第１４０８堀：大氾濫の定義 (Part2)
Phew, it seems the princess has finally been convinced.
Milly is nodding along beside me, too.
Well, the Adventurer’s Guild handles a wide variety of financial matters—from adventurer rewards to the purchasing and selling of monster materials—so we can’t afford to be sloppy with those details.
"With that settled, I’d like to share the fundamental information regarding the Great Stampede before the western town and Rurua’s party arrive. General Agil, is this acceptable to you?"
"I have no objections. We are merely confirming that our understanding of what constitutes a 'Great Stampede' is aligned. It’s not as if we are pointing fingers at specific suspicious areas within Suurus."
Having received Agil’s permission, I move over to the whiteboard I’ve prepared.
"Now, some of you may already be aware, but I will reiterate the facts regarding the Great Stampede as known by the Adventurer’s Guild."
"The facts of the Great Stampede?"
Princess Hasnia and the rest of the Suurus delegation tilt their heads in confusion.
I suppose they’ve only ever had a vague, fuzzy understanding of the term.
"Exactly. I’m referring to the figures and data I mentioned earlier. However, first, I will explain what exactly qualifies as a Great Stampede."
I write "What is a 'Great Stampede'?" on the whiteboard.
"A Great Stampede refers to a situation where monsters—in numbers far exceeding what is recognized as normal—gather and migrate into regions where they are typically not found, or where their population is known to be limited."
"Gathering and migrating?"
"Yes. Monsters have their own territories. They do occasionally migrate for the sake of splitting nests or herds, but a Great Stampede is not that. A Great Stampede is distinctly different: it involves multiple species of monsters moving with clear intent, refraining from fighting one another, and converging upon human settlements to attack."
"And this incident..."
"What occurred in Suurus is definitively classified as a Great Stampede. As I mentioned, multiple species of monsters gathered, migrated, and assaulted the western town."
I need to establish this firmly first. That the gathering of monsters in Suurus and their subsequent attack on the western town is, without a doubt, a Great Stampede.
"Well, the number of monsters is also a crucial factor. Goblin villages or Orc villages can sometimes number over a hundred, and they do migrate, but that does not constitute a Great Stampede. Princess Hasnia, why do you think that is?"
"Judging by what you said earlier, is it because they aren't attacking places where people live?"
"Exactly."
"But wouldn't they attack if there were a town or village in their path?"
"That can happen, but that is strictly a matter of a single species. And at most, you’re looking at units of a hundred. A Great Stampede is generally only declared once the numbers exceed a thousand."
"A thousand?"
"Yes. As I said, units of a hundred can migrate due to nest-splitting or herd-splitting. Naturally, the Adventurer’s Guild and the state collect information to prevent such things, and villages and towns prepare for those threats—whether by fleeing, mounting a defense, or calling for reinforcements. Those are units that a village or town can handle."
When you hear "a hundred," it’s easy to think it’s a large number, but unless they are a hundred exceptionally powerful monsters, you generally won't lose if you use your walls as cover and fire arrows from behind them. If you can’t defend against that, you can always call for reinforcements.
"A Great Stampede is judged to be a level of threat that requires the state to mobilize. That is why the scale is set at the thousand-unit mark. The number confirmed in Suurus is ten thousand. You are likely already aware of this, but that is a force size that even a minor nation would struggle to handle. Granted, ten thousand goblins might be manageable, though casualties would be inevitable, but this is a mixed army of multiple monster species, which is why it is designated as a Great Stampede."
Well, if there were ten thousand goblins, that would be an abnormal situation in itself—it would mean a King or some other powerful high-ranking variant had been born, making the threat level quite high. But even then, those groups usually only number around three hundred. People like Mauve and Ovik have wiped out such groups before; those powerful packs don't just wander off. It’s the weak packs that migrate.
And so, I continued my explanation of the Great Stampede.
I had finally clarified the definition of a Great Stampede.
Come to think of it, I don't believe I had ever really explained that part in detail before.