"We need to sort this out then. Let me know the current situation, what measures you've tried and what else can be done?" I needed to find out as soon as possible in order to get results.
I even considered using a worse one, but after some calculations it became clear that the best thing that could be done was to solve this problem. They were just insects anyway...
"We've basically tried everything, they're extremely resistant to insecticides and even magic can't get rid of them. Fire doesn't even scare them and they can eat anything."
"We've also tried using other parasitic insects and common animals that feed on insects to try and get around the situation, but to no avail. All the usual measures have been used and now we're at a dead end." I watched her for a few seconds, hoping she'd give me some information...
Demeter had nothing more to say and wasn't hiding anything, which I found strange at first. I mean, the answer to all the problems seemed rather simple at first, and obvious.
I looked at the three girls around me, who were a bit miffed at the thought of abandoning the idea and trying something worse. I looked at them confused.
They noticed my strange face and stared at me like some kind of alien. It was obvious, wasn't it, you'd considered something like that yourselves, you'd just talked about it...
"Maybe we should hire an alchemist or maybe a wizard to sort it out." Charlotte was the first to speak and everyone looked at her sighing as if it was the right answer, even though it was expensive and slow.
This brat was trying to get in the way of my business, it was going to take too long. And although I had an interest in it, Demeter would reconsider everything if things got any more complicated.
These insects came from inside the dungeon, so it stands to reason that the ecosystem in which they live would provide the solution to this problem. No animal grows unchecked in its own habitat.
If there are lots of them, there will be some form of control, whether by carnivorous plants, parasitic insects or even larger animals. The most obvious solution was to explore the original habitat and find the solution there and bring it back.
To say the least, if they eat everything and easily kill plants, there must be one capable of driving them away with some harmless poison for themselves and larger creatures. It's basic logic!
Am I really going to have to give a botany lesson to the goddess of nature? Are all these gods here like me? Cheap fifth-rate gods who don't know how to look after their own domains?
"Miss Demeter, forgive me if I sound ignorant... but there would not be any population control mechanism in its original habitat?" Demeter was surprised by my question, as if she hadn't expected it at all. Did I really say something stupid?
"Of course, there are some species that prey on it like any other..." She continued watching me without connecting the dots...
"Sorry, I must be wrong, but wouldn't you just bring them here and breed them?" She raised an eyebrow, not even considering what I'd said. What I'd said seemed really absurd.
"The guild would never allow us to bring dungeon monsters here on purpose, I can't imagine what they'd do if they found out this plague was spreading."
"We entered the dungeon to kill monsters, not create them. These creatures have killed too many people in the past for us to simply forget..." She was a goddess who had been here a long time; she had certainly lost some of her own to the creatures. Their mixed feelings clouded her thoughts.
"All the more so considering that it could easily result in an ecological disaster." Reason still spoke a little, but it was still biased.
So that was the problem... well, these creatures were small and already a big problem. Something bigger could be just as dangerous. Dangerous, right... Ignorance was always as dangerous as limiting beliefs.
I didn't come to this world to limit myself to other people's ridiculous beliefs, if there was a solution I needed to solve it. The guild wouldn't let me according to her and I don't think she'd help me talk about it either. Let's push the issue a little and see how she reacts.
"Persephone, I think you know better the size of the disaster. How screwed up is Orario as a whole?" She was startled by the question. Orario was fed by this Familia and would have a lot of problems if this plague spread.
As far as anyone knew, it was contained within the farms for convenience. If these creatures spread to the city, the problem would escalate steadily, perhaps spreading to the whole world without difficulty.Like grasshoppers have done a few times.
"It's definitely a threat on the level of a calamity, although small at the moment the populations will grow exponentially. When it gets to that point, many people will simply starve to death, both inside and outside the Familias."
Demeter, next to me, was nibbling her lips in thought. Her thoughts wandered without knowing quite where to go. She had some knowledge and wisdom of her own.
Charlotte and I may not have understood much about the countryside, so the problem wasn't so daunting, but for Persephone, who did, it was a calamity, and for Demeter, who was the most experienced, only the worst-case scenario persisted in her mind.
The scenario of everyone starving to death in front of her, the other Familias declaring war on her because of her bad decisions that led to everyone's death. The gods who, even in heaven, would remember the misfortune she had brought upon them all.
Perhaps this was the reason why she would no longer be remembered as the goddess of Nature, but as the goddess of plagues? For her, the future looked bleak in the extreme.
"We can't involve the guild in this or I'll suffer some sanctions.Let's leave the matter between us, the gods and our children." That was better.
"We can't do things anyway and in the end I wouldn't be able to control monsters, the best way to deal with this would be to talk to Ganesha. He must have some monsters that can help us and he can keep them under control."
"The only problem is that he and Ouranos, the guild god, are very close."