Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 260

After watching Toma run out of the workshop with the bag of coins and food (I often wonder why boys his age seem to run everywhere), I turn back to Kiriku.

“I understand the situation. What do we do now?” I first ask for Kiriku’s opinion as the head of security.

“For now, we’ll catch them. If we encircle the entrance of Leather Street, they won’t have an escape route. We’ll have two people block it off while the other two stay on guard.” Kiriku suggests a plan that utilizes the terrain of Leather Street. The street is set back in a corner, so if we block the entrance, escaping from there will be challenging. This location is chosen specifically to prepare for such situations.

“So, what are you going to do?” I ask.

“Well, I’ll beat him up and bring him here!” Kiriku slams the sheath of his sword with his palm and yells.

In essence, the four of us will surround them without breaking formation, while Kiriku, the most skilled among us, will apprehend the suspects. I have heard that the Shinsengumi also operate in a similar manner, so it seems reasonable to do it this way in an era without radios.

I nod, agreeing to Kiriku’s plan but adding a caveat.

“Bringing the suspects here will disrupt the craftsmen’s work. Take them to the office of the Sword Fangs Legion and have them tell me what’s going on behind the scenes. I’ll come later.”

“I see, that makes sense. If we bring them here, they might get distracted and spill secrets.” With that, Kiriku bares his fangs and grins.

Just like when he smashed the heads of the guys who attacked him last time and made them kiss the earth, this time too will be a world turned upside down.

I feel a little sorry for them.

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A little while later, there’s a small commotion outside, but it seems to die down just as quickly as it starts.

Even on Leather Street, quarrels between carts bringing in goods and passersby are commonplace, so the craftsmen continue working without being particularly disturbed.

The deadline is short, after all. There’s no time to be distracted by such things.

After a while, some commotion erupts outside, but it quickly settles down as swiftly as it begins.

Arguments between delivery carts and pedestrians are common on Leather Street, so the craftsmen continue their work without much disturbance.

After all, the deadlines are tight. There is no time to be distracted by such things.

I return to the documents I need to process in the office.

With the cooperation of other workshops on Leather Street, shoe production is gaining momentum to meet deadlines, but outsourcing the work has exponentially increased the volume of paperwork, adding to the burden of management.

Moreover, since the documents are exchanged with the people of Leather Street, many of them can hardly read.

Thus, we create a simple management chart, and Sara goes around daily to check on the order quantities, delivery amounts, and prices from the workshop owners.

While they can’t write, the workshop owners have excellent memories. They can reliably recall transaction information for about a day, so we record everything accurately.

My job is to design forms that minimize the burden of management and allow for easy verification, as well as to check the work that is carried out and identify areas for improvement.

As the sun sets, Kiriku returns to the office.

“You took quite a while,” I greet him.

Kiriku shrugs in response. “They are pretty tight-lipped for a bunch of amateurs. It takes a bit of extra time.”

I nod but then notice something red on his chin. “Hey, wipe your chin. The craftsmen will be frightened.”

I offer him a cloth, and he exclaims, “Oh, we can’t have that!” as he scrubs the blood off his face.

“Alright. Let’s go to the office over there and hear what they have to say.”

As I say this, I can’t help but think how much it sounds like something a gangster would say