第１０２７堀：英雄の足跡 (Part2)
"Considering Arwin's words and the current situation, it's possible that the existing Dungeon Masters aren't just hunkering down in their dungeons, but are scattered to the winds. Well, when you put it that way, it makes sense. I wonder how many of them are actually diligently performing their duties as Dungeon Masters."
Yuki said this with a wry smile, but I find it hard to believe that someone would abandon their mission after being appointed a Dungeon Master by the gods... though, given that it's actually happening, I suppose it’s a matter of faith or a sense of responsibility.
As I was pondering this, Yuki continued to share his thoughts.
"After all, what the gods told us was to do something about the mana depletion phenomenon. Even for me, this situation is difficult; I can't imagine what the locals are supposed to do when they have no idea how to handle it. So, the logic follows that they’d build a dungeon, stabilize it, and then set out on a journey to find answers."
So that’s how Yuki sees it.
Well, it’s true that no matter how much you rack your brain, you might never find the answer to how to stop the mana depletion.
Ah, so that’s why the Dungeon Masters and gods up until now have tried to conquer the world first.
They can't investigate anything unless they stabilize their surroundings first.
"Still, questions remain."
"What kind of questions?"
"Well, some Dungeon Masters went on a journey. That’s fine. We have the case of Arwin, and then there’s Reye, who’s a shut-in. It’s not strange for people to make those kinds of choices."
Hm? Reye-san doesn't have anything to do with this, does she?
"But, can we say that for everyone? I find it highly suspicious that there haven't been any large-scale battles centered around dungeons on the eastern side where the Hein Empire is located. It’s hard to believe that every single one of those who stayed behind is a shut-in..."
Ah, so that’s why he brought up Reye-san.
"I understand what you're saying, but... I heard there were reports of monsters coming out of dungeons a few times, didn't I?"
"Yeah, there were. But it’s strange that it ended there. If that’s all that happened, it would mean the Dungeon Masters in the Hein Empire are all idiots who were easily defeated by mere mortals."
Yuki looked thoughtful as he said this, but Mikos, who was standing next to him, spoke up...
"There's no point in thinking about it here. Mikos-chan thinks it would be better to gather more information."
"You're right. It's a waste of time to just sit here and think. Steve and Kirika are continuing to gather information on the dungeons, so it shouldn't be a problem to wait until that data comes in."
"Speaking of which, that Kirika-san—has there been any new information from that dungeon since then?"
If we need more information, the intelligence brought back by Kirika-san is the most important.
"Other than Gehen's journal, it's like a hollow shell. There isn't even a sense of daily life in the residential area. And it’s been two days since we suppressed it, but there’s no sign of the enemy returning. I’ve taken control of the dungeon and investigated the town, but there’s no one of note there either, so the safety of the dungeon is secured for now."
"Yuki-sensei. If you're not in such a hurry to explore the main dungeon, why don't you look deeper into Gehen's whereabouts? The information cuts off at the point where he headed for the Great Mountain Range, and since there was no one of note by that name here, perhaps..."
Mikos didn't finish her sentence, instead fixing her gaze on Yuki.
"Ah, if you think about it normally, he probably lost his life in the Great Mountain Range. It's a place where you can't even deploy a dungeon. Plus, the rumors say the monsters there are high-level... But man, we just don't have the personnel to conduct an investigation that far out."
" "Ah..." "
The labor shortage in Weed is truly becoming serious.
Still, supporting the Zuraburu Great Empire is the priority... ugh, it’s a difficult situation.
"Well, all we can do for now is send the goblin unit led by Steve. We've confirmed that the dungeon over there was left untouched after the DP was replenished about 300 years ago during the core analysis, so we view its importance as quite low. We'll leave the management to a small group."
"I see. So, what shall we do? Continue investigating the domestic situation? Or go back to following up on the Zuraburu front?"
"Let's continue looking into prominent figures. There's a possibility that other Dungeon Masters besides Gehen are there. That said, because of what Mikos mentioned regarding the Great Mountain Range, let's split our efforts fifty-fifty."
"Understood. Leave it to Mikos-chan!"
And so, we decided to continue our investigation of local information while also gathering intelligence on the Great Mountain Range.
I hope we find something...
Now then, where on earth did that hero disappear to?
Just how strong are the monsters in the Great Mountain Range?
And will we be able to reach the Dungeon Master!
I really like this kind of thing.
I love the style of exploring history and going on an adventure.