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By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 15




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Chapter 7, Episode 15: Improving Relations

Currently, the break room of Bamboo Forest was occupied by fifteen participants who had walked out of the conference, including Darson the armorer and the family from next door; I also invited Jill and Hughes to represent the new security company. I had called this meeting to discuss the current state of Gimul and methods of protecting ourselves, but we hadn’t made much progress. Those who I hadn’t met personally before were clearly intimidated. Of course, I had only myself to blame; the things I’d said at the conference hadn’t been forgotten so easily, it seemed. There wasn’t an air of patronizing like last time, but it was still awkward enough to stall the discussion.

In an attempt to clear the air, I proposed using my new security company as an option for protection. I asked Jill to give them the rundown, emphasizing that it wouldn’t lead to noble involvement, since that had led to chaos in the sketchy conference. But when Jill was finished, the group seemed more taken aback by the fact that the duke had directly sent his personnel.

Just when I was concerned that the pitch had gone in one of their ears and out the other, Darson spoke up. “Uh, excuse me. Most of you know me already, but I’m Darson. I run an armory. Can I ask you some questions, Ryoma?”

“Of course.”

“The first is about this security company itself. I understand now that we don’t have to worry about nobles interfering, since that was our concern the other day. I understand that, but are you serious? You gave us four conditions for starting this company—to put those two, being under the duke’s employment, in charge; that you foot the bill for all expenses from hiring to maintaining the company; that you only keep the operation going until the city becomes safer; and finally, that you turn over the workforce to the duke after then. It is hardly cheap to hire, train, and arm someone, let alone keep them fed until they’re ready to work. That’s something you’ll need to account for with every new hire. With all that money being spent, you won’t have free rein over them while your business is running, and then after that, you have to turn them over to the duke. There is zero benefit in this for you.”

“I understand your point, but I’m quite serious about this. With the exception of putting Hughes and Jill in charge, I brought those conditions to the table to increase our chances of gaining the permit.”

The business owners in the room stared at me, clearly nonplussed. Like they thought I was planning to intentionally lose money on this, or something.

“Let me be clear—I’m not looking to turn a profit through this company. I have my reasons for this, and one particular reason is competition. While they may be overwhelmed now, we do have reliable guards, the Adventurer’s Guild, and even mercenaries people can hire; people who make a living from combat. The security company could easily be seen as a competition to them. That being said, a brand-new private business can’t compete with the long-standing trust and reputation of the guild, as I’m sure you all would agree.”

Many in the group showed their agreement.

“Besides, training staff from scratch isn’t the most efficient way of establishing a self-defense force. It would be cheaper and much more immediate to use the existing guild and mercenaries.”

They seemed to agree with that as well.

“Then why start a security company, you might ask. And I would answer, because I think it’s necessary. No matter the cost, I believe we need to make preparations to protect ourselves and our livelihood. There’s an old saying—penny wise, pound foolish. What’s the use of pinching coins now if it could cost you your livelihood, your employees, your loved ones, or even your life? That’s how I see it, anyway. Besides, I’m already looking to make money on another venture outside of the company proper, though it still does affect my company in a way. Also, I didn’t ask for this to expedite the permit issuance, but the duke has offered me some amount of compensation when I turn over my staff to him.”

That arrangement was like “protection” for my future employees, so to speak. Of course I’d keep them under my payroll while I needed them, but what about after that? It felt irresponsible for me to give them the sack just because I didn’t need them anymore. On the other hand, Reinhart had a much bigger need for security staff than I did—guarding the construction of the new district, for example—so he could assign them work as needed. A guaranteed permanent job would make my applicants feel more secure, and if they were good enough for the duke to hire for the protection of his manor, it would look good on their resumes. With that prospect, I imagined some people would even be eager to apply, which would make the recruitment process much easier for me. After I explained all this, they finally seemed to understand my motives. Then Darson spoke up again.

