CH 131.1

“Negotiations with the Commercial Guild.”

Translated by Dawn

Edited by Dawn

“Negotiations with the Commercial Guild.”

“So, Lelianne, I’m going to need you to assign the kids to jobs.”

“Wa-wait a minute! You can’t ask me to do that out of the blue!”

After confirming the children’s will, I immediately started thinking about which job should be assigned to which child. However, it was difficult for me, who had just met the children for the first time, to determine which child was best suited for which job, so I decided to leave that role to Lelianne, who was in charge of the orphanage.

However, she was not going to follow my instructions, and I explained the situation to her and Isha again.

I explained to Lelianne and Isha again that what they could do now was not to wait for the country’s aid to be provided again but to make the orphanage self-sufficient. As a first step, I thought that I could provide a job for the orphanage and then use the money earned from the job to rebuild the orphanage.

“…..”

“You must be thinking, what a joke it is for a kid like me, a kid who is no different from the orphans here, to suddenly start talking like this. But look at the reality. Do you have a plan to rebuild the orphanage, now Lelianne? Has the country resumed its support funding? The reality is that there is no plan and there is no support money coming. Then isn’t it important that you live in the best way you can right now?”

Lelianne turned her face down and fell silent at my words. This was probably because my words were right and there was no room for argument.

In reality, if nothing was done, the orphans in the orphanage would either die of starvation in less than six months, or they would commit crimes and be captured by the soldiers and punished as criminals.

Perhaps the answer was in her mind. That she had no choice but to take my proposal. If she didn’t, the worst possible consequences would be waiting for her.

“Are you sure everything is going to be all right?”

“It is, there will be no problem.”

That line would be legal on Earth in a previous life, but this was a different world. There should be no special law like such a death flag…..probably.

After hearing my words, they were a bit skeptical, but in the absence of a concrete plan to resolve the current situation, they decided to accept my proposal.

For the time being, the number of orphans being cared for at the orphanage was around 20, so I asked them to divide them into groups of six or seven per job. First, I taught them how to harvest Magic Chamomile and how to take care of it on a daily basis.

Everyone listened to me earnestly because their lives were on the line, and they quickly learned how to harvest and care for their crops. The other jobs didn’t require particularly difficult processes or techniques, so even a small child could easily learn them.

After teaching them all three jobs, I asked Lelianne to show me to the kitchen and provide three days’ worth of food. Lelianne and Isha were surprised for the umpteenth time when they saw this.

“Um, why would you go to all this trouble?”

“Well, if I had to say…..it’s for my self-satisfaction.”

In my previous life, I was Japanese. Basically, it was said that Japanese people have a strong tendency to extend a helping hand to anyone in need. It seemed that I was not one of those people.

However, I wasn’t so soft-hearted or good-natured that I would help anyone who was in trouble. I only have limited good intentions, helping only when I had the strength to do so and when the other person was qualified to be helped.

This charity was part of that, and if I had to give a specific reason, it would be “I wanted to help,” which might or might not have been a clear reason, but it was an abstract reason.

If I were to go further, I would say, “I can’t allow anyone to be unhappy in front of me,” or “In order for me to live without any backlash, it is essential for people like them to be happy.” I had several reasons for doing this, but the most important one was “for me”.

I wanted to visit various places in the future. If I was to walk around with an unhappy face, I would not be able to look around in a good mood. In other words, this was a relief for the “me and only me” reason that the people around me must be happy so that I could enjoy sightseeing in a good mood. This was exactly what I call “it’s me fraud”. (+)

“You are a kind person, Rolando-sama.”

“No, I am not. In fact, I want to use you for the production of tea leaves and fine yarns.”

“Fufu, let’s leave it at that.”

Isha expressed her opinion of my behavior, and I said something to deny it, but she didn’t seem to take it seriously. Sure, I had my golem, and if I left it to them, I could produce it efficiently and without rest for 24 hours a day.

I might have no excuse if I let the children do that work. Both Lelianne and Isha must have some idea of this.

