After rendezvousing in the morning and informing Yurdum-san of his fate, he became utterly confused.
As Yurdum-san voiced out his doubts, he turned to me, and then to Jill-san, and then started looking alternatingly between our faces.
He seemed to be looking for an explanation, so I gave him a simple one.
âBased off yesterdayâs events - and not just our discussion, but also the interrogation - weâve judged that youâre most likely ânot our enemyâ, and that you âdonât have any intentions of harming me.ââ [Ryouma]
âStrictly speaking, itâs still tentative. Weâre contacting His Grace, who is currently at the imperial capital, for confirmation. Surely, Reinhart-sama will be able to confirm about your matter with the king.â [Jill]
âWell, thatâs how it is. Itâll be some time before the results fully come out. But it wouldnât really be beneficial for either of us if we were to keep you locked up until then, donât you think?â [Ryouma]
Yurdum-san wouldnât be able to move freely while heâs locked up.
So not only will the brilliant employee I employed not be able to work, I would also have to spend effort keeping him locked up.
âThatâs true, but I still investigated you and leaked informationâŚâ [Yurdum]
âIndeed, which is why you wonât be working at the laundromat or the other new facilities, instead, youâll be working under my supervision. As for my safety, as Iâve mentioned earlier, weâve already judged that you donât mean me any harm,â [Ryouma]
After saying that, Yurdum-san turned to Jill-san with a look that seemed to be asking if we were serious.
âItâs true that weâre lacking hands, but the biggest reason is because Ryouma asked for it.â [Jill]
âYour identity wasnât a lie, so we can at least show you that much trust. Leaving such a brilliant person lying around despite that would be too wasteful. Especially, our current situation. In fact, I wouldnât even mind if your liaison worked with us too, but understandably, everyone shot down the idea.â [Ryouma]
âOf course they would!â [Yurdum]
âI really donât mind. Weâre not doing anything bad anyway. I mean, I even went out of my way to obey the laws and do everything peacefullyâŚâ [Ryouma]
If I were to really ignore the law, I could wrap this whole mess up really quickly. In fact, I wouldâve been able to round up all those suspicious guys during that meeting right there and then. Iâm referring to Wanz and his followers, of course.
âBoss, youâre making an evil face.â [Yurdum]
âOops, my bad. Anyway, itâs already been decided, so letâs get along.â [Ryouma]
âWeâve advised him so many times already, but heâs just too persistent. In the end, we decided to just give in. Just consider it your good luck.â [Jill]
Of the two adults, one made a somber face, while the other was confused, but regardless, the matter was settled, so it was time to go to work.
ââŚSo, now that Iâve been released, what will we be doing, Boss?â [Yurdum]
âFrom noon onwards, I have a meeting with the guild master and the others at the merchant guild. Until then, weâll be walking around, taking a look around the various related places. How are you feeling? Weâll be walking quite a bit, you see.â [Ryouma]
âMy head is still confused, but my body is fine. Iâll be sure to protect you with all of my strength, Boss. I mean, that seems like a much better idea than trying to think about all sorts of stuff right now.â [Yurdum]
Good. Looks like heâs not bothered about what happened anymore.
Although heâs my guard, itâs not good to be too stiff, so we talked while walking.
âIâm counting on you. By the way, I heard from Jill-san that you were a really brilliant student. I heard you were a part of the âKnight Courseâ.â [Ryouma]
âAh, you heard about that, did you? Itâs not really something I enjoy remembering, but⌠me not wanting to inherit our familyâs line of work thatâs been continuing for generations goes way before I decided to walk down the path of martial arts. That being the case, Iâve been told to produce enough results to be able to succeed in life on my ownâŚâ [Yurdum]
âBut even then, I hear that wasnât a place a person could get to without serious effort.â [Ryouma]
According to Jill-san, the Academy of the Imperial Capital offers a great variety of courses, so itâs possible for the students to receive training according to their personal goals. Moreover, basically anyone could complete a course as long as they could cover the fees for the class, attend the required subjects, and pass the exams.
But the Knight Course that Yurdum-san was part of was a bit special, and it was exceedingly difficult just to get the qualifications to sign up for it.
