kazema

In the corner of every session is a figure with her head perpetually down, recording every word said by the City Council.

January 1st, 10:12 A.M.

'We propose waiving the right to education for the Infected.'

'We propose imposing no limit on the hours an Infected can work, to ensure that they can earn as much as their ability allows, supporting their own livelihood.'

'We urge the Infected to wear special Infected clothing going forward...'

The silent recorder moves her sore wrists, turning to a new page in her notebook.

January 8th, 6:23 P.M.

'Councilor Jones objects, and proposes a new criteria for assigning jobs to the Infected...'

'Councilor Moneywell proposes a bill to limit the number of Infected factories can employ...'

Still busy, Kite?

Mhm...

Sorry to bother you, but may I ask... where exactly are those documents regarding the demolition of the factories in the east end filed? I can't find them at all.

Folder no.10289 in cabinet B03, third drawer behind the bookshelf.

Heh, I just knew you'd know where it was right away! If I had a head as good as yours, my mum would be so happy she'd slurp down three bowls of cheese soup at once!

Work hours are already over though, so why's your pen still moving...? Oh, Infected this, Infected that... my head hurts.

I already sent in an application; even if I'm just a receptionist for the council chamber, it'd still be better than being a filing clerk. This is just too boring! Why not try applying too, Kite? We can work there together.

What? No no no!

You don't know how hard I worked for this recorder job. My parents want me to be safe and secure, so keeping this position is the best for me. How could I even think of transferring?

Gosh, you're just too timid!

*sigh* Come on, just look at this pot of half-withered flowers I've been raising. Even if I were to change jobs, their situation probably wouldn't get any better.

My brain's good at rote memorization, so being a recorder suits me just fine.

January 15th, 11:45 A.M.

'We propose issuing a special series of banknotes for the Infected, to boost domestic demand...'

'We propose issuing half of the Infected's wages in the form of consumer vouchers...'

Phew......

Wait, I have one more bill to propose!

As I'm sure we all saw this morning, the protest march against Infected desegregation has become such a nuisance that it's even blocking the roads that some of us councilors take!

I was in a hurry and had to loudly heckle them several times to stop blocking my way to work, lest today's council session be delayed.

So I propose allowing the Infected to buy homes, what does everyone think?

If all those Infected workers had adequate housing, they would stop wandering about like vagrants looking for shelter. Then they wouldn't have any reason to interfere with the lives of ordinary people and spark such protests, yes?

Additionally, there are quite a number of Infected in Caladon these days. If each of them bought a house, imagine the boost to the economy!

Councilor Jones, I hear from the others that you've taken on the bid for that land development project on the east end, and they were all harping on about how it was a huge project that would take at least a decade to finish.

Hey now! That's all just hearsay, how could you possibly believe that... Besides, how could it be compared to the roadwork you're backing?

Once the roads are good as new, the people will get moving, and then anything and everything could happen, right?

Our city's development is progressing at a steady pace, but there's no place for such protests in our future. Just a few of us were delayed today, but who knows how much worse it could be tomorrow?

Keeping the general public of Caladon safe and earning their trust is our most basic responsibility.

Only once the residents are at ease can we think about developing our economy!

Recorder? Did you get all that down?

Yes, Miss Councilor.

So, what does everyone think? As soon as the road connecting to the east end is repaired, we can begin work on so many more projects!

...I have no particular opinion on this, but such a bill will be beneficial to everyone, so I will back your proposal.

Recorder, be sure to note every word of this down! The quicker we settle this, the better!

Got it, Councilor Jones.

Please hold on for a moment. I have something to say about the previous proposal.

I find myself curious. These Infected workers... would they even be able to afford a house?

Whyever not? They'll earn enough from the roadwork, and it'll all sort itself out.

January 15th, 6:12 P.M.

So, the good news is that the processing of both the business certificates and access permits the landship needs is going well, so you'll be able to get them all by the next month.

