The place they arrived at, guided by Maruka and Nicky, was clearly larger than even the buildings destroyed by the Necro Golem.
That said, this was only natural.
The building destroyed by the Necro Golem had been merely a structure prepared for holding the Holy Four Assembly.
Compared to that, this building was where many officials worked to operate the city of Egginis—a government office, so to speak.
Given that, its size was only to be expected.
However, a large number of people were currently gathered in and around the building.
"People who were on the main street and evacuated here?"
"Yes. It seems they had nowhere else to go, so they came here. There are others who suffered from the Necro Golem's attack as well."
Maruka offered this explanation upon hearing Rei's murmur.
Her words reminded Rei of the purple Breath that had been fired several times while he was luring the Necro Golem.
The tentacle attacks had been extremely troublesome as well, but even so, they had a fixed range.
The purple Breath, by comparison, had a considerably longer reach... and naturally, a fair number of buildings had suffered damage as a result.
Those were likely the people who had gathered here.
(Naturally, it wasn't just the injured—there must have been deaths as well.)
Thinking that made him feel as though he had done something wrong, but even so, Rei concluded that he had no need to hold himself responsible for this matter.
Of course, if someone who had actually suffered damage heard Rei's thoughts, they might well want to scream, "Don't mess with me!"
But fundamentally, without Rei, the Necro Golem would likely have inflicted far greater—perhaps even catastrophic—damage upon Egginis.
Rei had minimized that damage as much as possible.
(That said, being told not to feel anything about it is still asking too much.)
Tearing his gaze away from the gathered crowd, he noticed that among those assembled in front of the building, some were conversing with each other, seemingly worked up about something.
What's this about? Rei redirected his attention and saw that well-dressed individuals, researchers, and what appeared to be alchemists had clustered together.
"That group over there? From the looks of it, they aren't people who evacuated here."
"Those are the folks who lent out their golems at the administration's request. Seems like they're arguing over how much their golems contributed to the effort."
"Ah, right. Something like that did come up."
At Nicky's words, Rei recalled what Robel and Dwanda had told him about asking workshops and nobles who owned golems to lend them out.
Indeed, when Rei had headed for the main street to lure the Necro Golem out of Egginis, there had been golems helping evacuate those who had still remained behind, as well as golems trying to hold the Necro Golem back even a little.
...Though the golems that had tried to stop the Necro Golem's advance had ultimately been absorbed.
"I imagine quite a few golems took heavy damage, but they seem remarkably energetic considering."
"The ones that were destroyed or rendered unusable are apparently going to be compensated by Egginis. Plus, a fair number of people were saved by the golems, and being thanked by those people apparently meant a lot to them."
"I see. So it's a matter of honor, essentially. And if their golems are being replaced on top of that, there's no reason for them to feel unhappy."
Nicky flashed an ambiguous smile at Rei's words.
From Nicky's perspective, what Rei had said was the truth, and he likely judged it better not to confirm it too readily.
Rei, who could somewhat understand Nicky's feelings, decided it would be best not to press the matter further for now...
"Se-Seto! Then that means you're Rei, and... the Necro Golem's been defeated, right!?"
Rei aside, Seto naturally drew everyone's attention, and perhaps emboldened by the earlier cheering, someone quickly spotted the pair and broke into a delighted grin.
Among the evacuees as well, many were overjoyed that the creature responsible for their ordeal had been defeated.
That said, naturally not everyone was rejoicing. Some directed resentful glares toward Rei.
Even as various gazes followed him, Rei made his way toward the building, but...
"Wouldn't it be problematic having Seto outside in this situation?"
The area in front of the building was visibly packed with all manner of people.
If Seto stayed there, trouble would almost certainly erupt and complicate things.
"You have a point. However, we can hardly bring Seto inside the building, can we?"
Hearing Maruka's words, Rei had no choice but to agree.
The building was fairly spacious, and Seto could probably fit inside.
But given that so many people were already packed within, Seto's entry would cause a considerable commotion.
If that was the case, bringing Seto inside simply wasn't an option.
"In that case... Seto, I have business inside. Go walk around the city for a bit. You could even help the people cleaning up the debris—something like that."
"Gruu? ...Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Seto seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then quickly nodded as if to say, "Understood!"
For Seto, wandering the city sounded far more enjoyable than standing around here.
With that settled, Seto purred happily and departed.
"Right, that should settle things with Seto for now. Let's head inside."
"Yes. ...Though I should warn you, letting Seto roam freely might cause its own problems."
Rei couldn't entirely dismiss Maruka's concern, but given the current situation, it seemed to him that such worries could take a back seat.
"The news that we defeated the Necro Golem has spread quite far. Given that, I can't imagine there are many people here bold enough to mess with Seto."
Seto had helped defeat the Necro Golem—something they themselves had been powerless against.
Rei didn't think capturing Seto, let alone attempting to kill him, would be easily accomplished.