âApparently, you need to be from a noble family, and then you also need to have taken up etiquettes, basic subjects, history, magic, and so on⌠Moreover, on top of practical skill in magic, combat, and various weapons arts, oneâs appearance is also graded, and only by having high grades in everything can one gain the qualifications to enter the course.â [Ryouma]
âHmm, well, it is a class for people aiming to become the knights that will protect the royal family and the country in the future. It certainly demands a lot from its students. Moreover, even if youâre able to qualiy for the course, only the top 30 qualified applicants can enter the Knight Course. Life after enrolling isnât easy either. If you canât keep up with the lessons, youâll lose your qualification. If someone with the qualification is able to achieve the same results, they will compete for the position. That continues all the way until graduation.â [Yurdum]
A harsh environment that made it hard just to remain.
A super harsh curriculum that demanded the best because the students were nobles.
But in exchange, if one could remain in the Knight Course until graduation, it is without a doubt the shortest route to becoming an imperial guard - those in charge of protecting the royal family - or an important office within the knights or the national army. A super difficult elite course.
That was the place known as the Knight Course.
Surely, it wouldnât be possible to enter a place like that just by being a somewhat bright student, but for some reason, Yurdum-sanâs expression was stiff.
âItâs true that I did my best, butâŚâ [Yurdum]
And his words were evasive.
âIs it something hard to say?â [Ryouma]
âIt wasnât really something I would mention. Most people would be shocked when they heard it, and when I said it to my classmates in the knight course, for a moment, I thought they were going to gang up on me and kill me.â [Yurdum]
Hmm. What to do? I didnât have any intention of pursuing the topic any further if it was something he was uncomfortable with, but now Iâm curious.
âNah, itâs not really that big of a deal. I mean it is true that I did my best to enter the Knight Course back then, and of course, my parents told me to keep my grades up too, and I was also thinking about my future to some extent, but the biggest reason why I got there was because⌠âI thought it would make me popular with girlsâ.â [Yurdum]
Yurdum-san laughed awkwardly, but upon hearing thatâŚ
âI see, that sounds just like you.â [Ryouma]
âItâs all fine if you donât think badly of me, but uh, do I really seem that flirty to you?â [Yurdum]
âI donât know about flirty, but youâve always struck me as someone really used to women. Even with your job at the laundromat, I heard you had a good reputation among the women. Personally, I thought of it as a good thing.â [Ryouma]
âReally?â [Yurdum]
âYes. Besides, arenât marriage partners important to nobles?ăThis might be a bit prejudiced of me, and Iâm not sure if I should say that there are a lot of realistic women, but there are definitely a lot who consider the future prospects of their partner, such as his lineage or wealth. So if someone is lacking in a certain regard or have no prospects, they wonât entertain him anymore or wonât include him among their candidates⌠I mean, that is a thing, right?â [Ryouma]
âWell, it varies from person to person, but there are certainly people who are ridiculously strict in that regard.â [Yurdum]
in that case, Yurdum-san wasnât wrong to enter the Knight Course.
Besides, it sounds like he started wanting to walk the path of martial arts when graduation was approaching. It makes sense for him to want to confirm first if he really wants to become a knight or go down a different road. There should be plenty of roads to the future, after all. Marriage is also one one of those.
âYou entered the Knight Course that has good prospects, and you may have done so because âyou wanted to become popular with women,â but regardless, you still put a lot of effort, and if you consider your future marriage, then I donât think youâre wrong at allI think your decision is respectable and the efforts youâve made, genuine.â [Ryouma]
Upon saying that, I realized that Yurdum-sanâs eyes were opened wide.
âWhat is it?â [Ryouma]
âHuh, thatâs the first time anyoneâs put it like that. Iâm a bit surprised.â [Yurdum]
Really?
âIâve only really talked about this with my colleagues, my teachers, and my family⌠And not that many either, but most of time, they would just tell me stuff like âChasing after love? What a weak reason!â or âCan you become a knight with such shallow feelings!?ăCan you fulfill the duty of a knight like that!?â My teachers and my seniors in the Knight Course even made me run laps around the school.â [Yurdum]
âErm⌠Does the Knight Course have a tendency to believe that will can overcome anything?ăYou know⌠Stuff like not giving you water during training.â [Ryouma]
âNow that you mention, it is something like that. Every time thereâs a problem, the instructors would always yell âput your spirit into it!ââ [Yurdum]
Thanks to that the image of the Knight Course in my head started to resemble the old sports clubs. While I was thinking thatâŚ
âIsnât this the empty lot of the old slums?â [Yurdum]
Looks like Yurdum-san has noticed where weâre going.
