Raimeiren and her team had constructed a snow mountain roughly thirty meters high on the southern side of the village. They built one every winter, and as always, the children were ecstatic at its sudden appearance.
"Hold on, kids," I called out. "Before you go running off, make sure you thank Raimeiren and the others for building it. And you’ve all eaten breakfast, right? No going out in light clothes—bundle up properly."
If they worked up a sweat... well, I was sure the High Ogre Maids accompanying them would keep an eye on things.
The children headed for the mountain, hauling their skis and sleds. I planned to join them myself a bit later. Out of respect for the creators, the kids had initially suggested that Hiichiro and Gral should take the ceremonial first slide, but Hiichiro had insisted that everyone should just play together, so they went with that instead.
Raimeiren was moved to tears, praising how much he had matured, though in my eyes, Hiichiro had always been a fine, admirable boy. Perhaps that was just my fatherly bias speaking.
After breakfast, Yoko remained in the village instead of heading to Village Five. The Demon King, Beezel, and Randan were scheduled to arrive shortly for a conference. The main topic was meant to be a re-evaluation and coordination of the economic ties between the Demon Kingdom and Village Five. Since we had discussed these points several times in advance, there wasn't much room for trouble. In fact, the official business concluded barely five minutes after the Demon King and his entourage arrived.
It was finished, yet for some reason, they were still addressing me as if they were delivering a formal report. The Demon Kingdom was perfectly free to manage its own affairs without my oversight, regardless of how things worked in Village Five.
"Hmm? Small talk?" I asked. "Sure, I don't mind. What’s on your mind?"
Randan produced a set of documents inscribed on wooden boards. "The truth is, the frequency of fires in the Royal Capital has become quite an issue..."
According to the data Randan shared, there had been twenty-seven fires—ranging from minor to severe—in the capital between this spring and autumn. Twenty-seven... that sounded like a lot. Even for an entire year, that averaged out to more than two fires every month.
"The numbers are rising annually," Randan continued. "We’ve been debating countermeasures, and during those talks, the statistics for Village Five were brought up. I don’t have the data for this year yet, but last year and the year before that, you recorded zero incidents. It’s remarkable. If you have some sort of system or specific initiative in place, we would be most grateful to learn from it."
He asked for a system or initiative, but honestly, I just encouraged the residents to hold regular fire drills—simple training on how to extinguish flames and how to evacuate safely.
"Now, now, Village Head. It’s more than just that," Yoko interjected, adding her own perspective. "The Village Head had a very high awareness of disaster prevention when he founded Village Five. Not only did he secure evacuation routes and assembly points, but he strictly mandated the minimum distance between houses to prevent flames from jumping from one building to the next."
That seemed like common sense to me. Surely that was standard practice everywhere?
At my question, the Demon King, Beezel, and Randan all looked away.
Wait... really? They weren't doing that? Did they not have a master plan for their city?
The Demon King offered his excuse: "Once the locations for the defensive fortifications and the noble districts are decided, the rest of the town just sort of... happens." (Rough translation: The capital is on the front lines, so the urban layout was an afterthought.)
Beezel offered his: "Since the capital was built by renovating an existing city, there are certain areas that are physically difficult to modify." (Rough translation: We thought about redesigning it, but it was always pushed down the priority list because of the sheer labor involved.)
Randan offered his: "I've been letting them manage their own local autonomy." (Rough translation: Even if I ordered them to move their homes, they wouldn't listen.)
I wondered how they’d managed to run a country like this for so long. Then again, I understood that urban planning took a backseat when you had to constantly worry about wars with other nations. Still, there hadn't been any major conflicts for about a decade now, so they really needed to start thinking about city maintenance.
"I shall apply myself," the Demon King said. "I'll do my best," Beezel added. "I'll make it happen," Randan finished.
Why were they being so stiffly formal? I knew they were joking around, and I didn't mind a lighthearted mood, but the conversation looked like it was going to run long. The High Ogre Maids brought out fresh green tea and served everyone Kinako Mochi as a snack.
Green tea and Kinako Mochi—a perfect pairing. Great choice. The mochi was made from last year’s stock, but the flavor was still excellent. We hadn't actually done the first mochi-pounding of the year yet. I was waiting for a day with good weather when enough people could gather. Today would have been ideal, but the snow mountain had claimed everyone's attention.
Returning to the topic at hand, I told them that investigating the root causes of fires was essential. You had to find out why a fire started before you could prevent the next one. Simultaneously, you had to establish clear evacuation paths and safe zones. If it came down to it, I suggested they should even require owners of estates with large gardens to open their gates for evacuees.
