Kujonin
Author: Hanabokuro
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Story 80 There are chairs and a table on the Margaret House"s terrace, and I"m currently there, in the middle of listening to stories about the Central Government.
According to Riddle"s explanation, each country"s representative is permanently stationed at the Central Government to prepare for the Representatives Meeting, as well as confirming whether or not the things decided on in the meeting are done, and sharing information throughout the entire Alliance.
Practically speaking, they"re also suppressing HillLake"s militant stances.
The Central Government"s military seems to be the chosen elites of each country sent over, and is said to be the best in the continent.
"You can understand each country"s national power by looking at the quality of the officials and elite militants. If the cooperation and the correspondences of the officials are slow and their military is arrogant, then they practically have no say at the Representative Meeting. Conversely, even if a country has poor industry and national strength, if their officials and elites are excellent then they will be able to speak out progressively and get aid from the other countries. This system was also made by Margaret-san."
"Since countries with different cultures and lifestyles are gathering, it"s obvious that there will be conflicting opinions. However, they should carry character and the desire for mutual understanding."
By character they probably mean dignity.
What do I do if Margaret and Riddle continue on like this and start talking about what dignity is between the two of them? I can"t just join in; if possible, I"d like to hurry this along.
While I was thinking rudely, Granny came just in time, bringing tea.
From the kitchen, you can hear the dragons calling, "Young Lady! Please come over for a bit!" and the like, so Granny, smiling happily, quickly returned to the kitchen.
"The company you brought along is quite amusing."
"Yes, they"re good at heart, but their voices are loud and they eat a lot. My apologies."
I scratched my head as I said so to Margaret.
"It"s fine not to apologize. To receive dragons in my house is extremely thrilling! I"m having a lot of fun!"
"Dragons-!?"
Riddle was surprised and looked in the direction of the kitchen.
"Did you realize it?"
So Margaret invited them into her house despite knowing?
"I have the Search Skill. Riddle-san, you don"t have to fear them. Even if they rampaged, Naoki-san should be able to stop them. That"s the amount of ability he has."
"I wonder. Battles aren"t my specialty. I don"t possess any combat skills."
"It"s disagreeable to be too humble, you know? Although Naoki-san doesn"t seem to be at that kind of level yet."
Oh yeah, I haven"t looked at my Adventurer"s Card lately, so I wonder what my level is. I"m too scared to look.
"I can"t tell that he"s that strong, though."
Riddle said as he looked at me.
"That"s true. He"s in a different dimension than the adventurers around here, I"d imagine. There"s nothing you can compare him to, so it"s difficult to see, surely. Frankly, when I first met him, I was mystified, but President-san has such a great difference in level from me. For such a person to do extermination and cleaning work, I had absolutely no understanding about it. On top of that, his cleaning of the warehouse was absolutely spotless. He even cured Granny"s cold. Just what kind of person are you? G.o.d"s servant, or something?"
Exactly so! … is what I can"t say, naa. Jeez, this is why women"s intuition is a troublesome thing.
"I"m just a company worker. That kind of work is my specialty, that"s all."
"Certainly, he"s not a normal person. Even with the locusthopper extermination incident.."
Riddle-san nodded and began to tell the story.
"Um… Riddle-san?"
I stopped the story, returning the discussion towards what I was aiming for today.
"Aa, that"s right. My apologies. Let"s set Sir Naoki"s ident.i.ty aside for now; we should get to the main subject now."
"Oh? The main subject wasn"t what we were talking about?"
"Yes, actually. There"s a matter that HillLake has caused, and…"
We had gotten too sidetracked, and now that the discussion is turning back towards the right direction, I quickly spread out the map and launched into the explanation.
This is the third time I"ve explained it today. I"m becoming more and more accustomed to it.
I talked about the lake"s water level and how the Hero"s plantation is related to it, the danger of the completion of the ca.n.a.l, ghoul disease, and possible future damage.
"I see; I"ve understood it all. So what you"re trying to say is that it"s necessary to put an end to the Earth Hero"s plantation."
