacture golems—considering that, there was no way Rei could lump them in with the ones he knew.
Can't lump them together, right? Even those guys surely wouldn't do something like using people as materials for golems or Magic Items... right?
The reason he couldn't declare that with absolute certainty was, in the end, because he knew what alchemists were typically like.
Pressing on through the grounds while half-convincing himself, they soon arrived right beside the building.
"I was sure another new golem would show up, but to think that Water Golem was the only one... that was a little unexpected."
"But isn't it better to have less trouble? After a fight that flashy, the people inside the research institute have to know we're here."
Those people. The expression on Lindy's face as she said that was thick with bitterness. She understood that the people inside the research institute were the ones who had commissioned Garby to forcibly enslave Anne.
Naturally, her anger and hatred were directed not only at the people of the Dolan Workshop who had made the request, but also at Garby, who had carried it out. That said, she had heard that Rei had taken various measures when he visited Buldan, so her feelings leaned more toward serves him right. If she had to voice a complaint, it would be that she couldn't witness with her own eyes the process of Garby's ruin—or if not quite ruin, then the gradual decline of his influence in Buldan.
"Lindy, let's go."
"Right."
Exchanging brief words, the two entered the research institute.
Their demeanor was no longer that of sneaking in. A more fitting description would be boldly storming the place.
Honestly, Rei would have preferred to slip in quietly and extract information, but having fought the Water Golem on the grounds, that ship had sailed.
If there's any saving grace, it's that a place with as many skeletons in its closet as the Dolan Workshop can't exactly report an intruder to the guards. ...Though depending on how far their reach extends, the guards might end up accommodating them anyway.
Even acknowledging the possibility of the guards turning against him, Rei still judged the likelihood as low. An intruder wielding a scythe and a spear would be identified as Rei immediately. And once they knew it was him, they would naturally recall the conditions he had set when attempting to purchase a golem from the Dolan Workshop—namely, that he possessed materials from the Crystal Dragon, an unknown S-Rank Monster. It wouldn't be strange for them to try seizing those materials.
Or, much like when they had issued the assassination contract to Blood Blade, killing Rei here would be the best possible outcome for the Dolan Workshop. Weighing all that, Rei concluded they would handle the situation themselves.
"Lindy, the Dolan Workshop's alchemists will probably try to kill me no matter what. I'll keep you out of the crossfire as much as I can, but at the very least, be ready to defend yourself."
"Right. ...Should we split up, though? That way I won't slow you down, and we could search for Anne more efficiently."
"Don't. What if something like that Water Golem comes after you? I know you're a decent fighter for an adventurer, but there are opponents you simply can't beat. Besides..."
"Rei?"
Lindy asked quizzically as Rei trailed off, but he simply shook his head without elaborating.
The concern nagging at him was the possibility that Blood Blade remnants might be here.
The fact that they had contracted Rei's assassination left no doubt that a substantial connection existed between the Dolan Workshop and Blood Blade. Given that, it wouldn't be strange if Blood Blade members had been hired as security for the Dolan Workshop's shady operations—and that employment might have been exactly how they escaped Fusetsu's assault.
It was also possible that an assassin who had somehow survived Fusetsu's attack, or who hadn't been at the hideout at the time, had returned to find Blood Blade destroyed and sought shelter with the Dolan Workshop, given their established ties.
They didn't necessarily have to seek shelter with the Dolan Workshop specifically, but the Workshop holds strong influence in Egginis right now. If you're going to hide, you'd naturally want someone with that kind of power.
Rei turned a serious gaze toward Lindy and spoke.
"Depending on the situation, there's a chance Blood Blade survivors are here. Given that, splitting up isn't an option."
"That's..."
Lindy fell silent, unable to argue.
In truth, Rei judged that if Lindy found herself up against a Blood Blade assassin, whether she could win was questionable at best. Blood Blade may have been crushed by Fusetsu, but it had been a reasonably large assassin guild among those operating in Egginis. Naturally, fighting an assassin from such an organization would put Lindy at a severe disadvantage.
"Fine."
Though clearly reluctant, Lindy nodded, and the two of them stepped into the building together.
"The door being unlocked—was it like that to begin with, or is it meant to draw us inside? What do you think?"
"I can't imagine they'd intentionally leave it unlocked, so it's probably to lure us... or rather, to lure you in. Actually, it's highly possible they're not specifically after you, but trying to draw any intruder into the building."
"That's also a possibility. Well, either way, going inside is our only option. Let's move."
With that, Rei crossed the threshold—and immediately understood.
"We've been set up."
Beyond the door lay a vast, open space, something like a gymnasium. And the moment those words left Rei's mouth, the door behind them swung shut on its own.
Since Lindy, who had been right behind him, hadn't touched it, the door itself had to be a type of Magic Item. That said, for someone from Japan who was familiar with automatic doors, a door closing by itself was hardly shocking. The automatic doors Rei knew were the sliding type found in convenience stores, whereas this one had a handle and swung on a hinge—but in the end, the difference was trivial.
"Now then, since they went to the trouble of luring us in, I assume there's some kind of entertaining show waiting?"
As if in response to his murmur, several lights flickered on across the wide space.
Lindy startled at the sudden shift, but Rei had already sensed the presences inside and knew there were several people lurking about, so the reveal caught him off guard very little.
And what the light revealed was a host of golems scattered across the vast space—more than ten in all.
Come to think of it, this is a bit late to be wondering, but... is the counter for "head" of animals the right way to count alchemist-made golems?
Ordinary monsters were generally counted as one head, two head. Animals like horses were counted differently—one horse, two horses—but even horse-type monsters like Unicorns or Pegasi were counted as one head, two head. Golems that spawned naturally as monsters followed the same pattern. But what about golems manufactured by alchemists?
He mulled it over briefly, but... right now, there were more pressing matters than how to count golems.
"Here they come. I'll handle the golems. Lindy, defend yourself, and back me up if you have the opening to do it."
"Got it! Honestly, I never imagined it would come to this... I swear, I'll never forgive the people responsible for this!"
Amid Lindy's half-desperate shout, Rei readied his Death Scythe and Twilight Spear and charged straight into the golems.