「……I see. I mostly understand your actions. I think some of the things you did were dangerous, but what’s done is done. Above all, successfully ending the civil war and creating what could be called a pro-Mireana Kingdom faction within the Bestir Empire is a sufficient gain. Besides, the civil war drained the Bestir Empire’s national power to some extent, which is a very satisfactory result for us.」
After hearing everything from Rei, Daska nodded slightly as he spoke.
He had been surprised several times as Rei told his story, but ultimately, he accepted Rei’s reasoning behind his decisions.
While taking a bite of a sandwich the maid had brought earlier, Daska fell into thought.
Watching him, Rei also reached for the sandwiches on the table.
Perhaps because he had asked for a large portion, the sandwiches were piled up like a mountain on the plate. If a normal person were told this was a light snack, they would have never believed it.
The tea had cooled down a bit while they talked, but it was still good enough.
As Rei bit into a ham and vegetable sandwich, Daska spoke again.
「So……I heard from Elena that you received something rather troublesome?」
「Troublesome? ……Ah, this?」
At first, Rei didn’t know what Daska was talking about, but he quickly realized what it was. He took a metal card out of his Misty Ring and placed it on the table.
Engraved on the metal card was the phrase, 『This person is a friend of the Bestir Empire.』
It was what Rei had received from Tragist, the Emperor of the Bestir Empire.
In a way, it was the most troublesome thing from Rei’s trip to the Bestir Empire this time.
「……May I see it?」
Given what it was, Daska carefully picked up the metal card.
「I see. ……A friend of the Bestir Empire, huh. What a subtly troublesome item.」
「Subtly troublesome?」
「Yeah. Among the nobles, there will probably be some loudmouths who will claim that you, holding this, are colluding with the Bestir Empire. And usually, the loud ones, even if they are a minority, stand out so much that their opinions are often seen as the majority.」
Daska made a bitter face.
It was only natural. Rei was not officially treated as Daska’s subordinate. However, he was definitely an adventurer affiliated with Gilm, which Daska governed. With the mobility of his Griffon, Set, he was an extremely reliable asset.
Considering the Magic Fever incident a while ago, the advantage of that mobility was obvious.
Furthermore, Rei possessed combat power equivalent to an entire army on his own and specialized in wide-area annihilation magic. In a war, he would be an unparalleled asset.
He also had the transport capability of his item box, just as he had demonstrated by transporting supplies during the Spring War.
His lack of interest in money was also something Daska welcomed.
……Although he had no attachment to money, he did have the eccentric hobby of collecting magic items and magic stones.
Regardless, there was no doubt that Rei was an extremely useful person to Daska.
The fact that Rei was attached to Gilm was also a big benefit.
But……thinking about it the other way around, Rei was an extremely troublesome existence for those hostile to Daska.
That wasn’t just limited to enemies like the Bestir Empire. It was the same for those within the Mireana Kingdom who opposed Daska.
The largest group was, naturally, the large number of Royalist Faction nobles.
Next was the Aristocratic Faction. ……However, in the case of the Aristocratic Faction, they had cooperated during the recent Bestir Empire civil war, and the good relationship between the head of the Aristocratic Faction and Daska highlighted the complexity of the faction, which was formed by many other nobles.
There were even nobles in the Neutral Faction, which was currently united around Daska, who didn’t approve of the current situation.
As for nobles who didn’t belong to any faction, and it wouldn’t be strange if they viewed Rei with hostility either.
As such, there were many who were hostile or potentially hostile to Daska within the Mireana Kingdom. If they keep Rei, one of Daska’s greatest military assets, in check, there was no doubt they would make a move without hesitation.
And the metal card handed directly to Rei by the Emperor of the Bestir Empire carried enough persuasive power to make that possible.
That was exactly why Daska spoke while holding the metal card with a difficult expression.
「Rei, try not to use this metal card as much as possible. No, it would be better not to show it to anyone else either. If word of this spreads, there will probably be someone who will try to mess with you in some way. You wouldn’t find that amusing either, right?」
「……Well, that’s certainly true. I don’t want to cause unnecessary commotion either.」
Fundamentally, Rei was merciless towards his enemies.
If things went wrong, others might use a hostile noble getting injured as an excuse to make a move on him.
To prevent such a situation, Daska decided that keeping the existence of the metal card itself a secret was the best option.
Normally, this metal card would be an extremely convenient item, and it would be normal to complain if told not to use it.
However, Rei had no intention of using this metal card to begin with, so he easily nodded at Daska’s words.
「Are you sure?」
At Rei’s reaction, Daska ended up asking back, ‘Are you really sure?’
「Yes. I received various warnings when I consulted Elena. Well, even if something happens, I plan to manage it with my own power anyway.」
Even Daska was surprised that Rei would so easily declare he wouldn’t use an item given by the Emperor of a nation and just tuck it away.
This metal card was something that other people might even try to attack and steal from him if they were to know about it.
However, Rei felt that there was no use thinking about it at this point.
Countless opponents had already attacked him trying to steal Set or the Misty Ring, so a few more wouldn’t make much of a difference now.
「……I’m sorry.」
「No, don’t worry about it.」
With a short exchange, they decided to end the conversation about the metal card, and Daska handed it back to Rei.
Receiving it and storing it in his Misty Ring, Rei reached for another sandwich as he spoke.
