第１７９０堀：ダンジョン管理同士の雑談 (Part1)
Chapter 1790: Chat Between Dungeon Managers
Side: Labyris
"So? Did Baroness Siana accept the plan?"
"No, she said she'd think about it."
I was hearing from Yuki about his conversation with Baroness Siana.
Yuki has returned to Weed now, and he’s helping me with the dungeon management.
Since I’m officially the one acting as the Dungeon Master for this Weed dungeon, I have to be the one doing the legwork.
Well, Seraria is the lord, but the setup is that Elju appointed me as the Dungeon Master.
Anyway, putting that aside, I’m listening to the progress on the New Continent while doing my job as Dungeon Master.
"Well, that’s to be expected, isn't it? Even with guards, interference from the Church is inevitable, right?"
"I’d say so. Though, since we’re faster on our feet, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to catch up."
"What about the enemy sending out runners the moment they were defeated?"
"None. We haven't confirmed anyone deploying a dungeon to escape."
"What about regular courier horses or something similar?"
"Haven't confirmed that either, as of now. It’s only been a short time, so it’s hard to say for sure."
"You need to be careful there. People usually send reports frequently in these situations, don't they?"
"That’s true."
It’s not normal to move a massive army without sending detailed reports back to the home country.
Especially since communication takes time; if our technology were involved, we’d be seeing the tenth letter arrive by the time the first one reached them—but that’s not how things work for them.
"Won't it look suspicious if you suddenly appoint Baroness Siana as the messenger?"
"She said it wouldn't be a problem if she used it for emergency communications."
"I see. Using a noble for emergency contact does make it sound urgent. What about the Church’s interference?"
"We’ll cooperate on that front. We’ll use vehicles for the parts of the journey where we need to stay low-profile. We’ll make sure they can never catch up to us in terms of speed."
"I see, then we can move before the information gets through."
If we’re bringing vehicles into the mix, we’re almost never going to lose in terms of speed.
Still...
"What about the movements after the information gets out? Above all, news that the army that invaded Ohe was wiped out is bound to spread, right?"
Exactly. Moving ahead is fine, but what happens after?
In the end, are we going to crush the Church, or take the path of negotiation?
"It’s hard to say, as there’s too little information about what happens next. There’s a possibility that the Giadana Kingdom, which led the coalition this time, won't play along with our intentions. In that case, we might need to step in to save Baroness Siana and the villagers."
"...If that happens, it’s going to take a lot of effort."
"We have people who are willing to be our allies. Considering that, it’s not a bad thing. Though, if we mess up our moves, everyone around us could end up becoming an enemy."
"I really want to avoid a war with all the northern countries."
If we’re talking about whether we can win, I can say with absolute certainty that we can, but thinking about the aftermath just makes me shudder.
We’d blow away the enemy leadership with artillery and win with them headless.
In other words, the enemy would be left without a head, unable to consolidate their opinions.
As a result, local warlords would start acting on their own.
The country would cease to function, and we’d have to deal with it piece by piece.
That would be the worst-case scenario.
If that happened, who knows how many decades it would take to govern the North.
Yuki basically avoids "head-hunting" tactics for this very reason.
If they don't stay unified as a country, it’s just more trouble for us.
"I want to avoid it too, but in this instance, we have to move until we stop the invasion of Ohe. If the number of enemies increases, we have no choice but to fight. As long as we don't know the Church's true intentions, the only way to stop them is through physical force."
"True."
As long as we don't know the reason they started the fight, the only way to stop it is physical.
"The Demon King and monsters. I wonder if they can really rally people by claiming things they've never even seen?"
"Who knows? Maybe there are legends about such things, and I’ve heard reports that monster damage is increasing, so it’s not a situation they can just laugh off, right?"
"Monster damage, huh. It’s true that monsters are moving north from the south, but I wonder if they’ve actually reached the northern countries?"
"That, I don't know. That’s their claim, at least."
Indeed, that is their claim.
So, the first step is to verify that.
"Speaking of which, how is it going with Reye? You’re going to have him help manage the southern fort and its surroundings, right?"
"Yeah, that hasn't moved yet. We’re still before the land selection phase."
"Oh? I heard from Tori that he had already scouted some out?"
"He has. Haven't you seen the report, Labyris?"
Basically, the important people in Weed can see reports on the New Continent at any time, but...
"I try not to look at unnecessary things. It makes my eyes hurt."
Seeing rows and rows of text has been tough lately.
"Ah, I get that. And it’s easier to just hear the summary. But you know there are times when the report itself is better, right?"
"I know, I know. That’s why I’m properly looking at my own work like this."
I look at the pile of documents on my desk.
These are basically petitions.
Calculating DP to distribute to each department or representative, increasing the types of supplies we can request—it’s truly exhausting.
These are functions that only Yuki or I can touch.
Well, the other members can do it too, but since I’m the one officially managing the dungeon, it falls to me.
So, I really don't want to look at any more text-based documents outside of this.
"Fair enough. Don't push yourself. Now, regarding the land Tori scouted, it’s faster if you just look at it."
Yuki fiddled with his Call, and data flew over to me. When I checked it, images, photos, and simple topography of the selected land appeared.
"...This is extreme. Flat land, or the top of a mountain. A plateau, is it?"
"Yeah, we call the flat tops of mountains plateaus. So, we can set up a base there, and since it’s on top of a mountain, it’s optimal for defense. But..."
"Moving is a pain. Well, we can simplify that with Gates... but flat land is easier, isn't it?"
"Yeah, both have their pros and cons. Even with flat land, we have to build a solid defense system, and if we step foot on the plateau, we might find something else again."
I was convinced, but at the same time, something caught my attention.
"Find something else again?"
"Yeah, the plateau area is an unexplored region. Aside from birds or flying creatures, there probably aren't many creatures that would choose to spend their time climbing up and down that mountain. So, there’s a possibility that a unique ecosystem has formed there."