Rei and the alchemists led by Ilunara had been discussing the golems, but Lindy, unable to tolerate the situation any longer, finally spoke up.
"Enough talk about the golems. Right now, finding Anne and Golias is our top priority, isn't it?"
For Lindy, she had come to the Dolan Workshop to rescue Anne—not to listen to a critique of golem performance.
...The fact that Golias's name had slipped in among those to be rescued was, in a sense, only natural for a girl in love.
Rei noticed it too, but he had no intention of saying anything about it.
In truth, Golias was also connected to the orphanage... and since Anne had written Rei a letter of introduction to find Golias, Rei genuinely wanted to rescue him if possible.
Unlike Anne, who was essentially a quasi-illegal slave—someone the Workshop might claim was an ordinary slave depending on the circumstances—Golias had simply vanished without a trace.
Of course, the possibility that Golias had also been enslaved through some means or for some reason in a place Lindy didn't know about couldn't be denied.
"Yeah, my bad. You're right. Let's head to where the slaves live first. It'd make things easy if Anne turned out to be there."
Rei said this, but his tone carried the implicit understanding that it wouldn't actually turn out that way.
Naturally. Anne was essentially a quasi-illegal slave.
If they understood that the situation would undoubtedly become troublesome should the matter become widely known, they would never let Anne mingle with ordinary slaves.
On top of that, the Dolan Workshop had specifically requested Anne by name.
(Thinking about it normally, I'd assume someone at the Workshop fell for Anne at first sight... but based on what I got out of Garby, they've done this same thing several times before. If that's the case, I can probably rule out the love-at-first-sight theory.)
What came to mind then was the worst-case scenario.
Namely, that they wanted Anne as material for a golem.
That was why he didn't think they would keep Anne together with ordinary slaves.
Still, there was always the possibility, however slim.
If the person managing the slaves couldn't be bothered, or hadn't thought deeply about the Workshop's circumstances, they might just round up all the slaves in one place regardless.
That was why, even though the odds were extremely low, the option of not checking there didn't exist for Rei.
"Anyway, guide us to where the ordinary slaves are."
"I don't mind. However, leaving here aside... if we walk around inside the research institute, we might encounter guards or mainstream faction alchemists. What do we do then?"
"Like the adventurer guards you hired?"
"That would be... difficult, I think. If those of us in the non-mainstream faction hired adventurer guards, it would stand out. Then a lot of people would wonder, 'Why now?'"
Being non-mainstream faction, Ilunara and his group had no need to hire guards.
So why would they go out of their way to do so?
When framed that way, Rei could only accept the explanation.
"Then what about the ones hired as guards? I know it'd be tough dealing with mainstream faction alchemists right now, but wouldn't guys like that not mess with Ilunara and his group too much?"
Despite the divide between mainstream and non-mainstream factions, Ilunara's group were still alchemists of the Dolan Workshop.
Given that, the guards wouldn't carelessly lay hands on them, would they?
When Rei asked, the alchemists including Ilunara all wore troubled expressions.
"Is that a no?"
"No, for the most part it should be fine. But there are some who understand we're non-mainstream faction and still pick fights with us."
"Is it really safe to have guys like that on payroll?"
Being adventurers employed by the Dolan Workshop, they ought to deal with both mainstream and non-mainstream factions alike.
Yet an adventurer who actively harassed Ilunara's group couldn't have had favorable performance reviews.
"It can't be helped. They were introduced through the mainstream faction."
Put that way, Rei understood.
So-called connections.
Then again, in this world, connections weren't exactly rare.
Someone introduced through an acquaintance was more trusted than an adventurer hired through the Guild.
Though given Rei's current situation, it was far from a welcome development.
"Can't be helped. If we run into those types, we'll just put them to sleep."
Hearing Rei's words, one of the alchemists spoke up timidly.
"Um, that sleep... you don't mean an eternal sleep, do you?"
Eternal sleep. In other words, he was asking if Rei intended to kill them.
Naturally, Rei had no intention of doing anything like that.
"Of course not. I'm just knocking them out. Though to be safe, I'll make sure they're properly unconscious so they don't wake up and cause a commotion."
Hearing Rei's explanation, the alchemists visibly breathed sighs of relief.
Given that he had been merciless against the golems and against the alchemists who had tried to flee, they must have entertained the possibility that he actually might.
"Come on, if you're satisfied, let's get moving. If we waste time here, Lindy's patience is going to reach its limit."
At Rei's words, the alchemists glanced at Lindy... and immediately nodded.
"For all that commotion, it sure is quiet."
As they proceeded through the building, Rei muttered in exasperation.
The battle with the golems aside, considering he had slashed through a thick wall with Death Scythe, the noise should have echoed far enough that any researcher employed by the Workshop would have come to investigate.
