Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 168

The discussion with Sara continues.

“If you make a lot of shoes like baking bread, what will happen to the city’s shoemakers?” Sara raises a valid concern about the impact when the factory starts operating.

Well, it’s understandable that she’ll be worried.

“They might go out of business if their shoes don’t sell. If that happens, we’ll hire them,” I answer casually.

“Won’t the members of the shoe guild get angry?”

“They probably will. But we’ll ignore them.”

Sara immediately counters with a rebuttal. “Won’t they report us to the noble patrons we do business with?”

“They might. But we have the earl on our side. With other nobles, we can use the church’s authority and the violence of the Sword Fangs Legion to silence them.”

“If you do that, the local merchants might retaliate and refuse to sell your shoes in the city.”

“If that happens, we’ll sell them in other cities. We’ll contract with merchants from other cities, not just Gooljin, and distribute them all over the country.”

By this point, Sara’s emotional intensity clearly rises, and she exclaims loudly, “Kenji, you’re strange! Just recently, you were trying to do business discreetly to avoid the nobles, but now you’re suddenly so confrontational!” However, it seems that raising her voice has actually made her more composed, and Sara appears to be questioning my aggressive stance. “…So, why are you making so many shoes? There must be a reason, right?”

I reply, “If we start producing Guardian Shoes on a large scale, it will reach many adventurers and those involved in church-led development. Monster extermination will progress, and the human world will expand.”

As I say this, Sara seems to realize something. “Is this… still about the family from the old village?”

Instead of directly answering Sara’s question, I say, “If we can eradicate the monsters, there will be no such thing as a hidden field.”

Sara bends down and looks up at me from below as she asks, “Kenji, did the priest say something to you? Now that I think of it, you’ve been a little strange since then.”

I try to maintain a calm demeanor as I answer, though I can’t say I’m entirely successful. “He did say something. Kenji, you’ve done well. But there are things you can’t do! We’re neither kings nor heroes!” After saying this, I take a breath and add, “Indeed, Priest Niccolo is right. I can’t act like a king or hero. I can’t take up a sword and defeat thousands of enemies, nor can I command the nobles of the country. But I still want to reduce the number of farmers who depend on hidden fields to survive. That, in turn, will help adventurers. So, I’ll fight with my own rules and methods.”

“…Is that why you’re building a factory?” Sara asks in a whisper.

“Yes. By expanding the factory, I’ll hire people who can’t survive in the rural villages. We’ll use those hired workers to produce a large quantity of shoes, sell them in bulk, and support many adventurers and those engaged in development. This will help expand the human world. I believe this is the most efficient way to change the world. Since I’m the one who can produce shoes most efficiently in this world, it’s the only way.”

“So, you’re willing to face dangers and be disliked by many people?”

“I’ve stopped being reserved about it,” I say quietly.

Sara sighs as if resigned.

“Well then, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll stick with you to the end,” she says with a smile.