Side: Yuki
"The Thirteen Holy Swords...? Ah, that's a classic fairy tale."
I took the book Aslin and the others found (of course with permission) and decided to ask Jessica — a local from this new continent and one of our own — about it.
"So you really do know about it?"
"Of course. It's a famous story. It's common knowledge not just in the Jilva Empire, but in other countries as well."
I see.
So on this continent it's practically common knowledge.
"Then, going back to what I asked before — what's the difference between the magic swords and these? They sound almost identical, don't they?"
"As I mentioned before, Magic Swords are legendary weapons forged long ago by someone called the Primordial Founder to oppose the demi-humans. The Holy Swords, on the other hand, are said in legends to be the source—the originals."
"...In other words, the Magic Swords were made as imitations of the Holy Swords?"
"I don't know the exact details, but probably."
So that's the direction this is taking.
But Magic Swords utilize Dungeon Cores as their power source. No matter how massive the previous Dungeon Master's bulk orders were, would they really go out of their way to mass-produce and distribute so many inferior replicas?
Hmm, it looks like I need to dig deeper into this fairy tale.
"Let's change the subject a bit. The Primordial Founder who made the Magic Swords, and the God who granted the Holy Swords—do you know either of their names?"
"No. It's completely unknown why they are even called the Primordial Founder in the first place, and the God said to have bestowed the Holy Swords is simply referred to as 'God,' with absolutely no actual information available."
"As you know, there are four Magic Swords in the Zilva Empire: the Princess's Wind Magic Sword, the sisters' Flame and Water Magic Swords, and the King's Royal Guard's Space Magic Sword. I've heard rumors that numerous other Magic Swords exist in foreign nations. There should be multiple Magic Sword wielders even in the Holy Nation of Enaria, which the Princess is currently invading. As for the Holy Swords, no one has ever actually seen one. Frankly, if a Holy Sword were kept in any country, it would have already sparked rumors and become known across the entire continent."
"I see. That's a convincing explanation for both the Magic Swords and the Holy Swords."
But from my perspective, there is simply too little information.
"Are you dissatisfied?"
Jessica asked, noticing me deep in thought.
"I'm not dissatisfied with you, Jessica. It's just a feeling of 'I guess that's all the info there is.' Though I never expected to reach an answer easily anyway."
"That may be true. Still, I heard your interest was sparked because the Magic Swords are made from Dungeon Cores. Didn't you have any other leads?"
"Leads, huh...? Well, gathering information was always the highest priority. We got dragged into the conflict between the demi-humans and the Jilva Empire, but in a way, that gave us information. Under normal circumstances we'd probably still be stumbling around in the dark."
"Well, I suppose you could call that bad luck, or perhaps good luck..."
"That's the tricky part. Normally, for a world-scale crisis like this, you wouldn't even settle on a strategy, let alone find an answer, within just a few years."
"Is that so?"
"It was happening right before your eyes, but nobody thought of it as a problem, right?"
"Well, that is true..."
"First, recognizing an anomaly as an anomaly is an immense hurdle in itself. On top of that, you need years' worth of data just to investigate exactly how it's abnormal. Only then can you begin searching for the root cause and solutions based on that data."
"...Hearing it put that way, it really is a matter of years or decades. Should we consider it a stroke of miraculous fortune that we've found a breakthrough in just five months?"
"Who knows. I arrived here already recognizing the problem and knowing that mana depletion was occurring on this continent. Then, the Magic Swords appeared. Even if we hadn't been swept up in the conflict between the demi-humans and the Jilva Empire, I think I would have arrived at a similar line of reasoning eventually."
"We're getting off topic, but ultimately your plan is still to gather information, correct?"
"That's right. The Magic Swords might be a clue, but we should gather information from every possible angle. Now the Holy Swords have entered the picture too. We may end up searching for those as well."
Man, Magic Swords and Holy Swords...
It really feels like we're in some generic fantasy story.
Well, this is a fantasy world, but the people and creatures living here are completely realistic. Aside from the bizarre rules of magic, daily life isn't all that different from Earth.
