第１５０８堀：別の参加者の視点 (Part2)
"I know, I know. Still, given my position, I suppose Bamai-san found me interesting—or perhaps just easy to talk to. He told me to reach out if anything came up."
"I see. For a grand merchant, the daughter of a baron might be easier to deal with than the monarchs of various nations. Though, the scale of the transactions would be vastly different, I imagine."
"He’s likely just fishing for information on the Haiden region. He approached Dressa with the same line of talk, after all."
There is no real benefit for a man of Bamai-san’s stature—a 'grand merchant'—to go out of his way to insert himself into the business of a mere baronial house.
Well, one could argue he’s looking for a budding opportunity, but a merchant from the Rogari Continent would never come to the Haiden region. Or rather, they *can't*. Yuki-sensei hasn't granted permission for that area yet.
If they really wanted to, they could go through Weed to conduct business with the Jama baronial house, but... and I say this as Micos-chan, there isn't exactly much value in that father’s territory.
"Ah, come to think of it, Dressa and the others were in the same boat. I suppose being a small nation on a different continent presents all sorts of complications. Maybe he was aiming for the pretext of securing a controllable vassal noble."
"Pretext, indeed. At the end of the day, Micos-chan and the others were the local defensive force."
Exactly. Micos-chan and her group participated in the auction primarily to protect it.
In a situation where the Dark Guild could easily be lurking in the shadows, if any of the gathered dignitaries from various nations had been harmed, it would have been a stain on the reputation of the alliance—and, by extension, Weed itself.
That’s why they put their hearts into it, conducting thorough investigations of the auction venue and its surroundings.
"Well, putting that aside, Bamai-san clearly has his own agenda, which is why Micos-chan ended up with his contact information."
"True. But Yuki did say he wanted to hear about anything related to the Dark Guild, and it might be problematic if we write it down in a report haphazardly."
"Why?"
"Because if the Princess decides she’s interested and tries to make contact first, things get messy, don't they? She might end up leaking information before we even get to it."
"Ah, knowing the Princess, she’s perfectly capable of doing just that."
The Princess is desperate for the sake of Haiden, but from the perspective of Yuki-sensei and the others in Weed, she occasionally engages in behavior that borders on hostile.
Generally, Yuki-sensei and his group just laugh it off, but there’s no guarantee they’ll keep laughing forever.
"For now, I suppose we should go ask Yuki-sensei directly."
"Agreed. Rather than agonizing over whether to put it in the report here, it’s better to ask Yuki himself. Let’s go."
And so, Micos-chan and Kagura decided to pay a visit to Yuki-sensei.
Fortunately, Yuki-sensei was in his usual office, buried in the mountain of paperwork that had piled up following the conclusion of the auction yesterday.
"Welcome."
"Yo, Orelia."
Perhaps because they had sent word of their arrival in advance, Orelia was there to greet them.
"Sorry to bother you, Orelia. You must be busy, too."
"Not particularly. The three of us are splitting the workload."
"Is that so? Well, that’s good, but don't push yourself too hard."
"Yes. Thank you for your concern. Please, this way."
After that brief exchange, Micos-chan and the others entered the room.
Inside, everyone was occupied with paperwork as usual, and at the far end of the center, Yuki-sensei was locked in a staring contest with a stack of documents.
"Hm? Oh, Kagura, Micos. Welcome."
"Yes. Sorry to intrude."
"Excuse us! Yuki-sensei, and everyone else!"
Perhaps it’s a case of being so familiar with the place that it feels like their own home despite being a different department, but they sat down on the reception sofa without hesitation. Yayui promptly brought them tea.
"Here you go."
"Thanks."
"Thank you!"
As they sipped the tea, Yuki-sensei took a seat in front of them.
"So, you said you had something you wanted to ask?"
"Yes. You see, Micos..."
"Ah, right. Yuki-sensei, at the auction, I was there as a local noble from Haiden..."
And thus, Micos-chan began to consult Yuki-sensei on whether or not she should include Bamai-san in her report.
Reporting on a situation where 'nothing happened' is, in its own way, quite a dilemma.
There’s the risk of being told it’s meaningless to write it down, yet if she doesn't, that brings its own set of problems.