第１０２５堀：事実は意外とつまらない時もある (Part2)
"But how can you be so sure that the opponent isn't superior to us?"
"Well, it's not definitive yet, but the first indicator is that Kirika succeeded in seizing the dungeon without any trouble at all. Steve's situation is too remote to judge, though."
"Why would the fact that Kirika could seize her target dungeon smoothly prove that they aren't superior?"
"Even if they let her take it to gauge our movements and abilities, it’s unnatural that they didn't set up any countermeasures, even in places where it would have been easy to catch us off guard. It’s more natural to conclude that they couldn't, rather than assuming they were just watching us."
They simply hadn't been able to do anything. That was all there was to it.
"…Well, when you put it that way, I suppose you're right."
"And according to the information sent back, this dungeon doesn't have a Gate. That means they have no way to perform emergency movement if something happens. Well, they might have teleportation magic, but even so, it's strange that they didn't respond at all. In other words..."
"As Irwin said, since there was no crisis management communication, it means there was no reaction whatsoever, right?"
"That’s my assessment. But connecting dungeons via Gates is, in a sense, a high-risk move. If you're just running them normally, it’s better to manage each dungeon separately."
Indeed, if they are connected by Gates, as long as the enemy has enough DP and time to seize one, all those dungeons could be taken in a single sweep. Managing them individually—like an offline server—is the more desirable approach.
"And when you operate them separately, even if you have real-time communication like the internet or a phone, there are many times when reinforcements won't make it in time depending on where you are. I use Gates specifically to solve that problem."
"Thinking about it normally, there's no way that continent would have a means of instant communication like these calls or the internet."
"Yeah. If they had that, the Zurable Empire would never have been able to grow as it did."
If an information network were fully established, even a rebellion would be impossible to organize. The Zurable Empire would never have grown to such a size.
"But didn't that happen because the Zurable Empire couldn't deploy dungeons on their side?"
"Even so, the response from the eastern side, where they *are* deploying dungeons, is far too minimal. Naturally, they should have been able to take some action before the Nodal Kingdom fell, provided they had a proper information network."
"So, the fact that there was no movement even then is proof that the opponent hasn't built an information network."
"Exactly. Well, if they *did* know and still didn't move, then it means their internal affairs are in shambles, considering everything we've seen so far."
"…Indeed. Besides, if they had a means of instant communication or movement, it would be strange for the messengers at Aurelia Port or General Wave to have gone through the trouble of traveling by ship."
"Right. You don't need a general to sail a ship. And instant transmission of information is the most important thing for a nation. The fact that they aren't doing that means..."
"It means the Haien Empire isn't connected to the Dungeon Master, or that the Dungeon Master on their side lacks that technology."
"That's the most likely possibility."
"Well, it's not confirmed yet. Queen Seraria, I think it's best we wait for information from Kirika first."
"I agree. I just hope the investigation report provides something to back up what we've discussed."
For now, we would have to wait for further investigations and observe the opponent's movements regarding this dungeon.
"Since we're waiting on information, why don't we look into the floor data from earlier? You'd want as much information as possible, right?"
"Comet-san is right. Let's look into the floor information that was sent over and wait for Kirika-san's report."
"Indeed. However, assuming the Dungeon Master isn't involved with the state, where could they be and what could they be thinking? Are they out on a journey to hone their skills, like me?"
"Who knows? They could be hiding out after suffering a major injury, like me."
With that, we began looking through the dungeon documents while speculating on the identity of the Dungeon Master who was likely somewhere in the Haien Empire.
It’s important not to underestimate an enemy's capabilities, but you can't ignore what the situation reveals, either. Excessive caution only slows you down. Finding that balance is the difficult part.
In this instance, it was a case of not noticing something precisely because Yuki had been using such convenient systems. It seems the systems of the past were far more inconvenient. When you really think about it, that’s only natural.