And the bad news is that in the six months since you last submitted a report, it's been long enough for them to finally make a little breakthrough on their proposed bills.

And this latest one is to 'let the Infected buy houses'?

Mhm.

...If I recall your last report correctly, you mentioned that there were a couple of bills proposed that were potentially beneficial for the Infected. What happened to those?

You can probably come up with an answer to that yourself, Captain.

The councilors feel that even though this one is the least feasible, it can still be taken advantage of. Whether it be by those holding vacant land, those with factories, or those repairing the roads, they all want a piece of the pie.

Now that the bill has already been placed on the cutting board, all that's left is to divide the pie to everybody's satisfaction.

The remaining proposals will be squished under the pie pan, and maybe trod upon a few more times for good measure.

...I know that much.

Recently, we've been admitting more Infected patients with acute symptoms.

I'm not complaining, but... things are getting harder for us, even with all the material support we're getting from the landship.

And there will only be more such patients in the future.

That said... the certificates and permits you're getting us will give us more options. So we might still have some tricks up our sleeve going forward.

But... gah! Do you know what kind of Infected we've been admitting this month? Children!

Our efforts will be for naught if they keep screwing around in their City Council sessions like this!

...But we can't interfere, right?

Yes, generally speaking.

Captain, what do you think about Skyfire?

Why bring her up all of a sudden?

Oh, I was just... I think she comes from a good background, and has a good heart, but her worldview is still a little small.

She listens to reason, but has never had to experience reality, so she used an improper method to deal with those councilors when she found out how they really are.

If not for Councilor Angst, or her identity as a Mountbelan, those nobles probably would have served her a lesson—both overt and covert—and forced her out of Caladon in disgrace.

Sometimes she disagrees with my methods too. I'll always choose to preserve my status as a City Council recorder first, mindlessly nodding my head and noting down whatever the councilors say.

Only occasionally do I bring you the evidence they leave behind to make some use out of it.

I always thought her way of charging into things head-on was no good, but—

She's never made an error, and never forgets it: what she does is right. She has never relented on this.

We all have our own ways of upholding justice, Kazemaru.

Hah... But the councilors usually take no notice of me. They don't even remember my name.

They just go 'Recorder, record this,' 'Recorder, take that down.' They probably wouldn't even notice if I changed into a completely different person one day.

Kazemaru, we can't interfere with the council.

I used to chide Skyfire for that too, saying she shouldn't do such a rash thing.

...You know your limits.

Of course I do. So I'm going to pack up my things and go back to the archives and continue sorting through the files.

Oh right, these are the little paper animals I folded. You can give them to the younger Infected to play with.

Now that's more like it. Don't look so sad, we're still hanging in there. We'll manage to figure something out.

...Wait, why do these look so much rougher than the ones from last time?

Look at this horn, it's all twisted! It better not turn into a one-winged fowlbeast when I give it to a kid later!

...I'm going now!

*sigh*

January 17th, 7:19 A.M.

Early day today, Kite?

A new batch of documents arrived, so I'm sorting and filing them...

Oh, I heard you got transferred to the front desk? Congrats!

Heheh, it's my last day today here, so I'll help you out!

Let me tell you, I was passing by the council room yesterday, and I heard them argue about whether to raise the tax rate to limit the Infected's quality of life... even I thought that was a bit of a joke.

Yeah.

January 22nd, 7:32 A.M.

'We propose deducting 30% of the Infected's wages as a reparations fee, to pay for the damages caused to the city by the Infected.'

'We propose following Columbia's example, for the wilderness has vast acres of untapped resources with which the Infected may live prosperous lives.'

The recorder in the corner puts down her pen and, as if having gotten dust on them, wipes her hands vigorously with a handkerchief from her pocket before throwing it into the nearby trashcan.

...Ssh!

What's wrong with you? Don't make so much noise all of a sudden! Don't recorders know such a basic rule?