Chapter 65

“Ah, Mr. Izack.”

A duo carrying lumber on their shoulders gave a quick nod toward Izack.

“You’re a bit late,” Izack remarked.

“Don’t even get us started. The carter dropped us off way out front, saying he couldn’t bring the wagon this far in. Anyway, where should we put these?”

“Are those the 1.5-meter ones?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Head over to Building 2. There’s a spot out front where similar ones are stacked.”

—Understood. Take it easy, boss.

Even after the duo departed, Izack remained busy barked orders at other workers. He was in charge of the dormitory renovation site. Of course, since he was the brewery’s field supervisor, he had to handle his original duties as well.

An employee from the brewery came running over. “Mr. Izack, about the stock that’s just being shipped out…”

“Ask the person in charge about inventory issues. Why bring that all the way here?”

“The person in charge told me to ask you. If you could just take a look here…”

Izack scratched his head with an annoyed expression as he handled the task.

And what was I doing in the meantime?

‘What else…?’

Working, of course. I had set up a table on the roadside at the edge of the construction site and was busy pushing a pen across paper.

Adele tapped my arm.

“Don’t poke me. I’m busy.”

“What are you doing?”

“Writing a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“You heard the news that we reclaimed the nearby orchard recently, right?” I asked.

She nodded.

“And you’ve probably heard that we’re selling liquor at the government level.”

She nodded again.

“So, we were able to harvest the hanging fruit immediately, but there was quite a bit of overripe stock. I’m planning to make fruit wine out of it to sell.”

“Then just sell it. Why do you need a proposal or whatever?”

“I have to consider which fruits to use, how much to produce, and whether selling it will eat into the pie of—I mean, the market share—of our existing products. In such cases, we call it ‘cannibalization’…”

“I didn’t ask for all that.”

She cut me off firmly.

Hmm. I was planning to make her sick of it with trivial technical talk… but as expected, this woman has sharp instincts.

“But you don’t necessarily have to do it here. It’s noisy and windy.”

As she spoke, Adele reached out into the air. Her hand caught a page of the proposal that was about to fly away in the wind. She handed it back to me.

“Don’t mention it.”

“I didn’t say anything, though.”

“But I know you’re grateful.”

“…”

I ignored her and fixed my gaze back on the proposal I was writing. I said, “The reason I’m working here is simple. First, watching the field work run smoothly makes me feel at ease.”

“And the second?”

“I have a lingering hope that you’ll get tired of this commotion and leave my side.”

“Hmm.”

She made an exaggeratedly pouting face. “Do you hate me that much?”

“I do.”

“But I saved you in the lower district.”

She began counting her fingers one by one with her other hand.

I said, “I’m grateful for that. But I still dislike you.”

“I helped with the interviews, too.”

“Grateful for that as well. But disliking you is a separate matter.”

“I just caught that paper for you.”

She stared at me intently.

Ignore her. Just ignore her.

However, after a few minutes, that resolve crumbled.

“…Sigh, do you understand, Adele? Because of you, the only time I can be alone is when I’m using the restroom, washing up, or sleeping.”

“You can take sleeping off that list. I’ve snuck in a few times.”

“Could you please not say such terrifying things, even as a joke?”

“I wasn’t joking, though.”

That was the most terrifying part of that “joke.” Thanks to her, I haven’t been able to utter a single word about my original goal.

The Sword of Four Seasons.

‘If I think about the possibility that I mentioned it in my sleep…’

In a state of utter despair, I covered my eyes with my palm. The world truly turned pitch black.

“Even if I were your family, I would have grown tired of you by now.”

“Oh my, I’m not quite prepared for that level of commitment yet…”

“Just how are you interpreting my words?”

Immediately after saying that, I hurriedly cut her off. “No. Don’t explain.”

“That’s a shame.”

I’m truly glad you find it shameful.

Thanks to Adele, I have unintentionally lived as a very diligent worker for the past few days. I set up a systematic plan to win over the lower district, revised the business plan accordingly, and put that plan into action.

Well, it’s not like this kind of life is entirely bad. But I had my own plans too.

‘I’m dying to find out about that sword or whatever, but being stuck worrying about these issues is making my skin crawl!’

I have to find a way to get Adele away from me somehow. But she seems to have no intention of leaving my side. I don’t know whether to call it diligence or a strong sense of professional duty.

Anyway, there’s no clever solution for now. Until one comes up, I have no choice but to focus on the current plan.

“…Finished.”

“Oh.”

I folded the completed proposal and stuffed it into my pocket.

‘Slowly… shall we get this thing on track?’

“Recently, there have been frequent civil complaints regarding the castle gate. It seems more people in the upper district are expressing dissatisfaction, saying that residents from the lower district are passing through too often.”

I nodded at Avenger’s report.

“I suppose so. Since we’re already employing lower district people for labor. We also borrowed a lot of hands from the lower district for the dormitory renovation. It will have a positive impact on the economy.”

“That is very true, but…” Avenger hesitated before continuing. “Those effects aren’t visible enough. We might be able to suppress the dissatisfaction for now, but on the day a security issue actually breaks out…”

“The rift between the upper and lower districts will only deepen. I know. That’s why we identified Malik’s spies, isn’t it?”

