By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 8

Chapter 7, Episode 8: Reinforcements Arrive

First things first, I had to take in my surroundings. In the office stood Carme and myself, greeted by the duke’s guards Hughes, Jill, Zeph, and Camil, as well as the maids Lulunese, Lilian, and Liviola. And finally, for some reason, Glissela, the master of the Merchant’s Guild, was also present. Our office seemed a little cramped with this big of a crowd present. Having offered our only chair to Glissela, there were a bunch of questions on my mind, but I had to start with the most obvious one.

“What brings you all here?”

Hughes piped up to answer. “We’re here on the duke’s orders. You were looking to get permits for some establishments, like the one that outsources security, right?”

“Yes, I was. I had been considering setting up a security company as a countermeasure against the rising crime in Gimul, and discussed the expected hurdles and solutions to those hurdles with the guildmasters before requesting a permit from the duke to establish it.”

A single letter should have sufficed to answer that request, though. Even if Reinhart wanted to send a messenger, he didn’t need to send this many.

“Well, long story short, the duke has approved all aspects of the project,” Hughes continued. “I mean, there’s no downside for the duke or the city at large, so there’s no reason to refuse.”

“If it comes to fruition, I can expect great revenue, even as a small portion of the project, not to mention the nonmonetary compensation. I tried to set the numbers to give more benefits to the duke and the workers as much as I could to encourage him to approve the project.”

“That’s the problem!”

“Problem?”

“He could approve the project, but your current proposal makes it look like the duke’s being too greedy. If he gives it his approval with just a letter, it could look like he’s doing nothing and reaping all the benefits. That’s why we... Why were we here again?”

You’re the one who came all the way here, so you tell me, dammit!

An exasperated Jill took over the explaining duties. “The duke wants to add a condition to the proposal, appointing Hughes as the manager and trainer of the guards. While he’s not showing his full potential today, Hughes was recently promoted, and will soon have guards working under him at the duke’s. He would appreciate the opportunity to gain more managerial experience at your company. I will help run the organization as well, to complement this forgetful new chief. I believe you could use experienced trainers to train the new hires. If it comes to someone complaining about the project, they wouldn’t have a leg to stand on against the two of the duke’s guards being responsible for the quality of the staff.”

“I couldn’t ask for anyone better. Does that mean everyone else is here for...?”

“That is correct.” Lulunese, a cat beastkin and Hughes’s wife, stepped forward. “You know our housekeeper, Araune. She is at the age where manual labor is becoming more difficult. She has decided to select candidates for her successor, and begin training them to take over her post. As with the head of security, the housekeeper must be able to train new hires, lead her subordinates, as well as make executive decisions and perform secretarial duties. Lilian, Liviola, and myself were commanded to assist you, Master Ryoma, to test our skills. From this day until we are relieved by the duke, please put us to whatever work you see fit.”

“Whatever” work...? Gimme a break.

“We’ve been told to help out with the security project, but feel free to ask for our help on anything you need an extra hand with. It’s all up to you.”

“I don’t like heavy lifting, so keep me backstage if you can.”

“Zeph, Camil...”

That whole spiel about gaining experience or picking the new housekeeper seemed like a poor excuse; it seemed more like Reinhart just wanted to send them over to help me out. They’d been wonderful to me before, and they were all undoubtedly talented. Considering how busy things were going to get, I was very grateful for their offer. Besides, the fact that they came all the way here to tell me this meant they weren’t going to take no for an answer, not that I would have turned them down anyway.

“Thank you so much, everyone. That would be wonderful help. I’d love to discuss the details later... But what brings you here, guildmaster?”

“I’ve been talking to them. I knew they’d show up sooner or later.”

“You knew?!”

“You think you’re the only one who keeps in touch with the duke? You know what’s going on in the city.”

I suppose the guild masters would be taking their own action against the rise in crime themselves...

“Besides, you’ve been acting weird lately,” Glissela added.

“Well—”

“What? You don’t think I’d notice, after talking to you these past few days?”

“It’s not that...”

After what transpired at the conference, I couldn’t help but give Carme a quick glance.

“That’s right, you two went out to that conference at the guild, right? Hosted by the ‘Gimul Union of Small Businesses,’ or something. I had a hunch they seemed suspicious, but it looks like something went down. Tell me about it.”

She caught on from that split-second that something had gone wrong, and where it went wrong. Realizing that I couldn’t hide it, I proceeded to explain everything that happened during and after the conference.

Glissela stared at me once I’d finished. “You know, sometimes I can’t tell whether you’re really smart or really dumb. I’ve had my eyes on Wanz myself.”

“Really?”

