第８４６堀：あなたは魚が捌けますか？ (Part1)
Chapter 846: Can You Dress a Fish?
Side: Agil
"There. That’s the last of it."
With that, Comet tossed the final magic stone into the mana analyzer.
Three seconds later, the measurement concluded with a chime.
*Beep.*
The data was automatically transmitted to the connected PC.
Man, Weed’s tools really are convenient.
Quantifying mana, and using a processing machine like a PC to handle that information—ordinarily, one would have to rely on intuition and bury themselves under mountains of handwritten records. But with Weed’s technology, there’s no room for such ambiguity.
Zargis is a brilliant genius for realizing this mana quantification system. Even if he drew inspiration from Earth’s technology, the effort required to make it practical must have been immense.
Well, that aside... I took the data, glanced over the mana reserves of each stone, and calculated the average.
"Yuki, I need you to have the folks back in Weed measure the average mana capacity for stones of this size."
"Understood."
I handed the data over to Yuki.
We now knew the mana capacity of these "fake-Shera" stones, but we needed a baseline to determine if these figures were normal or anomalous.
That was for the people in Weed to investigate.
Fortunately, the Adventurer District is always receiving magic stones as spoils from monster subjugation. Getting data on stones of the same size shouldn't be much trouble.
Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the results.
"Well, everyone must be tired, so let's—"
Comet started to say, but...
"Now, everyone, let’s make sure we clean up properly."
"Yes!"
"..."
We were left in stunned silence by Kirue’s words.
How on earth do Aslin and the others manage to respond so cheerfully?
Even though we were the ones who did the deed, the surroundings were a gruesome mess of viscera and blood. It was obvious that cleaning this place up would be a back-breaking task.
"What are you all standing around for? Get to work."
"Roger."
"Understood..."
Prodded by Milly, Comet and I reluctantly began to move.
We’re naturally lazy, you see. Cleaning up like this isn't our forte.
At best, we just shove everything into trash bags and toss them out.
Besides, even though we were happily poking at these things just moments ago, now that it was time to clean up, I found myself hesitant to touch them.
As I was processing the entrails, Sasari suddenly called out to me.
"By the way, Agil-san, Comet-san. Is it alright to dispose of all of this?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, go ahead. There wasn't anything particularly novel in there."
"Exactly. Besides, we’ve already taken photos of the parts we needed, so feel free to throw it all away."
Just as we resumed the cleanup, Kagura and the others suddenly burst in.
"Is Yuki here? Wait—*urgh*!?"
"What’s wrong, Kagura? Wait—*ugh*!?"
"Ugh...!!"
The moment the three of them entered, they bolted straight for the sink...
"Blargh..."
They all started vomiting in unison.
What on earth happened?
Ah, right. It must have reminded them of what happened in the church basement.
It certainly was a similar situation. I suppose they couldn't handle the surprise of it.
"There, there. Take it easy. Just let it all out first."
"S-sorry..."
"Yuki-sensei..."
"...Ugh."
"Yes, yes. Here’s some water."
Seeing them having their backs rubbed by Yuki, I felt a strange sense of envy.
Anyway, despite that little incident, we finished tossing the entrails into the sea and processing the meat for the fleet just as Kagura and her group recovered.
"So, what happened with you three? Weren't you supposed to be instructing the people of Sea-Cypho?"
Ah, that’s right. We were supposed to participate in that training, too. But because of the sudden ambush, we got our hands on some samples and ended up here instead.
"Yes, that’s actually what I wanted to talk about. One of the Sea-Cypho trainees told me something..."
It seemed Kagura had come here because she’d received some information from the Sea-Cypho soldiers.
To summarize briefly: the monsters had prioritized targeting the mages.
With the mages capable of countering the monsters wiped out, they lacked instructors, which is why they had asked Hayden for magical guidance.
General Lake was present, so naturally, the conversation turned to him.
"We were unable to say anything definitive regarding that matter at the time. There were opinions that they weren't targeting mages specifically, but rather that the monsters simply prioritized those who posed the greatest threat to them. There was no reason to frighten Lady Kagura and her companions with uncertain information."
"Well, that’s true. It was too uncertain."
Indeed. The idea that they prioritized mages could just be how it appeared in hindsight; as General Lake said, it could just as easily be interpreted as them prioritizing the most troublesome enemies.
"However, that is merely an excuse now. By withholding information, we have invited distrust. I humbly ask for your forgiveness."
General Lake bowed his head sincerely.
This general truly understands the disparity in power between his nation and Weed. That is precisely why he can act with such composure.
"No, I understand your reasoning, so please don't worry about it. If I were in your position, I would have hesitated to speak as well."
"I am grateful for your understanding."
"However, this makes the theory that the attacks were driven by a mana shortage much more compelling."
Yes. As Yuki said, the circumstantial evidence was piling up.
The reason they attacked people—specifically mages—was to replenish their mana.
Wild creatures possess mana, but it’s negligible. People who consciously master magic possess far greater reserves.
"Agil, Comet, what do you think?"
"Hard to say. But under the circumstances, the possibility is certainly high."
"Agreed. But it’s only a high possibility. It wouldn't be wise to jump to conclusions. Zargis is currently measuring the mana capacity of stones of the same size from Weed based on the data Yuki just sent. We’ll know more once we have those results."
Exactly. As Comet said, it’s just a high probability; jumping to conclusions is bad practice.
The rest depends on the absolute truth of the numbers.
"Still, I’d like to hear more about that story. The details of how such a situation came to pass."
"Yes. I’m interested in that as well. The idea of monsters attacking in a concentrated, coordinated manner is quite concerning."
"Well, that’s true. Kagura, can you get us an interview with that trainee?"
"Ah, yes. If General Lake gives his permission, that is."
Indeed, if General Lake refused, we couldn't force the issue.
Though, refusing to allow an interview now would be tantamount to admitting they had something to hide...