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The next matter to be discussed was gambling.

Betting was unavoidable when the arena was concerned. The reason why the plan to build the arena in Luneville came into being was that we had the trust of both the citizens and the guild members so the match-fixing-related troubles would be minimal here.

This was because there were a considerable number of nobles that had a hobby of having their employed warriors battle rather than operate gambling business by themselves.

But gambling was still an essential part of their proxy battles, so banning it officially would result in antagonizing said nobles, while making an exception only for them would end up antagonizing the general public instead.

Having said that, if we just let them do as they please, there would be people who would lose all their assets in gambling and resort to crimes.

As the three were racking their brains over this matter, Frank eventually came up with a suggestion.

“What if instead of banning it officially, we instead manage it?”
“Do you mean that the branch would manage the gambling?”

Frank nodded at Ector’s confused question.

“Rather than the branch, it would be the arena itself managing it. While it would be banned everywhere else.”
“…I suppose we’ll be able to avert malicious rate manipulation too with that.”

The matches would have increased tournaments, and the dividends would be calculated through something akin to the Parimutuel system that Japan’s horse racing used.

The payment would be determined by the percentage of the total of the bets, and what wasn’t paid would go to the arena management funds… it was a system where the organization always profited.

The gambling management policies proceeded without any significant issues.

As I patted Haku while lending their conversation an ear, the prime minister addressed me, perhaps finding my silence dissatisfying.

“Illya, do you have anything to say about anything we’ve discussed so far?”
“Let’s see. Regarding the patrol squad’s regulations from before, what do you say about setting up a reward?”

The three of them urged me to continue with their gazes. Can’t you figure out the rest… I hid my displeasure and chose my words.

“To make people adhere to the rules, I think it’s important that we have not only punishment for those who break them, but also a reward for those who obey them. It’s like candy and whip, so to speak.”
“It sounds kind of lewd when you’re the one saying that. Uh, sorry.”

I shut up the harassing prime minister with a glare.

“Though I say obey them, it doesn’t have to be anything complex. However, having the number of arrests and protective custody contributing to the award could increase false arrests, so it would be necessary to have severe punishment too.”

Not just Frank and Ector, but even the prime minister who was heavily involved with the law started to ponder seriously. If he forgot something so important, I may need to tell the king to hurry up and raise his successor.

At any rate, the topics including the regulations were being digested and Luneville’s expansion plan was coming into shape.

Normally it should’ve been Ector and Frank to think up all this, but perhaps the prime minister being here was a good thing this time around. Maybe he wanted to lead matters in a profitable direction for himself, but there were no disadvantages for the city in what he said so I closed an eye.

Then, as we were having a short tea break to moisten our dry throats, Frank spoke up.

“By the way, there’s something on my mind regarding the arena’s management.”

The other two were focused on Frank, but he was no longer as nervous, perhaps thanks to this break.

“About the plan to capture monsters to deal with the discontent regarding match-fixing… I have information that monsters can sense other monsters from afar and draw together.”

Frank went to the trouble of obscuring the source of the information, but the two of them looked right at me.

I guess it couldn’t be helped since I have previously told them about the increase in monsters. Still, the two of them took note that Frank hid my name, so they just continued the topic.

“Then, are you saying that monsters will increase even more in Luneville’s vicinity?”
“Yes. Before this, they stopped at simply increasing, but this time, the monsters would apparently gather around the captured ones.”

This wasn’t something that could be handled by eliminating the increased number of monsters.

Luneville, which had a rampart, aside, there were many many other settlements in the vicinity that didn’t even have people who could wield swords properly, let alone guards like the permanent private army of the lord.

Depending on the monsters that came, those settlements may as well be on their path to Luneville, so either the lord and kingdom needed to increase the soldiers, or the guild members had to be dispatched there.

There were absurd costs involved like the maintenance costs and such, so Ector and the prime minister fell silent.

It was a profitable situation for the guild, but it wasn’t exactly a happy situation considering the risk, thus Frank decided to wait for the two.

“…What do you think about selecting someone for the monitoring duty in every settlement?”

The prime minister spoke while glancing at me, but I naturally didn’t answer.

Having a lookout stay there and request from the guild or the soldiers whenever something happened was a good plan from my perspective.

However, that wouldn’t work as a deterring mechanism, so prompt action would be needed for both communication and taking refuge.

But having to decide on plans that had merits and demerits was the duty of those who governed the lands. They have to take proper responsibility for their positions.

The three gave up hope when I continued acting like a maid and poured tea to them, so they decided to continue the topic.

“Let us approximate the territories of the captured monsters and have the soldiers stand by in the villages that are on their path to Luneville.”
“Right. Let’s experiment with it in a different town while the arena is being built. Branch master… Do you have any other information we need to discuss?”
“There is one more. I have information that monsters that remain in the human environment for extended periods tend to mutate. This should be manageable by fortifying their cells and strengthening vigilance.”

The two nodded after some consideration, and the meeting came to a close.

They would apparently hire someone else for the arena’s reception, so the only thing related to me directly was that there would be a second annex to the branch. Everything is already standardized so I don’t think there would be any problems, but I gotta thoroughly educate them about hygiene and such!