Chapter 47

"Here is the key to your room. Please let us know at the reception when you go out."

It wasn't long before Herian and his party arrived at the inn.

The inn exuded a sense of confidence in its history. In the spacious hall behind the reception, travelers and adventurers, who seemed to be guests, could be seen. It was a scene that would never be seen in a Japanese hotel.

A well-built male innkeeper handed over the room keys. There were three of them: one for Herian and two for his three attendants. It seemed that the inn was almost fully booked, and from the busy movements of the staff, it appeared that they had managed to open one room for them.

The innkeeper, who was embarrassed that the top-tier rooms were fully booked, was told by Herian not to worry about it. It seemed that the suites, which were used mainly by nobles and wealthy merchants, were not of interest to him. In fact, in terms of getting a feel for life in this city, ordinary rooms would be more convenient.

“Do you have any plans for bathing?”

“... Does this inn have bathing facilities?”

“Yes, that's one of our prides. Many of our guests are very satisfied with them. Since we need to coordinate with other guests, we have a reservation system where you decide your own usage time, but fortunately, there is one slot available.”

It seemed that the secret to the popularity that the border lord had mentioned was this.

The innkeeper, with a friendly expression, recommended it with the words, "How about it?" Whether the slot was coincidentally available or reserved for them because of the letter of introduction, it was probably the latter.

Herian looked at the price list on the reception desk. The text written there—perhaps as a result of the high-level language analysis mechanism interpreting it conceptually—appeared to him as the [Common Language] in *Tactics Chronicle*. The prices listed were not cheap, but they were not excessively high either.

“Well, since we’re here, I might as well use it.”

When he placed a large silver coin on the counter, it was returned with the words, “There’s no need for that.” Not wanting to repeat the same exchange as with the room fee, he replied, “Then I’ll take you up on your offer just this once,” and put it back in his pocket.

He was then handed a card with the time slot written on it. This card was to be inserted in a designated place when using the bath to indicate that it was in use. It was a simple yet well-thought-out system to prevent trouble.

Climbing the creaking wooden stairs, he found the room number at the end of the corridor. He unlocked the door with the key he had received and entered the first room with all four of them.

“... Hmm.”

The room was a bit cramped, but it was more decent than he had imagined.

The two beds by the window were neatly made, and the white sheets gave a sense of cleanliness. The basic furnishings were also in place. As a room for a simple traveling merchant, it was probably in the upper class.

Herian entered the room and sat down on the bed.

The sense of accomplishment from finally arriving and the fatigue in his legs made him want to lie down, but he restrained himself, remembering that his subordinates were present. It wasn’t time to let his guard down yet.

He was about to mentally instruct Selis to cast a soundproof barrier but failed. Was it due to fatigue? It seemed that the precision of his brain waves for mental operations was off. Having no choice, he gave the <instruction> directly.

The barrier was immediately deployed, and the room became a temporarily soundproofed, enclosed space. It might be overcautious, but it was important to be doubly cautious. With the worry of conversations leaking gone, Herian spoke freely.

“—Well, there were some unexpected events, but we’ve finally arrived in the city. First, I want to commend you all for the journey here.”

He switched on the “King of Demons” mode in his mind.

Then, in front of his subordinates, he crossed his legs and, with the awareness of the king-like demeanor honed through years of role-playing, spoke words of encouragement.

He couldn’t switch as smoothly as Lilifa, but he had to be able to do so someday. There was no other way but to accumulate practical experience in such situations.

“Ha. Thank you very much, my lord.”

The three subordinates correctly recognized that the Herian present here was the king. Led by Rieve, they knelt and bowed their heads.

“Good, rise. Now, let’s get down to business. The agenda is to reconfirm our immediate activities and share the information we’ve gathered so far.”

Recalling the content of the lectures and presentation theories he had learned at university, he began. First, he presented the agenda and aligned the recognition. Additionally, he made it clear that this was a place for information sharing, not a place for discussion.

“First, about our activities in this city. As we discussed in the audience chamber, we set out from the country to this city to obtain a foothold for a full-scale investigation of this world.”

The three subordinates listened silently to Herian’s words.

... He omitted his personal goal of wanting to practice negotiations as a fake merchant where mistakes were allowed. There was no need to say it, and it would undermine his dignity.

“Then, what is our tactical objective in this city? Rieve, I want to hear your understanding.”

“Ha. Our immediate key objectives are threefold: the installation of a transfer gate, the acquisition of a facility to conceal it, and the investigation of the city’s military strength.”

