第１７９６堀：手紙の意味 (Part1)
Chapter 1796: The Meaning of the Letter
Side: Yuki
A complaint had arrived at the Weed branch of the Adventurer’s Guild.
Well, to be precise, it was addressed to the Grand Master, who has been practically living in Weed lately. As I read through it…
“This is incredibly strange.”
I pointed out the abnormality of the letter immediately.
“Yes, it is highly irregular. For a mere branch to contact the head of the headquarters directly? There are proper channels that should be followed, are there not? Don’t you agree, Milly?”
At my words, Prol immediately concurred and sought confirmation from Milly.
Well, in a sense, I’m not much different. Nobles and merchants often try to bypass Seraria to get to me.
However, that stems from Weed’s unique nature and its previously small scale.
Nowadays, I leave those kinds of negotiations to Fiora, Aurelia, and the others. They handle things as the need arises—the same goes for letters addressed to me. If I didn’t do that, I’d be trapped in a living hell of checking every single piece of correspondence.
And for the Grand Master, who has a long history and influence over every nation, the scale of that burden is incomparable.
Above all…
“Exactly. Under normal circumstances, petitions to the Grand Master—even personal letters—are routed through the headquarters’ secretaries. Isn’t that right?”
“Indeed. If I didn’t do that, I’d spend every single day buried in paperwork. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my leisure time in Weed.”
Right. I’m glad he’s enjoying his time in Weed, but…
“The fact that they bypassed all that and ensured the letter reached the eyes of Rock, Danea, and Milly suggests this was intentional.”
“Yuki, how do you interpret the intent behind this letter?”
The Grand Master, usually a kindly old man, turned his gaze toward me. It wasn’t his usual smile; his eyes were sharp.
“It’s a common occurrence, but please keep in mind that this is just my opinion.”
“Proceed.”
“Regarding this letter, I believe the possibility of it being a trap is low.”
“Your reasoning?”
“It’s suspicious that they sent it to an address where they couldn’t even be sure the Grand Master would receive it. If they wanted to set a trap, they would have followed proper protocol. It would have been less suspicious that way. Besides, does the Grand Master have any close ties to this branch?”
“No. It has been a very, very long time since I last visited this region. They have likely forgotten I was ever here, or perhaps it isn’t even in their records.”
As expected of someone whose age is unknown—he’s even acquainted with the High Elf Miyabi and the dragon Gaul.
In other words, his last visit to this town was ages ago.
“So, someone who knows the Grand Master personally reached out. But only a select few know that the Grand Master is currently holed up in Weed, right?”
“Indeed. Though I spend all my time in Weed, I still have a residence at the Holy Capital of Litea, the headquarters. If they wanted to send a letter, they would have sent it there.”
Exactly. Even if they wanted to contact him personally, they would send it to his home in Litea.
Despite his habit of staying in Weed, he is the highest-ranking official—the Grand Master of the Adventurer’s Guild—and he cannot simply relocate his base of operations. He only stays in Weed because the Gate makes travel easy.
There is no logical reason to address a letter to the Grand Master at the Weed branch when there’s a high probability it would never reach him.
Under normal circumstances, that is…
“In other words, someone in their local Adventurer’s Guild knows that the Grand Master spends a significant amount of time in Weed?”
“As Aurelia says. So, Grand Master, do you have any acquaintances over there? Since they know you’re in Weed, it must be someone who moved there after Weed was established. The letter didn’t have a name… did it?”
“No. It was unsigned. They likely feared that if it were known who sent the letter, it would cause trouble.”
Milly is right. The opponent is who they are, after all.
They’ve likely been conducting surveillance on the Usano Kingdom, and they would be censoring letters to ensure no leaks. If the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters were to get involved, it would become a major issue.
If that happened, the headquarters might force an investigation into the surrounding rural villages, exposing things they want to keep hidden.
That is why they kept it strictly as a "complaint."
As for the address, they knew Weed was the origin point, so they probably didn't think twice about it.
I asked the Grand Master if he had any leads, and he replied…
“An acquaintance over there? Someone who knows I’m always in Weed? Hmm… I’m not involved in personnel matters, you see.”
That makes sense. Personnel decisions are made by department heads; it’s not something the top of the organization handles.
Well, if it were a Guild Master position, he might see some paperwork, but he doesn’t personally appoint the head of every single branch. There are simply too many Adventurer’s Guilds across the continent, each with their own local leaders.
Plus, with emergency appointments due to trouble, there’s no way he could keep track of them all.
However…
“It was said that the Adventurer’s Guild in that town was under pressure from the Usano Kingdom. Perhaps they’ve been gathering information?”
“That is likely. Milly, what do you think?”
“Yes. We have indeed been investigating the branch in Tsuena, a town near the rural villages. Especially since we heard they were under pressure.”
Milly replied immediately and pulled up the data.
The Grand Master and I peered at it, though I can’t make heads or tails of guild rosters.
“Hmm. Ah, I see. It’s her.”
The Grand Master pointed to a name he recognized.
“Er… Staff member Alka? Not the Guild Master?”
I understood why Milly was confused. One would assume such a thing would come from the upper echelons of the guild.
“Indeed. She is an internal investigator. Her job is to look into matters like this—where the guild is struggling under pressure from a nation, or conversely, whether the guild is causing trouble for the town. She reports back in secret, and then I or the folks from headquarters go in to handle it.”
“I see. So, an organization as large as the Adventurer’s Guild really does have a department like that.”
“Well, yes. Not everyone acts with integrity. Adventurers becoming criminals is a common occurrence, and we need a self-cleansing mechanism to deal with it before the guild’s reputation is dragged through the mud. Of course, there are specialists who handle the adventurers themselves.”
“Ah, I’d heard rumors, but I didn’t know they actually existed.”
It seemed like it was only a rumor to Milly as well, and she was just learning of their existence now.
Well, as an organization grows, corruption is inevitable, so such a department is necessary.
Still, it’s a department that digs up dirt on its own people. They wouldn’t be popular if it were made public, so it makes sense that they operate in the shadows.