第１８５６堀：教官は一旦お休み中 (Part1)
Chapter 1856: The Instructor is Currently on Break
Side: Deryu
"So, it sounds like there’s no room for movement on the New Continent front for the time being, huh?"
"That is correct. We can only wait for Vilia and the others to gather intelligence. Besides, we are currently in the process of coordinating with the southern nations as well."
"And say, Deryu, weren't you supposed to be training new recruits in the northern town? Why are you tagging along on the patrol of Glass Port Town?"
Riel finally chimed in with that pointed question.
It was true; it wasn't exactly common for me to be away from the northern town of Oue, but here I was in Glass Port Town.
"Indeed. As for the recruit training over there, it has reached a point where it no longer requires my constant supervision. More importantly, instructors have arrived from Oue. My duties are effectively suspended until the initial phase of education is complete. After all, my role was limited to discipline and basic training."
"Ah, I see. Well, we aren't really in a position to teach them how to handle military affairs the way Oue does, are we?"
Exactly. As Riel noted, we can only teach them the Weed way. We cannot provide training tailored to the specific environment of Oue. Above all, the volunteers in the northern town enlisted because they wanted to protect Oue. It wouldn't be accurate to say that Weed-style training is meaningless, but if they have the opportunity to receive Oue’s own training, they should take it.
"But is that really okay? I thought the situation was that Oue couldn't afford to hire them, so they were just being left to their own devices? I assumed it was set up so that Weed would hire them instead?"
"Ah, that matter has been settled with the higher-ups. Thanks to Hairen acting on her own initiative, we were forced to finalize the talks in a hurry, but in a way, it was a brilliant move. Had we not acted quickly, the current volunteers would surely have felt dissatisfied with being taught by Oue’s military personnel."
"What do you mean, acting quickly convinced the volunteers?"
"I was curious about that myself, so I asked. It seems the talk of them 'not being able to be hired' hadn't reached the lower ranks; they had only heard that nothing could be done until the higher-ups gave the word."
"Oh, so it wasn't that Oue couldn't hire them after all."
"Correct. Well, in reality, that was the case, but on the surface, they kept it vague, claiming they were 'consulting with the higher-ups.' It seems they were just buying time. While Weed was teaching them the basics, the Oue leadership finally granted permission. That is how it ended up."
"Wow. Hairen really does that kind of thing a lot, doesn't she?"
"One wonders if that should be called a talent or a disaster."
"They sound like different words, but they're pronounced the same."
"I am using different characters to describe it."
Hairen is truly a handful. If she were in the military, I would have fired her immediately. No matter how good the results turn out to be, bypassing the chain of command like that is a gross overstepping of authority. I suppose she gets away with it only because she is a Goddess and a Sister.
Well, perhaps it is precisely because she operates within that framework that she is able to exert such influence. If you put her in a restrictive environment, she leaves immediately. She is specialized in the talent of doing exactly what she can do.
"I once suggested to Yuki that he should strip her of all authority and just keep her quiet in Weed."
"Yeah. I feel like that’s the one thing that wouldn't work at all..."
"He told me that doing so would be even more dangerous, as she would likely start forming strange factions within Weed on her own."
"Ugh. But he’s not wrong, is he?"
"Indeed. He is not wrong. She is already working in Weed as a Sister at the Litea Church. She has a following that rivals Priestess Lilishe. If you were to suddenly put her under house arrest, the pro-Hairen faction would likely go on a rampage."
"Yikes. That doesn't sound like a joke."
"Furthermore, if we went that far, Hairen might just run away."
"Ah, yeah. That actually seems more likely."
"In that case, she would no longer be affiliated with Weed, and we would lose the ability to keep her in check. In other words, a strange organization led by Hairen could emerge."
"That’s a disaster."
Indeed. It would be a disaster. Even now, Hairen is more than we can handle; if she were to run around even more freely, it would be chaos. Moreover, since she was formerly affiliated with Weed, we would have to clean up her messes. Not to mention, the countries in the Haiden region—which center around the Hairen Church she founded—would be in absolute agony. If things went poorly, the Haiden region might even commit treason or declare war. My stomach hurts just thinking about adding more enemies in the current situation.
Well, in the end, there is a high probability that everything will turn out for the best, but the effort required to get there is undeniable. I cannot afford to increase the burden any further. Yuki, and we who support him, are already incredibly busy. We might collapse from overwork.
As we were discussing this, Riel suddenly...
"Oh, isn't that Yuki-san?"
"Hm? Yuki?"
I followed Riel’s gaze and confirmed that Yuki, accompanied by Orelia and the others, was peering into a shop on the main street with great interest.
"Doesn't look like a date, taking Orelia and the others along."
"Indeed. I have never heard of someone going on a date while taking notes. Well, it is during working hours, and Yuki is not the type to break those kinds of rules."
"Sigh, I think he could stand to relax a little more, though."
"Be that as it may, it would be troublesome if he were like King Blade of Roday."
"Ahaha. Samantha seems to have a hard time with that, doesn't she?"
That is the classic example of being too unrestrained. Though, even then, he seems to manage the bare minimum of his duties. Still, I wish Yuki would take a break, even if it were only half as much as that. The worst part is that he genuinely believes he is slacking off. No, I heard that he worked on an even tighter schedule back in Japan. Are Japanese people some kind of tireless undead or golems?
Well, that aside.
"In any case, shall we go speak with him?"
"Yeah, let's."
It is unthinkable not to speak to Yuki when we see him. After all, we are his wives. And since he isn't on a date with another wife, there is no need for hesitation.
"Hey! Yuki-saaan!"
With that, Riel called out and trotted over, leaping toward him. Yuki didn't seem particularly surprised and caught her in his arms naturally.
"Oh, Riel. Are you on duty?"
"Yeah, patrolling Glass Port Town. Tori and Kaya are busy, so Poni asked me to help."
I see. Riel being in Glass Port Town is part of her police patrol duties. Well, Riel is a former deputy chief, and her current position is Special Duty, the same as mine, so she can move independently, but she often helps with police work. Incidentally, the current chief, Poni, is incredibly busy with training police officers to maintain order in the expanding Weed territory and setting up new police boxes. It seems the shortage of personnel in both the military and the police will not be resolved for some time.
"And what about you, Deryu?"
"I came to check on the situation here as well. You see, the troops from the Oue royal capital have arrived for the volunteers in the northern town."
"Ah, that's right, they were heading there. Was the handover successful?"
"Indeed. Well, it was mostly just handing over the rosters. Basic training is something one can do on their own, and the troublemakers have been quiet lately."
"I knew there would be some of those."