He nodded in agreement with the answer given without hesitation.

Instead of the chairman talking unilaterally, by encouraging participants to speak, it emphasizes their sense of involvement and reinforces their awareness by having them state the answers themselves. It’s a basic technique, but there’s no better orthodox approach. Or so it should be.

“Next, Selis. To install a [Transfer Gate], a certain percentage of [Dominion] is required. What activities will we undertake to achieve this?”

“Basically, we will gain [Dominion] through the power that His Majesty exerts in this land.”

This referred to the time bonus gained by the king’s presence in the area.

This had already been confirmed to function without problems in the capital of Alkymaira, Agartha.

The time bonus is judged every twenty-four hours, and the acquisition of dominion through this is output to the <Record>. Checking the <Record>, the text indicating the successful acquisition of [Dominion] was clearly displayed.

“Additionally, we will conduct experiments to see if [Dominion] can be gained by influencing the economy, culture, and the local population.”

“Specifically?”

“Yes. First, we will disguise ourselves as traveling merchants and conduct negotiations to see how much [Dominion] we can gain by influencing the economy, and whether it is possible at all. In the future, we will change our position from traveling merchants to city merchants and acquire a store as a facility to conceal the [Transfer Gate].”

He nodded in agreement.

A regular house would suffice to hide the transfer gate, but once the transfer was put to use, a considerable number of people would come and go. Considering this, it would be more convenient to disguise it as a store.

Additionally, by firmly establishing himself as a city merchant, he hoped to gather various information from the merchant’s unique information network. However, this could be done after the base was set up, so he omitted it for now.

But while it might be trivial, Selis was serious about changing the way she addressed him. Her [Character Traits] included a few somewhat troublesome ones, such as [Twisted], but so far, no such tendencies had been observed. Whether this was a good or bad thing was difficult to determine.

“Finally, Galdy. What is the purpose of investigating the city’s military strength? And please describe the specific activities involved.”

“Hey. First, the purpose is to confirm whether there are any powerful individuals who pose a threat to us. Noblewood was all talk and nothing to worry about, but we need to evaluate the human forces that defeated them.”

The general, who was used to giving a blunt tone, received a sharp look from the commander, but he seemed oblivious. Well, it was too late for that. The fifth legion commander, a thoroughbred, was this kind of subordinate. He would properly change his attitude and tone when necessary, so Herian was fine with it.

“And this city is one of the leading military strongholds in the human domain, and it has recently been reinforced with powerful individuals... the top-tier guerrilla forces of humanity, known as ‘adventurers.’ We need to gauge their strength.”

“Hmm. That’s about right.”

The point was to verify whether Alkymaira had an absolute military advantage in this world. While he had a certain expectation, a cautious approach was necessary.

“If possible, I would also like to gauge the strength of the elite units of the Border Knights and the top-ranked adventurers... but it seems they are currently stationed at the front-line fortresses. This was an oversight, but there’s nothing we can do about it. For now, we will gauge the strength of the adventurers staying in this city. If we can determine the average and the upper limit, that will be sufficient.”

Other potential major threats included ominous beings such as ‘demons’ and ‘demons,’ but a thorough investigation of these would have to wait until a solid base was established. First, it was essential to confirm the presence or absence of threats in the human domain.

“Next, we will share the information we have gathered so far. First, we had our initial contact with humans, so let’s hear your impressions. From here on, everyone is free to speak. Speak freely.”

“What do you mean by ‘impressions’?”

“Anything. This is the first time you’ve met humans, isn’t it, apart from me and the kings of other countries? What did you think of the humans you actually saw? I want to hear that.”

When he asked, the three subordinates exchanged glances.

After a moment, Rieve spoke up.

“From a combat perspective, their fighting ability was far below our expectations. Of course, we were cautious and aimed for a swift annihilation... but the fact that they were all wiped out without activating any of the special abilities they were supposed to have was unexpected.”

This was his impression from the battle with the bandits.

Starting with the combat ability was a very monster-like observation.

However, one word caught his attention.

Herian frowned and asked.

“What do you mean by ‘special abilities’? I didn’t see anything like that in the <Character Information>... or, rather, in the information I have access to.”

“No, we didn’t actually confirm it, but... before we set out, the three of us conducted an examination of human abilities. Based on the conclusions we reached, we judged that they possess several abilities as a race.”

“... Hmm?”

He knew they had spent a long time in the meeting room, but he didn’t know the content.

Perhaps they had used the adventurers who visited Lastwood as a reference.

