第１４８５堀：どんな話がいいでしょうか？ (Part1)
Chapter 1485: What Kind of Story Would Be Good?
Side: Taiki
When I arrived at Yuki-san’s summons, I found myself dragged into yet another troublesome affair. Well, it’s Yuki-san, so I suppose it couldn’t be helped.
"What’s with that look? That 'you’ve gone and done it again' expression?"
"No, it’s exactly as it looks. To think that right after the massive uproar in Suls, you’d have the entire Alliance plunging headfirst into an auction."
I’ve heard the reasons for participating in the auction, and I can understand the logic, but considering the sheer amount of labor involved, I couldn’t possibly imitate it. My stamina simply wouldn’t hold up.
"It’s not like we’re doing this because we want to."
"I understand that, of course. Well, this should certainly give the Dark Guild a shock."
After all, we’ve stepped right into their territory. And we’ve brought a Gate along with us. Even if the Kingdom of Ewai isn’t the Dark Guild’s main base, non-aligned nations will now be coming forward in droves to shake hands with us. Even without officially joining the Alliance, the level of interaction will skyrocket. That is the strategy to corner the Dark Guild bit by bit.
"They had better be shocked. We went to enough trouble for it. It also serves to protect rare races and ordinary slaves; I’d rather not buy them and end up making enemies."
"That goes without saying."
We’ve pushed ourselves this hard—if the enemy isn’t surprised and we don’t manage to secure the slaves, it wouldn’t be worth the effort.
"So, you want us, the Ranks, to participate in the auction to purchase slaves?"
"Yes. Can you do it?"
"That part is fine. Given the current situation, I assume there are countless riff-raff participating in this auction, right?"
"Yeah. That’s what I heard from Lowell. Look."
Yuki-san handed me a document. As I took it and scanned the contents...
"Oh my, there certainly are a mountain of them. The only saving grace is that they are all from within the Rogali Continent."
"Yeah. If small nations from other continents came, they wouldn’t fit in the theater in the town of Wean."
"Geez, isn’t even just the Rogali Continent over capacity?"
It’s a venue for a mere two hundred people. Even just considering the major powers of the Alliance and their escorts, fifty people would be a conservative estimate. When you add in general participants and merchants, it seems impossible.
"I’m making adjustments. Eighty for the Alliance major powers. Forty for the Alliance nobility of the Rogali Continent. Forty for the non-aligned nobility. And forty for general participants."
"Ah, is that reasonable?"
"If I don’t do that, everyone will show up."
"I suppose that’s true. Let’s see... the major powers in Rogali are the five: Roschur, Gartz, Litea, Rumel, and Last..."
"From the If Continent, there are six: Zilba, Enaria, Roday, Ex, August, and White Forest."
"Then from the Haiden region, there are three: Haiden, Findar, and Seasaifo."
"And one from the Zrabur region, Zrabur. That makes fifteen in total."
"Fifteen just for the kings of the major powers, right? With their accompanying chancellors and such, that doubles to thirty. If we assume three guards each, that’s forty-five... wait, seventy-five?"
"Huh? Doesn't that make the numbers uneven?"
"You don’t need to count the guards; they’ll be standing watch. As for the remainder, that’s for Weed."
"I see. So, basically, it’s five people per country?"
"That’s the idea. If the aisles are packed with guards, no one will be able to launch an attack."
"Indeed. The only way would be long-range attacks. Or perhaps blowing up the entire auction venue."
If the aisles were packed, the enemy wouldn’t be able to advance, let alone suppress the area. Actually, even with long-range weapons, Yuki-san would likely prevent them from even getting close to the venue, and blowing it up is even more impossible. Yes, the only real fear is a panic causing people to trample each other, but Yuki-san could likely restrict even that, so it shouldn't be an issue.
"Wait, but in that case, what about the numbers for the small nations?"
"Two people per country. So that’s twenty for the Alliance and twenty for the non-aligned."
"Let’s see... does that mean one country is selected from each of the fifteen major powers? But the remainder here isn't Weed, is it?"
"No, the invitations for small nations are basically to solve the slave issue, so they are primarily from the Rogali Continent. In other words, five per country."
"Five? Doesn't that calculate to four major powers?"
"Last doesn't have any small nations."
"Ah, that’s right."
The Kingdom of Last—a name I hear often now, but it was once the place where the Demon Lord resided. Because it was surrounded by the four major powers and sealed off beyond the Great Canyon deep within the Great Forest, it was geographically impossible for any vassal states to exist.
"If that’s the case, the Dark Guild must be quite displeased. But aren't there a lot of applications from non-aligned countries? Won't there be friction?"
"We’ve set a deadline for that. The auction is in one month. Since we’ve spent time taking action and contacting each country, it’s effectively three weeks—no, considering the communication speed of non-aligned nations, they have to reach the auction venue in two weeks. Including all the procedures."
"Isn't that impossible?"
In just two weeks, even if they leave immediately, it’s questionable whether they’ll make it in time, considering the travel distance and the paperwork.
"That’s why there aren't that many applications. The four major powers of Rogali are reaching out to them. Even non-aligned countries are basically under the umbrella of the four major powers. Or rather, even though it’s called an auction, it’s just a slave trade held in a small town. It’s done everywhere in non-aligned countries. Actually, even Alliance countries engage in slave trading, so it’s not particularly rare."
"Indeed. So, if they are gathering, it’s for the connection with the Alliance."
"Exactly. That’s why we’ve decided to build separate lounges and conference rooms in the facilities where the Alliance is staying. A place where they can talk even if they can't participate in the auction."
"So, it doesn't matter if they can't participate in the auction, then."
"Well, some might think that they can only talk *because* they are participating in the auction. That depends on their own efforts."
True, since this information is already circulating, the non-aligned countries that desperately want a connection will move quickly. We don’t need to get involved in that. It’s up to their own efforts.
"It seems like they might try to put personal pressure on the Kingdom of Ewai or the town of Wean."
"The Alliance generally doesn't get involved in that. They have their own relationships, after all. As for the priority rights there, Rumel and Gartz have agreed to yield their slots."
"I understand the countries they are protecting, but is Gartz involved too?"