Chapter 145: The Relocation Plan
The air in the conference room was frigid.
Even with three fire-attribute Hunters present, it was cold enough to send an involuntary shiver down her spine. Then Elma, seated at the far end of the room, spoke.
"You may sit over there."
At her words, Jenna and the other non-Awakened representatives took their assigned seats.
Of all places, directly across from Edward and the hardline faction Hunters. As everyone lowered their gazes under those hostility-filled stares.
"Then let us begin the meeting. Non-Awakened representatives, please speak first."
A dry voice announced the start of the meeting.
But no one dared to open their mouth. The atmosphere made it feel like one wrong word could cost you your head.
And then.
"...We only want one thing."
Jenna spoke.
Every Hunter’s gaze snapped to her at once, but Jenna clenched her fists and endured it. Then, looking straight at Elma, she said firmly.
"Please guarantee us a minimum right to survival."
The words had barely left her mouth.
When laughter came from across the table.
"Ha, right to survival?"
The leader of the hardline faction, Edward.
Chin propped on one hand, he glared at Jenna with a crooked look.
"Did you forget that you’re all still alive thanks to us? We feed you and put a roof over your heads somewhere warm. What more could you possibly want?"
The contempt was blatant, but Jenna didn’t take the bait. She simply kept her eyes on Elma and delivered the words she’d prepared without missing a beat.
"To start with, the amount of food is absurdly small. Compared to the labor we provide, it’s so low it feels like a deliberate deception..."
Her demands boiled down to two things.
One was a supply of the minimum amount of food needed to sustain normal labor. The other was maintaining the temperature inside the shelter.
Meanwhile, even as Jenna laid out the demands, the hardline Hunters kept up their jeering.
"Like digging around in the dirt is such hard work."
"And what was that? Maintaining the shelter’s temperature?"
"Fighting monsters is grueling enough, and now you want us pulling night watch on top of it?"
"Shameless, every last one of them."
The fiercest pushback came from the fire-attribute Hunters, Edward included. Then Edward let out a snort and glared at Jenna.
"If you want something in the first place, shouldn’t you show a little sincerity first, instead of swarming in here and making a scene?"
"Sincerity?"
"That’s right. For example..."
His eyes raked down Jenna’s body.
A sticky, revolting stare. Then Edward said, his lips curling into a smirk.
"Maybe warming a bed or two to ease the loneliness of the Hunters risking their lives out there?"
"Eh, that body type’s not really my thing."
"Seriously. Look at her, skin and bones. Nothing worth grabbing onto anywhere."
The Hunters snickered among themselves.
At their vile, vulgar display, Jenna bit her lower lip, her body trembling.
Rage, terror, disgust. So many emotions surged up at once that she couldn’t tell them apart.
And then.
"Hey, you people!"
A B-rank nature-attribute Hunter.
Ruby shot up from her seat. Face contorted, she jabbed a finger at them.
"There are things you just don’t say to a kid! Where do you get off spewing that garbage...!"
"What? Garbage?"
"This bitch. We’ve let things slide long enough..."
The Hunters sprang from their seats as well.
Raw hostility and killing intent flooded the conference room. With a fight seemingly ready to break out at any second, the non-Awakened’s faces went pale.
And then.
"Everyone, quiet."
A dry voice pressed down on the room.
It was Elma.
Kneading her temples as if fighting a headache, she looked at Edward.
"Hunter Edward."
"...?"
"Apologize to Miss Jenna."
"Ha, what nonsense are you..."
"Apologize. Now."
Elma’s eyes turned sky blue.
At that, Edward scowled and sat back down. But the apology never came.
He simply spun around in his seat as if to ignore Elma entirely. Her eyebrow twitched at the sight, but she didn’t press him any further.
"...I’m sorry. Allow me to apologize in his place."
She bowed her head to Jenna.
A moment later, Elma raised her head again and addressed Jenna and the non-Awakened delegation.
