Chapter 54

As the scene grew louder, more and more people began to gather.

That was when someone shouted from behind the crowding masses.

“What are you all doing instead of working? Get back to your posts, now!”

Someone in the crowd called back toward the voice.

“No! This isn’t the time for that! Look! The Young Master is here!”

“What?”

The owner of the voice pushed through the people and approached me.

It was obvious at a single glance who he was.

It was Izack.

“What the. You brat, you…”

He scowled.

“I’m certain I told Alejandro to keep you locked up.”

I replied.

“I had some business to attend to. I also wanted to express my gratitude to you, Mr. Izack. I heard you were the one who saved me.”

“Keep your gratitude. Is that ‘business’ of yours to interfere with the work on-site? Why don’t you just turn around and rot in your room like you’re supposed to.”

Heh. Old man.

You speak bluntly, but I know you’re only saying that because you’re worried about me.

Izack’s eyes avoided mine.

Even so, I saw it.

Even if only for a split second, his gaze flickered toward my right arm.

Since he was the one who saved me, he probably knows exactly what kind of state I’m in.

His mind must be a mess.

I spoke up.

“I’ve been hearing the general gist of how things are running here from Avenger. It seems you’ve been doing quite well even without me.”

“Then why don’t you just leave us be?”

“How rude would it be for the representative of the business to never show his face on-site and only issue orders from afar?”

The surrounding workers let out a hearty laugh.

Izack shot them a fierce look as if to warn them.

I said.

“I’m joking. It seems Avenger tends to downplay the problems in his reports because he doesn’t want me working. So, I wanted to hear the story from the field myself.”

“…I swear, you’re the only person in the world who goes out of his way to find work that isn’t there.”

Despite saying that, Izack called together the managers of each department who were hovering nearby.

Then, Izack gestured for me to follow him.

“Ah, wait a second.”

“What now.”

“There’s an observer joining us.”

Izack’s gaze followed mine.

He soon discovered Jin.

The two weren’t acquainted.

However, it seemed Izack managed to find a resemblance to me in Jin’s face.

“Is that guy also one of Alejandro’s sons?”

“Yes. He’s my eldest brother. I’d like to show him a bit of how I work.”

“Well, do as you please.”

I jerked my chin at Jin.

‘Let’s go.’

Jin looked displeased, but he followed along obediently.

Our destination wasn’t far.

An office on the second floor of the brewery warehouse.

We gathered there and began our discussion.

The managers started talking the moment I sat down.

“I’ve had a mountain of things I wanted to ask you.”

“Ah, but could I go first? My issue is urgent.”

“Hey now. Is there anyone here whose issue isn’t urgent?”

“There seems to be at least one person who’s less urgent than the rest.”

“What did you say? Are you saying I’m some kind of bum who just plays around instead of working?”

“Nobody went that far.”

I calmed them down as they surged toward me like a wave.

“Now, now. One at a time. One at a time. First, let’s hear from the sales manager. Since you’re sitting closest, anyway.”

“Thank you. I’ve been wanting to ask about the unit price of the product.”

“Go on.”

“Regarding the markets outside the capital of Denabi, shouldn’t we be more aggressive in factoring distribution costs into the pricing…?”

“You’re suggesting we raise the unit price?”

“Yes, that’s correct. If we continue to supply at the current price, the profit margins will…”

As the troubleshooting began in earnest, the office quickly grew noisy.

Having to debate every issue, mediate arguments, and propose adjustments made my ears ring and my throat sore.

But I was enjoying myself.

I was finally back in my area of expertise!

‘I’ve been doing all sorts of weird stuff lately, like magic and brawling.’

But now that I was back on my home ground.

How could I not be happy?

I continued the heated discussion with the managers without a moment’s rest.

Jin watched our “desk theory” with an expression that said he couldn’t understand it.

Yeah.

I know what you want to say.

I can tell just by looking at your face.

‘Why are so many people gathered here giving passionate speeches over such trivial matters? Can’t you just go out and fix it?’

But that’s not how it works.

This isn’t a fight; it’s a business.

Problem-solving fundamentally begins with theoretical discussion.

It’s not something you can just slice through with a sword.

You’ll realize that soon enough.

Jin Astrier.

The meeting dragged on for quite some time.

Even Jin, who had been watching from a distance, couldn’t hide his boredom.

The same went for some of the managers.

It was about time to wrap things up.

I cleared my throat.

“Ahem. Well, I understand. It seems we’ve mostly settled a few matters like the unit price issue and price negotiations with clients.”

That was when Izack cut in.

“But we haven’t reached a proper conclusion regarding operational efficiency. What do you plan to do about that?”

Ah, right.

He brought it up at the perfect time.

I was just about looking for a chance to appeal to Jin regarding my ‘eye for people,’ so this worked out perfectly.

I answered Izack.

“That’s a tricky one to push off to the next meeting. It’s unclear how to solve it immediately, and I don’t think we’d reach a conclusion then either.”

Some nodded at my words.

“Basically, the core of the problem is that actual efficiency is falling behind the calculated production capacity of the equipment. Right?”

“Right.”