“I can see you put a lot of thought into this, even when it comes to the finances. Still, you’re the one footing the bill while the business is running, and you’d need income to support that. Since you’re going to run a security business, you’ll be charging for the service, right? How much do you want us to pay you, and what kind of security can you provide our businesses?”

“We’re still working out a fair price, under the advice of veterans from various guilds in the city. We still need to hire and train personnel. During the early stages, they’ll be separated into teams to undergo basic training and patrol the city, which can double as free publicity. During that time, we’ll have the patrols regularly stop by your business locations, just to check on things, as well as deal with any problems. You can also put up signs or posters that advertise this fact to deter potential criminals. I’m considering stationing guards at individual shops, but the price would depend on how many guards are required, their experience and skill, and how many hours they’ll be needed for. When that time comes, I hope to discuss the price and service on a case-by-case basis, depending on your budget. Once again, I have no intention of turning a profit or charging excessively through this venture. That being said, if I set the price too low, that may not go over well with the guild members or mercenaries, no matter how temporary the service may turn out to be—”

“So basically, pricing is to be determined.” Sieg quickly butted in and stopped my rambling.

“Well, we can’t force you to come up with something,” Darson said. “Better that than pulling a random number out of your backside.”

“Thank you.”

I’d said pretty much everything I wanted to say about the security company now. Since no one had any more questions, I moved on to the next item on the agenda—methods of crime prevention that we could do ourselves. Without many ideas coming from the group, I explained the measures I was taking at my shop as examples—increased security, telling employees what to do in case of an emergency, regular active threat and evacuation drills, placing shields inside the store, and stationing weed slimes and stone slimes to act as alarms.

“If we can agree to this today, I would like for us to draw up a safety map of the city.” I figured if everybody gave one hundred percent to this, we’d get very good results.

“May I butt in?”

“Yes, Pauline. Something on your mind?”

“I get the increased security; we were even discussing the new company for it, and it makes sense that you’d want to go over emergency procedures beforehand. But what are these ‘shields’ you speak of?”

“Oh, let me show you.”

At my word, the three top-class maids held up one of the shields, without me even having to ask.

“We have one here.”

“Shields like this one are stashed under the counter in Bamboo Forest, so employees can quickly get to them when needed.”

I had created them based on the clear, full-body shields used by police on Earth; my recreation of a riot shield was light but durable, created from the hardening solution of sticky slimes. My guards would be there during emergencies, of course, but I wanted to ensure the safety of my other employees.

“This thing’s super light, even for a dainty little lady like me! Here,” Pauline said and passed the shield to her husband, Sieg.

“Wow, it is light.”

“May I?”

“Please.”

The shield was passed around the group, and a few of them expressed interest in keeping them at their shop. The meeting definitely picked up a bit more energy after that.

“What is this safety map you mentioned?”

“A map that highlights dangerous, crime-prone locations in the city. You may think that all of the locals know these spots already, but our city is rapidly changing. For example, can you think of any place in the city that used to be well populated—because of a popular establishment, for example—that has since gone out of business and left the place with little to no traffic?”


“Yes... A few, actually.”

“Me too. There’s definitely a few places that used to be safe, but now...”

“You see? One objective of the safety map is to double-check which locations are currently dangerous. That being said, any grown man or woman could pick up on which areas are no-go zones. We would have to look out for them, of course, but another purpose of the map is to find the dangers hidden in our day-to-day lives.”

“Hidden? How so?”

“Let’s see... Have you ever noticed a large stack of boxes in an alley? Or a shop that has a pile of merchandise or trash out back? Or a carriage that parks in front of an alley regularly? Even if those things are only there during certain times of the day, anyone who knows the right time can use it to their own ends. Someone could hide behind those things, or set fire to them if there’s flammable material in there.”

“Now that you mention it, those sound like breeding grounds for crime.”

“So this map will help us to identify those situations so we can warn people about them, then.”

More and more people from the group were beginning to join in, even the young man from my favorite bookstore, who always seemed so bored behind the counter of his shop.

