A short while after that completely unexpected encounter, Rei was walking along a side street, away from the main thoroughfare.
As he had initially expected, while the main street had suffered damage from the Necro Golem, shops in other areas were operating normally.
That said, even in these untouched districts, plenty of people were still anxious about the Necro Golem incident.
As Rei surveyed his surroundings, he caught snippets of worry from shoppers, clerks, and shop owners alike.
With things like this, I probably can't expect to find a souvenir for Seto, huh? I left him waiting behind, so I'd like to bring something back if I can.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he noticed a figure approaching him.
Unlike the female alchemist from earlier, this person wasn't tailing him—they had clearly come to make direct contact.
What's more, Rei was currently wearing the Dragon Robe with his hood up. Under normal circumstances, identifying him should have been difficult. Yet this person was heading straight toward him, making it obvious they were no ordinary individual.
Whether they had seen through the Dragon Robe's concealment, recognized him from his bearing alone, or had some other reason entirely—Rei couldn't say.
In any case, he judged that someone had business with him, so he simply waited for the approaching man.
"Pleased to meet you, Rei-san. I serve under Dwanda-sama."
"...I see."
Rei had been wondering who might have business with him, but the name Dwanda made it easy enough to understand.
That said, he did wonder whether Dwanda even had the leisure for such things in his current situation.
Dwanda had sustained severe injuries at Dailas's hands. Thanks to potions, his life wasn't in danger, but losing an arm would inevitably affect his work going forward. He might be able to manage with a Magic Item prosthetic, though.
Since Dwanda's trading company was one of the largest in Egginis, purchasing such a prosthetic would certainly be within his means.
However, Dwanda was getting on in years. Having judged that this incident had pushed him near his limits, he had apparently decided to pass his position on to his son.
Naturally, though, he couldn't simply hand over the guild master's seat in the middle of such a chaotic situation. The transfer was supposed to happen after the turmoil settled down—which was why Rei couldn't quite grasp why Dwanda had reached out to him now.
"Does Dwanda have business with me? For the record, right now I'm supposedly more closely aligned with Robel."
To be precise, Rei was on friendly terms with Orban, who had partnered with—or formed an alliance with—Robel. What could Dwanda possibly want with someone in that position?
It was only natural for Rei to harbor such doubts.
"From what I was told, the potions have been prepared and he'd like you to come collect them."
"Potions...? Ah, come to think of it, we did discuss that."
When it had been decided that Rei would subjugate the Necro Golem, Dwanda had also formally submitted a request to him—so that Rei's involvement would appear as a commissioned job from Dwanda as well. As compensation, Rei had asked for potions rather than money, and high-quality ones at that.
The reason for Dwanda's contact was presumably that those potions were now ready.
Then again, if it were just to hand over the potions, there'd be no need to summon me in person. He could have simply given them to this man to deliver. The fact that he didn't means there must be another reason behind this.
The motive for contacting him in the middle of all this—that was what Rei couldn't figure out.
If Rei had been squarely in Robel's employ, it wouldn't be unusual for Dwanda to attempt to poach him. But in reality, Rei was employed by Orban, who was Robel's collaborator. To attempt a poaching under those circumstances...
No, maybe it's precisely because I'm employed that he's trying?
If Rei was in a position where he was simply under contract, then it wouldn't be strange for Dwanda to want to hire him once his agreement with Orban ended.
What's more, Dwanda is handing his position to his son. At a time like that, having someone like me among his son's subordinates... though, would that actually be a good thing?
Rei didn't consider himself an easy person to handle. Toward anyone he found disagreeable—regardless of their standing, even if they were nobility or royalty—he wouldn't hesitate to oppose them head-on.
Taking on someone like that as a subordinate meant the employer had to assume considerable risk. Rei was self-aware enough to know that if he were in Dwanda's shoes, he wouldn't want such a person working under him either.
"Did he just tell you to bring me here so he could hand over the potions?"
"I was only told that much. How about it—you don't seem particularly busy with anything at the moment."
Rei considered the man's words for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. You're right—I don't have anything urgent right now. In that case, I don't mind hearing what Dwanda has to say."
He had a rough idea of what the conversation would entail, and since he truly had nothing pressing to do, there was no reason to refuse. Beyond that, he was genuinely curious about the potions Dwanda had prepared as a pretext for the meeting.
It was a reason bordering on killing time, but the man looked visibly relieved to have successfully brought Rei along.
"Thank you very much, Rei-san. Allow me to guide you, then."
With that, the messenger set off, leading the way.
"Huh... I figured you'd be taking me to Dwanda's trading company."
