落とし穴外伝：冒険者たちの被害状況 (Part1)
Dungeon Pit Side Story: The Adventurers' Damage Report
Side: Hovis
Following Prol’s lead, Guild Master Rock, having grasped the gravity of the situation, moved to prepare tea the moment he entered the room, but...
"Oh, please, don't trouble yourself. I’ve been served tea plenty of times before."
"I see. Well, fair enough. Right then, let’s get straight to it."
With that, Prol declined the tea, and the discussion commenced immediately.
Ah, how helpful. We never would have had the courage to turn him down. Besides, drinking too much tea makes one need the restroom quite often, doesn't it?
"First, to confirm—we are talking about the rumors regarding Yuki...-sama, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct. And please, I am well aware of the relationship between you and Yuki-sama, so feel free to drop the honorifics. We are among friends here."
"Understood. As for the talk of Yuki, we have been investigating it ourselves using Ovik and his team. Have you made contact yet?"
"Yes. Yayui here met with him today. Fortunately, the only person at the inn who learned of it was Seraria-sama, and she has promised to keep it contained."
"Good. That’s a relief. If things had gone poorly, Milly might have ended up torturing every single adventurer and staff member in the building..."
Ahaha, Milly-sama is certainly extreme, isn't she?
Violence is simply not the answer. It is far better to use power and money to dismantle things from the inside. Staining one’s fists with the blood of scum would only make it impossible to be touched by Yuki-sama. Though, I do understand the urge to punch them.
While I was lost in such thoughts, Prol steered the conversation to the main issue.
"Now, to the heart of the matter: according to my information network, and the network of the maids, these are merely rumors. There have been no reports of actual harm. That is why I haven't put my full weight into gathering intelligence. However, since you have Lari and her team working on this, does that mean there have been actual damages?"
I relayed what I had heard from Sasari-sama at the inn earlier, and he responded...
"Incidents that seem related occurred twice last week, once the week before, and twice already this week."
Huh? Five victims already?
I can't believe it. While Orelia, Yayui, and I simmered with indignation, Prol delved deeper.
"‘Seem related,’ you say? It’s hard to judge if that’s a high number or a low one. The number of adventurers entering and leaving Weed is vast. What are the specific details of the damages?"
Oh, right. We really must be thorough. If we catch the wrong people, it will only tarnish Yuki-sama’s name.
If my memory serves me correctly, the number of adventurers passing through Weed’s gates daily exceeds a thousand. This is because Weed serves as a transit point for merchant escorts, and there are always those coming from outside the Rogali continent, hoping to strike it rich by becoming adventurers.
Though, for now, the large-scale influx of commoners is mostly limited to Betan on the If continent. The spread of Weed’s influence to the general populace of other continents hasn't quite caught up yet. But Yuki-sama and the others have said that is fine as it is. If any more people gathered, the burden would simply become too great.
Regardless, while the high volume of adventurers is a good thing, the details of the damages are what matter most.
"Regarding the nature of the incidents, they all share one commonality: they were reported at the Adventurer Guild’s trouble consultation desk. In other words, the victims came forward themselves."
"A trouble consultation desk?"
Yayui tilted her head, looking puzzled. She must not have known about it.
"It seems Yayui is unaware. It’s not something found in standard adventurer guilds. It only exists in guilds of a certain scale, and it isn't used very often. Shall I explain?"
"Yes, please. We wouldn't want there to be any misunderstanding."
"Understood. The trouble consultation desk is exactly what it sounds like—a place to seek advice if you encounter any issues. However, it excludes matters related to requests or training."
"Oh? And what kind of trouble would that be?"
"For instance, the fraud cases we’re seeing now, or disputes between adventurers. The most common examples are bullying of newcomers. Usually, the guild doesn't get involved, but if left unchecked, the damage can escalate. More importantly, large guilds have a constant flow of adventurers, and the troubles grow in proportion. Rather than reacting after a disaster occurs, we provide a window for them to speak up as soon as a problem arises."
"So, it’s like the consultation desk at the government office? Specifically for things like neighborhood disputes?"
"More or less. But for adventurers, these things can be a matter of life and death, and they are hot-blooded people. The resulting damage is significant. Usually, one is expected to handle things themselves, but if an incident occurs, it could tarnish the reputation of the Adventurer Guild in Weed. That is a major problem."
"Indeed. Nowadays, even children can enter and leave the Adventurer Guild, but in the past, it was quite dreadful."
Prol let out a wry smile as he said this.
If I recall correctly, before we arrived in Weed, tasks like helping out in villages, gathering medicinal herbs, or cleaning—the kind of work new adventurers take on—were looked down upon as mere scraps for beggars. Dressa-sama mentioned as much.
And, most unforgivably, there were idiots who would intimidate the children who came looking for work.
"Yes, there were fools who would threaten children who were just trying to earn some pocket money or help their parents. The children would end up in tears. If that were the end of it, perhaps it would be one thing, but they would often just leave without a word. The worst of them would even extort the money from the children after they had finished their work."
"..."
The sheer cruelty of it left us speechless. Not only threatening children but stealing their money?
"There was a period where the number of children using the guild dropped because of this, but then Aslin and the others who attend school, along with Priestess Lilishe of the Litea Church, filed complaints. Naturally, that reached Milly. And do you know what happened after that?"
"..."
The anger that had welled up within us quickly subsided as the subsequent carnage played out in our minds.
"That would be expected of Milly-sama. She had mentioned needing to do something about the ill-behaved adventurers, hadn't she? Perhaps this served as the perfect pretext. After all, there were those who had even picked fights with Dressa-sama and her companions."