"So? Who are you exactly? You're inside the Dolan Workshop under these circumstances, so you're not going to tell me you're not with them, are you?"
Rei asked the woman he had caught.
Looking at her again, she was slightly older than Rei—around twenty years of age.
She seemed unsure how to answer, but apparently deciding that lying in this situation would be dangerous, she eventually gave an honest nod.
"Y-yes."
"Right. You were in the Dolan Workshop during all this, so that much is obvious. The real question is why you were the only one left behind."
"Huh? Well, even if you ask why... I work here, so..."
Hearing that, Rei could tell the woman truly knew nothing.
That said, just because he could guess didn't mean he could skip gathering information.
"I'll tell you straight—there's hardly anyone left in the Dolan Workshop. There might be others like you who stayed behind without knowing anything, but I'll ask just in case. Do you understand what kind of situation the Dolan Workshop is currently in?"
"Huh? Well... I don't really know. What on earth happened? Before I knew it, the building was badly damaged, and... well, someone like you suddenly came in."
"The damage inside is probably because they forced the golems to move through the building. The interior was reasonably spacious, so the golems could move around to some extent, but from the Workshop's perspective, they needed to relocate them as fast as possible."
Rei could infer this from the state of the conference room he had entered earlier.
It was speculation, but he felt it probably wasn't far off.
"Um... what exactly happened? Why is the Dolan Workshop like this? Before I knew it, Ilunara and the others were gone too..."
"Ilunara?"
Rei reacted to the name the moment it left her mouth.
Ilunara was a Non-Mainstream Faction alchemist of the Dolan Workshop—someone who knew the Workshop's dark secrets and was currently being sheltered at the Fusetsu hideout.
The woman reacted just as strongly to hearing Ilunara's name come from Rei.
"Huh? Could it be... you know Ilunara?"
"Yeah. I know him. I see. Are you a Non-Mainstream Faction alchemist too?"
"...Strictly speaking, it's a little different, but broadly speaking, that's correct."
Rei guessed that the reason it was "strictly a little different" probably explained why she hadn't been with Ilunara when Rei had previously infiltrated the Workshop.
But for now, moving the conversation forward took priority over probing that detail.
"I see. If you're Ilunara's ally, you might get better treatment than the others. Though that's only if you really are his ally."
Judging from her demeanor, he was fairly certain she was at least acquainted with Ilunara.
Even so, others would need to properly verify that rather than leaving it to Rei's judgment alone.
"Umm, so...?"
"Simply put, orders came from above to capture everyone currently in the Dolan Workshop."
"From above... you mean the top of the Dolan Workshop?"
"No. Robel and Dwanda."
"...Huh?"
As a resident of Egginis, the woman naturally knew the names of Robel and Dwanda.
She was startled to hear such names from Rei's mouth, and at the same time couldn't fathom why those important figures would order the capture of Dolan Workshop staff.
Seeing her reaction, Rei decided it was only natural given what little she knew, and proceeded to explain the full situation.
That the Dolan Workshop had been intentionally gathering bandits. That they had been collecting illegally enslaved people. That they had used them in necromancy rituals to create golem cores from human souls.
And that the Dolan Workshop was connected to Dailas.
He told her how Dailas had been scheming behind the scenes, how many had suffered as a result... and above all, how Lusitania, who had been attending the Holy Four Assembly, had been killed by Dailas. That was enough to deal a severe shock to the woman.
"Such... such things really happened? This isn't some kind of sick joke?"
"Of course. Look at the state of the Dolan Workshop right now. You can tell this isn't something anyone could pull off as a joke."
The Dolan Workshop was the workshop that produced the highest-performance golems in Egginis—in other words, the city's top earner.
For a workshop of that stature to be caught in a disturbance causing this much damage, there was no way it could be a prank or anything of the sort.
"Now then, you understand the situation for the time being. From the looks of it, you didn't know anything about the Workshop's dark side, but I'll ask anyway. If the alchemists escaped, they must have fled through somewhere they wouldn't be found—like an underground passage. Any ideas?"
"Even if you ask, I've never heard of anything like that..."
The woman shook her head as she spoke.
Rei wasn't disappointed to see it.
From their exchange so far, it was obvious this woman had no involvement with the Workshop's dark side. That was his read based on her relationship with Ilunara and her apparent fondness for him.
"Then... right. Not knowing any escape routes is fine, but are there any rooms set up for emergency evacuation?"
What Rei had in mind was a shelter.
The Dolan Workshop's golems used cores made from human souls, and they were undoubtedly high-performance. But precisely because they used human souls as material, the possibility of them going berserk couldn't be entirely ruled out.
If so, it wouldn't be strange for the Workshop to have a place prepared to flee to in case of a rampage.
And since Rei's group had attacked the Workshop, he figured there might be people who had taken refuge in such shelter rooms.
