The man who introduced himself as Mirusu, Lindy's party member.
Looking at his face, Rei recalled—that's right, now that he thought about it.
When he had first come to Egginis and mentioned Golias's name at the Guild, Lindy had reacted immediately. And among the companions with her at the time, this man had been there too.
"Come to think of it, you were with Lindy as one of her companions. Sorry—a lot's happened since then."
"Don't worry about it. Like I said, we only knew each other well enough to recognize faces. More importantly, want to talk for a bit? Standing around here draws a bit too much attention."
At Mirusu's words, Rei surveyed his surroundings.
He noticed that many of the people in the room were watching him with a range of emotions.
Setting aside the hostile glares from those who appeared to be Dailas's bodyguards, there were the bodyguards of the other two—one Rei knew was named Dwanda, though the other's name was unknown to him.
Since Rei alone served as bodyguard for both Robel and Orban, Mirusu must undoubtedly be here as a bodyguard for one of those three as well.
Understanding that much, the question was which of the remaining three Mirusu served.
He doesn't seem to harbor any hostility toward me. Considering Lindy, it'd have to be one of the two besides Dailas.
With that thought, Rei nodded at Mirusu's suggestion.
"Alright. Let's head over there, then."
Rei gestured toward a wall where fewer people had gathered, and Mirusu nodded without objection.
Moving toward the wall, most of the eyes followed them no longer.
...Though the glares from Dailas's bodyguards remained fixed.
"So, let me ask this first. Whose bodyguard are you, Mirusu?"
"Lusitania-san."
An unfamiliar name left Mirusu's mouth, but Rei could easily surmise that this was the name of the final participant in the Holy Four Assembly.
"Lusitania, huh. And what's this person Lusitania's relationship with Robel?"
"You can ask, but I was only hired on as a temporary bodyguard, so I don't know the details. More importantly—can I ask how Lindy is doing? She disappeared a while back. Is it safe to assume she's been with you?"
"Yeah. She's with me."
Rei almost mentioned that she was currently being sheltered at the Fusetsu hideout, but even though Mirusu was Lindy's companion, right now he was serving as bodyguard to someone named Lusitania.
Rei had no idea what kind of position Lusitania held.
Given that, he couldn't carelessly reveal where Lindy was currently staying.
Then again, if he asked who I'd been with, it wouldn't be hard for him to guess where Lindy is.
Considering that Rei had been seen with Orban, who led Fusetsu, that was only natural.
If that was the case, would it really hurt to say where Lindy was? The thought crossed his mind, but even so—here as Robel and Orban's bodyguard—he couldn't speak of it.
Mirusu seemed to understand that Rei couldn't talk about such things even if he wanted to. He nodded readily and spoke.
"I see. As long as Lindy's safe, that's all that matters."
From his relieved demeanor, it was clear that Mirusu had been genuinely worried about Lindy.
Being in the same party, he had probably been anxious when she went missing.
Or was he worried about Lindy as a man? I can't really tell on that front, but it's certainly a possibility.
Lindy had refined features and by no means a bad personality. She also looked out for her companions, so it wouldn't be strange for someone to fall for her as a romantic interest...
In that case, he's definitely headed for heartbreak.
To Rei, that was close to a certainty. After all, Lindy had fallen in love with a man named Golias, who had grown up in the same orphanage, and even now that he was missing, she was desperately searching for him.
For her to be that devoted to a single man, even if Mirusu was aware of Lindy as a woman, the chances of that love being reciprocated were virtually nonexistent.
"Right now, Lindy is with Anne—a woman who works at the orphanage where Lindy grew up—and a child from that orphanage. So there's no real need to worry."
"The orphanage's...? I see. I don't know how that came about, but I'm relieved."
"Once this business is settled, I imagine Lindy will rejoin your party. ...Though that's only if things turn out for the best for her."
"...I see."
If things ended with the worst possible outcome for Lindy, it would likely be difficult for her to stay in Egginis.
She probably wanted to remain here herself, given that Golias might still return.
It was precisely because of that uncertainty that, depending on how the Holy Four Assembly went, everything was up in the air.
"What kind of person is this Lusitania who hired you? Are they cooperating with Dailas?"
"Since we gathered in response to Dailas-san's call, I'd assume so. ...But what exactly happened that made you raid Dailas-san's mansion?"
"That... was done for a reason, naturally."
Rei had considered saying it was to obtain evidence of Dailas's connection to the Dolan Workshop, but a fair number of people were gathered in this room.
Judging it unwise to discuss the reason for the raid here, Rei deflected the conversation.
His judgment proved correct—several people in the room felt disappointed, though they kept it from their faces.
"I'd like to hear that reason."
"It's not something to discuss here."
"Huh, is that right? I'd like to hear about it myself."
The one who cut into Rei and Mirusu's conversation was one of the adventurers hired as Dwanda's bodyguard.
Like Lusitania, Dwanda had likely been drawn into the turmoil without fully knowing the circumstances.
