第１８２５堀：冒険者ギルドの方も準備を整える (Part1)
Chapter 1825: The Adventurer's Guild Also Prepares
The Adventurer's Guild also prepares.
Side: Milly
"So, have you uncovered anything?"
I was in the Weed Adventurer's Guild office, engaged in a discussion. My counterparts were the Grand Master, Guild Master Rock, and Kina, the Guild Master of Glass Port Town. Vice Guild Master Daneah was downstairs, handling regular duties. The details of this conversation would be relayed to her later. After all, the Weed Adventurer's Guild had its share of troublesome issues, making information sharing essential. It was for this very reason that Daneah had been chosen.
But setting that aside, what I was currently asking about was...
"Indeed. After gathering information from headquarters, it was confirmed that, just as Miss Alka said, monster capture requests were being issued in and around Suana Town. Though they were cleverly concealed."
"Concealed, you say?"
"The clients were different. While there were certainly requests issued under the lord's directive, they accounted for less than thirty percent of the total."
At the Grand Master's words, Kina spat out the drink she had been sipping.
"Wait a minute. Does that mean more than double the usual amount is being gathered overall!?"
"Well, not every single one, of course. And some of the individual requests are inevitably for smaller numbers. Here."
With that, the Grand Master placed the collected documents on the table, and we began to examine them.
Indeed, separate from the lord's requests, there were others gathering monsters under various pretexts.
Among them were...
"Tch, so there are monster capture requests issued by the Adventurer's Guild itself?"
"Ugh. Well, we do it for monster research, but... are these even authorized?"
"Yes. Funding is also provided by the lord, making this a rather important matter for investigating the monster distribution around Suana Town. On paper, there are no issues, and as the Adventurer's Guild, we cannot refuse."
Truly, it was cunning. The Adventurer's Guild could easily become an accomplice if things continued this way. If this were to be carelessly exposed, the Guild's standing in this matter would suffer. Was that also their aim? Or were we being forced into cooperation to prevent that very outcome?
I still didn't understand that part.
"Well, for now, there's certainly no overt problem. One could call it legitimate activity. The issue lies in what comes after. Whether an 'accident' occurs."
"An 'accident,' you say. What are your thoughts on it, Grand Master?"
"Indeed. The quantity of monsters being gathered is ten times greater than anywhere else. If they could utilize all of them, they could easily deal with something like a frontier village. There would also be ample reason to dispatch the army. However..."
"We can't do anything without proof, can we?"
"That's right. As things stand, this is merely our speculation. If we press them carelessly, they'll simply evade us. And yet, this is..."
I hesitated to voice the rest of my thought.
After all, this would only become an issue if an 'accident' actually occurred...
"Until action is taken, this isn't a crime. Even if we found evidence, we couldn't arrest the lord or those involved. After all, merely finding documents can be explained away."
Indeed, as the Grand Master said, merely planning isn't a crime. While it was a nasty business, everyone thought such thoughts. We couldn't arrest someone for a crime based on that alone.
Even Yuki, for instance, probably thought up countless wicked schemes like this.
"What, even with evidence, it's no good?"
"Well, even if there's a criminal plan, if it hasn't been executed, it's not a crime. Otherwise, those who catch criminals would also be thinking about methods of crime, wouldn't they? Would they be arrested for that?"
"M-mgh..."
Rock's clear analogy silenced Kina.
So that's why Alka couldn't take action. Given this, she couldn't even flee until something actually happened. If she said anything careless, she could be accused of inciting unrest and arrested.
"It seems we'll have to respond once things are set in motion."
"Indeed. It would serve as proof of a crime. Though, we'd only be able to react defensively."
"Fortunately, Miss Alka sniffed it out for us. And with support from Yuki, we should be able to detect it in advance. Or perhaps we could approach a major nation..."
"In that case, would the information come from the Adventurer's Guild?"
"That's the tricky part. What do you think, Milly?"
"...It's truly difficult. We can bring it up, but the timing is crucial. While the matter of Usanoae has already been explained through Weed, interfering with something that hasn't yet taken action is..."
"Impossible, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"After all, it's a problem in a small nation. It's unreasonable to ask them to act on it now. It will have to be after something happens."
Just as with our earlier discussion, major nations also couldn't act unless a situation arose. If they interfered carelessly, it would be seen as an overreach of a major power's authority.
"In that case, it seems we have no choice but to crush them once they make their move."
"But if they merely feign an accident, deploying forces will be difficult, won't it?"
As Rock said, even if we were to crush them after they moved, it would be difficult to suddenly deploy a large force, given their claim of an 'accident'. Deploying forces would only make them suspicious of us, and more importantly, the question of where the funding would come from would arise. Skilled adventurers weren't free, and sending them into a situation where they might suffer losses would make both the adventurers and the Guild hesitant. Above all, it wasn't just monsters they were up against. With nobles involved behind the scenes, there was a high chance of incurring their wrath. Having to be wary not only of monsters but also of people—or rather, allies—was a significant burden.
"Um, what are we actually going to do? If we're not careful, Adventurer's Guild members will likely go to guard the frontier village or confirm the situation on-site, and what Alka is saying isn't necessarily wrong, you know?"
Truly, I couldn't help but suspect that the town was in danger, or rather, that they might throw troublesome individuals into the frontier village. No, if they were thinking such things, they would certainly do it. And since they could eliminate nuisances in the process, there would be nothing better...
"Ah."
"What is it, Milly?"
"Kina mentioned earlier that the Adventurer's Guild would also be dragged into this, but that also means it's a chance to dispose of troublesome individuals. Don't you agree, Rock?"
"That's likely. It's an unparalleled opportunity. They'll send them in under some pretext. If they survive, it can still be feigned as an accident, and if the army comes to their rescue, they'll likely gain their support."
"I see. Indeed, that's precisely it. So, for us, they'll be allies?"
My intention seemed to have been conveyed, and he nodded.