Nicky's wish was exactly what Rei had expected.
He wanted to fight alongside Rei against the people of the Dolan Workshop.
However, Maruka rejected the proposal as a matter of course.
"No. To begin with, Nicky, you are my guard, are you not? And yet, to abandon the very person you are supposed to protect and act alongside Rei instead—there is no way I could permit such a thing."
In truth, Maruka possessed strength disproportionate to her age. She could easily dispatch an ordinary opponent without difficulty. But while she was not exclusively magic-oriented, magic still accounted for a larger share of her combat techniques. For Maruka, that meant a high possibility of making a critical mistake when facing a powerful enemy.
Given those circumstances, there was no way Maruka could have approved Nicky's proposal.
"I see..."
Nicky muttered those words upon hearing Maruka's statement. Considering he had spoken to Maruka with such a resolute expression, it was surprising even to Rei watching that he accepted it so readily the moment Maruka said no.
(Well, thinking about it normally, Maruka's words are correct, and there's no way Nicky's proposal would ever be accepted.)
Rei did not know what had happened in Nicky's past. He didn't know, but considering that the moment Rei mentioned how illegal slaves were being sacrificed to create golem cores from their souls, this situation arose—he could somewhat guess that something must have happened to Nicky before.
That is to say, something similar must have occurred. That was precisely why, upon hearing about this matter from Rei, he could not forgive it.
That said, he was currently present here as Maruka's guard. In such a situation, abandoning Maruka, his charge, to act alongside Rei was undesirable. He understood that much perfectly well. That was surely why, even when his proposal was rejected by Maruka, he did not express any dissatisfaction.
"I don't know what you were thinking in trying to act alongside me. But Lindy, Anne, and Camila will be sheltered in a safe place, so I think you need not worry for now."
Rei knew it was only a small comfort as he told them this.
They were being sheltered by Fusetsu, an assassin guild, so under normal circumstances, they could not be fully trusted. After all, it was an assassin guild. Being an underworld organization, the general impression of assassin guilds was that they would do anything for their own profit. In reality, that impression was by no means mistaken. Most underworld organizations that existed in the world believed they could do whatever they pleased if it benefited them.
However, it was also a fact that not all such organizations shared that nature simply because they were underworld organizations. Organizations that valued duty and human sentiment also existed. And from what Rei could see, Fusetsu was exactly that type of organization. They would not casually renege on an accepted job simply because it became profitable to do so. Having met with Orban, who led Fusetsu, Rei was half-convinced of this.
"I see..."
Normally, he would have said it in his usual manner, but Nicky probably did not even have that much energy right now.
"Pull yourself together. Your job is to guard Maruka, right?"
At Rei's words, Nicky looked up.
In truth, it was not as if there was no way to bring Nicky to the battlefield. Ultimately, as long as Nicky was Maruka's guard, he needed to be by Maruka's side. That meant if Maruka was among the enemy, Nicky naturally had to be there as well.
That said, Rei had no intention of teaching Nicky that. He himself had also judged that there was no need to deliberately bring Maruka to a dangerous place. If positioned in the rear, Maruka, who excelled at magic, would undoubtedly serve as an excellent support. He knew that, but even so, he had no desire to willingly bring Maruka into a battlefield.
"Anyway, I'm taking Camila to the Fusetsu hideout now. I plan to return here around tomorrow if possible, but to be honest, I'm not sure I can actually manage that. So even if I don't come back tomorrow, don't worry too much about it."
"Understood. However... well, it goes without saying to you, Rei, but be careful."
"Yeah. In any case, Maruka, you should cancel your plan to purchase golems from the Dolan Workshop. ...You don't want them, right?"
At Rei's words, Maruka nodded immediately, as if it were obvious.
Originally, Maruka had come all the way to Egginis as a member of Duke Quento's House, seeking high-performance golems. And yet, upon hearing that those rumored golems were created using necromancy, that human souls were used to make the golem cores, and that this was the very reason the Dolan Workshop's golems were high-performance—Maruka had no desire whatsoever for such golems.
"I have several other acquaintances. Would you mind if I informed them of this matter as well?"
"I wonder. If this matter becomes known, it will definitely cause a major uproar, that much is certain. If so, wouldn't it be better not to carelessly blab the secret?"
"Ngh. But..."
Maruka also had connections as a member of Duke Quento's House. Given that, there was no doubt that properly informing her allies in the same faction would lead to a more convenient situation in various ways. Moreover, from the perspective of the King's Faction as well, it was a fact that doing so would result in less damage.
"Then... let's see. I don't mind if you obscure it by saying there are various problems, without mentioning the necromancy. The matter of necromancy and so forth is something I'm planning to bring directly to the person managing Egginis later."
"That would help."
Maruka expressed her gratitude for Rei's concession. For Maruka, she felt strong gratitude toward Rei for this matter alone.
"For that reason then, Nicky. I'm counting on you to guard Maruka. I don't think there are any fools stupid enough to raid the Star River Inn, but I can't say for certain that there are none."
