第１５１８堀：ギルドからの国の情報 (Part1)
### Chapter 1518: Intelligence from the Guild Regarding the Nations
**Side: Milly**
"Oh, *manju*? That calls for some tea, then."
"Indeed. I shall prepare it."
With those words, Rock and Kina, having received the souvenirs from Fiora, immediately set about preparing the tea.
"Fiora, tea is alright with you, isn't it?"
"Yes, please."
As planned, Rock and Kina had gathered within thirty minutes, which was a relief. It wasn't uncommon for the two of them to be off somewhere, so while I had said it would be fine, there was always a chance of a delay.
Putting that aside, once I confirmed Fiora was seated on the sofa, I began.
"So, you wanted to report on the meeting and ask a few questions, right?"
"Yes. First, regarding the contents of the meeting..."
Fiora proceeded to explain the situation surrounding Canary, the state of the former Kingdom of Vinoshia, and the current ruling nation, Hinsua. She also detailed the circumstances involving Litea, the nation that held both of those countries under its umbrella.
"..."
The three of us, myself included, fell into a collective silence as we listened.
Well, as expected, a troublesome matter had surfaced. Yuki-san had mentioned that the information wasn't particularly positive, but it was certainly significant.
"I see. I understand the gist of the meeting. There are no movements from the Dark Guild at the moment. However, based on Canary’s information, there is a high probability that this is a lure. Let’s start by narrowing that down. Rock, Kina, what do you make of this?"
"It’s as you’d expect. Any way you look at it, it’s a trap to lure people into a dungeon owned by the Dark Guild."
"Yeah, exactly. It makes no sense to leak information right before selling it; there’s no doubt some kind of deal went down. Besides, don't you think the sellers—the Vinoshia royal family or their merchants—have likely been erased? I don't see any reason for the Dark Guild to protect them. If this is a trap, it’s even more likely they were silenced."
It seemed Rock and Kina were in full agreement that Canary’s claims pointed toward a trap. As for the fate of the remnants of the former Vinoshia royal family, Kina continued:
"Kina-dono, you believe Canary-san’s family is already dead?"
"Well, I can't say for certain, but the Dark Guild is involved. Like I said, they have no reason to protect them. These are the fools who trampled their own people and destroyed their country, aren't they? And they vanished while leaving behind a mountain of debt. Why would the Dark Guild ignore that just because they handed over Princess Canary? Erasing them would only help the Dark Guild keep their information locked down. Especially if this whole thing is a trap."
"True. And it’s likely the Dark Guild has received a request or two for their assassination anyway... Should we look into that angle?"
"Yes, please do, Rock. Though, considering they were fools who crushed their populace and ruined their nation, I imagine there are countless assassination requests against them from all sorts of organizations, not just the Dark Guild."
Kina was right; it was highly probable that others had placed bounties on them as well. As I was mentally summarizing the situation, Fiora spoke up.
"From the perspective of the Adventurer's Guild, the reason Canary-san was put up for sale was likely to lure search parties seeking the 'hidden treasure' into a trap, and perhaps to successfully carry out the assassinations of the former Vinoshia royals... though the financial incentive is questionable. Should we call it an attempt to restore the Dark Guild's reputation? I haven't heard any rumors to that effect, however."
"It’s true that we haven't heard of them successfully finishing the jobs they left behind. Well, as Kina said, if their goal was to seal information, they wouldn't go around bragging about it..."
"Even so, they definitely completed the work, and I believe there are subtle rumors circulating."
"For now, let's keep an eye on the whereabouts of the former Vinoshia royal family."
I paused for a breath before continuing.
"Next, regarding the situation in the former Vinoshia territory and the ruling nation of Hinsua: from the Adventurer's Guild's perspective, I have to be clear—that territory is a lawless zone."
It was a fact I didn't want to voice, but it had to be said for the sake of Yuki-san and the others' safety.
"A lawless zone?"
"Yes. Hinsua took the territory under its wing with permission—or perhaps support and promises—from Litea. But Vinoshia had already pushed its people to the brink. Most of the towns and villages have been bled dry; the people have either fled or become corpses. Those who remain are the ones who couldn't move, and now they’re fighting over scraps. Since there are no lords left to maintain order, the Adventurer's Guild has pulled out."
"The Adventurer's Guild has withdrawn...?"
"It’s unfortunate, but the Guild doesn't operate on charity. We can't stay in places where there is no profit to be made."
The Adventurer's Guild was a massive organization, but it couldn't function without revenue. There was no reason for a branch to remain in a place that couldn't be managed healthily. Weed didn't even have a guild at first; we had to invite them in. Though, the conditions for that invitation were exceptionally generous—there were practically no conditions at all. After all, the Guild itself had bowed its head and begged us to open a branch, offering us the benefits of dungeons within dungeons and the freedom to create our own.
"If I recall correctly..."
"When the internal strife in Vinoshia worsened and contact with the lords and the royal family was lost, the local guilds followed standard procedure: they accepted requests to escort the citizens and evacuated them to other countries."
"Exactly. And some of those refugees should have arrived in Weed, too."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Fiora looked surprised by Kina’s information. After all, Litea was on the border of Rumel, which, from Weed's perspective, was practically on the opposite side of the continent.
Wait...
"Hold on. Kina, that’s news to me too?"
"Oh? Ah, I see. Milly, I’m talking about the former slum dwellers who immigrated from Litea."
"Ah, those people."
"We had all sorts of people mixed in back then, too. They weren't from Litea, but they were from the wave just before that."
"Right, right. Rock and I were part of the first wave of immigrants, and they were the next. Or wait, was it the third wave?"
"That’s right. The true first wave was the Fairy Tribe."
It brought back memories. Before Weed became a nation—back when it wasn't even a village—we were trying to gather people. When we were protecting Rurua and delivering her to Litea, we accidentally encountered the Fairy Tribe, and after resolving various issues, we took them in.
Yuki-san did that.
Whenever we talk about those days, Narjia-san smiles while Zargis gives a bitter laugh. Well, that’s to be expected. For Zargis, it started when his experimental pillbugs went berserk and attacked the Fairy village, only for him to encounter Yuki-san and his group and get soundly beaten.
Thanks to that, just as he was left in Weed to help with the village construction, the sudden influx of immigrants arrived. You could say it served as a good rehearsal.