The conversation between Rei, Robel, and Orban did not last long.
Robel still had more he wanted to discuss with Rei, but given the current situation, there was no time to spare for a lengthy conversation.
With numerous other tasks demanding attention, it was only natural that he needed to prioritize handling those instead.
Having heard the essentials, there was no room for idle chatter.
"So, how did it go? It seems the conversation ended quite quickly."
Seeing Rei exit the room, Maruka asked him this.
For Maruka, the conversation ending quickly was likely something she had fully anticipated.
That was probably why she had stayed right outside the room even after Rei went inside.
Nicky's expression didn't particularly change, but the fact that he had waited here together with Maruka spoke for itself.
"The report is done for now. After that, once Robel and the others deal with the Necro Golem's remains and officially declare the incident fully resolved, there should be no problem."
The news that the Necro Golem had been defeated by Rei and Seto had already spread quite widely.
That was a testament to just how great a threat the Necro Golem had been to the residents of Egginis.
Rei understood that as well, but to officially announce the Necro Golem's subjugation as complete, proper evidence was still needed.
(Though given what happened, I doubt anything resembling Necro Golem wreckage is left.)
Rei had used magic—and considerable magic at that—to defeat the Necro Golem.
What kind of remains could possibly be left in that place, which was still a Scorching Hell even now?
It was only natural for Rei to wonder.
"So, the report is done, yes? What will you do now?"
"I'm heading to the Fusetsu hideout."
What Rei was glad about in coming to this government office was that he had been able to learn about Golias.
Thanks to that, Rei—who had been searching for Golias at Lindy's request—had finally found his location.
This was a significant gain for Rei.
(Lindy said Golias's disappearance was connected to the Dolan Workshop, and she was spot on. An adventurer's intuition... no, a woman's intuition, perhaps.)
Rei knew that Lindy was desperately searching for Golias, but just like with Anne and the others who had been made into illegal slaves, Golias had not been among those held captive there.
Thinking about it that way, even if Golias had gone missing, it would have been for a different reason... though he hadn't been able to say it to Lindy. Perhaps he had died on a failed quest, or maybe he had found a lover in another city and gone there.
Rei had thought those possibilities were far more likely, but apparently his predictions had been off the mark.
As a result, Golias was found in an emaciated state, but considering he had been imprisoned by the Dolan Workshop, there was no doubt he was fortunate just to be alive.
Considering how many lives the Dolan Workshop had taken, thinking so was only natural.
At any rate, Orban and Robel did not yet seem to know the detailed circumstances, so Rei expected that by returning to the Fusetsu hideout, he could gather at least some information about all that.
"Hmm, the Fusetsu hideout is in the Slum District, was it not?"
"You can't go."
Before Maruka could say anything, Nicky cut in like a warning.
As Maruka's guard, Nicky knew her personality reasonably well.
That was exactly why he could immediately understand what Maruka was about to say in this situation.
"Mrrh, I have not said anything yet."
"Knowing you, my lady, I figured you'd say something like you want to go to the Slum District, so I got ahead of you. ...If I'm wrong, I apologize."
At Nicky's words, Maruka fell silent.
For Nicky, being here as Maruka's guard meant he could not let her go somewhere dangerous.
If Maruka were to insist on going to the Slum District under these circumstances, what would happen?
The Slum District was an extremely dangerous place to begin with.
If she were to go to such a place, Maruka would without a doubt get caught up in trouble.
And if Maruka got caught up in trouble, her guard Nicky would naturally be caught up in that same trouble as well.
What's more, Egginis was currently in a situation that was far from normal due to the Necro Golem incident.
Such a situation would naturally affect the Slum District as well... and it would not be strange for it to be even more dangerous than usual.
...In reality, with Rei and Seto together, very few people in the current Egginis Slum District would dare to lay a hand on them.
After all, Rei was a high-rank alias-holding adventurer, and he held the position of a guest of Fusetsu... the largest assassin guild in Egginis.
In such a situation, laying a hand on Rei would be tantamount to smearing mud on Fusetsu's face.
Under normal circumstances, there might be some organizations that would try to pick a fight, but the assassin guilds hostile to Fusetsu had suffered heavy casualties in the recent string of disturbances.
Given that, there were very few who would try to meddle with Fusetsu now.
Or rather, if there were someone who knew nothing about the current state of Egginis's underworld, they might try to pick a fight.
"So, does that mean Maruka and Nicky aren't coming to the Slum District?"
"Nghh..."
At Rei's confirming words, Maruka was unable to say anything.
Having been warned by Nicky, she must have realized she couldn't go to the Slum District.
For Rei's part, if Maruka wanted to come along, that would be fine with him.
"That's right. My lady and I will stay here. We don't know if something will come up after this. Besides, we might need to act as King's Faction nobles."
