Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 260/Seriana Side Story

 "I’m back."

Teresa, who had gone to check on Sera, returned to the meeting room. Since she came back alone, it seemed Sera was still asleep.

"Is Sera still asleep?"

"Yes, she's sound asleep. I didn’t wake her up because I felt sorry for her, but she didn’t seem like she’d be waking up anytime soon."

Elena asked to confirm, and Teresa answered. Sera had fallen asleep at dawn, and now it was already past noon, yet she still hadn’t woken up. …That girl sometimes sleeps not just half a day but even a full day when she does sleep, so it's no problem to have someone check on her occasionally.

"Well, she'll probably wake up when she's hungry. More importantly, Alec... everyone’s here, so let’s get started."

Present in the room were myself, Elena, Teresa, Liezel, August, Rick, and several deputy commanders and lieutenants. Normally, Alec would be stationed at the Adventurers' Guild, but today he was here along with the branch manager, Zig Halter, who nominally serves as Alec's adjutant but usually moves freely, and Fiora, a member of the knightly order's leadership.

There were also civil officers present, but their attendance was mainly to avoid repeating reports, and we didn’t particularly seek their opinions this time.

"Yes. Sera, the deputy commander of the 2nd squad, departed for the capital of the Zelkis Territory the evening before last and returned this morning, with rest stops at the deputy governors' residences in each town along the way…"

Alec began his report.

There were murmurs from those who hadn’t been informed of this. A journey that would normally take a week one way had taken less than two days for the round trip. However, even that wasn’t entirely accurate. The actual time taken was seven to eight hours less than that. And, of course, if the restriction of not being seen were lifted, the journey could be shortened even further. Nonetheless, we’re keeping that information to ourselves. I don’t think anyone would betray us, but since the 1st squad and the civil officers consist mainly of people from other territories, we don’t know where leaks might occur.

If someone had the resolve to ask Sera directly, they could get the true information, but that’s unlikely...

"Seria?"

Liezel, sitting beside me, called out, perhaps finding it suspicious that I was chuckling.

"It’s nothing. More importantly, let’s get to the main topic."

With that, I urged everyone to listen.

This meeting was originally intended for those aware of Sera's trip to Zelkis to grant permission for her to act independently within our territory and neighboring territories. However, the letter from my father changed the plan slightly.

"Multiple sites resembling campsites have been discovered within the Zelkis Territory. At three of these sites, corpses that appear to be adventurers were found. They were probably devoured by monsters."

Alec's words caused another stir in the meeting room, but it wasn’t due to the fact that there were dead bodies. It was because someone had camped out in the eastern part of Mesaria.

In the western part of the continent, it’s hard to believe, but merchants and adventurers sometimes spend the night outside. In this country, too, some people west of the royal capital occasionally take such risks, but it's virtually unheard of in the east. The basic practice here is to gather forces and leave in the daylight, arriving at a lodging before nightfall.

Going outside the city at night is something only done by those fleeing in the night, criminals, or adventurers commissioned by the guild to hunt monsters that only appear at night. The deceased found this time were adventurers, but the Adventurers’ Guild hadn’t issued any such commission.

"Captain Alexio, have you identified who these bodies belong to?"

"Not all of them, but we’ve identified a few. They’re individuals who mainly operated west of the royal capital, around 30 years old. However, they haven’t left any records of challenging the capital’s dungeon, and judging by the poor condition of their remaining equipment, it seems they hadn’t been making much money."

Even if they weren’t earning much, it’s still the eastern region, rich with monsters. Even without delving into dungeons, they could make a living by hunting monsters near towns and villages.

Despite that, they engaged in reckless camping... and with poor equipment at that...

"They’re likely probing for a route to reach the Liana Territory without passing through the towns of the eastern region."

But these are merely sacrificial pawns. Once the information is gathered, the real players will make their move.

"I see... If they infiltrate places like frontier villages, they can avoid the checkpoints without being detected. Captain Rick, is there any capacity to increase security in the villages?"

"Yes, sir! We’ve continued patrolling the forest, and recently, adventurers haven’t been pushing deep, so there haven’t been any casualties. We can spare some personnel from there."

Rick responded to August's inquiry.

"Good. In spring, soldiers who have completed their training will be sent from the royal capital. Until then, make do with the current situation. If manpower is lacking, seek assistance from the 2nd squad."

"Yes, sir!"

They might be cautious of me, so they probably won’t come directly to the territorial capital. We’ll likely be short-handed for quite some time.