Published: January 17, 2026
Having become economically prosperous and able to conduct trade advantageously with the Yelinetta Kingdom and the Shelvia Confederation, Seato Village gradually saw a diverse flow of goods. Nearby, there was also a dungeon, and half of the adventurers settled either in the adventurer town or the base in front of the dungeon, bringing back precious materials and ores.
In Seato Village, the Bell Rango Trading Company was the dominant force, but the mary trading company, the largest trading company in the kingdom, also had a store there. A large caravan came at least once a week for various transactions. In addition, thanks to the regular trade established with Count Panamera, who had acquired territory on the Yelinetta Kingdom side, Seato Village had, in a way, become the best economic city where you could get almost anything.
However, in Seato Village, there was one major problem.
“...Why am I this busy?”
Facing a mountain of documents that had to be processed as lord, I muttered quietly. Til chuckled bitterly as he poured tea into a cup for me.
“Perhaps because you were away from Seato Village for a while?”
“Feels like coming back from a business trip to a pile of normal work...”
Leaning back in my chair, feeling a sense of déjà vu at Til’s words, I stretched my arms up. Kamushin groaned in frustration.
“...If only I had Lord Espada’s abilities, I could manage these documents somehow...!”
“No, no, Kamushin, you trained all morning. You’ve worked hard enough. You can rest a bit this afternoon.”
I smiled wryly at loyal Kamushin’s frustration and offered some comforting words. I also trained a little under Dee, but Kamushin was rigorous from dawn until lunchtime. Even after a thorough training, a quick wash, and lunch, he immediately stood guard by my side. His stamina was incredible.
As I smiled, thinking he was gradually catching up to Dee, Kamushin placed his hand on his chest, shook his head seriously, and said,
“There have been numerous assassination attempts... Honestly, I’d like to put a bed next to yours and guard you all day long!”
“That’s heavy!”
“Huh!? No, putting a bed next to yours doesn’t mean it’s heavy!”
“That’s not what I meant!”
I couldn’t help but correct Kamushin’s misunderstanding. Watching our exchange, Arte, sitting on the sofa opposite my desk, chuckled softly with a finger to her lips.
“...You two are so close, I envy you.”
“Huh? Arte, do you want to put a bed next to mine too?”
“N-no, not in that way...”
I joked lightly in response to Arte’s comment, and as expected, her face turned bright red. From experience, Arte was shy but probably secretly curious about such topics. She was embarrassed to speak up but genuinely interested.
While I thought about this, Espada, sitting on the sofa facing Arte, put down the documents he was holding on the table and spoke.
“Actually, we still lack personnel. A few more are being trained, but unless we establish a better education system, the manpower shortage won’t be resolved.”
Espada stated firmly. That was bad. My plan was to wander my territory daily thinking about how to have fun and be called ‘Van the playboy.’
Panicking, I decided to check the current situation in Seato Village.
“B-by the way, we did set up something like a school, right? How’s that going?”
“It seems that those who want to study and the children are learning well, but producing personnel capable of handling internal affairs will take about ten years. Currently, we need two people for taxation, one for registering new residents, and five to allocate food, clothing, and shelter. And then...”
“Th-that’s nowhere near enough... Huh? What about Espada’s disciples?”
“Thanks to them, things are manageable. I am currently teaching Lady Arte the basics of sorting documents, but we need more personnel for finance, manpower, and managing the knight order. Right now, I handle about half, but if we had five trustworthy people, I could train them.”