第１４１２堀：追加人員 (Part1)
**Chapter 1412: Additional Personnel**
**Additional Personnel**
**Side: Fiora**
Before me lies a mountain of documents—a mountain, a mountain, and yet another mountain.
Each page is etched with an exhaustive density of text.
My eyes have begun to ache, so I pinch the bridge of my nose and rub them.
"Phew."
I tear my gaze away from the letters, reach for my coffee to catch my breath, and check on how the others are faring.
"..." "..." "..."
Orelia, Yayui, and Hovis are all slumped over their desks, documents scattered beside them.
Even though we’ve grown accustomed to paperwork, this current batch is classified as investigative material, so it’s clearly taking a toll on them.
I shift my gaze.
"Yaaawn. Hmm, this one... questionable. This one is a no. This one requires further investigation."
Nina-dono, despite looking sleepy, shows no signs of slowing down her pace.
As expected of someone for whom this kind of work is not just a strength, but a former specialty.
"..."
In contrast, Prof—who manages Weed’s information division—is accustomed to this sort of clerical labor and continues to organize the files in silence.
However, we have been at this for three days now, and there is no end in sight.
In truth, we’ve been stepping out to verify promising leads, which counts as a change of pace, but because those outings take time, the paperwork never finishes, and the verification process never truly concludes.
Before I knew it, the group heading to the Suurus Kingdom had already departed for their investigation of the western town today.
It is frustrating that while the situation over there is beginning to stir, we remain at a standstill here.
Still, this is the nature of any investigation.
You are searching for the truth amidst a sea of information.
It is like trying to find a single grain of sand in a desert or a single blade of grass in a vast meadow.
It was never going to be easy.
How much longer must we continue this...?
Even though I know the answer is "until the truth is found," I find myself trying to escape reality for a moment, lost in the sheer scale of the task.
"Yo. How’s it going?"
"Yuki-sama!?"
Yuki-sama has poked his head into the office.
We scramble to stand up to greet him, but...
"Ah, stay as you are. You’re in the middle of work, after all."
Yuki-sama doesn't seem concerned with our working conditions and takes a seat.
"Um, you’ve been returning in the afternoons quite often lately. Is everything alright with the kings of the various nations?"
It is true that I was surprised to see him return, but lately, he has been coming back by the afternoon more frequently.
Today, he arrived even earlier, before noon.
"Yeah, there haven't been any major developments. I’m heading to the western town today, so tomorrow might be a bit long, but otherwise, it’s mostly just negotiations within the alliance or matters regarding the International Exchange School."
His words remind me.
Before the Suurus incident occurred, we were coordinating with various nations to operate the International Exchange School. The school had finally opened, and we were just on the verge of launching an investigation into the rare species.
"The school? Ah, right, Yuki was doing that. Was there some kind of problem?"
"No, the school itself is fine. The reports say the exchange students are enjoying themselves, sharing stories about their respective environments and learning the common manners of Weed. There haven't been any incidents to speak of. It’s peaceful. The immigrants and temporary residents who came along with the students are also well-behaved. That’s thanks to Prof."
"No, it is not just me. Regarding the school, it is thanks to the wives, the teachers, and the cooperation of the students. As for the new residents, it is due to their own willingness to cooperate, the hard work of the staff, and the support of the police and military in strengthening security."
Prof deflects Yuki-sama’s praise, attributing it to everyone else without missing a beat.
She really is quite impressive when she’s working.
"Then, why is the school being brought up in your talks?"
Nina-dono’s question brings me back to the main point. Yuki-sama did indeed mention that his discussions with the other kings involved the school.
But from what I hear, there are no issues with the school’s operation or the immigrants.
"It’s about adding to the curriculum."
"Adding?"
"Right. Currently, we’re focusing on common manners within the alliance, general knowledge, the differences in magical power across continents, the presence of monsters, and so on. The talk is about whether we should open up practical or specialized fields."
"Specialized fields?"
"Yeah. They’re asking for things like medicine, magic, magi-engineering, science, combat, group tactics, war strategy, agriculture—the list goes on. Mostly things along those lines."
"Ah..."
Yuki-sama’s words bring a sudden, grim understanding.
To other nations, those fields are a treasure trove of technology they would give anything to possess.
After all, the root of Weed’s technology and knowledge comes from Earth.
It is the culmination of over 5,000 years of history, including the pre-common era, and countless technological revolutions.
If they could learn all of that in just a decade or so by begging Weed for instruction, it’s no wonder they would covet it.
It would lead to the development of their own nations, no matter how you look at it.
Still...
"I understand their feelings, but teaching it so easily is another matter."
"True. The knowledge Yuki possesses from Earth can be a poison. Especially the war-related technology—that’s something we should avoid."
As Nina-dono says this, we all nod in agreement.
"Unfortunately, I believe this world of Alorito is still too mentally immature to handle firearms."
I speak my mind plainly.
Technology for weapons of war—guns, cannons, missiles, tanks—seems unnecessary for stability, and there is no way they could manage them responsibly.
Fools would inevitably misunderstand their purpose and cause harm to other nations, and we would have to live in fear of assassinations.
"Well, that’s the concern, so it’s not about weapons, but rather the philosophy of war."
"That kind of thing? Even so, that is a difficult conversation. It would lead to Weed’s own strategies being deciphered."
As Prof says, the lessons learned from Earth’s wars are similar to Weed’s own.
Or rather, we use them as a reference.
After all, given our personnel constraints, we cannot possibly maintain a massive territory.
Pointless expansion only breeds resentment, and stabilization takes too much time.
Leaving things as they are and having those countries stabilize themselves is truly the most rational approach.
Working backward from that, their weaknesses would surely be exposed.
Well, we are moving to cover those weaknesses, but there is no need to actively advertise them.