The moment a knock sounded at the door, everyone in the room—everyone except Rei—stiffened.
They had just been discussing the possibility that invaders might still be lurking somewhere, so it was only natural that many of them entertained the thought of "what if."
That was precisely why all eyes in the room turned to Rei.
Everyone present knew his abilities well.
The alchemists in particular had experienced his power firsthand—he had wiped out the very golems they had so proudly created.
"Rei, could you?"
Among those here, Lindy probably knew Rei's capabilities better than anyone.
Having worked alongside him, she had witnessed them up close more than anyone else.
The fact that she was currently barely able to move due to muscle soreness also played a large part in her asking him.
"Got it."
As far as Rei was concerned, he understood exactly what he needed to do in this situation.
If the person arriving at a time like this turned out to be a surviving invader, he would be the one to deal with them.
(Though I don't think there's anyone hostile out there.)
Sensing no killing intent or hostility from beyond the door, Rei concluded that the visitor was probably Crow rather than a stranded intruder.
Even so, accounting for the slim possibility that the person outside was an enemy deliberately concealing their bloodlust, he readied himself to respond to whatever action they might take before opening the door.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Seeing that the person standing there was indeed Crow, Rei spoke after acknowledging it was as expected.
"That was faster than I expected."
"Was it? I had a few things to take care of, so I thought I might be a bit late."
Crow looked genuinely surprised at Rei's words.
True to what he said, having been at the center of the action throughout this incident alongside Rei, Crow had only returned after reporting to his superiors, preparing potions for Rei, requesting treatment arrangements for the wounded, and so on.
That was precisely why he found it unexpected when Rei told him he was back quickly.
If anything, he had expected to be told he was late.
Of course, even if his return had been delayed, with Rei present, everyone's safety was all but guaranteed.
The ones who would actually suffer from a late return were the two wounded men sleeping on the sofa.
Though the bleeding had been stopped with potions, they had yet to receive proper treatment.
"You had various procedures to handle, right? Then it wouldn't be strange if it took a bit longer. Even considering that, you were plenty fast for this incident."
"That's... sorry."
Hearing Rei's words, Crow bowed his head without hesitation.
But he raised it immediately after and addressed Rei again.
"Anyway, I'd like to take the wounded back. I brought people to carry them, so we'll move them out right away. I also brought a replacement sofa."
"A sofa? ...Ah, I see. That helps."
Two bleeding men had been laid on the sofa, so naturally it was stained with blood.
Lindy and the others were grateful to the men for being wounded while protecting them, but if asked whether they wanted to keep using a sofa soaked in blood, they would naturally shake their heads.
Rei in particular used the sofa as a bed, so he had no desire to sleep on a bloodstained one.
There were several sofas, so he could simply use another, but he appreciated Crow's consideration nonetheless.
"We're the ones who should be grateful. ...First, carry them out along with the sofa."
At Crow's instruction, four men outside set down the sofa they had been carrying and entered the room.
There were many people inside, but Lindy and the others, having anticipated the flow of events from Rei and Crow's conversation, were not particularly frightened by the men.
Crow's thoughtfulness in bringing personable individuals likely played a part in that.
"Thank you for treating these two."
As the representative of the four, one man bowed to Lindy and the others.
"Not at all. They fought to protect us, so it was only natural."
After the brief exchange, the four men immediately lifted the sofas—two men to each—and carried the sleeping wounded out.
Once the bloodied sofas were removed from the room, a new one was brought in.
Whether it reflected Crow's... or perhaps Fusetsu's gratitude, the replacement sofa was clearly a higher-quality piece than the one they had been using before.
Even Rei, who was not particularly knowledgeable about such things, could tell this sofa was expensive.
"And here are the potions."
Handing ten potions to Rei, who was still eyeing the sofa in surprise, Crow offered them freely.
Considering Rei had only used two, that was five times the amount.
Not only were there more, but the quality was undoubtedly equal to or greater than the ones Rei had used.
"Are you sure about this?"
Rei accepted the potions and asked.
But Crow simply nodded, indicating there was no issue whatsoever.
"Yeah, no problem. Take them."
Confirming that those words were not said in jest, Rei nodded and accepted the potions, storing them in his Misty Ring.
"That makes us even now."
"Glad to hear you say that, Rei. Personally, I still feel like Fusetsu owes you quite a bit."
"Do you? You're quite the softie. That aside, how much damage did Fusetsu ultimately take? You reported to your superiors, so you must have some idea."
Rei asked partly out of curiosity, but more importantly, depending on the extent of Fusetsu's losses, the people here could not necessarily be considered safe.
As far as Rei had seen, the damage Fusetsu suffered was not that significant.
However, that was strictly limited to what he had witnessed—meaning only during the time he had been in action.
Naturally, Rei had been the one fighting in those areas, and because of that, the invaders had taken far heavier casualties.
That was precisely why he was curious about the actual situation and had asked.
"About what you'd expect, I suppose."
That was all Crow said.
