第２３９掘：事件のまとめと今後の方針 (Part1)
**Chapter 239: Summary of the Incident and Future Policy**
It was a tragic incident.
Yet, we must continue our march toward the future.
***
**Side: Yuki**
For some reason, despite having traveled all the way to the Holy City of Enaria, I found myself buried under a mountain of paperwork.
Usually, when you’re on a business trip, you might organize a few documents, but the bulk of your time should be spent in high-level negotiations. I suppose the fact that I’d built—or rather, restored—a dungeon beneath Enaria meant I had essentially opened a new branch office.
“Let’s see… where did I put those files?” I muttered, rummaging through the stacks of paper.
Good grief, I couldn’t find anything. Since I’d had to scramble to set up a workspace within the Enaria dungeon, it lacked the organized efficiency of my office back in Weed.
I let out a dry chuckle. My dungeons were multiplying, and the list of things to investigate was growing just as fast. However, we were desperately short-staffed. Why was I, the CEO, the one stuck doing the filing? In Japan, a company like this would go belly-up in a heartbeat. A president’s job is to make appearances and secure funding, not to get bogged down in the minutiae of clerical work.
Well, since I had a steady supply of DP—my capital, so to speak—funding wasn’t actually an issue. The real problem was the mana depletion crisis; we simply couldn’t afford to bring in more hands yet. We were essentially running a top-secret project, and it had to stay under wraps to prevent other factions from catching wind of it.
Consequently, the circle of people involved had to be limited to those I trusted implicitly. Furthermore, unlike back in Weed, we were operating across continents that were officially unaware of each other’s existence. If an undiscovered continent were found on Earth, the discovering nation would undoubtedly keep it a secret to monopolize the interests. Ideally, once the secret inevitably leaked, they would declare their discovery, assert their rights, and then share the spoils with allied superpowers.
Ha. When I looked at our current situation through the lens of Earth’s values, I realized just how absurd the scale of my meddling had become.
I continued to sift through the bundles of paper, but the specific document I needed remained elusive.
“That’s strange. It’s not here.”
I was certain I’d left it right here before lunch. I took pride in the fact that I wasn’t old enough to be getting senile yet, but the reality was that the paper had vanished.
“What are you doing, Yuki?”
“Indeed. As Ria says, what exactly are you looking for?”
Ria and Jessica, who were helping me with the paperwork, spoke up. I suppose it did look suspicious—me giving up on the desktop search only to start opening every drawer one by one.
“I thought I left some specific materials on the desk, but they’re gone,” I said, waving a single sheet of paper to illustrate my point.
“It’s rare for you to lose track of documents, Yuki,” Ria noted.
“...Are you alright? Perhaps you’re feeling unwell?” Jessica added.
At Jessica’s suggestion, both of them put on dead-serious expressions, stood up, and began closing in on me.
“Easy now. I’m not sick. Besides, even if I were, what do you plan to do about it?”
A chill ran down my spine as my two wives approached with those intense looks. I stood up and backed toward the door.
“What are you saying? If you’re unwell, you must go to bed and rest,” Ria insisted.
“Ria is right. Please remember, Yuki, that your collapse would be synonymous with the end of the world,” Jessica added gravely.
“Exactly,” Ria continued. “And since you always try to run away like this, we’ll have to sleep beside you to make sure you stay put. Right, Jessica?”
“Precisely. Paperwork can wait. It is a greater problem to continue working in a state where you are losing important documents.”
“Guh.”
Setting aside Ria’s blatant desire to get me into bed, I couldn’t argue with Jessica’s point about work efficiency. But I truly had no memory of moving those papers. I wouldn’t be so careless as to lose documents filled with classified information…
“Hey, Yuki! I’m returning these—wait, what’s going on here?”
The door swung open, and Deryu walked in, fluttering the missing papers in her hand.
“You’re the one who took them?” I asked.
“Hmm? Ah, my apologies. You were out for lunch, and we wanted to get a handle on the situation ourselves. Anyway, why do Ria and Jessica look like they’re about to pounce on you? Actually, let me join in.”
“They’re about to pounce *because* of you! Don’t just walk off with my files!” I barked. I pulled Deryu close and gave her head a vigorous, messy noogie.
