“You want to go investigate the Demon Forest?”
“That’s right. The ecology of the monsters inhabiting the Demon Forest is extremely interesting. I want to conduct an active investigation.”
The Guild Master of the Adventurer’s Guild in North End City was in a meeting with the representative of ＜Paraiso＞, the current rulers.
The representative was a tall woman with fox ears and a tail. Her distinguishing feature was her brown, wavy hair, and she seemed to be in charge of liaison for the ＜Paraiso＞ garrison.
“…So, is this a request for us to provide the information we possess?”
“No, we only need guides. We will conduct the investigation ourselves.”
In North End City, adventurers and the monster resources they bring are the lifeline for the city’s survival. Even though they were placed under control by force, they couldn’t honestly accept being told to hand over everything.
However, the representative of ＜Paraiso＞ never took such an overbearing attitude.
“The investigation is the main objective. We have no intention of hunting all the monsters, and in that sense, we don’t intend to take your jobs. However, we recognize that you adventurers are the most knowledgeable about monsters, and by extension, the Demon Forest. Therefore, we are requesting your cooperation. Of course, we promise to pay appropriate compensation.”
They seized this city of adventurers by force.
Therefore, the residents have a certain respect for ＜Paraiso＞.
The fact that they did not inflict unreasonable violence on the residents, and even provided necessary supplies such as food and cloth, also contributed to their reputation.
The Guild Master pondered.
The Adventurer’s Guild was an organization created to unite the rough and violent adventurers by force.
They fight monsters every day and possess power that is far removed from that of ordinary people.
If they resorted to violence, those who did not make a living from fighting would not be able to cope.
However, if they behaved as they pleased, the city would soon collapse.
The Adventurer’s Guild maintained order in North End City by suppressing force with even greater force.
“…I understand. I’ll arrange for the most rational ones we have to accompany you. But even if you’re going into the forest, you need to have at least a minimum level of skill.”
“No problem. The basic performance is the same as the soldiers who conquered this city.”
The soldiers who conquered North End City were the Doll Machines (Communicators) with fox ears and tails that regularly patrolled the streets.
They had a proven track record of carefully neutralizing resisting adventurers.
“I see. Well, then, there probably won’t be any problems. There might be some rebellious ones mixed in…”
“No problem. We’ll force them into submission.”
“…I see.”
The Guild Master, though inclined to resort to force, was still the top of the organization in his own way.
He understood that if there was a request from ＜Paraiso＞, he would have to comply, no matter how bitter he felt about it.
Most of the adventurers would not harbor any rebellious intentions towards ＜Paraiso＞, which had demonstrated its power.
However, some still tried to resist.
In particular, among the genuine adventurers who spent most of their time in the Demon Forest, there were quite a few who could not accept ＜Paraiso＞ out of pride.
“As for the reward, well… we don’t have enough of this city’s currency, so payment will be mainly in kind. Is that okay? We also plan to open a store within a week. We can give you currency that can be used there, though.”
“Ah… well, if you’re going to distribute supplies to the guild, I don’t mind being paid in money. We can sort it out from there.”
＜Paraiso＞ had not engaged in any looting, despite having taken control of the city.
In other words, they didn’t have any cash on hand. Now that he thought about it, that made sense.
Also, the store was news to him. What were they planning to sell?
“I’ll discuss the store separately, but we’re mainly planning to sell food and daily necessities. Of course, we’ll give sufficient consideration to existing merchants, so please rest assured.”
“Ah… well, I’d appreciate it if you could consider that.”
His pace was constantly being disrupted. The Guild Master sighed.
He had come to the meeting prepared for various things, knowing that the other party was the ruler, but it felt like a wasted effort.
It didn’t seem like there was much need to think about bargaining.
“Also, we’ll have a supply base built in the suburbs to serve as a base for the survey team. Do we need to worry about land use?”
“If it’s outside the walls, you can use it as you like, as long as it’s not on the main road. The Commercial Guild usually manages things inside the city. As you can see, we can’t even sleep properly unless we’re inside the walls.”
Due to its location near the Demon Forest, monsters inevitably appeared in the surrounding area.
It was true that they couldn’t live properly unless they were in a city surrounded by walls.
“I see. Then, we’ll build the base as we please.
Oh, yes, we’ve been making various requests until now, but we plan to gradually lift them. The self-defense force will also be allowed to resume its activities soon.
In return, we will reduce our patrols.”
“…Understood. What kind of position will you be in going forward?”
The Adventurer’s Guild was the de facto top authority in North End City. There was no lord. The Commercial Guild also had some power, but its influence was a step below that of the Adventurer’s Guild.
How would ＜Paraiso＞ be involved in that power structure?
“Well, please think of us as a lord-like presence. However, basically, we will leave things to your autonomy as before. We will only interfere when we determine that there are clear signs of resistance against us. For example, if you fail to suppress a resistance against us, we will dispatch an active unit.”
“…Is it correct to understand that you will not interfere unless something extraordinary happens?”
“That understanding is correct. Our goal is neither oppression nor exploitation. If I had to say, it’s land. Fortunately, the Afrasia United Kingdom has plenty of land, right? In that sense, we believe that we can coexist with you. We will suppress you if you resist, but basically, you are free to do as you please.”
This may have been the first time that part of ＜Paraiso＞’s purpose had been conveyed.
The Guild Master desperately racked his brains to understand ＜Paraiso＞’s purpose.
“Exchanges with the Royal Capital and other cities are currently cut off, but will those also be resumed?”
“I will allow it. We will also start maintaining the roads soon. It will be easier to travel back and forth in the future. Oh, don’t worry. We have already conquered the other cities, but they are similar to this one. You will gradually return to your daily lives.”
It seemed that it would still take some time for the Guild Master to fully understand ＜Paraiso＞’s laissez-faire policy.
◇◇◇◇
North End City is adjacent to a lake on its north and west sides. This serves as a source of water for daily life, but it is also an important location for preventing the invasion of monsters.
And to the east, about 2 km away, heavy machinery airdropped from Gigantia had begun construction.
Controlling this was a strategic-class AI that had been installed in advance.
The AI chosen this time was O-class AI ＜Cosmos＞, created by copying Olive’s neural network (neural pattern). However, the control device selected was not a Brain Unit, but a large-scale computing device using a photonic neural network.
Compared to the Brain Unit, it was approximately eight times larger in volume, but it was a computing device that could quantize all information and flexibly handle backups and external function integration.
This time, it was necessary to operate a large number of terminals for the Demon Forest survey, but if a Brain Unit was used, valuable information would be lost if that individual was lost.
Therefore, it was decided to use an electronic circuit-based computing device that was easy to back up and synchronize in real time.
An electronic circuit-based optical circuit element with high affinity was also required for its control and integration.
In terms of flexibility of thought, it had computing power that was not much inferior to that of a Brain Unit, so the operational experience so far could be fully applied.
For the time being, ＜Cosmos＞ would be in charge of manufacturing devices for investigation and infiltration.