Acting as King's Faction nobles carried considerable significance in this situation.
Maruka's family—Duke Quento's House—wielded tremendous influence within the King's Faction.
The daughter of such a house, who despite still being a child possessed great magical power... Maruka, who was sometimes called the next Princess General.
For King's Faction nobles, they could not afford to treat such a Maruka lightly.
(I wasn't very knowledgeable about nobles affiliated with factions, but there were probably King's Faction nobles among those complaining to the officials on the first floor. It wouldn't be strange for there to be Noble Faction or Neutral Faction nobles too.)
Thinking that, Rei suddenly recalled the two Neutral Faction nobles he had met in Egginis.
Fortunately... though whether that was the right expression was debatable, neither of them had been among those complaining to the officials on the first floor.
If they had been, Rei would have probably felt quite awkward.
"Understood. If you can handle the King's Faction nobles, I'll leave that to you. If anything happens... let's see, leave a message at the inn."
The inn where Rei had been staying should still have his room reserved.
If so, leaving a message there would allow them to contact him in case anything happened.
...That said, under the current circumstances, it was hard to imagine a situation arising where someone would need to contact Rei so urgently.
(No, or rather, could it be precisely because the situation is this chaotic that circumstances requiring contact might arise?)
There was no guarantee that no one would try to commit some kind of evil deed under the cover of the Necro Golem confusion.
That said, even if petty criminals made their move, the guards would handle them.
For Robel and Dwanda, the Necro Golem incident was an enormous failure on their part.
Robel even anticipated that Egginis would lose its autonomy over this blunder.
Given that, with their future positions in mind, they would deal very harshly with looters—or so Rei predicted.
Considering the overall situation of Egginis, it would not be strange for Orban to mobilize Fusetsu assassins to maintain public order as well.
"Anyway, I'm heading out now. If anything happens, I'm counting on you."
"Umu. It is regrettable, but it cannot be helped. If there is any business on my end as well, I shall notify you, Rei."
"If I didn't have to guard the lady, I'd go with you..."
Maruka stomped on Nicky's foot as he muttered pensively.
"Are you saying that guarding me is unsatisfactory?"
"Ow! That hurts, my lady!"
Glancing at their usual exchange, Rei left the government office.
"Grrrrr!"
After leaving the government office, Rei had been walking around looking for Seto... but Seto spotted Rei first and let out a happy cry.
Directing his gaze toward the source of the cry, he found Seto helping with cleaning up the rubble.
For Seto, a high-rank monster, carrying rubble was not a difficult task.
...Though rubble came in various shapes, so he would have to balance it carefully to keep it from collapsing along the way.
Even so, Seto didn't seem to particularly mind such things as he helped with the cleanup.
When he let out a happy cry upon spotting Rei, he nearly dropped the rubble he was carrying.
Nevertheless, he somehow managed to move the rubble without collapsing it, and Seto trotted over to Rei looking pleased once again.
It wasn't just Seto—one of the people who had been working together to clear the rubble also approached Rei and bowed his head.
"Um, thank you very much. When we couldn't move some of the larger rubble, this little one helped us out. ...What incredible strength."
The man said this earnestly... and with something like envy in his voice.
He must have been envious of the strength he saw when Seto was clearing the rubble.
In this world, there were many people like Rei who possessed strength that didn't match their appearance.
Even so, naturally, most people only had strength that matched their looks.
The man looking enviously at Seto presumably had only as much strength as his appearance suggested, too.
"Seto's strength is quite formidable. You can tell that just from looking at him, right?"
Seto's body length exceeded three meters. How much strength such a Seto possessed required no thought.
What's more, Seto was not an ordinary gryphon.
He was an existence created by Rei's magic power—an irregular, in a sense.
It was only natural that such a Seto possessed immense strength.
"That's true. At any rate, thanks to Seto, we managed the most difficult part. Thank you."
Saying that and bowing his head once more, the man was called by a companion and ran off from in front of Rei.
After a glance at the man's retreating back, Rei stroked Seto's head in praise.
"Looks like you helped someone in trouble. Good work."
"Grrr."
Praised by Rei, Seto purred happily.
For Seto, carrying rubble was not particularly difficult.
Given that, being praised by Rei for something like this was quite delightful for him.
"Alright then, we're heading to the Slum District."
"...Grr?"
Why the Slum District? Seto's round eyes filled with puzzlement, the question floating in his gaze.
Stroking Seto, Rei continued speaking.
"Apparently, Golias was found inside the Dolan Workshop. ...Does the name Golias ring a bell?"
"Grrr? ...Grrr... Grrr!"
At first, Seto didn't seem to recognize the name Golias, but at Rei's words he finally realized what it meant and purred.
It was the name of the man Lindy had been searching for.
He must have remembered that.
"Looks like you remembered. That