After hearing Rei's account, Roger initially looked as though he were being told a tasteless joke. But he must have realized that Rei wasn't joking at all—that he was speaking in absolute earnest.
At first, he was struck dumb... and then, a look of sheer disbelief spread across his face.
"Did they... really do such a thing?"
"Yeah. I can't say for certain how they arrived at that method. But there's no mistaking it—they were applying necromancy, using souls as material for the cores. ...Though I'll admit, I don't know exactly how that translates to improved performance."
What Rei could recall was seeing a golem with a human-soul core take reflexively human-like action.
Specifically, when he had fought the golems that Ilunara and the others created, one of them had reflexively raised its arm as if to shield its face—something along those lines.
There was no mistaking that the behavior had seemed human-like. But whether that actually translated to higher golem performance was something Rei could only tilt his head at.
Granted, according to what Ilunara had told him, the cores distributed to the Non-Mainstream Faction alchemists were believed to be failed products, so in that sense it wasn't surprising the golems' performance was low.
"But isn't that... problematic on multiple levels? Obviously, using people as materials is problematic in itself. But once you bring souls into the equation, it becomes far worse."
To Rei's mind, there wasn't much difference between using people as materials and using human souls as materials.
However, judging from Roger's words—and considering Ilunara and the others' reactions—it was clear they felt a far stronger sense of taboo toward using human souls as materials than toward using human bodies.
(Well, even before that, if they'd been capturing bandits and using them as materials, that would be one thing. But the fact that they're using illegal slaves as materials is clearly problematic on its own.)
To Rei, the Dolan Workshop's methods were undeniably those of degenerates.
Though the people of the Dolan Workshop might well think they didn't need to hear such criticism from Rei, of all people—someone who made bandit hunting his hobby.
"So, what's the situation with the Dolan Workshop now?"
"For now, I destroyed the altar and the magic circle used for the ritual, so I don't think they can resume easily. Plus, I rescued everyone being held as slaves. Without personnel to serve as materials, they shouldn't be able to go through with the ritual even if they want to. ...I still don't know where the bandits are, though."
In the end, they had searched the Dolan Workshop building, but there was no sign of the bandits who had presumably been captured.
It wasn't that Rei wasn't curious about this.
He had considered the possibility that the bandits might be held in the same place as Anne and the other illegal slaves, but they were nowhere to be found there either.
(Maybe Golias—the one Lindy is searching for—is being held in the same place as the bandits. ...Then again, without knowing specifically where Golias or the bandits are, there's nothing I can do.)
He entertained the thought that Golias might be in the same location as the bandits, but without knowing where that was, rescuing him would be no simple matter.
"The bandit situation is concerning. ...Did you come here to tell me about that?"
"That too. But the Dolan Workshop holds considerable influence in Egginis right now, right? If so, they've surely obtained intelligence that you and I know each other. Which means I can't imagine they'd leave you alone—not when you've learned, or might have learned, the secret behind their golems."
Hearing that, Roger understood why Rei had come to see him.
In short, it was out of concern for his safety.
"For the record, I do have guards, you know."
"The Dolan Workshop had some fairly capable people. The ones guarding you... honestly, I'm a bit worried."
From Rei's perspective, none of Roger's guards possessed outstandingly exceptional strength.
But that was strictly from Rei's point of view.
If, for example, Lindy were the one fighting them, they would without question be tough opponents.
Capable individuals with above-average strength like that were employed by the Dolan Workshop as well.
Roger's guards were fairly skilled by Egginis standards, but whether they could hold their own against the talent the Dolan Workshop had hired was a marginal question at best.
That was precisely why Rei had come to warn him about a possible attack in advance.
...In truth, he also thought it wouldn't be strange if an attack had already happened.
(I don't know why the Dolan Workshop is moving so slowly. ...Is the annihilation of Blood Blade the biggest reason?)
They had gone so far as to request Rei's assassination, so there was no mistaking the deep connection between Blood Blade and the Dolan Workshop.
Given that, whether they had relationships with other assassin guilds was an open question.
Which meant that if the Dolan Workshop tried to capture Roger, relying on their employed adventurers rather than an assassin guild was the most likely approach.
Then again, if those hired adventurers were tasked with capturing Rei and the others who had escaped, that would be one thing. But being told to capture Roger, who was presumably unconnected to tonight's incident, wasn't something they would readily agree to.
Though depending on the adventurer, some would accept for the right price.
In any case, whether or not one knew they were being targeted—whether or not one had prior information—carried enormous weight in this situation.
"I'll gratefully accept that information. That said, I trust my guards. ...Surely, whoever attacks me won't possess strength on the level of you or Seto, right?"
"I can't say that... I'd like to say that definitively, but the world has its fair share of hidden experts. It's entirely possible the Dolan Workshop has employed that sort of person."
The Dolan Workshop had no shortage of shady dealings—the bandits, the illegal slaves, and above all, the necromancy.
Given that, it wouldn't be strange for them to keep a trump card in reserve for emergencies.
Then again, if they had such a trump card, it wouldn't have been strange for them to have used it when Rei escaped, either.
