In the meeting room of the executive branch on the fifth floor of Amamiya Tower, high-ranking officials, including Alec, were gathered. Their purpose was to decide on countermeasures for the recent disturbance. Of course, countermeasures against external forces were also considered, but the main topic of discussion was how to deal with the town’s residents.
“So, what’s the word on the rumors about this incident?” Alec asked.
One of the officials replied, “It seems the intelligence agents from various countries are doing their best. It’s spreading completely as something Amamiya Tower has messed up.”
Even calling them intelligence agents was stretching it; they were merely peddlers spreading rumors, so there was no way to stop it. Alec also didn’t see any reason to stop it.
“What about the possibility of it being used on the floors of the Tower?” Alec’s concern lay in this area. To protect the town from external enemies, even a powerful offensive weapon would inevitably lead some to think it could be turned against them. Even if that weren’t the case, it would be possible to manipulate them into thinking so, just as intelligence agents might do.
“Apparently, the story is spreading, but few seem to believe it will actually be directed at them,” the official reported.
Hearing this, Alec felt a sense of relief. If the ruler of the Tower were considered a cruel being, people would first consider it being directed at them. The fact that they didn’t think so meant their current strategy was succeeding. In reality, everyone present knew from having met him that Kousuke was not the type of person to do such a thing.
However, the residents of the town were different. Kousuke rarely appeared in public. As an Avatar, that was understandable, but there was no doubt that he held the real power in the Tower. If a person who, in a sense, held the fate of the town in his hands was perceived as a tyrant, it would affect future governance. The option of deliberately ruling through fear was out of the question from the start.
“To be precise, it’s more like a ‘could that happen?’ kind of reaction,” the official explained.
Even if peddlers disguised as intelligence agents whispered that the weapon used this time could be directed at the interior of the Tower, the townspeople weren’t taking it seriously. They simply didn’t believe there was any need for such an action.
“What do you mean?”
“They seem to think that if we intended to kill them, there would be plenty of ways to do so, like using a large number of monsters…”
It was simple. While it wasn’t known that Kousuke possessed a large number of summon beasts, it was understood that the destinations of the teleport gates within the Tower were clearly adjusted. Even without the offensive weapon, they knew that the ruler of the Tower could destroy the town whenever they pleased. However, despite the town’s relatively short existence, this had never happened before.
Furthermore, organizations like the Crown and the Executive Branch had been established, but they rarely made public appearances. For residents who knew many towns were tossed about by lords and nobles, this town was, in a sense, a more livable place.
“It’s as if… we were worrying too much. Still, if we let our guard down, we never know when things might turn in a different direction, so let’s not get complacent,” Alec said to the high-ranking officials, thus concluding the meeting.
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Next, Alec visited the Crown. Before him were three division heads, including Schmidt.
“How are things on your end?” Alec inquired.
“There’s not much to report. They seem to accept it with a simple ‘could that happen?'” Schmidt said, adding, “They’re quite resilient.”
“Well, these are people who chose to come and live here. They must have had a certain amount of courage and resolve to begin with.”
“What about the adventurers?”
“Ah, they haven’t been making an issue of it from the start. They understand that a single sword would be enough to kill them, after all.”
Adventurers, who live constantly on the brink of death, understood that elaborate mechanisms weren’t necessary to eliminate them. It was true that they didn’t know the ruler of the Tower could summon monsters at will. However, the common knowledge was that simply closing the teleport gates was enough to put them in a bind. Since this had never happened before, and the person who installed Safe Areas wouldn’t do such a thing, they believed it was impossible.
“It’s strange, though. It doesn’t seem like Kousuke-dono considers these things when he acts, yet everything ends up being interpreted in a good way,” Alec mused.
“Well, the announcement that he’s an Avatar is probably the biggest factor,” Schmidt replied with a sigh.
“Ah, I see…”
The members present had known Kousuke for a considerable amount of time. They had known him even before he became an Avatar, so they sometimes forgot about it. However, this was not the case for the residents and adventurers. Initially, the ruler of the Tower was an unknown entity, but now it was understood that they were ruled by an Avatar. To put it grandly, they indirectly felt they were receiving the Avatar’s blessings.
“I suppose… we’ll continue to be put through such situations repeatedly…” Alec muttered, leaving the others with no choice but to offer a bitter smile.
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“Well, I hope this makes the other countries back down,” Kousuke mumbled.
“No, that won’t happen,” Floria immediately negated.
“Ah, I thought so?”
“This time, they saw our attack and retreated. Weren’t they already planning to back down the moment a god appeared?” Floria explained.
“What do you mean?” Colette tilted her head, not understanding.
“It’s known that Kousuke, who rules Amamiya Tower, is an Avatar. It was probably a test to see if he would appear when the military moved,” Floria said to Sylvia.
“Even with Kouhi’s incident, they’re taking quite a risky approach~”
“No, I don’t think they had much to lose in this situation,” Floria said, looking at Silvia.
“That’s right. It’s almost unthinkable for a god to directly intervene. Besides, even when it comes to spokespersons or gods, they only directly intervene in matters related to gods,” Silvia confirmed. The previous incident with Kouhi was specifically designed to directly ridicule Kousuke. If it had been something that ridiculed the Crown or the Tower itself, Kouhi would not have come forward.
“But we did protest as Amamiya Tower?” Colette asked.
“If we had protested directly as the Avatar, the outcome might have been different,” Floria stated.
“Oh, I see~ So, the judgment was that since we protested as Amamiya Tower, a god wouldn’t directly intervene?” Colette guessed.
“Someone in the Kingdom must have made the final decision, but it wouldn’t be strange if clerics were involved in the process,” Floria added.
Kousuke nodded at Floria’s words. In the first place, Kousuke himself did not possess the power to directly intervene. This fact was not widely known to the public; in fact, only the members present likely knew it. The fact that they continued their advance despite this led him to believe there was a considerable reason.
While what they were discussing was purely speculation, it was surprisingly close to the truth. They had correctly guessed that a god would not directly intervene, but unfortunately, their miscalculation was that the Tower’s functions were used to thwart the attack in an unplanned manner.
“Well, certainly, even if I had the power of a god, I wouldn’t think of using it,” Kousuke mused.
A thought that questions like “Then what was that offensive weapon?” might fly from various places, not just from the members, crossed their minds. To Kousuke, however, it was merely a part of the Tower’s functions. He didn’t know if other Towers had similar functions, but he didn’t think it was strange if they did. The fact that the usable range was limited to the continent was proof of this, in his opinion.
Actually, one would have to explore and confirm to know for sure. By the way, the members other than Kousuke thought the same way, so they could be said to have been influenced by him. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing was unknown at the moment.
This was a glimpse into the Tower’s reaction and part of the reason for the Corum Kingdom’s actions. Of course, as mentioned at the beginning, their actions were also motivated by profit.
