Read Novel Full Vol 20 Chapter 15
Vol 20 Chapter 15
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Chapter 15 – Sharp Cutting Edge
When I went to the Castle to talk about the regular shipping route, while we were in the middle of discussing things about the regular shipping route, it was decided that we would pick a fight with the important people who were messing with us. The situation has taken a completely different direction than I expected, but in the end, it looks like my work will be reduced, so I’ll just wait and see.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but it still looks like a fortress.”
The day after the meeting with Camille-san and the others, we went straight to work. Personally, I would have liked to take things a little slower, but Camille-san and the others were so motivated that it was impossible to argue with them.
“It was you who ordered it to be built like a fortress, wasn’t it, Master?”
Ines retorts sharply to my casual remark. It can’t be helped; the city was in ruins after the war, and I thought security was the highest priority if orphans were to live there.
But it was clearly overkill.
I ignored Ines’ sharp comments and went to the orphanage. It had been a while since I’d last visited, but I was quietly happy that the gatekeeper remembered my face.
Well, I can’t help but feel that his gaze went right through me to the group of beautiful women standing behind me, but I guess that’s just my imagination.
As soon as we entered, the children noticed us and came running over. It seems that in the eyes of the children, I am just a person handing out sweets, and their eyes sparkle with anticipation.
Fufu, I wonder why, even though these children are also true to their wishes, they seem so cute compared to the naughty brats from the Dark Elf Island. Is it because those dark elf’s kids are naughty and already confirmed to be good-looking in the future?
Anyway, I’m going to make trouble for the kids, so I’ve prepared some sweets to appease them. I’ll also leave Rimu and the slime group and Pent with them to play with, so they’ll both have a good time. In the meantime, I have something to talk about.
I walk through the large courtyard where the children can play and enter the orphanage. The flower beds we planted to brighten up the place are in full bloom, making the surroundings look a little brighter.
Well, the building is still a bit too plain for that…
I’m led into the reception room. I’m the director of the orphanage, but since I’m only a pretend director, I don’t have my own office.
“I’m sorry to spring this on you, but we’re going to move everyone in the orphanage, including the staff, to the Castle for a while.”
I feel bad about it, but since most of the staff are slaves, it’s easy enough to just tell them the purpose.
Well, I’m worried about the children whose living environment will change regardless of the adults, but I hope they’ll do their best while taking care of them as their quality of life will improve.
“W-we will obey your orders, Wataru-sama, but what will happen to the orphanage while we are gone?”
Asked Elmo, the leader of the slaves. It’s only natural to be curious, but they obey without asking why they are moving, which is probably how it is as slaves. …Huh? What about Ines?
Well, there are times when Ines’ free-spiritedness is a saving grace, so let’s leave it at that for now.
“We’re planning to get someone from the Merchant’s Guild to take care of the orphanage.”
According to Camille-san, the merchant guild in the city of Cagliari is heavily indebted to us, so there shouldn’t be any problems there.
I wonder if the old man from the Merchant’s Guild is having a hard time.
I continue the meeting, feeling sorry for him in my heart.
For now, it has been decided that everyone will move to the Castle today. It has been agreed that the Merchant’s Guild will provide a carriage and a ship for transportation.
It’s a bit sudden, but the Castle has most things, and there are plenty of spare rooms for the crew, so there won’t be any material problems.
I’m worried about the orphans’ mental state, but if we put Rimu and the rest of the slime group, Pent and Saporabi, to work, I think they’ll be okay for a while.
After the meeting, I give some sweets to the orphans who have been playing with Rimu and the others and return to the Castle.
I thought about going to the Merchant’s Guild, but before I left, Camille-san told me that she had called the guild master of the Merchant’s Guild to come after lunch, so I decided to just go back.
＊＊＊
“Gilmas, it’s been a while. You look good…or not.”
“Oh, you noticed?”
After lunch, I was waiting in the ship’s conference room when the old man, who is the guild master of the Merchant’s Guild, and his female subordinate entered.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I know the guild master’s name. I always forget to ask people their names when they have a title. Well, if the timing is right, I’ll ask his name later. Until then, I’ll just call him Gilmas.
By the way, I think Gilmas looks like he’s dying, probably from overwork. I wanted to say a standard greeting but ended up saying something else.
His dark circles are terrible, his cheeks are sunken, his skin is rough, and most of all, he looks lifeless. Where is the passion that burned when he wanted to revive the city?
“Yes, are you busy?”
“I am busy to the point of death.”
He really seems to be dying, so please don’t say things that aren’t funny. What do you mean? Does the city of Cagliari look worse than it was when it was torn apart by the war?
After me, Camille-san and the others greet Gilmas and take their seats. It looks like I’ll be a spectator, so I’ll just relax and drink my tea.
