Considering how much treant wood we’re gathering… Is there something going on?” [Wereanna]
“Yeah… You know about the population decline of this town, right?” [Wogan]
“Well yeah. After all, one of the mines did get abandoned. It might have only been one mine, but there are still quite a few guys who lost their job.” [Wereanna]
“Right, and that’s the reason why. The things is, although this story’s old news by now, a section of the public office once tried to think of a way to increase the town’s profits, but unfortunately the head back then wasn’t that passionate about it, so nothing came out of it. But the new head of the public office knew about that event, and this time, he thought of asking for their opinion. The result? They decided to gather people who can make some specialty products, but unfortunately… this town doesn’t have anything noteworthy aside from the mines and iron.” [Wogan]
How about being a tourist spot for the Rimel Birds?
“Can’t the rimel birds be considered a specialty of the town?” [Ryouma]
“Well that idea was proposed too, but the thing is that the season that the rimel birds appear in is also the time when the grell frogs are being hunted, so it’s not possible to make them a tourist attraction. We can’t stop the hunts either. And besides, something like that is temporary. What the public office wants is something that’s available all year round.” [Wogan]
Eh–…I suppose town development isn’t that simple, huh? But while I don’t really get it, isn’t it good enough as long as there’s something that sells well? So wouldn’t it be better not to be so picky, and just make the most out of something already known to be profitable? Like that one or maybe even a festival.
“Isn’t it fine even if it’s temporary? You could do it as something like ‘the flavor of the season’ or something…” [Ryouma]
“That’s not a bad idea, but this is a mining town, remember? If the mine runs out in the future, then the town will only be able to make a profit during that season. So with that in mind, it’s imperative that the town find something that can be profited off of for the whole year.” [Wogan]
Ahh, now that he mentions it…
“Well it’s not like I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. In fact, I’ve actually also thought that it’d be fine to make some profit gradually. But… Well in any case, the discussion this time around went that way, and in the end it was decided for an arena to be made beyond the southern gate of the town to attract tourists. There, those who wish to participate in a bout will be able to, and at the same time, spectators who want to watch will have lodging available for them to stay at. As well as other facilities that might be of service to them. Moreover we also plan to make some profit out of the spectating fees and the betting. It’ll take a lot of money to have everything ready, but in exchange, the profits will also be equally big.” [Wogan]
“Fighting and gambling, huh? The profits will definitely be big, but in exchange, the public order will probably greatly decline, de gozaru.” [Asagi]