For those who had been present when Rei returned to the Star River Inn, having felt Rei's fighting spirit up close, it was highly unlikely they would attempt to storm the inn. However, for those who arrived after Rei had already entered the Star River Inn, it would not be strange for them to have only heard talk of Rei's existence and think that they themselves might somehow manage.
Seeing is believing. Unless they had seen Rei directly, it was difficult to truly get a sense of his actual strength.
"Got it. I'm a guard too, so I'll do my job properly."
Having given up on going with Rei—or more precisely, on fighting the Dolan Workshop himself—perhaps having shifted his mindset, Nicky said this in his usual speech style.
"Do that. Now... ah, she's asleep after all."
Rei decided to return to the Slum District since the conversation was over for now, but the very person he was supposed to bring along, Camila, was fast asleep on the sofa.
Rei was the one who had told her to rest, so this was only natural.
...Or rather, that had been his intention from the start.
"You planned this from the beginning, did you not?"
"Who knows about that."
Playing dumb to Maruka's words, which suggested she knew exactly what Rei was thinking, he hoisted Camila up.
(I guess if I put her on Seto, there won't be any problem. I'll carry her like this for now.)
Rather than a Rice Sack Carry like with Lindy, he carried her horizontally—what was commonly known as a princess carry. If Lindy ever learned about this, it would not be strange for her to explode with dissatisfaction. This was because, rather than heading straight to the Slum District upon leaving the inn, he was first going to see Seto in the stables.
Rather than Rei carrying Camila, he would place her on Seto's back for transport. That way, Rei could keep both arms free, so even if the people around the inn—or anyone else—attacked, there was no doubt he could handle it without issue.
When he descended to the first floor, quite a number of people had gathered there in addition to those who had called out to Rei earlier.
"Rei? What's going... wait, who is that child?"
The first to call out to Rei was the woman who had spoken to him when he entered the Star River Inn earlier. What floated in her eyes was question. It was only natural for her to wonder why Rei was carrying Camila.
"This child is someone involved in this matter with the Dolan Workshop. Because of that, there's a possibility she might be targeted depending on how things go. Or rather, it's probably one of the reasons those guys gathered near the Star River Inn right now."
"A child like that...?"
The woman murmured in bewilderment. No, it was not just the woman who was bewildered; the others were the same. Thinking about it normally, they probably could not imagine that the child Rei was carrying was involved in tonight's incident.
That said, Rei judged there was no need to give them any further information and left the inn. The guards inside had various things they wanted to say and ask Rei, but they concluded that if they tried to talk to him now, he would probably not listen, and so they did not attempt to call out to him any further.
Besides... those gathered here now were here solely to protect their own masters or clients. If the target of the suspicious individuals currently surrounding the Star River Inn was that child, then the child leaving the inn was by no means a bad outcome for the guards.
"For now, I'll go report this matter."
As the woman said that, the others also began to move, each setting out to do what they needed to do.
"Alright then, Seto. I'm counting on you."
"Guruu."
Seto, having emerged from the stables, still carried the sleeping Camila on his back.
Since they had gone outside, Rei thought she might wake up soon, but fortunately, Camila was still fast asleep, showing no signs of waking at all. If she woke up here, things would get noisy, so in that sense, it was a relief.
(That said, once we leave the Star River Inn, there are people after Camila. Even if directly attacking me is difficult, they might think they can at least snatch Camila away... it wouldn't be strange for someone to think that. Whether they could actually do it is another matter.)
To abduct Camila, they would need to approach Seto and seize her from his back. Thinking about it normally, if asked whether anyone could pull that off—it wouldn't be zero, but it would still be difficult for the people in Egginis with their level of ability. They would likely be blown away by Seto's tail or something similar, and that would be the end of it. Even so, in the sense that they would not be attacked with his beak or clawed forelegs, it was still quite restrained.
"Now then."
As they neared the edge of the Star River Inn grounds, Rei once again took out Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring.
(It would be quicker to just use Seto's King's Intimidation, but... I can't use it near the Star River Inn.)
Alternatively, if it were daytime, that might have been an option. But right now, it was the middle of the night. Using King's Intimidation under such circumstances would undoubtedly wake everyone sleeping in the vicinity. Even without the effect of King's Intimidation itself, Seto's cry when using it would without a doubt echo throughout the area.
It was better to refrain from doing such a thing. It was only natural for Rei to make that judgment.
(In that case, making them realize that challenging me to a fight is suicidal is the fastest approach after all.)
As Rei and Seto stepped outside the grounds of the Star River Inn, there were naturally many adventurers lying in wait. Most of them had probably arrived while Rei was inside the inn.
It was obvious that they were thinking of attacking Rei immediately, but even those individuals, the instant they saw Rei holding Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, were awed, terrified, and overwhelmed to the point they could not move.
If they launched an attack, they would die without question. Rei's body radiated such intensity and fighting spirit that they instinctively sensed this.
Compared to the small-statured Rei, many of those around him had good physiques. And yet, they still did not think they could win... and ultimately, they let Rei, Seto, and Camila on Seto's back pass right through without interference.