Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 143

I run around during the day working on the shoe business, and at night I write texts for Nicolo by the light of tallow at my desk in the office when Sara asks me while making tea, 

“Kenji, you’re doing that because the priest tells you to, right?”

“Yes, but it’s also work, so it’s preparation for that.”

“I don’t really understand the conversation between you and the priest, but will this work improve the lives of the adventurers?”

When I nod, Sara hesitates for a moment before asking, “Won’t the taxes of the people in rural areas go up? I’m worried that the lord’s corvée will increase.”

Thinking about what Sara says, I can’t guarantee that such situations won’t occur. As far as I can tell, we are selecting and advancing business plans that offer good returns on investment after evaluating and identifying profitable lands, and we are accumulating the necessary funds for that.

However, I can’t deny the possibility that local lords might try to cut costs and pocket the savings. Such actions would lead to long-term deterioration of the rural areas and reduced profits, but there are always those who are blinded by short-term gains.

Since I will continue to be with Sara, I will inevitably witness these realities. If I lose my temper as I did in Ulbano when I see the injustices faced by the weaker members of society, Sara’s life could be at risk this time. 

Therefore, I decided to speak honestly. “It’s possible. Some nobles may argue that development is part of labor and effectively impose higher taxes.”

“Then…!” Sara begins, evidently struggling with the idea of supporting a project that would worsen the lives of the rural people in order to improve the lives of adventurers. She seems unsure if it’s something she should approve of.

“But I won’t lend money to such people. I will establish the system. I will lend money to lords who improve the lives of the farmers. I won’t lend money to lords who worsen their lives. I will create standards like that.”

Sara blinks in surprise. “Can you really do that?”

“Yes, I can. And now is the only time it can be done. While I am the only one who understands the overall picture, I intend to set up the criteria. I will support the faction of the priest who seems likely to agree with me so that it becomes common sense.”

“I… don’t quite understand.”

It’s similar to the concept of de facto standards in the original world. Simply put, it means setting the standard practices for the industry.

If Sara doesn’t understand, Nicolo the priest and the people he brings may not understand either. 

I’ll try to explain it more clearly. “Sara, you’re still running tours for novice adventurers, right?”

“Yes, I do it for half the week.”

“Can you explain how you do it?”

I have done this before with the Sword Fangs Legion. By having someone explain their work verbally, you can gauge how well they understand the overall picture of the work.

“I go to the Adventurer’s Guild and hand out reservation tickets if I see a face I don’t recognize, or if someone I know calls out to me. Recently, the number of tours has decreased, so schedules fill up quickly. Then, I meet at the Adventurers’ Guild and have them accept a simple request. We consider together what’s needed for the request, visit various shops, negotiate and haggle, send them on their adventure, and when they return, we calculate the costs together, pay the expenses, and divide the reward fairly.” Sara, though pausing slightly during her explanation, completes the description while recalling the actual process.

“How did you decide on the current method of doing things?”

“Well… it’s because Kenji did it so well before! In other words, if someone does it well at first, others will follow their example!”

“Later, the staff at the Adventurers’ Guild tried something similar, but they failed.”

“Because their way of doing things is inconvenient for adventurers. Yes, that means the lord is at fault!”

I can’t tell Sara, who is pleased to understand, that failure means the destruction of the farmers’ lives. Since it’s a new attempt, failure is inevitable.

However, I plan to make sure that such bad lords face thorough disgrace. I intend to use the church’s influence to spread the word throughout the kingdom as an example of failure. Just as the staff who fail by mimicking services feel embarrassed within the guild, bad lords must be made to feel embarrassed within the noble society.

There might be some deterioration in the relationship between the church and the nobility, but Priest Nicolo should be able to skillfully convert that into political power.