If anyone tried such a thing recklessly, Seto would counterattack.
...Even before that, whether the residents of Egginis who believed they owed their lives to Seto would tolerate such behavior was another question entirely.
"I don't entirely disagree. But it remains a fact that people died in this incident. Given that, there will inevitably be those who harbor resentment—asking why it had to be their family member, their friend, their lover... The possibility that such people might act recklessly out of despair cannot be dismissed."
"I imagine that could happen, but if we worried about every possibility, we wouldn't be able to do anything."
Seeing Rei's response, Maruka apparently judged that pressing the matter further would be pointless.
Though she looked reluctant, she conceded and let Seto roam the city.
Of course, it wasn't as though Maruka had any particular authority in this matter.
Even if she had withheld permission, if Rei insisted, she couldn't have stopped him—and more importantly, Seto had already moved off and was no longer in front of them.
"With that settled, let's go inside. I need to report to Robel and the others as soon as possible."
"Yes, let's. ...Though I suspect you'll witness a rather unsightly scene once we're inside."
"...An unsightly scene?"
"I'd rather not explain. You should see it with your own eyes."
"Yeah, that's right. It's... a bit much."
Nicky murmured in agreement with Maruka.
Watching their reactions, Rei felt a faint sense of foreboding, but decided that reporting the Necro Golem situation took priority. He followed Maruka and the others through the entrance. Then—
"Enough! You're useless! Bring me the Dolan Workshop golem I was supposed to purchase! I won't accept any other!"
The moment the door opened, that angry shout rang out, and Rei understood exactly what Maruka had meant.
"As I've already explained, the amount you paid toward purchasing a Dolan Workshop golem will be reimbursed by Egginis at a later date..."
"Don't give me that! You think reimbursing me is enough?!"
The shout echoed through the hall, but the official it was directed at showed no sign of cowering.
That, in turn, only seemed to infuriate the shouter further.
Purchasing a Dolan Workshop golem required considerable wealth.
The man shouting at the official was clearly someone who possessed at least that level of assets—and was accordingly proud.
Or perhaps he simply believed that things should always go his way.
Whatever the reason, the sight of an official who didn't so much as flinch at his outstrike grated on him.
...That said, the official had his own side of the story.
Robel and Dwanda had already promised to refund the amounts paid for Dolan Workshop golems, yet those unable to accept this were not merely one or two in number.
From their perspective, the Dolan Workshop golem they had finally managed to secure was being rendered unpurchasable with no room for argument.
Others—those who had completed their purchases before this matter came to light—already had their Dolan Workshop golems in hand.
It was only natural for them to feel aggrieved, wondering why they alone were denied.
For the officials, who had dealt with such people over and over again, handling them had become almost routine.
But since those doing the shouting were valued customers of Egginis, the officials couldn't simply brush them off.
Watching these exchanges, Rei felt caught in an uncomfortable middle ground.
Having the golem they had been looking forward to purchasing suddenly taken away—he could understand the anger.
If Rei had wanted some Magic Item, fought through intense competition to win the right to buy it, only to be told "actually, you can't purchase it"—how would he feel?
Looking at it that way, he could somewhat grasp the feelings of the one shouting.
...Moreover, Rei and his group had already destroyed every last Dolan Workshop golem.
He had stowed the remains in his Misty Ring, but even if he handed them over, the man wouldn't be satisfied.
And handing over golem cores made from human souls was simply out of the question.
Even if someone demanded the remains and Rei complied... if that person somehow managed to repair the golem, the core being an ordinary one meant its performance would never stand out.
The Dolan Workshop golems' exceptional performance stemmed precisely from using cores made with human souls as material—that much was obvious.
"Rei."
As he stood there unsure of what to do, Maruka called his name.
Her attitude made it clear: there was no point in lingering here.
In truth, if Rei announced right now that he was the one who had destroyed all the Dolan Workshop golems, the hostility of everyone currently voicing their dissatisfaction would turn squarely on him.
Of course, whether they would then rashly attack him was a separate matter.
Even so, given that all manner of complications would surely arise down the line, it was better for Rei not to interject here.
Rei wavered briefly at Maruka's prompting, but decided that reporting to Robel and the others should take priority, and followed Maruka as she pressed ahead.
"Sorry about that, missus."
"Don't worry about it. If I'd spoken up in that situation, it would have only made things worse. And in an already chaotic scene like this, who knows what that would have led to."
While saying this to Nicky, Rei took in his surroundings.
Beyond the man shouting earlier, there were numerous others present, and the officials were rushing about without a moment's rest.
It reminded him of the Guild in Gilm during the Expansion Construction, when everyone had been swamped with paperwork.
(Wow... so this is what it's come to...)
Rei could now appreciate just how overwhelming the situation had become.
Of course, he had expected things to be busy, but even so, this was somewhat beyond what he had anticipated... or perhaps, if he had managed to reduce the damage just a little more, it might not have come to this. That was the thought that crossed his mind.