In the end, it was decided that Dailas would be kept under strict surveillance and left as he was for the time being.
Rei wanted to wrap up this whole incident as quickly as possible, but given the nature of the situation, he had no choice but to accept that it wouldn't be that simple.
After all, this incident would greatly affect the future of Egginis.
Among those who had purchased golems from the Dolan Workshop, anyone unwilling to tolerate golem cores made from human souls through necromancy would naturally demand a return, and refunds would inevitably follow.
They needed to think through how to handle that matter as well. But even setting that aside, having caused such a major disturbance meant they would have to report upward—to the country, in this case.
Once that happened, the country would naturally send investigators, and in the worst case, Egginis might cease to be an autonomous city and come under noble rule instead.
As for exactly what would happen and how, honestly, even Rei had no idea.
Still, considering the current situation, it would certainly not be the best outcome for the residents of Egginis.
Then again... perhaps that's not something I need to worry about.
From Rei's perspective, this incident was ultimately a problem for the people living in Egginis.
He had thrust himself deep into the mess, but that didn't mean he intended to involve himself in Egginis's future once the problem was resolved.
That the Dolan Workshop had been allowed to operate freely, and that Dailas—the one who created that situation—had been able to operate in the shadows, were Egginis's problems.
If the people in Egginis had been more vigilant, this might never have happened.
...Or perhaps, no matter what the residents did, they could never have stopped Dailas or the Dolan Workshop.
"Anyway, leave Dailas to us. To settle this disturbance, we'll put his existence to effective use. ...If we do that, we might just manage to avoid the worst-case scenario."
At Dwanda's words, Rei glanced at Orban and Robel.
Rei had come here strictly as a guard for Orban and the others. He was the one who had captured Dailas, but he intended to leave the aftermath to them.
At the very least, he had no intention whatsoever of dealing with Dailas himself.
"What do you think? I'm fine with leaving the decision to you on this one."
"Leaving it entirely to Dwanda would be problematic in various ways. Robel should be involved as well," Orban said.
"Y-yes, that's right. I-I can't just cause trouble for everyone," Robel agreed.
Orban wanted to avoid the perception that Dwanda was settling this matter alone, which would lead others to think he was Egginis's sole ruler.
Due to his timid personality, Robel tended to be underestimated.
That was precisely why, if they left all the cleanup to Dwanda in this situation, Robel's presence would almost certainly fade into the background—whether Dwanda intended it or not.
...Whether Robel himself understood Orban's thinking was questionable, though.
"Understood. I'll leave that to you. ...So, what should I do now? Now that we've captured Dailas, there won't be any more enemies attacking, right?"
"Who knows. Considering the current situation, I wouldn't be surprised if there were still others plotting something..."
Dwanda muttered as he looked down at the fallen Dailas.
Given that Dailas had pulled a stunt like this, the possibility of other enemies couldn't be denied.
"That said, I can't stay with you all forever. Besides... if word gets out that Dailas has been captured, the Dolan Workshop might make a move. It would be better to seize the Workshop as quickly as possible."
Dailas had been the figure behind the Dolan Workshop, but from what Rei had seen, it didn't seem like everyone there had been complicit.
...More precisely, perhaps there had been no problem at first, but after being treated as Egginis's finest workshop for so long, they may have grown arrogant.
The biggest reason Rei thought so was what he had heard from Ilunara.
Since Ilunara and his group had been in a disadvantaged position, they were inevitably more attuned to such things.
Even without that, once they learned Dailas had been captured, it wouldn't be strange for them to panic and act out of desperation.
That said, if they did something that reckless, they would ultimately be suppressed by force and that would be the end of it.
"Right. When considering who would be most shaken by this incident... or rather, who might go out of control, it would indeed be the Dolan Workshop. We should act before that happens."
Orban's words carried strong persuasive weight, precisely because he had been investigating the Dolan Workshop and Dailas.
"In that case, I should be the one to go to the Dolan Workshop."
Sensing that he might end up stuck watching Dailas by default, Rei stated that he should head to the Workshop himself.
In reality, if he went to the Dolan Workshop, golems would undoubtedly appear as enemies—golems made using human souls as material.
As for whether the adventurers and soldiers inside and outside this building could handle the Dolan Workshop's golems... while there were surely some who could manage to a degree, Egginis's adventurers were by no means exceptionally skilled.
Against ordinary golems, maybe. But facing Dolan Workshop golems, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Of course, even against such golems, if they fought with the assumption of taking heavy casualties, they could probably bring them down.
But naturally, if it came to that, the losses among the adventurers would be severe.
Considering that Egginis would undoubtedly face turmoil in the days ahead, the more soldiers to maintain public order and the more people available for emergency requests, the better.
