CH 292

More than 4 weeks have already passed, and half of the long vacation is over. After enjoying the sightseeing in Cien, Georg returned to Carruzan and is gradually involved in his studies and business as an heir. Even after returning to Caanburg, I have no time to catch my breath with work, work, and work.

Of particular difficulty are the laws concerning oceans, rivers, and ships.

There are rules to some extent in pre-modern Earth and in this world. But it is unique to each region and organization. There is no such thing as an internationally unified rule.

It is relatively later that unified international rules can be established on Earth. Some kind of organization has great power, and as it spreads and permeates, it will gradually be unified and develop into international law.

In this world, an organization with such a large influence has not yet spread its power. The Kamaal Alliance will have laws and rules that are unified to some extent within their sphere, but they will not be applied outside the area or outside the area. In the end, it does not leave the area of local rules only within the Kamaal Alliance.

Similarly, in the Caanza Alliance, even if the same laws and rules are applied between free cities, they have not permeated outside the region and are at the level of local rules.

Over the years, as organizations of merchants, maritime powers, and maritime nations grow in power, they will gradually permeate and unify their surroundings. But if I wait for it, I don’t know when it will come. Even if we try to create a unified rule, it won’t spread right away, but we need to prepare for it.

Therefore, we are proceeding with the work of considering and writing down the measures that are considered to be necessary for expanding to other regions, such as the customary international laws to some extent, the local rules within the Caanza Alliance, etc.

This is probably a rule that applies only within the Caanza Alliance at this point. But from now on, in order to do business with the Caanza Alliance, you have to follow this written law.

If I told the other party to follow the rules I made on my own, there would probably be some people who would oppose me. If you have to follow such a thing, you will not do business with us, and there is a possibility that it will hinder our future activities. We still need a uniform set of rules regardless.

Nor are we trying to establish rules that give the Caanza Alliance a one-sided advantage over trade. The basics are simpler.

For example, if cars are running on the road and there is no rule such as driving on the right side and driving on the left side, you will be in trouble when you pass each other. It would be nice if both sides avoided each other by chance, but if there were no rules, it would be possible for both parties to try to avoid in the same direction over and over again, resulting in consistent accidents.

This is often the case with people on foot or on bicycles. That’s because they don’t act according to clear rules. Even if you know which side you should avoid according to the rules, there may be cases where you give priority to the direction you want to go and avoid the direction you should be going in, according to the rules.

Pedestrians and cyclists can still easily stop and change direction instantly. But you can’t do that with a car. If both parties get stuck trying to veer on the same side, they may get stuck. That’s why it’s clearly decided which way the car will run, and the drivers also learn it at driving school and follow it when driving.

The same is true in the sea, and if there are no rules about which way ships veer, how to pass each other, and which one to yield to whom, safe and smooth navigation cannot be carried out. It’s a big mistake if you think that you won’t bump into each other even if you do whatever you want because the sea is so large. Even in the modern world where international rules are already established, accidents still occur.

There have been many collisions in the open sea where one could see the other party and you could have just turned the rudder. We often hear about accidents in which a small ship forced its way through the front of a large ship, collided with it, and sank, even though it would be rational for a small ship to avoid a larger ship because the latter cannot change direction suddenly.

We spread uniform rules to prevent such things from happening. Also, if something like that happens, let’s clearly define who was at fault.

Rivers and canals are narrow. If it’s a wide sea, it’s fine, but from now on, we will also operate waterways and canals. In such places, safe navigation is not possible without strict rules.

So, first of all, we will make and spread the unified rules. My dream is that it will eventually spread to the relevant regions along with the expansion of the Caanza Alliance and its power, and eventually become international law. I don’t expect that to happen any time soon. Is it just a matter of starting to work toward it?

The problem is that when you think about doing that, you have to research customary laws here and there, put them together, consider and verify the problems that can occur in the course of internationalization, and come up with solutions. It’s going to be a lot of work.

Of course, I’m not a legal expert, and it’s not like I’m flying around and researching all the local rules. That kind of thing can be left to someone who specializes in it, so I don’t have to do it directly, but I have a lot of work to do, such as holding meetings, listening to explanations, and sometimes receiving consultations.

There’s no way I can just ask legal experts and the investigators we dispatch to various places to do whatever they want… and in the end, my work is increasing…

Development within the territory is nothing new. As long as it continues to develop as it has in the past… the current highlights of the Caan Knighthood are the construction of canals, the securing of waterways to the Caan Barony, the development of new small ships, and the establishment of shipping-related laws… oh, and there was also support for the industrial development of the Caan Knights Nation… The creation of a fleet and the buildup of armaments for those ships…

“AaaAAAAAAaaaaHHHH~~~~!” I screamed, pulling at my hair.

“-!” Katharina was startled.

But I still want to scream. No less work! Rather, it keeps increasing! Why is it so!? I work hard every day, but my work never decreases!

“Human……” I muttered under my breath.

“Human……?” Katharina asked back.

But that’s not all. I have to do something… at this rate, I might have a hole in my stomach, go bald from stress, or possibly die from overwork again…

I refuse! Even in this life, I can’t stand dying from overwork in such a lackadaisical way! I don’t know if my previous life was really caused by overwork, but considering the circumstances, I probably died from overwork. Will I repeat the same thing in this life? Am I going to die for a super-black company?

