第１０２７堀：英雄の足跡 (Part1)
**Chapter 1027: The Hero’s Footsteps**
**Side: Kagura**
"Mikos~, did you find anything?"
"I told you, I haven't heard of him, so it's not like I can just find it instantly. Besides, since neither you nor I have ever heard of this 'Gaehen' person, isn't it possible he’s just a legend and has nothing to do with us?"
"It’s possible he just isn't that famous over here. We need to investigate properly."
"Yeah, yeah, roger that."
Mikos replied with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Honestly, why is she always so unmotivated?
We were currently gathering information following a message from Comet-san, who suggested that an adventurer named Gaehen might have visited our territory.
"But seriously, did this Gaehen guy even exist?"
"That’s what Dressa and the others are re-investigating right now."
Since there is a possibility he is a hostile Dungeon Master, we have to be thorough.
"Above all, we found a journal with his name in a dungeon along the invasion route that Kirika-san secured. There’s no doubt he existed."
"A journal, huh? But we haven't even confirmed if he was the one who actually wrote it, right? If this Gaehen is a super-celebrity in the Zurable Great Empire, it wouldn't be strange for someone else to use his name to write it, would it?"
"That’s why they’re investigating that angle separately. But we still have to confirm if he actually came to this side. You understand, right? If we mess this up, it could be a critical factor in determining whether some of the dungeons on this side become our enemies or our allies in the coming battles."
That’s right. By tracing his footsteps, we might be able to figure out how many dungeons were his. Yuki and the rest of us decided this information was worth investigating, which is why we’re dedicating time to it. Mikos should know that, so why is she acting so strangely unenthusiastic?
"Hey, Mikos. You’ve been acting—well, not just unmotivated, but strangely negative. Do you have some kind of hunch?"
"Hmm. Well, yeah. Like Comet-san said, if you just keep making dungeons and then use your Dungeon Master powers to do all sorts of things outside, you’d probably become a celebrity. But would you really leave your name behind so blatantly? I mean, look at Dungeon Masters—most of them are like hermits. Comet-san is like that, and Reye-san, Sacri-san, and even Yuki-sensei—he looks famous, but to the public, he’s just a sloppy guy who likes to look after people."
"Hmm. That’s true."
As Mikos said, the Dungeon Masters I know are basically introverted and tend to hole up in their bases. After all, when you have such a convenient base, why would you bother going outside where your life is in danger?
"I mean, there are tons of famous people, right? It just doesn't sit right with me that we’re focusing on just this one guy, Gaehen. He’s not the only Dungeon Master out there, is he?"
"That may be true, but it’s more likely than searching at random."
"Well, I guess so... but honestly, I feel like the prediction might be off, or maybe we’re being led on, just being swung left and right. I mean, I understand what Yuki-sensei is saying, though."
"Are you saying this is a wild goose chase?"
"Yeah, I think there’s a pretty high chance of that. But it’s for Yuki-sensei, so I’ll try changing my perspective."
"Changing your perspective?"
"Yeah. As far as I’ve looked, there was no name like Gaehen. Same for those people, Sota-san and Enoru-san."
"That’s true."
Indeed, we had already inquired with Sota-sama and Enoru-sama, who should know about the past, but they said they had no leads. That’s probably why Mikos feels hesitant about continuing this investigation so seriously.
"Enora and Stasia are investigating too, so there’s a chance something might come up from their end, right?"
Exactly. There are still people working hard on it. Enora and Stasia are looking into it personally. Since they are searching through historical records passed down by the nations and the church, separate from Sota-san and the others, there’s a higher chance of finding something there.
"Yeah, I have expectations for that side, but like I said, I’m changing my perspective. I’m not going to look for a celebrity named Gaehen; I’m going to look for someone who crossed the Great Mountain Range."
"There’s no way someone like that exists."
"Kagura, if you say that, it means this Gaehen guy didn't come here at all, right? Do you get it?"
"Uh..."
"Yeah, yeah, let’s think about this carefully... Thanks to Hairen-sama, making dungeons in this area is a huge struggle, and there aren't even any monsters. That means even if you’re a Dungeon Master, you can't use dungeons to travel. So, if you’re going to try to come here by land..."
Once she put it that way, I understood.
"I see—so they would have to cross the Great Mountain Range."
"Exactly. But I’ve never heard of anyone crossing the Great Mountain Range. Which means Gaehen didn't come here, right?"
"That’s true. But couldn't he have done it secretly?"
"Well, if he did that, there’s no way we’d know. So, let’s put that possibility aside for now. The only other options are that he came by a different route—the sea—or he died in the Great Mountain Range. Personally, I think the latter is more likely. Also, if we had documents from the Zurable Great Empire showing where Gaehen entered the mountain range, we could narrow it down."
I see. If she had thought it through this far, then investigating the records here really does seem like a complete waste of time. Well, Yuki probably wouldn't say that; he’d just say it was good for studying history. But we don't want to be useful "later"—we want to be useful right now.
"Mikos. Let’s go tell Yuki what you just said. We can be useful right here and now, right?"
When I suggested that, Mikos tossed her book aside, looked at me with a surprised expression, and then slowly broke into a happy smile.
"That’s it! Mikos-chan can be useful to Yuki-sensei right now! Kirika-san and Steve are working hard in the field! It’s not that I want to abandon the dull work, but it’s not right to keep this possibility I realized to myself, right?"
"Exactly. He did say to report even the trivial things. Come on, let’s go."
And so, I took Mikos to see Yuki and relayed what she had said...
"Oh, so Mikos realized that possibility too. As expected of an information broker."
"Hehe. Wait, Yuki-sensei, you already realized it?"
"Well, more or less. That said, it’s true that I’d completely forgotten about vetting the celebrities, and I thought that if things went well, I might be able to get information on other Dungeon Masters from that, too."
I see. He wasn't just looking for Gaehen; he was investigating historical celebrities to track the movements of other Dungeon Masters as well.