âI see⊠So while we were busy dealing with the treacherous bastards of the Holy Kingdom, Kosuke-san was enjoying a private date with Iphrita-sama, is that right?â
âNo. Thatâs not it, but yeah.â
That night when I visited the merchantsâ guild and the adventurersâ guild with Iphrita, I was sitting down for dinner. I was entangled with Melty to the hilt at the after-dinner drinks table. Literally and physically, too. Iâm not a stuffed animal or anything, so donât just casually snuggle my neck. My face and head are happy, being buried in Meltyâs breasts and all, but the force is so strong that I feel more threatened than happy.
âMelty, you have to be gentler with me.â
âIâm being gentle.â
âGueee!â
Youâre lying! You just squeezed my neck!
Sylphy is being Sylphy, her face flushed with alcohol, and sheâs resting her upper body on my lap. It seems that todayâs discussion with the Holy Kingdom was very stressful for both of them.
âThis is serious business. You have to listen to me.â
âHmm, Iâm listening.â
âIsla is unfair in that way.â
âThatâs right, always showing her good side.â
âYou two are just messing around. So, have you had a chance to look at the merchantâs guild and the adventurerâs guild, and what do you think?â
I shoo away Sylphy and Isla, who is complaining, and Isla takes a position to listen to me. I knew I could count on Isla.
âWell, in other words. Itâs good to be freed from slavery, but itâs hard for people who canât find decent jobs. I donât think itâs going to happen anytime soon, but if we donât do something about it now, itâs going to have an impact later on.â
âWe know that. We are working through the Adventurersâ Guild to maintain the roads and security, and we are also working with the merchantsâ guild to increase domestic and international trade.â
âYeah, I guess thatâs true, but it didnât seem like it was really producing many results. So Iâve been doing a lot of on-the-ground research.â
Sylphy and Melty were still hugging me and occupying my lap, but they seemed to be in a position to listen.
âTo sum it up, there are a lot of people who have a job but arenât even prepared to do it.â
âHmm? What do you mean?â
âThose who can barely make a living in the Adventurersâ Guild are so busy living that they cannot even prepare the minimum equipment to maintain the roads, guard the roads, or escort the merchants who trade with them. It would be like having no clothes to go shopping when you get out of the house to go shopping. Or rather, they donât have the money to buy clothes.â
âYou mean they canât afford weapons or armor?â
âItâs a problem before that. It is difficult to prepare even a water bag for a short expedition, a bag of provisions, and a bag to carry supplies in.â
In fact, most of the people who spent the daytime at the Adventurersâ Guild were like that. They barely eat every day. If they are not good, they cannot find work, and they will be homeless. In fact, there were many of them who couldnât even eat.
âThen they could only get jobs in the city that were quick and easy.â
âThatâs right. Many of them couldnât afford the equipment, so they could only do light work in the city, such as carrying loads.â
ââŠThatâs more serious than I thought. But we canât just give charity to those people.â
âI agree. If we were to give them a small amount of money that would allow them to get some equipment if they registered with the Adventurersâ Guild, people who donât intend to be adventurers might rush to the Adventurersâ Guild and try to snatch that small amount of money.â
âWell, itâs not quite the same as giving preferential treatment, is it? So I have a suggestion. Why donât we give some money to the Adventurersâ Guild and set up a support system?â
âA support system. Loaning money to those people? I donât think theyâll come back.â
Yeah, Isla is right; I totally agree with her. Even if we were to give a small amount of money to people who are trapped without food or shelter, saying, âGo get your equipment ready with this,â there is a very high possibility that they would spend it on something else.
âWe donât give them the money directly; we provide them with the equipment. We give them a set of equipment with the Adventurersâ Guild logo engraved on it, and then we take some of the money out of the reward they receive for completing the job.â
âIf they donât eat or drink, wonât some of them sell the equipment they receive and turn it into money?â
âI think itâs okay as long as the equipment is stamped with the Adventurersâ Guildâs logo indicating that it was provided by the guild. We will also distribute food tickets at the same time.â
âFood tickets?â
âFood tickets are issued by the Adventurersâ Guild and are given to diners and inns that have signed up as food ticket dealers, allowing them to eat without paying. The restaurant or inn that receives the food ticket can then take the food ticket to the Adventurersâ Guild or the government office and receive money for it. The advantage for the restaurant would be the possibility of gaining future customers and the name value of being a trusted restaurant recognized by the Adventurersâ Guild or the government.â
âWell⊠Thatâs interesting, but itâs a lot of work. There are criteria that must be established, and there is also the question of whether the national government or the Adventurersâ Guild will be responsible for this. It seems like a matter of interest.â
It would certainly be a bit of a concession. Food ticket stores will be flooded with adventurers who are desperate for food, and the more such adventurers come, the more money the Adventurersâ Guild or government office will receive. Being certified as a dealer itself will be a kind of concession, and the organization that does the certificationâin this case, the Adventurersâ Guild or the relevant department of the government officeâwill receive a concession.
