A week had passed since Martina became an official. During this week, she had been taken around to various places by Roland, and little by little, she had grown more accustomed to the official uniform.
Her friendship with Nadia was also progressing smoothly, and she had time to visit the royal palace library every day after work, making her days very fulfilling.
“Martina, we’re going to the First Knights’ Order. The finance department has asked to reduce the patrol budget a bit, and we need to discuss that.”
“Is it the document Roland was desperately working on yesterday?”
“Yes. If this gets approved, we might be able to manage with a reduced budget. But… it does have a sense of being forced. The patrols are essential for the country’s safety to reduce monster damage, so it’s wrong to reduce them in the first place.”
Roland, with a grim expression as if he had bitten into a bitter insect, stared at the document he had prepared.
“Why did they ask for a reduction?”
“Probably because monster damage has been low in recent years.”
“Is that so?”
For ordinary citizens who spend their days without leaving the town, the scale of monster damage may not be well known. Martina tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“A few years ago, the frequency of patrols was increased. As a result, monsters seemed to instinctively recognize that this area was dangerous, and the number of monsters around the town and on the roads decreased significantly. So continuing like this is the best option, but the higher-ups think that since the monster damage has decreased, we can revert things back to how they were. Don’t you think that if we go back to the old way, the monsters will return?”
“…I do. It means it won’t be a dangerous area for the monsters anymore, right? Couldn’t you convince the higher-ups?”
At Martina’s innocent question, Roland let out a deep sigh.
“This is just my guess, and I want you to keep it between us, but the request probably came from the finance minister. The finance minister is trying to gain more favor from His Majesty to target a more important position, and is attempting to cut unnecessary parts of the budget to free up funds for new policies. The finance department is probably trying to accommodate that request, which is why they want to cut the patrol budget.”
At Roland’s whispered words, Martina opened her mouth with a subtle expression.
“It’s all quite complicated…”
“Yeah, it’s true that the damage has decreased considerably recently, and on paper, it’s seen as a part of the budget that can be easily reduced, so it’s unavoidable. This policy probably won’t change, and all we can do is come up with the most optimal plan to reduce the budget without decreasing its effectiveness.”
“That sounds difficult.”
Martina and Roland exchanged a look, furrowing their brows. However, since they didn’t have enough power to change the higher-ups’ decisions, they could only use their wisdom to search for the best compromise.
“By the way, did you read all the documents I gave you?”
Roland raised his voice as if to change the atmosphere and asked. Martina nodded enthusiastically in response.
“Yes, I finished reading them yesterday.”
“Do you remember everything?”
“Of course.”
“…That’s really impressive. At this point, I can’t doubt your words.”
Having witnessed Martina’s remarkable memory over the past week, Roland’s expression was one of admiration, almost to the point of being astonished.
“You’re going to have to read a lot more, so get ready. There are tons of things to know, like personnel in other departments, laws, and past cases.”
“So much… I’ll read as much as needed!”
“You’re probably the only one who would be happy to hear that.”
As they were talking, they soon arrived at the First Knights’ Order’s headquarters, and Martina and Roland entered through the front. They spoke to the official at the counter near the entrance and asked to be connected to the knight commander.
After waiting for a while, the knight commander, along with the official, came down from the upper floor.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, please don’t worry about it. Thank you for taking the trouble to come down.”
“No problem, I was actually thinking of starting some training soon. It gets a bit stuffy staying in the room all the time.”
Cedric Lambert, the commander of the First Knights’ Order, smiled wryly and sat down on a sofa in the break room on the first floor of the headquarters.
“You two should sit as well. So, today it’s about the budget, right?”
“Yes. We’ve received a request to reduce the patrol budget, and we’ve prepared a proposal for that, so I’d appreciate it if you could take a look.”
Lambert took the document Roland handed him and, as he flipped through the pages, his wry smile deepened.
“This is tough. The knights train in squads, so asking to change that is a bit much.”
“I thought so… so, should we go with the second proposal to reduce the frequency?”
“That’s one option, yeah. But I’d prefer to go with the third proposal.”
“Reducing the quality of weapons and armor, you mean? Personally, I think that’s the option I’d prefer least…”
Cutting costs on weapons and armor directly impacts the knights’ safety. Roland had been hesitant but added this option as a last resort.
“Yeah, I agree. It seems like reducing the frequency is the most realistic choice.”
“…I understand you don’t want to reduce it, but I think it’s the most practical. However, I’ve added something to the end of the second option—would it be possible to extend the patrol time? It would increase the knights’ workload, but that way, we could ensure the country’s safety without increasing the budget much.”
“…You mean reduce the frequency but increase the time per patrol? That would definitely save money.”
Though everyone knew that the best option was to maintain the current patrol schedule, just as it was, the direction for reducing the budget seemed to be decided. Just then, the door to the headquarters slammed open with a loud bang.
Entering was—an injured knight.
“Commander…!!”
“What happened!? What’s going on?!”
Lambert’s previously calm demeanor shifted immediately as he caught the approaching knight.
“In the forest… there was something like a black mist… and from there, monsters… were being created in large numbers… Cough cough“
The knight began coughing violently mid-report, spitting blood. Witnessing this, both Roland and Martina were frozen in shock, unable to move.
“Tell me the location! If possible, what kind of monsters were there?”
“It’s… in the eastern forest… just past the big tree we usually use as a landmark… There were many boar-type monsters, fire-using monsters, and… wyverns…”
“Understood. Thank you for the report. Someone, contact the infirmary!”
Lambert passed the exhausted knight to another nearby soldier and, with a serious expression, turned his gaze toward Martina and Roland.