“The Merchant’s Guild’s looking into things as well. He certainly caught our attention, but he hasn’t done anything brazen yet, and there aren’t any red flags on his record. I can’t just order searches or fines levied on him based only on my own intuition.”

Of course, if the guild could do things like that without any proof, that would be a bigger problem than the rise in crime.

“We’ve just let him be... But emotions can be a tricky thing. Logic doesn’t always work on people who are really angry. A solid business deal can get ruined by one little aside. Now, I appreciate your determination to protect your shop and employees at all costs, but you really didn’t have to go as far as you did...”

“Cut him some slack. Ryoma’s still young, so he needs gusto. Right?” Hughes threw his arm around my shoulder, but the height difference nearly threw me off-balance.

“Well, at least you’re not as stubborn about accepting help. Let’s say you and your employee here have grown a bit.”

“Th-Thank you.”

I guess I’m off the hook? Though it feels like I just passed an exam with a D-minus.

At this point, a knock came at the door.

“Yes?”

Carme swiftly went out and came back in. A little dismayed, he said, “Sir, Sieg and Miss Pauline are back...”

To pick up their children, I assume. This could get a little awkward. “Accompanied by Darson from the Digger Armory. They want to talk to you.”

“Darson? All right, where are they?”

“I let them into the floor.”

I went out to the front of the house after a quick word to everyone in the office, and they saw me coming out.

“Good evening. Did the conference conclude after I left?”

“Who knows? We bailed on it.”

Wait, what?

“Why...?”

“You opened our eyes, Ryoma,” said Sieg. “We were starting to accept what he was saying, being in that space... But your objections brought us back to our senses. After you left, all the other attendees started speaking up as well.”

“Some people even left before we did. You know some of them, Ryoma.” Pauline told me their names; they were the people working at shops that I’d patronized when I went out into town to buy things I needed.

“We didn’t want to bring a huge group along at this hour, but everyone wants to apologize to you. We, the grown-ups, dropped the ball, so we left you with the short end of the stick. I’m sorry.”

The men joined in her apology, which I accepted.

Darson had something to add as well. “Even the folks who didn’t leave when we did were probably a little doubtful themselves from the start; most of them, at least. It was a madhouse right up until we left. How do I put this... Your courage wasn’t in vain, Ryoma.”

“I’m glad to hear it, then.” I felt as though some of the weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

“Looks like everything worked out,” Glissela said as she emerged from the office, the rest of my guests following behind her. I had noticed them watching the conversation with concern, but the way they all flooded out of the office at once startled Sieg, Pauline, and Darson, so I explained why I had them crammed in my office to calm them down.

“So you’re saying you had this planned all along, having requested permission from the duke? It’s just like the solution you presented of hiring professional fighters.”

“You could say that.”

“Well, you could have mentioned it when... Well, I guess you did, kind of.”

“I hadn’t yet received word from the duke. Even though I was confident how he’d respond, I don’t think I could have convinced them without proof.”

“If I had known, I would have rushed back here on horseback...”

“Well, no sense dwelling on it. Just a case of poor timing.”

I turned to my guests from the duke’s residence. “Can I assume that we’ll be able to start working on more concrete solutions now?” I asked, and they all gave me their wholehearted assurance.

“Ryoma,” Sieg called. “If you like, you can talk to us anytime you need help.”

“Really?!”

“Of course. No sense in holding back with us now. I’ll talk to the people who walked out of the conference with us. I’d trust them much more than that Wanz character, anyway.”

“That’s a good idea,” Darson said. “Maybe we should host our own meeting.”

We shared a laugh at this, and called it a day after exchanging a few pleasantries.

As I stood outside the shop to watch them leave, Glissela called me over from her carriage. “Come here, Ryoma.”

Once I was a few steps away, a cane slid out of the carriage door and pulled me in.

“Listen well, Ryoma. You need a realistic outlook to run a business. It’s just a fact that pipe dreams kill businesses like yours. And it’s also a fact that people won’t let themselves be ruled under an iron fist for very long. To be a top-class merchant, you need to be soft enough to preach your ideals and protect your people, and hard enough to look at the numbers instead of your feelings, and make cuts where you have to. Of course, you’re capable of playing both those roles; you just suck at switching between them. You’ve got to be smooth... Anyhow, don’t forget about what happened today. Take a good look at everyone around you, and stay true to your convictions. You need to believe in yourself.”

She concluded her lecture with a gentle, yet firm look, and then took her cane off my shoulder. Without waiting for my response, she quickly switched back to her usual manner of speaking. “Next time, you’d better come and visit me at the guild.”

Then, the carriage door closed, and the carriage sped off towards the Merchant’s Guild.