Chapter 453
"Well then, for now, we'll keep these guys detained. Judeus and Shalia, work with Claudia to follow up on these men. There's a chance they might have cleanly cut ties, like a lizard dropping its tail, though."
I thought the Feda tribe would be a troublesome addition to our workload, but since they had information that could lead to the group that attacked the carriage bearing the royal crest, I'd say it all worked out.
The day after receiving that information, six of us gathered in my office: me, Ingrid, Judeus, Shalia, Genjirou, and Dark-san.
Considering the information from the Feda tribe wouldn't have been obtained without Shalia, we were quite fortunate.
However, the information the Feda gave us was entirely things that didn't exist in FBO. If a Named character had been involved, I could have linked it to the original story's information and made some deductions, but this time that's difficult.
That means it falls into the category of things not depicted in the story, and my informational accuracy suddenly drops.
So now I have to verify and scrutinize the information, but I'll just consider that a necessary expense.
"Since that's part of our job, it's fine, but make sure you give us proper time off♪"
"Yeah, I'd like about a week at least."
"Got it. I'll arrange things so you can get that much time off, with rotation."
In the end, we decided to keep the Feda tribe detained for a while.
If we mishandled them or let them go, it could cause more麻烦.
What made it difficult was that whenever Shalia tried to leave the detention center, the Feda men would all start making a fuss.
They desperately tried to get her to stay, but when she smiled and coldly dismissed them, they'd start sniffling and crying. After that, they were otherwise quiet and seemed harmless, so for now, we're keeping them detained.
"Next, Genjirou."
"Yes, sir!"
"Watching those guys is a lot of work, but appoint one Garden Guard as responsible person and form a watch team of three others. You can select additional personnel from the civilian volunteer guards."
"Understood."
Once we decided to detain them, there was a lot to do: watching them, meals, hygiene management. Since we can neither release them nor dispose of them, keeping them detained incurs costs. Considering we have to allocate personnel for that in an already understaffed Freihait, it's quite frustrating.
"Dark-san, these guys have a strong sense of camaraderie, so there's a high chance their tribe will try to rescue them. I'd like to strengthen the警戒网 with the spirits' help. How much should I pay?"
"The current patrol报酬 includes Amina-chan's live performances, sweets, comfortable beds, the large bath, and the opportunity to learn crafts like sewing, woodworking, and smithing. These are fields they couldn't learn before, so they're having a very good time. If you promise the same待遇, there are many spirits in the Spirit World who would want to help."
"I see. Then, I'll share information about the new clock next time, so could you select trustworthy spirits for this, Dark-san?"
"You know how it works, President. Very well. Leave it to me."
The spirits are compensating for our labor shortage, at least for now.
Feeling pleased that Dark-san, with a cool smile, readily agreed after receiving additional报酬, this matter regarding the Feda tribe is, for the time being, resolved.
It will be some time before we get information about the merchants who cooperated with the attackers.
"Well then, everyone, I'm counting on you."
"Leave it to me♪"
"Since it's been entrusted to me, I'll get results."
"Yes, sir! You can count on me."
"Consider it done."
Once I delegate tasks, they move into action.
And just like that, the office becomes a little quieter.
"By the way, when are the people we recruited supposed to arrive?"
I'm probably the person in Freihait most connected to busyness. Leaning back in my office's luxurious chair, I ask Ingrid, who handles my schedule.
"Today."
"What?"
"Regarding those we decided to recruit in the previous meeting, the first batch of people who agreed to be recruited, thanks to negotiations by the Entertainers and Zink-san's group from the shopping district, are arriving in Freihait today."
A completely forgotten schedule surfaces.
"Ah crap, I totally forgot."
When trouble keeps coming like this, no matter how much I jot things down, stuff like this slips through.
"I've asked Gato-sama and Zink-sama to handle that. I judged that the attack incident should take priority."
"Thank you, Ingrid. I'll have to thank Zink-san and Gato-san later."
"Both of them understand how busy you are, Lord Liberta, and said it was no problem."
"That's really a relief."
Being told I don't have to handle everything myself is truly a relief.
"Which means in two weeks, it's the first batch of orphans arriving, right?"
"Yes. The temple has sent a letter regarding that. The total number of orphans to be accepted this time is about three hundred."
"...Hearing the number again, it's a lot."
And even if I've forgotten things, they connect in a chain—half a month after the teacher candidates arrive, the orphans escorted by temple knights will come to Freihait.
We've discussed that we'll mainly take in orphans from temple-run orphanages that have difficult living conditions.
Our requirement is simply that they be earnest children. It's fine if they're bad at exercise, it's fine if they're bad at studying, it's fine if they're not good at communication.
