Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: 6. Slaves Are an Excellent Source of Labor
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The cleanup inside the building didn't take long at all. I was there, Kyle was there, and we had a slave.
I had been worried that she might be clumsy at work, like when she tripped at the grocery store earlier, but Celine handled everything from cleaning to all sorts of tasks with ease. Even Kyle, who had been skeptical at first, soon acknowledged her.
“Phew, it's finally done.”
“Good work, Kyle. Pick the room you want and unpack your things first. We'll eat after.”
“Understood. Then what about you, Director...?”
“I'll be back after a quick talk.”
As I said that and pointed to Celine, Kyle nodded and rushed off with his luggage to the room he'd scouted earlier. Kyle's main role would kick in after the place was stocked with goods, so it was fine to let him rest for now.
More than anything, I was quite curious about Celine's condition right now.
“Celine, come over here for a moment?”
“Ah, yes. Master...”
Perhaps she was shy, as she approached me with her head bowed, stumbling over her words in quick little steps.
According to the personal details on her employment contract, her age was around Laila's or Karen's, but she was definitely on the shorter side. Her unkempt silver hair swayed as she hurried over.
“Could you touch these one by one?”
“Yes? Oh, yes.”
I hadn't brought as many as for the first branch, but I still had a decent number of tools for talent identification. That said, I already had a rough guess about Celine's talent.
‘Something physical, probably.’
The moment I'd seen the light was when she'd tripped while carrying luggage, after all. I didn't know why exactly then, but since she was engaged in physical activity, her talent was likely in that direction.
With that in mind, instead of dough or magic books, I had her grip things like wooden swords, knuckles, and dumbbells.
“I-is this... enough...?”
“......”
“M-Master?”
“...No. For now, touch these too?”
Far from physical talent, there wasn't even a glimmer of light.
Even when I had her touch dough, hoes, magic books, needles and thread, and other items besides the wooden sword and knuckles, the result was the same. No light at all.
Truth be told, statistically speaking, this was the most common case. No talent in anything—a 1-Star Orphan... no, slave. Even I only showed the faintest light with paperwork and had zero talent in anything else.
Most of the raw materials we'd acquired during the Happy Orphanage merger were 1-Star Orphans too. So I wasn't disappointed by this outcome now.
‘Then what was that light I saw earlier?’
The problem was that I'd definitely seen light from Celine. It was very brief, too short to even judge the star rating, but it was unmistakably the light of talent that my ability could detect.
Let me think again. What was she doing at that moment?
‘Carrying luggage... and she tripped. That's it, really.’
What now? Should I make her recreate it and trip again? The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I shook my head—it was a problematic idea no matter how you sliced it.
If she got hurt while doing that, what then? We'd only just finished cleaning; there was tons more work ahead.
‘Her stamina and strength are unusually good for a girl her age, so she must have some talent.’
I had no idea how those slender, fragile-looking limbs managed it, but Celine had cleaned the entire second branch without showing a hint of fatigue. Not a drop of sweat while wielding brooms, mops, and buckets full of water.
The light I'd seen earlier, and her suspiciously exceptional stamina—there were several suspicious things about her.
“Um, Master? Is it okay to just keep standing like this...?”
“No, that's fine now. Work's done, so let's eat.”
“Y-Yes!”
In the current Empire, slaves weren't literal slaves in the traditional sense but more like all-purpose laborers. So they had to be paid wages, guaranteed sleep time, and protected from excessive heavy labor.
Even without that, I had no intention of mistreating her or overworking her.
“M-Master? This is...?”
“You'll be working at our orphanage long-term, and it'd be a hassle for me if you stayed like that. Wash up properly, change your clothes, and fix your hair.”
“Y-Yes!”
The same went for merchandise—wasting labor like that would be inefficient. The best efficiency came from keeping them healthy and working as long as possible.
Plus, with hair that long, it'd use more toiletries just for washing, and it obstructed her vision, lowering work efficiency. Cleanliness and clothing were the same. To maximize slave efficiency, you had to pay attention to these details.
In the end, she was a somewhat suspicious 1-Star slave, but still excellent labor.
“It's... kind of embarrassing... It's my first time getting my hair fixed...”
“This looks much better.”
“...Yes, Master.”
Much easier to work with like this. I could see her eyes and easily check if she understood orders properly.
With the interior organization, cleaning, and labor setup for the second branch complete...
‘Now I just need the establishment permit, and we're done.’
No worries there. Back in Luton, orphanages had a bad rep, and without bribes, a normal application wouldn't pass, so I'd contacted that crazy woman to get it through.
In the capital, orphanages weren't viewed poorly, and as long as you followed regulations, there was no reason for delays or rejections. Plus, I already had a successful main branch as a franchise business.
I figured as long as I submitted it, even if it took time, there'd be no issue.
“...Huh?”
That thought was shattered soon enough.