“Exactly! Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind, I would like for your children to help us draw the map as well. Children see things in a different light. They can even find spaces where grown-ups either can’t hide in, or wouldn’t think of hiding in.” I told them about Nikki and his secret lair as an example.

“If you’re a parent, that’s got to be a terrifying thought. You never know where kids could end up hiding in the city, after all.”

“If a child can hide somewhere, then a child can be hidden there as well. Perhaps a box that can be used to transport a child, or a location that can keep a child locked up... Criminals who would knock out and kidnap children can abuse these spaces. In order to keep the children safe, I think the best thing parents can do is to be aware of their routine, and to have their children understand where danger lies in the city so they can be vigilant. Crime may be on the rise, but you can’t keep your children cooped up under your wing all day, and I imagine most children aren’t too keen on listening to grown-ups just telling them what to do.”

The group responded with further agreement.

“You’re right. I always tell them to be home before dark, but they still play in the streets until the sun’s almost set.”

“Same with mine... I appreciate when they run errands for me, but they keep cutting through deserted alleys to save time.”

“At least your kids help out with the business. That’s more than can be said for mine...”

This was beginning to turn into a parental commiseration meeting.

“I wasn’t good at listening to my parents when I was a kid myself,” Darson said, which led to a few chuckles and looks exchanged. No one here was a poster child, it seemed.

I tried to weigh in. “So, it seems that kids don’t really listen when you give them orders. I don’t know how many parents would approve of me doing something like this.” A few people in the group laughed at this, some after failed attempts of keeping it in.

“Uh, did I say something strange...?”

“Well, Ryoma, as much as you’re not wrong, you’re hardly one to talk,” Hughes answered, much to my confusion.

The other attendees joined in.

“I mean, it would make sense that you, being a child, would know how children feel, but...”

“You just don’t act like a child at all. I almost forgot you are one.”

With the rest of them sharing this sentiment, the awkwardness in the air melted away...

■ ■ ■

The meeting proceeded swimmingly, with more questions and suggestions from the group stemming from my ideas. Eventually, we concluded that there wasn’t enough time to hammer out the details, so we agreed on a few basic principles, and promised to discuss things again later.

After seeing most of the group off, I returned to the break room, where I had asked Darson, Pauline, and Sieg to stay behind, and they greeted me kindly.

“Thank you all!” I told them.

“Wait, what for?”

“I think this meeting was a terrific success. Everyone seemed happy about how it went, and they even apologized for the other day on their way out.”

The attendees had apologized for putting me in a situation where I must have felt isolated among unfriendly faces, and acknowledged that my combative response must have come from a resolve not to succumb to the orchestrated feel of the conference. While I stood by what I had said at the conference, I had been strained and had fully expected to make an enemy out of everyone in that room. That’s why I had refused to participate in such a harsh manner.

“I don’t feel like all this effort is being thanked properly, though,” Darson said.

“You’ve been thinking a lot, not just about your own business, but the city as a whole. They understood your true intentions today. That’s all,” Sieg chimed in.

Despite their reassurance, I had felt a divide between me and the group at the start of the meeting, which Darson, Pauline, and Sieg had bridged with their enthusiastic participation. If I was able to convey my intentions this day, it was only because they played mediator for me; without them, the discussion would not have even started.

“It was a bit awkward at the beginning,” Pauline admitted. “But aren’t you forgetting something? Everyone here walked out of that conference too. They must have seen some merit in what you said back then.”

“That’s more because Ryoma was acting like a massive, wounded monster protecting its cub.”

“Is that so...?” I muttered.

“We may have helped out today, but they would have clued into your disposition eventually.”

Didn’t that mean they had seen me as some unreasonable hothead back at the conference? While I resolved to learn from my mistakes, I had still succeeded in improving my relationship with some of the small business owners in the city! I was eager to maintain our good relationship, and improve things in due time.



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