And yet, the only ones walking the corridor were Rei's group, and the only sound was that of their footsteps—or more precisely, the alchemists' footsteps.
"This area is separated from the main building. It's just us non-mainstream faction members here. In short, we're quarantined."
Hearing Rei's comment, a female alchemist informed him with visible displeasure.
Seeing the other alchemists nod in agreement, they clearly all shared the same sentiment.
"But even if someone broke in, they might enter from a different spot than us, right? What happens then? I'd think they'd end up entering the building from somewhere else entirely."
"If that had happened, we probably would have ended up fighting the mainstream faction alchemists' golems."
At the alchemist's blunt statement, Rei found himself wondering which scenario would have actually been better.
Getting Ilunara's cooperation was good, but being non-mainstream faction meant their intel was limited at best.
If they had burst in where the mainstream faction alchemists were lying in wait, they would have undoubtedly been able to gather far more detailed intelligence.
(In that case, we would have gotten better information in the end.)
Rei proceeded down the corridor, thinking he had entered the wrong place, when...
"Someone's coming."
Sensing a presence approaching from ahead, he announced it.
Ilunara and the others gave Rei puzzled looks, but Lindy, who knew his abilities, nodded in understanding.
"If Rei says so, someone really is coming. Be careful."
With both Rei and Lindy confirming it, Ilunara's group apparently decided to take Rei at his word.
They proceeded down the corridor tensely... and upon seeing someone approaching from the front, they were startled, then immediately wore displeased expressions.
Seeing their reaction, Rei had a bad feeling.
But having already run into them, there was nothing he could do.
He decided to let the situation play out naturally... and before his eyes, from among the several figures who appeared to be guards, one stepped toward Ilunara's group.
"Hey, isn't that Ilunara? What are you doing at this hour? Making pointless efforts as usual, building meaningless golems and—"
The man, about to finish with "aren't you?", spotted an unfamiliar face among those standing beside Ilunara.
At the same time, Rei and Lindy assessed the man who had addressed them. Judging from the conversation, this was likely the guard brought in through the mainstream faction's recommendation.
(What a pain. If I had to cross paths with someone, I would've preferred a more normal contact.)
Am I setting a flag? Rei wondered, but decided there was nothing for it since they'd already met.
(The problem isn't this guy—it's the other guards.)
Tuning out the man's harassment of Ilunara, Rei shifted his gaze to the other guards.
Some looked uncomfortably at the man selfishly hassling Ilunara, but among them, one alone was directing a wary gaze at Rei and Lindy—unfamiliar faces.
Rei accepted that this man was probably the most skilled of the bunch... and stepped forward.
In an instant so brief that none of the guards—not even the one who had been suspicious of Rei and Lindy—could register it, Rei appeared right in front of them.
"Hah!"
With a sharp exhale, Rei's fist sank into the torso of the guard who had been watching him.
"Guh!"
Impossible.
Wearing that very expression, the man lost consciousness.
Despite having been on guard against Rei and Lindy's presence, before he knew it—truly before he knew it—Rei was right beside him.
His face showed complete incomprehension as to how anyone could possibly pull off such a feat.
Then, one by one, the remaining guards fell to Rei's hand as well.
Perhaps because they had assumed no actual trouble would break out in a place like this, the guards were slow to react even as their comrades dropped, collapsing to the floor without mounting any real resistance.
Lindy, for her part, also succeeded in knocking out one of the guards.
In terms of pure ability, Lindy and the guard were roughly even—or perhaps the guard was slightly superior. But the guard's carelessness, combined with Lindy's fierce determination to rescue Anne and Golias, had overturned that gap. And then...
"Waaaaah! Y-You think you can get away with this?! You'll regret it!"
When Rei turned toward the source of the voice, he saw the man being beaten and kicked by Ilunara and the other alchemists.
Being hired as a guard, even through connections, he must have had a certain level of skill.
But that moderate skill apparently wasn't enough to overcome the difference in numbers.
Moreover, the alchemists who had endured constant harassment from the man naturally harbored intense resentment.
That was why, once they managed to knock him down, they didn't let him back up—instead beating and kicking him relentlessly.
What surprised Rei was that even the female alchemist was desperately kicking the man.
Given that the woman's face was reasonably attractive, Rei could vaguely imagine what she had endured... but simply beating the man senseless without actually knocking him out served no purpose.
"I'm sure you all have a lot of feelings about this, but leave it at that. Knock him out and let's move on."
"You! You're—"
The man tried to say something as he looked at Rei, but Rei showed no sign of listening and knocked him out effortlessly.
As expected, the man who had gotten in through connections wasn't particularly strong.
Given that, Rei felt no need to leave him conscious.
In a sense, since Rei had rescued the man from the alchemists' beating, one could even say he had shown him mercy.
"All right, we don't have time to waste here. Let's go."
So Rei declared to Ilunara and the others.