Upon hearing that Dailas was the mastermind behind the incident, and Rei's claim that there was evidence connecting him to the Dolan Workshop, those listening still wore expressions of disbelief.
(To trust Dailas this strongly meant his public façade must have been remarkably solid.)
Deciding they should know at least a fraction of the truth, Rei explained about the adventurers he had encountered at Dailas's mansion.
"At Dailas's mansion, I fought the adventurers who came as reinforcements. And among them were some who had attacked the Jalis Workshop."
"That's..."
Hearing Rei's words, Lindy and the others were left speechless.
The fact that such individuals had come as reinforcements was undeniably suspicious. Yet even knowing this, they simply could not bring themselves to take Rei's words at face value.
"Could there not be some kind of mistake?"
The one who asked was one of the alchemists. Knowing Dailas's public reputation was likely why he felt compelled to say as much.
"Unfortunately, there's no mistake. This is the genuine truth. That said, I'm sure there are those who can't believe everything based on my word alone. Those people don't have to believe me right now. Everything will become clear eventually, so until then, I think it's fine to keep believing in Dailas."
At those words, the listeners wore conflicted expressions. Whether Rei's words were true or not, they honestly did not know. Even so, the fact that they could not help but wonder what if was also true.
"With that, I've told you everything I have to share. I don't know if tomorrow will be an early start or not, but given the situation, there's no telling what might happen. I think it's about time you all got some sleep. Being sleep-deprived means you won't be in perfect condition for whatever comes next."
Prompted by Rei, everyone returned to their own rooms. Some had been sleeping in the living room, so a few remained behind. Those who stayed still seemed eager to ask Rei all sorts of questions, but he ignored them and lay down on the sofa he had been using as a bed.
Wondering whether Crow and the others had made it back yet, he drifted off to sleep.
"Mm... mmn...?"
Feeling his consciousness snap rapidly awake, Rei opened his eyes. Looking around, no one else was up yet.
(Is this the same as yesterday? ...Well, it doesn't look like Camila will be getting up today either.)
Several others were sleeping in the room besides him, but none of them were awake. There was no sign anyone had approached while he was sleeping. Had something like that happened, Rei—currently in what could be called work mode—would have woken instantly. The absence of any grogginess upon waking was proof he was in that work mode.
In that state, he surveyed the room and got himself ready.
"The time is... well, down here I have no choice but to use my pocket watch."
Being underground, naturally he could not estimate the hour from the sun's position. Retrieving his Magic Item pocket watch from his Misty Ring, he found it was already past ten.
He had completely overslept, but considering when he had gone to bed, waking before noon was not a bad result.
(Now then, the question is...)
Rei moved to the door, confirmed the presence of a guard on sentry duty, and opened it.
"Ah, good morning, Rei-san."
"Yeah. Good work on the guard duty. ...Have you heard anything about yesterday's matter?"
"We were stationed here, so not particularly... ah, but it seems most of the people who participated in the raid returned safely."
"Most" meant a significant number had likely been killed in the fighting at Dailas's mansion. And among those who returned, there must have been a considerable number of wounded. Minor injuries could be healed instantly with potions, but those who had lost limbs were difficult to treat. Potions that could restore even lost limbs did exist, but they were extraordinarily expensive. Even if Fusetsu was the largest assassin guild in Egginis, such items were not easily deployed, and those potions were so rare that obtaining them even when desired was difficult.
"I see. That most of them returned safely is a small mercy. So, have you heard how Orban plans to act from here?"
"No, nothing about that."
"Got it. Keep up the good work on guard duty."
Having obtained what information he could, Rei closed the door and lay back down on the sofa.
(The question is how Orban will move. Given the documents we obtained from that safe golem yesterday, there's no way he won't act in this situation. Has he already contacted Robel?)
Robel was one of the people who ran Egginis, and he and Orban were working together... no, in this case, it would be more accurate to say they were on friendly terms. Orban being this proactive about the Dolan Workshop and Dailas matter was partly because he had been caught up in Rei's actions, but it was also true that he wanted to do something about the corruption in Egginis. But beyond that, the matter with Robel was also likely a factor.
(Thinking normally, it's best to assume Robel will move before Dailas can take any suspicious action based on last night's events... but the question is how that's progressing. Considering Orban's personality, it wouldn't be surprising if I were contacted once things with Robel come into play.)
The last time he went to see Robel, Rei had acted alongside Orban. If so, it wouldn't be strange for Rei to go along to see Robel this time as well.
"Mmn... ah... mn?"
A voice reached Rei's ears as he was thinking about what lay ahead. But his attention was diverted only for a moment. He could guess that someone had probably woken up because he had been moving around the room.
However, if the person who woke up came to talk to him, that was another matter entirely.
"Good morning, Rei-san. You were already awake?"
The man greeted him with those words. Rei nodded and spoke.
