Upon returning to the branch, Hino was immediately greeted by one of the staff members.
The one who was waiting was one of his close aides, whom Hino considered his right-hand man.
Since interaction with the other party is always involved when passing through the teleport gate, Hino’s return had likely already been communicated.
Hino stopped his aide, who was about to start speaking the moment he saw his face, and began to speak himself.
“I’ve heard some of what’s going on. What’s the situation now?”
His aide, whose eyes widened at Hino’s words, quickly regained his composure.
He hadn’t expected Hino to already grasp the situation.
“The numbers are increasing, and there’s no sign of it calming down yet. It seems to be incited as well.”
“…I see.”
The concerns that Kousuke and the others had were already being addressed by the branch.
They hadn’t noticed it at first, but the atmosphere clearly felt like it was being guided, so they investigated and got the expected results.
“Are there any acts of combat?”
“Barely, none have occurred yet, but it could happen at any moment.”
Upon hearing the report, Hino immediately made a decision.
Originally, the Crown and the Adventurer’s Guild had a principle of non-interference in disputes between adventurers.
However, in this kind of situation, they couldn’t afford to maintain that stance.
Moreover, even when Kousuke had confirmed it, it was at a level where knights of the kingdom would normally intervene.
The reason the Knight Order had not intervened even now was that the branch was located outside the castle walls, and there had been no actual damage yet.
Furthermore, if a situation arose that required the Knight Order’s intervention, they might even try to interfere with the branch’s operations.
The dispute between adventurers happening this time, although incited, concerns the handling of the teleport gate.
No matter how much the Crown maintained non-interference, it was entirely possible for them to intervene under the pretext that disturbances in the town were problematic.
For the Crown, the intervention of the Knight Order was a situation they absolutely wanted to avoid.
After hearing from his aide, Hino headed not to the scene, but to his office.
His destination was further beyond, to the private room that only the Branch Manager could enter.
“Um, Branch Manager, where are you going?”
His aide asked, sensing that Hino was heading for his office.
“To the office. I have something to do there. You, tell the Crown adventurers to stop wrangling and enter the building.”
“What? Yes!”
The situation between the two parties was already quite tense.
The aide thought that simply having one side enter the building wouldn’t resolve anything, but he followed Hino’s instructions honestly, assuming Hino had something up his sleeve.
Confirming this, Hino quickened his pace, entered a room further back from his office, and activated the object of his purpose.
It was a function prepared for the branch, located outside the castle walls, for emergencies.
While it was originally meant to be used in cases of monster attacks, it could also be used in situations like riots.
The authority to do so was entirely entrusted to the Branch Manager.
However, this was the first time Hino had used it since becoming Branch Manager.
Hino, operating in a windowless room, couldn’t see it, but the moment he activated it, the entire branch building was covered in a bluish membrane.
The commotion-makers, who had been ignoring the staff’s voices, also took notice of this sight, which they were witnessing for the first time.
What Hino had activated was a Magic Tool, prepared in every branch, to prevent outsiders from entering.
Essentially, it prevented anyone without a Crown Card from entering the building.
Almost simultaneously with the entire building being covered by the membrane, a voice echoed through the area using a Magic Tool for amplification.
“I am Hino, the Branch Manager of Crown Smith. I address those causing a disturbance there. Regarding the handling of the teleport gate, as I have stated before, there is absolutely no room for change, no matter how much you cause a disturbance.
If you are dissatisfied with the usage fees, you can simply become a member of the Crown. With that in mind, if you continue to cause further disturbances, I will consider it an act of collective attack against the Crown, and report it to the Knight Order.
Furthermore, Crown members participating in the disturbance, please enter the building immediately. I will inform you that if anyone continues to cause a disturbance after this, there is a possibility of expulsion by the Branch Manager’s authority.”
After that declaration resonated throughout the area, the adventurers belonging to the Crown looked at each other and immediately headed towards the branch building.
The words of forced expulsion seemed to have had an effect, and no one tried to resist.
They cautiously passed through the blue membrane, while keeping the previously defiant adventurers in check to prevent them from attacking.
Nothing happened when adventurers belonging to the Crown passed through.
However, when someone not affiliated with the Crown, more precisely, someone without a Crown Card, tried to pass through the membrane, that’s when it happened.
“Ouch!?”
There was a “snap” sound, and at the same time, a phenomenon occurred, like when static electricity builds up and you touch metal.
“Damn it! What the hell is this!”
Seeing him wailing outside the membrane, the adventurers belonging to the Crown also widened their eyes.
Among them were adventurers from the Central Continent, but even for them, this was the first time they had seen something like this.
As if anticipating their thoughts, Hino’s voice continued.
“I have just activated the Magic Tool that protects this building. For a while from now on, only Crown members will be able to enter this building. Ah, those who wish to newly join the Crown, please wait outside.
As I said before, please do not forget that anyone who forcibly tries to pass through will be deemed to have an intention to attack the Crown.”
After that, Hino’s voice could no longer be heard.
The Crown-affiliated adventurers who had entered the membrane also seemed to understand that their opponents could do nothing, and they entered the building one after another.
Their previously heated emotions subsided due to the Crown’s unexpected response.
Furthermore, if they forcibly caused a disturbance, they would risk losing their hard-earned Crown privileges.
Fortunately, (or perhaps not) there wasn’t a single person who would do such a thing willingly.
The adventurers not affiliated with the Crown, who were left hanging, directed their anger towards the blue membrane for a while, but eventually, that too subsided.
Some tried to force their way through, but ultimately, they couldn’t do anything.
Additionally, no one attempted to attack with magic.
Doing so, as Hino had stated earlier, would mean dealing with the Knight Order.
If there were Crown members causing similar disturbances, as Hino had feared, the Knight Order could intervene, and there was a possibility that the usage fees might also change somewhat.
However, in the current situation, they would simply be arrested unilaterally for property damage.
It was questionable how many of the rowdy adventurers were thinking that far ahead, but they seemed to understand that attacking the building was problematic.
In the end, the gathered adventurers dispersed, with the situation naturally dissolving.
Among the adventurers scattering away was one of the individuals who had been instigating the commotion until just before.
Until that point, he thought things were going well, but he had been thwarted by a method he hadn’t anticipated at all.
He decided to return, thinking that there was no point in staying and causing trouble any longer, just like the other adventurers.
He believed that the Crown side had already figured out that they were the ones carrying out the diversion, and he returned to their base while being mindful of being tailed.
However, unfortunately, they had not completely lost their tail.
They had never expected that the seemingly ordinary dog would be tailing them.
The Magic Tool activated by Hino is an improved version of the one previously used at Seichun’s branch.
The colored appearance was intentional. It also served as a show of force, lol.
I wonder what that last dog was! (sarcastic)
