第８６２堀：次なる大地は後回し (Part2)
"No, that's being put on the back burner. Magic Gear has appeared, so that's the top priority. Well, I've received all sorts of information about the developer from Sea Siphon, so I'm not particularly worried."
"What kind of information?"
"This developer seems to be a friend of Queen Emerald. Besides the gun-like weapon, which is called a magic gun in Sea Siphon, they seem to be developing various other useful things, making them an important figure for the country."
"That's only natural. We all know that even just scraps of knowledge from Earth hold immense value in this world."
As Seraria said this, the other wives nodded in agreement.
"Therefore, due to confidentiality, they are not in the royal capital. They are being sheltered and researched in another territory."
"...Wouldn't you call that confinement?"
"Who knows. For now, they've said they'll arrange a meeting. I'll use appraisal then to confirm their true intentions. Based on that, we can decide how to deal with Sea Siphon. Honestly, the reason we haven't been investigating thoroughly is that the technology Sea Siphon possesses hasn't been particularly dangerous so far."
That's right. The results of Kirika's investigation and the simulated battles at sea revealed that the fusion of magic and science and technology wasn't going well, with a strong bias towards magic.
At the time, the judgment was that their current level of magic was incapable of harming them, which is why it was left unattended and the sea monsters were prioritized.
In other words, there was no benefit in dispatching personnel from the Sea Siphon royal capital to search for the developer.
"Ah, I do recall hearing something like that. So, perhaps we don't need to be overly cautious?"
"Not at the moment. The final judgment will come after we meet them directly. If they are being confined, we can rescue them. If they are staying there by their own will, then that's fine too. Besides, the issue of Sea Siphon's relationship is also involved with this developer. We need to be cautious."
There's always a possibility they might be developing something incredible without us knowing, but even if that were the case, I believe the threat level is low.
Certainly, they might be secretly creating formidable weapons, but it's clear that a production system isn't even in place yet.
A single superweapon, even if it exists, has zero operational value.
"Also, I'd like to know if the person who brought the Magic Gear onto the sunken transport ship was involved, or if it was a coincidence, or why the Magic Gear deployed there. Well, Kirika is investigating the transport ship's passenger manifest, so that should become clear eventually."
"Hoping for a coincidence is too optimistic."
"I agree. Ultimately, I think we would have ended up going beyond the Great Mountain Range even without a connection to Sea Siphon."
"Indeed. A tool that can summon and control monsters like Magic Gear would undoubtedly be convenient. Speaking of which, we should probably establish some legal framework to prevent Weed and other countries from arbitrarily creating such things."
"We need to. They've been used for terrorism countless times already. Like with the Holy Sword users, or Noble."
We've been plagued by such monster summoning incidents for a long time.
If we don't impose restrictions, it will certainly lead to trouble.
Actually, I haven't been completely ignoring this issue.
However, if we were to enact such legal frameworks...
"But won't there be complaints about us, Weed, being able to freely summon monsters?"
"As Ratz said, there will surely be those who complain. That Weed is being unfair."
As Ratz and Eris mentioned, it could lead to accusations that Weed, a dungeon nation that summons and controls monsters, is plotting to restrict monster summoning in other countries.
"Your concerns are valid, but we can simply implement a licensing system. Monster Tamers are already licensed and regulated. That's basically how it should be. The problem arises because there are individuals possessing them without the country's knowledge."
" "I see." "
"Well, I'll leave the finer details of this to Seraria and the others. For now, we have a meeting with the developer of the gun-like weapon. I wonder what kind of person will appear."
Sigh, as soon as one problem is resolved, another one pops up.
It's truly a busy time.
At the very least, I hope the developer is as friendly as Shi-chan.
Ah, I forgot. The meeting with the developer.
It would be better to have Comet and Agil there.
But they were in charge of the marine survey... Ah, well, it's only for a short while, so I'll ask for their help.
The major sea monster problem is temporarily resolved.
All that remains is further information gathering and the meeting with the developer.
Incidentally, the path beyond the Great Mountain Range has also become visible.
There's a sense of impending trouble.
However, that will have to wait until we're done with Sea Siphon.
Please wait a little longer.
Oh, and I'll be participating at C96 Summer Comiket on the 4th day (Monday) at Nishi Ne 03b, under the wing of Yamane Suzume-san!
I'll provide more details later.
I hope to have a booklet for "Hisshou Dungeon" ready, but it's completely blank right now, so it's going to be quite difficult.