Failed Negotiations, and Then…
Her Highness already understood the situation from her discussions with Maki-nee and was currently negotiating a compromise with the Coast Guard.
Given the current trends, it was possible—though not in the near future—that the Interstellar Criminal Police Organization might eventually absorb the Coast Guard. For now, however, that was impossible.
The proposed compromise was to collaborate with the Coast Guard in establishing a new facility to take in children.
The plan was for Her Highness to create a boarding school for these children, which both organizations would jointly operate.
Naturally, graduates would be assigned to either organization based on their preferences, ensuring their satisfaction.
Maki-nee had explained this idea and inquired whether, at the very least, they could take in the youngest children.
But in the end, neither Her Highness’s nor Maki-nee’s proposal was accepted.
The only concession they managed to secure was the loan of a few staff members to help care for the children.
This meant they had to build an orphanage from scratch.
As for the location and facilities, I already had an idea.
Normally, in situations like this, everything—people, materials, and money—would be in short supply, making progress difficult. But aside from personnel, the rest could be managed.
For the facility, there was an abandoned factory site next to the docks that Her Highness had purchased.
All they needed to do was set up living quarters there.
A prefab structure could be quickly assembled, but I suspected that if we pleaded with our neighbors, we might find another solution.
The makeshift lodging we had stayed in before—built from that scrapped ship—should still be there.
With some adjustments, that place could easily accommodate a hundred children.
As for operating costs, Her Highness would handle them, so that wasn’t an issue.
The only remaining problem was caretakers.
At worst, we could assign people from [Shunmin] to look after the children. There was no way we’d leave them stranded.
Maki-nee seemed to have the same thought. After cutting off negotiations with Bruce Orphanage, we headed to the dock’s president to discuss borrowing that lodging again.
Our original purpose was to request cooperation in building an educational facility on the adjacent factory site to train future personnel for the Interstellar Criminal Police Organization . But now, we were asking for even more.
Well, given that president’s personality, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult. Maki-nee and I entered the dock’s office.
Unusually, the president was actually working.
“Oh? You’ve been coming around a lot lately. What’s today’s business? Are those girls not with you?”
By “those girls,” he meant Maria and her group.
This place had essentially become their playground, and the president not only tolerated it but even encouraged them to come.
At this point, I’d given up on them, but I at least wished they wouldn’t teach anything dangerous to the school-bound recruits.
…Wait, would it really be okay to set up an orphanage here?
Suddenly, I was worried.
Ignoring my concerns, Maki-nee swiftly advanced the negotiations with the president.
Come to think of it, Maki-nee was also one of the president’s favorites.
And she held him in high regard as well.
Despite coming from completely different worlds, the two got along well.
Now I was even more concerned.
If we weren’t careful, this place might end up mass-producing troublemakers like Maria and her gang.
Hoping that wouldn’t happen, I watched their discussion unfold.
The orphanage issue was settled easily.
The ship cabins we had previously salvaged from the scrapped vessel would remain in place and be repurposed for this.
“It’s just temporary, right? And you need it fast? Then just use it. We don’t mind,” the president readily agreed.
So, starting literally the next day, we could use that lodging as an orphanage for the rescued children.
Maki-nee had also been entrusted by Her Highness to oversee the construction of a permanent orphanage.
I worried about the budget, but apparently, a considerable amount of gold, silver, and other valuable treasures had been confiscated from the recently captured space colony—funds would be allocated from there.
Additionally, in the near future, fines and confiscations from nobles implicated in pirate dealings (either stripped of rank or punished) were expected to significantly boost the budget of the soon-to-be-established Interstellar Criminal Police Organization .
Despite the orphanage matter being settled, Maki-nee and the president kept talking.
Something about new ship construction.
This wasn’t finalized yet, but once the organization officially became a government agency, having only one vessel would be insufficient.
It was easy to imagine how that would hinder operations, so they began preliminary discussions—just information-gathering at this stage—about constructing new ships using funds seized from disgraced nobles.
While combat ships for heavy-duty operations were important, the immediate need was high-speed vessels for deploying investigators.
Maki-nee passionately debated the design with the president—should it be like this or like that?
In the end, they decided it would be better to involve the dock’s parent company, Casbel Shipyards, in the new ship discussion.
Though negotiations with Bruce Orphanage had failed completely, the day ended with far greater achievements than expected.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
The Next Day, Thanks to the dock president’s arrangements (or meddling?), we found ourselves at Casbel Shipyards’ headquarters first thing in the morning.
We were immediately led to the president’s reception room, where we met Mark’s father and his superior, the company president.
I was completely out of place.
Frozen stiff with nerves next to Maki-nee,
I could only watch as the dock president—utterly relaxed—sipped his coffee beside me.
Somehow, that made me feel defeated and a little frustrated.
Ignoring us, Maki-nee greeted the Casbel executives.
Come to think of it, this was her first time meeting Mark’s father.
I’d have to introduce them later—
after all, it was Mark’s father who had introduced us to the dock president in the first place.
He was, in a way, our—or maybe just my—savior.
After the greetings, Maki-nee explained the newly forming organization, then cautiously broached the topic of new ships, clarifying that nothing was finalized yet.
“Speed is the top priority. Thanks to the dock president’s help, the retrofitted destroyer we’re currently using is now the fastest in the kingdom, and so far, it’s been sufficient. But with increasing duties, we’ll soon need more. We’ve been borrowing Her Highness’s cruiser to manage, but even that isn’t fast enough. We need another vessel on par with the destroyer’s speed. The budget isn’t confirmed yet, but it should be manageable. We’d appreciate your consideration.”
“We’ve heard. The destroyer’s performance—enhanced by our affiliate dock—has been a point of pride for us.”
“Oh, come on—”
“Quiet, you.”
Mark’s father couldn’t help but complain about the dock president’s interjection.
“Ah, let him talk. But truly, we’re proud of its success. The military’s already inquired about it, even floated ideas for the next frigate-class development. Ah—that’s off the record.”
It seemed [Shunmin]’s influence had reached here too.
True, the interior was absurd, but performance-wise, it might surpass any military ship.
Though, encasing the entire hull in Scarlet Alloy was excessive…
Since this was just an introductory meeting, things didn’t get too technical.
As the discussion neared its end and we prepared to leave, the topic of the orphanage came up.
Given their connection to Casbel, they offered to support Her Highness’s orphanage project.
Local patronage was invaluable—
Bruce Orphanage itself relied on the Strong-Arm family’s backing.
But everyone present knew this wasn’t purely out of goodwill.
The Interstellar Criminal Police Organization ’s current position was like a gazelle surrounded by hyenas.
This wasn’t just about noble society.
Economic circles, too, were swarming with factions eager to secure influence, sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain.
With her highness’ recent announcement, things were escalating rapidly.
Mark’s father bluntly admitted that Casbel wanted to strengthen ties and secure a stronger foothold.
“No point hiding it—the dock president or my son Mark would’ve spilled it anyway. Honesty earns trust.”
It wasn’t something to criticize, but as someone within the organization, it did give me pause.
Regardless, since they needed local economic allies, Maki-nee decided then and there to accept Casbel’s offer of cooperation.
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With his highness’ recent announcement -> With Her Highness’ recent announcement
Thanks for the treat.
fixed, thanks