Adel, relieved to have Kouhi’s agreement, turned her gaze to Kousuke next.
“The next matter concerns Kou-sama’s ears…”
Adel paused and looked at Donovan. Donovan nodded in response to Adel’s gaze. Kousuke waited for Adel to begin speaking, not understanding the meaning behind their exchange.
“Recently, Crown has been facing pressure from the various guilds in Seichun regarding the handling of ‘Aeris Water’.”
“Pressure? Why?”
The handling of ‘Aeris Water’ should have been discussed when Crown was established. Up until now, they had agreed not to interfere with Crown, and Crown would use its own collection spots. Both the Branch Manager and Vice Branch Manager seemed to recognize this, nodding in unison.
“Their reasoning is that the resources found in the tower are not to be monopolized.”
Kousuke was astonished that they would say such a thing now, after having monopolized it for so long, but he figured the other side didn’t care about pretexts. It was obvious they begrudged letting one organization monopolize the newly discovered spring.
Of course, Crown didn’t need to listen to such nonsense. However, there were difficult aspects in reality.
“The locations where Crown members are collecting have been identified by the other party. We can’t monitor every adventurer’s actions, so even if they collect in secret, we have no way to deal with it.”
“Even for profit, we can’t have personnel stationed at the spring all the time,” Donovan added, supplementing Adel’s explanation with Crown’s practical situation.
Although neither Adel nor Donovan explicitly stated it, there was also the issue that they wouldn’t know even if adventurers on-site were trading items.
“That may be so, but Crown doesn’t intend to monopolize it, right?”
“That’s right. The materials that can be collected in the tower belong to whoever collects them. It’s different if you’re utilizing the land itself, like Amamiya Tower, but otherwise, we have no intention of openly claiming rights.”
Adel nodded at Donovan’s words and continued. “However, in reality, if we don’t assert our rights, we’ll be encroached upon.” Unlike materials that grow in nature, water from a spring can always be collected if you go to that location. Of course, there are also concentrated areas of medicinal herbs that grow naturally, but they are not surrounded by anything like a spring.
“In a way… this is troublesome.”
“Completely.” Kousuke’s involuntary true feelings were met with an emphatic nod from Donovan.
“I agree, but as Crown, we cannot simply ignore this,” Adel said, shaking her head with a sigh.
Having heard up to that point, Kousuke looked at Adel as if he suddenly remembered something. “Have you reported this matter to Headquarters?”
“Yes. Although at the time, it wasn’t as pronounced as it is now, so it was just a mention of such movements.”
“I see… Perhaps you could try to enclose the spring?”
“Enclose?” Donovan and Adel tilted their heads at Kousuke’s casual suggestion.
“It’s the same as the building here. There are magic tools that can prevent outsiders from entering.” In short, it involves using a magic tool that provides a barrier-like effect, preventing anyone other than authorized individuals from entering. This would eliminate the troublesome issue of asserting rights.
“Certainly, that would expedite matters… No, rather, it would likely escalate the problem and become even more troublesome.” If the other party used similar items, there was a possibility of small-scale battles occurring with various forces mixed together. Crown, to be honest, wanted to avoid such troublesome affairs as much as possible. Kousuke, on his part, only wanted to convey that the items were one possible means and had no intention of pushing the matter forcefully here.
“Is that so? Well, if it comes to that, I can teach you other collection locations, so please deal with it at your leisure. I will, of course, protect Crown’s position… but you two already know this without me saying it.” Although Kousuke said this with a smile, Donovan and Adel remained frozen by his earlier words.
“…Are there really other collection locations?”
The spring discovered during the capture of Gazenran Tower was not entirely disclosed to Crown. Furthermore, the temple on the 70th Layer had not been properly conveyed either. While Kousuke had no intention of revealing the spring in the temple, he and the others were aware of several other spring locations.
“Of course. Well, let’s save that as a last resort,” Kousuke said dismissively. Donovan shook his head.
“I had heard about it from the Division Head, but it’s incredible. Well, that’s fine. Indeed, it’s probably better that we don’t know about that information yet.” Having another avenue of escape would add flexibility to future negotiations. This was very good information for Adel, who would actually be the one negotiating. While she had no intention of leaking the existence of other springs, Kousuke was right that it was significant to have it as a last resort.
Furthermore, Kousuke had other means at his disposal. The idea of enclosing the spring, which had been rejected once, could also be completely defended by creating a divine tool. If that were the case, there would be no fear of it being taken, even if a large army was sent. The only issue was whether such measures were necessary. If Donovan and Adel made a decision and Gazeran gave permission, Kousuke wouldn’t mind creating that divine tool.
Contemplating that this was something to consider, Kousuke said something else to them. “Well, regardless of how things actually turn out, I think it’s better to report this to Headquarters soon. You can then determine Crown’s policy.” Even though the branch had a degree of independence from Headquarters, there were limits to what they could do. Especially when dealing with a large organization like a country, it was essential to confirm Headquarters’ intentions. Unfortunately, given that ‘Aeris Water’ was involved, the recent movements in Seichun clearly indicated government involvement. At this point, the Branch Manager’s authority alone would not be sufficient to handle the situation.
“Ah, we intend to.” Donovan nodded at Kousuke’s words.
As the conversation reached a pause, Donovan suddenly looked at Kousuke as if he had just realized something. “By the way, what did you come here for this time?” Donovan didn’t know Kousuke’s true identity. He only knew him as an accomplished adventurer active in Amamiya Tower, as told by Gazeran. In reality, Kousuke rarely showed his face at Headquarters, but Donovan had no intention of investigating further. Knowing that he was one of Gazeran’s trusted adventurers was sufficient.
“I plan to hole up in the tower for a while and gather various materials.” Since Kousuke couldn’t tell the truth, he gave a non-committal answer. Moreover, it was not untrue that he would be staying in Gazenran Tower for an extended period.
“I see. …I apologize for turning what was meant to be a simple conversation into a consultation.” Donovan’s words caused Kousuke to have a “come to think of it” expression. He had responded out of habit, as if answering Gazeran, but it wasn’t something an adventurer would typically say.
“No, please don’t worry about it. It’s also my fault for getting carried away in conversation.”
“I see.” Kousuke replied with a wry smile, and Donovan nodded in return.