"That"s correct. And also, we"ve already been moving as if it"s a decided matter. That is why I called for those guys."
I said so as I pointed at the dragons, clamoring about in the kitchen.
"However, it"s necessary to investigate…"
"My company employees have done the investigation. My employees are currently in the Adel Lake area, so should I contact them?"
I took out the communication bag and, with the explanation of, "This is a magic tool that can call and receive contact from a person far away," I called Seth and Merumo.
"Seth, Merumo, how is the result of the investigation on Adel Lake"s surroundings going?"
["President, there really isn"t any other river other than that one with a reduced water level."
["If anything, there"s thaw from the mountains, so they"re actually a little increased. There"s no doubt that the reduction in water level is due to that river near the Newt Tribe"s village."
"Got it. You guys, continue on and head to Gnomefield and meet up with Ayl"s group."
[ ["OK!"] ]
I cut off the magic to the communication bag.
"The truth is a harsh reality."
Riddle heaved a sigh as he nodded.
"There are already a number of victims. We can"t allow any more damages to occur."
"I understand. However, it won"t be possible to avoid the disorder that will occur. We have conflict with the northern country, and if the plantation is destroyed, they might lunch an attack towards us. In that situation…"
I pointed at the kitchen. The dragons are saying things like, "So good! So delicious! You"re a genius!"
"We have them. If these guys lounge around the borders, that possibility will disappear, no? And in that period of time, we"ll rebuild the order. I have a number of plans for restoring order, so…"
"You"ve already thought that far?"
Margaret asked in surprise.
"Aa, and what a plan it is. In fact, it made me wonder why we let the that Hero expand the plantation to what it is today. When I heard his plan, I realized how foolish I"ve been all this time."
"To that degree…!? What could this plan be? Please tell me!"
Margaret said, almost like she was trying to pester me.
"I"ll make a road."
"A road?"
"Yes, a road from the Central Government to the Hero"s village, all the way to within the area of the border with the northern country."
"Just making a road is…"
"It"s not just any road. It will be well-maintained, without rocks or holes, and without pedestrians. It will be a carriageway."
"A carriageway…?"
"That"s right. If there"s a road where carriages are able to move at their maximum speed, then it"s possible for the Central Government to quickly deploy troops to HillLake."
"That is certainly true, but how would you make such a road…?"
"The Earth Hero is excellent at earth magic. He"s someone who understands earth magic more than anyone else. Road maintenance would be trivial for him, I bet. In fact, the road around the Hero"s village is amazingly well maintained."
"However, there monsters, right? What will you do about monsters that destroy the road?"
Margaret asked.
"Right, that"s why I was thinking to mix the broth of flowers that monsters dislike into the road."
"Does such a flower exist?"
"It does. We used it in the locusthopper extermination incident; it"s a flower with a light yellow center and white petals. It seems it"s not much loved by florists. The bug-type and small monsters wouldn"t get close."
Riddle explained.
"If small monsters won"t get close, then the large monsters that pursue them also won"t approach that much."
"Even so, it"s possible for them to destroy the road, right?"
"Yes, and so, it would be fine if the Hero is riding among the carriages with the troops. He can defeat the monsters and repair the broken road."
At my words, Margaret nodded and thought as she took a sip of tea.
"However, that would be short-term, right? The Alliance"s troops can"t remain in HillLake forever."
"The carriages won"t just be carrying troops around endlessly. Weapons, people, and food; you could transport anything. And at the maximum speed that carriages can go."
"That"s … true. However, in that case, other countries will become dissatisfied, no? Like, we"re favoring HillLake too much, and the like."
"Margaret-san, Sir Naoki is telling you what our plan is in the worst-case scenario right now. It"s the temporary solution if the northern country comes attacking. However, what if they don"t attack? We have a plan for it to cross the entirety of the Ruginia Alliance."
Riddle grinned at Margaret.
Looks like Margaret hasn"t realized what he means.
"If they don"t attack then…?"
"Then it would be good to make a Public Road Corps."
After finishing up with this matter, I began to talk about what will happen to the Hero"s place afterwards.