第１８１６堀：できる規模の違い (Part1)
Moat 1816: The Difference in Scale of What Can Be Done
Side: Seraria
After finishing the reception and greetings for the VIPs at the hotel, as I watched the movements of my husbands—or rather, Grand Master and Nina—from the room, my husband, as usual, stated without changing his expression, despite the almost complete lack of evidence:
"Indeed, it's difficult for us to make a move from our side. In that case, we just need the enemy to make a move. And it's not like the townspeople will be immediately affected."
I understand what he's saying.
However, it's a completely backwards notion to wonder what exactly we should do to make the enemy move...
"Um, Yuki-sama. May I speak? Though it's only my voice, my name is Arka..."
"Ah, no problem. Is something the matter?"
My husband listened to Arka's question.
Arka, as expected...
"How do we make the enemy move? I can't think of a way..."
"From your position, Arka-dono, that would be the case. However, setting that aside, where do you think the enemy is moving, or rather, *already* moving?"
"Eh, that would be..."
Yes, what my husband was saying was merely an organized grasp of the current situation.
"...Gathering monsters, and perhaps immigrants?"
"Exactly. In other words, it can be seen as a place where we can intervene."
"Intervention, but for me..."
"I see. So, Yuki-dono will lend a hand?"
"I'm already lending a hand, aren't I? There are three people there. Don't you think we should use those three to gather evidence, thwart their objective, or simply smash it head-on?"
"Oh!"
Hearing that voice, I burst out laughing.
Quar, who was beside me, also gave a wry smile.
After all, that idea was...
"There's no way that could..."
Yes, yes, normally it would be impossible. To stop a lord's conspiracy with just three people is a joke. A heroic tale that children would love. Normally, an adult would interpret it that way. But my husband's words were different.
"I see, that's certainly a possibility. Well, I feel like the numbers aren't enough, but that can be managed."
"It's not as if we don't have other forces we can send besides Nina and the others. We can contact them instantly like this, and sending reinforcements is easy. In fact, we've already sent Grand Master."
"...Y-yes, that's right."
I can just imagine Arka, that girl, opening and closing her mouth, silenced by my husband's tactic of presenting undeniable evidence.
"Yuki-sama really comes up with these kinds of ideas easily."
"Indeed. I'd heard he was a mischievous child, but this plan is truly the one thing the enemy would least want to happen. If they truly plan to carry out the immigration, have them attacked, and then dispatch an army..."
"Then those immigrants won't be completely wiped out. Their original plan will fall apart, won't it?"
"Yes. Though I suppose if the numbers were enough to overwhelm our forces, it would be a different story."
"In that case, this Logari Continent would likely be destroyed."
"Indeed. If they could truly gather such a force, I'd be curious to see it."
Even a fraction of Weed's forces would require opposing monster forces, not to mention human armies, numbering in the tens of thousands.
Where would a small country gather such a force?
Well, it's an impossible notion.
"Fortunately, from what I've heard, it doesn't seem like the town of Suana—or rather, its people and the Adventurer's Guild members—will suffer immediate harm."
"Hmm. When is this talk of immigration scheduled to begin?"
"Ah, yes. Since people are already being gathered, there's talk within the Adventurer's Guild that an announcement will be made soon. However, there's also the question of whether people will truly gather, but even considering such points, the Guild Master doesn't seem to find the monster-gathering movements and the immigration suspicious. He just thinks it's fine as long as they're properly paid."
Indeed. If you consider it normal business, there's nothing particularly suspicious about it. Or rather, in this case, the biggest question is...
"I understand what you're saying, Arka. How did you obtain that information? How did you arrive at this conclusion when most people are not just skeptical, but barely even suspicious? I understand it's suspicious based on circumstantial evidence, but still."
Yes, how did Arka realize this fact? No, it's not confirmed yet, but if she's an internal investigator for the Adventurer's Guild, her abilities are certainly proven, but it's still questionable if she's investigated as far as the lord's side.
"As I mentioned earlier, it was my own independent investigation. Specifically, when I visited the lord's mansion on an errand for the Adventurer's Guild, I conducted an internal investigation and simply overheard conversations."
"Ah, I see. So you conducted an investigation while you were there."
An investigation? As I tilted my head, wondering what he meant, Nina and the others must have been wondering the same thing, as Grand Master considerately began to explain.
"Nina-chan and the others probably don't know. Originally, internal investigators like Arka are instructed to investigate not only the Guild, but also the town, and of course, even the lord. After all, there are quite a few cases where the Guild is exploited by the powerful figures of a country."
I can't deny that. Well, that just means the Adventurer's Guild has power, and that the country and its lords harbor animosity towards it. It's like, 'they're a nuisance, but we want to use their power.' It's troublesome.
"Yes. The reason I was originally dispatched to the town of Suana was precisely because of concerns about this lord's reputation."
"Hmm. Indeed, we don't have so many internal investigators that we can send them to places where there aren't many apparent problems."
Certainly, the absolute number of such intelligence agents isn't large. Like Kirika's unit in Weed. Of course, there are personnel skilled in such information gathering in each department, but it's rare for them to reach the level of Kirika's professional unit. After all, Weed is fully backing them. And my husband's support is also there. Their fundamental capabilities are on a completely different level. Furthermore, it's natural that sending internal investigators into the same organization isn't looked upon favorably, which is why their absolute numbers are small. Moreover, when investigating a harmful opponent, those numbers become even smaller. Because the opponent is equally vigilant.
"So, Arka-dono, you gathered information by listening to conversations, correct?"
"Yes, that's right. In this situation, I couldn't simply flee. But if the immigration plan were to begin..."
"It would be almost too late."
Indeed. Once the immigration plan starts, it means the enemy's preparations are complete, and harm will be unavoidable. In that case, it seems Arka did her utmost.
"However, it's fortunate that it's not happening immediately. If there's even a little time, we can prepare."