Given that these were people who had still been in the building at this stage, they might not know about the Workshop's dark side—just like the woman in front of him.
But still... there was a chance, however slim, that someone who knew about the dark side had been unable to escape the building for some reason.
Of course, that probability was low.
Even among the alchemists and other staff who understood the circumstances, they must have grasped just how heinous their actions were. If discovered, execution would come as no surprise—such were the deeds they had committed.
Given that, upon learning the Workshop was under attack, they should have tried to flee rather than hole up in a shelter room to wait it out.
There's also the possibility they might attack as a last resort... but if it comes to that, it just makes capturing them easier, so I've got no complaints.
From Rei's perspective, if the people he needed to capture came to him, he wasn't about to complain.
That said, even cornered, he didn't think they would do something quite that reckless.
"Oh! There are shelter rooms! Why didn't I think of that..."
The woman cried out in a panic upon hearing Rei's words.
Perhaps she had vaguely been aware of such rooms at first, but upon stepping into the corridor and seeing the damaged walls, floors, and ceilings in so many places, she had panicked and completely forgotten about them.
For Rei's part, it was precisely because the woman had made such a careless mistake that he had been able to obtain this information. In that sense, he could only be grateful for her blunder.
"Then first, guide me to those shelter rooms. ...Ah, don't worry. If the people there aren't involved in anything shady, the higher-ups will just question them and let them go."
At Rei's words, the woman looked visibly relieved.
She probably figured she had nothing to hide, so there was nothing to worry about. That very attitude was proof of her innocence.
"Understood. But there are several of them... what should we do?"
"More than one? That's a bit of a problem. ...Actually, maybe not."
If there was only one, Rei could just head there himself and that would be that. But if there were multiple rooms, going through them one by one might give someone the opening to escape.
That was what Rei thought—until he saw several adventurers emerge from the hole he had entered through, and a smile crossed his face.
If he didn't have enough hands on his own, he could use others.
Even if there were alchemists hiding, there probably weren't any golems with them. Bringing a golem as an escort would inevitably draw attention. Doing that while trying to hide would be nothing short of suicidal.
Of course, if it wasn't one of the massive golems Rei had fought outside, but rather one about the size of a human—or even smaller—then hiding might be considerably easier.
"Come here for a second! This woman is with the Dolan Workshop... ah, relax. She doesn't know anything about the dark side. She's just an ordinary employee."
The adventurers Rei called over initially reached for their weapons upon hearing the woman was a Dolan Workshop associate, but once told she was in the dark about the Workshop's secrets, they eased up.
...Even so, there was still a hint of severity in the way they looked at her—proof of just how well they understood the gravity of what the Workshop had done.
"Calm down. She really isn't involved in any of it. She also gave us important information. Apparently the Dolan Workshop has multiple shelter rooms for emergencies."
"If it's a workshop, that seems like it'd be a given."
One of the adventurers said that in response.
The difference in perspective between Rei, who had come from outside Egginis, and those who lived as adventurers in the city, was showing.
"Is that so? Anyway, apparently there are multiple shelter rooms. People like this woman who know nothing are probably taking refuge there, but there's also a chance that someone who couldn't escape the Workshop for some reason is still hiding inside. So I want you all to split up and check the shelter rooms she tells you about. Just don't use rough tactics on anyone who's clueless like her or anyone who follows instructions obediently."
The flip side of that was clear—those who resisted or tried to seize an opening to escape could be handled roughly.
The adventurers seemed to understand the intent behind Rei's words and nodded without protest.
"For that reason, tell these men where the shelter rooms are too. I'll be moving with you, so you don't need to explain where we're going."
"Understood. Umm, the first one is..."
The woman complied with Rei's instructions and began describing the shelter rooms.
What was fortunate for Rei and his group was that the shelter rooms weren't hidden rooms—they were evacuation rooms meant for immediate use in an emergency, so they weren't concealed.
They might have been placed in out-of-the-way or inconspicuous locations, but if you knew they were there, you could find them right away.
If they had been built as hidden rooms, then in an emergency—like the current situation—there was a chance no one would be able to find them at all.
Thinking of it that way, it was only natural that the shelter rooms were in easily discoverable locations, and that the adventurers, once told where they were, would head straight there.
"Got it. We'll split up and head to the shelter rooms. ...Rei, like you said earlier, if they resist or don't follow instructions, things might get a little rough. That's fine, right?"
"Yeah. The ones involved in the dark side are bad news. Given that, treating anyone who tries to run accordingly is fine. However..."
Rei paused and looked at the woman.
She turned a somewhat pleading gaze toward him.
For her, the Dolan Workshop had people who had looked after her, people she considered friends. That was why she didn't want them treated roughly if it could be helped.
But at the same time, having heard from Rei what the Workshop had done behind the scenes, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
Seeing the conflict on her face, Rei let out a small sigh before speaking.
"Treat anyone who doesn't resist normally."
So he said.