I guess it's a bit better than Earth since we don't have to conduct full-scale geological surveys from scratch, or maybe not? On the flip side, trying to look for Magic Swords and Holy Swords on Earth would probably be set to Very Hard difficulty.
"So there is no change to the plan of us accompanying the Princess?"
"Right. Thanks to our little raid, everyone now knows you're alive, Jessica, so we can join up openly. Besides, your information suggests the Enaria Holy Kingdom also has Magic Swords, so we can investigate those while we're there. Expanding our range is helpful if we're looking for more information. It's a shame we can't go with the other generals, but since we don't really understand each other yet, working with Princess-san's army will be much easier."
"...I suppose that's true. After all, she got thoroughly thrashed by you."
Moving around separately is an option, but right now we don't have the information or the advantage to justify splitting up our forces.
"For now, we'll head into the Holy Nation of Enaria's territory to gather information. As for the Zilva royal capital, we'll leave Zargis and the others behind to look into things as they see fit. That way, we keep that front covered. In terms of raw combat power, the group heading to the Holy Nation of Enaria will be our strongest line-up, though we'll still leave a decent amount of forces behind for dungeon defense and the Jilva Empire investigation team."
"I doubt anyone could actually do anything to our dungeon's defense forces, though."
"It's a matter of insurance and deterrence. If our numbers look too small, someone might get the bright idea that they can pull something off. There's no reason to deliberately create a situation that invites trouble, right?"
"That's true."
While the two of us were deep in conversation, Ria arrived carrying some tea.
"You two seem deeply engrossed in your discussion. Why don't you take a short break?"
"Good idea."
"Thank you."
Placing our documents and pens onto the desk, we took a breather and sipped the tea Ria handed us.
"Still, sitting here sipping tea like this, it really doesn't feel like a world-scale mana depletion crisis is happening."
"That's just how it goes with global crises. By the time the problem becomes visibly obvious and people start panicking, it's already too late."
"That's exactly why we have to give it our all."
Ria made a determined, pumping-fist sort of gesture.
...If I did something like that, it would just look disturbing, but when a beautiful girl does it, it's undeniably cute.
"In any case, once we finish this tea, I need to organize the expeditionary force heading to the Holy Nation of Enaria. Plus the Jilva Empire dispatch unit, the dungeon defense force... man, what a hassle."
"It's not that much, is it? There are already independent units like Steve and John's. We can just send them."
"Well yeah, it's technically just a matter of filing the paperwork. But putting that paperwork together is the annoying part. Deciding how many personnel to mobilize, the equipment, the volume of supplies, and so on."
"Shouldn't Steve and the others be calculating those details themselves?"
"You're right, Ria, but it takes time for those reports to reach me, and after that, I have to review them and get approval from Seraria, Eris, and Ratz. Since we're dealing with actual money and logistical resources, even I can't just recklessly force things through if there's an anomaly in the logs. Three days is an incredibly tight window to get all of this done."
"...Indeed. A normal army could never manage it."
The only reason we can pull it off in such a short timeframe is because I effectively hold the real executive authority. I can give it maximum priority processing.
The unfortunate victims in all of this are the Weed city hall staff, whose daily operations get completely bottlenecked. Since I monopolize almost every single avenue of supreme authority, the city hall and the merchant guild frequently end up stranded in a state where they can't get their final sign-offs.
The assistants handle a good chunk of it, but there are still documents that Seraria, Eris, and Ratz absolutely must sign off on personally.
"Well, tea's finished. Time to start contacting everyone and get things moving."
"Indeed."
"We need to coordinate with my wives back in Weed to secure the personnel and supplies. While you're at it, Jessica, head back and get ready as well."
"Eh!?"
"I'm effectively the representative for all matters involving Jilva. At this point, having you act as a substitute representative would be awkward."
"...The looks I'd get would be unbearable."
"Ria, I'll need you to handle my security and administrative support as usual."
"Understood."
Now then, time to get moving for real.
Magic Swords and Holy Swords... knowing full well they're bound to be nothing but trouble yet having to actively seek them out anyway is a thoroughly exhausting prospect.
