Chapter 299: Growth of the Young Employees (1/2)

After the meeting with Carm-san, I took a peek into the break room and saw Maria-san, Fina-san, and Leelin-san from behind.

“Good job out there.” [Ryouma]

“Ah, Boss. It’s been awhile~” [Maria]

“Welcome back. We heard from Carm-san.” [Fina]

“I’d heard that you were safe, but it’s good to see so in person.” [Leelin]

“Sorry to have worried you. But as you can see, I’m perfectly fine.” [Ryouma]

I wonder if everyone else is doing well too. Work might be going well, but there’s more to life than that. There’s that document Carm-san and I spoke about earlier as well. But of course, even without all that, i was gone for about a month, so I’d love to talk to them a little at least.

“We’re doing just fine, Boss~ We read those guidelines of yours, though~…” [Maria]

“That was the only time when I was sad recently. I’m sure the others are the same.” [Fina]

“My dad and I have been doing well too.” [Leelin]

“Ahh, that’s good to hear.” {Ryouma]

Though I had no intentions whatsoever of placing a curse on those guidelines, the possibility was there, so I was worried for a moment, but it’s good to see that they’re all alright. Then I noticed that there were writing tools lined up in front of them.

“Were you studying? Sorry to have disturbed you.” [Ryouma]

“Don’t worry, Boss. It’s all good~” [Maria]

“We’re not really studying, anyway. It’s more like we’re checking something. Oh, by the way, the book you requested from Steyer-sama is ready. He was hoping you’d be able to get it when you came back.” [Fina]

“Sanchez-sama mentioned that the adventurer volume was complete~ But the daily life volume will be taking some more time~” [Maria]

“Thank you for delivering me his message. I thought it would take him longer, but it seems he was able to finish it rather quickly.” [Ryouma]

“His grandchildren appear to be having a hard time. They say he’s strict.” [Leelin]

“They keep saying that if he’s just going to work them this hard, then it would have been better if he just didn’t retire~” [Maria]

Well, those two certainly make for a pair of lively grandpas. Mr. Muller Steyer, a former tax official, and Mr. Garcia Sanchez, a former legal officer. They are tax and legal experts, respectively, introduced to me by the duke’s family. They are currently serving as advisors to my business and my affiliates.

But of course, they too have their own inclinations, so I’m giving them other work as well. For example, just as we were talking about earlier, they’re helping Fina-san and Mari-san study, and they’re also writing a book. It’s one of those ‘Essential Tips’ books that could be commonly found in Japan.

There are books in this world pertaining to the law and taxation, but they mostly target professionals or students aspiring to become experts in those fields. Such materials require literacy, and they also require prior knowledge surrounding the topic, so it was unlikely for laymen to be able to understand them.

I was thinking they would have their hands full just advising me and my affiliates, but they’d brought their families with them, and apparently, their grandchildren were supposed to enter the same industry, so they’re using the jobs I give them as teaching material, and their grandkids help out too.

In practice, that means that I essentially have an entire office working for me, but I’m really only paying for the service of the two grandpas. Honestly, it’s an incredible deal and a huge help.

It might be hard for the grandkids, but it’s not my place to tell them how to teach their own blood. It’s outside of my expertise too. Besides, their work at the duke’s family is supposed to be even more demanding, so if anything, I just hope the kids will do their best.

“The grandkids helped us too~” [Maria]

“We knew nothing at all. Who would’ve thought that we’d get the opportunity to study like this? We could have never imagined it when we left to make money.” [Fina]

“Law and tax are difficult even among the many specialties. But there’s no harm to learning. Such knowledge should prove most reassuring when the time comes.” [Leelin]

“What do you mean when the time comes? It’s already relevant!” [Fina]

Fina-san reached out toward the paper lined up on the table. She was almost always calm, so it was rare to see her like this. Life at their village has turned for the better since forming a contract with the Saionji Company, but until just recently, their village struggled because they couldn’t sell their crops. It’s probably because of that that she’s so enthusiastic. And as though to show her resolve, the papers on the table were full of small characters from one edge to another.

“Yesterday, we studied about the taxes levied on farming villages, and I learned that the taxes paid to the duke would be used to reimburse any expense made to protect property or human life in the case of a monster or bandit threat.” [Fina]

“Huh, so that’s a thing.” [Ryouma]

Didn’t know about that. It’s kind of like disaster relief funds, I guess. Fina-san spoke with a frustrated tone.

“The village headsman is my father and yet I didn’t know about that at all. We’ve called adventurers many times whenever a monster showed up, but we never availed that law and would always just get all the villagers to chip in.” [Fina]

“It’s doubtful that they knew about it and didn’t use it, so most likely, your dad and the rest of the villagers didn’t know either.” [Leelin]

“You have to pay first, so maybe I just don’t remember them being reimbursed, or maybe they just didn’t want to talk about money in front of children. I don’t really mind if so, but… Yeah, they probably didn’t know.” [Fina]

According to what she’s heard from Steyer-sama, even most village headsmen aren’t privy to laws and taxes, so it’s not unheard of for a village headman to be unaware of such benefits.

I can’t help but wonder, ‘Is that really okay?’　But as it turns out, the only requirement for the job was to know what actions were considered crimes.

Taking advantage of benefits, such as the one mentioned by Fina-san, was up to the villagers’ and the headsman’s discretion. It wouldn’t be a crime if he were to intentionally not apply for it, much less be ignorant of it, and tax officials also don’t go out of their way to investigate such cases.

“Some people could know about the benefit but be unable to complete the process, so there are also people that just decide to give up.” [Fina]

“What a pity. If they knew, their lives would be so much easier too.” [Leelin]

“You got that right, Leelin-san~. As Sanchez-sama puts it, ‘The law is ever changing. Those ignorant of it, those who do not seek to inform themselves, those who break it, those who refuse change, those who miss out on benefits that they should otherwise have… There are just too many’~” [Maria]