If a new department is created in the government office, the number of posts will increase, and this will be another concession.
âJust throw in all the details.â
âAre you angry?â
âNo, no, I think itâs a good idea to throw it all to the Adventurersâ Guild. In a sense, it would expand the authority of the Adventurersâ Guild, and there would be more positions available within the guild. The government would provide some subsidy, and we could work out the details and make it better. I think it could be a bitch to approve the proposal and pay for it once itâs been boiled down to a certain level.â
âHmmâŠâ
Melty pondered my proposal. Perhaps Meltyâs position is that it would be fine if the tax revenue from the Adventurersâ Guild increased more than the subsidy paid, with the state having the final authority.
The question is how to allocate the manpower.
âIâll be the liaison to the Adventurersâ Guild. Iâm the one who suggested it, and more importantly, Iâm not involved in any meetings related to the Holy Kingdom, so I have time to spare.â
âItâs not that I have any ill intentions to keep Kosuke away from the people of the Holy Kingdom, you know?â
âI know, but itâs not in my nature for me to just sit around and do nothing while Sylphy and the others are working. I want you to understand that I want to do something for the kingdom of Merinard.â
âNnn⊠if you say so.â
âItâs good that Kosuke-san is making a move, but the financial resources areâŠâ
Meltyâs question is answered with a gem source stone between the fingers of my left hand and a mithril ingot in my right hand.
âWell, if they are scattered around too much, it will cause a collapse in value, so Iâd like you to moderate the amount.â
âThen there is a way of making and supplying the actual goods supplied by the Adventurersâ Guild.â
âThat would damage the industry in Merinesburg and the surrounding area, so please donât do that. I understand, the financial resources will come fromâââ
âOh, and Iâve deposited a good number with the Merchantâs Guild for investment.â
I will have to go to the merchantsâ association and talk to them about that as well. Well, there is a lot of work to be done.
âKosuke-san? Iâm really troubled when you do things like that without my permission.â
âPlease forgive me.â
Melty pinches both of my cheeks with a powerful full-blown smile. I apologize; please forgive me! When Melty pinches and pulls on my cheeks, it seriously shreds my cheek flesh, no joke!
âHah⊠itâs already done, so I wonât say any more, but Iâm really asking you for it, okay?â
âItâs because I didnât have any money at my disposalâŠâ
âThatâs a problem. Melty?â
âYes, I donât know if Iâll be able to come up with enough to be worthy of a royal handout, but Iâll take some out of the treasury⊠or rather, almost all of it was earned by Kosuke-san in the first place.â
âAfter all, we owe everything to Kosuke⊠Itâs not our place to tell you not to do this or that, not to spend money without permission, or not to use your abilities without permission.â
Sylphyâs tension started to drop suddenly for some reason, so I ruffled her head on my lap. Hmm, I never get tired of this silky touch, no matter how many times I touch it. I should do it in moderation because if I ruffle my hair too much, it will get messed up.
âLetâs not talk about that. Weâre both in this together, and thatâs fine.â
âYeah.â
âIsnât it strange that Isla is the one to answer that?â
âFirst come, first served. More importantly, KosukeâŠâ
âYeah?â
When I looked at Isla, her eye was very fixed. Whatâs the matter?
âIf you want to study magic, you have me here.â
âWell, Isla seems busyâââ
âIâm here.â
âNoâââ
âIâm here.â
Islaâs big eye becomes cloudy. To be honest, Iâm quite scared.
âYes, Iâd like to have Isla-Sensei teach me too.â
âThatâs good.â
I was defeated, and when I asked her for help, Isla nodded her head in satisfaction. Iâm going to be learning about magic from both of them. I guess I wonât be bored for a while. Hahaha.