“We need people! Human resources! Excellent human resources! Trustworthy, won’t betray us, excellent workers, and can be without supervision! We need more and more people like that!”

Not enough human resources! There will be many people who are incompetent and untrustworthy. Any number of people will gather if you call out to hire them. But this is not what we’ll do. Such a person should be assigned to simple labor at the site. What I want is someone who can be trusted, not betrayed, and who can do the work I’m doing.

There was definitely a shortage of manpower. Even so, we have gradually cultivated an excellent person who can be trusted. But that is also the limit. The increase in the numbers from the Caan Knights Nation is too harsh. Due to the sudden expansion that is not suitable for my level of organization, I do not have enough hands.

If I could have, it would be difficult just to spend my whole generation maintaining the Caan Knighthood. Territory management is something that is done gradually over generations. It would be unreasonable for House Caan, a newly emerging aristocrat, to try to do something about such a vast territory.

Despite that, the Caan Barony was given to us not long ago, and the burden of maintaining and securing waterways and canals in Charlottenburg was increasing. It would be impossible for me to come by and manage the vast Caan Knights Nation! It’s fine, so stop it!

“Miss Flora… Mi-Miss Flora, please calm down,” Katharina panicked.

“I am calm!” I yelled.

It’s a rare thing, isn’t it? Someone like me who is strangely calm and looks like I’m looking at this situation as if I was an outsider, it seems as if this issue is someone else’s problem.

Even though I’m usually the one being swayed and pulled along by the somewhat eccentric Katharina, today the rarely fazed Katharina is in a panic. Katharina staring at me in worry is a little cute.

I have money. The tax revenue coming up from the territories is considerable. And considering the personal income of House Caan, including the profits of Caanza Trading Firm, our assets would be considerable. I think it’s a lot more than the duchies around here.

The problem is people. If it’s just a simple labor force, the population increased at once thanks to the Caan Knights Nation. But that alone will not save the territory. There is an overwhelming shortage of talented people who can stand above others.

“Somewhere…, somewhere, there are excellent human resources…… kidnapping?” I said. “The kingdom certainly has excellent people working for them… but then my credibility…”

“Miss Flora! Please calm down! Miss Flora!” Katharina yelled as she rushed over and shook me.

Even though I’m sitting on a chair, the chair shakes, so I grab Katharina and make her sit on my lap.

“I am calm.”

“No, um…, what in the hell is this…?” Katharina asked.

She turned red and she calmed me down like a rented cat. Katharina, who sometimes makes me feel a little insane, is cute when she’s like this. Let’s pat her head for a moment.

“Shh… be quiet,” I said, putting a finger on her lips to silence her before patting her head again.

“Ah……” Katharina gasped.

Katharina stiffened and shrank, she’s cute. Considering Katharina’s personality, I would have expected her to attack me if I did something like this, but in reality, if she’s touched like this, she would turn bright red and become docile.

She’s bold when she’s on the offensive side, but when we counterattack a bit, she looks like this. It’s still cute, but…

Anyway, what are we going to do now?

“aah……”

Right now, I’m still barely managing domestic affairs, but if things continue like this, I can see that sooner or later I’ll drop.

“yaah…”

Even now, if someone gets sick and has to leave for a long period of time, that alone will hinder the work.

“mmnn…!”

I have to do something…

“haah…”

“Katharina……” I said, “please don’t let out sexy voices in my ear.”

“E-Even if you say that… Miss Flora… aah!”

Katharina stiffens as she arches her body. Very eye-catching.

“Come on, Katharina, is this good?”

“Aah! Miss Flora! St-Stop, you shouldn’t! Aaaahh~~~!”

Katharina hugged me tightly and it made my body tremble.

“Fufu, you’re adorable, Katharina.”

“Haa…, haa…”

Katharina continued to cling to me and breathe heavily.

But it makes no sense at all. Even though I was just stroking Katharina’s head…, Katharina’s reaction makes it look like this is very erotic.

Isn’t that strange? Why is that? I just patted her head…

Well, I was able to see Katharina’s cute figure, so it’s fine. I haven’t done anything wrong. Even Katharina seemed satisfied. No problem there.

I made Katharina sit on my lap and stroked her head. That’s it. Isn’t it nice? There was nothing else. You can’t imagine strange things, can you?

“Hey, Floto……” Mikoto said as she opened the door and entered. “Wait, ahhh! What are you two doing, Katharina!”

Mikoto is also a noble lady, or rather, like a princess, no, she’s a princess, so she has to knock and have a little more manners…

“Mikoto, it’s a bad idea to raise your voice too loud…” Alexandra said as she followed from behind, saw me, then narrowed her gaze. “And now I see. You can’t help but raise your voice because of this.”

When Alexandra makes that kind of expression with her villainess-like face, it’s so powerful.

“Hey! Let me join in too!” Claudia said.

“Me as well…” Louisa said.

The two enter, as well. The four of them must have been thinking of coming here. When everyone entered the room, for some reason, they locked the door behind them and approached us.

“Come on Floto…”

“You’re going to have to give up.”

“Ca-Calm down everyone… I was just stroking Katharina’s head.”

I feel a little frightened by everyone approaching me. But even if I try to escape, I can’t because Katharina is sitting on my lap while I sit in my er chair.

“You can’t escape, Floto.”

“Be prepared”

“Ah–!”

I feel like my screams echoed through Manor Caanburg, but no one came running.