第１０１０堀：なかったもの (Part1)
**Chapter 1010: The Thing That Wasn't There**
**Side: Yuki**
"What? You found it!"
I let out a loud shout at the report that had just arrived. If I were at my office, that would have been fine, but here…
"Hii!?"
"Fueh!?"
"Waaaaaah!!"
Yes, I had done it right in the middle of a family gathering, with the children present. My sudden outburst hadn't just startled the little ones—whose main job is to sleep—into tears; it had even brought tears to the eyes of the slightly timid Schans, and Eria, who had been engrossed in her book, had her eyes wide with shock.
"Now, dear."
"I'm sorry. I'll go talk outside."
Scolded in a whisper by Seraria and bowing my head in apology to the other wives, I slipped out of the room. Usually, I would have abandoned work to help with the kids, but everyone understood that this was an emergency, so no one complained. I’ll have to make it up to them later.
"So, Yuki, what happened?"
"It is rare for you to raise your voice so suddenly, Brother."
"Brother, work?"
The members of today’s guard detail—Dressa, Vilia, and Hiiro—called out to me in concern. They didn't know the situation, but they followed me out of the room to provide protection. Though, looking at them, all three were smaller than me, so they probably looked more like my little sisters than bodyguards.
Regardless, the reason for my outburst was clear.
"A dungeon has been confirmed in the Zurable continent."
"What did you say!"
"Where exactly is it?"
"Are we going to dungeon-attack it right away?"
The three of them understood the unexpected nature, importance, and urgency of finding a dungeon there, and they immediately began asking questions.
"I’ve only just received the report that it exists. I’m going to hear the details now. It’s a dungeon, after all. You three understand the gravity of that, don't you?"
"Yes, of course. But if it’s that important, shouldn't Seraria and the others hear it too?"
"Not if the urgency is high. Right now, it’s just a discovery report. I don't even know if it’s active yet. It might turn out to be like the one on the If continent—already nothing more than ruins."
"I see. But it feels a bit late for that. The region where the Zurable Empire is located isn't under the protection of Lady Hairen, is it? Then why wasn't it found until now? We even went to the Adventurer's Guild to check."
"Come to think of it, I didn't see any books about that."
Exactly. As Vilia and Hiiro pointed out, nothing we had researched in the Zurable Empire had ever hinted at the existence of a dungeon. In fact, there shouldn't have been any in Zurable. I had realized this when we were investigating monsters at the Adventurer's Guild in the Imperial Capital. The investigation had focused solely on the types of monsters, but there wasn't a single document mentioning caves where such monsters spawned.
In other places, dungeons and monsters are basically a set, so the complete lack of such descriptions was, conversely, quite unsettling to me. That said, I hadn't scrutinized every single region, and I couldn't exactly go around asking questions that might incite chaos within the Zurable Empire. I had mentioned that monsters occur naturally, but telling them that they spawn infinitely from a dungeon would be a life-or-death issue for the nation. If I gave them that knowledge and they found out Weed was a "dungeon nation," it could leave a bad impression. That’s why I couldn't talk about dungeons recklessly.
Well, now that the visit to Weed is over, talking about dungeons might not be a problem, but I still believe in gathering information first.
"And who provided that information?"
"That would be me, of course."
Kirika appeared from nowhere and answered Dressa’s question immediately.
"Ah, Kirika-san."
"Oh, Big Sister Kirika!"
"Yes. Good evening, everyone. Now, Master, where shall we discuss this?"
"A proper room would be better. Did you contact Steve and the others?"
"Yes. They are already gathered in the conference room."
As expected of Kirika, she’s well-prepared.
"What shall we do about the wives?"
"They are having family time right now. Unless it’s something dire, reporting tomorrow will suffice. First, let’s verify the information."
"Understood. Please, this way."
And so, led by Kirika, I arrived at the conference room within the military grounds.
"Oh, General."
"Yo, General."
"Hey, Boss."
"Big brother, you've arrived."
Just as Kirika said, the Four Heavenly Kings of my monster army were already assembled. It’s a bit late for this, but that name sounds like a recipe for defeat—should I change it next time? It’s just a nickname, though. The Goblin Squad, the Orc Squad, the Slime Squad, and the "Others" squad.
Besides, even though we call it an "army," the numbers aren't actually that high. The monster army alone is about 10,000 strong, and the regular human military personnel are only about 5,000. Well, Weed would have trouble if we maintained a massive army, so that’s how it is. Considering the Zurable Empire and the future, should I consider expanding?
"So, General. Why are you staring at our faces so intently?"
"No, it’s just... we’re seriously short-handed lately, aren't we? I was wondering if it’s finally time to consider expanding the monster army."
"Ah. Well, we’re so short on hands that we’ve been leaving the important fields to the old men and women of Weed quite often."
"No, John, you guys need to stop farming. We should keep the soldier-farmers to a minimum. We are soldiers."
"Well, setting aside the farming and military expansion... Big brother, isn't the talk about the dungeon we found more important today?"
"You're right. Well, I'll think about that later. Kirika, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Yes, sir."
Kirika replied immediately and began distributing documents to us.
"The documents provided contain the details, so please review them later. First, I will provide an overview. Regarding the circumstances: after holding proper talks with Emperor Upiya, the leader of the Zurable Empire, and having Weed’s existence officially recognized and a friendly relationship established, our movements within the empire became easier. Furthermore, as the fleet from the Hairen Empire has returned and reached the reporting stage, our intelligence department sent several members to move independently to investigate the Hairen Empire side. That is how this began."
That’s right. We haven't officially brought the Zurable Empire into the intercontinental alliance yet, but they are clearly on our side, so we were able to reduce personnel stationed there. We can also expect reinforcements from the Zurable Empire at Aurelia Port. It’s also a relief that we can now easily transport personnel and goods using the gate. And since it was confirmed that the Hairen Empire fleet had returned to their homeland, Kirika’s intelligence department began expanding their search for dungeons beyond the bases and main routes, which had previously been lower in priority.