Chapter 11

After the door closed, I took a sip of my drink and flipped through the materials. —I see. On the cover, the following were listed:

• Regarding economic losses due to construction suspension

• Protest against administrative decisions ignoring public opinion

• A set of petitions seeking early resumption The contents were largely divided into three types. First. Complaints from contractors who undertook the construction. “We have already invested personnel and materials.” “The suspension is an unforeseen loss.” “There are problems contractually.” It was just numbers, without the prerequisites written down. It is a typical “claim that isolates only the losses.” Second. Petitions from surrounding merchants. “Traffic of construction workers decreased, and sales dropped.” “Vitality has been lost.” “It is hindering the town’s development.” It is emotional, but there is a sense of reality to their livelihood. I cannot ignore it. Third—. …Oh? There are many signed protest letters, but some are from regions clearly far from the construction sites. I don’t think there is a direct impact. Besides. (There are things mixed in “other than” my projects.) Construction stopped by other departments. Administrative decisions on separate matters. Clearly, they are pushing everything onto me in a lump. Is it harassment? Or a test? …Well, either is fine. I closed the materials and let out a light sigh. (First, decide the order of priority.) I have no intention of processing everything “immediately.” Such a thing is not work; it is exhaustion. The criteria can be simple. —Human life and safety. —Damages that take time to recover. —Things that will spread problems in a chain reaction if left alone. Conversely, losses that can be recovered with money, cases where only the voices are loud, and things where the locus of responsibility is vague are postponed. I rang the bell. “Can you call some civil officials who can spare the time?” Three people gathered. “Urgently.” I spread a map on the desk. “Regarding these construction suspension cases, make ‘visual materials’ instead of text.” The civil officials looked up. “Plot the following on the map.” I held up one finger. “Planned construction sites.” The second finger. “Actual range of influence.” The third finger. “Sources of complaints and petition submissions.” “Color code them. Direct impact, indirect impact, almost unrelated. In three types.” I placed my finger down further. “In addition, write down the reason the construction was stopped. Budget overrun, material shortage, safety standards not met, labor shortage. For each location.” One of the civil officials nodded as if understanding immediately. “…So, make it so we can tell at a glance ‘who is in trouble, where, and about what,’ correct?” “Exactly.” I answered immediately. “Text can be fudged. Maps cannot be fudged. Submit the primary materials by sometime tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I want the overall picture.” The civil officials moved without hesitation. Looking down at the mountain of documents left on the desk, I think. (“Process this immediately,” huh?) I will process it. However, not by the loudness of the voice, but in order of importance. The tactic of applying pressure with a bundle of documents on a former corporate wage slave—does not work.

The next day, the civil officials had compiled the map and charts. Red is the region directly affected. Yellow is indirect influence. Green is almost unrelated. …It is spectacularly misaligned. The places where the voices are loud and the places that are truly in trouble do not match. The reasons for construction suspension also differ by location. Every one of them has a reason for the judgment to stop. Every one is a circumstance that cannot be ignored. (The direction is decided.) I called the civil official. “Gather all concerned parties. The heads of the relevant departments, site supervisors, representatives of the petitioners. Every single one.” The civil official blinked for just a moment. “The purpose of the meeting is…?” “Determining the order of priority.” I closed the map. “I want to decide the method to reduce the most dissatisfaction with limited budget and labor.” —Not with emotion, but with facts. The materials are assembled. Now, it is just talking in the same place, not on a desk. A meeting is a place to reach a conclusion. Groundwork and pressure are not needed now. …However. Whether I can finish on time or not has become a little suspicious.