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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Kabur & Silavin
Kousuke used the magic box function on his bracelet to take out his communication device.
Most of the people gathered here were merchants.
They looked at each other, guessing what function the bracelet had just by its movement.
Kousuke ignored them and started talking with the communication device.
In shape, it was almost the same as a cellular phone, but in this world where such things did not exist, they did not seem to understand what it was.
They looked at Kousuke in confusion, who suddenly spoke into the communication device.
Ignoring those glances, Kousuke contacted Gazeran.
“I’m here. What’s up? It’s rare to hear from you.”
Gazeran spoke to him in a light tone, and Kousuke replied with a wry smile inside.
“Department head. We have a problem.”
Gazeran seemed to have guessed what was going on as Kousuke called him the department head.
“What happened?”
“The trading party is at the planned location, but it appears that there are signs of a flood. We have sent out scouts to confirm the details.”
Kousuke said this in one breath, and a moment passed.
“… I see, I’ll let Schmidt know from here.”
“Please do.”
“The leader of adventurers in that trading party is… Bart right? Bart, are you there?”
Bart hurriedly replied to the department head’s sudden call.
“Yes.”
“You know what to do, right? From now on, you’re in charge.”
“What?”
Bart tilted his head at the sudden suggestion.
As was usually the case in the peddling business, the adventurers escorting the merchant company did not stand at the top.
The same was true of a large trading party, with Carl at the top of the group.
However, there were always exceptions.
A sigh came from the other end of the communication device.
“I see, it seems you didn’t know. Under normal conditions, the leader of the caravan would be in command. But only in the event of a flood, it’s different. It will be you who will be in command.”
Hearing Gazeran’s words, Bart involuntarily looked at Carl.
Incidentally, the eyes of the merchants who were listening to this conversation also focused on Carl.
Perhaps anticipating their reaction, Carl calmly nodded his head in agreement.
“If flooding is confirmed during the movement or anchorage of a large trading party, priority will be given to confirming the details of the flooding and exterminating it rather than the cargo.”
This arrangement would be something that had been decided upon since the inception of the large merchant caravan.
So much importance was placed on the occurrence of a flood in the Central Continent.
“If the members there can destroy it, then destroy it. If it’s not possible, you can consider fleeing.”
At the mention of fleeing, some of the merchants looked relieved.
But as if to catch them up, Bart replied.
“…No. I can’t say for sure until the scouts return, but it’s probably impossible to escape.”
“…I see. Let’s wait for the scouts to report back. Then we’ll see what we can do.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then, you should let Kou and his group move freely without incorporating them into your forces.”
Bart understood exactly what Gazeran meant.
“They are that strong?”
“Yeah. I don’t think you could win even if all the adventurers in the merchant corps went at them, you understand that much, right?”
Gazeran’s happy tone of voice made Bart’s expression turn into one of dismay.
Bart could not believe what he was hearing.
“Are you kidding?”
“No way. I would never joke about something like that under such circumstances.”
Gazeran said in his usual light tone, but Bart’s reaction was different.
He gulped and looked at Kousuke.
Kousuke, seeing Bart, let out a sigh of resignation.
“Division head. I don’t want you to get their hopes up too high…”
“That’s impossible. With the current situation, I need you guys to work hard.”
In the second voice, I was told not to hide my abilities.
Kousuke, for his part, had no intention of hiding his abilities under the circumstances.
But that didn’t mean he could simply fight with all his power.
After all, the merchant corps would be a liability.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“No need to worry about it. I’m going to have a hand in the operation too. I won’t let them do anything to get in your way.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
Kousuke half-seriously replied.
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“Oh, um… Are you two serious?”
Bart, who had been listening to Kousuke and Gazeran’s conversation, interrupted.
“Bart, don’t measure the party in front of you right now by ordinary measures. If it’s just these guys, you could throw them into a big flood swarm, and they could come out alive.”
A flood would be at the level of a small herd.
Roughly a hundred or so herds would generally be considered a flood.
In contrast, a large swarm required a herd group of 500 or more.
What they both have in common was that they were groups of multiple types of monsters.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, it’s not a joke.”
Gazeran said happily, but Bart’s face twitched.
He could not believe that Kousuke and the others in front of him were that strong.
“But that’s only if they don’t have any hindrances. You know what I mean?”
“…. Of course, I do.”
In this case, the hindrances would be the merchant group itself.
If Gazeran’s words are to be taken as they were, even the adventurers who fight monsters would be a liability to Kousuke and his group.
“It’s good if you can understand. The situation can change depending on what the scouts discover, but you guys are hired to be guarding the merchants.”
Bart looked at Kousuke and the others.
He still couldn’t believe Gazeran’s words.
He couldn’t decide if he really wanted to trust Kousuke and his group with the job.
“You don’t believe me?”
Bart’s pause in his reply must have made Gazeran aware of this.
So he asked him directly.
“…Honestly, I don’t.”
“Well, I guess that’s to be expected. If I were in the same situation as you, I’d make that decision too. Unless I knew who Kou really is.”
That was Gazeran’s true opinion.
Gazeran had seen firsthand some of the power of Kousuke and his group.
If he had not, he would have felt the same way as Bart.
“Oh well. Anyway, it’s better to wait for the scout’s report first, than to worry about such things right now.”
“Understood.”
Bart agreed with him on that, and nodded honestly.
“And then… Carl, right? Are you there?”
“Yes?”
Carl was not allowed to say anything about fighting monsters, so he kept his mouth shut.
Suddenly, Gazeran called out to him, and he hurriedly replied.
“I’m sorry, but now that we’re in this situation, you should be prepared to carry some baggage. Well, it depends on the scale.”
“It depends on…”
As the leader of the merchant corps, it was difficult for him to admit this, but as someone who knew the reality of a flood, it was also difficult for him to refuse.
Survival was the top priority.
“I will talk to Schmidt about the cargo…”
Gazeran’s words were cut off in the middle of the conversation.
He could guess that Schmidt had probably arrived because he could hear another person’s voice in the distance.
He could also hear the two of them talking about something.
To Carl, it was reassuring to have Schmidt, the head of the department, there.
He was relieved that someone brought communication equipment.
After the communication was over.
C “But to encounter a flood…”
G “Should we call it good luck or bad?”
C “…Am I the only one who thinks it’s the monsters who are unlucky?”
G “No. I thought so as well.”
Kousuke who was listening wondered if their conversation was something like that.
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