“But right now, there are too few watchful eyes in the upper district as well. Most of our forces were poured into the expedition. It will be difficult for Mr. Izack to respond alone.”

At that moment, Adele chimed in. “I’m here too.”

I retorted to her, “You’re going to be by my side constantly. You’re useless as a guard.”

“My, was that a confession just now?”

I simply ignored her nonsense. I turned back to Avenger.

“Let’s hire a few more people. Guards.”

“…Pardon?”

“Left foot, left foot.”

Before long, I was able to see soldiers running their morning drills in the inner courtyard of Denabi Castle.

Finding candidates for the guards wasn’t difficult. We weren’t picking elites for a dungeon conquest expedition, so the criteria were lax. Besides, Denabi was crawling with former or retired soldiers. It was like shooting into an empty net.

‘The real challenge was actually hiring those people.’

Because in that process, there’s a keeper guarding the goal.

“No, but have I not told you several times that even if Denabi’s pockets seem full, a mountain of debt is due soon and the accumulated liabilities are no joke, not to mention that with this current business expansion, we could return to the brink of ruin at any moment? You agreed and even verified this yourself, Young Master, so why do you keep arbitrarily increasing the guard force despite my repeated warnings? As the one you handed over the position of financial advisor to, I find this utterly incomprehensible—”

“Take a breath.”

“…Gasp! …Huff. Huff.”

Avenger leaned both arms on my desk, panting for air.

I said to him, “Don’t answer, just listen, Avenger. You’re missing the point here; in job creation, the ‘chain reaction’ is what matters most.”

“Whew… a chain… reaction, you say?”

I told him not to answer. My subordinate certainly has a strong sense of independence. Well, I suppose that’s part of Avenger’s charm.

I drew a circle in the air with my index finger.

“Exactly. A chain reaction.”

“…May I ask what that means?”

I looked out the window at the castle courtyard. The soldiers who had been running earlier were there, seemingly taking a break in the shade.

“Avenger, do you remember what I originally set out to do?”

“…You were hiring lower district residents to expand the liquor business.”

“Correct. But did I only pick brewers from the lower district?”

I answered my own question.

“I didn’t. To make booze, you need brewers. For brewers to work, you need facilities. And to build and maintain those facilities, you need carpenters.”

“I understand that much. However—”

“Just hold on and listen a bit more. Catch your breath while you’re at it.”

At my insistence, Avenger reluctantly fell silent.

I continued my explanation. “Since I hired so many people, I planned to build a dormitory for them to live in. That created a need for architects and site laborers. But once I had to manage all of them, what came next?”

I pointed to the soldiers outside the window.

“This time, I had to hire soldiers.”

“That was not an essential hire!”

“True. But it was a ‘probable’ hire.”

Avenger’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. I understand. This isn’t a novel, so why am I talking about “probability”? That’s what he must be thinking.

So, from here on, seeing is believing.

“Let’s head out for a moment. There’s something I want to show you.”

Avenger asked, looking bewildered. “…The market? What is there to see here?”

“The market, of course.”

“…?”

In response to my consistent nonsense after dragging him all the way to the market, Avenger reacted with patient silence. Mm, as expected of my talent! As a reward, I’ll give him a proper answer.

I spread my palm toward the bustling marketplace.

“How does it look?”

“What do you mean how…? It’s just a market.”

“Doesn’t it seem significantly more lively than before?”

“Mmm….”

Avenger conceded reluctantly. “It seems so. But…”

“But you think this isn’t just the result of the jobs I created? Of course, I agree. There are many other reasons for the bustle in this market.”

I cast my gaze around the market. Fruits from the orchard, beer being sold in every eatery, and the occasional dungeon artifacts being traded.

“As you can see, most of it is due to the increase in goods. When there’s a lot to sell, consumers flock to it. But what about a scene like that?”

I pointed to a corner of the market. Avenger’s eyes (and Adele’s, who had followed us) turned that way.

“That is…”

It looked like a couple. A retired soldier in a wheelchair being pushed by his husband.

“Because of the jobs I provided, the lives of those who couldn’t participate in economic activity will change. They’ll earn money at our workplace and buy our goods at the market. Retired soldiers, people with disabilities, even those from the lower district who used to spend their money in their untaxed markets. Everyone.”

“Ah, so the dormitory was for…”

I nodded.

“If there’s no need to go down to the lower district, there’s no reason to use the lower district’s market.”

I clenched my fists and brought them to my chest.

“Employment creates demand. Demand creates consumption, consumption creates supply, and supply creates more employment.”

“…The multiplier effect.”

Avenger muttered. I gave him a broad grin.

“Now you get it? We are the Denabi government. The money of the people we employ will eventually return to us anyway. Of course, by then, it will have grown much larger. Both the money and the market itself.”

I whispered to Avenger.

“And I’m only telling this to my Chief Steward as a special secret…”

Of course, Adele was eavesdropping intently. Well, what can you do? I spoke without minding her.

“In the near future, I am going to completely open the gates leading to the lower district.”

‘Because with that… I’m going to crush the lower district market.’