第１２１４堀：遠回りしてここまでやってきた (Part1)
Chapter 1214: A Long Way Around
Side: Yuki
"I'm home."
After wrapping up the future survey policies for the Great Forest with Hivia and the others, I returned to my office. Orelia and her companions, who had apparently finished their lecture with Narjia, were all gathered there, watching me with solemn expressions.
"Welcome home."
The words themselves were the usual greeting, but there was a chill in the air that felt different from the norm. Did I do something? I quietly asked Kirue, who was standing nearby.
"Are those three acting a bit stiff?"
"Indeed. Their words lack their usual emotional resonance. Perhaps they are simply exhausted? Lady Narjia arrived at the Lancer Magic Academy quite early; it is likely the lecture was a grueling, cram-style session."
"Ah..."
Maybe it was a mistake to leave the explanation of the mana depletion phenomenon to Narjia. She was a great mentor for Firia, but... well, she’s a mentor, not necessarily a teacher.
"Anyway, have a seat. It sounds like Narjia-san’s class was pretty intense, huh?"
"Yes. Well, no—it was certainly a bit fast-paced, but I believe she gauged our levels correctly, so it was manageable."
"She taught us properly."
"Yes~. Though, there is no doubt it was a bit of a rush~. More importantly, we have a question we would like to ask~. Would that be alright~?"
"Sure."
I wondered what they could possibly want to ask me instead of Narjia, but then...
"Kagura-sama and the others mentioned that we would also be making a round of visits to the New Continent, and they provided a brief explanation regarding that as well."
"A-and, well, does that mean we, too, will be..."
"Going out to pay our respects~?"
"Ah, that’s what this is about."
I see. Their expressions were stiff because they’d heard the round of visits was going to continue. Still, this was...
"What do you mean, 'does that mean'? This was decided from the very beginning. Surely you didn't think it would end with just the three major powers of the If Continent. Orelia and the others should have known that. Am I wrong?"
Kirue answered sharply, her eyes piercing. It was as if she were asking, *What are you even saying at this late hour?*
"Y-yes. We were well aware of that, but we were surprised because it seemed so sudden. Yuki-sama hadn't mentioned it to us beforehand."
"T-that’s right. We have to learn the etiquette and manners for each country, after all."
"If the schedule is already set~, we would appreciate it if you could tell us sooner~."
Ah, I get it now. Because Kagura and the others had sprung the explanation on them suddenly, they were panicking, thinking the visits were going to start immediately.
"No, it’s not happening right away. Samantha and the others have just given birth, so it’ll be at least a month from now. But since it’s confirmed that we’re going, we need to coordinate with the other side through Kagura and her group. By the way, this whole thing was originally supposed to happen earlier, but the appearance of the Zuraburu Empire pushed back the survey schedule for the mana depletion in the New Continent."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You haven't been briefed on that part? Well, let me get some tea, and then I’ll explain."
"Understood."
Orelia replied and immediately began preparing the tea. She wasn't using tea bags, but brewing it properly. And since she had been thoroughly taught by Kirue and Sasari, it was delicious. I’d wondered before what they were aiming for, but according to Kirue and Sasari, it was simply "expected of them."
*Being a woman is tough,* I thought, or rather, I realized once again that my position was forcing Orelia and the others to push themselves quite hard.
Well, that aside, the most important thing for me was to explain things properly so I could help them get used to the pace.
"Yeah. Delicious. Thanks... So, about what I said earlier, the survey for the mana depletion phenomenon in the New Continent was originally scheduled for much earlier."
"Earlier? By how much?"
"Haha. To tell you the truth, if the Kingdom of Seasypho hadn't brought relief supplies to the Kingdom of Haiden, we would have been doing the survey back then."
"?"
The three of them didn't seem to grasp what I meant by that explanation, but well, that couldn't be helped...
"It was about two years ago."
"Eh?"
"As Kirue said, it was about two years ago. We were originally planning to start as soon as we resolved the trouble with the Kingdom of Haiden."
"Um, should we consider that 'a long time ago'?"
"Hmm, that’s a difficult question. Coordinating schedules between nations is a huge hassle, so I wouldn't call it 'a long time ago' by any means."
"As the Master says... though, considering the circumstances, the schedule has been significantly delayed. After all, resolving the trouble between the Kingdom of Haiden and the Kingdom of Seasypho led to sending troops across the sea to the Kingdom of Gusdo. And that, in turn, led to our intervention in the war between the Zuraburu Great Empire and the Kingdom of Hain. We’ve taken quite a long detour."
"I-isn't that a massive delay?"
"It is~. We think so too~."
"I share the same opinion as Yayui and Hobis. And besides, that was all while putting aside the requests from Weed, to whom we owe so much, wasn't it?"
Orelia and the others seemed to have been studying Weed’s diplomatic history properly. I wonder where they got that from—probably from my wives. It was a story everyone knew.
"I suppose so. That said, neither the Kingdom of Haiden nor the Kingdom of Seasypho expected things to become this complicated. We intended for it to be a simple meet-and-greet, but then the monster-related issues popped up. There is no doubt that we moved for the sake of the mana depletion survey and for the countries across the sea that had nothing to do with them."
"Yes. That includes Blue Hole, the territory of Weed that exists on the ocean. And across the sea, there were new lands: the Kingdom of Gusdo, the Zuraburu Great Empire, and the Kingdom of Hain. We went out to those places seeking our own interests, so it’s not entirely accurate to say it was all due to the Kingdom of Haiden or the Kingdom of Seasypho. However, the catalyst was, as Orelia said, the fact that we tested the waters before your requests—that is an undeniable fact."
"So, while you can look at it from various angles, this is the path we’ve taken. That is precisely why Haiden, as Kagura’s motherland, wants to strengthen its ties with Weed."
That’s right. For now, Haiden probably perceives itself as being overly reliant on Weed. And since the whole thing started with our unauthorized summoning—what you might call a kidnapping—they probably have a hard time dealing with us.