第１５８８堀：さあ次の仕事がドンドンくる (Part1)
Chapter 1588: The Next Job Keeps Rolling In
Side: Jessica
After concluding the activity report for Hinsua and announcing the upcoming port development plan, the members of Weed returned to the conference room in the General Government Building. There, I found Eris, Ratz, and Milly slumped over their desks.
Well, the port development plan—which is, behind the scenes, a plan to track down the Dark Guild—had been approved without a hitch. Normally, this would be cause for celebration, but the aftermath was proving to be more than we bargained for.
"Yes. Here are the funds, supplies, and other materials we can provide from Enaria~"
"And these are the documents from Roday."
"Why do I have to... Ah, here’s the stuff from White Forest."
As they spoke, the representatives of each nation—or rather, the members who are Yuki’s wives—kept piling documents onto the three of them.
I felt a pang of guilt as I realized I had to join in, but I had been instructed to hand over my reports, so I couldn't refuse.
"Um... here are the materials from Zilba."
I handed them over, feeling deeply apologetic. Or rather, "piling them onto the already mountainous stack" would be more accurate.
Why had it come to this?
"Haa... everyone was surprisingly enthusiastic, weren't they?"
"Yes, it’s shocking. To think they’d prepare lists of available funds, supplies, and even technical knowledge in such a short time."
"I suppose it was worth telling them in advance, but my eyes are hurting just as much as those three’s."
Seraria sighed, her gaze fixed on the mountain of paperwork, while Qual picked up a document and flipped through it. Yuki, too, was squinting at one of the reports, much like Qual.
The items listed were indeed vast and varied. In short, everyone in the room was troubled by how to manage the sheer volume of support we had received.
"If I could just use it all freely out of pure goodwill, it would be easy," Yuki said with a wry smile. But Kagura, narrowing her eyes, countered him.
"Goodwill is goodwill, Yuki. They’re supporting the coastal survey and port construction plans, but they want a cut of the profits that will arise afterward."
She was right. They were undoubtedly providing funds and supplies out of goodwill—with an eye toward future development. And, of course, with the implication that if anything profitable came up, we should send it their way.
In the exchange of money and goods between nations, there is no such thing as "free." If you return evil for good, you lose the trust of the nation. But at the same time...
"And just sending it all back isn't an option, either..."
"As I’m sure you realize, Yuki-sama, that is out of the question. You cannot simply return the goodwill offered to you."
As Samantha said, returning the supplies without a valid reason would be meaningless.
"Still, usually, new projects like this struggle with a lack of funds and supplies... I never imagined the opposite would be the case."
When I said that, everyone nodded. New ventures are built on the assumption of failure, and they usually consume vast amounts of budget and resources. To invest in such a thing implies either that they see great potential or that they trust us implicitly...
"Well, as for that, it’s thanks to Yuki’s track record so far~"
"I agree with Agil on that. You’ve shown them too much success. Well, isn't it better than having nothing?"
Agil and Comet, the researchers, said that the current situation was still manageable. It was true; it was better than having nothing. We could have been opposed and obstructed, so considering that, this was certainly preferable.
"If you've reached a conclusion, you should hurry up and scrutinize the contents of what's been provided, decide how to utilize it, set limits, and figure out the thank-you gifts," Nina, who had been dispatched from the Holy Sword group, stated.
She was right. Staring at the mountain of documents wouldn't get anything started.
"Haa... Nina is right. Come on, you two, lift your heads."
Milly finally raised her head and called out to the other two, who then slowly lifted theirs. Their expressions, however, were far from pleasant.
"We have to discuss how to manage the funds from each country, and we need to create a new department for coastal surveys and port development, and build a treasury..."
"And when it comes to the supplies, the quality varies wildly~ Honestly, I’d prefer if Weed just prepared everything ourselves... but that’s not going to happen, is it..."
Yeah, just hearing the gist of it gave me a headache. But I had a small question.
"Milly, doesn't this have little to do with you regarding money and supplies?"
That’s right; Milly is the representative of the Adventurer District, so she shouldn't be involved in the finances or logistics handled by the accounting and commercial departments.
"Ah, I’m just assisting those two. Well, of course, the Adventurer Guild is heavily involved in this funding and supply provision. The reality of the sea monsters is something we really want to know, and the dispatch of personnel is practically a done deal."
"I see. So that’s how it is."
It’s true that the monster damage in the Logari Continent is overwhelming compared to other continents. Well, considering we have dragons like Gaul-dono and Coral-dono, that’s to be expected.
"Besides, these two have jobs as deputy representatives, and more than anything, they’re also serving as the principal and vice-principal of the academy~"
"Fufufu... we really must crush the Dark Guild."
"Yes... increasing our workload and trying to kill us with paperwork... that is absolutely unforgivable~"
Hmm, what they were saying felt both right and wrong, but no matter what they said, their workload wasn't going to decrease.
"So, how do you intend to handle this provision of funds and supplies? And what about the route for the coastal survey?"
As Seraria said, even if we organized the documents, we couldn't move forward without deciding how to handle them and how to distribute the profits once the port was built.
"Ah, as for the provided goods, we’ll distribute them equally. If we start weighing them by amount, it’ll create a hierarchy, and that could lead to trouble between the nations. As for the coastal survey route, I’m thinking of asking Roschur."
"Well, that’s the only way to handle the funds and supplies. And the reason for the route?"
"Well, from our hidden perspective, we should move from Litea—no, from Hinsua toward the sea, but if we do that, they might realize we’re tracking them. This is a business, after all. I don’t want them to hide, so I’m thinking of asking Roschur, where we have Weed stationed. What do you think?"
It’s true that if we moved openly toward the coast from Litea, it would likely raise suspicion. That’s what I thought, but...
"I understand your intention, Yuki-sama, but I think starting from Litea would actually be fine."
"Stasia, what’s your reasoning?"