By the Grace of the Gods

Today, three chapters posted simultaneously.

This is the third chapter.

…Now, first, let’s calmly assess the situation.

In the office were me and Mr. Calm.

Then there were Mr. Fuse, Mr. Jill, Mr. Zeff, and Mr. Kamil, the Duke's household’s guards.

Also, Ms. Luluneze, Ms. Lilian, and Mr. Ribiola, who work as maids for the Duke's household.

And, for some reason, Ms. Griciela, the guild master of the commercial guild.

With a total of ten people gathered in the office, it certainly felt cramped.

For now, I let Ms. Griciela have a chair. There were many things I wanted to ask, but first and foremost, it had to be this.

“Everyone, why exactly are you all here?”

When I asked, Mr. Fuse was the first to answer.

“We came here under His Grace the Duke’s orders. They want to set up stores with security guards dispatched, and we were here seeking permission for that, right?”

“That’s definitely true.”

It was brought up even in the earlier pointless meeting, but Gimul indeed has some issues with public safety right now. One solution I had in mind was to “establish a security company.” I had been discussing the problems and solutions related to that with the guild masters and had compiled conditions to request approval from the Duke's household.

However, I had heard that this could be done with just a single letter, and even sending a messenger shouldn’t require such a large group.

“To get straight to the point, Ryoma’s wish is ‘fully accepted.’ In fact, the proposal benefits both the Duke's household and the city, so there’s hardly any chance it would be rejected.”

“If the plan succeeds, even a small part of it would be a significant income for me personally. Besides money, there are other expected benefits. I set the conditions so that the Duke's household and workers would also benefit without greed. That way, I believed we could ensure permission would be granted.”

“That’s the crux of it!”

“The crux? What do you mean?”

“The permission could be granted, but it was judged that the Duke’s household would gain too much… your proposal. Just sending a letter might make it seem like you’re just grabbing the profit, which could hurt your reputation. So we…”

I slumped. Wasn’t that supposed to be the important part!?

But then Mr. Jill, looking a little exasperated, took over the explanation.

“Lord Reinhardt said to add the condition that Mr. Fuse would be made responsible for overseeing and educating the security personnel as part of establishing the security company.

He might seem unreliable just now, but Mr. Fuse was recently promoted and will be in a position to lead subordinates. So he wants to gain experience through Ryoma’s security company. Furthermore, as an assistant to this somewhat forgetful rookie captain, I will also cooperate in operating the security company.

From your side, having an experienced person to employ and educate unemployed workers is better, right? And even if someone tries to interfere, having the Duke's household’s own subordinate as the person in charge means they can handle whatever comes up.”

“That’s more than welcome. It’s a very much appreciated offer, and we would like to ask for it ourselves… So, does that mean the others as well?”

“That’s correct.”

Stepping forward here was Ms. Luluneze, the catfolk maid and Mr. Fuse’s wife.

“Lord Ryoma, I believe you know the head maid Alone, but she is getting on in years and might soon be unable to work due to physical reasons. So we decided to select and educate candidates for the successor head maid in advance.

The head maid’s job requires diverse abilities similar to a security captain’s: educating newcomers, managing subordinates, judgment and administrative skills to handle tasks. So the three of us—myself, Ms. Lilian, and Mr. Ribiola—have been ordered to assist Lord Ryoma as successor head maid candidates. Our qualities will be assessed based on that work.

From today until the Duke’s household orders our return, please feel free to use us as you see fit.”