第９８４堀：情報が集まったからと言って答えがすぐ出るわけではない (Part1)
Chapter 984: Gathering Information Doesn't Mean You'll Immediately Find the Answer
Side: Yuki
Right now, we were gathered in the Weed conference room, reporting on the information we had obtained from the Zurable Great Empire the other day.
"I see. So even that Showu has such a weakness."
"……I hate to say this, but you must never, under any circumstances, let Lady Showu handle the cleaning."
"Big Sister Vili is right. It’ll just cause another avalanche of books."
I couldn't help but let out a wry smile as I listened to the report from Vilia and Hiiro, who looked completely drained of life. It seemed that Showu, who had been so eager to go help them that she’d rushed out of the meeting, hadn't exactly been a reinforcement. I never expected her to trigger a "clumsy girl"—or perhaps, a "woman who can't clean"—skill in a situation like that.
"Well, I suppose that balances things out, doesn't it?"
"Indeed. That girl is far too capable. It’s probably better that she has such a flaw."
Seraria and Deryu were the ones nodding in agreement. Both of them were the type who couldn't keep a room tidy either, but they had maids to handle that for them. It seems that even capable people have their own weaknesses.
"What is it?"
"What's that look for?"
"No, it’s just… I feel like we’ve finally gathered a decent amount of information."
I certainly couldn't say that out loud; I knew better than to sour their moods. And what I said wasn't a lie. Agil began to explain, as if to back me up.
"That’s right. First, the marine monster survey by the aircraft carriers. Then, the monster data from the Zurable Great Empire’s Adventurer Guild headquarters. Next, the records of the battlefields where the Zurable Great Empire has fought until now. And finally, the books from various countries that didn't scatter during the war, thanks to Emperor Eupia and Grand Imperial Advisor Showu collecting them personally. Honestly, I’d say we’ve gathered almost as much information as we could ever hope for, wouldn't you?"
"Well, yeah. As far as information goes, we’ve got the best we could hope for. But unfortunately, we lack the members and the time to analyze it all."
While it’s always better to have more information, it takes time to scrutinize it. Right now, almost all of Weed’s workforce was tied up in this, which was quite a painful situation. Everyone seemed to understand this problem.
"Hey, Yuki-san. Surely it’s difficult for just us to handle this, right?"
"Yeah. I agree with Riel. The volume is just too much. We’ll never finish on our own."
"……At this rate, who knows how many years it will take? But we really need to get back to Weed’s normal operations soon."
My wives nodded in agreement with Kaya’s words. It was true; they couldn't stay focused solely on Zurable forever. It had been several months since the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance, centered on Weed, began its activities. For now, the major powers of the Alliance were handling the immediate issues, but it was about time for Weed to step out and start making the rounds. There was also the recurring report that the old man Blade from Roday was showing up at Kiyu’s ramen shop in Weed every week… we couldn't just ignore the potential impact of that, either.
……But I’d leave the future hell for later. For now, I had to deal with the work in front of me.
"I understand Riel and the others' concerns. Let’s limit our direct involvement to just gathering materials. As for Ria and the others waiting at home, they’re currently sorting through the documents we were allowed to view at the Zurable Adventurer Guild, but that’s the only exception."
Setting aside Cleena and Samantha, Ria and Jessica had been itching to do something, so it worked out well to delegate that task to them.
"Besides, scrutinizing and analyzing data is something that should be left to the research staff."
"Then why did you have us doing the research?"
"Exactly. Was all of Mikos-chan and the others' hard work meaningless?"
"Calling it meaningless is a bit harsh. Yuki, why did you have us look into it?"
Kagura and the others chimed in with their complaints. Well, that was to be expected. In truth, that had been a miscalculation on my part. I didn't intend to make excuses, so I answered honestly.
"Honestly, I didn't think we’d be able to gather this much information so easily."
"““Ah.”””
When I said that, all my wives looked incredibly convinced. Comet, who had been listening while holding a tablet, laughed.
"Well, obviously. We only realized the possibility of a Great Monster Outbreak when we made contact with the Hein fleet. It’s only been about a month since we started moving to find information. And in that time, we’ve collected an unpredictable amount of data from the three sources Agil mentioned. I’m the one who has to process all of this, you know? Dumping this much work on the research staff is basically bullying, isn't it?"
"Well, do your best. Oh, and don't forget to analyze the data on the Blue Hole area, too."
"Hey! Isn't that asking a bit too much?"
"I'm not saying you have to do it all at once in parallel, so don't worry about it. I know these are all time-consuming tasks."
Analyzing natural environmental data is just like that. You have to ingest hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of past data points, pore over them with your eyes, and make predictions. It’s not something you can get an answer to in just a few months. To expect an answer in just a month or so is completely absurd. Well, it’s not impossible to provide *an* answer, but it would lack any shred of precision or reliability.
"Well, you're right that it takes time. But didn't you expect a quick answer, Yuki?"
"I did. But even if I’m impatient, it’s not like that’ll produce an accurate answer, right?"
"I suppose so. But if you could allocate more personnel, the speed of information processing would increase, wouldn't it? Or rather, how were you planning to move in the first place, Yuki? You thought we wouldn't gather much information, right?"
"Ah, that. ……In my estimation, I thought we’d get a little from the Adventurer Guild, a decent amount of military engagement data, and that information regarding the annexed countries would be hopeless."
"That’s normal. All of that is classified information. Usually, you wouldn't even be allowed to view it. Usually."
Exactly. My mistake was predicting a "normal" response. Zurable must have trusted us more than I expected. That’s not a bad thing, but…
"My plan was to use the military and guild information provided to fly to the most suspicious location and investigate. By now, I should have been flying out to the field."
"Ah, there’s nothing like field research to get the truth. But when we opened the lid, the information handed to us was just too vast."