第１９４９堀：私たちができる事 (Part2)
"Indeed. As Kina says, for any sane lord to accept a reduction in their own populace—it’s truly extreme. I wonder what they could possibly be demanding in exchange?"
"Exactly. People are not replaceable. Of course, if a territory truly cannot sustain its population, that is one thing, but to go beyond that threatens the very survival of the villages and towns themselves. To clear out all demi-humans is, in effect, to erase those settlements from the map."
Speaking it aloud, the sheer abnormality of the act becomes clear. Even if it were under orders from the crown, the wholesale removal of demi-human populations from entire villages is beyond bizarre. Naturally, if this were the If Continent, where human supremacy is absolute and the habitats of demi-humans are strictly curtailed, it might be a different story. But the central regions, it seems, had never been quite so thorough.
In the villages, and even in the towns, while there was certainly exclusion and discrimination, demi-humans had lived alongside others as a matter of course. Or rather, they *had* lived there. Over the last few years, the systematic push for their expulsion has driven them away in droves. The rumors say they’ve been fleeing toward Giadana or migrating south.
Which means…
"So, you’re saying some sort of transaction must have taken place to orchestrate this current movement?"
"Precisely, just as Shera says. That’s why I suspect we might find traces of it in the work records of guilds like this one."
"Didn't you say earlier that there was no point in looking at work documents?"
"Well, I said we should look into history. But the real goal is to uncover the reason and the root cause behind the current demi-human expulsion, right? If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange to find hints in the modern era as well. Don't you agree?"
"That is true. If it has an impact on the present, there must be some sort of trail. And if this is being carried out across multiple nations, those traces should be quite numerous."
As Kina-san suggests, it would be strange if such a massive undertaking didn't leave behind a significant paper trail.
"Right. In that case, I’ll handle the historical research. Can I leave the investigation of the work documents to the two of you?"
"Eh? What about me?"
"Kina, you’ll be looking into the historical records with me. You’ve already been working on that, and since these two are just starting, it’ll be easier to spot discrepancies if we keep the tasks divided, don't you think?"
"Ah—well, I suppose so."
Having the research divided into distinct categories is a blessing. When tasks overlap across too many fields, the organization becomes a nightmare. And so, Labyris and I are tasked with scouring the guild’s work documents. Fortunately, the papers on the desk are already sorted by type, so we won't need to waste time organizing them from scratch.
"Well then, we have a mountain of paperwork to sift through..."
"First, we need to digitize it."
We’ll be looking through them one by one, but simply keeping the information in our heads won't suffice; it’s vital to organize the data in a way that is visually accessible. In other words...
"Inputting it into the computer. A ledger-based management system should work, right?"
"Yes, that would be best. As for the input fields..."
Exactly. We’ll be entering the data into a processing program so that we can synthesize the information later. By categorizing the fields, we should be able to clearly identify what happened, where, and to what extent.
"Let’s see... First, the nature of the job. Then the client, the nation, the guild, the fee, the timing, and perhaps the gender of the requester? What do you think, Kina?"
"That should cover it. Oh, but maybe we should decide on the job classifications now? Like monster subjugation, bandit suppression, and so on. Don't forget things like assisting the townspeople, too."
"Ah, good point. Let’s see..."
And so, we began the process of organizing the request documents. It’s a relief to have an actual professional, an expert in this field, here to help.
...Wait. If that’s the case, wouldn't it be better to just leave the digitization of the work documents to the two of them?
Thinking about it again, I can't help but feel like something is off. But since the plan is already settled, I hesitate to speak up and disrupt the flow. Whether to voice my thoughts or keep them to myself—it is an eternal dilemma.