第１５７３堀：色々ありつつも終わりは見えてくる (Part1)
Chapter 1573: Despite the Complications, the End is in Sight
Side: Yuki
"Guh..."
I opened the document Seraria had sent over, wondering what it could be, only to find a massive bombshell written inside. The subject was: "Grasping the Status of Religious Donations Across Each Continent."
I’d like to think that anyone with half a brain would realize that this phrasing alone is tantamount to picking a fight with every religious organization in existence. No, I know Seraria and Quar aren't that stupid. That means they must have decided to re-examine the flow of money between Litea and Vinosia, right?
I understand the sentiment. They are paying exorbitant amounts toward their faith. Well, in this world, faith is tied to recovery magic and medical treatment, so it’s not entirely a waste, but there’s a strong emotional component—and more than anything, money is often the root of corruption.
In other words, it seems the various nations have started to harbor doubts about those donations. The future of this initiative will be decided by how Rurua and Lilishe handle their discussions with Alstaire. If they didn't have that backing, they couldn't possibly confront the largest religious sects head-on. If they played their cards wrong, they could easily be branded as heretics, turning all the surrounding nations against them. Considering that, this is a tactic that can only be pulled off because of the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance, rather than by any single nation acting alone.
"...Looks like my workload is going to increase once I get back."
Looking over the details, they aren't planning to just barge in and start complaining. Instead, they intend to have each nation investigate the donation levels to their respective sects and then consult with the heads of those sects. By doing it this way, they can frame it as the sects conducting their own self-cleansing, which allows everyone to save face rather than making it look like the nations are picking a fight.
Well, whether the parties being purged or the ones who committed the wrongdoing will accept that "self-cleansing" quietly is highly debatable. I have a feeling this is going to cause quite a stir.
"Yuki, what's wrong?"
Kagura poked her head in. She was holding the last few books, which were now dwindling in number. Since I had kept the sorting simple, the library organization was nearing its end. We had, of course, secured the books that seemed relevant, and the plan was to scrutinize them once we returned to the church. But setting that aside, I needed to explain this to Kagura.
"Ah, judging by that reaction, it seems the news hasn't reached you yet."
"News?"
"Well, since you're here with me, I suppose they didn't want to cause any unnecessary confusion. Still, it won't hurt for you to know. Come here and take a look."
"Er... something happened, didn't it?"
Looking perplexed, Kagura came to my side and peered at the projection monitor I was viewing. Her face stiffened almost instantly.
"Wait, what!?"
She was about to shout, so I hurriedly covered her mouth.
"This is a library, so keep it down."
Seeing Kagura nod, I took my hand away.
"...Whew. Is this really moving forward in Weed right now?"
"They're trying to hold a conference through the wives who have connections to the various nations."
"Are they serious?"
"They wouldn't have sent a document like this if they weren't."
"...You're right. But if they mishandle this..."
"I know it'll be chaos. But this is happening precisely because they committed such a massive blunder."
"That's... true, but still..."
She understood what I was saying, but her face showed she couldn't quite accept it. It was, after all, a statement that effectively made the Haire Sect—the largest religious body in the Haiden region—our enemy. Embezzlement and budget diversion are common enough forms of corruption everywhere, and if they start digging into that, it might not just be the Haire Sect that gets caught in the crossfire.
"Well, we'll be discussing all of that. Princess Carrie will certainly be there, so you should voice your opinions then, Kagura."
"...I suppose so. That's all we can do."
That’s right. No matter what we say here, this train has already left the station. All we can do is think of countermeasures and plan our future actions.
Deryu, who had been watching the exchange, spoke up.
"I saw the contents of that document with Yuki, but are you sure you don't need to take action?"
"There’s nothing we can do from here. Our goal is to crush the dark guild executives and the Dungeon Master lurking in this place."
I couldn't forget why we came here. If we didn't achieve that, our presence here would be meaningless.
"If Yuki says so, then that must be the best course of action."
"Are you worried too, Deryu?"
"Indeed. Rurua was once driven out over this kind of thing. It involves money, and interests, directly. It affects not just the religious states, but the countries involved as well."
"As I told Kagura, we're going to discuss all of that. It’s just that they’ve been drinking the sweet nectar for too long. That’s why Rurua and Lilishe are taking the initiative to inquire with their home countries."
"Ah, I see. So the higher-ups want to clear the air as well?"
"Litea especially. It started with Suurus and even got tangled up in the Vinosian civil war. Considering the dark guild was hiding there..."
"So there's no doubt that some idiots were providing them with convenience..."
Exactly. For Litea, they want to deal with those fools before any more damage is done. And for the great powers, if they’re paying money for nothing, they want to take this opportunity to improve the situation while it’s right in front of them.
"Anyway, setting that aside, we didn't find any information in the library or the castle. Well, we found *something*, but..."
Returning to the main topic of searching for the hidden treasure, as I mentioned, this library is nearly empty. You might think it’s strange to say that after only a day, but we’ve mostly been doing simple sorting. There might be things we missed, but if information requires such deep reading to uncover, I question whether it’s even worth calling information, so I’ve ignored it. In other words, only the books with obvious information remain...
"In the end, it seems the place we targeted from the beginning is the correct one."
"Yeah. Steve and the others have been monitoring it since then and have confirmed the executives coming and going, so it’s a certainty."
That’s right. We didn't just get information from books and documents; we confirmed the actual movement. We had been lingering in the old Vinosian capital for quite a while, so it felt like they had come to check on us as well. They seemed cautious, as they were gathering information from refugees and not approaching us directly.
Actually, the refugees who were pretending to be dark guild members were clearly there to stall us, meant to make us hesitate.
"Well then. The members of Rurua's church, along with the sisters, gathered information from the refugees, and it seems the place where the treasure is likely hidden is the royal mausoleum. Though, I have to say, it feels a bit odd to call grave goods 'hidden treasure'..."