第１０８５堀：報告と対処 (Part1)
Report and Response
Side: Yuki
"...I see. So they..."
"Yes, unfortunately, they were attacked by monsters. This is all that remained." I said, my face grave, and handed Princess Fiora the belongings of the survey team dispatched by the Kingdom of Dafaiyo, which our Weed survey team had collected.
Of course, to be precise, they were roasted by a dragon, but since a dragon is undeniably a monster, I wasn't lying. In the end, Coral is enjoying a life of eating and sleeping with Gaul and Queen Miyabi in Weed. The soft bed seems to be quite to her liking, as she apparently easily retracted her previous statement and said she wouldn't take dragon form anymore. After all, living creatures tend to be swayed by comfortable environments. In any case, it's far better than a battle. The expenses themselves are no problem at all. Nevertheless, I couldn't possibly tell Princess Fiora, who was right in front of me, that particular truth. After all, if I were to carelessly mention that "a dragon appeared," it could cause an unimaginable uproar. So, that matter had to be handled secretly in Weed, and ultimately, the cause of this water shortage was...
"And while we couldn't definitively identify the cause, tracing the river upstream, we found an unrecorded diversion where water flowed into a mine shaft, forming a considerably large pond deep inside. We believe this is the cause of the current water shortage."
"If that area can be sealed off, will the water return?"
"I can't say for certain, but I believe the probability is high. I'd like to increase the survey team and begin construction work, if that's acceptable?"
"Yes, please do. However, it would be truly regrettable to leave all such construction work to you, so if possible, I'd like you to take some of our soldiers with you..."
"If there were no obstacles, I wouldn't refuse, but the monsters appearing in that mine are high-level. All of the Kingdom of Dafaiyo's survey teams have been annihilated. So..."
Indeed, just taking the Kingdom of Dafaiyo's soldiers to the construction site would be a great deal of trouble. Well, since it's already become a dungeon, it's not impossible to control the monsters and prevent encounters, but that would raise questions about the survey teams being annihilated. Hmm, should I make it seem like the Weed survey team annihilated all the monsters in that mine? No, that would be even more suspicious. It would raise the question of why people who were supposedly just investigating a water shortage would go so far as to annihilate all the nearby monsters. If that's the case, I'd have to stage a monster attack just enough to not cause unnecessary trouble...
"I understand that, but for flood control work, there's no such thing as too many hands. Furthermore, there's the matter of Dafaiyo's prestige. So, how about the Weed personnel focusing on escort duty, and we handle the construction?"
"I see."
A large workforce is completely meaningless within a dungeon, but then again, the fact that it's become a dungeon is an even greater secret than the presence of a dragon. Or rather, even if it hadn't become a dungeon, that level of civil engineering work could easily be done if my magic-adept wives or I took the lead, but when it comes to the Kingdom of Dafaiyo's prestige... I'd like to push back and say they've been completely reliant on Weed from the start, but I also want to improve the impression of the smaller nations, starting with the Kingdom of Dafaiyo, in the future. Even the original dragon incident, while hidden for the greater good, was something I handled without Dafaiyo's knowledge... I suppose I'll agree here. Besides, Agil's research will take some time anyway, so this might also buy us some time.
"Understood. However, even for escorting the Kingdom of Dafaiyo's soldiers, we'll need to thin out the monsters to some extent first. We certainly want to avoid any surprise attacks."
"Yes, please do."
"Then, I will inform you of the construction schedule again. We don't yet know how much material will be needed. Also, would it be possible to request those materials from you?"
"Of course, leave it to us. Although temporary, you have secured enough water for us, so we have plenty of time."
Indeed, there's no need to rush gathering materials and starting construction. We secured the water, after all. That's why we can take our time with the investigation. So, with Agil and Comet at the forefront, we'll thoroughly gather information about this mine. What was the original cause for high-level monsters to appear in this mine, even before the dragon Coral arrived? And what kind of minerals are present? Most importantly, can we obtain any information about the magic depletion phenomenon? Well, since we were asked by the Kingdom of Dafaiyo to solve the serious problem of the water shortage, they'll probably cooperate with the investigation to some extent, but I can't exactly say, "I'm deploying a dungeon, so give me information." That would be tantamount to telling them to hand over their own territory to another nation. Furthermore, even if it's temporary and we say we'll remove the dungeon and return it, that's like having your wallet's contents, all your personal information, exposed. No one would be truly satisfied with that internally. If the smaller nations thought Weed desired such a thing, they wouldn't cooperate with the investigations we hope to conduct. From that perspective, while we will make 'requests,' they must be things that won't cause dissatisfaction or negative impact on other nations. Still, figuring out those 'appropriate requests' is a hassle...
Well, leaving those worries for everyone to consider later, there's something I need to ask Princess Fiora.
"Regarding the water situation. How is it? How are things progressing?"
"Yes. So far, we've received reports that all the installed systems are operating without issue."
"I see, that's good to hear. However, there's no telling when something might break, so please ensure frequent reports. After all, it concerns water. Even a minor issue could cause anxiety among the villagers."
"Yes. Thank you for the advice. We have already instructed them to be extremely careful, but I will convey the need for even more frequent reports."
"Please do. And along with that, let's discuss in detail the method of contact should any problems arise."
"Huh? What do you mean? Shouldn't we just contact Weed directly whenever something happens?"
...Hmm, it was a question about whether she was thoroughly considering future developments, but she hadn't thought that far ahead. I had assumed she was on par with my sister-in-law Aria, but perhaps I overestimated her? No, when she came to discuss solving this problem, she *had* considered future implications... Wait, wait, come to think of it, she was reaching for the fountain core before that. In that case, she's still in a developmental stage. Yes, that's right. Princess Fiora is still just a 'Princess.' She hasn't inherited the throne, nor does she seem to be undergoing training with the assumption of succession. This matter, too, was merely her visiting Weed on instructions from above. Well, 'above' refers to the King, who sent her out of concern for Dafaiyo's future, so I need to take that into account. Yes, for now, I'll explain it in detail.