第１５８４堀：学生さんたちの今後 (Part1)
Chapter 1584: The Future of the Students
Side: Vilia
My brothers have returned safely.
Although it was an expedition of less than a month, and they had been slipping away from their doppelgangers to return at night, I couldn't help but worry all the same.
While the task of capturing the members of the dark guild, forcing information out of them, and figuring out how to pursue those who escaped still remained, I had assumed that after returning from their expedition, my brothers would stay quietly in Weed for a while to gather intelligence. But...
"Oh, you're here. Vilia, Hiiro."
"Yes, Brother."
"We're here~ Brother."
The day after the debriefing session ended, I had been summoned by my brother and had come to his office.
"Sorry to pull you away when things are so busy at school."
"Not at all. Things at school have finally calmed down quite a bit, so it’s fine."
"Yeah. Everyone finally feels like they’ve gotten used to Weed~"
The primary mission we are currently assigned to is monitoring the International Exchange School, where the sons and daughters of the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance gather to prepare for the future of the alliance.
Beyond that, there is the work of being officers in the Weed Navy—training, operations, and studies.
Honestly, the latter is much more demanding.
There are countless things to handle, from ship operations to troubleshooting and combat maneuvers.
"I see. I’ve heard from Labyris, Shera, Aslin, and Firia that there don't seem to be any problems."
"Those four are handling things well, too. Whenever it looks like trouble might break out, they step in to follow up."
"Yeah. Aslin-nee and Firia-nee are so natural about it. Labyris-nee and Shera-nee just give them a stern talking-to."
It’s true; Aslin and Firia are the type to use their appearance—or perhaps their personality—to naturally quell disturbances. Hiiro is more like them, too.
Labyris and Shera, on the other hand, are the type to admonish others in a logical, orderly fashion.
I suppose I fall into the latter category.
"That’s reassuring to hear. The reason I called you two here is because of the dark guild."
"The dark guild? Have you managed to grasp some information?"
"Did you find the people who ran away?"
The members of the dark guild who were in Old Vinosia had apparently split into factions—those who stayed and those who left—and there had been talk of tracking down the latter.
But could they really be found in just a day or two?
"No, we haven't found them yet. That’s why I’m thinking of sending our forces to the coastal side of the Rogali Continent to investigate the monsters there."
"The coast?"
"What do you mean?"
"I heard that the direction they fled wasn't inland, but toward the coast, right?"
Hiiro and I nodded at my brother’s words.
After causing such a stir, they wouldn't dream of hiding in the inland areas where the influence of the great powers is strong.
If they were that foolish, we would have cornered them by now.
"In other words, there is a possibility that changes are occurring in the monsters along the coast. On the Rogali Continent, where monsters are active, people don't go near the coast unless they have a very good reason. Well, of course, there are places that have built nations with the sea as their foundation, but those are almost always in environments blessed with favorable conditions."
"Blessed environments? What do you mean, Brother?"
"Hmm, to put it simply: areas where the monsters aren't quite as strong, or places inhabited by mermen, mermaids, or lizardmen who live in the sea. In those places, they cooperate to eliminate sea and aquatic monsters to ensure their safety."
"Oh~. Mermen! Like Sheila and the others?"
"...I want to say they're different, but I wonder. If you call those mermen, then I suppose they are..."
I didn't quite understand why Hiiro asked that, and even my brother was tilting his head in confusion.
Since that wasn't moving the conversation forward...
"Um, I didn't think mermaids actually existed. Are there countries like that?"
"Yes, it seems that countries living alongside mermaids are surprisingly common in coastal regions. Or rather, such coexistence must have been essential for survival in seas teeming with monsters."
"I see. Then, what about a country of only mermaids?"
"I haven't heard of such a thing, but logically speaking, it wouldn't be strange if one existed. That is exactly why I want you to go out into the seas of the Rogali Continent and grasp the reality of the situation. We want to avoid a scenario where we are attacked without even realizing it."
I see.
I finally understood why my brother had called us.
I don't know exactly when the dark guild members escaped, but it must have been after they attacked Sulus.
Considering they had likely vacated the area by the time Canaria-san was sold about a month later, it wouldn't be strange if those holding the cores had reached the coast.
He judged that if we don't investigate now, our response will be too slow.
"I understand the situation, but what about the route to get out to sea?"
"Yeah. We don't have any connections to the coastal areas like the If Continent, Haiden, or the Zurabl region, right?"
As Hiiro said, Weed has almost no connections to the seas of the Rogali Continent.
The reason, as mentioned before, is the sea monsters.
Because of this, even if smaller nations wanted to harvest marine products for export, they couldn't, and if Weed were to build a port there, it would put those small nations in a difficult position, so we never intervened.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the great powers were stable around Weed at that time.
I remember my brother saying that if we had gone out of our way to expand into the ocean then, it would have invited distrust from the great powers.
"In this instance, I anticipate no problems. I am scheduled to report our progress to the great powers through Seraria."
"You haven't reported the results to the great powers yet?"
"It only happened yesterday. I intend to report tomorrow and then dispatch troops to the coast. Though, the question will be where exactly. My hope is to head toward the coast from Litea, but..."
"Hmm, Brother. Isn't that a bit difficult? There was such a commotion there already, and even Hiiro thinks there might be a problem with Litea."
I agreed with Hiiro’s opinion.
While it is true that heading to the coast from Litea is the shortest route for the enemy, we haven't confirmed that they actually took that path. Starting from Sulus, the enslavement of Canaria-san, and the dark guild members hiding in Old Vinosia—while Litea's failures haven't been made public since Sulus, anyone who can read between the lines would figure it out immediately.
After all, Canaria-san being put up for sale was announced, and my brother’s trip to Hinsua was publicly advertised as a treasure hunt.
In other words, this whole series of problems is occurring under Litea’s jurisdiction.