âYes. Since the project is proceeding well, the new buildings should be completed already.â [Ryouma]
âAre you going to be starting something again?â [Yurdum]
âThis time Iâm thinking of building something related to foods and drinks.â [Ryouma]
âFoods and drinks?ăBoss, donât all your businesses include the meals of the employees in their contract?â [Yurdum]
âYes. Of course, weâll continue to guarantee that, but once theyâve secured their basic necessities and their wallets grow a little pumper, Iâm sure theyâll want to dip their toes into some luxury.â [Ryouma]
For example, perhaps for the sake of a special day, or as a treat to oneself after working hard, to celebrate somethnig, or maybe they just simply want to eat something different.
âFor the sake of those people, Iâm going to build a couple such stores near the company dormitories. The concept is âthe taste of homeâ. Iâm also thinking of putting up restaurants that will fill your belly for cheap.â [Ryouma]
âI get the first kind, but what about the latter?â [Yurdum]
âThatâs for the laborers that still donât have money. Iâve employed a lot of laborers, but itâs not as though Iâve employed all the laborers that came to Gimuru, and the influx of laborers is yet to stop.â [Ryouma]
âI see. I see, so itâs geared toward people whose basic necessities you canât cover.â [Yurdum]
âYes. For the same reason, weâre also increasing the number of lodging facilities.â [Ryouma]
As for the kind of restaurants I have in mind, Iâm thinking of a Gyudon store, a set meal store, and a bento store.
Cheap but filling. These restaurants were some of my important allies back in my previous life. Especially, when I was young.
As for the lodging facility, Iâm thinking of the Capsule Hotel. Iâll be providing them just the minimum bed space they need.
When I said that, Yurdum-san seemed to understand.
âSo the laborers still keep on coming, huh. Thanks to your efforts, the worsening of the public order has more or less been suppressed, butâŚâ [Yrudum]
âThere appears to be a group of nobles working together, and since theyâre gathering workers from all over and sending them here, that must mean that they also have a lot of people working, if so, then maybe they canât stop?ăBesides, although the laborers are still continuing to pour in, thereâs a lot less of them now.â [Ryouma]
âI see, although theyâre working together, itâs not as though theyâre a monolith, so their movements as a whole is quite dull too, huh.â [Yurdum]
âAccording to the Dukeâs family, the five nobles involved are Baron Ransore, Baron Rufred, Viscount Fargutton, Viscount Danietan, and Count Sandrick. But personally, Iâm also suspicious of Baron Jerok, Viscount Anatoma, Viscount Jeromon, Viscount Sergier, and Count Bernardo.â [Ryouma]
ââŚWhere did you hear that from? Since you mentioned âpersonallyâ, that must mean that you didnât hear of it from the dukeâs people, right?â [Yurdum]
Yurdum asked seriously while paying attention to our surroundings, but itâs not really that big of a deal.
Iâve employed a lot of the laborers that came to Gimuru.
And as the employer, I have the right to view and confirm their resume.
So just looking through their resume is enough to figure out where they came from, which would basically be the same as finding out âfrom whom they came fromâ.
And when the same places kept popping up, they would naturally remain in memory.
âThe people leaving isnât a good thing for the lord in charge of the territory, right?â [Ryouma]
âYes, because it would cause a reduction in tax and weaken the labor force. Hence, itâs not uncommon to require oneâs subjects to need permission before moving. All the more so if theyâre moving outside the territory. Some recognize people leaving to make money elsewhere, but the number of people that have migrated here is really too much. Even just the people that youâve employed is already a lot. Given that, itâs indeed hard to deny that the lord of the territory they came from may be involved. Even if itâs not proactive, they might have tacitly agreed or be half-heartedly cooperating.â [Yurdum]
âYes. Thatâs why itâs just a probability. However, itâs not really my job to pursue the matter.â [Ryouma]
âCould it be you want me to inform His Majesty?â [Yurdum]
âOh, no, no, I wouldnât dare say a thing about your job. After all, I couldnât possibly interfere with a royal order, now could I? Besides, I always inform someone from the dukeâs family about the things I notice, so the duke should already be aware and should be moving accordingly; hence, the question of whether to inform the king or not⌠Iâll be leaving that to them.â [Ryouma]
âYouâre going to leave it to them? Come on, Boss. After telling me so much stuff related to the present events, thereâs no way I canât report this; otherwise, itâll look like I hid it on purpose⌠Youâre fully intending on taking advantage of my position, huh.â [Yurdum]
Yurdum-san made a resigned face once, but in the end, he laughed.
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