第１６４２堀：簡単に増やせるとは言えない現状 (Part1)
Chapter 1642: A Current Reality That Cannot Be Easily Expanded
Side: Mikos
"Um, if you want the details, where should I start? You said you met with Dressa-chan, so you already understand that we’re short on numbers, right?"
Aslin is looking to Yuki-sensei for guidance on where to begin her explanation.
Though she currently appears as a child, in reality, she has reached the age of a young girl—just a bit smaller than me.
Well, her friends Labyris and Firia have their own personal reasons for not growing or aging, and Aslin chooses to maintain this appearance primarily for that reason.
Of course, she’s perfectly capable at her job, and she functions just fine in her grown-up form as well, so it’s not really an issue.
But putting that aside, here is how Yuki-sensei responds to Aslin’s question...
"All I know is that you're struggling to manage even the current 500-meter territorial waters. I don't actually grasp how many monster units are currently active out there."
"Oh? Didn't you get a report from Steve?"
"Ah, lately I’ve been tied up with the Dark Guild and town affairs, so I’ve left the staff work to Steve. Should I have heard it from him?"
That’s a surprisingly sharp observation.
It sounds like he’s admitting to a bit of dereliction of duty on his part.
After all, Yuki-sensei is, in theory, the commander-in-chief of the monster army.
Though, as he just said, Steve and the others have been handling the day-to-day, and Yuki-sensei has been operating separately.
"No, it’s not your fault, Onii-chan. Steve probably judged that the current situation was manageable and didn't feel the need to file a report. Besides, since the army is split between land, air, and sea, maybe it’s just hard to coordinate?"
"That’s likely it. Plus, it’s divided between humans and monsters. Since Steve is also coordinating with the Dark Guild, I suppose the defense of the port town has been left entirely to Dressa and Aslin."
Ah, I see.
It’s not entirely Steve’s fault for not reporting to Yuki-sensei; it’s only natural that they’d be understaffed everywhere as the army expands, and they’re already moving to increase the number of troops.
"I think that’s probably it. Besides, the increase in personnel is being handled across the board, so maybe there wasn't a specific need to bring it to me individually?"
"That’s true. I’ve already requested reinforcements for the shortages, so it’s not exactly Aslin’s job to handle that."
So, the reason the report didn't reach Yuki-sensei was that the matter of increasing personnel was a project being led by General Steve.
Well, it would be problematic to just unilaterally increase the staff in Aslin’s sector alone, wouldn't it?
"Dressa wanted more people, but she also didn't want to increase Aslin’s burden, and I’m sure Steve was busy with the overall expansion of the army."
"Yeah, probably. I think the reason she told Onii-chan was because you’re the one who can get the message through to Steve."
"He’s busy over there, too. I suppose it’s better to talk to me directly than to waste time with endless meetings."
Even if you talk to Steve, he’s so busy that—while he wouldn't exactly call it a low priority—it just gets lumped in with the general expansion talks.
And as for the army’s expansion, since the primary objective is the defense of the town, the lines are a bit blurred.
Like, who should be footing the bill, and things like that.
That reminded me of something.
"Hey, Sensei. Sorry to interrupt, but I had a question. Is that okay?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"What is it, Mikos-oneechan?"
"I understand that you’re short-handed for sea patrols and such, and that Steve is having a hard time. But I was thinking—couldn't this be considered part of maintaining public order? So, what’s the situation with the port town’s police? Couldn't they be the ones to handle it? And wouldn't it be better if the public relations activities I’m planning were coordinated between the police and the army, rather than moving separately?"
I asked my question quite normally, but Yuki-sensei froze.
"Eh? Yuki-sensei?"
"Onii-chan?"
When the two of us called out to him, he finally started moving again.
"Come to think of it, what is the status of the police detachment? I heard about the hospital, and Deryu came to the port town partly to act as my bodyguard, but we haven't really been together since then. Jessica has been busy with military consultations and diplomatic affairs... I’ll try contacting them."
Yuki-sensei said this and immediately placed a call.
Deryu-san answered right away.
『What is it, Yuki? Are you feeling lonely?』
"Well, I suppose it is lonely without you, but we haven't been together since the first day, have we? I was wondering about the police situation."
『Ah, yes. I’m still working on that sort of thing, but we’ve been debating who to send to the port town. Or rather, who to transfer. Poni is out of the question, of course.』
"Poni is the head of Weed, so it’s impossible to send her to another land. I see. So, you’re arguing over it."
『Indeed. I went to see the land myself when we were building the government office; it’s clear that even if it’s not on the scale of Weed, it requires a corresponding number of personnel. We can’t just gather that many people overnight. But we can’t just brush it off as impossible, either. We’re currently discussing where to pull people from.』
Yeah, that makes sense.
It’s not like the police have a surplus of people when everyone is understaffed.
"I see. So it’s a problem that precedes the issue of maintaining public order. Or rather, does the port town currently have no police force at all?"
『No, there is a police station itself. But the management and oversight are handled by Weed. It’s a branch office. That said, when a major trouble occurs, the response is delayed, and there’s been talk that we need a local person in charge—a police chief for the port town.』
That’s what I thought.
Even if you build a branch office, if a big problem happens, you have to ask for instructions from the Weed police station, which is just double the work.
"I see. So, talking about increasing staff is still out of the question."
『What are you talking about? We’ve already been increasing staff for this current situation. What is this about?』
"No, there’s the issue of how to handle sea and underwater patrols and monster extermination. They’re short-handed. Since it’s technically part of maintaining public order..."
『Ah, I see. If it’s public order, that falls under the police’s jurisdiction. And the army can’t do anything about it?』
"It’s not that they can’t do anything, but you know that the army units are currently guarding the sea around the port town, right?"
『Of course. In that case, the police’s position becomes delicate. Even if it is the sea or underwater.』
"Exactly. So when I talked to Dressa, she told me to consult with Aslin rather than Steve."