第２２３掘：身内報告と会議 (Part1)
**Dungeon Excavation 223: Internal Reports and Meetings**
Well then, this time is more of a summary of everything up to now.
**Internal Reports and Meetings**
**Side: Yuki**
"Sorry for gathering you all on such a busy day. Since it looks like there’s finally going to be mediation regarding the conflict between the Zilba Empire and the Holy Kingdom of Enaria on the New Continent, I thought we should hold a meeting among ourselves first."
In our usual banquet hall, I gathered members who are easy to forget—like Mauve, who guards the dungeon in the demi-human village and seems useless but is actually quite helpful, and Zargis, who ended up teaching magic in the Zilba Empire.
"For now, let's share our current status reports. It’s necessary so we can properly consider our next moves on the New Continent."
Everyone nodded at my words.
"Alright, let's start with Weed. Let's confirm that our home is safe."
As I said that, the remaining members passed around documents. Since I mentioned we’d be having a report meeting beforehand, they’ve become quite "Weed-style"—or rather, Earth-style—in their preparations. It’s easy to read and understand, so I have no complaints.
"I apologize for remaining seated, but I would like to begin," Eris said, stroking her large belly.
It can’t be helped; she’s pregnant, and she’s my wife. There’s absolutely no reason to put a burden on her.
"Regarding Weed, the population has increased and is nearing 30,000. The residential districts we prepared are about to reach capacity, so as planned, we are utilizing the empty spaces in the residential floors. Following the example of the existing apartments, we’ve gathered civil engineering and construction workers to build more ourselves. Tax revenue has increased accordingly, but as the number of residents grows, so do the family registers. The number of people coming to the government office for procedures has increased, and we are becoming short-handed. Well, the representatives of the government office are planning to deal with this by expanding the hiring quota. Also..."
Listening to Eris’s report and looking at the documents, there are no particular issues with Weed’s status. The flow of people is active, and it feels like it’s only going to get livelier from here on out.
Public safety feels like it has deteriorated slightly, but that’s only on the floor with the Adventurer’s Guild; elsewhere, it’s generally good. Even if it’s reported as "slightly bad," it’s still significantly safer than other countries. At worst, it’s just frequent brawls. We’ve made it so that drawing or brandishing weapons is prohibited within the city of Weed, and since children frequent the Adventurer’s Guild, we have to be careful. According to Aslin and Firia, even Vilia and Hiiro have been actively going in and out of the children’s dungeon lately to save up money.
"Now then, is it time for diplomatic matters with Shera, Seraria, and myself?"
"Yes. Though, I’ve left most of it to Ratz-san..."
"It can't be helped, Shera. You’ve been exploring the New Continent with your brother. Of course, having you and Seraria there makes negotiations with foreign dignitaries much easier."
"But I’m grateful that you leave the trade-related matters to me, Ratz. I’m mostly stuck talking to the bigwigs."
"Seraria is amazing, too. I’m mostly doing paperwork, but I wouldn't want to talk to untrustworthy people while carrying my brother’s child."
"I was worried about that too, but I was able to use it to make it known that I was pregnant, and the guards were perfect."
The three of them laughed together. Strictly speaking, Rurua and various others are involved in diplomacy, but these three are the core. Even with Milly’s help, I’m sure there were plenty of troublesome things to deal with while pregnant.
"Well, putting aside the long stories, diplomatic relations are stable. Most of the requests for gate installations in dungeons have been completed. Just as you planned, brother, everyone is keeping an eye on each other, so no one is starting any wars. Prices have also started to settle within a certain range recently. If there is a problem, it’s that countries without economic leeway are starting to tilt."
"Of course, even if I say they are tilting, they aren't being taken down by military force from other countries, so the common folk aren't burdened in that regard. However, if the situation where they receive financial aid from other countries continues, there are a few countries that look like they might end up being absorbed through mergers."
"It might sound bad, but looking at the big picture, it’s better than people dying pointlessly without a war. In normal circumstances, most of these places would have already started fighting. With the opening of the gates this time, every country is using the monster subjugation squads created by the allies to expand their residential areas and farmland."
"Since they can't start a war, they’re sending their surplus soldiers to those expanding areas. Overall, the number of places where people can live has increased, and harvest yields are up. Every country should be more stable now than when they were at war."
It feels like things are going according to plan here, too. If they have even a little bit of sense, they’d understand that starting a war would mean their own destruction. They have no choice but to be quiet. As for the countries that are economically tilting, there’s no reason for us to interfere. Even if they request economic support from Weed, it’s up to the representatives to decide; I’m basically hands-off.
"But even though things have stabilized, I’ve heard that the generals who have been fighting wars until now aren't happy with the current state of affairs."
"Well, they’ve lost their stage to shine. So, are they trying to raise a banner or something?"
"No, as expected, 18 countries, large and small, are participating in the alliance, centered around Weed and the three major powers. They wouldn't openly try to pick a fight."
"I see... so there’s a possibility they’ll do things behind the scenes..."
"That’s exactly it. And for doing things behind the scenes, Weed is convenient in many ways."
"Free to jump to other countries via gates, the center of trade—Weed is convenient for doing anything."
"Even so, there’s no point in raising our vigilance any further, so let's just keep our ears to the ground."
When Seraria and I said that, everyone nodded. It’s just the typical restless elements you find everywhere, I suppose.