“A town in the northern Piata Empire has fallen.”
Amadio Silverhead listened to ＜Ringo＞’s report with a grim expression.
“So it’s finally happened. Whether it’s a blessing or a curse that the Prawa Theocracy is reorganizing its front lines at this time…”
“This is real-time, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It’s a live feed.”
In the displayed footage, the town was being ravaged. Numerous muscular, ape-like Threat Creatures were invading the town.
At first glance, they appeared to be well-built apes. However, they were formidable Threat Creatures.
Standing over 3 meters tall, they possessed the strength to collapse houses with a single swing of their arms.
Moreover, these individuals were in a pack.
At the center of the pack was an exceptionally large individual, the Boss Ape leading the group.
“This is quite something…”
“This species doesn’t seem to be common in the Demon Forest of the Afrasia United Kingdom. There was information about them in the Forest Country (Lebresta) records. They seem to be scattered over a wide area.
They are believed to be ape-like Threat Creatures called ＜Pump＞, standing 2-3 meters tall. They form packs centered around a Boss Ape and manage vast territories.
This particular pack seems to be relatively small in number. They may have been pushed out after losing a power struggle, or they may have expanded their originally small territory.
In any case, such attacks will likely become frequent in the outer edges of the Demon Forest.”
“As expected, the impact of the hunters disappearing is significant. It’s not an immediate problem, but one that surfaces months or half a year later. It’s the kind that hits when you’ve forgotten about it.”
Amadio sighed deeply.
This information, of course, had not reached the Repuytari Kingdom.
Not even the Piata Empire, the country directly affected, was aware of the situation.
It would likely be weeks before the upper echelons learned of this, and by then, the surrounding villages and towns would be devastated.
“Ah.”
The moment the Pump was shown in a close-up, the video feed cut out. It immediately switched to another feed, but the Pump in the frame swung its arm down, and the feed cut out again.
“It seems the reconnaissance bots are being targeted as well. The signals are disappearing.”
“Are these guys the type that can see Electromagnetic Waves?”
Perhaps because he himself had the ability to see Electromagnetic Waves, Amadio turned his gaze in another direction within the communication screen. It was likely that a relay device was set up there.
“Geez, are there that many species that can see Electromagnetic Waves? We haven’t had any problems until now…”
“Akane and Asahi are calculating the probabilities. Asahi suggests that it depends on the strength of the Threat Creature and its dependence on Maso… but there’s no evidence, so it’s just speculation. No reaction to Electromagnetic Waves has been observed in ＜Rain Croin＞ or ＜Serket＞. Of course, just because it hasn’t been observed doesn’t mean we’ve confirmed the presence or absence of Electromagnetic Wave-sensitive organs.”
Among the large Threat Creatures, reactions to Electromagnetic Waves were observed in ＜Wyvern＞ and ＜Spirit Turtle＞. It was unknown for ＜Rain Croin＞, ＜Worm＞, ＜Serket＞, ＜Big Moth＞, and ＜Mountain Boar＞.
As for ＜Rain Croin＞, a dissection investigation had been completed, so it was highly likely that they did not possess Electromagnetic Wave-sensitive organs.
“In any case, it seems the location of the reconnaissance bots is being identified by some means. Even those on standby are being targeted as soon as they start operating.”
“Didn’t we have a bird-type one?”
“It was crushed by a thrown object.”
“Thorough, aren’t they!”
Approximately three hours after capturing the invasion of Threat Creatures into the northern Piata Empire, all the bots that had been sent in were destroyed, and information was cut off.
Currently, only footage from the High-Altitude Drone flying overhead or reconnaissance satellites was available.
Due to issues with resolution and frame rate, the accuracy of the information had significantly decreased.
“Hmm… Putting the bot issue aside for now. Amadio-san, should we provide assistance? I’m not good at making these kinds of decisions…”
How should this information be handled?
Eve tilted her head and asked Amadio.
“Ah. Well, I suppose so. You don’t have much social experience, do you, Miss?”
Eve nodded, looking slightly awkward at the remark.
“I barely had any in my original world or this one…”
“No, I understand. I’ve regained my memories too. I was a shut-in myself. Whether it’s right or wrong, I know that. That’s why it’s better to consult me in these situations. I’ve certainly been in human society for many years.”
Although, creating a specialized AI might be more useful than me. Amadio prefaced before beginning to speak.
“In these cases, as the leader of an organization, you should remember what our purpose is. The way we deal with the events in front of us needs to be determined by that. If you strip away the unnecessary information, most things in the world are simple.”
Those were the words of a Duke who had led a kingdom for many years.
“Simply, Miss Eve. What is your purpose?”
“…”
Purpose.
The ultimate goal.
Eve thought seriously.
What did she want to do from now on?
“Ultimately, it’s for me not to die. To keep living. And to be as happy as possible. That’s probably my purpose. In this world, that’s all I have.”
“…That’s a rough but good goal. Not dying is a given, but being happy is good. The criteria for judging whether you’re happy or not is clear. When you make a choice, you just have to keep that in mind.”
Without the constraints of society.
Eve, who had been holed up in ＜The Tree＞ all this time, had nothing else.
However, even if one engaged in social life with others, in the end, that’s what everyone would want.
Eve had less information, so it was easier for her to think simply.
“Now, the problem is the choices. For us at the top, choosing is important, but narrowing down the choices is also very important. We line up the limited choices and choose the best one from among them. But if you take it step by step, you can usually narrow those choices down to two. In other words, to do it or not to do it.”
“To do it or not to do it. Hmm, in this case. To intervene in the Piata Empire or not.”
“That’s right.”
There’s no need to think about it in a complicated way. If you don’t intervene, do you leave it alone or continue to gather information? If you do intervene, do you send troops, provide supplies, or just pass on information?
There are many choices, but if you take it step by step, the content of the decision is simple.
And if you’re hesitant about that, it’s probably because you don’t have enough information.
“Choice… Choice… Is there a merit to intervening…”
“That’s right. Thinking about whether there’s a merit is the easiest way to understand.”
“Hmm… First of all, as ＜The Tree＞, what are the merits of intervening in the Piata Empire? Ringo, can you think of any?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Answering. There are no merits to intervening in this event.”
“There aren’t any.”
“Yes, Ma’am. There aren’t any.”
Eve’s eyes widened in a bit of surprise.
Seeing that, Amadio smiled wryly.
“The Piata Empire has almost no diplomatic relations with the Repuytari Kingdom. It would be difficult to send reinforcements from the Repuytari Kingdom. It would simply be seen as an act of aggression. If so, it would be an intervention by an unidentified force, or as ＜Paraiso＞, but even then, it would be nothing more than an invasion.”
“That’s… true…”
“It won’t be praised socially.”
Even if it’s helping people, a large-scale military intervention would inevitably draw criticism.
“As for the targets to be helped, it would probably be the villages and towns near the Demon Forest, but the number of people involved isn’t that large. At most, 10,000 to 20,000 people in total. There’s no prospect of that number increasing in the future.”
“Isn’t helping people a big merit?”
“Yes, Ma’am. According to normal ethics, we should help them no matter what. But the circumstances are different in this world.”
I think that by having Mr. Amasake join, we will see a bit more humanity.
By the way, his appearance is quite young. Since he was originally from a game. However, his life experience is tremendous. He’s a monster.