第１９３１堀：見落としているところはないのか (Part2)
Before I could even formulate a thought, Sasari seemed to have hit upon something first.
"Chronological order? Understood."
Having no reason to object, I began arranging the documents as she suggested. I excluded the more granular reports, keeping the sorting broad; otherwise, they wouldn't even fit on the table.
"How does it look? Does anything catch your eye?"
"Wait a moment. Something... something is..."
The roles had reversed. Earlier, I had been the one asking to look through the scattered documents, but now it was Sasari’s turn to scrutinize them. I took a moment to calm myself and look as well.
...Hmm. There’s nothing wrong with the chronology itself. As far as I can tell, the responses to each incident seem to have been handled optimally. I had been arranging them haphazardly, searching for some sort of dissonance, but nothing stood out. Just as I was thinking that...
"Kirue-senpai, let’s arrange these by a different timeline."
"A different timeline? I’m not sure I follow..."
There was no doubt that this current arrangement followed the timeline since Weed’s involvement. As for what she meant by a "different" timeline...
"Ah—how should I put this? Right, not the timeline of these reports, but the timeline of the New Continent itself. It just suddenly occurred to me that we’ve never really heard any theories regarding that."
"I see. You’re right; that is a perspective we haven't considered."
We had been focused on the timeline since our arrival, but we had given little thought to the history of the New Continent itself.
"That said, gathering information on that timeline would require synthesizing bits and pieces from various reports, which would take quite some time—"
"We can leave the comprehensive summary for when we report to Master. For now, it would be better to piece together a timeline based on what we can recall immediately."
Indeed, meticulously scouring every report would be too time-consuming.
"True. Shall we quickly lay out what we remember, Kirue-senpai?"
"Yes. Let’s start with the earliest timeline of the New Continent..."
"How about that story? The one where Oue summoned people from the Rogari Continent."
"Indeed, that could be considered the oldest. And they weren't Heroes, but 'heroes'—summoned for the salvation of their own nation."
"The scale was small, wasn't it? Well, there was talk of a Demon Lord, but it still leaves the question of why they were summoning people in the first place."
"True. We’ve been so busy that we let it slide, but we never investigated the source of Oue’s summoning. If I recall, Lady Kagura was the one leading that investigation..."
"We haven't heard the details on that, have we? This definitely requires a note."
And so, we began jotting down the points we felt were worth investigating.
Hmm. This approach seemed promising. Sasari felt the momentum, too, and her enthusiasm grew.
"Alright! Let’s keep this up!"
"Yes. If this helps resolve even a fraction of Master’s problems, it will be worth it."
And so, by re-examining the timeline of the New Continent, we began to uncover new questions. Specifically, the points that seemed suspicious were:
・The reason and circumstances behind Oue’s first summoning.
・When the existence known as the "Demon Lord" first appeared.
・The precise timing when monster attacks intensified in the North and South.
・When the Clearstream Church expanded into the central regions.
・Rumors of the Demon Lord in the North and Central regions.
・When the Clearstream Church began gathering demi-humans.
・Traces of the people said to have fled into the wilderness.
・When the war in the North actually began.
Quite a lot emerged just from our initial brainstorming. There were other, more minor details, but we decided to leave those to Yuki-sama. After all, we are...
"Oh, Kirue-senpai. It’s almost time for the laundry to be finished."
"You’re right. We must attend to our duties as maids first."
That’s right—we are maids. We have a household to protect.
It is unexpected, though perhaps not uncommon. One often hears that discoveries come from the most unlikely places. It may be rare, which is why it stands out, but it is certainly not to be underestimated.
When you hit a wall, sometimes taking a step back and approaching from a different angle is the best way to find a solution.