第１５６３堀：地下物資の行方 (Part1)
### Chapter 1563: The Whereabouts of Underground Supplies
**Side: Covil**
The underground area was easy enough to find.
Well, it wasn’t exactly hidden.
Kiyu and his group had headed upward, so we simply had to descend.
Still…
"This place has been thoroughly ransacked. It’s even worse than the reception area upstairs. And the smell..."
Canaria spoke up, a rare occurrence. Her expression remained neutral, but she was holding a hand to her nose, clearly repulsed by the stench.
Yeah, it was truly foul.
It smelled like food that had been scattered about and left to rot.
"They likely dumped the supplies from the attached tavern. They couldn't have possibly carried everything out, and some things were probably left behind intentionally."
"Left behind intentionally? What do you mean by that?"
Kagura asked as we descended the stairs, responding to my remark.
"The Adventurer Guild moved out—or rather, fled—under the guise of escorting the refugees. But they knew there were still people left in this town. So, they left supplies behind to make things a little easier for those who remained. Well, some of it was just stuff they couldn't carry, but there was definitely a portion left by design."
"They actually do things like that?"
"Not all the time. If they did that constantly, the Adventurer Guild would go bankrupt in no time. Besides, aid of that nature is supposed to be the responsibility of the state or the Litea Church. If we, the Adventurer Guild, were to do it too openly, it would cause problems."
It’s a delicate balance, you know?
The Grand Master and the others would often chuckle, saying that if we overstep our bounds, people start accusing us of trying to win the hearts of the masses.
Once I explained it that way, Kagura’s expression turned bitter.
"I see. Indeed, the Adventurer Guild is an organization that handles monsters and odd jobs across multiple nations in exchange for coin. If you start providing aid too readily, you become a threat to the foundations of the state and the church."
"Exactly. And more than anything, the Adventurer Guild possesses significant military strength. That makes us dangerous in more ways than one."
Yes, the biggest issue is the adventurers themselves.
Setting aside the small-fry, the high-ranking adventurers possess power that surpasses the knights of any nation.
Of course, there is a rule that once someone becomes a high-ranking adventurer, they are scouted by a nation, and the adventurer receives a transfer fee.
Thanks to that, we avoid hoarding excessive military power, and we have a track record of supplying strength to various countries.
It proves that the Adventurer Guild is useful.
"Still, it’s impressive you managed to grow this organization so large. If you think about it logically, you’d think someone would have crushed you by now."
"There were all sorts of things that happened along the way. Besides, that kind of talk isn't limited to the Adventurer Guild; it’s the same for every guild."
"…When people gather, they become a force, and thus a threat, I suppose."
"Exactly. Especially the Commercial Guild. That one is truly something else. They hold not just military power, but a massive grip on supplies as well."
The Commercial District, where Ratz serves as the vice representative, also functions as the Commercial Guild.
Well, the top positions are filled by people seconded from the Commercial Guild, of course.
Because they have those connections, they can easily handle the buying and selling of goods, as well as maintaining ties with various nations.
That is precisely why Ratz, who holds a direct pipeline to Weed, is so incredibly powerful.
While it’s true that trade routes to various countries are handled through the Commercial Guild, the sheer volume of Weed’s unique products—primarily high-quality food from Earth—is overwhelming.
And because it’s a dungeon, the gates allow for seamless distribution.
Because of that, Ratz is actually granted a significant status among commercial organizations across every continent.
After all, the increase or decrease of supplies is determined by Ratz’s discretion.
In reality, it’s all properly adjusted, but there is no doubt that Ratz is the one managing it.
And handling such precious supplies requires corresponding military strength.
That’s why there is interaction with the Adventurer Guild, though the Commercial Guild has its own dedicated guards.
"I see. Even just from the perspective of money, the nations can’t ignore you."
"That’s the truth. Well, setting aside the Commercial Guild, this is the place."
I stopped at the spot where the underground door should have been.
"Um, there’s no door here, is there?"
Just as Ria said, there was no door.
The room beyond was already visible, and if you looked closely, you could see the remnants of where a door had once hung.
"Looks like they smashed it. Well, I suppose that was the situation. Though, didn't you say they were providing supplies intentionally?"
"Well, yes. People came here looking for supplies. So, the report stated that they took only the important items they couldn't afford to leave behind and what they could carry before retreating. That’s why I thought the tavern supplies—the food and such—were left behind."
"And the populace came here seeking that, then."
We entered the room while chatting, scanning our surroundings.
The interior was desolate.
Shelves were toppled, the supplies were gone, and boxes that had held various items were scattered everywhere. Some of the shelves had been knocked over, too.
Judging by the fact that the furniture against the walls had been pulled down, they were likely searching for a hidden room.
"Nothing left, huh… I was hoping at least some documents related to Adventurer Guild requests might remain."
As far as I could see, there was absolutely nothing left behind.
"Eh? You store those in the same place?"
"If you call it the same place, I suppose so, but usually, the room is divided down the middle."
Well, they are documents, after all.
There’s a retention period, and once that passes, they’re disposed of.
Still, since you don't want them getting ruined during that period, they’re stored in this manner.
"They aren't exactly important documents, anyway. Thinking about it, maybe they used them for kindling? They’d be useful for starting a fire."
Given how trashed the place was, it would be hard to start a fire, and paper is valuable for that sort of thing, so I concluded that was likely what happened.
"…Wouldn't that be strange?"
Unexpectedly, a question came from Canaria.
"Did you notice something odd?"
"Yes. It is true that this situation shows signs of people breaking in, taking things, and searching around. But if that were the case, would they really take every single piece of paper without leaving a single scrap?"
"Ah… now that you mention it, that is strange. Even if they took all the documents, it wouldn't be weird to find at least one page dropped on the floor."
She was right.
As Ria said, they trashed the place so thoroughly that they must have treated the document shelves just as roughly.
As proof, even though I couldn't tell which one was the document shelf, every shelf along both walls had been toppled.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. Covil, the Adventurer Guild’s documents are just regular paper, right? They aren't parchment or anything, are they?"
Dressa seemed to have the same question, but…