第１５７０堀：城の書庫へ (Part1)
Chapter 1570: To the Castle Archives
Side: Dressa
*Click, clack, click, clack...*
Our footsteps echoed through the halls. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be anything worth noting, but...
"Nufu-fu, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if a ghost popped out. Kagura, what’s your take on this?"
As Agil suggested, walking through a place that felt like a derelict castle naturally invited such imaginations. And since we had Kagura with us—an expert in that particular field—we all instinctively turned our gazes toward her, waiting for her verdict.
"Why is everyone looking at me? I’m not a professional ghost-finder, you know. If anything, shouldn't you be asking the soldiers guarding this place? Right, Yuki?"
It was true; even if Kagura possessed the powers of a shrine maiden, she wasn't exactly a ghost-summoner. It made more sense to ask the people on the ground.
"Ahaha, my apologies. Since they’re women, they seem a bit sensitive to this sort of thing."
Still, asking, "Are there any ghosts here?" felt like a joke, and Yuki seemed to be asking it with a troubled expression, mostly just to humor them. If someone asked, "Are there ghosts in the Weed inn?" it would usually sound like an insult, after all.
"No, no, we are well aware of the rumors. It is only natural for the ladies to be concerned. To be honest, even we find this atmosphere unsettling. Furthermore, we do occasionally get intruders aiming to steal things. We’ve mistaken them for spirits before, so the rumors aren't entirely unfounded."
"Intruders? You mean they get past the security?"
"No, the ones we’ve caught so far swam across the moat and climbed the walls using ropes."
*Ugh.*
I suppose it wasn't impossible, but the lengths people would go to just to sneak in... Well, if they think there’s money to be made, someone is bound to try. The soldiers who discovered them must have been quite startled.
"I see. Well, we came here ourselves, so it’s no surprise that others might come treasure hunting."
"Indeed. However, this castle is now the property of Hinsa, so trespassing and theft are criminal offenses."
"Still, keeping watch at night with that few people must be difficult."
"We manage somehow. Fortunately, after catching those thieves, we learned their route, so we’ve stationed guards along the top of the walls to keep watch."
He said it so casually, but given their numbers, they were stretched paper-thin. If even one person collapsed, a hole in their defense could open up. That said, I knew there wasn't anything of great value inside, so I wondered if it was really worth putting that much effort into guarding it.
As we chatted, we stopped in front of a door.
"This is the archive."
The soldier who had accompanied us stood before the double doors and pushed them open. Beyond them, an archive truly existed. And it was in surprisingly good condition. We had banked on finding documents here, but the state of the room was far better than we had anticipated.
"This room is so clean compared to the rest of the place."
"Yes. It seems the volunteers who remained in the castle blocked off the passageways to preserve the documents and books. The path was only cleared quite recently."
I see. So, it was the same situation as the Adventurer’s Guild.
"I don't know what motivated them to do it. But seeing you all arrive like this, I’d like to think their efforts were rewarded."
"I agree. And what about the contents?"
"We are here solely for security and to maintain order in the town; we are not here to read. We haven't touched anything until the experts arrived. We can't even imagine what kind of documents are in here."
True. Documents and books protected by such desperate measures—you never knew what kind of "bomb" might be hidden inside. A book you picked up casually could be something vital, or perhaps something cursed.
"A wise decision. But if the books are all here, it looks like the treasure hunt will have to wait."
"Ahaha, indeed. That said, we do know of other suspicious areas, so we can guide you to those later. They are blocked off just like this one. We opened this room first because we had information that it was an archive, but no matter how long we waited, no one came. Perhaps it means there is no treasure sleeping here, or if there is, it isn't worth much."
"That seems likely. Still, as someone in a position of authority, I cannot condone letting thieves ransack the place. It reflects poorly on Hinsa. If we allow such things here, it makes it look like other towns tolerate theft as well."
"Ah, I see. So that is why you were dispatched here."
It seemed the soldier hadn't given much thought to the reason for their deployment. Well, perhaps it was for the best that they remained detached from politics, though it might be bad for morale if they didn't understand their purpose.
"Well then, enough chatter. We’re going to begin examining the documents and books here—is that alright?"
"Yes. How shall we assist you?"
"Hmm, it doesn't look like there are any places too high for us to reach, so just staying on guard duty will be fine."
"That helps. To be honest, even if we were asked to scrutinize these papers, we wouldn't know their value."
That was true. It wasn't that the soldiers were unintelligent; it was simply that they weren't in a position to utilize such documents. For instance, even if a low-ranking soldier held an income report, they would rarely have a say regarding the revenue or expenditures. Even if they did, their opinions would almost never be heard. Unless it was a life-or-death matter, the squad leader would handle it, and unless there was blatant embezzlement, no one would complain. In fact, a subordinate meddling in financial matters would just be a nuisance. If you wanted to have a say in such things, you’d need to be in the finance department.
"You are good soldiers. That said, if any information regarding the castle's structure or hidden treasures comes to light, we will be sure to ask you."
"Understood. If that is the case, please do not hesitate. I will warn you in advance, however, that we cannot provide satisfactory answers regarding history or tax revenue reports."
" "Ahahaha." "
We looked at each other and laughed. It was clear that neither side wanted to deal with troublesome matters, which was a relief. Once the soldiers' positions were set, we began the usual routine...
"No, not this one. This one goes into the 'History Books' bag."
"Um, what is this?"
"Hmm? Ah, that’s a record of troubles in the royal capital by district. In that case... is it a document?"
And so, we pulled items from the shelves one by one, checking and sorting them. As the soldier had testified, the books and documents had been gathered and tossed in in a hurry, so everything was in complete disarray. It was going to be a long, difficult task.