Side: Yuki
"So, what's going on, Yuki?"
"When Onii-san formally gathers everyone to talk, it's usually something serious."
"But regardless of what it is, I will follow you until the very end, Danna-sama!"
Seraria prompts me with a question, Ratz nails the truth right on the head, and Rurua declares her absolute devotion.
Ahh... because they're such wonderful wives, it makes me feel quite reluctant to drag them into this.
Maybe I could just do it secretly...
"...Everyone, Yuki is planning to shoulder another troublesome burden all by himself again."
"Hey, Labyris, when did you..."
Before I could finish my thought, Labyris had already grabbed hold of me and read my mind.
In that exact instant, a dangerously sharp aura enveloped all of my wives.
"We will accompany you wherever you go!"
The moment Sheila declares this, everyone else nods in unison. I seriously hope they aren't practicing these perfectly synchronized nods behind my back.
Setting that aside, I proceed to explain the exact details of what Luna told me.
"What on earth is Luna thinking? Weed itself is finally stable, but the surrounding regions are still a complete mess."
"However, if what Luna says is true, the magical depletion problem isn't something we can just ignore, is it?"
"More importantly, this is the first time I've heard that your goal of saving the continent was actually about preventing mana depletion. I never would have guessed..."
Seraria complains about Luna making unreasonable demands given the current state of our continent.
Ratz argues that the magical depletion issue shouldn't be left unattended.
Riel expresses her shock upon learning my true objective for saving this continent, and everyone else nods their heads in deep agreement.
"However, if that's the case, why shouldn't we inform the other nations about this magical depletion problem?"
Eris raises a perfectly natural doubt.
"She's right. This is a crisis that affects the entire continent, isn't it?"
Tori nodded and agreed with Eris.
Unfortunately, that was where things became complicated.
"Ah, so that's how it is..."
"That makes perfect sense."
"Tch, so we have no choice but to take matters into our own hands."
The moment Tori mentions that it's a crisis affecting the entire continent, Rurua, Sheila, and Seraria react immediately.
As expected of people who belong to the ruling and governing classes; their intuition is incredibly sharp.
"Um... what exactly do you mean?"
Ria tilts her head, asking for a proper explanation.
"Rurua, would you mind explaining?"
"Seraria? I don't mind but, are you going somewhere?"
"I have to go make a few administrative adjustments right now. After all, I am technically the top authority of Weed."
"Ah, right. Given your position, that's something you need to do."
Satisfied with the answer, Rurua prepares to explain while Seraria has already walked out of the room to start making her arrangements.
"Now then, to answer Eris and Tori-san's questions... if we were to bring this up to them, they would simply dismiss it, saying such a thing is utterly unbelievable."
"""Eh!?"""
"More than that, if we carelessly spread this information to foreign nations, we'd probably be punished for causing unnecessary panic."
Rurua's answer leaves the other wives completely dumbfounded.
"Um, if Yuki-san and Luna's explanations are true, the magic will vanish and almost every living creature on this continent might die, right?"
"Just as Riel says, would people really punish us for trying to deal with such a major issue?"
Riel and Milly tilt their heads in unison, looking completely incapable of comprehending the logic.
"The reason is simple. It comes down to whether people can believe it. Why do you think we believe that the mana depletion problem is real?"
"That's because Yuki-san and Luna... Ah, I see."
Eris arrived at the answer and immediately made a bitter expression.
"Rurua-oneechan, I don't get it."
"I don't understand either. Nii-sama would never tell a lie!!"
Aslin and Filia are completely in the dark. It can't be helped, honestly. This is an incredibly convoluted political issue.
"In short, even if we were to warn them based entirely on Onii-san and Luna's words, absolutely no one would be convinced, correct?"
Ratz wears a complicated expression, having reached the exact same conclusion as Eris.
"Um, sorry, I'm completely lost too."
"My apologies, me as well."
"...Me too."
I suppose this concept was a bit too difficult for the beastmen group to grasp.
Well, the primary issue is likely that they are looking at this under the premise of it being a continent-wide crisis, which skews their perspective.
"Very well. Suppose someone in Weed started saying this: 'If you continue living in Weed, the world will be destroyed! Everyone should move somewhere else!' As Weed's rulers, how should we respond?"
"We couldn't allow such nonsense to worry Weed's citizens, so we'd warn them, and if it became serious enough, arrest them..."
"...Ah."
Tori gives a textbook model answer, and realizes the core problem mid-sentence.
"Exactly. People will never believe you if you tell them about a realistic problem that cannot be seen with their own eyes. Furthermore, if addressing that problem requires an astronomical amount of national effort and labor, a country's movement will become incredibly sluggish."
"...Because if the information turns out to be wrong, the financial and resource losses would be catastrophic?"
