Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 137

The priest, Nicolo, suddenly opened his eyes as if waking from a dream and motioned for us to take a seat on the sofa.

“Kenji, do you know what this report has brought about?”

“No, as a mere commoner, I…”

“Forget that. Speak your mind.”

I had tried to be evasive, but Nicolo interrupted me, seemingly irritated. It seemed there was no room for avoidance. I had no choice.

“Probably, among the nobles, there will be a heightened enthusiasm for territorial development. Particularly from the large nobles who possess wealth and sharp-eyed vassals.”

“Yes, that movement has already begun. However, there is no one who can actually drive the operations.”

“Is that so?” I responded, somewhat surprised.

“Yes,” Nicolo said, continuing in a tone that suggested he found the situation unremarkable.

Understanding the theory from the report and actually implementing it are different matters. The noble’s clerks likely struggle with handling requests from adventurers in practice. Even in this city, we had to start by cleaning up the guild warehouse’s trash. Naturally, that was not mentioned in the report.

“You wrote about the criteria for organizing adventurer quests, stating that the priority of quests should be changed based on profit and cost,” Nicolo continued.

“Yes, indeed,” I replied, sensing something precarious in his tone and demeanor. I was trying to gauge where this conversation was headed. Essentially, what was he trying to say?

“Until now, requests were decided based on power, cost, and date. But you advocated in the report for changing the criteria to focus on how to increase the value of the land. In reality, the adventurer guild has been operated according to this report, and profits have been made.”

“Yes,” I replied, still unsure of his point.

“This can be interpreted as a partial denial of the nobles’ authority over requests. Additionally, assessing the value of land can be seen as an intervention in the taxation rights.”

“Such was never my intent-.”

“Whether you have such an intention or not is irrelevant.”

Once again, I was interrupted. This man really likes to cut people off.

“There are some nobles who, rather than being supportive of development, have turned to obstructing others with such arguments. However, they are in the minority. Many nobles have begun to act to enrich their own territories. So, do you understand what is happening?”

“There’s a shortage of labor to develop farmland.”

“Yes. And?”

I had a feeling I was starting to understand the direction of this conversation. “There is a shortage of adventurers and manpower.”

“That’s right. And?”

“The cost of hiring people is rising, and there is a shortage of funds.” After answering, I realized the intention of the man in front of me. “So, the reason the Cardinal is here is to lend the count money for the development of the territory, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It took you quite a while to arrive at the correct answer. Although, it is true that I wanted to see the person responsible for causing this situation with my own eyes.” With that, Nicolo finally broke into a smile and nodded slowly.

“By the way, Kenji. Would you have any interest in becoming a cleric?” He asked with a completely serious expression.