第１３６８堀：怪しい国発見 (Part2)
Attempting to conduct indirect appraisals and background investigations is far more exhausting than I had anticipated.
While Taiki requires direct line-of-sight to use his abilities, my own are high-performance enough that, with sufficient focus, I can perform appraisals remotely. Naturally, it requires a delicate touch; otherwise, I end up appraising the tablet screen or the call interface I’m staring at. From there, I have to narrow down the target on the other side of the feed. I spent a long time agonizing over the mechanics of it, but I’ve concluded that I’m likely projecting my mana through the drones or familiars. It seems my capacity for manipulating such mana is quite high, owing to my status as a Dungeon Master. Not that I’m particularly happy about it.
Honestly... it’s straining my eyes.
Just as that thought crossed my mind...
"D-Dungeon Master, if we are going to convert the area into a dungeon anyway, is there any need for you to push yourself to the point of exhaustion now, Yuki-sama?"
"I agree. I believe Yayui is right. The appraisal results will be far more accurate once the dungeon conversion is complete."
"That’s true~. Kirika-sama, when is the conversion scheduled for?"
"It is set for late tonight. We want to ensure safety beforehand. Therefore, I also support Yayui’s opinion. There is plenty of time to investigate, and this is not a task that only you can perform, Master. You have another report to give tomorrow, so you should finish your duties and rest properly."
"You're right. That’s exactly why I brought on more staff. Very well. I’ll continue gathering intelligence, so Yayui, please compile the data we have so far to hand over to Seraria and Lilishe. Use the template so it’s easy to add to later."
"Understood."
"Orelia and Hovis, you two may return to your regular duties now."
" "Understood." "
With my instructions given, I turned back to sifting through the information, when—
"Excuse me!"
Prol entered the room. Despite her small stature, she is the head of the Information Division within the Weed General Government Office—a remarkably capable individual. Or rather, woman.
"What is it? Did you find something?"
I had, of course, briefed Prol on the current situation, asking her to keep an eye out for anything the Information Division might turn up.
"Yes. Regarding the families we previously identified with the 'Anti-Weed' designation, it has been confirmed that roughly one-quarter of them originate from the Kinauf Kingdom and the Irinau Kingdom. Furthermore, we have confirmed an increase in individuals from those two nations mingling among the general tourists."
"The first part is suspicious. As for the second, could they be part of a tour group from a travel agency?"
"Unfortunately, that is not the case. We have not yet initiated such tours for those smaller nations. Isn't that right, Yayui?"
"Yes. We are still in the process of discussing and establishing regulations with the merchants and travel agencies, so no tours have begun."
"Then that’s suspicious as well. Are they planning something here in Weed? What about surveillance?"
"Chief Poni, Tori-sama, Riel-sama, and Kaya-sama have already been notified. Our Information Division is also mobilizing."
As expected, she’s efficient. They were already moving before I even had to ask. That being the case... wait.
"Am I just here to compile data now?"
"That seems to be the case. But there is no new information to process..."
"Then let's just get back to our regular duties together~."
"That would be for the best."
"Yes. There are many tasks that only you can handle, Yuki-sama."
And just like that, thanks to my reliable subordinates, I found myself returning to my standard workload. All the data accumulation I’d done until now hadn't been for nothing; I managed to uncover the leads with ease.
Still, I know better than to assume that discovery equals confirmation. In the end, everything has to be verified by people on the ground.
Yeah. We really don't have enough people.