"Correct. Even if it were true, no nation would move without convincing evidence. We ourselves have always gathered information and evidence before taking action."
Rurua is entirely correct.
With the current civilization level of this world, if we wanted to spread this truth across our continent, we would have to utilize Rithea's state religion... actually, even that would be impossible.
"The continent's magic is drying up, so everyone please abandon your homes and live inside dungeons to prevent it."
Yeah, that's way too unrealistic.
If we claim a god told us to do that without providing a shred of evidence, we'd immediately be branded as lunatics. The exact same thing applies to Earth. If a single person stands in front of the National Diet Building in Japan shouting that the world is coming to an end, everyone will just look at them and think, 'What's wrong with this guy?'
"Hmm, I get it now. But then why does this mean we're definitely going to the new continent?"
Riel asked a good question.
Why, in the midst of this magical depletion crisis rising to the surface, do we explicitly have to venture out of our way to a continent where the magic has already dried up?
"That part is actually the simplest of all. You all know that Danna-sama has been working with Zargis-san to research mana and turn it into practical technology, correct?"
"...Yes. Mana-powered lights are about as useful as electric lights."
"Exactly. And part of that project was gathering concrete evidence for the mana depletion problem."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"After hearing about mana depletion from Danna-sama, Zargis-san actively pursued mana research. The true purpose behind sharing that information and technology with various nations was this issue."
"Wait, wasn't that supposed to be for future trade purposes? He said it would be great if the number of available tools increased, and that if other countries researched magic too, interesting new concepts might be born."
"That is certainly part of it. However, once you delve deep into the research of magical energy, you will inevitably end up researching what happens when that magic completely runs out. If the research results across all the various nations yield the exact same conclusion, then the magical depletion issue will no longer be dismissed as the delusion of a single person or a single country; it will be recognized universally as a global crisis."
Exactly. That was my original long-term plan.
Of course, I've also been collaborating with Zargis to develop electrical appliances as a contingency plan for when the magic inevitably dries up entirely.
"However, today Luna handed us a continent already suffering from mana depletion. That makes it the perfect place to gather evidence and convince the nations."
"Ah, I get it now! It means we can obtain undeniable physical evidence of magical depletion."
"Exactly. However, according to Luna, that continent is just as plagued by conflict as ours. And there's also the mysterious cause of the mana depletion itself. I believe my lord intends for us to investigate the cause, find a solution, and then invite representatives from various nations to observe the results and seek their cooperation. Am I wrong, Danna-sama?"
Wow, Rurua is striking down the correct answers with terrifying precision... She's spot on.
Since a perfectly tailored sample environment has practically been handed to us, we might as well use it as our research ground. Because of that, I specifically had Luna refrain from carelessly linking the dungeons to supply magic from our end.
Until we pinpoint the exact cause, the magic supply to the new continent stays completely cut off. There's no telling what kind of chaotic side effects it could have on the ecosystem anyway. If a massive horde of dragons suddenly spawned out of nowhere, entire nations could collapse in an instant.
"Correct, correct. So that's the situation. My wives, myself, and a small group of monsters will investigate the new continent. Sending a huge army of monsters through the dungeon would effectively mean supplying mana from this continent to that one. So instead, we'll be going on an adventure."
"""Adventure!!!"""
The eyes of my wives—who are almost all former adventurers—light up instantly.
"Though, as I mentioned, it's a state of warring factions. We're bound to get dragged into their conflicts... that's the only real annoying part."
"Eh, in that case, wouldn't it be easier if Yuki-san just went ahead, became a king, and built a brand new country from scratch?"
"...I agree."
"If we do that, Riel and Kaya, I'm putting both of you in charge of that country's security details."
""We are so sorry!!""
The two of them immediately bow their heads and apologize in unison.
"Ahahaha! You're right, it would be quite a disaster if my workload as Super Ratz got any heavier than it already is. At most, I'll take a general's position, I suppose?"
"Well, an excessively powerful force will always draw the eyes of those in power. Make sure you keep that in mind, especially Derieu and Ria."
""Eh?""
"I mean, you two are literally a Demon King and a Hero, remember?"
Hearing that, the Demon King Derieu and the Hero Ria glance at one another, then turn back to face me face-on...
"Before any of that, I am Yuki's wife, you see."
"Yes, I am your wife first and foremost."
Apparently, for the two people most capable of causing chaos on the new continent, being my wives took priority over everything else.
Well, that at least meant they were unlikely to become tools of some ruler... Though I wouldn't allow that anyway.
All that's left now is to figure out the party composition and the rotation schedule for our adventure.
We obviously can't afford to completely empty out Weed with everyone leaving at once, and since Seraria went sprinting out of the room claiming she had "adjustments" to make, she's clearly fully intended on coming along for the ride.
Please...
For the love of everything...
Let us not end up founding a nation on the new continent!!
