In the end, the additional seafood was grilled flying gar skewers.

　It is debatable whether flying gar from the river is "seafood" or not, but it tastes like sea fish and is delicious, so there is no problem.

　After finishing all the food, Mr. Marks drank his glass of sake and opened his mouth with a serious expression on his face.

Now that we've eaten our fill, let's talk about something serious.

About the sea, right?

Yeah. I'm just a small-time branch chief. Now that I've confirmed it, I can't help but report it to the top.

To the country, right?

Yeah. I will send the report to the guild headquarters in this country, and from there it will be reported to the country.

　Normally, information about a dungeon is reported to its owner, usually the lord, who in turn reports important information to the country, but this dungeon is not owned by the lord.

　Therefore, in this case, the local guilds will send a report to the headquarters in the form of important information they have obtained, and the headquarters will decide whether to send the information to the country.

There's no chance that the headquarters won't send out the information, but ...... they will probably report it.
"Don't you have to report it to Viscount Nenus?

　I'm not sure what to make of it.

It's a tough call. I'm not obligated to report to the headquarters either, so I guess it's up to you whether or not you want to take that into consideration. On the other hand, there's a way to raise the information through the Viscount instead of through the guild.

It's better to tell them ......, isn't it?　After all.

I guess so. I'm not sure what to make of that.

　If the information about the dungeon in your territory comes from another place, you will not feel good.

　Ignoring it because you don't have an obligation to do so is not the way to socialize with people.

In that case, I'll let the guild know when the time is right.

Thank you. --What do you think will happen if this information reaches the country? Will there be trouble?

It depends. This is a pretty good country, but it still has no shortage of aristocrats who love their rights. I don't think the system will force them to take it away, but I'm sure there will be people who will try to negotiate with them.



"'Negotiation'." ......

　It's probably not a serious discussion.
　I'll probably be the one to take the brunt of it.

　Even if I can get support from Natsuki and Haruka, I don't want to negotiate with a nobleman if I can help it.

　I was nervous even discussing business with Viscount Nenus, but I can't see myself succeeding in negotiating with a nobleman on a matter involving interests.

　If it's a "talk" (negotiation) with a doomed person, it can be settled by pushing Toya out of the way, but I don't think it can be done with a nobleman.

　When Marks saw me sighing deeply, he grinned meaningfully.

"Nao, let me tell you something good. Negotiation is only possible when you can talk to the other side, okay?

That means .......

　You want me to hide myself so that I can't negotiate?

　It's true that if you don't see the owner and you can't contact them, you won't even need to negotiate.

But what about the risk of someone taking possession of your property because you can't negotiate with them?

"That would not be a problem either. It is the law of the state that guarantees the rights of nobles. If you disregard it, you will jeopardize your position. Diora said that the only noblemen who would get involved in something like this would not take such a risk.

　That was a piece of information he had just received.
　Well, Marks, a commoner, and Diora, an aristocrat.
　Diora is by far the most reliable source of information, so there is no problem.

"In the first place, there is not much profit to be made from this sea. We'll need to invest, and it won't be worth the risk of breaking the paper. Except in terms of national interest.

　In terms of national interest, the fact that there is an ocean is meaningful, but there is also a reasonable amount of risk in order to profit from it.

　If the owner is a commoner, he will make a move if he thinks he can take it easily, but if he thinks it is not worth the cost, he will back out.

　That seems to be the extent of it.

　However, if you make a mistake in negotiating with them, you may end up destroying their face, and you may end up negotiating with them with no regard for profit, so you have to be careful.

　Yes, it's very troublesome.

　It seems that the best thing to do is to let things cool down for a while, without coming face to face with the other party.

In the meantime, we have the backing of Viscount Nenus. We can't do anything too spectacular, and if we just keep moving around, the chances of being caught are pretty low.



　Even if they find us, they can't detain us because we're not criminals, and in a world where there's almost no way to communicate instantly with distant places, it's not uncommon for even the smallest contact to take months.

　It's not like we're going to be living on the run for the rest of our lives.

I don't know what's the best thing to do. I don't know what the best thing to do is. In the end, it might be better to stay in Laffan. I'll let you decide that for yourselves.

　That would be ...... right.

　We can ask for advice, but we are the ones who make the decisions, and we are the ones who take responsibility for the results.

　We have a backer, but not a protector.

"It's hard to say, but ...... we could go away for a while.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

　The other day, the escort request gave us a little more confidence, and leaving this town for a while does not seem like a bad choice.

　The quality of life will be a little lower, but we have magic and magic bags. It's not going to get much worse.

　I'm not saying that I'm not running away from the troublesome negotiations, but it would probably be better if I didn't than if I did.

　Besides, it would be a shame to be confined to one region of the world.

　If you think about it, this might have been a good opportunity.

　When Marks saw that we were reasonably enthusiastic, he relaxed his expression as if relieved, sat back down and abruptly changed the subject.

I'm going to have to write up a report on what happened after I get home, but that's a lot of work.　I may have to work overtime for several days to finish it.

"What?　Yes.

But if the ...... wife is in a good mood, she might be in the mood to leave work early and go home.

Hmm?

"On the other hand, if she's in a bad mood, she might work late, which would make her work harder.

"...... I see.

　Understood.

Mr. Marks, I'm sorry to interrupt, but... This dungeon also produces fruit. We can't eat it all by ourselves, so why don't we take it home?　You can feed them to your wife.

"Yeah, I'll take as much as I can...



　She was about to say something, but Mary quickly stopped her.

"Oh, are you sure?

"Yes, Mr. Marks, and by extension his wife, who graciously gave me a ride home, so I'm sharing.

　I smiled at him and he smiled back.

Thank you. I'm going to be away from home for a little while. Thank you. --By the way, on a different note, it's going to be about six months before the report I wrote up reaches headquarters.

　After finishing the conversation with a smile, Marks and I clasped hands.
　Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that.

　We were simply sharing a rare fruit, which is hard to find around here, with someone we know.