“W-Wait! I’m sorry! I said I’m sorry, so stop! You’re messing up my hair!” she squealed.
“There. As you can see, Deryu just had the papers. I’m perfectly fine. Now, please, sit back down.”
““Tch.””
“Hey!”
My wives were truly dangerous when they saw an opening.
“So, Deryu, you said you wanted to get a handle on the situation?”
“Yes. It’s been about three days since the attack on the castle, but things are still chaotic in the city and the palace. We can’t exactly wander around freely, so I was talking with Eris and the others about reviewing the information we’d gathered beforehand…”
“I see. But those are the reports and data regarding the attack on the Holy City.”
“There’s no harm in understanding how that concluded. In the end, you handled everything yourself, Yuki.”
“Well, I was planning to tell everyone once the preparations were finished, but those two over there started moving on their own, so I didn’t have the chance.”
I gestured toward the corner of the workspace. There, using an orange crate as a makeshift desk, two people were sitting in formal *seiza* style, diligently writing. These were the true masterminds behind the attempted coup in the Holy City.
Publicly, the incident was being framed as a rebellion by the Minister. In reality, I had stepped in, manipulated the threads, and crushed both sides for my own benefit.
“Man, that was a terrible incident,” I remarked.
“No, you were the most terrible part of it, Yuki,” Deryu countered.
““Agreed,”” Ria and Jessica chimed in.
My wives had given me the coldest looks imaginable once they found out I’d forced Sia to perform a nude dance. I had also shown Peace the aftermath—after Sia was back in her clothes, of course. Since Sia was her sworn enemy, I didn’t want Peace losing her mind and killing her before we got the information we needed.
But the result was unexpected. When Peace saw the two of them performing that ridiculous 'Fun-Fun' dance, she burst into tears. She sobbed uncontrollably. I heard her wailing, “I… I… why…?” but my wives had quickly ushered her away.
When I asked why she’d suddenly started crying, their answers were vague and unhelpful. Only Seraria had looked off into the distance with a hollow gaze.
“She probably felt like her entire life’s purpose had been invalidated…” she’d whispered.
I didn’t see how. I’d captured the enemy responsible for her suffering and made them do a humiliating dance. Where was the 'invalidating' part?
“Anyway, did you understand everything after reading the files?” I asked Deryu.
I’d been busy for the last three days and hadn't had time to explain my solo actions to my wives. If the documents could do the talking for me, it would save a lot of effort.
“Yes. Eris and Ratz were there too, so it’s all clear.”
“Doesn’t that just mean you didn’t understand it on your own and they had to explain it to you?”
“Don’t sweat the details. I understand it now, so everything is fine.”
“Well, as long as you get it. Do you two need an explanation?” I turned to Ria and Jessica. They hadn’t been briefed yet, and explaining it now would save time later.
“Please,” Ria said. “I was stuck on dungeon surveillance the whole time.”
“I would appreciate it as well,” Jessica added. “I was kept in the dark, waiting in the room with Princess Miffy until Deryu and Peace arrived. By the time I realized what was happening, it was mostly over.”
It was because those two had been so diligent in their duties that I was able to operate without worry. If either of them hadn't been there, we would have been even more short-handed, and the damage to the city might have been far worse.
“Alright, let’s go over it. Deryu, you listen in again; my perspective might differ from Eris’s or Ratz’s.”
“Understood.”
“And you two writing reports on the orange crates can take a break and listen too. It’ll help you understand how your movements were utilized.”
“...Ugh. How did it come to this?”
“Sia, stay strong.”
I don’t know why they were making it look like I was the bully here. I wasn't the one who started this.
Well, three days had passed, so it was a good time to review the sequence of events. I might even notice something new myself.
“Okay, first, let’s look at the strategy I intended to take. The primary objective was to secure a swift ceasefire to maximize the amount of free time we have.”
I began writing on a whiteboard. Everyone watched and listened with rapt attention. In truth, the actual work had been quite mundane.
As I said, the goal was a quick ceasefire to free up time for the mana depletion investigation. However, simply signing a treaty wouldn't mean we could relax. Those opposed to the peace would let their resentment simmer. If they started acting on those feelings—harassing Princess Miffy or interfering with us—it would be an endless headache.
So, I decided to make use of those simmering malcontents.