第１５２１堀：お手伝いの狙いは？ (Part1)
Chapter 1521: What is the Helper’s Aim?
Side: Yuki
I was in my office, neglecting my duties as usual, listening to the report on yesterday’s events.
The subject was information regarding the small nation.
I had entrusted this task to Fiora and Milly to confirm whether things had taken a strange turn due to Lithia’s blunder.
"Milly-sama and the others at the Adventurer’s Guild report that, for the time being, there is no talk of people feeling uneasy about Lithia. The idea that the country has fallen is not a prominent topic. Even among small nations, it is surprisingly common for countries to declare themselves into existence only to collapse in the blink of an eye."
With those words, Fiora handed me a document.
It contained a list of countries that had collapsed over the last twenty years.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the entire list fit on the first page, with the subsequent pages detailing the specific reasons for each nation’s demise.
Even so, since it took up a full A4 sheet, there were quite a few.
Let’s see, the total is...
"The total is forty-three nations. Most are essentially emerging states. As for the reasons, they usually take the form of independence from a parent nation, but they fail to properly plan for the aftermath. Once support is cut off and their protection is lost, they are attacked by surrounding countries and crumble in no time."
"Ah, so it’s the classic case of failing to secure other support or cooperation."
"Exactly. Of course, it is also quite common for the original nation to send a suppression force and wipe them out instantly. In fact, that is the most frequent cause."
"True. If someone declares independence from you, it’s a total loss of face."
If a place you considered a subordinate declares independence and you let it slide, it reflects poorly on the nation’s reputation.
"I suppose it’s the start of a hero’s tale in some cases..."
"Those are rare. For this particular incident, the count is zero."
"I figured. If you want independence, it’s better to get permission first. There is almost no merit in declaring independence through hostility. Not unless you’ve been treated truly horribly."
"Indeed. Unless it’s a situation like Vinosia’s."
The name Vinosia came up.
Well, in Vinosia’s case, it was likely at a level where independence was genuinely the only option.
No, rather than independence, it was more a case of them being completely ungovernable.
Yeah, either way, it was undeniably a massive headache.
"Anyway, based on this document, the rising and falling of nations is a relatively common occurrence. More importantly, the actions Vinosia took are known to the neighboring countries, as is the fact that Lithia provided support to help them rebuild. Above all, the Church had been dispatched there. There are people who worked for that Church, and the consensus seems to be that Lithia is not at fault and did not overstep in its governance. However, this is, of course, just the opinion of the Adventurer’s Guild."
Fiora concluded with that.
Indeed, this is merely the perspective of the Adventurer’s Guild.
While I doubt their opinion differs drastically from other organizations, it is still something that requires caution.
That is precisely why...
"Understood. Now, Orelia, how about you?"
"Yes. Yesterday, I gathered information at the open-air market."
That’s right; Fiora and Orelia had split up yesterday to collect data.
And as for Orelia...
"During the investigation, I met with Yupia-sama and Show-sama of the Zulable Empire, and they cooperated with our information gathering. I had also received permission from you, Yuki-sama."
"I see, so that’s why you didn’t return at the scheduled time."
"You mentioned it was a bit of a troublesome matter, Yuki-sama, so that’s what it was."
"Ah, so Orelia-chan met with the Emperor? Is that why she collapsed the moment she got back?"
"Yeah. She came back and just *plop*. I was surprised. She was fast asleep."
Yes, unexpectedly, Orelia had encountered Yupia and Show, who were visiting for a site inspection, and they had offered their cooperation.
Since Orelia couldn’t authorize such cooperation on her own, she had contacted me. It wasn’t as if I could just toss aside the work regarding Lithia, and there was the matter of compensation to consider, so I had asked Narjia-san to handle it.
Well, I did get a scolding from Narjia-san when she contacted me.
*“Please provide a bit more explanation beforehand,”* she had said.
Still, I hadn’t known if the cooperation was meant to be serious or just a whim.
As for the compensation, Eris and Ratz had the discretion to handle it, but both were busy. That left Narjia-san, who had the authority over the hot springs and the knowledge and discretion regarding weaponry, making her the perfect choice.
"Yuki. You should have followed up more. Orelia is pitiable."
Nina criticized me from the side.
"It couldn’t be helped. I was in the middle of compiling information myself. Besides, it’s a terrible place for the leaders of nations to be seen having a deep conversation."
"Ah, come to think of it, was it the open-air market?"
"Yeah."
"In that case, if the heads of state were to talk at length, it could indeed lead to some strange rumors."
Nina was convinced by my counterargument.
The whole point of this was to see if Lithia was in a precarious position.
If we, Weed, and the great power of Zulable were seen openly putting our heads together in a public place to discuss this, it would only lend more credibility to the rumors.
If we weren't careful, we could end up causing Lithia to lose support, which is why we couldn’t do it.
Well, we could have met at the super public bath, but...
"Meeting suddenly without a plan would also be problematic."
"I feel like it’s a bit late for that, but the situation regarding the auction is still unsettled, so that would be bad, wouldn't it?"
"Exactly."
If our work were finished, it would be one thing, but we are currently in the middle of sorting things out.
If we were seen enjoying ourselves in the midst of that, it could lead to strange gossip.
Leaving Weed aside, there is the matter of Zulable’s standing.
That is something I want to avoid.
"Sorry for interrupting. Can you continue?"
I urged Orelia to go on.
"Yes. As a result of our joint investigation, it seems the merchants of the Rogali continent are all well aware of the situation. They mentioned they had come to Weed to gather information. However, there seems to be no sign of agitation. As Fiora-sama mentioned, Vinosia’s reputation was poor to begin with, and the consensus is that Lithia did a good job. Regarding the incident in Suls, the perception is that a foolish small nation was incited by the Dark Guild; no one blamed Lithia for a blunder."
It seems the consensus is largely the same over there, too.
Just as I was thinking that...