第１５５１堀：ほぼ見捨てられた王都 (Part1)
**Chapter 1551: The Almost Abandoned Royal Capital**
**Side: Deryu**
I am currently accompanying Yuki as his bodyguard, though, in all honesty, there has been no call for my services.
Of course, I am well aware that from a professional standpoint, this is the most desirable outcome. It is a testament to the efficiency of Kirika, Steve, and the others who have already infiltrated the area.
"Tell me, Yuki. I’ve heard the reports from Steve’s group, but what do you make of the fact that the old Royal Capital of Vinosia has not been turned into a dungeon?"
Indeed, while there are no immediate security concerns, there is an undeniable sense of unnaturalness to the situation. The most glaring example is the state of the old Vinosia Royal Capital, which we are about to enter.
Through our own dungeon management, I have already confirmed that this place serves as the headquarters for the Dark Guild. Yet, despite knowing that the enemy has a Dungeon Master in their ranks—someone who should be coordinating with them—is such a state of affairs even possible? It is, to put it mildly, far too suspicious.
"I don't have all the answers just because you ask me, but... well, let's look at the possibilities."
Yuki began to list the potential scenarios:
* They are trying to lure us into a false sense of security, waiting for us to enter before turning it into a dungeon to ambush us all at once.
* The old Royal Capital is merely a diversion to force us to disperse our strength, with the real objective being the Royal Tomb.
* They are simply lacking the funds, and the old capital is being held together solely by the Dark Guild’s members.
* The treasure itself is a decoy, and they are planning a large-scale assault somewhere else.
"That’s about the size of it," Yuki concluded.
"Hmm. Those are indeed the possibilities. And which do you find most likely, Yuki?"
"If we're talking probability, the dispersal of our forces is number one, the treasure being a decoy is second, and the lack of funds is third."
"So you consider a sudden dungeon-transformation ambush in the old capital to be the least likely?"
"Yeah. If they were going to do that, they would have done it from the very beginning, wouldn't they?"
"True enough."
There is no reason for them to go out of their way to let us take a foothold. After all, reclaiming it would require nearly ten times the DP. While it might catch us off guard, it would be far better for them to be at full strength from the start.
Well, it wouldn't be entirely impossible if they had an inexhaustible supply of DP and were determined to finish us off, but...
"No, that’s unlikely. If they had that kind of budget, there would have been a nation ruled by the Dark Guild and a Dungeon Master somewhere else from the start."
"Agreed. Considering that, I’ve concluded that their failure to turn the old capital into a dungeon is due to a lack of funds."
"There is no fault in that logic. Hmm, as always, listing every possibility and vetting them one by one is a sound strategy."
"It’s surprisingly useful. Especially when you’re playing mind games with an enemy like this. Of course, the opponent might use a tactic we deemed impossible—like forcing a dungeon transformation on the old capital. But even then, because I’ve already considered it, the confusion will be minimal."
"Indeed. Besides, turning it into a dungeon is too inefficient. It would be far more effective to create a force capable of overwhelming us within the treasure dungeon and attacking us there."
"Right. But if they try to attack us while we’re still in the capital, there’s a chance we might just flee. For the Dark Guild, who wants to ensure our deaths..."
"Then they would prefer to do it inside a dungeon where they can prevent our escape. And thus, the division of our forces."
They are using their members to stall Rurua and the others at the church in the old capital, and once they deal with us, they can send reinforcements to the treasure tomb or have them emerge from within. This way, their own members avoid unnecessary casualties.
Initially, there was talk that they might attack us all at once, but given the disparity in our strength, that seems difficult. If the enemy has enough sense to realize that, they won't attempt a direct assault.
Hm? Does that mean...
"Does this mean that by splitting Rurua and the others off to the church, the number of enemies coming our way will actually decrease?"
"It does. If we defeat the enemies here, there’s a high chance they’ll flee before they lose all sense of self-preservation. That’s better than them being given orders to attack recklessly."
"I see. Stalling and attacking are two very different things."
When it comes to stalling, there are methods other than combat. If they are only dealing with Rurua’s group, they could, for instance, send a constant stream of injured or sick people to the church. That would be far more certain than engaging in a messy battle.
If the main force is defeated, they likely won't force an attack. The more organized a group is, the less they move without orders from above. If there were civilians involved, it might have been different, but it seems their own caution will be their undoing.
"So, that’s why I don’t find it all that suspicious."
"I am convinced."
As we spoke, our bus caught sight of the gates of the old Vinosia Royal Capital, and a different thought suddenly crossed my mind.
"Come to think of it, did you never consider using that royal castle as our base?"
Reflected in my vision was the magnificent castle peeking out from above the gates. Ordinarily, even if we came in search of treasure, since royalty and dignitaries from various nations were present, it would be a matter of etiquette for Hinsua to host us at the castle rather than the church...
"Oh, that’s simple. The interior of the old Vinosia Royal Castle isn't functional outside of the bare essentials, so we couldn't stay there even if we wanted to, and they don't have enough guards, either."
"Ah... so even if we went, we wouldn't be able to stay in comfort. Come to think of it, they did mention they were severely short-handed."
Hinsua has added Vinosia to their domain, but not out of a desire for territory; it was an unavoidable consequence of the neighboring country collapsing on its own. Because of that, they had no time to prepare, and since Vinosia was riddled with internal strife and left with nothing but debt, they were forced to shoulder the burden. Ritea provided some support, but not enough to rebuild an entire small nation. If they did that, every other small nation would come begging for the same treatment.
As a result, Hinsua is merely maintaining the bare minimum functions of the old Vinosia Royal Castle to prevent it from becoming a den for bandits; they have no luxury of having maids bustling about to keep it pristine.
Goodness, to take on debt just to help others—Hinsua is truly a kind-hearted soul.
...Ah, that King did seem like a good man. He accepted us readily, offered us advice, and even bowed his head, asking us to please look after the people remaining in the old Royal Capital.
"At the very least, I want to drive out the villains and prove to that kind-hearted King that his decision to welcome us was not a mistake."
"That much is true. It would be hard to watch someone with that kind of character be ousted. Let’s provide him with some subtle support."
"Indeed."
It would reflect poorly on both the alliance and Weed if he were to lose his position simply because we arrived.