第１７７掘：ウィードの最近とこれから (Part2)
"It seems Luna only told them to manage the dungeon. But since they were operating using magic swords made from inefficient dungeon cores, they must have realized something."
"That's a strong possibility. But there's also a chance they were just making them for the sake of it, isn't there?"
As Seraria suggested, it was possible they were simply crafting magic swords. Being locals, it wasn't out of the question that they were just trying to bolster their combat strength. However, I believed the magic swords were the result of my predecessor taking action against magic depletion. It made too little sense to use such incredibly rare dungeon cores to create something so inefficient—something that couldn't harvest magic within the dungeon, requiring one to physically strike and take lives with a blade just to recover energy.
Regardless, investigating my predecessor would surely yield information, whether it was related to the magic depletion or not. Once that was gathered, there would be no problem in shifting our strategy to a different direction. Since we had no choice but to continue our steady research for now, having a clear, tangible goal was a welcome change.
"Since we have no other way to proceed but through research, having a specific objective isn't a bad thing."
"Well, that's true. But in that case, if we leave the research team led by Zargis behind, that means you'll be the one acting as the field operative, right?"
"That's right. Zargis is a demon; who knows what might happen if he goes to the wrong place? I’m a Doppelganger who can fully mimic a human body. I’m indistinguishable from a person, so I’m the only one who can move around."
When I said that, Seraria thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
"……I suppose the Zilba Empire is the easiest place to start, isn't it?"
"Yeah. The demi-human factions are too weak. If we want to gather information over a large area, targeting the Zilba Empire is the best bet."
"Hm? Yuki-san, have you decided to take down the Zilba Empire?"
"No, no, that's not it, Riel. I'm just saying that if we want to gather information, the Zilba Empire is the best place in the vicinity."
"Ah, I see. And well, it seems that the place where the demi-humans are is technically considered Zilba Empire territory, too. If it’s come to this, I wish we could just go and have a direct negotiation with them."
……A direct negotiation?
"Oh? I was just joking. If we did that, our existence would be revealed to the Zilba Empire, and they might send a massive subjugation force against the demi-humans, right?"
"You were thinking about how to send the sisters back to the Zilba Empire, weren't you?"
"Yeah. In a way, it might be the perfect opportunity to secretly get under the Zilba Empire's skin."
We had the track record of intercepting their magic sword users twice and annihilating their forces. Using that, we should be able to hold a conversation to some extent. I was getting tired of the constant interceptions anyway, so I had been discussing with the others that if the Zilba Empire kept picking fights, we might as well crush them.
However, that would bring trouble to the commoners living in the Zilba Empire. So, we just need to make sure they don't perceive us as enemies anymore. That includes the demi-humans under our protection. Well, it would be a one-sided ultimatum, and they would likely take some sort of action, but the dungeon wouldn't fall, and I’d already told everyone that if the sixth defense line were to collapse, we would retreat immediately.
There was no way we would be in any real danger during a direct negotiation, but even if the worst happened, I’m a Doppelganger—I could just pay them a visit later to settle the score. It would be a great chance to directly threaten the King of Zilba. Conveniently, we have two people who could help us get to him.
"In that case, how should we have the sisters act to make things convenient for us?"
"It’s easier if it doesn't turn into a fight. It would be great if they sided with us and helped us threaten the King."
"That would be best. We could just topple the royal capital and turn the King into a puppet, but that’s a lot of trouble. It’s better if they cooperate from their end."
Seraria and I laughed as we said that.
"Wow, you two are scary. Poor Olive and Mist…… I can't do anything for them."
Well then, time to storm the Zilba Empire.
I wonder if we'll be able to extract information about the magic swords and everything else?
I was so tired yesterday that I fell right asleep.