"I see..." Randan murmured, looking impressed. Personally, I didn't think I'd said anything particularly profound.
"Wait, have you not been investigating the causes of your fires until now?" I asked.
"Ah... well, that is..." Randan hesitated. When I prompted him to continue, he sighed. "Whenever a fire breaks out, the area becomes chaotic, and we have our hands full just dealing with looters. By the time things settle down, the person who caused the fire has usually either been executed or driven out of the city."
So they couldn't investigate even if they wanted to. That made preventing recurrences nearly impossible. I turned to Yoko and asked how Village Five handled things.
Yoko puffed out her chest with pride. "In Village Five, the Security Team is mandated to conduct a thorough investigation into every fire. Past causes have included magical accidents, mishandled torches or campfires, and accidental kitchen fires. We have implemented specific preventative measures for each, so we almost never see a repeat incident from the same cause."
I knew she was capable, but she really did a great job.
Yoko turned back to Randan. "It might be presumptuous for me to advise the Royal Capital, but fire prevention is built upon the accumulation of data. You would be wise to establish a formal investigative body."
"I understand," Randan replied. "I shall speak with the Mayor of the capital and have him set up a framework."
Wait, the Mayor? Of the Royal Capital? Wasn't it the Demon King?
"His Majesty is the sovereign of the Demon Kingdom, not the local administrator of the city," Randan explained. "Similarly, I am the minister of internal affairs for the whole kingdom, not the city specifically. The Mayor is one of my subordinates."
"I see. I didn't realize that."
"If you wish, I can have him come and pay his respects?"
"No, that's not necessary. But could you tell him to start holding fire drills? If the residents actually practice putting out fires and evacuating, they'll become more conscious of the danger. That alone should reduce the number of accidents."
"Understood. Lady Yoko, could I ask for the documentation regarding Village Five’s drills at a later date?"
"It would be a blow to our economy if the capital burned down, so I have no problem providing them," Yoko said. "However, don't start with massive, city-wide drills. That will only cause panic and might even lead to a real fire. Start small and focus on spreading awareness."
"Mhm. Fair point."
"Also," Yoko added, "keep participation voluntary. Forced drills are meaningless."
"Really? But surely no one will show up then?"
"You simply have to frame the drill as 'Counter-measures against Fire Attacks.' You'll have more participants than you know what to do with."
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered that when I first discussed the drills with Pirika in Village Five, she’d asked about "fire attack defenses" too.
I spent some more time talking with Yoko and Randan about the specifics of the training. The Demon King and Beezel, meanwhile, weren't exactly listening. The Demon King was focused on his Kinako Mochi while playing with the younger sister cats, and Beezel had somehow ended up with Fracia on his lap, looking perfectly content. This was supposed to be a serious talk about disaster prevention, after all.
"It is best to leave such matters to those in charge," the Demon King remarked. "Meddling from the top only leads to confusion."
"I agree," Beezel echoed.
I suppose they had a point.
With the small talk concluded, I told them I was going to check on the children at the snow mountain. "What are you three doing next?"
Randan said he was heading back immediately to brief the Mayor on our talk. I wished him luck; the fewer fire victims, the better.
Beezel said that after he dropped Randan off at the capital, he would return to spend some family time with Frau and Fracia.
As for the Demon King... apparently, he was going to build a fort for a snowball fight. Ah, so that was what Gratz and the High Elves had been working on since yesterday. I wasn't sure how the teams were being split, but it looked like Gratz was on the Demon King’s side this time. I told him not to overexert himself. I promised to bring some warm refreshments after I got back from the snow mountain.
Yoko, surprisingly, wasn't going back to Village Five. She was taking the day off to relax in the kotatsu with Hitoe. I told her that was fine—as long as she’d notified her office, I didn't see any problem with it.
Randan: "To use a fleet as an analogy for the Mayor's role..."
Demon King: "I am the Fleet Commander, directing the overall movements of the fleet."
Mayor: "I am the Captain of the flagship where the Commander resides, managing the vessel's specific operations."
Randan: "That is the gist of it. My position, meanwhile, would be the Fleet Commander's Staff Officer."
Village Head: "That actually makes it more confusing."
Ridley: "Since my staff only deals with the Mayor's subordinates, the Mayor's boss (Lord Randan) feels incredibly far away from me."
(She once mentioned how hard it was to get an audience with Randan, but the truth was simply that there was never any professional reason for a merchant like her to meet the minister of internal affairs directly. It would be like a member of a local neighborhood association demanding a meeting with the Home Secretary.)