“Of course, I swear we had no intention of probing into your abilities, my lord. I have strongly impressed this upon these two as well. However, in an unknown field, to ensure your safety, we thought it necessary to examine the humans, who are likely to possess the greatest power. I humbly ask for your understanding.”

“Hmm? No, of course. I understand.”

Rieve spoke anxiously, faster than usual.

Puzzled by his reaction, he recalled that his subordinates saw him as a secret-keeper. The memory of explaining the <Virtual Window> and <Map> to them during the second audience and their surprise came back to him.

... No, wait. Considering that, wasn’t his current behavior like scolding an untrustworthy subordinate who was trying to pry into secrets...?

“Rieve. I repeat, I fully understand. —Do you understand?”

“... Ha, understood!”

Rieve fixed his gaze on the floor and spoke loudly.

Selis and Galdy also followed suit, expressing their compliance.

... Yes. It seems I mishandled the situation. They completely misunderstood it as a reprimand.

But it would be bad to correct it again.

He decided to move on with the conversation.

“Cough. Well, that aside. For reference, could you tell me the conclusions of your examination?”

Encouraging the three kneeling subordinates to at least share their understanding, Rieve, representing the three, began to describe the “human” image held by the commanders—when he finished, Herian couldn’t help but look up to the sky.

—Namely, humans are immortal.

—Namely, they possess the千里眼 (千里眼 means "千里 eye" or "千里 vision," which is a term for clairvoyance or the ability to see things far away) to see all things.

—Namely, they have the ability to convey their will to all beings.

—Namely, they are born with the power to create something from nothing.

（... What kind of monstrous race is this?）

The content was far beyond his imagination.

It was probably based on the player character in *Tactics Chronicle*.

Immortality, because the king’s appearance never changed.

The千里眼 (千里 eye) because he could access various information through the virtual window.

And the ability to convey will to all beings referred to the <instructions> given to the subordinates, and the power to create something from nothing was likely inferred from the <Persistent Summoning> and <Subordinate Creation> used to create monsters.

“Hmm... That’s why you didn’t say a word after entering the border city.”

He now understood why there was a tense atmosphere at the border lord’s mansion.

In essence, they were so wary of humans that they didn’t even have the time to converse. After all, to Rieve and the others, this city must have seemed like a place teeming with mysterious monstrous beings. To them, this city must have appeared as a realm of non-human monsters.

“Well, to put it simply, humans are not that absurd of a race. Basically, they are similar to half-elves. While individuals may have unique abilities, the race as a whole does not possess such extraordinary powers.”

“S-so, that’s the case. No, we were also wondering why Noblewood hadn’t been destroyed despite waging war against such a race...”

Of course, it would be strange.

Humans, who boast in numbers, would be nearly exterminated if each individual possessed such extraordinary abilities.

Especially the千里眼 (千里 eye) and the ability to create something from nothing were in the realm of gods. It was inconceivable that such a ridiculous race could exist.

“So, if that’s the case... do these extraordinary abilities not depend on the human race but are powers possessed by you, my lord?”

“... Well, that’s right. That understanding is fine.”

He nodded in agreement, avoiding the reverent gaze.

Then, a small but definite sigh of admiration reached his ears.

However, as a player of sandbox games, these were common features. While it was true that the abilities he possessed were useful in reality, they were all borrowed and not something he had worked hard to acquire. Being revered in this way made him feel uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat to cover up and moved on.

“I understand the reason for your excessive caution towards humans. It’s better than underestimating them, but excessive caution can lead to trouble. Observe the humans in this city and work to bridge the gap between your expectations and reality. —Next, your impressions of this city.”

＋ ＋ ＋

For about an hour, they discussed the sharing of information and understanding.

Selis reported that a strange barrier spell was laid out in the central district, but since it was not activated, its effects could not be discerned. However, given that it was centered around the border lord’s mansion, it was likely a defensive barrier for the base. While there was no capital barrier, it suggested that the city had some level of preparation as a key location. With no other significant reports, he decided to wrap up the meeting.

“With that, we’ll conclude today’s meeting. It was a tumultuous day, but I hope you all rest well. That’s all.”

He concluded with words of appreciation for the day’s efforts and dismissed the three.

After a while, the sound of doors opening and closing, indicating that they had entered their respective rooms, reached his ears.

He then opened a <Communication Virtual Window> and connected to Eltina in Alkymaira. It was the daily scheduled contact. Receiving the usual response that no major issues had occurred, he went through a few exchanges and ended the communication.

Finally, freed from his duties for the day,