第１０３０堀：愛は無敵で大山脈の話 (Part1)
**Chapter 1030: Love is Invincible and the Tale of the Great Mountain Range**
**Side: Cleena**
*Rustle, rustle...*
"...Hmm. This is rare for Yuki. He’s missing the mark on every single prediction."
I mutter this to myself while reading the newly submitted report at home.
"Rather than missing the mark, Yuki-sama always operates under the assumption of the worst-case scenario. Therefore, the more his predictions miss, the easier things actually become for us."
Indeed, just as Samantha says, Yuki always prepares for the worst. But this time, he’s been swinging at shadows far too often.
"Still, you’re right. Usually, he manages to catch the enemy’s tail early on, gathers information, and implements countermeasures quickly... but for some reason, there’s been absolutely no information this time."
"Yeah. Like Jessica says, the usual Yuki would have found traces of the enemy and flushed them out by now. But this time, we haven't even caught a glimpse of their shadow."
"So, doesn't that just mean this opponent isn't really a big deal? It’ll be fine. The report Yuki wrote is accurate, and even if the enemy tries to use a dungeon to send monsters through, they can't do it instantly. Besides, adventurers from other countries will fight to protect themselves, too."
"...You’re right."
The report Yuki submitted this time concludes that we don't really need to worry about dungeons registered with the Adventurer's Guild. The logic, as Ria pointed out, is that the adventurers and towns already frequenting those dungeons will naturally move to stop any monsters overflowing from them to ensure their own survival.
That is certainly true. The countries and towns in the east, where the Hein Empire is located, fully understand the dangers of dungeons. In other words, a hostile Dungeon Master cannot easily inflict damage on the main force of the Zuraburu Great Empire.
"...But it’s eerie not knowing the enemy’s intent at all."
"I share that sentiment. However, Kirika-san has already suppressed the dungeons in the Forma Kingdom, leaving only decoys behind. Even so, there has been no movement."
"It is indeed surprisingly unsettling not to see the enemy’s form."
I agree with Jessica’s opinion. As Samantha noted, we already secured the Forma Kingdom’s dungeons before the Zuraburu army even marched, leaving only decoys in their place. Yet, there is no sign of any action. This is truly eerie. This is the very method Yuki always employs, but until I stood in this position myself, I never realized how much the lack of information could cause such anxiety.
...Information. It really is precious. They say it’s worth a thousand gold, and I’m realizing that all over again.
As I’m thinking this...
"You don't have to worry so much, it’ll be fine."
Ria says this clearly, without a shred of hesitation.
"...Why? Doesn't it worry you, Ria?"
"I’m not as smart as the three of you... but there’s one thing I know for sure."
"And what might that be?"
Samantha asks, tilting her head. Jessica and I are also clueless, so we tilt our heads as well. What does Ria know?
"No matter what happens, Yuki-san will definitely come back, and we will definitely protect him. Isn't that right?"
"..."
That answer isn't the logical, well-reasoned explanation we were looking for. To an outsider, it might sound like mere delusion. But...
"...Yeah. Like Ria said, Yuki will come back properly. He promised."
"Yes, indeed. And since we will be the ones protecting Yuki-sama, there is nothing to worry about."
"Ahaha. I wonder why... it should be completely irrational, but I find myself agreeing with it."
That’s right. We were all completely convinced by Ria’s words. Or rather...
"Yeah, Yuki has never failed a mission. He always brings things to a successful conclusion in the end."
"That’s true. Yuki-sama always keeps his promises."
"Indeed. He will surely save Zuraburu as well. That is why he performs such meticulous information gathering, after all."
There is no way our Yuki would mess up. From the start, as Samantha said, Yuki always moves while anticipating the worst. He secures what needs to be secured the moment he starts moving, so there is no problem. The only question is how much of a war result—how much of a better outcome—he can reach.
"Oh, speaking of information gathering, I remembered that Kagura and the New Continent members are investigating the Great Mountain Range. I was asked for information on monsters related to the Great Mountain Range, but I haven't looked into it yet. Did anyone check that?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, that did happen. Let’s see, the documents on the Great Mountain Range are..."
"I believe Cleena was the one looking into that?"
"...Yeah. Me. I was talking about Yuki’s report because it was on my mind, but the documents are ready."
The previous topic ended abruptly, but since I realized there’s no need to worry about Yuki, it’s fine. Our love is invincible. Yeah, I don't want to be a woman who just drags the useless Yuki down, so I’ll do my job properly. Just because the baby in my belly has grown doesn't mean I can't move. I can at least handle data processing on the computer.
"Was it the story about a Dungeon Master who might have disappeared into that Great Mountain Range?"
"Yes, that was it. Since no information on the enemy is appearing, we are expanding our search into related folklore."
"...Yeah. It just goes to show how much Yuki is struggling with information gathering. Here is the summary of the literature related to the Great Mountain Range."
I say this as I circulate the data to the three of them.
"…Check it. This is the data I pulled from the literature on the Great Mountain Range."
"..."
Everyone immediately begins to examine the data seriously. Even so, since it’s just a list of monsters, they finish reading in an instant and look up.
"Um, Cleena. Is this for real?"
"...I don't know if it’s true. I just wrote down the monsters that appeared while researching the literature."
"Were these names clearly written in the documents?"
"...No. For the most part, I took the ones whose appearances were clearly described across multiple documents and searched for them in the monster database. Unless you have the 'Appraisal' skill, there's no way to know their official names."
"That is certainly true. However, the fact that they were confirmed in multiple documents suggests a high possibility of their existence. Still..."
"Wyverns are one thing, but a Hydra at the summit of the Great Mountain Range..."
Ria mutters this, looking up from the screen toward the ceiling. Before we knew it, we were all looking up at the ceiling in the same posture. I think we’re all imagining something about 20 meters tall.
"If things go poorly, isn't this even more dangerous than the Hein Empire?"