*
After that, I double-checked the orphanage establishment conditions meticulously and even enclosed a modest 'permit fee' just in case, then resubmitted. But the response was the same.
“Permit rejected...”
The permit fee was even sent back untouched. That told me the most crucial thing.
That the Empire's Land Bureau staff were incorruptible paragons? No. Nobody in the world doesn't take bribes.
If they were rejecting bribes anyway, there was only one reason.
‘Something bigger than bribes is blocking the permit.’
Is someone targeting me? No. I'd only been in the capital a few days, and most old acquaintances didn't even know I was running an orphanage.
So this wasn't specifically aimed at me.
‘They're just blocking all new orphanage establishment permits in the capital?’
It was more convincing that they were rejecting every orphanage application outright. Was that allowed? Of course not, but the chances of getting caught were slim. Illegal operations like Happy Orphanage wouldn't apply for permits in the first place, and orphanages were rare buildings even across the whole city.
The rejection reason was 'insufficient number of regulated orphans.' So do they expect you to build the orphanage and then take in orphans, or take in orphans and then build the orphanage?
Who benefits most from this scheme? Empire Land Bureau officials? Suspicious, but no. More like...
“Ahem, you in there?”
“Who are you?”
“Yujin, right?”
“Yes, that's me.”
“Straight to the point. Any chance you'd sell this building to me? I need it urgently. I'll pay top dollar.”
A plump man who showed up out of nowhere, talking about buying the land and building.
His offer was quite tempting. 1.5 times what I'd paid just a few days ago. Selling the land and building as-is would basically double my money.
That's why the plump man looked confident, as if I couldn't possibly refuse.
“Unfortunately, that won't work.”
“...What?”
“I worked hard to get this place. Unless you're offering 2.5 times, it's a no.”
“............”
Offer 2.5 times? He'd back off clean. For real.
Instead, the plump man twisted his lips rather than agreeing to 2.5 times.
“...It'd be a waste of effort anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“I'll give you credit for being quick on the uptake despite being a rootless commoner. But you're too arrogant.”
The plump man fiddled with his mustache and straightened his back. It was a haughty posture.
Rootless commoner—did that mean he was a noble? But no attendants for a noble...
“Go ahead and submit permit applications your whole life. The result will be the same.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Who knows? His Majesty the Emperor is pushing this honorable endeavor. Can't have some worthless commoner handling it, can we? And think of the poor kids growing up under commoners.”
“......”
“You seem to have some money. Stay out of our business and back off quietly. A week should be enough to know your place. I trust you'll choose wisely.”
The plump man said that and left. A week—probably his final ultimatum.
Who would've thought the mastermind behind the permit rejections would show up so boldly? So how to resolve this.
‘Use my connections here?’
I considered contacting that crazy woman again but soon gave up. Hella maybe, but I really didn't want to reach out to that lunatic again, and besides, this wasn't something connections could easily fix.
If the plump man was the sole black curtain, maybe. But he'd said 'our business' before leaving.
That meant not just him, but others were kicking away the ladder for new orphanages.
‘'Our' obviously means the other orphanage directors.’
Calling orphanage establishment 'our business' meant the plump man was one too, and existing directors benefited most from this ladder-kicking.
From the position of established luxury orphanage brands, they wouldn't want new competitors entering the market.
In other words, an orphanage cartel.
‘A cartel.’
Circumstantially, it looked like the plump man and several nobles were colluding. Not some rural baronet like in Luton—even contacting that crazy woman wouldn't smoothly resolve this.
No, with her personality, she'd handle it somehow. But that would create too many enemies, and the second franchise branch would face endless harassment.
Sitting back and taking it? Obviously not.
‘If it's a cartel...’
I'd target their biggest weakness. I immediately called Kyle to fetch the communication magic tool.
Bzzz.
“Tricksy, everything okay at the orphanage?”
“That's a relief. Tricksy, mind if I ask you kids a favor?”
Tricksy's voice carried a hint of doubt through the communication magic tool.
I replied with a smile.
“Tricksy, including you, come to the capital with the kids who've joined our orphanage. Oh, Karen's exempt, of course.”
“Yeah.”
There were many kids from Happy Orphanage now at the shop. But the ones I specifically meant were five, including Tricksy and Karen—the spies we'd infiltrated into Happy Orphanage.
Karen had been sold, so four now, but that was plenty. Strictly speaking, Karen hadn't been that interested in the spy role anyway due to her personality back then.
“Leave it to Ollie, Damian, or Mina. It won't take long anyway. Tell Baron Heinkel, and he'll escort you to the capital.”
“I'm having you do what you're good at.”
What else? Their common background as 1-Star Orphan merchandise—minus Tricksy—was obvious.
Spy work, and luring and extracting orphans.
‘A cartel.’
Well then.
Let's see if that cartel holds up when merchandise starts vanishing from their own establishments.