TENKEN 664 The Commitment for Gordisia

「I have a solution for you. Why don't you take one of the requests from the academy?」

「Request?」

『Depends on the details』

Apparently, the value of a set of Heavenly Dragon's materials is well over 50 million goldes. I wonder what kind of request that could cover the shortage?

It must not be an easy request.

「You two, do you know what the Commitment for Gordisia is?」

「??」

『No, I don't know. I understand that it must have something to do with Gordisia, but…』

「Well, to put it simply, it's a treaty imposed on each country to deploy troops and aid to the continent of Gordisia」

In the continent of Gordisia, the fight against the Abyss Eaters, the abominable magic beast created by Trismegistus is still ongoing.

Well, I've only heard about it through rumor, so I don't really know what kind of fight it is.

Countries all over the world were providing various kinds of assistance to the fight. Some countries dispatched troops, some provided supplies, and some were in charge of transportation. Each country is doing what it can do to help.

This assistance is called 『The Commitment for Gordisia』 and is said to be mandatory for all countries of the world. There are various penalties for abandoning this duty, and in the worst cases, it can even lead to war with neighboring countries.

In fact, there was an incident in which a country that ignored its Commitment to Gordisia and attacked a neighboring country that was sending troops to Gordisia was later destroyed by the allied forces of neighboring countries.

The Commitment for Gordisia is necessary in order to protect the world. Therefore, the sanctions are said to be quite severe so that the perception that it is okay to ignore them does not arise.

Since even the Kingdom of Raidos has never neglected to provide their assistance to the continent of Gordisia, it can be said that its compelling power is rather great.

「The Kingdom of Belios usually provides financial aid and ships for transportation. We also dispatch some hired adventurers. In some cases, I'll even travel there myself. But…」

『It is gonna be hard to give them financial aid or sending troops this time, huh? Weena still can't go there with her current condition too…』

「That's right. We'll be the ones to take care of it this year or next. But this incident has caused a ridiculous amount of damage to us」

「This year or next year?」

『Well, that's certainly gonna be tough』

「I can handle the financial stuff. But our troops areother events…」

We will need as much labor as possible for the reconstruction. Besides, it would be unacceptable to send the dwindling number of adventurers out of the country.

But even if we wait until next year, we will not see a dramatic recovery.

「The government is allowed to reduce or delay its aids if there is a serious disaster or other event that reduces the country's strength. But we want to make that as a last resort」

By showing weakness to other countries, the influence of the Kingdom of Belios will be diminished.

It's a political thing that feels trivial to most of us, but I guess it's something that the higher-ups in the country can't ignore.

『So you're telling me that you want Fran to go to Gordisia as a representative of the Kingdom of Belios?』

「That's right. Well, you'll also be representing the Academy of Magic, so you'll be paid by both the academy and the state」

In other words, as a representative of the Academy of magic, I guess it means that we should cross over to the continent of Gordisia together with the other people sent from the Kingdom of Belios.

『Hmm. We did have a plan to go to Gordisia someday, but…』

The idea of carrying a whole country on our shoulders makes me nervous. I mean, I'm with Fran, remember? She doesn’t have a problem in terms of her combat ability, but I can't promise that she won't ever cause problems there.

As her guardian, I was not a fan of leaving such important responsibilities in Fran's hands.

When I told her this, Weena shrugged lightly.

「Let me assure you, you don't have to take the formal parts there」

I imagined that we would be joining the troops, and that we would be on a strict battlefield where orders must be obeyed, but it seems that the place is much more lax.

However, it seems that each individual is allowed to act freely once they arrive in Gordisia. It also seems that all country does not have any control over that continent. Well, for small countries, they have no choice but to follow the orders of the big countries though.

「And I don't think anyone would dare to try to force an impossible task on a Representative for the Kingdom of Belios with my backing」

There is a special magic tool that allows people to track the results of their battles within the continent by registering on it when they enter the continent. If Fran fights against the Abyssal Eaters to some extent, it will be treated as if the Kingdom of Belios has fulfilled its duty.

「In other words, my request to you is to travel to the continent of Gordisia as an adventurer sent by the Kingdom of Belios, and then go on a moderate rampage there」

『I see… By the way, how strong the Abyss Eater is?』

I've heard that it can infinitely regenerate itself, but there's not much other information about it. From what I've heard from the ordinary soldiers fighting them, I'd say it doesn't seem like it has that much combat power, but…

「It's kind of hard to explain though――」

Weena then told us a brief description of it.

First of all, the Abyss Eater is said to look like a colorless, transparent slime. It is also said to look like a slime ghost.

Moreover, it is so huge that it covers the entire continent.

What's more, the inside of the dome-shaped barrier covering the whole continent of Gordisia is said to be filled with Abyss Eaters.

I imagined it as a place with a translucent dome with the Abyss Eaters tightly crammed inside. It seems to be just like that.

『Eh? But we have to get inside the barrier to fight, right?』

「Yeah」

『Wouldn't that mean we'd be stepping into the Abyss Eater’s body? Isn't that dangerous? And what about the air?』

「Abyss Eaters are a half-spirit magic beast. You can't physically touch it. It's kinda similar to a spirit. The Abyss Eater itself is not harmful to us even if we are inside its body」

『But if that's the case, it doesn't sound like a dangerous magic beast, right?』

「That's not quite right. The Abyss Eater itself has no offensive power. It just simply stays there. But the magic beasts that the Abyss Eater create within its body are different. They attack, eat, and continuously send their power to the Abyss Eater」

『So it was the source of the endless flow of magic beasts, huh? In other words, the job is not to deal with the Abyss Eaters but to defeat the magic beasts that are constantly being created by it, huh?』

「That's right. The magic beasts that are created in Abyss Eater's body are actually its defensive mechanism. They're called with Kouma there, I want you to defeat as many of them there. Once you've managed to defeat a certain number of them, you're free to do whatever you want」

We were planning to go to the continent of Gordisia anyway, and if we went there, we would inevitably have to fight against those magic beasts. And I'm grateful if that's all it takes to complete the request.

「And the benefit of accepting this request isn't just the reward, you know?」

『What do you mean?』

「There are a lot of restrictions and quotas if you want to go to the continent of Gordisia as a regular traveler. But if you're going to Gordisia on my request, I'll prepare the groundwork for you, and you'll be able to enter smoothly. Moreover, you can act freely without having to worry about being forced to join another country or being interfered with. I guess you could call this an advantage, no?」

「Nn. It's good to be free」

『Well, you're right』

We were going there anyway, so we might as well take the request.