"This is Vice Chief Murasaki, this is Vice Chief Midorikawa... and this one needs no introduction, right? Our legendary hero of the police world, Chief Shiraishi!" Ebihara introduced everyone.
"Chief!" Murasaki and Midorikawa both saluted.
Murasaki looked like a bald middle-aged man, broad and powerfully built... Well, if Shiraishi had not been standing there, he would have been obviously the most imposing of the other three. Combined with his bald head, he looked somewhat fierce. But with Shiraishi present, he simply could not seem all that burly.
Shiraishi had previously seen some of his information from Iwata. Vice Chief Murasaki Tora was a rare Chief Superintendent from the "Non-Professional Group"—normally, the ceiling for the "Non-Professional Group" was Inspector, and while Superintendent was theoretically attainable, in practice one had to at least come from the "Quasi-Professional Group" to have a chance.
After all, Superintendents rarely had opportunities to go out into the field. It was a standard management position...
No matter how capable the workhorses of the "Non-Professional Group" were, they were still meant for fieldwork!
But there were always exceptions, such as Murasaki Tora... He had originally come from the Mobile Unit. Because he had rendered great service, he had been able to break through the constraints of the "Non-Professional Group" and become a senior police officer in one leap.
That was already his limit!
There was no possibility of advancing any further...
He was quite satisfied with his work now as well. After all, Murasaki Tora had always been the type whose muscles outweighed his brains. All he could do now was oversee routine training, and making him Vice Chief was entirely a reward for his merits.
Midorikawa Gin already had a head full of silver hair. Though he was younger than the chief, he was already fifty-eight and had only a year and a half until retirement. His face bore the marks of life's hardships, and he looked like a highly experienced old policeman. Born into the "Quasi-Professional Group," he was the one doing the normal work of a vice chief.
In that respect, Shiraishi was very satisfied with Beika Police Station—he would not have any friction with the vice chiefs because of his status as a "parachuted-in" appointment.
Neither of the two thought he had any chance of promotion, either...
And just as the two saluted Shiraishi, he saw their "attributes"!
[Murasaki Tora (Vice Chief of Beika Police Station): Age: 46. Overall Rating: SR. Mind: Justice (75), Principles (79), Gentleness (40), Subjectivity (31), Passion (65), Resilience (67). Body: Exceptionally healthy, exceptionally strong, bald... Skills: Fighting (SR), Apprehension (SR), Driving (R)... Potential: All attributes would be difficult to improve.] [Midorikawa Gin (Vice Chief of Beika Police Station): Age: 58. Overall Rating: SR. Mind: Justice (77), Principles (61), Gentleness (77), Subjectivity (50), Passion (42), Resilience (60). Body: Suboptimal health, aging, mentally and physically exhausted... Skills: Interrogation (SR), Finance (SR), Deduction (R)... Potential: All attributes would be difficult to improve.]
Shiraishi could "see" the attributes of the two vice chiefs in the office. As for the former chief, since he was not a "subordinate," he was outside the scope of the inspection!
Shiraishi also realized that the two vice chiefs had fairly good ratings. Though he did not know exactly what the "Mind" attributes represented, and the "Body" category seemed rather vague as well... the overall ratings were clear. Both men were SR.
However, judging from their "Skills," the difference between them was obvious...
This category listed numerous skills. It seemed that any skill reaching N rank would be displayed.
Murasaki Tora's most notable "Skills" were [Fighting] and [Apprehension], which suited his characteristics perfectly...
By comparison, Midorikawa Gin was clearly a more qualified vice chief. Not only did he possess excellent [Interrogation] abilities needed by frontline officers, his [Deduction] was also decent. More importantly, he was highly proficient in the administrative field of [Finance], and possessed other administrative abilities as well.
Leaving aside the "Body" category for now...
Based on Shiraishi's six years as a police officer, he vaguely understood that the seemingly positive traits in the "Mind" category were not necessarily better the higher they were!
The system's display indirectly proved this as well...
In the "Skills" category, it directly showed the "Rating." SR was better than R, without question. But in the "Mind" category, every item was merely a number, and it never said that higher numbers were better!
What the exact standard was still needed to be verified...
Shiraishi could not see his own values. After all, "Mind" was more like a personality tendency, and even allocating points could not change one's personality. The panel differed when looking at subordinates and when looking at himself.
Moreover, Shiraishi could not allocate points to others. He could only see their ratings.
As for training them, he would probably only be able to hone their abilities by "assigning missions"!
However...
Of the two vice chiefs, one was nearing retirement, while the other, though only middle-aged, mainly excelled physically. Thus, neither had much potential.
Of course, having already understood his own system, Shiraishi knew this did not mean the two vice chiefs truly could not "improve." It only meant that his [Insight] and [Spirit] were unable to perceive their potential!
Shiraishi even suspected that what he could see in the "Body" category was related to his own medical and psychological abilities. He could not unconditionally see every aspect of someone's physical condition.
After all, this was a "scientific" world, and even the system had to follow basic science.
Everything he observed was observed by Shiraishi himself. Naturally, the results of those observations were limited by his own abilities.
Of course, since training subordinates could earn "return points," cultivating young talent was most important to Shiraishi. There was no need to insist on uncovering some unknown "potential" in these two older vice chiefs!
Shiraishi was also delighted inside. The slight dissatisfaction caused by being sent down here had completely subsided.
After all, if he had truly transferred to the National Police Agency, he would certainly have been doing desk work. Even as a section chief, it would still have been a management position, and he would never have had the chance to lead several hundred people.
In a sense, as a Chief Superintendent, being transferred to a large police station was the best choice for harvesting "training" points.
Of course, Shiraishi had not forgotten the original ways of earning points either!
After mastering a new skill, he could earn points by passing qualification exams or achieving accomplishments...
Leaving qualification exams aside for the moment, Shiraishi had recently been preparing to pass the Bar Exam—he had already reviewed most of the material while hospitalized.
It was not that Shiraishi actually wanted to become a lawyer. It was mainly because the exam was difficult, and in Shiraishi's experience, the harder something was to pass, the greater the reward for passing it!
As for accomplishments...
"Senior Ebihara, I wonder whether there are any thorny matters at the station right now? While you're still here, Senior, I need to put in some extra effort, so I won't be caught in a panic when I have to face them alone later!" Shiraishi said politely.
Mm, in Shiraishi's experience, if he could resolve some long-standing problems or backlogged cases now, he would definitely receive achievement point rewards.
Of course, Shiraishi could not shamelessly boast right from the start that he would solve problems the former chief could not solve...
Shiraishi might have looked rough and imposing, but he was not someone who lacked manners.
Ebihara naturally understood what Shiraishi meant. After laughing, he said, "Young people really are better—they have drive! Not like us old geezers...
"As for thorny matters... Hmm, while none of them are particularly urgent, there really are three things that have given me quite a headache... Hahaha, they've given me headaches for a long time. From now on, they'll be Chief Shiraishi's headaches!"
It was clear that Ebihara, who was about to retire, was in an exceptionally good mood!
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