"It might be best to have Rei go after all," Orban said, having weighed the attrition of adventurers and soldiers.
Robel and Dwanda apparently shared the same view, nodding with reluctant expressions.
"Seems like you're all on board... I'll leave some reserve combat power here in case Dailas breaks loose. Should I bring along the men standing by outside the building?"
"Y-yes, that's right. I-It would be a great help if you could," Robel said, likely thinking it would be unwise to further reduce the forces permitted inside this building.
But when Rei looked around at the people nearby after hearing Robel's words, several were silently asserting that they wanted to go along.
It was a chance to have their faces remembered by the people who ran Egginis—Robel, Dwanda, and the like—which could pay off handsomely down the line.
Or, for those who had been employed by the late Lusitania, with their employer dead, they needed to find a new one.
And for those who had been employed by Dailas, if they didn't establish here and now that they had nothing to do with him, they could ultimately be held accountable.
There were various such reasons... but there were also many who simply had no desire to remain in a place littered with the corpses of their comrades.
There was also the fear that they might have to fight Dailas, who had been enhanced by necromancy, depending on how things went.
"Yeah. It'd be better to bring along a few from inside. The people outside don't understand the situation. If I tried to take command under those circumstances, there'd definitely be some who'd react with hostility. We need someone who can explain things to them."
At Rei's words, several people nodded in understanding.
If someone's comrade attacked Rei, it went without saying that he wouldn't just stand there and take a beating.
He would fight back without question, and the other side would only get more agitated.
If that happened, the disturbance would escalate further.
To prevent that, someone needed to accompany Rei and explain what had happened inside the building.
"I'll handle the explaining. My name is reasonably well-known, so I don't think it'll suddenly escalate into a fight."
The one who spoke up was Mirusu, who was in a party with Lindy.
The others nodded, as if agreeing that Mirusu would carry sufficient weight.
I don't get the impression he has that much influence... but judging by the others' reactions, it seems certain.
Rei had his doubts, but decided that as long as it meant avoiding trouble, it was fine. Several others would be going along as well.
Specifically, those who had been employed by Dwanda and Dailas.
For Dailas's hired hands in particular, they naturally wanted to secure their own safety by any means, so their desperation was understandable.
Once the decision was made, they moved quickly.
"Then I'm off to the Dolan Workshop. For now, I'll leave investigations and such to the others. That means capturing everyone currently at the Dolan Workshop, including the alchemists, right?"
"Yes, please do. The Dolan Workshop still doesn't know what happened at the Holy Four Assembly. In other words, there should be many who've let their guard down."
The people at the Dolan Workshop knew that today's Holy Four Assembly had been convened by Dailas.
Given that, it wouldn't be surprising for them to assume Dailas was taking the lead and directing things at this Assembly.
No, in the first place... how many people inside the Dolan Workshop even know that Dailas is the one behind them? That's also questionable.
Dailas would have wanted to conceal his identity as much as possible.
The fact that Fusetsu had gone to considerable trouble to identify Dailas as the figure behind the Dolan Workshop made that abundantly clear.
...If anything, Fusetsu's people could grasp circumstantial evidence that Dailas was behind the Workshop, but they had never been able to find decisive proof.
If the Dolan Workshop's alchemists had known about Dailas, Fusetsu would have undoubtedly obtained information from them.
In that sense, those within the Workshop who knew about Dailas must have been truly few in number.
"In the Dolan Workshop, who was directly connected to you?"
Rei asked Dailas as a formality, but as expected, no answer came back.
Whether he was ignoring the question or unable to speak due to some reason—the effects of necromantic enhancement being the most likely—Dailas gave no response to Rei's words.
"Rei, we'll question him about that later. For now, head to the Dolan Workshop."
Dwanda said this after reading Rei's demeanor.
Orban and Robel also nodded in agreement with Dwanda's words.
Given the current situation, they must have felt it was necessary to secure the Dolan Workshop even a moment sooner.
Since it was uncertain how those connected to Dailas might react upon learning of his rampage, there was no question that they needed to move as quickly as possible.
"That said, the Dolan Workshop has bribed no small number of guards into serving as their subordinates. There should also be orders out to capture me. ...Though nothing like that happened before I entered this building."
The fact that he had been riding in the same carriage as Robel was probably the main reason they hadn't been able to make a move.
Rei understood that and was grateful, but when it came to protecting the Dolan Workshop... it would be unsurprising for guards to be stationed there as well.
"Defeating the guards can't be helped, but please don't kill them or inflict serious injuries."
For Dwanda, thinking about the future of Egginis, the more guards the better... that was surely why he made the request.
Rei, seeing no reason to create more trouble for himself here, simply nodded in agreement.