Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord

Although nothing bad had been done, it was unpleasant to be suspected of various things.

With that in mind, I organized and sorted the supplies and demonic beast materials to make them easier to count.

Van-kun’s governance was known for its transparency. His motto was fairness, clear accounting, honest management, perfect finishing touch, and delicious cuisine.

Well, I didn’t really understand all of that, but if everything was disclosed openly with a “Here you go,” things would probably be fine. That way, people would think, “What a confident attitude. Someone this honest couldn’t possibly be involved in embezzlement or tax evasion!”

Van-kun’s plan was flawless.

Thinking that, I efficiently finished the preparations and made sure I could say, “Bring it on,” at any time.

However, day by day, Bell’s expression grew darker. No matter how much we lined up the demonic beast materials in the warehouse, more and more kept coming out.

“Stone scale serpent (rockshell), black feather skyfish (frydel hedge), forest giant (giant troll)… oh, even red sabre tiger. Whoa, black azure dragon (black drake)! That’s not just a low-rank dragon!”

Gradually, materials from larger demonic beasts began to appear, and in the end, even dragon materials showed up.

While I was surprised, Bell began to mutter softly.

“...Um, these demonic beast materials haven’t even been reported to the capital city, let alone the commerce guild…”

“Huh? Why not?”

Raising a question, Bell looked at me with a tearful, resentful expression.

“…Adventurers recklessly hunt demonic beasts in dungeons, so the adventurers’ guild can’t handle the influx and sends materials to our trading company. Apcaluru and others bring rare ores intended as taxes to Lord Van, and Lord Espada sorts some for our company… Plus, adventurers flock to the weapons and armor Lord Van makes… In all this, the materials obtained from overhunted demonic beasts used for the town’s defense can’t be managed properly… Even with all efforts, we can only manage to skin the beasts…”

Bell was emphasizing how busy she was. I recalled hearing weekly reports about hiring employees, but apparently, there still wasn’t enough manpower.

Looking closely, Bell had dark circles under her eyes and seemed a bit thinner.

“How pitiful.”

“…That didn’t sound very heartfelt…”

At my sympathetic remark, Bell, thoroughly worn out mentally, made a rather distrustful comment about people.

No matter how busy one is, people shouldn’t become like that.

“So, Bell Rango Trading Company, which is making huge profits, is actually hiding a significant portion of sales?”

“We’re not hiding anything! It’s just that we can’t keep up! Were you even listening!?” Bell retorted excitedly.

I laughed and apologized, saying, “Sorry, sorry,” then pointed to the materials.

“Well then, maybe just say these materials are planned to be reported?”

When I said that, Bell folded her arms and started groaning.

“Hmm… There’s just so much… I wonder if they’ll believe us… Actually, this is our first investigation by the commerce guild. More precisely, we’ve never even spoken face to face.”

“Really? Is it that rare?”

“No, I think Mary Trading Company has inspectors every year, but the higher-ups handle them, so we don’t have any contact…”

Bell said with a troubled expression. Indeed, when I thought about it, it made sense. It was like the tax office coming to inspect. The core members of the organization who can explain things properly have to deal with it.

“…Well, things will work out somehow.”

Since it was a first time, I decided to give up thinking about it for now.

Then Bell sighed deeply, almost in tears.

“I’ll struggle a little more. I’ll complete the ledger for the materials so we can prove we plan to report them. Though we’re not even halfway done…”

“That’s tough. Then I’ll gather documents so we can show how busy Bell Rango Trading Company is. Monthly tax reports from the company, hiring reports, and also sales reports for the weapons and armor I made. I’ll have them compiled.”