第１７９５堀：妙なお手紙 (Part1)
Chapter 1795: A Peculiar Letter
Side: Milly
"Huh? A complaint from a branch office in a town near a backwater village in the Usano Kingdom, and at this late hour?"
"Yes. They are protesting the recent, unauthorized deployment of adventurers."
The one reporting this to me was Danea, who had taken over as Vice Guild Master in place of Kina, who had been promoted to Guild Master of the Glass Port Town. Like Rock and Kina, she was a veteran adventurer. It is quite rare for a desk-bound administrator without combat prowess to reach the top of an Adventurer’s Guild, where combat is the primary focus. It isn't impossible, but it usually requires having exceptionally capable subordinates. But, putting that aside, I took the documents and reviewed the contents while listening to her report.
"…Why is a complaint about adventurers deployed by the Headquarters being sent to the Weed branch?"
"Is it not because Lady Snow’s area of activity is Weed?"
"Wait, isn't her registration and primary area of activity listed as Headquarters?"
"Yes, it is listed as Headquarters, but…"
What could this mean? Snow—or rather, Nina—had intentionally registered her adventurer status elsewhere; specifically, at Litea, the headquarters of the Adventurer’s Guild. If a complaint is coming here despite that, does it mean Snow’s true identity has been exposed? No, wait a moment. Looking closer at the text…
"That would be addressed to me."
"Eep!"
Danea let out a cute yelp as the Grand Master suddenly appeared. She probably isn't used to this kind of surprise attack, but she is a former adventurer; I would have thought she could at least manage not to shriek.
"Grand Master. She’s a newcomer, so please try to make a gentler entrance."
"Ho ho ho. She’s more delicate than Kina-chan, isn't she?"
Rock looked exasperated, while the Grand Master seemed to be having a grand time. He really does love talking to the younger generation.
"Ah, I-I apologize, Grand Master."
"It’s quite alright. I’m well aware of your usual work performance; you’ll get used to it soon enough."
"No, you were the one who startled her, Grand Master. So, if the letter is addressed to you…"
I re-examined the documents and realized that while it was indeed addressed to the Weed branch, the specific recipient was the Grand Master.
"In other words, this is…"
"Correct, it is a letter addressed to me. I haven't been at Headquarters much lately, so they likely forwarded it here."
"Ah, I see. So it isn't officially recorded as Weed having deployed them."
"It isn't, but they’ve likely figured out that Weed was the catalyst. After all, the adventurers moved immediately following that commotion."
"Indeed. So, was the complaint meaningless then?"
"No, I suspect it has meaning. I was the one who gave the orders. Even if Weed was the spark, there is no doubt that the Adventurer’s Guild acted on its own authority. We investigated because there was a genuine threat—the matter of the Dark Guild."
True enough. Since the Usano and Aeh Kingdoms were acting on requests for cooperation from Roschur and Gartz, and the Adventurer’s Guild moved in response, it wouldn't take much imagination to guess who was pulling the strings at the top. As I was thinking this, Danea suddenly spoke up.
"Rather than Weed being the catalyst, wouldn't it be Roschur and Gartz? Those two nations are leading the negotiations, aren't they?"
"Hmm? You are quite right. Weed being the 'catalyst' is merely a conclusion drawn from the investigation into the incident."
"Still, it was the deep investigation into the 'gossip at the well' in Weed that uncovered the disappearance cases, so it isn't wrong to call it the starting point… but complaining to Weed won't change anything now, will it?"
It is certainly impossible to tell Weed to stop at this stage. After all, major powers are already involved.
"Then, is it really a protest directed at the Grand Master? If so, why send it from a local town branch instead of through the Usano Kingdom itself?"
"It is strange. In terms of influence, going from the town to the state should provide more of a deterrent."
"Does that mean the higher-ups don't know about this?"
"That is a possibility. Still, they had been refusing our investigative visits until now, hadn't they?"
"Yes, that is correct. Seraria and Shera were quite angry about it."
They were furious that the locals would refuse to cooperate. But I can understand why they couldn't simply nod in agreement. Since I started helping manage Weed, I’ve come to understand the weight of national pride. However…
"It makes it all the more mysterious. I had assumed the state was involved in that forest, yet they ignored that and bypassed the state to complain to me? Were they not just holding onto VIPs? No, you found evidence that something was being done in the dungeon, didn't you?"
"Yes. There were traces of it being utilized. However, we haven't obtained any concrete evidence from that site."
"Traces, you say? How long ago did it seem like people were there?"
"Er, as far as the unit could determine, no one has been near it for about a year."
"“A year…”"
At my response, the Grand Master and Rock both muttered, lost in thought. In the end, that dungeon had been abandoned for quite some time. It wasn't that they retreated because we were coming; it had been abandoned well before that.
"Hmm, my thoughts weren't coming together, but I think I understand now."
"What have you realized?"
"It means that something else exists elsewhere."
"That sounds plausible. The discrepancy between the discovery of the dungeon and the people who went missing is too large. In other words, the dungeon is unrelated."
"Indeed."
All we know is that the dungeon wasn't being used. But if you look at it from a different perspective, it could mean they moved their base somewhere else. Besides, if the dungeon were truly being used for a secret project, they wouldn't have left it so blatantly abandoned. They would have sealed the entrance or covered it up. As I was thinking this, Danea spoke up again.
"Does this mean the Adventurer’s Guild branch that sent the letter did so in a panic because they know something?"
"No, as I said before, sending it alone carries little weight and is meaningless. Therefore…"
Right. If anything, it would only draw more attention, and the act of sending this complaint itself is… just as I was thinking that, Rock raised his voice.
"Wait, Grand Master. That town's branch was supposed to have sent us a warning earlier. About the pressure they were receiving from above."
"That is true, they did."
"In that situation, is there any point in them deliberately sending a protest letter to us?"
"Now that you mention it, that is strange. You said the branch was under surveillance, didn't you?"
We had known from the start that the guild's movements in that country were being monitored. That they were under pressure.