Rei put his questions about the golem cores to the alchemists directly.
"A core is an important part of a golem, right? And yet, even though you're the Non-Mainstream Faction in the Dolan Workshop, you're getting them from the Mainstream Faction's alchemists?"
"That's... not something we can help. Creating a golem core requires various precious Magic Items, and we aren't free to use them."
"That's certainly..."
Being unable to freely create golem cores was undoubtedly a sore point for any alchemist.
Moreover, Egginis was a city famous for its golem industry. For alchemists in such a place, it went without saying that they would be specialized in golem manufacturing—or at the very least, considerably skilled in it. Despite that, not being able to freely create cores—the single most critical component of a golem—meant that few others would be as deserving of the word "unfortunate."
Still, that was just his impression from the outside. What these alchemists actually felt about it was something an adventurer like him couldn't possibly understand.
Even in such a situation, they remained in the Dolan Workshop. As long as that was the case, there was no doubt they had a corresponding reason for staying.
"Why are you still here when you're treated like this? If you're Dolan Workshop alchemists, other workshops would normally hire you without a second thought, wouldn't they?"
Belonging to the Dolan Workshop was a direct indication that they possessed a commensurate level of skill. In other words, if they wanted to, the alchemists before him could leave the Dolan Workshop at any time and transfer to another workshop.
That was Rei's question, but...
"As long as we're bound by contract, we can't do that," the alchemist murmured, looking truly regretful.
For the alchemist, he probably would have done exactly that if he could. However, as he told Rei, the contract prevented him from moving to another workshop. On top of that, they were currently the Non-Mainstream Faction within the Dolan Workshop—which likely meant they couldn't fully demonstrate their skills even when manufacturing golems.
"What do you think? From the looks of it, these guys really don't seem to know anything. They don't even seem to understand why we came here, either."
"That's..." Lindy showed an expression of clear dissatisfaction at Rei's words.
For Lindy, the mere fact that they were Dolan Workshop alchemists made them unforgivable. They were the ones who had taken away Anne from the orphanage, and likely Golias—the person she loved—though there was no proof yet regarding Golias. Had Rei not stopped her earlier, there was a high possibility she would have slaughtered the alchemists here with her longsword in a fit of rage.
"Calm down. If these guys aren't lying and really are the Non-Mainstream Faction within the Dolan Workshop, then it's not a bad thing for us."
"...Yeah. I suppose you're right." Lindy murmured, half trying to convince herself.
At her demeanor, the alchemists breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Rei had restrained her, she had been someone who looked ready to attack them at any moment, so seeing her calm down a little was mentally a relief.
The alchemists couldn't sense anything like killing intent. They couldn't sense it, but even so, with Lindy radiating it right in front of them, they must have felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"Alright, then for now... here, use this." Rei took a potion from his Misty Ring and handed it to the person he had injured earlier with the Eye of Nebula.
He had attacked them aggressively in the first place because he initially thought these alchemists were Dolan Workshop alchemists—more precisely, alchemists who used humans as materials for golems. However, from what he had heard, that wasn't the case. If things went well, they were important figures from whom he could obtain various information. That was why he handed over the potion.
Granted, it wasn't a particularly high-quality potion, just a standard one sold at a commensurate price. Because of that, it couldn't instantly heal the wound caused by the Eye of Nebula, but it could still stop the bleeding and ease the pain.
"I-Is this okay...?" One of those who received the potion asked Rei timidly, and Rei nodded.
"Yeah. If you guys are the Non-Mainstream Faction in the Dolan Workshop, then you're not our enemies. Besides... you have an attachment to the name 'Dolan Workshop,' right? For alchemists of that very workshop to bring in a woman who was enslaved through quasi-illegal means, or to manufacture golems using humans as materials—you can't accept that, can you?"
"That's..." At Rei's words, the alchemists listening fell silent.
Given the current situation, they had no means of knowing what the Mainstream Faction alchemists besides themselves were doing. At the same time, there was also a kind of hopeful observation—wondering whether alchemists belonging to the Dolan Workshop would really do such a thing.
"This business about using humans as materials—do you have any evidence for that?"
"We believe it's certain based on several pieces of circumstantial evidence, but we don't have definitive proof. One of the objectives of infiltrating the Dolan Workshop this time was to obtain that evidence. Though our top priority is rescuing Lindy's acquaintance, who was apparently enslaved through quasi-illegal means and handed over to the Dolan Workshop."
"That's..." The alchemist listened to Rei's words, looking as though he didn't want to accept it.
No, it wasn't just the alchemist speaking with Rei—the other alchemists wore the same expression. But Rei thrust a further truth at them.
"I heard that bandits have been disappearing around Egginis, and when I started investigating it, I was targeted by assassins multiple times. Why would the Dolan Workshop go so far as to use Blood Blade of the Assassin Guild to try to kill me? It's obviously because they have something they don't want me to uncover, right?"
