第３５６堀：のんびりな旅路 (Part2)
Certainly, those types of people exist, and the reasoning holds up.
If you tell a gate guard you’ve come to the royal capital to look for work, they’ll get suspicious. That’s because it implies you’ve caught the scent of a meal—in other words, mercenary work or the stench of battle.
The royal capital is supposed to be the most secure place in the country, and the only "mercenary work" available is guarding the big shots. Unless you were summoned, if you’re looking for work, you should just head to a battlefield; doing otherwise is guaranteed to raise eyebrows.
"Alright, let's go with that plan. If we say we're here for the food, no one will be suspicious. We'll call it sightseeing while we're at it."
"That way, it won't seem unnatural for us to look around and ask questions."
"You never know where information might be lying around. The sightseeing excuse is good, too. We can say we're looking for a skilled craftsman at a weapons shop or something similar."
"If we set our goals too narrowly, it’ll be hard to act outside of them."
"Well, it’s the royal capital of a country we’re visiting for the first time. We’ll just look like country bumpkins."
"That’s true. Oh, right—shouldn't we report to Yuki that we're infiltrating under the guise of food-seeking and sightseeing?"
"Good point. We might end up meeting up in the Ex Kingdom later, so we should probably get our stories straight."
"True. I’ll contact him now."
With that decided, I used *Call* on the spot to report to Yuki how we planned to infiltrate the Ex Kingdom.
"We’re infiltrating under the guise of food-seeking and sightseeing, so when you guys arrive, try to act like you were invited for those reasons."
『Oh, got it. Though, that’s a surprisingly sensible way to infiltrate. I was half-expecting you to just go to a tavern, start a brawl, get noticed, and storm the royal castle. I guess using you as a decoy was out of the question, huh?』
"Hey, hold on. I just heard something incredibly alarming. You mean to tell me the reason you left the infiltration method and information gathering strategy almost entirely up to us was..."
『Well, if you guys—or rather, if Mauve—got carried away and started attacking the royal castle, things would get chaotic, right? I was thinking I could use that distraction to conduct a thorough internal investigation. The opponents are likely human-based, and as long as they’re monitoring the area, it’s hard for them to keep an eye on everything if they’re being distracted, don’t you think?』
"…So, it was a diversion."
『Exactly. There’s a difference between doing something with intent and just doing it. People who know, know, right?』
"I suppose so. People who are aiming for something usually keep a calm, bird's-eye view of the situation."
Adventurer Guild Masters and Thieves' Guild leaders are usually like that.
『Well, if you don’t want to use that tactic, you don’t have to. It’s not like I’m forcing you. I do think there’s a slight risk to the three of you, though.』
"You only think there’s a 'slight' risk for us?"
『Just a slight one. Unlike us, you’re nobodies. If Mauve and the others are being monitored right now, it just goes to show how incredible their surveillance system is. You’ll know the moment you enter their detection range. That is, assuming you can bypass their level concealment.』
"So, we’re decoys the moment we step inside?"
『Yup. That reaction will tell me the level of their technology. Whether the dungeon extends to the surface or just underground, and whether their surveillance is aerial footage like mine or a water mirror like Comet’s.』
"What exactly is inside that head of yours?"
『Nothing, just common sense. If they’re a Dungeon Master like me, they’d anticipate these things and go around plugging the holes. That’s all.』
Listening to him, it sounds like common sense, but the "common sense" and "normal" things you talk about are always on a completely different wavelength.
Well, it seems like he’s got our back, so I’ll stop thinking about it too deeply...
『Oh, and don't forget to pick up the slave. That’s something I really want you to handle properly.』
"It’s for the sake of information, right?"
『Yeah. But it’s also to mess with you.』
"Cut that out!"
Damn it, he’s still going to look at the slave situation that way...
I swore to myself that I would choose the most unremarkable slave possible.
***
Hey!!
Finally, it might be the slave chapter next!!
I’ll be collecting everyone’s wild imaginations and putting them to good use!!
Now, there is an important announcement.
I’ll be participating in the "Dai-Kyushu Touhou Sai," a doujinshi event held at the Fukuoka International Center on April 29th.
The deadline is the 14th.
Currently, I’ve written 5,000 out of the 20,000 characters for my manuscript.
In other words, including editing, I need to finish the manuscript by around the 5th.
Because of this, there’s a possibility that the update for *Hisshou Dungeon* might be delayed by a few days.
Oh, if you bring a copy of *Hisshou Dungeon* on the day, I’ll sign it for you.
But since the main focus is Touhou, I won’t be bringing copies of *Hisshou Dungeon* myself.
See ya!
Will Mauve successfully acquire a slave that won't be used to mess with him!!!