"Understood. But necromancy, huh. Using people as materials alone would be problematic enough, but on top of that..."
"Huh? That's surprising. I thought you didn't have that much of an aversion to using people as materials, Roger."
"What do you take me for? ...Anyway, given the current situation, that means I, having learned of this, am also likely to be targeted."
"If you want, I could have Fusetsu shelter you, like the people we rescued from the Dolan Workshop."
"There's no way I could do something like that."
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather that he couldn't given his position as Roger—or so it sounded to Rei.
"Why not?"
"You might not understand, Rei, but I am the chief alchemist of the Jalis Workshop. And while we're currently losing to the Dolan Workshop, it won't be long before the Jalis Workshop reclaims its position as the finest workshop in Egginis."
"I understand that, but what does that have to do with turning down Fusetsu's protection?"
"You could call it pride."
"...So basically, it's a matter of pride?"
"I don't mind if you think of it that way. Besides, if I were to run away now, it could cause significant damage to the Jalis Workshop."
"That's... well, true."
If the Jalis Workshop mattered that much to Roger, then the possibility of someone meddling with the workshop to lure out a vanished Roger certainly couldn't be dismissed.
Even so, shouldn't he prioritize his own safety? Rei thought—but quickly accepted that this was ultimately the opinion of an outsider.
Once this affair was settled, Rei would be leaving Egginis.
Once that happened, even if something occurred in the city, Rei would fundamentally have no involvement.
Or, if for some reason a Nomination Request came through, that would be a different story—but that was neither here nor there.
"Understood. Then I won't say anything more. But the possibility of the Dolan Workshop coming after you is very real, so stay on your guard."
"Of course. Being attacked one-sidedly isn't exactly my idea of fun, either. Besides... the golem prototype you asked me to build... well, calling it that might be an overstatement. Some of them are more like a prototype of a prototype of a prototype."
"One I asked for? The way you're phrasing it, you mean the defensive golem?"
Rei had requested two golems from Roger.
One was a cleaning golem.
The other was a golem with performance specialized for defense.
The former could be purchased just about anywhere in town, so it would be easy for Roger to make. The latter was an entirely different story.
Escort work wasn't something Rei was bad at, but it certainly wasn't something he excelled at either.
When accepting such requests, he'd figured it would be convenient to have a defensive golem on hand to protect the escort target—which was why he'd placed the order.
That said, while Roger had been making progress on the defensive golem, he also had a mountain of other responsibilities.
Research on how to utilize Orc Naga materials, analysis of the Dolan Workshop's golems, and on top of that, his duties as an alchemist affiliated with the Jalis Workshop.
Considering all of that, he simply couldn't devote that much effort to developing the defensive golem... and as a result, what he currently had was something along the lines of a prototype of a prototype of a prototype.
"Right. Though at this stage, it's less a golem and more just the defensive function itself..."
Seeing Roger trail off for some reason, Rei pressed him to continue.
"Did you run into some kind of problem?"
"Not enough magic power."
"...Magic power?"
"That's right. What I originally envisioned was a function that generates a barrier using magic power. But with my technique, there was simply no way to sustain one. Well, to be precise, I can create a barrier, but it burns through all the magic power in an instant and the barrier collapses."
Roger wore a frustrated expression, but in contrast to Roger's dismay, Rei broke into a smile.
"If magic power is the only problem, then it's no problem at all."
"...What do you mean?"
Roger looked as though he couldn't fathom what Rei was saying.
Roger possessed no special senses—no Magic Eye or otherwise—that could perceive another person's magic power.
That was surely why he had no grasp of just how much magic power Rei actually had.
"My magic power reserves are vast. For instance—take a look at this."
Saying that, Rei unclipped the Eye of Nebula from his belt and handed it to Roger.
"This Magic Item is the Eye of Nebula. It creates arrowheads from magic power, but it's not something anyone with an ordinary magic supply could use."
At Rei's words, Roger gave the Eye of Nebula a brief examination.
Under normal circumstances, being an unknown Magic Item, he would have wanted to study it far more thoroughly—but he must have understood from Rei's words that time was short.
Even so, with Roger's level of skill, he apparently grasped immediately that the Eye of Nebula consumed an enormous amount of magic power.
The fact that he was building a golem that generated barriers using magic power was likely why he understood that aspect so quickly.
"With this level of magic consumption, you can use it normally?"
"I said 'if it's me,' didn't I? My magic power is vast. When someone with the ability to sense magic power gets a read on mine, it's enough to make them buckle at the knees."
In reality, it was far more dramatic than merely buckling at the knees, but Rei said nothing further.
After all, the fact that someone had been so overwhelmed they broke down in tears and wailed—or in one particular case, even lost control of their bladder—wasn't exactly something Rei wanted to advertise.
"That much magic power? Then... could you channel some into this? If you do, I should be able to put it to use to a certain extent on my end."
Rei nodded at Roger, who returned the Eye of Nebula with that request, and poured magic power into the defensive device as instructed.
He had been told it required a massive amount of magic power, but what he actually channeled into it was only slightly more than what the Eye of Nebula demanded. To Rei, it was no trouble at all.