“Then it ultimately means we have to whip the employees harder, but frankly, that’s a burden. The staff are already working hard enough. You agree with that, don’t you?”

Izack blinked to signal his agreement.

“Old man Pietro. May I take a look at the HR personnel list?”

“…Yes. Here it is.”

Pietro handed me the ledger compiled by the HR department.

It contained a list of the employees.

I scanned through it.

‘As I thought. There are plenty of names I recognize from the [Human Resource Information Updates] records.’

Through this operation at the orchard, I had gained quite a few individuals.

Specifically, [Regular Contract Talents].

I planned to reassign people based on that data.

I opened the ledger and showed it to the managers, pointing at a specific name I had found.

“Here, Mr. Theo, who is currently in charge of malting. From what I can see, he is a talent far too valuable to be left doing only what he’s doing now. What do you think?”

His supervisor nodded in agreement.

“Theo always finishes his work early and helps out the other guys. He definitely seems to have a good head for the job. He’s considerate, too.”

“Right. We should promote him to Section Chief of the manufacturing counter. Efficiency is bound to rise.”

I turned the page of the ledger.

Then I pointed to another person. Naturally, it was a talent registered with a high rank in my [Human Resource List].

“I think this person, Vendel, might be better suited for sales rather than raw material management.”

His supervisor clapped his hands together.

“Ah, that guy. He’s got such a friendly personality. I already thought it was a waste to have him just lugging boxes around. You’ve got quite the eye to notice that!”

‘It’s thanks to the status window, haha.’

I gave the manager a smirk.

“Good. Please proactively consider the personnel transfers for the two people I’ve designated. Constant HR restructuring will likely be necessary moving forward. I ask for your continued cooperation and advice.”

“Understood.”

Izack added.

“I’ll have to raise the wages for those getting promoted. I’ll also have to manage the complaints from those who weren’t.”

“Exactly. I’ll need a lot of help with that.”

I drummed on the desk, signaling the end of the meeting.

“Alright, since we’ve reclaimed the orchard, Denabi Castle’s balance has some breathing room. Please feel free to suggest any items that need an additional budget. Let’s conclude the meeting here.”

—Good work.

—Thank you for your hard work.

The managers stood up and headed back to the field.

I led Jin outside the warehouse. We stood by the main road.

Jin let out a wide yawn. Then he turned to me.

“Where on earth did you learn such tricks?”

Where, indeed.

I learned it in the accounting department of Jeil Precision and the finance team of Tojeong Trading.

But would you even understand if I told you that?

I just played it off with a shrug.

“Since I have no talent for the sword, shouldn’t I at least be good with a pen? And like I told you, I have an eye for talent.”

“That doesn’t explain it at all.”

“Explain what?”

“There are too many things you’ve done while I was away.”

Jin pointed a finger at me.

“Building a brewery and establishing a liquor business is only a small fraction of it. You persuaded Limone, led their entire army, and conquered a dungeon.”

“Yeah. And I did it without shedding a single drop of blood. Don’t forget that part.”

When I said that, Jin’s expression twisted into a deep scowl.

“As expected… you are far too different from the Shane I know.”

I thought to myself that Jin had sharp instincts.

Well, he is the protagonist. I suppose he has a gut feeling of his own.

But this time, I could say this much:

‘You don’t believe it? But what are you going to do if you don’t? What can you actually do?’

Biologically, I am perfectly Shane Astrier. There is no doubt about that.

Even if you ripped me open and peered inside, you’d only find Shane’s flesh and blood.

That’s just how possession works.

So, Mister Protagonist, do you get it?

No matter how much you want to deny it, the fact that I am your youngest brother Shane and not Lee Jungwoo isn’t going to change.

I replied nonchalantly.

“I have changed quite a bit. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“……”

Jin only glared at me in silence, looking utterly displeased.

Just then, someone approached us. It was Izack.

“Are you busy?”

I answered immediately.

“No. Did you have something else to say?”

“There’s a problem.”

“Why didn’t you mention it back there?”

When I asked that, Izack glanced at Jin.

“…It was a matter difficult to bring up in front of them.”

“Them?”

It seemed Izack was implying that Jin was included in that “them.”

If it was something Izack felt the need to say like that, it wasn’t hard to guess.

“Is it a problem that occurred on the lower floors? It’s fine if it’s my brother. He can hear it.”

I turned my gaze toward Jin.

“Right? Brother.”

“……”

“He says it’s fine. Please, tell us.”

This was entirely my judgment. I thought it would be interesting to drag Jin into this.

But even before that, a new problem presented by this world was trying to pull us into its grasp.

—Clatter, clatter.

From the other side of the road where we stood, a rider carrying a flagpole came galloping toward us.

It was an express messenger from the Denabi border.

Jin called out to the messenger who was about to rush past.

“Wait! What is it that makes you in such a hurry?”

The messenger seemed to recognize Jin’s face.

However, he didn’t slow down. He simply shouted in an exhausted voice as he sped across the path.

“At the border… a messenger from His Imperial Majesty…! The Emperor’s Hunters have arrived!”

Wait.

Suddenly, the stakes are getting this high?