第９２９堀：事情聴取 (Part1)
**Chapter 929: Interrogation**
**Side: Yuki**
Well, well. Things have become quite troublesome.
Or perhaps I should say, as I’ve known for a while now... it seems I am fated to be plagued by creatures who call themselves gods in this world, no matter what I do.
And the god responsible for this current mess is...
"Come on, spit it out already!"
"That’s right! Aquenos... no, wait, Aki!"
"Wait, the first name was correct! Aquenos! It’s Aquenos!"
Yes, that is Aquenoki, currently being interrogated right in front of me.
He is the creature who calls himself a god, the one who brainwashed the followers of the Haire religion and forced them to manufacture Magic Gears.
Having previously engaged in fierce battles with Hairen and the others, it’s no exaggeration to say he rivals that Luna person in my personal "Annoyance Ranking."
That said...
"Aquenoki. You just gave the order to make the Magic Gears, but you don't actually know how many were produced, right?"
"Hm? Ah, when I was in Haire, I wasn't trying to create monsters; I was just trying to create cores to gain the authority of a dungeon. Those things were just byproducts that emerged during the process. I have no idea what happened to such failed products afterward."
Aquenoki answered clearly.
I don't think someone who answers so bluntly is lying.
In other words, no matter how much we grill Aquenoki, he has no idea about the quantity transported from Sea-Saifo. Consequently, we have no way of knowing how many Magic Gears the Zuraburu Great Empire currently possesses.
However, there are those who naturally cannot accept that answer so easily...
"You made those things, and you're saying you don't know? Do you have any idea how much trouble we've been in because of those Magic Gears!"
"Exactly! We just got married, so read the room and remember!"
"That's right! Feel the weight of Micos-chan and the others' grudge!"
"Wait, you little girls! Don't shake me so hard..."
"Be quiet. If we shake you enough, you might remember something."
"Guh!? Wait!! Stop!!"
He ended up being subjected to "torture" by Kagura and the rest of the New Continent party.
Well, that’s to be expected.
If it gets out that the Zuraburu Great Empire made a leap in power using Magic Gears, it would trigger a storm of boos from every nation.
Intercontinental exchange has only just begun; they would want to keep such a blunder hidden at all costs.
Well, even if it were exposed, the New Continent group wouldn't be held responsible, so they likely wouldn't face any direct pursuit, but it would still be an uncomfortable situation.
For us, having requested that the various nations accept them as allies of the new land, this is quite awkward.
"So, what are we going to do? It seems Aquenoki doesn't know anything. We can't exactly talk to the Gusdo Kingdom about this, can we?"
Seraria, too, has a rare troubled look on her face.
And for good reason. We thought we were just caught up in a war between the Gusdo Kingdom and the Zuraburu Great Empire, but now that we've peeled back the layers, we realize the reason the Zuraburu Great Empire gained the strength to invade might be because of those Magic Gears.
"Well, if we want to keep the existence of Magic Gears a secret, we can't exactly consult them. Fortunately, we’ve captured the Zuraburu commanders, and we’re in the middle of extracting detailed information from them."
"Extracting, huh? It’s already been two days since you caught them, haven't you gotten any information yet?"
"Well, the opponents are proper military men. Their lips seem to be sealed tight."
"That makes sense."
"However, we did secure their orders. The contents say: 'Secure the Aurelia Port of the Gusdo Kingdom, and prioritize the import of Magic Gears.'"
The objective of the Zuraburu Great Empire is now clear.
It wasn't the subjugation of the Gusdo Kingdom's remnants that mattered; it was securing the Magic Gears.
"So they really did understand the utility of the Magic Gears and were importing them. Well, that’s only natural, considering how many Wyverns they were using... I think I’m starting to read the situation. To the Zuraburu Great Empire, the value of the Magic Gears brought from the Gusdo Kingdom is immeasurable. However, they went to war with a friendly nation of the Gusdo Kingdom, and the Gusdo Kingdom ended up supporting that country. At that time..."
"The supply of Magic Gears from Aurelia Port stopped. Well, for the Gusdo Kingdom, it was probably just one of many ways to cut off supplies to an enemy nation..."
"But for the Zuraburu Great Empire, which was expanding its territory by using monsters via Magic Gears, it became a matter of life and death. That’s why they launched an all-out attack. They couldn't risk the Gusdo Kingdom finding out the true value of the Magic Gears."
"Well, it’s still in the realm of speculation, but it’s likely not wrong. There are many who don't understand their value. Since the Gusdo Kingdom never used Magic Gears to resist, they probably never knew anything until the very end."
**Side: Seraria**
I understand well what my husband is saying.
Since meeting him, I’ve learned the utility of many things that were previously said to be unnecessary, and I’ve realized just how ignorant we were.
Things like oil and minerals, in particular.
"If that's the case, should we consider the fall of the Gusdo Kingdom to be inevitable? To the Zuraburu Great Empire, obtaining a port capable of importing Magic Gears was an absolute necessity."
"I suppose so. But it would have also unnecessarily provoked the opponent, so they could have just tried to incorporate them. It’s strange that they chose to go to war, which can be called a high-handed measure. In fact, there was even a possibility they would have ended up disposing of the Sea-Saifo delegation, who were the source of the Magic Gears."
"Indeed, when you put it that way, you're right."
The Gusdo Kingdom had detained Sea-Saifo and pressured them to cooperate with their escape.
"Well, compared to the decision of whether or not to go to war, that kind of thing is trivial, so it’s possible the conclusion was to just let it slide."
"True. Rather than holding them responsible for the total destruction of the delegation that occurred because the Gusdo Kingdom detained them, it would be less damaging to just trade with them as an export destination. If that’s the case, then they really did just attack to take Aurelia Port from the Gusdo Kingdom, didn't they?"
"It’s nothing but conjecture. But, what we need to do is clear. Kagura, Micos, Enola, Stasia. That’s enough interrogating. I have something to discuss."
" " "Yes!" " "
"Gueh!?"
As soon as my husband said that, Kagura and the others immediately threw aside the shaking Aquenoki and came over to us.
"For now, there’s no mistake that he only gave the orders and didn't keep track of the details, right?"
"Yes. But thanks to the shaking, he seems to have remembered how many of those 'core-like things' he put out."
"Are you serious?"
I was surprised too.
Well, as for how reliable that is, looking at the limp Aquenoki, it’s debatable, but it’s surprising that Kagura and the others managed to get that out of him.
"So, how many? And how certain is it?"
"We asked him how many cores he put out, for starters."
"He probably remembered the total number, even if there were failed products. I guess he is a god, even if he's a fallen one."
"Yes. He said the number is 234."
"234... that’s suspiciously specific."
"Yeah. Why 234?"
I was also curious, so I asked how they managed to extract that information.