I changed to my only good suit, then I rendezvoused with Hyuzu-san and Jill-san to visit the office of the guards. Their offices could be found in any one of the four gates. They also had places akin to a police box littered through the town. The place weâre visiting was slightly bigger than all of those and could be said to be their headquarters.
âSorry to keep you waiting.â [Captain of the Guards]
âThank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule.â [Ryouma]
Within one of the rooms of the guardsâ headquarters, we met the person with the highest authority among the guards.
âOh? If I recall correctly, youâre the person who healed one of my subordinates.â [Captain of the Guards]
âOh, youâre from that time!â [Ryouma]
The person that met with us was the same person I happened into on the day I came back, the same guard that explained to me about Gimuruâs situation.
âWho wouldâve thought that the highest authority among the guards would have been out on patrol himself.â [Ryouma]
âWe were really lacking hands that day, you see⊠I didnât even name myself back then. My apologies. Manfred Dammaia, the Captain of the Guards, at your service.â [Manfred]
âI didnât name myself either. Iâmââ [Ryouma]
âRyouma Takebayashi-kun, right?â [Manfred]
âYou knew?â [Ryouma]
âMy subordinates knew.
I have guards who rely on the services of your laundromat. But I never expected that the rumored founder of the new security company would turn out to be you. Not to mention your age, but⊠I suppose age doesnât really matter. But enough of that, letâs get to business.â [Manfred]
Right, Iâm sure he must be a busy man. We should conclude our matters here quickly.
âAs you know, I hope to establish a security company to trade security and sell goods that improve security. Although merely temporary, this security company will still encroach into your domain, so for that I apologize, but for the safety of Gimuruâs guards and people, I would like to cooperate with you. I understand itâs audacious of me to ask so much, but I would be much obliged if we could work together.â [Ryouma]
The worsening public order of the city is a matter of grave of concern.
As an individual and as the owner of a business in this city, the current situation is too unfavorable.
Thatâs why I want to build a security company, but at the same time, if I were to suddenly establish a security company, what would the guards whoâve been protecting this city all this time think?
Thatâs why Iâm here tonight.
âThereâs no need to apologize. So long as you donât cause trouble, donât hurt people, and donât break the law, then there wonât be any problems on our end. If you go through the merchant guild and act as a business, then all the more so.â [Manfred]
As he said that, the Captain of the Guards, Manfred Dammaia, smiled.
âItâs true that we guards pride ourselves in protecting Gimuru and its citizens, but thatâs all. As long as you through the guild, no one has any right to complain. That being said, I do appreciate you going out of your way to come here to communicate with us. So at the very least, I promise to let my men know of your visit here.â [Manfred]
âThank you very much!â [Ryouma]
Itâs great that we were able to come to an understanding quickly!
As I thought, this guy is really sincere.
âI believe we understand the current situation of Gimuru the best. We know full well that there are many places we are unable to cover, and that the citizens have started to worry because of that. The security company youâre planning to start will surely help in wiping away their fears. There is nothing to be gained by fighting among ourselves. I believe the safety of citizen should be our priority. To that end, we will do everything that we can do. Thereâs nothing I can do about the individual opinions of my guards regarding your men, but prioritizing such opinions would turn our âprideâ into meaningless âself-importanceâ. As much as Iâd like to hope that there are no such people among my men, I donât believe just hoping would be enough; hence, Iâll make sure to keep an eye out so that none of my men would try to do anything to disadvantage you.â [Manfred]
âFrom the bottom of my heart, truly, thank you. I will also do my best to ensure that my men will do their utmost to cooperate with your guards.â [Ryouma]
I glanced at Hyuzu-san and Jill-san, and the both of them nodded.
âWith that our cooperation has been decided, but exactly what kind of cooperation do you have in mind?â [Manfred]
âFor now I have two ideas in mind. Joint training and information exchange.â [Ryouma]
I have to train my security personnel from the ground up, so theyâre in much need of training. If the opportunity presents itself, I figure a joint training would serve as a good stimulus for both sides. As for the information exchange, itâs because I intend to have my security personnel patrol. That will also serve as an advertisement for the company. Naturally, they canât just ignore the incidents that they happen upon, so the cooperation with the guards should allow us to be able to respond as fast as possible, exchange information quickly, and hand over arrested culprits quickly.
âWe have plenty of fresh faces in our ranks too, so the joint training sounds good. Sharing information will be a huge help too.â [Manfred]
âWeâre a security company, so if possible, we would like to expand the scope of our activities as much as possible.â [Ryouma]
âIn that caseâŠâ [Manfred.
After that we spent much time discussing our cooperation. Of course, I listened to the requests of the guardsâ side as well.
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