For the adventurer employed by Dwanda, wanting to ensure his employer avoided the worst possible outcome was only natural.
But that didn't mean Rei could simply comply.
"I can't say I don't understand wanting to know. But even so, it's not something I can discuss. If you absolutely must know, why don't you ask the others who are familiar with the situation?"
He hadn't named anyone specifically, but those in the room could easily imagine who "others familiar with the situation" referred to.
Precisely because they could imagine it, they sensed trouble brewing... and as if to confirm that, one of Dailas's bodyguards who had apparently overheard spoke up.
"Huh? Just who are these 'others' you're talking about? I'd like you to spell that out clearly."
Among those employed by Dailas—or rather, his subordinates—many clearly had the impression that this whole affair was Fusetsu and Rei running wild.
Those ignorant of the circumstances felt that way especially. And for those who did know and were on Dailas's side, if Dailas went down, they'd be dragged down with him.
Given that, doing nothing was not an option.
For Dailas's subordinates, the ideal outcome would be to cause a commotion here and, exploiting the confusion, somehow dispose of the evidence Orban held—and kill Robel while they were at it.
That would be the best possible result, but achieving it so easily was another matter entirely.
First and foremost, they'd have to deal with Rei.
If it came to a fight, they would lose. That much was certain.
In other words, they'd have to manage it without fighting—but causing chaos inside the building without engaging in combat was difficult. Impossible, even.
"Even if I don't say it, I think those who know will know. ...Look, the guy right next to you seems to know."
"What?"
At Rei's sudden words, the man reflexively glanced at his companion beside him.
The man who suddenly found the gaze turned on him showed visible agitation.
Huh? Did I hit the mark?
What Rei had said was, in truth, partly a bluff.
He'd figured that if he could rattle those among Dailas's subordinates who knew nothing, that would be good enough... but Rei's prediction turned out to be spectacularly on target.
In this case, the unfortunate one was the man used as the lever for Rei's bluff.
Flustered, he snapped at the man staring at him.
"Wh-what are you even thinking? There's no way I'd know anything like that!? You're falling for his bluff, man!"
"Is that so? For someone who doesn't know, you look awfully shaken."
"Tch!? Just shut up!"
The man shouted indignantly at Rei's words.
Such a demeanor only further emphasized the man's suspiciousness... though he himself seemed completely oblivious to that fact.
"Hey. Mind telling us a few things?"
Another of Dailas's subordinates called out to the agitated man.
Directed similar looks from several others, the man hastily glanced around at his own companions nearby... but they quietly averted their eyes, not wanting to get dragged in.
Abandoned by his allies, the man scrambled to figure out how to talk his way out with those gathering around him.
Watching Dailas's subordinates in such disarray, Rei felt sincerely relieved that, for the time being, he'd avoided being dragged into the mess himself.
"Isn't that a bit much?"
Mirusu looked at Rei with exasperation, but as far as Rei was concerned, having Dailas's subordinates fight among themselves was preferable to being harassed himself—it meant fewer enemies to deal with.
"Is it? Given the current situation, I'd say this was the top priority. ...Or would you have preferred I went on a rampage here?"
"Well..."
Put that way, Mirusu couldn't easily object.
For Mirusu as well, having Rei go on a rampage here was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
This was a reasonably spacious room, but even so, if Rei were to go on a rampage in a place like this, the collateral damage would be undeniably severe.
Given that, it was unquestionable that Dailas's subordinates fighting among themselves would cause less harm to those nearby than Rei losing control.
That opinion wasn't limited to Mirusu—the others who had been watching Rei felt the same, which was why no one raised any objection to his behavior.
Naturally, there were some who wouldn't have minded seeing Rei go on a rampage, but none would say so out loud.
Voicing something like that would only make them seem oblivious to the atmosphere.
"Well, that takes care of the nuisance, at least. ...Though honestly, even in that situation, if they'd come at me instead of squabbling among themselves, I was prepared to respond in kind."
"Please... don't."
Mirusu spoke with genuine feeling, and several others who overheard nodded in agreement.
"Relax. I don't go out of my way to start trouble of my own accord."
Rei hadn't been in Egginis all that long.
Considering everything that had happened during that time, who on earth could possibly believe those words?
In fact, most of those who heard Rei felt exactly that—disbelief—and some even felt like telling him to stop with the jokes.
"At any rate, it's a good thing you didn't go on a rampage. So, what now? You've got free time—anything you'd like to do?"
"Don't just spring that on me out of nowhere."
Even if told to think of something he wanted to do, nothing came to mind immediately.
He considered eating some of the food from his Misty Ring, but reconsidered—better to refrain in a place like this.
Eating food here would only give those already resentful of Rei a pretext to attack him.
But then, what was he supposed to do to kill time?
The others were chatting with people employed by the same client, but Rei was the only one here as a bodyguard for Robel and Orban.
With no other choice, he opened the Monster Encyclopedia and read to pass the time.