第５２７堀：本当に忙しい半日 夜之部 (Part1)
**Dungeon 527: A Truly Busy Half-Day – Night Shift**
**Side: Yuki**
"Ah, so it’s come to this—I’m forced to make coffee a daily habit."
I muttered this to myself while sipping the black coffee in my cup. It was bitter. It made my eyes snap open. Well, I don’t know much about the actual chemical wakefulness effects of caffeine, but I’d heard it works wonders when you absolutely cannot afford to fall asleep, so I was giving it a shot.
I certainly wasn’t going to resort to the extreme measures of putting mustard or wasabi on my eyelids. Besides, if I did that, the sheer agony would make it impossible to get any work done anyway.
"Oh? Does Yuki-sama not usually drink coffee? I’ve grown quite fond of this aroma and its unique flavor."
George was keeping me company during this brief break, as we were about to head to Duke Kamishiro’s estate together. Labyris and Catherine had already left the room to prepare for the reception of the Imperial Army, and were currently coordinating with Shera. Man, Shera’s administrative capabilities are truly magnificent. If I had to leave the management of Weed to her as well, I think I’d die of exhaustion. I’ll have to make sure to properly compensate her later—and George, too, for that matter.
"I don't drink it unless it's served to me. I’m a tea person. And no, not black tea—green tea."
"That, too, has a unique bitterness, does it not? Though, I would not call it unpleasant."
"Well, it’s just that. Green tea is the standard back in my hometown. Coffee felt like something only adults drank. And it seems my palate was still that of a child."
"I see. 'Something adults drink.' 'An adult flavor.' A fitting description indeed. It is certainly a taste children would struggle with. But why drink such a bitter beverage now, if I may ask?"
"Ah, coffee contains a stimulant—a component that wakes you up. People call it 'morning coffee' and such. It’s a strong ally for those whose work stretches late into the night. Conversely, there’s the old saying that you shouldn’t let children drink it at night because it’ll keep them awake."
"It is a testament to how busy you are, Yuki-sama."
"That it is. And today is packed with all sorts of things. The attack at Duke Kamishiro’s place, the interrogation of the culprit, rushing back to the Duke’s mansion to throw the criminal in the dungeon, heading back to Weed to pass the confiscated goods for analysis, confirming everything with you, George... and now, preparing for the Imperial Army’s reception, and after that, returning to the Duke’s place to interrogate the culprit again with you in tow."
Yeah. Just saying it out loud makes the workload feel depressing. It was the right call to leave the report writing to Taiki and Eoid. Ria and Deryu aren't exactly suited for report writing. Their reports would just be, "Defeated the enemy." That’s about it.
"...I am, in a way, terribly sorry."
"Oh, I’m not saying it’s your fault, George. It’s just me venting. I’m sure it’s like this everywhere in the world. The Emperor must have been in a similar boat, right?"
"Well, while the busyness is a constant, I doubt it reaches the level you are experiencing, Yuki-sama. On top of this, you are also preparing for the intercontinental exchange in Weed, are you not?"
"That’s true. Once I clear this incident, I have to help out with that, or Seraria and the others are going to burn out."
Damn it, we are severely short-handed. Here in the New Continent, our forces are being spread thinner and thinner; I’ve already had to pull Eoid and Amanda over. Should I call over Popuri and the others as a last resort? Or rather, I should test what happens if I bring those "fake" gods I know—starting with that useless goddess—to this land. Ugh, I keep coming up with things to do, but I really don't have the manpower.
"I want reliable, capable subordinates."
"I feel the same way."
Is it finally time to create a special unit consisting only of humans? That would be a headache regarding morale and loyalty, since they wouldn't be family or wives. Maybe I should poach some from Seraria’s Royal Guard? Someone like Quar could handle it, but if she leaves, it would hinder Seraria’s duties as Queen. Still, it’s an option. I’ll talk to her about it.
With those thoughts, I finished my coffee while chatting with George.
"Hah. Well, shall we get to the night shift?"
"I certainly hope we can finish quickly and get some sleep."
As I pushed myself off the sofa with a wry smile, my call screen opened and an emergency alert sounded.
*“Humanoid biological entity approaching from above. Please be on alert.”*
I opened the map of the entire Weed territory to confirm the position.
"It’s coming from the direction of Haiden."
"It appears so. How shall we proceed?"
"Nine times out of ten, it’s an enemy, but there’s a chance it isn't. Steve and his team are already on emergency patrol, so we’ll wait for their report."
"Steve-dono, you mean that goblin? But how will they identify someone flying in the night sky? It is cloudy today, and there is no moonlight."
"Well, Steve and his team can fly, too."
"You don't say."
Well, using one's own magic to stay airborne is fuel-inefficient, and riding a wyvern or similar mount is vastly faster, so there’s little reason to fly on one's own unless absolutely necessary. In our battles, flying is a simple way to scout, but conversely, the sky is a place with no cover—it makes you a target for firearms. That’s why Steve and his team generally hate flying. It also gives away their unit’s position from the moment they take off.
"If you fly, you lose" has become the common sense in our monster army training. For the monster army, which repeats modern-style trench warfare, the sword-and-magic combat of medieval Europe is just incomprehensible to them. That’s partly my fault, but they’ve become more accustomed to Earth’s methods than the wives have. Even though they are real fantasy creatures, they say Earth’s tactics suit them better.
*“Besides, we lose in physical stature and racial specs, right? Relying on firearms to exploit those disadvantages is just a natural conclusion, isn’t it?”*
That was Steve’s take on it. I suppose their small size makes them harder to hit, but hearing that logic is just as frustrating as it is understandable.
Thinking about that, I contacted everyone in Weed via call. Since Steve is confirming the situation, we’ll maintain the status quo. I instructed them that while Steve’s team will handle it, if they can’t make it in time, everyone is free to suppress or retreat as they see fit.
"Considering the incident at Duke Kamishiro’s, do you think they are targeting the Princess or Kagura-dono?"
"Probably. Thinking back to the kidnapping of the Princess of the Rila Kingdom, they’re likely after magical power. You need mana to summon monsters, after all. People with high natural mana are probably prized commodities."
"Princess Age is being treated like some sort of tool... No, nothing is certain yet."
"There’s no such thing as an ally, so there’s a chance they’re just messengers from Haiden. That would be even more of a hassle, so I’d actually prefer it if they were enemies..."
As we were talking, a report came in from Steve.
*“Visual confirmation of unidentified flying humanoid object. It’s exactly as it looks—a human. Attempting contact.”*
"Understood."
The video feed came through. As I suspected, they were wearing the same clothes as the group that attacked Duke Kamishiro’s estate. Was it the... Magic Battalion, or something?