第１０７４堀：善意だけでは動きませんよ (Part2)
"Understood. Agil, Mikos, Enora, Kirue, let's move."
"Understood!" the three replied in unison.
"The rest of you, start the preparations."
"Understood!"
Since I was heading out this time, half of my wives had tagged along. That said, Ratz and Eris were busy dealing with other small nations, and Seraria was coordinating with the major powers regarding the various issues those small nations were facing. As for me, this was officially an "expedition" to the Dafaio Kingdom.
Well, since it involved water supply, the truth was that everyone was working hard to ensure no trouble would arise later. After all, water seemed to be a major issue across this world in general. If we could successfully create a tool to supply this water, I might even have to worry about the desert regions disappearing entirely.
While letting my mind wander to such absurdly distant concerns, I walked through the village. Since we were within the Dafaio Kingdom and Princess Fiora was present, the escort soldiers had already gone ahead to the village to welcome us. One could never be too careful about the possibility of a crazed villager launching an attack.
"Come to think of it, Yuki-sensei, was it really alright to skip greeting the King?"
"We don't have the luxury of time for that. We have to prioritize solving the water problem, which concerns the very survival of the nation and, more importantly, human lives. Well, considering I am a Prince Consort, one could argue that a formal greeting should have come first, but..."
"My Lord," Kirue interrupted, her tone stern. "I must insist that we should have gone to greet the King of Dafaio first."
"You're talking about social hierarchy and Weed's standing, right? Even so, we don't know when the water situation will reach its breaking point. That has to come first. You know that, which is why you didn't push the issue too hard, didn't you, Kirue?"
"...Yes. Indeed. If we don't make it in time, Princess Aria's reputation will certainly suffer, and people would criticize Weed for being too busy with leisurely pleasantries to address the crisis."
"Haha, what a troublesome business. And now, Yuki will be called a rude, foolish Prince Consort for dealing with the problem instead of paying his respects," Agil said with a wry smile. The moment she voiced what would inevitably be said, a murderous aura began to seep from Mikos and Enora.
"Yes, yes. Calm down, both of you. I don't care what people say about me. Besides, once the water problem is solved, that kind of criticism will die down. Still, even though we're at the foot of a mine, it’s awfully dusty here."
Perhaps it was due to the water shortage, but sand and dust were swirling in the air. It looked like a scene straight out of a Western movie. Then again, maybe this was just the default state for a mine. Every mine I’d ever imagined had this kind of atmosphere.
"This is the house provided for us," someone said.
While we had been talking, we had apparently arrived at our base of operations. However, since it was a house prepared by a small village, it was, predictably, quite small. Well, the other soldiers seemed to be spending their time in tents, so I couldn't complain. And for my wives, who were busy preparing near the vehicles, there was no sleeping space—or rather, it was physically impossible to fit everyone.
"I see. Then, if you don't mind, could we borrow this space to set up our own base?"
If there wasn't enough room, I’d just have to make it.
"Eh? A base? But we have a house here... Oh, I am terribly sorry, was it too cramped? But we don't have any larger houses..."
"Ah, don't worry about it. As long as you provide the land, it won't be a problem. And are you the village chief? Could we borrow some open space? I will pay the usage fee properly. Ah, would you prefer supplies instead?"
I made sure to mention payment so they wouldn't think I was some tyrant demanding free land. That should dispel any image of high-handedness.
"Oh, no! Please, feel free to use any space that doesn't get in the way. We are the ones who couldn't provide a satisfactory place, so for you to offer such compensation..."
"It's fine. We just need quarters for the soldiers and a place for our research. This is the compensation for that. Well, there's no point in rushing you right now. If there's anything you need, just let me know. For now, we'll just borrow the land."
I ignored the confused villagers who were still wearing question marks on their faces; showing them the real thing was more important.
"Alright, Tori, Riel, leave it to you."
"Leave it to us!"
"Count on us!"
The adventurer group responded and began pulling out containers, assembling them one after another. It was a simple task of setting up our usual portable base containers. The soldiers would take the containers meant for rooms. Man, it was great to be able to verify the usability of these in a real-world scenario. Plus, this was feedback from another country, not just Weed. I should consider selling these container houses based on their reputation.
It would be a waste to end this with only one objective in mind. I definitely had an ulterior motive. On the surface, it was to suppress the dissatisfaction of various nations. Behind the scenes, it was to conduct a thorough investigation. It was a hassle, of course, but this would make it much easier to move around.
So, what exactly happened to the water vein in the mine? Was it just a simple water shortage?