“Guildmaster, we have decided to move the Castle out of the country. As a result, we will not be accepting any new reservations for boarding as of tomorrow.”
Without any preamble, Camille-san drops the bombshell.
“What? No, no, no, that’s too sudden. How can this be?”
Gilmas panics at the bombshell. It’s a shame that the Master of the Merchant’s Guild would show his emotions like this, but of course, he’s panicking.
His female subordinate also turns pale, but that’s a natural reaction. The city of Cagliari is a former military port, but it has become quite prosperous thanks to the influence of the Castle. It would be strange if Gilmas didn’t panic because that would mean that the source of this prosperity would disappear.
“This is the cause of everything.”
Camille-san places several loose-leaf papers in front of Gilmas. It’s great that they’re making good use of the things on board. Loose-leaf papers are really handy, aren’t they?
Gilmas takes the paper and reads it with bloodshot eyes. He already looks like the Grim Reaper. But it is Gilmas who is about to die.
“…Ah, well, merchants value results. I can’t make excuses. But this country will be in chaos, right?”
Gilmas looks up to the sky as if he has given up and then asks Camille-san with a strong look.
I’m sure there was a lot written on that loose-leaf paper. The complaints I heard from Camille-san were quite harsh, and I’m sure they were carefully selected for this paper.
Still, Gilmas asks if it’s okay to give up and let the country fall into chaos. I thought he was kind of cool, even if it was unintentional.
“Do you think we should worry about a country that allows foolish people to run wild, clinging to the ship of Mage-sama who is a benefactor to the country?”
While I was a little touched by this, Camille-san cut off Gilmas’ thoughts in one breath.
Camille-san, who wanted to vent all her stress, didn’t seem to care. But Gilmas is supposed to be on our side, so I think it would be best if I backed him up.
“U-um, Camille-san, let’s calm down for a moment. Gilmas is a collaborator who acts as an intermediary between the ship and influential people… Wait a minute, wasn’t it supposed to be the Merchant’s Guild that was supposed to act as an intermediary? Why are we being harassed directly?
I’m pretty sure that’s what we promised. After all, the Merchant’s Guild is in charge of merchant relations, right?
“Well, you know, I’m doing everything I can, but there are too many demands and I couldn’t keep them all in check, so I’m sorry.”
I had intended to give Gilmas a follow-up, but I ended up eliciting an apology.
“Wataru-san, the guildmaster is not responsible for everything. Even though he is the guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild, he is only the guildmaster of one town. The Merchant’s Guild has also split up before the profits, and even the Merchant’s Guilds of other countries are interfering. The pressure from the nobles is also terrible. The guildmaster is working hard.”
…Wait, why is Camille-san defending the guildmaster, and I become the one who criticizes him? Something’s not right.
“No, I mean, didn’t Camille-san criticize the guildmaster?”
“I am not criticizing him. Merchants value results, but that doesn’t mean we disregard the process. We understand that the guildmaster did his best for us.”
Really? I couldn’t understand the strange course of events, so I looked at Mauro-san and Donatella-san, but they nodded in agreement. I was still very confused.
“Well… I’m sorry to interrupt. Please continue.”
I listened to the story in silence, feeling comforted by Rimu’s soft body.
“Ahem. Guildmaster, our request is that you announce to the entire country via the Merchant’s Guild network that this ship will be going abroad in three months. At the same time, we will entrust you with a letter detailing the circumstances, so please deliver it as well.”
Actually, this is still a modest version of what she wanted to do. At first, she also wanted to send letters expressing her dissatisfaction to neighboring countries.
But then I decided to limit it to the country because it would be too much trouble to sort things out that way.
“Are you going to go that far? It’s going to cause trouble for the Crown Prince as well. After all, you and the Crown Prince were on good terms.”
“Everyone knows about the friendship between the Crown Prince and us. The letter also said that the Crown Prince was kind to us. There is no problem.”
I can only think that there are problems. Apparently, the Crown Prince will be the only winner after this mess is resolved, so there’s no problem.
They explained it to me before, but I still feel a little different.
It’s not that there are no problems; it’s just that they are forcing the negative to become positive. It’s like cutting the flesh to break the bone. I hope they don’t bleed to death…
If we had informed the Crown Prince in advance, it would have been different, but not only Camille-san but Mauro-san and Donatella-san refused.
That would mean they’d be deeply involved with the Crown Prince instead of being friendly.
I don’t understand the balance of such a thing, but it seems that they are thinking carefully about the political distance. Well, for now, it looks like Gilmas can’t compete with Camille-san and the others, and it’s certain that the Kingdom of Brescia will be in chaos starting tomorrow.
I hope that a peaceful landing point can be found.
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