「Speaking of which, about the new dungeon.」
「Ah, that source of trouble. What about it?」
「I heard it’s a small dungeon, but aren’t you going to clear it? I think it would be resolved if you just destroyed the dungeon core.」
「We don’t have anyone free. Well, we do have people, but many of them are busy preparing for winter right now.」
「Still, it can’t be everyone, right?」
It was already the time of year when it wouldn’t be strange for it to snow at any moment.
Despite being so close to the deadline, it was impossible that many of the adventurers in Gilm hadn’t finished their winter preparations yet.
「Yes. But a newly formed dungeon isn’t very profitable. Even its dungeon core hasn’t fully grown yet, so it can’t attract significant monsters. There are a few other problems too, but basically, there’s no profit for the effort that needs to be put in.」
「……I see.」
It was true that adventurers entered into dungeons for the money they could get by selling monster proof of subjugation parts, various materials, and magic stones.
There were also a small number who sought greater strength and wanted to fight stronger enemies.
However, the dungeon Daska described had weak monsters that could hardly be called strong enemies, and it didn’t yield decent materials either.
Of course, it would be a slightly different story if it were the so-called boss monster guarding the dungeon core.
But since the profits were clearly small and there were only weak enemies, they couldn’t expect much from the boss monster either, so there were hardly any people willing to challenge that dungeon.
Hearing Daska’s explanation, Rei tilted his head.
「I heard you dispatched Ranga……but if it’s such a weak dungeon, is there really a need to go that far?」
「That’s right. If I hadn’t dispatched Ranga, it wouldn’t be strange if someone judged that having a dungeon near Gilm was dangerous and tried to clear it. But with Ranga there, even if monsters appear from the dungeon, they will be easily defeated. Because of that, no one feels any sense of crisis anymore.」
「……What about the knights?」
「Yes, I was just thinking about that worst-case scenario. However, knights and adventurers might seem similar, but they are very different. Setting aside training to fight monsters, knights aren’t trained to explore dungeons like adventurers do.」
Those words made sense to Rei.
Knights originally trained to fight people and monsters, but they didn’t usually go into dungeons like adventurers.
That was because there was an understanding that such work belonged to adventurers.
Although it wasn’t an absolute rule, as there were some who went into dungeons as a hobby, just like Daska did during his knight days.
「In other words, there’s no one available to clear the dungeon?」
「That’s right.」
Daska nodded casually at Rei’s words, which were meant for confirmation. ……While nodding, he directed a look of expectation at Rei, who had asked such a question.
The story he heard from Daska was also appealing to Rei.
Setting aside the fact that the enemies were weak, it meant that the dungeon core could be obtained easily――compared to the dungeon with the Altar of Inheritance or the dungeon in Exil.
「But, won’t the dungeon grow if we leave it alone?」
That’s right, regardless of their initial size, dungeons grew over time.
An extreme example of a dungeon that had grown like that would be the dungeon in Exil, which was also a labyrinth city.
It was also obvious that the dungeon with the Altar of Inheritance would gradually grow larger if it remained uncleared.
「Even if you say it will grow, there are differences in growth speed depending on the dungeon core. Even a fast-growing dungeon rarely grows at an absurd speed like adding one floor a year.」
「……In other words, since anyone can clear it whenever they feel like it, you’re fine leaving it for now?」
「That’s right. Well, it will probably take some level of strength to defeat the boss monster guarding the dungeon core, so it’s not like ‘anyone’ can do it.」
Daska let out a sigh.
It was obvious to anyone watching that he was extremely troubled, and at the same time, it aligned with Rei’s intentions, so Rei spoke up.
「How about it, Daska. If you’d like, could you let me clear that dungeon?」
Despite his expectations, Daska looked surprised, perhaps not actually thinking Rei would offer.
It was only natural. The monsters that appeared were weak and didn’t bring in money, and they were lacking in terms of strength.
It was completely unexpected to be asked to let him clear such a dungeon.
Of course, Daska had hoped Rei would clear the dungeon if possible.
But even so, he had thought he would probably……no, definitely be refused.
Because of that, he couldn’t help but ask back in surprise.
「Are you really sure? I’m repeating myself, but I absolutely don’t think this will be profitable for you, you know?」
「Not necessarily. There are a few things I’d like to test……and above all, I also have an attachment to Gilm.」
「That would be a great help. However, you probably won’t be able to take Set into the dungeon, will you still go?」
Rei frowned slightly, and Daska nodded.
「That’s right. The dungeon entrance is only wide enough for one person to barely fit through. It’s difficult even for someone slightly tall to enter. It would be especially tough for someone wearing armour and carrying a long-handled weapon like a spear. ……Actually, this is also one of the reasons why adventurers hate entering that dungeon. It seems there’s some space once you get inside, but it’s still quite hard to move around.」
While there were skilled adventurers who were small like Rei, many adventurers had large builds since their main job inevitably involved rough work.
If such people couldn’t enter……furthermore, even if they went through the trouble of getting inside, if there was little to be gained, Rei had to agree that few people would challenge the dungeon.
Rei was about to say something in response, when he suddenly sensed a presence rapidly approaching the office. He stood up from the sofa and stepped forward to protect Daska……The next moment, the office door was thrown open as if it had been smashed apart.