Chapter 258.1 - Inside a Room of the Security Company (1/2)

Chapter 258: Inside a Room of the Security Company (1/2)

“A new fire has been confirmed in the north. It shall be identified as North #4. North #3 has been dealt with by the first team that arrived, and the succeeding team has also already arrived. The evacuation of the people has been delayed, however.” [Staff 1]

“East #5 has been extinguished.” [Staff 2]

“South #8 has also been extinguished.” [Staff 3]

“More fires have been breaking out in the north… Send a clean-up crew and a team to observe the two areas that are now under control. In exchange, send the firefighters headed to East #5 and South #8 to the north. We can send someone from the security to the vacant wagons to lead the evacuation, but how many people will we need? Will two teams be enough?　Jill?” [Hyuzu]

“Two should be enough, there’s a follow-up team anyhow. As for the carriages, we’ll send the available ones in turn. I’m more concerned about the availability of shelters. What is the situation of the shelters?” [Jill]

“The shelters to the north and west are fine, they still have plenty of room. The eastern and southern shelters can still accept more evacuees, but they are slowly filling up.” [Staff 4]

“In that case, send the evacuees of the north to the northern shelter. Have a temporary evacuation shelter prepared too. The location is, as we’ve planned, a vacant lot in the site of a former slum that Ryouma demolished.” [Jill]

“A small arsonist found in the west has been arrested. He has already been handed to the guards.” [Staff 5]

Though the city hustled and bustle amidst the flames that threatened them, within the conference room of the security company was a quiet flurry of reports and instructions.

At the center of the room was a large desk, atop which was a detailed map of the city big enough to fill the whole desk.

A lot of people were gathered around it, and every report that came would have the small flags and pawns on it moved.

Hyuzu, the person in charge of the security company, and Jill, the second-in-command, watched over their subordinates as they handed out instructions. The orders they gave were quickly jotted down by the staff member standing behind them, and delivered to the front of several small monster beast cages set up along the walls of the meeting room.

The room was quiet but filled with tension.

“Please excuse our intrusion.” [Rurunez]

And then the three maids, that have been sent here by the duke just like Hyuzu and Jill, entered the room.

The three maids pushed small carts, and they handed out drinks to these people full of anxiety.

“Thank you, Rurunez. Hey, Jill, have a drink. We’ll probably be here for a long time.” [Hyuzu]

“…Yeah. It wouldn’t be good to be too tense either.” [jill]

Jill had some as well, but his expression remained clouded.

Seeing that, Hyuzu temporarily left Rurunez in charge of the situation, while he quietly asked Jill what the matter was.

“Hey, Jill. Why the glum face? You’ve been like that for awhile now. It’s not a fun situation, I know, but you’re handling it fine, better than normal, even.” [Hyuzu]

“…Yeah. Ryouma’s proposed “communication unit” of monster tamers that could use Shared Perception with familiars, and the construction of an “information transmission network” built through that, and all the monitoring and liaison bases set up throughout the city allow us to quickly know what’s happening on the ground, as well as to share information and cooperate with the guilds, guards, and the government office.”

“Ryouma mentioned something about a ‘Telephone Operator’ or something, right?　I can’t use Monster Taming, and I haven’t a clue what the word means, but it’s impressive that so much could be accomplished.” [Hyuzu]

“Telephones are… a very old means of communication believed to have existed in ancient times. It’s said that they could instantly bridge communication even between distant countries.. Supposedly, they were magic tools that utilized dimensional magic, but it’s doubtful that they ever really existed. Ryouma must have been inspired by that.

The hard part about his proposal was gathering enough monster tamers that could use Shared Perception. And we had to prepare enough people for the substitutes too, so they could work in shifts, but after getting past that hurdle, what awaited us was a fast information network that enable us to know the situation on the ground with little to no delay at all.

However, in the end, we were only able to make this happen because of Ryouma’s vast reserves of financial resources and the availability of monster tamers that were working as mailmen due to the heavy snowfall that hit recently… It’s frightening to think what would have happened if this day came without this information network.” [Jill]

“I don’t want to think about that either. But if you know that you have something so reliable, why do you look like that? You’re way too tense, man.”

“Really?　…Maybe it’s because I’ve been feeling a bit… unworthy lately.” [Jill]

“Unworthy?　Ah, I see. You’re worried about what Serge’s guard said.” [Hyuzu]

That was a conversation that took place after the attempted assassination on Serge.

Ryouma’s group had returned to that meeting room that they had used for their dinner party not too long ago, and Hyuzu and the other guards came too. They held a meeting to discuss their plans.

They’ve already prepared a lot of contingency plans for as much as they could predict, so the meeting briefly ended with the understanding that since the enemy has already directly attacked them, and their tactics were evidently different this time around, it was likely that they’ve taken off the gloves and were willing to do anything to achieve their goals, not bothering to do things quietly anymore.

After the meeting, there was also a conversation about ensuring their safety, such as Serge moving to his store, and the Saionji husband-and-wife needing to move up their schedule to leave town as soon as possible… It was then that Jill suggested that Ryouma also wait somewhere safe, and he even approached Yashma, the deputy leader of the mercenary group, to act as his temporary bodyguard, but was immediately shot down.