第１０００堀：あれからのウィード (Part2)
"Indeed. Cloche-kun is quite diligent; he’s currently handling audits for the shops that are open and checking on the vendors coming in and out," she replied.
"Wait, isn't that a pretty high-ranking position?"
"Yes. In terms of standing, it’s an organization under our Intelligence Department. We don’t have him doing anything dangerous, though. It’s essentially the same as the 'trash collection' unit that Dressa and the others used to run back in the day to gather information."
"Ah, I remember that unit. Come to think of it, what happened to that..."
"Poni took that over, and she’s running it as a cleaning squad made up of the children," she explained. "Of course, we can't have them getting caught up in the kind of incidents Dressa’s group dealt with, so the adults handle the cleaning in the more dangerous areas."
I see. So things have been changing in that regard as well.
"Anyway, getting back on track, that is how we’ve been accepting immigrants. Naturally, once they obtain citizenship, many of them bring their families over, so the numbers are on an upward trend. Because of that, the vocational training centers we built initially weren't enough, so we’ve been expanding them."
"Well, more people means we need more hands on deck," added another. "Super Ratz is also talking about opening more branches in the residential districts. It’s less about profit and more for the sake of Weed’s residents."
"And it’s not just the residents; thanks to the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance, the number of tourists has increased significantly. Since the population is growing so much, we’re considering expanding the commercial district. Personally, I think we should prioritize building an Ultra Super Public Bath and a specialty ice cream shop."
"Now, Narjia-san, I understand your sentiment, but we can't decide that here. Please submit a formal application later."
"Yes, I know! Next time, I’ll truly create an ice cream paradise!"
As Narjia-san said, with the population growing, it’s only natural that both immigrants and tourists are increasing.
...As for Narjia-san's ambition, that’s outside my jurisdiction, so I’ll keep my mouth shut on whether it gets approved or not.
"And, since Poni’s name came up, how are things with the police? Both tourists and immigrants are increasing, right? How is the crime rate and public order?"
"It’s tough, but we’re managing. Though, we were definitely short-handed during the emergency visit from the Zuraburu Empire the other day."
"That’s right. You can’t just hire any rookie off the street to guard VIPs. Poni was absolutely furious about that," she added.
"...That much is unavoidable."
"Ah, I see. That’s my fault for causing trouble."
So, even if the police can handle routine operations, they’re lacking the manpower for VIP protection.
Well, that makes sense.
Over the past year, the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance has officially kicked off. It’s one thing to guard diplomats, but the heads of the allied nations have started dropping by as if it were a casual stroll.
Training staff to a level capable of handling that kind of security hasn't kept pace. It’s a real headache.
"Well, in those cases, we have no choice but to pull personnel from the Royal Guard."
"We aren't exactly swimming in manpower either," I noted. "But when it comes to being accustomed to VIP protection and knowing how to handle it, the Royal Guard is the only unit that fits. Come to think of it, what’s the status on the request to increase our unit's numbers?"
"I already gave my approval. If it hasn't reached Qual yet, then it must not have passed the screening process, right?"
"...I see. So that’s where the bottleneck is. Well, it’s not like anyone can just become a Royal Guard easily. Hmm, if we’re this short on people, we might need to lower the screening requirements."
It seems the Royal Guard can’t just rapidly increase their numbers either.
"The Monster Army is out of the question, too. It’s not easy to reach the level of Steve and his subordinates. Besides, we aren't even looking to increase the Monster Army’s numbers in the first place."
"If we carelessly increase their size, the other nations will get nervous or start pestering us to dispatch monster units to them," Seraria added.
She’s right. If I were to thoughtlessly expand the Monster Army, it would make the diplomatic situation with other countries quite troublesome. I’ve even heard from Steve himself that he’s being scouted by various parties.
Well, considering the tactical advantage of utilizing monsters as a military force, that’s a natural reaction from them.
We’ll just have to make do with what we have for now.
"So, my dear. Despite various issues like these, Weed is being managed without any fatal errors."
"It certainly seems so. The successors are growing into their roles, so I’ll leave more to them in the future..."
I said, shifting my gaze toward Samantha and the others.
"Now, let’s move on to diplomacy."
I need to confirm how the various countries are moving now that the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance has begun.