"I went to sleep pretty early yesterday. Plus, being an adventurer, I can fall asleep the moment I decide to."
"Heh, adventurers are something else. ...So, what happens from here today? Are we still not allowed to leave this room?"
Yesterday there had been an assault on the hideout, so afterward, with cleanup underway and the possibility that survivors of the attacking force still remained, no one except Rei had been permitted to leave the room.
For the alchemists, whose work originally involved conducting research indoors, not going outside was not a problem. Anne and the others who had been illegal slaves, as well as Lindy the adventurer, were all adults, so being confined to this room for a day or two was not an issue.
But among them, the one who could not endure it was Camila. Given that she was a child with enough initiative to travel all the way to Egginis alone, being cooped up in a narrow—though combined with the living room and private rooms, it was actually quite spacious—room was more than she could bear. The man who had asked Rei seemed to be worried about exactly that.
"Who knows. The cleanup from the assault is probably finished by now, and they've mostly confirmed whether any survivors of the attackers remain. ...Was it really that rough yesterday?"
He had heard a bit about the situation from Lindy and Anne. But that was only hearsay; he had not actually seen it himself. ...Well, he had heard Lindy scream when Camila pounced on her while she was suffering from muscle soreness.
(Wait, now that I think about it, Lindy didn't seem to be suffering all that much from muscle soreness last night. Could muscle soreness really heal in a day...? No, strictly speaking, it would have been even less time than that, but even so, can it recover that fast?)
If it was mild soreness, recovering in a day would not be unusual. But Lindy's muscle soreness was far from what anyone could call mild. Given that, he had not expected it to heal so easily. Harboring such doubts, he set the matter aside for now.
"Yeah. It was rough. And being stuck in here, not able to go out, is a bit..."
"Got it. I'll ask about that later. The Fusetsu members would appreciate having more helping hands too. But just so you know... I think most of the work will probably be treating the wounded."
According to what Rei had heard from the guard, many of those who returned were injured. Given that, being assigned to help with their care was only natural. Performing Arrangement without potions, or tending to injuries that had not fully healed even with potions—for that kind of work, even without medical knowledge, simply having more people to handle the manual labor was a great help.
"Understood. I'll let the others know."
As their conversation continued, those who had been sleeping in the living room and private rooms began to wake. Having gone to bed late the previous night, everyone looked sleep-deprived. What about Camila, who had likely been asleep before Rei returned? Wondering that, he scanned the room, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Huh? Camila hasn't woken up yet?"
"If it's Camila, she's still asleep."
The one who answered Rei's question was Anne. Anne usually looked full of energy, but even she was apparently feeling the effects of sleep deprivation, unable to fully hide her drowsy appearance. Given a little more time after waking, she would probably come around naturally.
"I see. It's a good thing Camila is being quiet. ...What about Lindy?"
"If it's Lindy, it'll probably take a little more time."
Rei recalled the saying that women took a long time to get ready, but before he could say anything, the sound of knocking echoed through the room.
Now then, was it breakfast—time-wise, practically lunch—or had Orban sent someone to summon him? Either way, deciding it would be best to answer, Rei opened the door.
"Good morning, Lord Rei."
There stood Nina, a satisfied smile floating on a tired face.
"Yeah, good morning. You being here means you have business with me?"
"That's right. Orban-sama is calling for you."
Hearing that, Rei had no intention of refusing. For Orban to summon him in this situation meant it concerned the Dolan Workshop or Dailas... or, potentially, a discussion about the evidence obtained from the safe golem yesterday, or perhaps going to see Robel regarding that very matter. He could make that prediction easily enough.
"Got it. Then let's go."
"I brought breakfast. What will you do? Orban-sama said it would be fine to eat something light first."
"No, I should hurry to Orban right now. Besides, I can eat whenever I feel like it."
Being able to eat the food stored in his Misty Ring at any time was incredibly convenient for Rei. Nina looked at him enviously. For her as well, being able to eat whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, as much as she wanted must have been quite enviable.
"Well then, I'll be heading out for a bit. ...Ah, right. If the hideout is safe enough now, wouldn't it be fine for the people in this room to go outside and help out Fusetsu starting today?"
He directed the first half to those in the room, and the latter half to Nina. Hearing his words, Nina hesitated briefly... then nodded.
"Understood. More hands are always better. However, some of the tasks are quite demanding, you know?"
"These guys should be able to manage somehow, and if they can't, they'll ask their companions for help."
And so, thanks to Rei's words, they would be allowed to leave the room with some degree of freedom starting today.
Amid voices of joy, Rei left the room with Nina, conversing as they headed toward Orban's quarters.
"You seem pretty exhausted. Are you alright?"
"Yes. Various things have been demanding since last night. But I was able to spend a fulfilling time."
Nina told him this with a full smile, and there was no trace of falsehood in her words.