Rei sounded genuinely surprised. The place he'd been brought to was a private residence—reasonably nice, but hardly what you'd expect from someone who led one of the largest trading companies in Egginis. It was the kind of house an ordinary person could afford with a bit of financial stretching.
"Yes. Dwanda-sama wishes to speak with you properly, Rei-san."
"Is that right? I think it would've been fine to take me to the trading company instead. Well, either way works for me."
Following the man's guidance, Rei stepped through the gate and onto the property.
Come to think of it, Roger also kept a hideout-like house for himself in a somewhat rough part of town. Could that sort of thing be popular in Egginis? If so, I don't really mind.
Rei felt a wave of relief noting there was no Breath damage from the Necro Golem in this area either, and opened the front door.
A single maid was waiting inside.
Given Dwanda's injury, it makes sense he'd need a maid. Not being able to use one arm must be quite inconvenient.
While Rei was thinking this, the man who had guided him bowed to the maid and spoke.
"As instructed by Dwanda-sama, I've brought Rei-san with me."
"Yes, I've been informed. Please come in. Dwanda-sama is waiting for you in the back room."
The maid guided Rei through the building. The man who had brought him here was presumably finished with his task—having handed Rei off to the maid, he didn't follow them any further.
Rei and the maid proceeded through the building alone, eventually arriving before a single door.
"Master, Rei-san has arrived."
After a knock and that announcement, a voice from within invited them to enter. The maid opened the door, and Rei stepped inside. She bowed and pulled the door shut behind her without entering herself.
"Sorry for bringing you all the way out here. Have a seat on the sofa, for now."
Whether due to the loss of his arm or not, Dwanda was seated on a sofa rather than at a desk, reviewing some documents. He looked up at Rei as he spoke.
Rei nodded and took the seat across from him before responding.
"Don't worry about it. Still, I thought you'd be giving orders to your subordinates or something... but from the looks of it, that's not what's happening."
"Hm. There is that sort of work, but I've left it to my son. Once this turmoil is over, I'll be stepping down as guild master. Given that, he needs to demonstrate his own capabilities to those around him now."
The hint of frustration in his voice as he said this was certainly not Rei's imagination.
Dwanda was in his fifties—a considerable age. But his temperament was fiercely energetic, and both physically and mentally, he was undeniably far younger than his years suggested. For someone like him, leading his trading company for a good while longer should have been well within reach.
That this was no longer possible was entirely because of this incident. He undoubtedly had complicated feelings about his current situation.
Yet Dwanda would never let such emotions show. Perhaps it was different with those he truly trusted, but at the very least, he revealed nothing of the sort to Rei.
"If you've made peace with it, then fair enough. ...So, the potions? I heard they were ready, which is why I came."
"Don't worry. They're prepared."
Dwanda picked up a bell beside his documents with his remaining hand and rang it. Immediately, the maid who had guided Rei appeared once more—this time pushing a cart loaded with about twenty potions. She brought it to where Rei sat on the sofa.
"Huh..."
A note of genuine admiration escaped Rei's lips.
Every potion on the cart had a deep, rich color—clearly not the cheap variety sold in ordinary shops, but high-quality potions with a price tag to match. When Rei had agreed to subjugate the Necro Golem, he had requested high-quality potions as compensation from both Robel and Dwanda. This was a flawless answer to that request.
Truthfully, Rei had asked without fully expecting them to come through with this many.
Of course, while the potions on the cart were certainly valuable, none were so astronomically expensive as to require Light Gold Coins. But there was no doubt that some among them were potent enough to cost gold coins—and perhaps a few platinum coins, depending on the variety.
Roughly twenty potions of that caliber. What sat on the cart was undeniably a small fortune.
That said, for Dwanda, an expenditure of this magnitude was nothing significant. He did, after all, lead one of Egginis's major trading companies. Gathering this many potions was a considerable expense, yes, but it carried weight far beyond its cost.
"Just to confirm—I can take all of these, right?"
"Yes, that's fine. The commission to subjugate the Necro Golem carries that much meaning. If anything, having you accept this compensation prevents it from looking like I made you work for free. Or worse—making it appear as though I never commissioned you at all."
So please, take them.
Told as much, Rei had no choice but to accept. He had agreed to the job with these potions as his payment—refusing them now was out of the question.
Damn. Too late now, but if they were going to hand over potions this easily, maybe I should've demanded a more valuable Magic Item, or even a golem instead.
A thoroughly belated regret, but the thought nagged at him nonetheless. Then again, he had been in a hurry at the time, and one could never have too many potions. In that sense, potions had been the right choice for compensation.
With that reasoning settled, Rei stored every potion from the cart into his Misty Ring.