In reality, there were various possible reasons for the attacks—such as hinting that he would provide materials from the Crystal Dragon, an unknown monster he had obtained in the Forest of Magic, when purchasing Dolan Workshop golems, or targeting Seto, his Tamed Monster, upon learning he possessed a Misty Ring. Even so, Rei believed the most likely reason was that he had investigated the bandit situation.
"That's... but relying on Blood Blade is just your speculation, isn't it?"
Given their own situation and the things the Mainstream Faction members were doing, the alchemist thought it wouldn't be surprising if they were doing exactly what Rei described. He thought so, but still couldn't bring himself to believe that the alchemists of his beloved Dolan Workshop were doing such things.
However, Rei handed the alchemist a contract taken from his Misty Ring. It was the assassination contract regarding Rei, made between Blood Blade and the Dolan Workshop. Upon seeing it, the alchemist, who had been trying his best to believe in the Dolan Workshop until now, could no longer say anything.
And being unable to say anything was effectively the same as accepting everything Rei had said about the Dolan Workshop.
"This is..."
"You understand now, don't you? The Dolan Workshop might have been a fine workshop in the past—back when you guys were the Mainstream Faction. But not anymore. They drove out you Orthodox Faction alchemists like this, and they're doing whatever they please. That includes quasi-illegal enslavement and using humans as golem materials."
In reality, Rei didn't know whether the alchemists before him were truly Orthodox Faction alchemists. But what mattered right now was motivating them to provide even a little information.
Though from the looks of it, they did seem to genuinely fit that description.
"That's right, Ilunara! Ever since those people took over the Dolan Workshop, we've been treated like nothing more than errand boys, haven't we! So!"
The man called Ilunara, who had been speaking with Rei, considered his companion's words for a moment... and then nodded.
Ilunara hadn't nodded solely out of a sense of justice. Of course, if the Dolan Workshop was truly doing something like using humans as materials, that had to be stopped at all costs. If such a thing became public knowledge, the Dolan Workshop's name would be dragged through the mud. Having admired the Dolan Workshop since childhood and managing to work there as an alchemist, he absolutely couldn't allow anything that would tarnish the Workshop's name.
"Seems like the matter is settled. So, where do slaves get brought when they're delivered to the Dolan Workshop?"
If possible, Rei wanted to ask about the golems made from human materials. However, anything that even a skilled alchemist like Roger couldn't immediately figure out—Rei couldn't expect these alchemists, who were only now hearing about the use of human materials for the first time, to know the answer. Given that, it was only natural for Rei to prioritize asking about Anne in order to prevent Lindy from going on a rampage.
Though, since Lindy also understood that Ilunara and the others weren't involved in Anne's case despite being Dolan Workshop alchemists, her killing intent had considerably subsided.
"You ask what happens, but if they're slaves used by the Dolan Workshop, there's a dedicated living quarters. But the one you're looking for is an illegal slave, right? In that case, I don't know if they'd keep her with the regular slaves."
"Illegal... It's not completely illegal, but it's not exactly a method in accordance with the law, either. In that sense, I think 'quasi-illegal' is the most fitting description."
"That detail doesn't matter, so should we just head to where the slaves sleep for now? If she's not there... there's also the possibility she's somewhere only they can access."
Ilunara trailed off, likely meaning he didn't know the specific location if that were the case.
"In that case, we'd need to search the entire Dolan Workshop room by room. Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I defeated those golems, but no one besides you guys has shown up. What's going on with that?"
"Dealing with intruders is our job. The Mainstream Faction members only show their faces here when their own golems are completed and it's time for performance testing."
"So that was a curse today... no, a blessing, huh. But those golems we fought were pretty strong, you know!"
"I could only think it was a one-sided rout."
Ilunara apparently took Rei's words as flattery or something of the sort. He showed a slightly displeased expression. But Rei was by no means offering flattery.
"The Water Golem made of water regenerated right away even after being cut by Death Scythe. For someone who can't use magic, it would be quite difficult to fight."
At Rei's words, the female alchemist near Ilunara beamed with delight. Seeing that, it was undoubtedly she who had created the Water Golem.
"That said, I still wonder why that Water Golem was the only one outside the building."
"Ah, that's because we're told to always keep at least one golem outside."
Ilunara's explanation revealed the reason just like that. Why they were instructed to do such a thing, Rei couldn't understand, though.
"Still, since its body was made of water, I could tell where the core was, so it was easier to fight by focusing attacks there. In that sense, the mud-water golem was even more troublesome since its core was invisible."
"Wow!" Hearing Rei's words, another alchemist raised his voice happily.
Being praised by Rei must have made him genuinely happy. Seeing that, the creator of the Water Golem wore a frustrated expression, thinking that a superior version of her own golem had been created. Even in their current situation, having a superior version of one's own golem created was apparently unpleasant for an alchemist.
After that, Rei briefly explained about the golems he had fought, causing the alchemists to alternate between joy and disappointment.