As far as he was concerned, he was grateful to Rei and felt genuine goodwill toward him. However, that did not mean he could disclose to a non-member exactly how much damage Fusetsu had suffered.
Perhaps sensing the circumstances from Crow's demeanor, Rei did not press the matter further.
"I see. Rough situation. ...Just to be sure, leaving me aside, the guarding of the others is handled, right?"
"That's no problem."
"Then good."
Whether Crow's words were actually true, honestly, Rei could not say for certain.
It was entirely possible that Fusetsu had suffered significant losses somewhere he had not seen and was concealing the fact.
While Fusetsu was undoubtedly the largest assassin guild in Egginis, the attackers were also multiple guilds of considerable size within the city.
Considering they had been caught off guard by such opponents, it would not have been strange for Fusetsu to have suffered substantial damage.
"Oh, also... it seems enemies appeared on the surface after we left. Was it Seto? Your tamed monster apparently defeated them."
"As expected of Seto."
What came from Crow's mouth was unexpected, but at the same time, it was more than enough to satisfy Rei.
He felt a swell of pride at Seto's performance.
Knowing Seto, there was no need to worry about him being injured.
He was simply happy that his partner had done well.
Many of those who had overheard Rei and Crow's conversation also brightened at the news of Seto's exploits.
It was likely related to the fact that Seto had helped them when they fled the Dolan Workshop.
"By the way, I'm glad Seto performed well, but what happened to the two who were with him?"
The two who could be called Fusetsu's gatekeepers.
Rei asked, curious about their fate, and Crow smiled.
"Don't worry. Those two are reasonably capable fighters within Fusetsu. Plus, with Seto there, they didn't suffer any notable injuries."
"I see. Then that's good."
Rei did not have any particularly strong feelings toward the two gatekeepers.
Even so, precisely because they had been with Seto, he was glad to hear they had not been caught up in his battle.
"It's a bit surprising that you worried that much."
"Is it? They were with Seto. I think it's only natural to worry."
Crow looked somewhat unsure how much to believe that, but he seemed to accept it for the time being.
"Well then, my business here is done, so I'll be heading out. Rei, and the rest of you... I think you'll be fine, but stay cautious and get some rest. Though I suppose oversleeping can't be helped."
"That's true enough."
This commotion had begun during what could only be called the dead of night.
Since their location was underground, they had no way of knowing exactly what time it was. Rei pulled his pocket watch from his Misty Ring to check... and found it was already past 4 AM.
(Wow, it's already early morning.)
Back in Japan, 4 AM was a time when most people were still asleep.
If you were a newspaper deliverer, a fisherman, a baker, or a farmer during harvest season, waking up at that hour was not uncommon.
However, in this world where light was precious, there were not many people who stayed up late into the night to begin with.
Among those who did, quite a few considered 4 AM a perfectly normal time to wake.
There were probably many among the former illegal slaves who had lived that kind of lifestyle as well.
All in all, it felt like they had pulled an all-nighter.
"Rei?"
Crow looked puzzled at Rei, who had stared at his pocket watch in surprise, and the question brought Rei back to his senses.
"No, it's nothing. I just realized it's already morning. Good luck with the cleanup."
Rei and the others could go straight to sleep without doing anything more, but for Crow, who belonged to Fusetsu, the busy part was just beginning.
Simply confirming that no invaders were still hiding somewhere would undoubtedly take a considerable amount of time, and they also needed to assess the full extent of Fusetsu's losses.
In that sense, Rei and his group were still the more fortunate ones.
"Leave it to me. Ah, and regarding the guarding of this room that came up earlier—the four who carried the sofa out will likely take shifts in pairs. They're reasonably skilled, so they should be more than sufficient as guards."
"Understood. If it's those four, I don't think there'll be any problems."
Judging from how they had greeted Lindy and the others, Rei did not think they would cause any trouble.
Fusetsu had probably selected people who would not create friction with Rei or the group he was protecting, so that was only natural.
"That's right. I think we can trust those people with guarding."
Lindy, who had been listening to Rei and Crow's exchange, agreed.
Since Rei often went out on his own, the actual task of guarding the people here would fall mainly to Lindy.
In that sense, it mattered a great deal that they were people she could accept.
Beyond that, having seen the guards actually get wounded while protecting them, Lindy likely felt she could trust Fusetsu.
In reality, there was no guarantee the guards had known that Anne, Ilunara, and the others were inside this room, but that did not change her impression.
With the matter settled, Crow left the room.
Rei was seeing him off when a sudden clapping sound reached his ears, and he turned toward it.
There stood Anne, clapping her hands.
Rei was not the only one who looked at her at the sudden gesture.
Many others also directed questioning glances her way, wondering what was going on.
Anne, now the focus of everyone in the room, spoke with a faint weariness on her face—perhaps because it was already early morning.
"Let's go to sleep soon. Tomorrow... no, today, I suppose, will definitely be busy again. In that case, it would be better to get at least a little sleep and recover our strength now, wouldn't it?"
Anne's words carried as much conviction as anything could... and everyone, including Rei, nodded in honest agreement.