This group of sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds worked side by side with experienced adult sailors during a terrible disaster. In some moments, they even surpassed these seasoned marines.
At that moment, Bill dismissed his idea of asking them to forgo their share of the rewards. They more than deserved it, he thought. Perhaps, in the future, he could find another way to help the families of those who perished on this mission.
Bill: "Yes, I heard about these caves. Yoko said she would show them to me."
Tilting her head slightly, Marron asked, "Yoko?"
Mitsuboshi: "Oh, little Yoko, Captain Ryudo's daughter. That little one knows those caves better than most! Hahaha, but the other kids love them too."
Nodding in response, Bill continued, "Yes, I was surprised; I thought the darkness would be frightening for a small child."
Bill was also surprised that adults allowed children to play in such a place, but his thoughts were interrupted when Marron intervened: "The thing is, these caves are quite well-lit! The walls in most places almost reflect the light, and although it was dark in some places, it always seemed like there was light at the end of the tunnel."
"And it was very beautiful!"Yes," agreed one of the other recruits from the Scientific Division, a girl with whom Bill had only briefly interacted.
"When I was a child, I would have loved a place like this," said another recruit, a guy Bill saw training every day and who was really into meditative push-ups.
After this, the group started chatting among themselves, and at some point, they pulled out a few chairs and sat down, leaving Mitsuboshi and Bill standing aside.
Pointing with his hand, Bill then glanced toward the Baratie restaurant and asked, "Chef, what did you mean when you said you designed this building to burn?"
"Ah, well..."
Unfazed by the question, Chef Mitsuboshi continued describing the situation on the island.
It turned out that Little Blue East was too close to the Calm Belt and too far from other islands, making it easy to overlook despite its relatively good condition.
"We rarely even receive news through News Coo!" the man said with a grin, and then, becoming more serious, he continued, "And that's when rumors started to spread in certain circles. Now we occasionally have to deal with pirates."
After a pause, Bill asked, "Instead of designing buildings to burn down, why don't you form a militia?"
For the first time in a long time, Bill saw the man look at him as a senior looks at a sixteen-year-old.
Mitsuboshi explained that the island had too few people, and they couldn't bear the thought of losing even one person over some simple cargo.
As he spoke, another elderly man joined them.
"Ah, Lieutenant Ox, this is our town's mayor, Fabre.After shaking hands, the mayor raised his head and said, "I heard part of your conversation. I understand this may seem like weakness to a strong young man like you, but in reality, as long as everyone remains safe, we can continue to live."
"Fortunately, we now have Captain Ryudo, and the likelihood of losses among our people is even lower."
Upon hearing this, Bill wanted to say that it was irresponsible to just run and hide. There were children on the island, and he had seen that people in this world could become stronger by making an effort.
But in the end, he did not reproach the older men. Firstly, he didn't see it as his task, and secondly, he believed that they, of course, understood the reality of this world as well as he did.
Later, he would understand his mistakes, but for now, he decided to take a different path.
"This island has a good climate; by my estimates, it could support a couple thousand people thanks to the amount of fresh water I've seen."
Understanding where Bill was heading, Mitsuboshi slightly interrupted him, saying, "The island itself could support a moderate population, but the ocean around is too deep. It's practically impossible to fish here because of the sea kings. If we relied solely on farms, the water would quickly run out..."
Now the mayor spoke again, nodding in agreement with Mitsuboshi: "Indeed, we've calculated that the island might support maybe a thousand people along with the animals and farms they need, but these calculations also raise concerns due to population growth and soil fertility! Lieutenant Ox, we are more than willing to hear any suggestions you have regarding our safety — indeed, we would welcome them!
But we've already considered many simple solutions, and for one reason or another, they simply aren't feasible.
At the moment, it's enough for us just to ensure everyone's safety
This puzzled Bill.
If their calculations are correct, and he had no doubt that it was a good rough estimate, it meant that the island could have around three hundred people of fighting age, both men and women.
Would the presence of such a number of people really be different from having just a few dozen?
Thinking about this, he was once again struck by how unstable safety was in this world. He was quiet for a long time, pondering this number: "three hundred".
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