Chapter 60

I decided to research the district where Fantland was located from scratch.

Of course, I had gathered some general information in the past. But that wasn’t enough. I needed more. So, I scoured the relevant books in the underground archives.

To make the people living there happy, and to think about their well-being… to do that, you first have to know who they are.

In a novel I used to love, there was a scene where the protagonist, a teacher, put in a desperate effort to memorize all his students’ names. Whether or not it’s possible to become friends with someone whose name you don’t even know is one thing, but beyond that, it’s just rude. It shows a lack of respect.

And it’s not limited to names. The history of the land, the culture, the climate, the problems they face—if I learned those things, I might find an answer somewhere… eventually.

Of course, there’s always the possibility that after exhausting every effort, the only option is to let the village go. For example, a coal-mining village after the mine closes. When the men of the mountains vanish all at once, the community can cease to function as a self-governing body.

To make Fantland flourish, it needed a “silver bullet.” It needed change. I was certain that a large commercial facility was one such proposal.

But was there no other way?

After spreading out about five books, an idea came to me. I didn’t know if the residents would agree to it, but it was better than having nothing to propose.

It was still well before eight o’clock. I had managed to keep my rule with the President. I’d return the key to the archives and head home.

However, once I left the archives, I realized I didn’t know where the President was. Needless to say, she wasn’t in the corridor.

I knocked on the door labeled < Kelkel - Living Room >, but there was no response. I tried the door labeled < Kelkel - Toilet >, but again, no response.

“Oh right, she said she was taking a bath…”

I knocked on the bathroom door. Though I call it a “door,” since it was an old castle, it was an unusually thick stone slab. There was no reaction. In fact, she might not even have heard the sound of the knock.

Generally speaking, opening this shouldn’t lead directly to the bathtub. There was almost certainly a changing area first. So, I could just open it and call out. Yeah, no problem at all.

I slowly slid the heavy stone door open.

Sure enough, there was a changing area. And there was the President, stark naked, drying her head with a towel…

Ah. It was exactly the time she’d be getting out of the bath. Of course it was…

“I AM SO SORRY!”

I immediately slid the door back the other way. The sight of her tail sprouting from her backside was firmly burned into my retinas.

However, a force was applied to the door from the inside. President Kelkel was opening it.

“Franz-san, you didn’t have to close it.”

“I peeked… I’m so sorry…”

“It would be a problem if you climbed into the tub, but I can forgive this much. After all, we’re in… a bit of a deeper relationship…”

“B-but, that was for work…!”

At the very least, me saying anything further would definitely be sexual harassment, so I couldn’t.

“Um, if you’d like, why don’t you take a bath? A bath after researching feels great, you know? The archives are quite dusty.”

The proposal was quite tempting, and as a result, I took her up on it.

The underground bath was large enough to be called a public bath. The President really lived in a nice place. But I suppose that’s only natural since she is the President.

And for some reason, the President, who should have just finished, was soaking in the tub once again. Then again, I’d already seen her naked, so I wondered if this was fine. If it weren’t, she wouldn’t have invited me in.

Besides, there was something I wanted her to hear.

“You’ve been thinking about something very deeply lately, haven’t you, Franz-san?” the President said as she sat beside me.

“You can tell? Your insight is amazing.”

“This company has a small number of employees, so I keep a close eye on everyone.”

True… It was a small-scale elite system, and most of the other employees were on a level I couldn’t even fathom yet…

“President, you mentioned before that we must never forget to work for society and for the people.”

“Yes. If a company forgets that, it runs wild. If making money becomes the only goal, you end up thinking it’s okay to deceive customers or overwork employees. It’s a fact that such companies exist, but I don’t want to build a company like that myself.”

Yes, a company has a reason for existing because it serves some kind of purpose. I understood that a “company for the sake of the company” was a strange philosophy. If it doesn’t help people, or if it harms them, then it’s no different from a monster wearing the name of a corporation.

However, life isn’t that simple.

“I intended to have that mindset myself. But there are times when people’s interests clash, right? What do you think one should do then?”

I had already decided on the direction I would struggle toward, but I wanted to hear the thoughts of someone with more life experience.

“Hmm, let’s see~”

The President started doing the doggy paddle across the wide tub. I guessed she was thinking. Then, she swam back to the same spot.

“I was thinking while swimming, but no brilliant ideas came to mind.”

“I suppose that’s how it is…”

Then, with a casual smile, the President spoke.

“In the very end, you just have to do what you, Franz-san, believe is right. That is all from me.”

“I thought you’d say that.”

It was a strange feeling—partly relieved, partly anticlimactic.

“If there were an absolutely ‘correct’ path, no one would ever worry. Even I have been resented many times in the past. There were times when I was just doing a decent job at a fair price, and some ‘cheap-and-nasty’ company went bankrupt on its own and held a grudge against me for it.”

“But being hated can be hurtful. What do you do then?”

“If I’m sad, I cry.”

She answered simply again.

“I can’t really imagine you crying, President.”

“That’s not true. When I need to cry, I cry. And then, I stand back up again. Usually with the help of others comforting me, of course.”

The President patted my back.

“Giving someone a ‘push’ is something only someone other than the person making the decision can do.”

Her kindness felt warmer than the bathwater.

“I’m rooting for your Baron’s challenge. If you get hurt, I’ll be here to comfort you.”

“President, I’m really happy to hear that. But…”

“That phrasing is a bit dangerous in a bath…!”

From there, I spent time creating my own materials. Of course, I focused on my work during business hours. My duties as a Baron were like a side job, after all.

And then, on the night after the materials were completed.

Knock, knock.

The one who visited my house was the village head of Fantland.