Published: September 9, 2025
Correction of typos made on 6/20.
Additional text added on 6/21.
This is Satou. No matter how much effort you put into acquiring something, there are often times when it’s still out of reach. It feels like everyone else got it easily, but you alone can’t reach it. Maybe it’s that very frustration that makes the achievement shine even brighter?
Though I’m talking about rare drops in online games, of course.
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It’s been about two weeks since we returned from the Forest of Boruenan, and everyone’s level grinding and business in Labyrinth City are proceeding fairly smoothly.
“It’s bigger than I thought.”
“Yeah, that’s because we managed to acquire the land that the official merchants had secured all together.”
Today, it’s just Arisa and me inspecting the planned construction sites for the private orphanage and the Explorer Training Academy. The size is about the same as an average elementary school, which is quite large for a city setting. Thanks to the intervention of the marchioness, we got the land at nearly no cost, but as a form of gratitude, we’ve presented appropriate accessories with solid value.
Since the kingdom council meeting is approaching this spring, we crafted flashy ornaments that would make the marchioness and her husband stand out. Even though only ordinary precious metals and gems were used, the market skill put the value beyond discernible levels. Honestly, I feel like selling accessories to nobles might be more profitable than spending time holed up in the labyrinth. I told the marchioness that I bought them from foreign merchants when I stopped by the Trading City. As for the creator’s name on the label, I just assigned some famous figure at random. Honestly, I can’t even remember if I wrote Michelangelo or Da Vinci.
“Next, we’ll need someone to coordinate the teachers.”
“Right. We want people who can take leadership or handle accounting, but it’s hard to find such candidates.”
In reality, we interviewed some nobles introduced by Ms. Mitelna’s relatives and the marchioness, but while there were people suitable for teaching jobs, we couldn’t find anyone fit to be leader or accountant. Many who could be leaders looked down on orphans and commoners or were too ambitious, hoping to use the orphanage or school as a stepping stone for their own advancement, so we decided not to hire them.
That said, not hiring anyone would embarrass the introducers, so we hired three relatively decent people and sent them to the Royal Capital academy for training under the pretense of a study trip. It might seem like a way to get rid of them, but since we gave each of them ten gold coins for two months of travel and accommodation, no complaints came up.
“I heard accountants are often slaves to prevent embezzlement?”
“Fine, I’ll look for some in nearby cities.”
Since Tifaliza and the others don’t have arithmetic skill, it’s impossible to entrust accounting to them. For now, Arisa and I will have to split the duties.
The private orphanage building is still under construction, but we’ve already started accepting orphans. Although the plan was to begin operations after the building was complete, Pochi found some toddlers on the brink of death in an alley, so we were forced to start earlier.
Since there was no building, we put up temporary tents in the area planned for the school’s playground to block the sun, and covered bundles of hay bought from farms and ranches with sheets to create temporary beds. I don’t know what exactly about the hay beds touched her heartstrings, but Arisa got so excited that she slept on a bundle of straw bed with the children on the first night. The next morning, she requested a strange breakfast of bread topped with melted cheese and goat’s milk. Knowing Arisa, it must be a recreation of some manga or anime.
Wherever they came from, within a few days more than a hundred children started living at the orphanage. Except for the first day, the meals are simple but no child complains. Strangely, there are no picky eaters or children leaving food behind.