第１６００堀：港に冒険者ギルドは？ (Part1)
Chapter 1600: Is There an Adventurer’s Guild at the Port?
Side: Milly
Yuki-san—or rather, these monsters were brought in by Tori’s land-based team and Dressa’s sea-based team...
Wait, this is tricky. How are we supposed to handle the payments?
Well, setting that aside, the survey of the coastline and the sea monsters has concluded, and the Adventurer’s Guild is currently holding a meeting.
"In terms of threat level, they are top-tier. For high-rankers, it’s a walk in the park, but..."
"High-rank adventurers already have a fair amount of assets. It’s hard to say if they’d even come if we called for them."
"Well, it’s impossible, isn't it? High-rankers could certainly defeat them, but sea monsters are particularly troublesome. It’s debatable whether the labor is worth the reward."
Exactly. What we are discussing right now is whether it’s feasible to establish an Adventurer’s Guild at the port to handle monster extermination.
It’s true that extermination is possible, and as we confirmed during the recent survey-cum-dinner, sea monsters fetch a higher price than land monsters.
Their materials are rare and hold high utility value.
The meat was quite delicious, too.
However, as for whether it’s worth the effort for high-rank adventurers... as the Grand Master says, the difficulty of subjugation is high, making it not very appetizing.
But raising the bounty is also a delicate matter.
High-rank adventurers of that caliber hunt with terrifying efficiency when they set their minds to it.
It wouldn't drain our coffers, but it would lead to a massive stockpile of materials, causing an oversupply that would eventually crash the market price for those monsters.
Once that happens, the profit margin vanishes, and the high-rankers disappear.
Yeah, raising the bounty is a vicious cycle; that’s out of the question.
"But Rock-san, Grand Master, if they aren't high-rank, they’ll die, won't they? Those things."
"True enough. Underwater combat is the main stage, and they’re different from the monsters we’ve dealt with until now."
"It would be difficult for anyone at the same level, I’d imagine."
As the three of them say, if we rely on adventurers at the level capable of hunting these monsters, we’re looking at a significant number of casualties.
After all, the main battlefield is underwater.
Unless someone is exceptionally specialized, it would be difficult for most to defeat those sea monsters.
"So, does that mean we aren't building an Adventurer’s Guild at the port for now?"
"We could just source what the Weed army hunts..."
"Well, that’s an option, but then the sales outlets wouldn't be very numerous. After all, Weed offloads such goods to other countries and sells them in its own markets. There’s no need to use the Adventurer’s Guild as an intermediary."
"In that case, there’s no reason for the Adventurer’s Guild to handle sea monsters, right?"
That’s the crux of it.
If we leave the hunting of these sea monsters to the nation, the resources naturally become the property of the country of Weed.
If that happens, the Adventurer’s Guild would have no choice but to buy them from us...
"Regarding that, since the absolute quantity is low, I believe there would be demand even if the Adventurer’s Guild handled it, but you would be paying a high price for sea monsters that you were hoping to see as a source of income."
I answered as much.
That’s right; Weed isn't planning on making a business out of hunting and selling sea monsters.
Our primary goal is tracking the Dark Guild, and the submission of these sea monsters is merely an incidental byproduct.
Of course, if monsters were to attack the port town, we would defend ourselves, but as for actively exterminating monsters in the sea... that depends on Ratz and the administrators of the port town, Sisua and Sona. I imagine it would only be a matter of providing escorts for fishing vessels when they are attacked.
"Since you’d be acting as a middleman, that’s only natural."
"Well, there isn't much profit in it, but it’s better than doing nothing. I suppose the absolute quantity is low, after all."
"Indeed. With the absolute quantity being low, perhaps we could set the purchase price a bit higher. I’d worry about too many high-rankers showing up, but then again, ships are required. Can you even turn a profit with that overhead?"
"Who knows? There are also anomalies like the monster known as the Leviathan that we haven't even confirmed yet. More importantly, the people who have lived on the Rogari continent traditionally view the sea as a place of terror. I wonder if adventurers would even come to a place with those kinds of rumors..."
I said that honestly and closed my mouth.
It’s true that in the If continent, the Haiden region, and the Zuraburu region, sea fishing is common, and there are places that coexist well with monsters.
And while there are a few places on the Rogari continent that have established ports in areas where monsters are weak, there is no doubt that, as our survey revealed, the sea monsters here are indeed powerful.
"That part... I suppose that’s something for the future, isn't it? We know there’s another continent across the sea."
"And it’s a fact that people from there are starting to arrive."
"Let’s try to stimulate that and gather people. Also, if you think the demand is low, perhaps we could set the initial purchase price a bit higher."
The conversation settled in that direction, but... there is one vital thing missing.
"So, we’ve spoken to the upper echelons of Weed about the possibility of building an Adventurer’s Guild at the port, but who is actually going to manage it? That’s the most important point, and the one I’m most worried about."
"..."
When I asked that, everyone fell silent.
There is no doubt that Weed is facing a shortage of talent, but the Adventurer’s Guild doesn't have enough spare personnel to entrust a newly established branch to just anyone.
There’s a difference between being asked to open a branch—where they are invited to expand—and a branch at a Weed port, which we are pushing to establish ourselves.
Opening an Adventurer’s Guild facing the sea is an acknowledgment by headquarters that future development is expected.
Naturally, it is.
It’s the first step into an undeveloped sea.
It’s not a small country struggling to get by; it’s a project approved by various nations and led by Weed.
They surely don't think for a second that it will fail.
From the outside, it might look like the Adventurer’s Guild is just trying to get a free ride on Yuki-san’s coattails, which is frustrating, but since it’s the sea, it’s not like they’re just going to use us and discard us.
Above all, I am the top representative on the Weed side managing that Adventurer’s Guild.
Setting that aside, this branch is expected to grow.
That’s why we don't want to send someone incompetent and cause trouble.
In other words, we want to send excellent personnel, but ever since the Great Outbreak—the so-called invasion by Suurus—the Adventurer’s Guild has been in a state of absolute chaos, busier than a kicked hornet’s nest, investigating dungeons and monster movements everywhere.
Weed, for its part, doesn't want someone incompetent sent here to drag us down.