第１６９６堀： 核心をついてくる女神 (Part2)
"Ah, Vilia has her adventurer qualifications, and as for Holy, she's essentially a church apprentice."
"Barely. Will that really be enough?"
"Well, it's officially an activity under the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance, so I imagine we'll push the angle that there might be dark guild activity. Even for a small nation under Roschur, they wouldn't just accept it outright. That would only breed resentment."
"So that's the angle you'll push. The Adventurer Guild will claim signs of dark guild activity and a great flood, then?"
"Probably."
I don't know exactly how the conversation will go, but if we want to keep things amicable, it should follow that flow. We'll use the Adventurer Guild's widespread investigation in Rogali as a pretext, citing missing persons. This implies a potential surge of monsters, and thus, possible dark guild involvement. It feels a bit forced, but a great flood just occurred in Suulus, and it's undeniable that dark guilds had infiltrated Suulus's neighboring countries.
"But from what I've heard, the real challenge begins after the summoning and kidnapping, not with getting permission."
"Yes, Enora is right. The real test starts once they're over there. Depending on the time and circumstances, full-scale combat could be an option, and Vilia would be in considerable danger."
"Please leave it to me."
Far from being afraid of my words, Vilia puffed out her chest. She was dependable, yet I wondered if my concern for her was simply me being overprotective.
"Holy will be there, so it'll be fine. We'll manage somehow."
Why are you so confident? Moreover, it seems Holy's participation is a given, and her being kidnapped is treated as a major premise. While Holy is indeed the primary target, we plan to send other personnel, so there's a possibility one of them might be summoned instead. Still, it's a relief that Hairen doesn't seem likely to go berserk. If she were to intrude on her own and get caught up in things, the Hairen faith, not to mention the nations of the Haiden region, wouldn't be pleased. Though I do wonder why I have to look after a goddess...
Lost in these thoughts, Hobis suddenly called out to me.
"Um, Yuki-sama. I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but Mikos-sama contacted us. She's asking why you're not at the town hall."
"Ah."
That's right, we came here to tell Sisua and Sona that the port town's name had been decided. On the way, we heard Enora's declaration about Hairen's child kidnapping and detoured to the military port first.
"You're right. I needed to discuss this matter with Sisua and Sona, and tell them the town's name."
"Oh, shouldn't you have told them before us?"
"You're right. In that case, Vilia, please prepare for your adventure. I'll contact you once Holy and the others are ready."
"Yes, understood."
"Big brother, see you later!"
"Um, what should I do?"
"Hairen-sama just ran out of school, didn't she?"
"Ah!"
Hairen really can't handle proper work unless it's at a church. Since she leaves her workplace so readily, the school teachers must be troubled by her... Yet, I've never heard any complaints. Why is that? I'll have to ask later.
And so, we headed towards the town hall where Sisua and Sona were, but...
"Should we buy some souvenirs?"
Feeling a bit late, I asked Prof and the others.
"You haven't actually told Sisua-sama and Sona-sama that you're coming, have you?"
"Come to think of it, I haven't. I just assumed they'd be there."
"Then there's no such thing as being late, is there?"
"This matter is important, so there's no problem at all."
"But buying souvenirs isn't a bad thing, is it?"
At Yayu's suggestion, we decided to buy some ice cream. The seaside always makes me think of ice cream.