第１７５２堀：研究者から見た新大陸について (Part1)
### Chapter 1752: The New Continent from a Researcher’s Perspective
**Side: Agil**
"Hey, Agil. How’s it looking?"
Yuki strolled into the New Continent Countermeasures Office with that casual inquiry.
"How’s it looking, you ask? Well, there’s no major new intel to speak of, other than our map of the surrounding area expanding a bit."
I relayed the current situation honestly, with nothing to hide. Yuki stepped closer, peering over my shoulder.
"No word on the neighboring countries yet?"
"My drones and familiars haven't flown that far out."
"Is it further than we thought?"
"Well, the forest is a breeding ground for monsters. It would take an incredible amount of confidence—or perhaps recklessness—to build a royal capital right next to a place like that."
I answered Yuki while tracing the map with my finger.
In this New Continent, the threat of monsters is clearly immense. Based on the intelligence gathered so far, the idea of establishing a nation in a forest teeming with monsters—as the Oue Kingdom has done—seems fundamentally irrational.
"Hmm. Then, as we suspected, the people of the Oue Kingdom were feared for their military prowess after all."
"Eh? Oh, Queen Miyabi."
Hearing the voice, I lowered my gaze from Yuki and realized Queen Miyabi had been there the whole time.
"What is it? Did you not notice me?"
"Well, his eyes are always on his husband," Yuki teased.
"A harmonious marriage is a good thing. Now, what do you think of what I said?"
"You mean about the demi-humans having high combat capabilities? I suppose they’d be strong against monsters, but I wonder how they’d fare in human-to-human warfare."
"Hmm. Agil, do you not agree with my assessment?"
"It’s not that I disagree that they were feared for their strength. But isn't it contradictory to try and purge them once you know that? Even if the goal is to exclude demi-humans, doesn't that mean you're attacking the very people who act as your defensive wall?"
"..." "..."
Miyabi and Yuki both fell silent, likely realizing there was merit to my point. After all, they would be removing the very thing acting as their shield, all while being exhausted from fighting off monsters on their own.
"Well, we can look into that later. What about the expansion into the southern towns?"
The motives of the northern coalition are still shrouded in mystery due to a lack of information, and our job as researchers is to investigate the phenomena related to the magical depletion. The most pressing concerns in this New Continent regarding that depletion are the mysterious entity known as the Demon Lord and the monsters migrating northward. That is why the southern towns, which are holding back the monster tide, are of such interest to me.
"That hasn't been settled yet. Getting information from the captured enemies is the priority right now."
"I know, that’s only natural. Still, I feel like we can’t just leave the southern front alone. Is the situation not that desperate yet?"
"I haven't heard the full details, but it doesn't sound like the southern towns are being swarmed by monsters. They really are moving north, and many are just disappearing into the forest. Because of that, the number of monsters reaching the southern towns has inevitably increased. It seems the farmers can't go outside to hunt, so they're barely scraping by with what they can catch near the forest edges."
"I’ve heard as much in the reports and meetings. Anything beyond that?"
"Well, if I had to say, the towns are different from the forest, aren't they? It seems the monsters moving north are more easily drawn to the towns."
"Hmm. Could it be that the monsters are attracted to human magical power?"
"I can only speculate. It doesn't look like they’re being commanded by anyone, unlike during a Great Stampede."
"That part is crucial."
I had suspected they weren't organized based on the initial intel, but this conversation added a layer of certainty—or rather, it increased the credibility of that theory.
"Yuki, I’m sure you’ve realized this too, but whether monsters are just migrating north or moving from a specific direction depends on whether it’s an intentional act or natural behavior. In this case..."
"Hmm. If there’s no command structure, then it must be natural behavior. Even I can reach a conclusion from that: something has appeared that is forcing the monsters to flee, hasn't it?"
"Exactly. What’s your take on that, Yuki?"
I wanted to know why he hadn't voiced that obvious conclusion.
"It’s a strong possibility, but there’s no proof. I can’t say anything reckless until all the information is in."
"Fair enough. It is the New Continent, after all; there could be other reasons."
"Right? And we haven't seen the site ourselves. First, we finish dealing with the current situation. The Oue side is even being cooperative about us handling the southern monster issue."
"Oh? That is news to me."
"Is that because of the recent battle?"
"Yes. We’ve secured an agreement to move freely, but I want to avoid any resentment. Especially regarding the matter of involving the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance in the south."
"Well, it’s not exactly a pleasant prospect for Oue to have another country moving in, let alone gaining territory."
Indeed, that’s a delicate subject. No matter how cornered the Oue Kingdom is, if handled poorly, it wouldn't just be rejected—it could lead to war. Still...
"I understand the situation, but couldn't you have told us that, even if you didn't tell the Oue side?"
"No, no. We’ve been hands-off regarding the southern monsters. How many days do you think it’s been since we arrived in Oue?"
At that, I finally forced my brain to work, counting the days since Holly and the others were summoned. Let’s see... we joined up on the first day, held discussions, provided treatment, and moved out to hear about the northern town situation that same day, right?
"If I recall... four days?"
"You do remember. Though, that’s counting the first day as day zero."
"So, five days in total. Dealing with enemy troops and hostages, guiding Oue’s dignitaries to Weed, and then consulting... yeah, that’s impossible."
I realized how unreasonable I had been.
"Exactly. So much has happened in a single day that my sense of time is warped, but it hasn't even been ten days since we arrived in the Oue Kingdom. It’s unreasonable to expect info on the south on top of all that."
"Indeed. I only just realized it myself, but that is a Herculean task that would normally take a month. You’d likely get stuck at the negotiation phase alone."
"True. When you think about it, it’s amazing the Oue side even permitted Weed’s actions."
Accepting the troops of a group claiming to be from an unknown country is, by any standard, an insane course of action.
"That just goes to show how dire Oue’s situation is. As I said before, they have an army of humans to the north and monsters to the south. They have nowhere to run. Their food supply is almost entirely cut off, and they’re starving. The northern towns hadn't been actively attacked by the enemy army yet, so the citizens weren't in a total panic, but..."