We just asked for "earnestness."
Hearing that about three hundred such selected children are on their way, I asked the women of the shopping district led by Teresa-san and the women from the Garden Guards' families to organize something like a "children's cafeteria" and work akin to "childcare."
I've told them it's an upfront investment, anticipating these children will become the future workforce of this city, so they seem to be cooperating positively.
"I've heard the temple knights are sending a battalion, so we probably don't need to worry about attacks from the Heretic Church. With priests and trainees included, it's a considerable number."
"Well, we've done them a big favor. They'll probably send the orphans with the best possible preparations."
Having such peace of mind probably comes from having our basic needs met. Food production keeps increasing; we have enough to export. Water sources are secured with magical tools, so no worries there either.
A food supply and water source unaffected by weather are invaluable to people.
There's work, there's food, and there's entertainment.
The lord of this city is rumored to be quite eccentric, there's an intelligence unit that sometimes gets naked, a samurai group that imposes strenuous training on themselves, and spirits that freely wander around—but even discounting that, the residents of this city are a colorful bunch.
Normally, hearing "immigration" is something you have to handle very carefully.
It's almost impossible for the characteristics, customs, and environment of their previous home to be the same.
Freihait, built around my knowledge, assumes that similar living conditions can be provided in any environment.
Well, the harsher the environment, the more magical tools are needed, and securing land becomes more difficult.
The reason I chose this land was that it was easy to acquire through negotiation with the king, had abundant resources unknown to anyone, and had a climate suitable for human habitation if developed—a collection of relatively favorable conditions.
That's only favorable because it's me; for the inhabitants of this world, this land was recognized as "infested with monsters, almost impossible to develop."
Its remote location, making even resource surveys difficult, meant this land was essentially abandoned.
"But, will they be okay?"
"Is something troubling you, Lord Liberta?"
"Yeah. Ingrid, I want to ask you something."
The reason we can live comfortably in such a place is because we know the local environment—the actual situation of Freihait.
What would children, told they're being "moved to some remote frontier," think?
"Children separated from their parents for various reasons, surrounded by knights, brought to a remote area, told repeatedly along the way, 'It's okay, the place we're going is very prosperous'... Do you think they can believe that?"
"...I think some children would believe it, but..."
"But?"
If my own mentality were still a child's and I were placed in such a situation, even for a moment, the thought of being "abandoned" or "sold" would cross my mind.
"Most children would probably want to believe but can't shake the anxiety."
"Right."
That means we should assume the children coming will naturally have negative thoughts.
No matter how much the adults tell them the truth, the fact remains they're being moved to an increasingly remote place.
"Preparing a welcoming party and providing stable meals is essential. After that, we need to provide good food, clothing, and shelter, establish regular routines, and let them gain knowledge at the academy... The key is at what point we can earn their trust, right?"
"That's correct."
"Ingrid, do you have any other ideas?"
"...Well, if possible, I think it would be good to arrange for them to send remittances to their original orphanages."
"You mean I should provide support?"
"No, not you, Lord Liberta. When the children grow up and can earn money, they themselves could."
When life stabilizes, people gain peace of mind.
I think they'll naturally open their hearts then, but that's just my assumption.
I've consulted with Gato, who will be principal, and Zink-san, who'll be in charge, but I still worry there might be something overlooked. In FBO, I've played various scenarios—village building, town building, city building—but I've never done a full-scale immigration policy.
"Among the children, there will be some who, while being cared for by their foster parents at the orphanage, imagine their fellow orphans still living in hardship and feel guilt about their current situation."
"...True. The more earnest kids, the less likely they are to think 'as long as I'm okay.'"
"Yes. So, even as children, we should provide work they can do, so they can repay the orphanages that raised them."
"I'd want them to focus on their studies, though... but that's just me imposing my values."
Ingrid's words made a lot of sense to me, but it was a perspective I had completely overlooked.
I thought raising them efficiently would be for their own good, but "gratitude" is an important emotion not to be forgotten.
"...Let's set up a system where we buy dungeon magic stones and herbs used in classes directly from the children. We could establish a reception desk at the academy, like the Adventurer's Guild, and issue gathering requests. That way, they can earn money while studying. After that, we can negotiate with the temple to have the money sent to the orphanages. Could that work?"
"Yes. We'll need to discuss it with the temple later, but I think this proposal would be easy for them to accept."
Overt favoritism wouldn't help them, but providing an "environment where they can earn" is something we can do. If they can earn their own money and use it for various things, it would encourage their independence.
"Yeah, there's not much time, but let's try to go in that direction."
"Yes."
The more I think, the more things pile up.
Yet, I find that in a way, this is the most enjoyable part.