The next day.
It’s my first ti coming here again since I ca here to recruit Caulkin-san and the others.
I knocked on the door of a bigger house. When I felt the presence of mana, the door opened.
“Enter!” [???]
“Excuse .” [Ryouma]
I obeyed the voice and went inside. Inside was the sa man from before.
“It’s been a while. Revel-san.” [Ryouma]
The rumor yesterday had concerned, so I asked Dolce-san to get an appointnt with soone who knew more about the situation. The person he introduced to was Revel-san. He is both the counselor of the slum and the person that negotiates with the governnt office, so according to Dolce-san, there was no person more appropriate than him.
“Thank you for taking the ti out of your busy schedule.” [Ryouma]
“If it’s just talking, then I don’t mind. Use that chair over there.” [Revel]
I borrowed the chair from the corner of the room and sat myself in front of him.
“From what Dolce tells , it seems you’re hiring again.” [Revel]
“It’s only for part-ti work, but yes, we are preparing to hire more hands.” [Ryouma]
“That will do. As you know, there have been more restless people in the slums these days… That’s what you ca here to talk about, right? But what exactly do you want to know?” [Revel]
“If you don’t mind my asking, everything.” [Ryouma]
“Haven’t you investigated the rumors already? I’m sure there are things you already know about.” [Revel]
He’s heard that Carm-san has already investigated the rumors. He’s also heard that I t the head of the governnt office coincidentally yesterday. But despite that, I barely know anything about the situation at the slums. After talking to just two people, at most, all I can do is guess, but whether that guess is right or not, I don’t know.
There could be false rumors and misunderstandings between the residents and the governnt office.
And besides, I’m sure the slum also has sothing to say about the situation. That’s what I want to find out.
If there’s anything I can do, I’d like to help, but without sufficient knowledge, I might just end up getting in their way instead.
“In that case… Let’s start with the cause of the rumors. It’s true that we can’t trust the governnt office. We’ve been agreeing to their inspections for a while now, but because of the people being evicted, the people are growing restless.” [Revel]
“So what is the reason you can’t trust them?” [Ryouma]
“Everyone knows that the head has changed. But that doesn’t an we can just forget about how they treated us before. It’s still too early for everyone here to forget what the previous administration did.” [Revel]
“It hasn’t even been a year, after all…” [Ryouma]
“Ahh… But I actually want to try believing in the current administration.” [Revel]
Oh? This might be rude on my part, but that’s unexpected.
“Why do you want to trust Bernheid?” [Ryouma]
“Because he ca here just like you did. And we talked about the situation over at the office and the situation here, as well as the reason for their requirents, and then he left. Settling at the roads, obstructing the roads, and the danger of collapsing buildings… I think he’s right. The previous administration never really bothered to co here and inspect, so there are many here who’ve grown negligent. I can’t deny that.” [Revel]
He paused for a mont, then continued.
“But… There are people who lost their hos because the governnt office refused to pay for the cleaning of the latrine pits.” [Revel]
“…” [Ryouma]
I was speechless.
As I quietly listened to him, it turns out that a portion of the people, who relied on cleaning the latrine pits to make a living, were unable to pay their rent and were chased out when their pay was cut. Because of that they had no choice but to live on the roads or in abandoned buildings.
In other words, the previous administration was the cause for the increased holess on the streets.
These people were victims. And to have the people who took their houses away from them and tell them ‘Don’t live out here in the streets! Find a proper house!’ was just flat out insulting.
“Well, it’s sothing like that. That’s why there’s a lot of dissent among the people. Those who’ve lost their hos are renting a room from their acquaintances, but everyone’s been doing that since they started being chased out of their hos. Things aren’t going to change just because the public office started talking. There are volunteers that help out with the repairs, especially those with construction-related skills, but it’s just not enough…” [Revel]
“I see…” [Ryouma]
It seems the slum people are already doing what they can.
“We’re currently looking for another way to redy the situation… The new head, that youth, Arnold, says he’s preparing jobs for us, but there’s a lot of people wary of him. They say that even if the head changes, the things the governnt office does won’t change.” [Revel]
Given the circumstances and the state of mind of the affected people, it’s only understandable. The trust needs to be fixed… Hmm?
“Excuse . I have a question.” [Ryouma]
“What?” [Revel]
“Are the people able to make a living?” [Ryouma]
If I recall correctly, it was after the day I cleaned the latrine pits… When I received the paynt for the job…
“This is a mining town, so as long as you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, there’s plenty of jobs to go around.”
“If you can make a living elsewhere, there’s no reason to waste your ti cleaning the latrine pits.”
Right. Those were the reasons Wogan-san gave on why the people refused the latrine pits job.
“Ahh… There were so stubborn guys right after the incident, but if we help each other out, we can get by if it’s just food. There wouldn’t have been a fuss if the administration just kept quiet.” [Revel]
“The credibility of the governnt office aside, hypothetically speaking, what would happen if the housing problem were to be solved?” [Ryouma]
“The people wouldn’t have any reason to complain and the rumors will also calm down… What about it?” [Revel]
“…I think I might have been looking at this the wrong way all along.” [Ryouma]
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