Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 117

First, I want to share some basic information. Effective explanations require confirming the other person’s understanding.

“First, let’s consider the purpose of the Adventurers’ Guild. What do you think is the purpose of the Adventurers’ Guild, Sara?”

“To help adventurers, right?” Sara answers.

“That’s how it seems from the perspective of adventurers.” I affirm her statement. In fact, Sara isn’t wrong. However, I want her to consider a different perspective, so I add another question. “Then, from the perspective of the nobles who run the Adventurers’ Guild, what do you think is the purpose of the Adventurers’ Guild?”

“Um…?” Sara crosses her arms and appears to be thinking deeply, as if she hasn’t considered that before. I wait a moment for her to come up with an answer because I want her to think it through.

“Well… Maybe they want materials from monsters?”

“That’s one reason. Additionally, when monsters are eradicated, trade between cities becomes safer, and goods from other cities become cheaper. If monsters are cleared out, more land can be opened up for farming, which expands their territory and increases the taxes they can collect.”

“I see. I’ve heard that the village I came from was a relatively new village established during my grandfather’s generation.”

“So basically, the Adventurers’ Guild is a business for the nobles to generate profit. To put it bluntly, they use adventurers as tools to gain profits in the form of land and taxes.”

Sara reluctantly agrees. “That makes sense. It’s frustrating, though.”

“So the nobles want to use adventurers as cheaply as possible. They want as many monsters as possible to be hunted and more land to be made safe. What do you think so far?”

Sara nods, so I try asking from a different perspective.

“However, didn’t you have a different impression of the double-chinned guild officer we met the other day?”

Sara frowns as she responds. “Yes. How should I put it… I felt an atmosphere of not wanting to work as much as possible.”

“That’s right. From the perspective of middle management like them, even if adventurers achieve results, it doesn’t increase the benefits they receive. And if the costs paid to adventurers increase, they get scolded by the kingdom or the nobles who oversee the business. I think that’s the kind of situation they’re in.”

Sara seems to struggle with understanding the concept of middle management, so I try explaining it with an analogy related to farming and cultivation.

“Imagine you’re a tenant farmer. You’re entrusted with a field by the landowner. You’re only given one tool, and if it breaks, you have to pay for the repairs yourself. At the end of the season, you get one sack of wheat. No matter how much you harvest from the field, your reward remains the same. What would you do?”

“I’d work as hard as I can!” she answers proudly. After a pause, she continues. “But… well, I might not be very motivated. There were similar tenant farmers in my old village, but during good harvests, the landlord would give extra wheat.”

“That’s right. Normally, that would be the case. And wouldn’t you want to move to a different landlord rather than working for such a stingy landlord?”

“Yes, I would want to move to a better landlord who offers better conditions.”

“What if a craftsman came who would repair the tool for free?”

“Of course, I’d be happy to have the tool repaired.”

“And if there was someone who could introduce you to another good landlord?”

“That would be a great introduction. I’d definitely want that.”

I ask playfully, “What if the people who repaired your tools and introduced you to other good landlords were us?”

Sara replies with a broad smile, “Then the tenant farmers would definitely be grateful and bow down to us!”