"Right now, our shelter has too many members for what we produce. On top of that, the food we can secure through outside searches has all but dried up."
Having summed up the current situation.
Elma paused for a moment.
As if weighing something. Before long, seemingly having made up her mind, she began to speak.
"That’s why I’m preparing a relocation plan."
"...What?"
"R-relocation?"
"What do you mean..."
Startled voices rose from all around.
Then Elma spoke up.
"Coral Cave Shelter. You all know of it, yes?"
"Yes, of course we do..."
"I’m currently discussing a large-scale relocation plan with Hunter Gordon, their shelter chief."
Elma’s eyes gleamed.
"In exchange for relocating a portion of our shelter’s non-Awakened to Coral Cave Shelter, each shelter would dispatch its Hunters whenever the other is in danger..."
"Dispatch Hunters?"
Just then.
An intruder abruptly cut in.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
It was Edward.
Eyes wide, he asked again with a look of utter disbelief.
"This is the first I’m hearing of any of this..."
"That’s because it was a matter being discussed only at the shelter chief level. I intended to announce it formally once the specifics were finalized."
"...Ha."
Edward let out a hollow laugh.
Making no effort to hide his displeasure, he spoke as if demanding an answer.
"If talks like that were happening, shouldn’t you have at least given me a heads-up? I am the shelter’s deputy administrator, after all..."
"As I said, it was a matter being discussed at the shelter chief level. I judged it best not to speak of it until it was finalized."
Elma answered flatly.
Edward looked ready to say something more, but then clamped his mouth shut. He whipped his head away, looking like he’d just bitten into something rotten.
Meanwhile, Elma continued her explanation.
"Coral Cave Shelter is far larger than ours, and they have food to spare. So if the relocation goes through, things will improve from where they are now."
A small mercy, at least.
That said, she hadn’t revealed when the relocation would actually happen. And not a single one of the delegation’s demands had been accepted.
But there was no need to worry.
"Also, until the relocation begins in earnest, I will double the current food rations provided to you, the non-Awakened."
"...!"
"I promise to maintain the temperature inside the shelter as well."
Because Elma had accepted every demand.
Jenna exchanged glances with the other representatives beside her. After confirming there were no objections, she gave a quiet nod.
"Yes, thank you, Chief."
"Not at all. I’m sorry I couldn’t resolve this for you sooner."
Elma bowed her head once more.
The sound of Edward clicking his tongue came from across the table, but he raised no objection to the decision.
And so, once the meeting ended.
Jenna felt the tension gripping her body drain away as she rose from her seat.
"We’ll excuse ourselves now."
Breathing a sigh of relief.
Jenna left the conference room with the delegation. As they made their way down the corridor.
She suddenly noticed her hand felt empty.
’Ah, my water bottle...’
Come to think of it, she’d left it in the conference room.
Realizing it only then, Jenna turned around and headed back. At the same moment, she spotted Edward and the hardline Hunters coming out of the conference room.
"...!"
Afraid of getting caught up in needless trouble, Jenna held her breath and pressed herself flat against the wall.
Fortunately, they brushed right past her without a second glance, as if she wasn’t even worth noticing.
And in that moment.
"What will you do now?"
"...Looks like we’ll have to move the plan up."
"Then that means..."
"Right. First..."
In that brief instant, snatches of the conversation between Edward and the Hunters drifted past her ears.
She had no idea what plan they were talking about, but Jenna’s shoulders flinched on their own.
’That look on his face...’
Because she could feel a fierce killing intent in Edward’s eyes and expression. The murderous air about him, like he could kill someone at any moment, sent a shudder through her body.
Only after the Hunters had disappeared did Jenna peel herself off the wall and head for the conference room. Then, just as she was about to slip through the half-open door.
"...Hunter James."
A voice heavy with exhaustion reached her.
It was Elma. Letting out a small sigh, she posed a question to Hunter James.
"Have you confirmed Walfred’s location?"
The moment she heard those words.
Jenna froze stiff on the spot.