第１２８９堀：大森林調査予定会議 (Part1)
Great Forest Survey Planning Meeting
Side: Comet
Today was the Great Forest survey meeting. Finally, one might say? The time was drawing near for one of the endeavors I had undertaken since ancient times to finally reach its conclusion. Lost in such profound sentiment, I gazed at the precise map of the Great Forest displayed on the monitor, a sight that had now become commonplace.
Yes, the Great Forest. An isolated world, one might say, situated almost at the center of the If Continent, encircled by mountain ranges, and the Lancer School of Magic stood at one of its corners. It was the only place on the If Continent, where the phenomenon of magic depletion was severe, that still harbored a multitude of monsters. From ancient times, legends spoke of powerful monsters lurking within this forest, capable of shaking nations. To ascertain the truth of these legends, the planning meeting for the survey had just begun.
In the distant past, when I was still alive, it was purely a personal research endeavor. Even after that, Popuri conducted surveys as part of the academy's operations, strictly for safety assurance. But thanks to Yuki's arrival, we could finally allocate proper budgets and personnel to it. In fact, this Great Forest survey has become a joint national project. Even if Weed didn't support us, I'm confident that the nations of the If Continent would assist us now. Well, if that happened, the entanglements would increase, making things more difficult. But before all that, the fundamental technology is so vastly different that I have no desire whatsoever to conduct the survey with anyone other than Weed.
Well, there's no point in dwelling on such thoughts forever, so I quickly began the explanation, using the map of the Great Forest displayed on the monitor.
“...And so, the area we will be surveying this time is this sector, which is believed to include the place where Havia lost her life.”
As I pressed a button on the computer, one of the sectors, depicted like a cake divided into twelve slices on the map, became covered in yellow cross-hatching. Positionally, it was the two o'clock spot.
“This is based on the route we heard from her directly, so I don't think there's any mistake. However, we've only divided the vast Great Forest into twelve sections, so I don't expect to find it in a single survey.”
Indeed, even at one-twelfth, the subject was the Great Forest itself, so even that range was not narrow enough to be completed in just one survey.
“Of course, we won't be haphazardly proceeding through this sector. Instead, we plan to further divide it into smaller sections for investigation.”
As I said this, I operated the computer, zooming in on just the fan-shaped slice of the cake that had been cross-hatched in yellow, and then several red lines appeared, extending towards the pivot of that fan.
“It might look narrow when you see it on this screen, but it's actually quite vast.”
Yes, it was a reminder not to underestimate the Great Forest. On the map, these red lines appeared densely packed, but in reality, outside the vicinity of their endpoints, the routes of the lines were not within sight of each other.
Having explained this much, Yuki posed a question.
“I understand the plan, but in this case, will the search for Havia's body be prioritized, or not?”
“First and foremost, the survey itself is the highest priority. We can deviate slightly from the path for locations Havia remembers, but I've determined that spending too much time searching for her body isn't very efficient, considering the overall plan. We'll be conducting more detailed surveys in the future anyway, so I believe it will be found eventually.”
“I see. That's fine by me, but is Havia in agreement?”
Yuki said, turning to Havia.
“Yes. No problems at all. In fact, I'm more excited about the Great Forest survey itself. I'm just hoping my body might be found as a bonus.”
“I see. Then I have no issues. It's usually a pattern in some panic movie for someone to go rogue on their own.”
“Ahaha, Noriko-san told me the same thing. But it's alright. This time, I'm not just dead weight, or not even allowed to come along. They've decided on the survey methods from the start, including my input, so I won't rebel and act on my own.”
Havia stated definitively. She understood that any hesitation or unresolved feelings on her part would cause problems for our survey. It was important to articulate these things clearly.
“My apologies for interrupting the explanation. Please continue.”
“Okay. And like Yuki, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them at any time. If it looks like it'll take a while, I'll explain it later. So, let's continue the explanation.”
I then displayed a single red line within the two o'clock sector.
“This is one of the routes we'll be surveying in the two o'clock sector this time. The objectives of this route are the installation of fixed observation boxes at regular intervals, and the identification of threats. Ultimately, we aim to reach the center of the Great Forest. Unlike last time, we won't be returning to the starting point, so the plan is to return once we reach the central circular area. After all, we don't know what might be in that location.”
As I spoke, a small circle appeared in the center of the Great Forest. This was the presumed central area of the Great Forest. Once this point was reached, they could return.
“Of course, if we encounter trouble during the journey that makes continuing the survey impossible, we will immediately withdraw from that spot. Also, while engagement with monsters should generally be avoided, in unavoidable situations...”
I retrieved an improved Betsu Sword from my item box.
“By using this improved Betsu Sword to subdue monsters, we can deal with them while preventing magic dispersion. Of course, we've prepared other weapons and armor besides swords, so there won't be any problems. As for the firepower of the weapons themselves... they're probably just more durable than regular weapons. Naturally, if it's a bladed item like a sword, it will be somewhat sharper, but the sword itself doesn't have any user-assist functions. The reason is to prevent accidentally wielding high-powered weapons and destroying the Great Forest's environment.”
After all, our objective was strictly the survey of the Great Forest. It was not about subduing monsters. If that were the objective, we could just ask Yuki to launch missiles or napalm, and it would be over in no time.
“Of course, if we find any interesting monsters, we plan to capture them. In such cases, we'll hand them over to the recovery team before moving on, which might add to the time, but the overall survey duration is estimated at seven days.”
Yes, a whole week just to traverse this single straight line. In other words, completing the survey of all directions would be a long way off.
“As for the planned survey period, just surveying each of the twelve sectors once would take 84 days. Including the investigation of unknown areas, it's a bit uncertain. While I think it might finish earlier than planned... for now, by placing observation boxes, we'll be able to narrow down the areas further, so ultimately it should become more efficient.”
The more the survey progressed, the more information would accumulate to help narrow down which areas to investigate. Though, how long that would take was beyond imagination.
“Well, that concludes the plan for this Great Forest survey. Are there any questions?”
As I said that, Sota-san immediately raised his hand.
“It's not so much a question as just an unnecessary concern, but will the survey members be fixed for each expedition, or do you plan to rotate them?”