Book 5: Volume 4 Chapter 14, Activation!

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

Haino arrived at the branch to find one of his staff waiting for him just inside the door. It was his closest associate: the person he’d come to rely on most in the day-to-day running of the Smith Kingdom branch. Given that passing through a teleportation gate required communication from the other side, word of Haino’s return had almost certainly arrived before he did.

 

The associate opened his mouth to speak.

 

Haino raised a hand.

 

“I already know the situation. What’s it like now?”

 

The associate blinked. He had clearly not expected this question, but he quickly recovered .

 

“The numbers have grown. It hasn’t calmed down. And it looks like there’s active incitement involved.”

 

“…I see.”

 

The branch had already begun to suspect as much. What had at first seemed like a spontaneous grievance had taken on a different texture over time. There was something deliberate in the way the crowd moved. It was too coordinated. They had looked into it, and found what they had half-expected to find.

 

“Have there been any acts of violence?”

 

“Not yet. But it could shift at any moment.”

 

Haino was quiet for only a moment before reaching a decision.

 

In principle, Crown, like the adventurer’s guild, adhered to a policy of non-intervention when disputes arose between adventurers. It wasn’t their place to step in. But that principle assumed a certain kind of ordinary conflict, and this was not that.

 

Even when Kousuke had been observing earlier, the scale and tension of the gathering had been the kind that would ordinarily bring the Knights of the Kingdom into the street. The reason they hadn’t appeared yet was almost certainly because the branch sat outside the city walls, and no actual damage had occurred.

 

But if the Knights did eventually come, there was every chance they would use it as an opening. The dispute nominally centered on the teleportation gate fees. It wouldn’t take much to frame Crown’s inaction as complicity, and from there, the grounds for intervention in the branch’s operations would be easy enough to construct.

 

Preventing that was the priority.

 

Haino bypassed the main floor and walked toward his office. His associate fell into step beside him.

 

“Where are you going, branch chief?”

 

“My office. There’s something I need to do.” He didn’t slow his pace. “Tell our adventurers to stop bickering outside and come inside the building.”

 

“But… yes, sir.”

 

The associate hesitated only briefly. He could not see how that alone would resolve anything, but he trusted that Haino had a plan and did as he was told.

 

Haino continued on, through his office and into the private room beyond it, accessible only to him. There, he activated the function Gazeran had mentioned.

 

It had been designed for emergencies. Monster attacks, primarily. But the language of its purpose was broad enough that this qualified.

 

He could not see what happened. The room had no windows, but the moment the activation completed, the effect was immediate. The entire exterior of the building became encased in a faint, bluish film that shimmered in the afternoon light.

 

Outside, the shouting wavered. Even those who had been ignoring the staff’s instructions found themselves pausing.

 

Then a voice rang out across the street. It was Haino’s voice, projected through the branch’s megaphone device.

 

“This is Haino, the branch chief. I have a message for those gathered outside.”

 

He paused for just a moment.

 

“Regarding the handling of the teleportation gate, my position remains as previously stated. No dispute will alter the terms. If you find the fee unsatisfactory, Crown membership remains open to you. I would encourage you to consider it.”

 

Another pause.

 

“To those causing further disruption: I will not hesitate to report this gathering to the Knights’ Order as a coordinated attempted assault on Crown property. To Crown members currently present, please enter the building immediately. Anyone who continues to participate in this disturbance may be subject to expulsion at my discretion.”

 

The declaration hung in the air.

 

One by one, the adventurers belonging to Crown exchanged glances and began moving toward the building. The threat of expulsion held weight. No one dared to test it. Even those who had been closest to the confrontation a moment before passed through the blue membrane without resistance.

 

Nothing happened when they crossed it.

 

Then, someone who did not belong to Crown. Someone without a Crown card stepped forward and tried to walk through.

 

A sharp crackling sound, and the person stumbled backward with a yelp.

 

“What the hell is this!?”

 

The Crown adventurers already inside turned to watch. Even those who had come from the Central Continent, and had served with Crown for years, had never seen the device in use before.

 

Haino’s voice returned.

 

“I have activated the protective function of this building. Until further notice, entry is restricted to Crown members only. Those who wish to apply for membership are welcome to wait outside for the time being.” A brief pause. “And please understand that any attempt to force entry will be treated as an act of aggression against Crown.”

 

That was the last he said.

 

The energy outside had nowhere left to go. The Crown-affiliated adventurers were inside. The protection was active. Threatening the building with magic or other force would only bring the Knights.

 

Naturally, the Knights would not be sympathetic to the aggressors.

 

The crowd understood this, even if no one said it aloud. The anger that had been building throughout the day was still there, but it pressed against something immovable and eventually, quietly, began to dissolve.

 

Some remained for a time. A few tried the membrane again, with the same result. But one by one they drifted away, and in the end, even those who had been orchestrating the whole thing from within the crowd turned and left.

 

They had thought things were going well up to a point. Crown’s response had not been what they anticipated.

 

Keeping their pace measured and unremarkable, trying not to draw attention, they made their way back toward the place they had come from.

 

They had no idea that something was following them.

 

The creature keeping pace a short distance behind and looked like nothing more than a pet dog on the loose.