Rei and Nina arrived at Orban's room.
As always, there were guards stationed in front of the door, but they were different from the ones Rei had faced when he fought the safe golem the day before.
Whether they were tired from yesterday's incident or simply on a shift change—Rei couldn't be sure.
They showed no hostility toward him, however, and bowed their heads to him and Nina without hesitation.
And so Rei and Nina were ushered into Orban's room, but...
"Whoa..."
The words slipped from Rei's mouth almost involuntarily the moment he saw Orban's face.
It was only natural. Orban was usually brimming with motivation, but the man standing before Rei now was clearly exhausted to the bone.
"Have you not slept at all since yesterday?"
"It's not that I haven't slept. I have slept a little. Truly just a little, though."
Hearing Orban's words, Rei recalled the term "short sleeper."
It was a feature he had seen on a TV program back in Japan. Rather than sleeping all at once for six, seven, or eight hours, it involved taking short bursts of sleep—ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes—snatched between the intervals of daily life.
The program had claimed it was good for one's health, but to Rei at the time, it hadn't seemed that way at all.
In fact, looking at Orban's condition now, that much was obvious.
(No, maybe he's just not used to it because he only started taking multiple short naps today? If he did this every day, then maybe... no, that's still a bit much.)
Judging from Orban's state, Rei concluded that pulling off such a thing was simply impossible.
"Wouldn't getting proper sleep ultimately lead to better results?"
"I wonder. It would be nice if that were the case. But given the current situation, it's also a fact that I can't afford to do that. Once this matter is resolved, I'll sleep properly too, so don't worry."
Even being told that, Rei was unsure whether he should actually feel relieved.
That said, it was also true that whatever more Rei said here, Orban probably wouldn't listen.
From Rei's perspective, he concluded that for now, he had no choice but to let Orban do as he pleased.
"Understood. I'll trust your word for now. But once this is over, make sure you actually rest properly. ...So, the fact that you called for me means we're going to see Robel? We've already gathered enough evidence on Dailas, right?"
"Yeah. Enough, or rather, more than enough. Just reading the documents we recovered from the safe golem yesterday made that clear."
Orban spoke with deep conviction.
Rei didn't know exactly what was written in those documents.
But even from the brief glance he had caught yesterday, Orban had said that this evidence was undoubtedly of great significance.
Considering that, Orban's words were likely no exaggeration.
"I see. Does that mean we're heading there now?"
"It does. The sooner we act on this matter, the better. If we delay here, Dailas will undoubtedly make his move."
"Probably. I think so too."
"For that reason, today is bound to be busy. ...So, Rei, would you act alongside me as my bodyguard?"
"Considering the jewels you gave me last night, I don't mind doing that much. But if it's a bodyguard you want, wouldn't Fusetsu's assassins do the job just as well instead of me?"
"No good. Since it's a bodyguard, I need someone who can boldly show their face. Assassins fundamentally operate by killing without letting the target see them. ...Well, with the Blood Blade incident and yesterday's incident, it's not to say they can't fight head-on. However, in terms of showcasing one's power, someone like you who makes it obvious at a glance is better suited for guarding."
"Obvious at a glance, huh. ...I'm happy you think so, but do you really think it's that obvious?"
Rei had considerable confidence in his own abilities, but at the same time, he understood full well that his appearance was strongly at odds with those abilities—an element that invited underestimation.
If it were a straightforward subjugation request where he could just mercilessly cut down his opponents, that would be one thing, but as a bodyguard... depending on the situation, it wouldn't be strange for someone to underestimate Rei based on his appearance alone.
If Rei revealed his identity, or did something like being seen with Seto, that might be a different story.
"Rest assured. The bodyguards the people we're meeting today are bringing should have the eye to discern an opponent's true strength. But... well, let's put it this way. If anyone fails to grasp your strength and picks a fight with you, you're free to deal with them however you like."
"When you go that far, I can't exactly refuse. I was planning to accept anyway. ...So, specifically, what kind of people are we meeting today? You said we'd meet Robel, but I can't imagine his guards giving me any trouble."
Robel and Orban were on friendly terms.
Given that, it was fundamentally unlikely that Robel's guards would harass Rei.
...In reality, he couldn't say with absolute certainty that it would never happen, but there was no doubt the probability was low.
For starters, if they were only meeting Robel, there would be no need to hire Rei as a bodyguard.
"First I'll meet with Robel, and then we'll immediately summon the people who run Egginis. That's when we'll need you as a bodyguard."
"Summoning the people who run Egginis—does that mean Dailas will be coming too?"
"He probably will. Denouncing Dailas is the whole point, after all."
"If he knows that, I'd think he simply wouldn't show up."
Only Rei and Orban had been conversing, but at that exact moment, Nina interjected.
"No, Lord Rei. Dailas will most likely show his face."
Nina spoke as if she had some conviction, and Rei shot her a questioning glance that asked, Is that so?
"Even knowing he'll lose if he comes, he'll still show up?"
"Yes, definitely. After all, if he doesn't show up here, he won't know what kind of treatment he'll receive. In that case, he needs to appear at the meeting and make absolutely sure of what will become of him."
"...I see. In that sense, he has no choice but to come. That said, considering yesterday's incident, he might cause an explosion in the middle of the meeting if things get desperate."
