I should have notified you by yesterday, but this chapter focuses on events within the tower. Due to its length, it’s being presented as a separate chapter rather than part of “Tower Happenings.”
Please understand.
The occurrence of the Great Flood on the 41st Floor was news that hit Kousuke and his group like a bolt from the blue.
It’s important to note that it was news to Kousuke’s *group*, not just to Kousuke himself.
If an adventurer had carelessly installed something extra, causing a Great Flood, it would be understandable.
However, no one had installed anything on the 41st Floor, where adventurers frequently came and went, for several years.
This applied not only to Kousuke but to everyone else as well.
Since the establishment of Razek Amamiya, Floria and Silvia had been barely involved in the tower’s management.
The other members also had little to do with Amamiya Tower’s affairs, except when Kousuke gave them instructions.
Despite this, a Great Flood had occurred.
To determine the cause, or rather, to confirm whether there was any human intervention, logs were reviewed for the past three years.
There was a possibility, however slim, that children, in their innocence, had installed something while the adults weren’t looking.
The logs only went back three years, so if something had happened before that, there was nothing to be done. But this was unavoidable.
First, they decided to investigate anything unusual that had occurred, going back three years.
***
In the control room of Amamiya Tower, the members were diligently working.
Staring at screens for extended periods was tiring, so they alternated between the three control panels.
“Yep. No anomalies here,” Kousuke stated. He was examining the records from the past year, starting three years prior. However, during that period, there had been almost no new installations.
Kousuke glanced at Shurein and Peach, who were operating the other two terminals.
“Nothing here either~” Shurein reported.
“My side is the same,” Peach added.
Shurein had been investigating the logs from two years prior up to the present, while Peach had covered the year before that. Like Kousuke, they found nothing.
“It’s good that we’ve confirmed it wasn’t human-caused, but… what could be the reason?” Kousuke, relieved that the Great Flood wasn’t a result of mismanagement, now wondered about its actual cause.
“Hmm… Perhaps our initial assumption was incorrect?” Shurein’s words made Kousuke frown.
He had considered that possibility, but he had desperately wanted to avoid it. Nevertheless, he couldn’t ignore it and said with a sigh, “So, the premise is that floods and Great Floods can occur even within the tower’s floors, right?”
“That’s right,” Shurein replied with a slight nod.
Until now, Kousuke and his group had believed that no floods occurred within the tower. This was simply because no monsters that could cause such an event had ever appeared. However, the current situation had shown them they were wrong.
Even in ordinary lands, not within the tower, floods occurring in the same place every few decades were not uncommon. Considering this, it wouldn’t be strange if floods occurred every year on some floor of the hundred-story Amamiya Tower. In that light, the fact that no floods had happened until now seemed peculiar.
However, the mechanism behind flood occurrences was not well understood, making it difficult to think of it so simply. Ultimately, they didn’t know when floods would occur. At least, they now knew that the belief that floods didn’t happen in the tower was incorrect. From now on, tower management would have to consider the possibility of floods. This thought gave Kousuke a headache.
***
It would take time for the joint force of the subjugation army and adventurers to reach the affected area. After all, nearly seven hundred people were on the move, comprising about five hundred from the army and two hundred adventurers. With such a large group, using the Teleport Gate alone required considerable effort. Given the circumstances, they were using a large-scale Teleport Gate intended for cargo transport. Even so, there was a limit to how many people could move at once, making travel between floors a time-consuming process. While moving between Teleport Gates didn’t require a large group to stick together, on floors where floods were occurring, a certain number of people needed to move as a unit. Furthermore, upon arriving at the 41st Floor, they needed to maintain vigilance to avoid being overwhelmed by monster hordes, thus requiring a considerable number. Considering all these factors, the journey would take longer than adventurers normally took.
Meanwhile, Floria, awaiting news at the castle, received a Divine Power Telepathy message from Kousuke.
“Floria, are you free now?”
“I am. Have you found anything?”
Kousuke rarely used Divine Power Telepathy, but he employed it without hesitation due to the urgency of the situation. As a side note, if others saw Kousuke using it, they might mistake it for an oracle. However, since Divine Power Telepathy didn’t require speaking aloud, it was difficult for observers to tell that a conversation was taking place.
“No. At least, there was no human intervention. To summarize, it’s best to consider it a natural occurrence.”
“I see.” The thought that floods could occur even within the tower made Floria’s expression turn grim.
“However, I may have found a small trend.”
“A trend? What is it?”
“The Divine Power we’ve been accumulating has been decreasing recently. I’d thought it was within the usual range of fluctuation, but it might be related to the occurrence of the flood.”
Amamiya Tower’s daily accumulation of Divine Power usually had some fluctuation. Some days, it was more; others, it was less. Thus, Kousuke had simply assumed it was another low day. However, he now suspected this phenomenon might be linked to the Great Flood. To investigate this, they first needed to contain the current flood.
“I see. Is that good news… or not?”
“What do you think? If this is a result of the flood, perhaps we can detect it in its precursor stages.”
“If that’s the case, it would be somewhat reassuring information.” It was natural for Floria to hope that being able to foresee the precursors of a flood might allow them to prevent another Great Flood like the current one.
“We won’t know for sure until we verify it properly.”
“I understand.”
“So, the other reason I contacted you…”
“Hmm? What is it?” Floria tilted her head, unable to guess the other reason.
“Regarding this Great Flood. May we intervene?”
“What!?” Floria was taken aback by Kousuke’s unexpected proposal. The management team had never intervened in floors frequented by adventurers. Kousuke was now suggesting they lift that restriction.
“Why?” Floria questioned Kousuke’s proposal.
“Firstly, to confirm if the floods occurring within the tower are the same as those occurring outside.”
“And the other reason?”
“We have skilled individuals among us. I thought it would be a good opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities.”
“Hmm…” Ten years had passed since Kousuke had conquered the tower, and adventurers were increasingly taking on reckless challenges. Consequently, the number of adventurers who met their end within the tower had risen. From a cold perspective, adventurers dying within the tower converted into Divine Power, which could be beneficial for the tower’s operations. However, it wasn’t beneficial in terms of population for the town on the Fifth Floor. They thought that using this opportunity to showcase their ability to conquer the tower would be a good idea.
“…I see. Indeed, there’s a point to that.”
“Right?”
“Understood. I will contact the Crown immediately and we will discuss it.”
“Please do.”
It would still take some time for the mixed force to arrive at the scene, giving them ample time to confer with the upper echelons of the Crown.
Following their discussion, it was decided that the management team would intervene as tower managers. The Crown side had also been concerned about the recent failure rate among adventurers. Kousuke’s proposal was timely. Thus, for the first time in Amamiya Tower’s history, the true capabilities of the management team would be revealed to the public.
The management team’s participation has been approved! Please look forward to who will be participating, lol.
