Chapter 337: Desperate Measures for Personnel Shortages

As Seatoh Village grew economically prosperous and secured a dominant position in trade with the Kingdom of Yelenetta and the Shelvia Confederation, a vast variety of goods began to circulate. With a dungeon nearby, half of the adventurers had settled into the adventurer town and the base camp in front of the dungeon, providing the village with precious materials and ores.

While the Bell & Rango Trading Company remained the dominant force in Seatoh Village, the Mary Chamber of Commerce—the largest guild in the kingdom—had also established a storefront. Their large merchant caravans visited once a week, conducting a wide array of business. Combined with the regular trade established through Count Panamera, who had acquired territory on the border of the Kingdom of Yelenetta, Seatoh Village had, in a sense, become a premier economic hub where anything could be obtained.

However, in this thriving Seatoh Village, there was one singular, critical problem.

“……Why is it so busy?”

I stared at the mountain of documents I had to process as the lord and muttered under my breath. Till gave a wry smile as she poured tea into my cup.

“Perhaps it is because you were away from Seatoh Village for a while?”

“Is this like that feeling of returning from a business trip only to find a pile of routine work waiting for you…?”

Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu at Till’s words, I leaned my weight against the back of my chair. As I raised both hands to give myself a deep stretch, Khamsin let out a frustrated groan.

“……If only I had the same capabilities as Lord Esparda, I could do something about these documents…!”

“No, no, Khamsin, you were training all morning. You’ve worked hard enough, so you should rest a bit this afternoon.”

I offered some supportive words with a wry smile, watching my loyal retainer’s display of regret. I do a bit of sword training under Dee myself, but Khamsin’s schedule is packed from dawn until lunch. Even after such intense training, he simply splashes himself with some water, eats lunch, and immediately returns to my side to act as my guard. His stamina is incredible.

He’s gradually closing the gap between himself and Dee, I thought with a smile. Khamsin placed a hand over his chest and shook his head with a serious expression.

“There have been many threats of assassination in the past…… Truthfully, I wish I could place a bed right next to yours and protect you twenty-four hours a day!”

“That’s a bit heavy!”

“Eh!? No, since I would be placing the bed next to yours, it wouldn’t be heavy at all!”

“That’s not what I meant!”

I dutifully retorted to Khamsin’s misunderstanding. Watching our exchange, Arte, who was sitting on the sofa across from my office desk, placed a finger to her lips and giggled.

“……I’m jealous of how well you get along.”

“Oh? Does Arte want to line up a bed next to mine too?”

“N-No, I didn’t mean it in that way……!”

When I threw out a light joke in response to her comment, Arte’s face turned bright red all the way to her ears, exactly as I expected. Based on my experience, Arte is shy, but I suspect she might be a bit of a closet pervert. She’s too embarrassed to speak up about such topics, but she’s likely intensely curious.

As I was thinking that, Esparda, who was seated on the sofa opposite Arte, placed the documents he was holding onto the table and spoke.

“In reality, we are still severely understaffed. We are currently training several new individuals, but unless we establish a better educational system, this personnel shortage will not be resolved,” Esparda declared firmly.

That was bad. My plan was to spend my days wandering the territory, thinking about what games to play, and living a life where people called me “Van the Playboy.”

In a panic, I decided to check on the current state of Seatoh Village.

“C-Come to think of it, we did build something to serve as a school, right? How is that going?”

“The applicants and the children seem to be learning well, but it will be at least ten years before we can produce personnel capable of participating in internal administration. Furthermore, our current needs include two individuals for tax collection, one to record new residents, and five to handle the subsequent allocation of food, clothing, and shelter. After that……”

“W-We’re completely short-handed…… Eh? What about your disciples, Esparda?”

“We are only managing to stay afloat because they are here. Currently, I am teaching Lady Arte the general sorting of documents, but we must replenish our staff regarding the territory’s finances, personnel, and the management of the Chivalric Order. I am currently handling about half of it myself, but if you could provide me with five trustworthy individuals, I shall train them.”

“……So you’re implicitly saying that it takes five civil officials to do the work of one Esparda……”

I groaned, feeling exhausted just listening to his report. No, Esparda’s words weren’t exaggeration or self-praise; he was merely stating the facts. If I were told to handle all of Esparda’s work myself, I’d go on strike. Actually, I’d probably start a riot.

When I think about it that way, Esparda—who handles his daily duties without a change in expression—must surely be a cyborg or an android. There’s even a possibility he might fire a killer beam at me if he catches me skipping my studies to play. Ah, how terrifying.

Jokes aside, I will likely be traveling again in the future. For those times, I need to replenish the personnel involved in the administration of the territory as soon as possible.

“……If I recall, the village population should have exceeded three thousand. With that many people, there must be someone suited for this kind of work. Let’s put out a call for recruits.”

“……As I noted in the report from the other day, there are currently over four thousand residents within the territory, and if you include the adventurers, there are consistently around five thousand. Please read the reports thoroughly……”

“R-Right, exactly! Since I plan to have some of them migrate to Lord Murcia’s place, I was taking that into account!?”

“……I see. You did specify the village population. In that case, let us leave it at that.”

That was close. I never know when the Esparda Check System will activate. I have to stay sharp.

I shifted my mindset and gave a firm nod to myself.