第１７４０堀：忙しい我が家 (Part2)
"What's with the sudden call? And with everyone gathered there, Seraria and the rest—is this a grand council? What is it? Did you win?"
"No, we're about to strike."
"Ugh, just let me know when you win or lose. I’m busy over here. I’m in the middle of a search in the forest."
"So, you haven't found anything suspicious yet, then?"
"If I had, I would’ve reported it. Besides, the other members haven't arrived yet, so we’re just expanding the search radius. The monsters are definitely starting to emerge, too."
"Yes, if we don't deal with the monsters coming from the depths of the forest, they’re going to head straight for the village."
"Though, if we were just pushing into the depths, the three of us would be enough. But considering the safety of the village, we have to clear them out as much as possible..."
The reply didn't just come from Nina; I could hear Sia and Kishua, who were operating with her, in the background.
It seems the Holy Sword User members are primarily handling the investigation in the village.
Since it has nothing to do with Weed, they’re apparently teamed up with an adventurer guild led by someone named Kate.
"Nina, judging by that tone, you haven't found the enemy's base yet?"
Milly cuts into our conversation.
It makes sense that she, as a representative of the adventurer guild, would want to know.
They need a justification—a pretext—to have dispatched the adventurers in the first place.
"We haven't found anything resembling a base yet. The forest is surprisingly large."
"I see. Hmm. The Grand Master is pushing himself to act as the headquarters, but..."
"Calm down, Milly. It would be more unnatural if we found something this quickly in an investigation of this nature. Kate from the Dosou Kingdom doesn't know our circumstances, so it should be fine to set things up while we’re investigating separately."
That’s true.
If we investigated and found results immediately, it might seem suspicious.
It would be better if something was discovered while we were searching together...
"Wouldn't it be more convincing if Kate discovered the base or the monsters herself?"
As I say this, all eyes, centered on Milly, turn toward me.
"I’ve heard that before~. It’s hard to deny something you discovered yourself."
"I’ve heard in mystery novels that such a psychology exists."
Aslin and Firia agree with me.
I’ve certainly heard of such tropes in stories.
"Mm. Common. If you think you made a new discovery, it’s hard to believe it was found earlier."
"Well, usually you’d be disappointed after searching thoroughly and finding nothing, but this isn't that kind of 'new discovery.' It’s about traces of monsters, right? And not even a new species, just the presence of powerful monsters. Since they don't know we can manifest powerful monsters, there’s nothing wrong with that girl Kate thinking she found dangerous monsters."
As Cleena and Comet say, she visited for work and saw the results with her own eyes, so there’s no lie there.
In other words, there’s no reason for her to think it’s a lie.
"I think that’s the safest route, but the guidance... can we leave that to Leila and the others?"
"Leila is a scout type like me, so that’s no problem. Still, it’s questionable whether we’ll actually find the enemy base. Does it really exist?"
"Regarding that, we’re waiting for information from Kirika. Did you manage to gather anything, Kirika?"
"Yes."
As Yuki asks, Kirika, who had appeared beside Seraria before anyone noticed, begins her explanation.
"According to reports from my subordinates infiltrating the Usano Kingdom and the Ae Kingdom, it appears there was originally a dungeon there."
"Dungeon?"
"Yes. However, it seems the boss was defeated and the core was removed about 150 years ago, leaving it in ruins. Since it was abandoned afterward, it was left as a 'Monster Forest,' as it wouldn't be strange for monsters to take up residence there. Well, if we searched higher up, more might come to light, but I haven't infiltrated that far—or rather, that is likely a different department. The King and the Chancellor were unaware of it."
"Huh?"
Is such a thing even possible?
"Um, just to confirm, the people of the old royal family who lost to the current royal family were driven out to a cold, remote village, right?"
Riel voices my question.
"Yes. That has been confirmed. It is likely a separate faction. It’s not as if the country is divided solely between the royal family and the old royal family."
"Wow, that seems to have deep roots, too."
"Sigh, investigate thoroughly. Everyone is busy here and there, but please, lend me your strength."
"Yes!"
And so, it seems our days will continue to be busy.
Weed remains as hectic as ever.
The members remaining in Weed are handling their regular duties while also providing support, so in a sense, they might be even busier than the members out in the field.