If they held the meeting under these current conditions and Dailas judged that he was finished—
There was a possibility he would try to go for a desperate reversal.
(Ah, so that's why I'm joining as a bodyguard.)
With himself—who bore the alias of Crimson—present, they could react instantly if Dailas tried to make a move.
Of course, that was only if Rei... or more precisely, Orban, whom Rei was guarding, was participating in that meeting.
"Will Orban be able to attend this meeting? Otherwise, I won't be in a position to intervene, will I?"
"Don't worry. I'm the one holding the documentary evidence. Given that, it's impossible for me not to attend the meeting. Robel will take that into consideration as well."
"Understood. Then I have no objections. So, what do we do now? Are we heading to Robel's mansion already?"
"If you have no issues with it, that's the plan. This matter is going to be serious in a lot of ways, so I want you to be properly prepared."
Rei shot Orban a look of exasperation at those words.
If Orban was going to say that, then Orban himself was the one who had only been getting short bursts of sleep and was undoubtedly exhausted.
It wasn't as though Rei didn't think it questionable to head to Robel's mansion in that state and then attend the meeting.
From Rei's perspective, since they were going to settle things with the enemy, it was only natural for him to want Orban to be in perfect condition.
"What about Nina?"
"I'll come along as well. Though I imagine I'll be acting separately from you, Lord Rei."
Orban was the man who led Fusetsu and had obtained the evidence of Dailas's misdeeds.
Nina, while a Fusetsu executive, was ultimately just that and nothing more.
Because of that, if Nina tried to attend the meeting with Robel and the others here, it would undoubtedly be a problem.
"Besides, I have my own things I need to take care of."
Nina's expression carried the strong resolve of someone determined to do what she had to do.
"Sorry, but let me sleep until we arrive at Robel's mansion."
"I don't mind. If your head isn't thinking clearly, you'll be in trouble when the critical moment comes."
"My apologies."
Saying that, Orban fell asleep almost instantly.
"He must have been really exhausted."
"Yes. The evidence Lord Rei obtained... um, it seems there were some rather gruesome items."
Nina, as the negotiator, must have also seen the evidence of Dailas's misdeeds.
Irritation was strongly evident on her face.
"His public facade as a good person aside, the fact that he was doing so many different things behind the scenes... honestly, I didn't expect it. No, given that his name came up as a suspicious figure during the investigation, it's perhaps only natural that he's suspicious, but..."
"That's a bit intriguing. Dailas's public face was perfect, wasn't it? So why did you start thinking he was suspicious?"
"There are various reasons for that."
Nina said that and deflected the question.
Even if Rei pressed further, she probably wouldn't say anything.
Judging so, Rei changed the subject.
"I knew Orban was busy, but why were you busy, Nina?"
"The negotiations for returning the captives from the surprise attack the other day."
"...In other words, ransom?"
"You could say that."
She nodded readily, showing no concern whatsoever for Rei's words.
(Well, it's a conversation about an underworld organization, so something like that is only natural, I suppose.)
If this were a surface organization, they would probably have to go through much more troublesome procedures before returning captives.
That was likely the advantage of being an underground organization—things proceeded more smoothly.
"So how much did—no, I suppose I shouldn't ask about that either."
"Oh my, I think it would be fine for Lord Rei to know about that much. Let's just say... it was higher than selling them as slaves."
"That makes sense."
If selling them as slaves would fetch a higher price, there would be no need to go through the trouble of negotiating a ransom with an enemy organization—they could just sell them to a slave trader.
Doing so would reduce the enemy organization's combat power.
That should ultimately translate into profit for Fusetsu.
"Besides, even though I say ransom, it isn't always money—it can be Magic Items, territory, or information... things like that. Looking at it that way, Fusetsu's revenue this time was substantial thanks to Lord Rei. ...We did take considerable losses, though."
As a result of the surprise attack, there were surely those within Fusetsu who had died.
Even if they hadn't died, there must have been many whose hands or legs were no longer usable.
"By the way, did you handle all those negotiations yourself, Nina?"
"No, of course not. I couldn't possibly do something like that. What I handled was strictly the negotiations with several major assassin guilds. I left the rest to my subordinates. ...If I had done everything myself, I wouldn't have had the leisure to ride in a carriage with you like this, Lord Rei."
"Was it that demanding?"
"Yes. Negotiations are war. ...There's no doubt that we, the Losers, held an overwhelming advantage, but that said, if we acted too high-handedly, there was a very real possibility that the other side would resort to force, accepting their losses..."
"Given that they're assassin guilds, it would get pretty troublesome if it came to that."
Rei conversed with Nina like that as the carriage proceeded... and before long, they arrived at Robel's mansion, which looked familiar to Rei.
"Orban, we've arrived. Time to wake up."
When he lightly shook Orban's body, Orban immediately opened his eyes.
"Hm? Oh, my apologies. It seems I slept more soundly than I expected."
Orban's face still showed a trace of fatigue, but compared to before he had slept, his complexion was considerably better.
He hadn't even been asleep for an hour, yet it was a complexion from which one could safely judge that at least some of the fatigue had been lifted from Orban's body.
"Judging by how you look, you seem a lot better than before you slept."
"Do you think so? Well, that doesn't really matter, but... anyway... it's finally time for the real thing."
In response to Rei's words, Orban floated a smile brimming with determination.