第１８８２堀：冒険者ギルドの後処理と今後の対応 (Part1)
Chapter 1882: Post-Processing the Adventurer Guild and Future Responses
Side: Milly
"Haa... I'm exhausted."
I let out a sigh, staring up at the ceiling, when suddenly...
"Good work."
"You look beat, don't you~"
Eris and Ratz chimed in as they approached.
"Oh, hey there. When did you two get in?"
I had been the only one in the conference room, yet before I knew it, they were standing right there.
"Milly, you were staring at the ceiling and dozing off."
"That’s right~. Here, have a drink."
"Was I really...? Thank you."
To think I’d been caught in such an unseemly state.
I actually fell asleep.
I took a sip of the tea they handed me.
"Bitter... but this is just what I needed. I’m glad Yuki-san wasn't here to see that."
The strong tea helped sharpen my senses.
I was truly relieved I hadn't lost consciousness during the actual meeting.
"But you sleep at night, don't you? If you're this tired now, just how busy are you?"
"Is the Usano and Aae situation really causing that much trouble~?"
"Well, I wouldn't say it's the sole cause of everything, but it’s certainly a massive point of contention."
The aftermath of that incident really is a headache, including all the cleanup.
"In the end, the investigation into Suana Town is going to continue, right?"
"Yes. I’ll be submitting the report at today’s meeting, but since it's just the two of you, I'll be blunt. As for the Suana Town Guild's movements, they were merely securing monsters at the request of the local lord, so there will be no punishment."
"Well, that makes sense. They were just doing their jobs, after all."
Exactly. The guild itself cannot be held liable.
It was simply a case of the lord being incredibly cunning.
"The incident hasn't gone public, has it? But what about the village that was burned down after they were done securing the monsters?"
"That’s the part that’s not just unpleasant, but downright troublesome. Kishua and the others finished off the monsters and burned the place down, but now the question is: what was the cause of it all?"
"Naturally."
As Ratz said, it was a logical question, but...
"The people involved with the village have gone missing."
"“Haa!?”"
Both of them raised their voices at my statement.
Well, that reaction was only natural.
After all, the people in that village weren't actual villagers; they were just hired hands.
To put it in Yuki-san’s terms, they were corporate employees.
"Wait a minute. Those people in the village were involved, right? Are you saying they were just released? They were the witnesses who were breeding monsters in the village, weren't they?"
"Exactly~. What do you mean by 'missing'?"
"Ah, my phrasing was poor. Do you remember Wishy? The one who was working with Kishua and the others?"
"I remember. The enforcer from the Adventurer Guild, right?"
"Yes. The thing is, those four couldn't possibly have captured everyone stationed in the village. Or rather, if they weren't there at that exact moment, there was no way to round them up."
"“Ah.”"
My explanation made them understand immediately.
After all, the raid on the village happened at night.
Regardless of the people on-site that day, there was no way to drag in the ones who weren't there.
It was as simple as that.
"So, you were too rushed?"
"You could say that, but if we had taken our time, would we have been able to catch everyone...?"
"That’s debatable. The lord is involved, and while it’s a stretch to call it a crime by the Adventurer Guild, the fact that they burned down a village is a secret. It would be impossible to secure every single person involved."
As Ratz pointed out, for the time being, the Adventurer Guild is officially supposed to know nothing about it.
"This time, we focused on hitting the enemy's wallet. Even Wishy and the Grand Master said we can't push the lord too hard."
"Well, they’ll just hide behind the excuse that it was for 'monster research,' won't they?"
"That excuse only holds up as long as the monsters don't run wild, though. Couldn't you have pressed them on the grounds that the numbers were excessive?"
"Whether the numbers are 'excessive' depends on the regulations of each country, and they have a track record of having managed them until now. No matter what we say from the outside..."
"They have proof that they’ve been managing them, don't they~. If they get officially sanctioned, it’ll be even harder to move against them."
"When you put it that way, Kishua’s strategy was the most reasonable."
Exactly. If the country officially recognizes it, it becomes even harder to intervene.
That said, they can't use them to go on a rampage, but the possibility of them transporting the monsters elsewhere to plot something else is extremely high.
In that light, Eris was right—Kishua’s plan was the safest bet.
"So, about the people involved going missing... is it, you know?"
"Yes. We had Wishy interrogate the ones we caught, and we went to check, but they were already gone. This was before the news of the incident had spread..."
"So, someone who was supposed to report in found out, contacted their superiors, and then... they were either detained? Or killed?"
"Most likely. Though, it’s not like it was everyone involved."
"Well, obviously~. I don't know how many people you'd consider 'involved,' but if you turn an entire village into a breeding ground or a storage facility, the number of people involved would be massive~."
Ratz is right.
The scale of this incident is so large that the number of people involved is staggering.
And while the responsibility ultimately rests with the lord, there are so many people in the chain leading up to him.
If we don't secure those links properly, it will just end with the "severing of the lizard's tail."
In that sense, burning down the village and the monsters wasn't a mistake.
Once they lose both their base and their monsters, they can't easily replace them.
All the resources they poured into it are gone.
There's no doubt that we need to gather information while they’re reeling.
"I understand the situation, but why is Milly so busy because of it?"
"Indeed, it feels like Usano and Aae can barely make a move now. With the Adventurer Guild taking the lead, is there really anything for Milly to interject or help with?"
"Well, normally that would be the case, but for some reason, the request for support from Suana Town—specifically from Alka-san—was sent to Weed. I know it’s because the Grand Master is there, but..."
"Ah, so there’s a risk that suspicion will fall on Weed."
"Well, it’s a stretch, but since we are actually moving behind the scenes~. In fact, we’re heavily involved in the disappearance cases related to the New Continent."
Exactly. If we hadn't touched anything, we could have left it alone, and even if they investigated, there wouldn't have been any issues.
Well, there is information that would be problematic if leaked, but it’s not related to Usano or Aae; it’s the kind of content that would make a major power our enemy.
But this time, we snuck into the country and did various things.
Even without trying to be reckless, things are quite delicate.
"That’s why we’ve decided that the Weed Adventurer Guild must appear to be doing its job and not interfering with anything else."
"Ah~. So the excuse is that you were too busy to get involved?"