“I’m going to go to the commercial guild now and talk to them. I’ll give you some practical care instructions early tomorrow morning, so make sure the kids are put to bed early today.”

“Understood.”

Thank you, Rolando-kun”

With that said, I parted from these people from the orphanage and headed on my way to the commercial guild on my feet. The time was about one step before dusk, and the food stalls along the way were preparing for the peak of the day when the people who had finished their work started to arrive.

Arriving at the commercial guild with such a scene in the background, I immediately put on the [Mithril First Class Medal] given to me by the king from storage and headed for the reception desk.

“H-hey. Look at that.”

“Is that the hero they’re talking about? Isn’t he too small?”

“But that medal on his chest looks real.”

“He’s the one who beat up the demons, right? I can’t believe he’s just a kid.”

While listening to the merchants’ chattering, I went to the reception desk, presented my guild card, and told them what I wanted to do.

“Excuse me, I need to see the guildmaster. Can you please tell her I’m here?”

“Y-yes. I understand. Please wait a moment!”

After a while, the receptionist, who had gone to the guildmaster, returned. She apparently agreed to meet with me, and I was immediately led to the office where the guildmaster was located.

“Excuse me.”

“Come in…”

Perhaps sensing my unusual mood, her tone changes slightly to a more formal one. Incidentally, I should add that I was now in aristocratic mode just a little bit. I sat down on the sofa and immediately spoke about the reason I came here.

“I’m sorry to come here unannounced in the midst of your busy schedule. I have a business meeting with Liliere-dono today.”

“Please do not hesitate to tell me about it.”

In contrast to her initially soft demeanor, she acted in a formal manner as if she was dealing with a great noble. It seemed that she sensed that I was in a different mood than I was before, and read the atmosphere and adapted accordingly.

“I would first like to hear your opinion on these three items. I won’t be offended if you undermine them, so I want you to give me your honest opinion.”

“I understand. I will take a look at them.”

I said a few words of explanation to her and then laid out the items from Storage that I had also shown to Lelianne and the others on the table for her. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the first two, but her expression turned dubious when she pulled out the last vegetable. That was because they were vegetables that could be found anywhere.

After holding it in her hands for a while, looking at it, and observing the smallest details, she finally seemed to have finished her assessment and the results were announced.

“I think they are all excellent. This Magic Chamomile is in good condition and is perfect as a tea and as a medicinal ingredient. This Yarn Mite thread is also in good condition, and I am sure it will fetch a high price. Finally, the vegetables here are certainly in good condition and quality, but I must admit that it is difficult to say whether they will fetch a high price.”

“I see.”

After a one-word response to Liliere’s assessment, I quickly cut to the chase.

“This is still just a temporary thing, but listen to it as something that might be feasible in the future.”

“Yes.”

“If I told you that I could deliver these goods on a regular and consistent basis, what would you, as a commercial guild, offer in terms of a contract?”

“I understand. If we assume that this is really the case, the Magic Chamomile and Yarn Mite yarns are attractive as trade goods, and these vegetables are not new, but they are not in bad shape and fresh, so the guild would love to have a fruitful contract with you.”

(Hmmm…she’s not going to show her hand now, is she? She’s not like the other corrupt guildmaster… Well, she’s not corrupt in the first place.)

While inwardly joking about such things, it seemed that we could conclude a contract on terms that were not so bad, so I decided to proceed further with the negotiations.

“Then, please wait a few more days. We have not yet determined whether we can deliver this level of quality, and it would not be in your or our best interest to enter into a contract without a stable supply of this level of product, would it?”

“Do you mean that you will have some kind of answer in the next couple of days?”

“Well, yes, I guess you could say that. After we get the results, we will move on to another round of concrete negotiations. Is that all right with you?”

“I understand. I hope we can get a good result.”

That was how the conversation came to an end and the negotiations with Liliere came to a close. I needed to teach the children to ensure a stable supply of products from now on. It would seem that I would be a little busy.