Preparing to Depart
The day to depart for the dungeon was upon them.
Joseph's mansion had become noticeably lively since a while ago, and with the increase in people, various issues had arisen.
“So, one of the mercenaries was fooling around with a maid and Auk caught them?”
“Y-yes.”
It was absurd.
Givra said ‘fooling around’, but anyone could see it wasn't simple play.
There were a few empty rooms in Joseph's mansion, and the two had been vigorously shaking their bodies there.
'This I honestly didn't see coming.'
Thinking about it, it wasn't impossible.
Until now, there had been no maids in Joseph's mansion, so naturally no women existed.
But now, sturdy mercenaries and young maids were living in the same space.
It was natural that some would catch each other's eyes in the middle.
'But... why the hell are they doing that in my house!'
It would have been fine if they had asked for vacation.
Joseph was feeling anew that managing personnel wasn't easy.
'If something happens while I'm gone, it won't be good.'
The shock was considerable, to the point that he thought his mansion might become a brothel for the mercenaries.
“So, what did you do?”
“The mercenaries were reported to the guild first, and the maid was placed in confinement as a preliminary measure. ...If it's inconvenient, shall I dismiss them?”
“...No, let's not go that far. First, dismiss that mercenary and request punishment for dereliction of duty from the guild. The maid is... there was an older one, right? Consult with that person and give a warning punishment in the form of an example. Preferably without dismissal if possible.”
Joseph had considered giving strict punishment to the maid as well, but he couldn't make that decision easily.
No matter how much they messed up, that young maid was one Givra had carefully selected.
If he suddenly fired her, it would create gaps in operations.
'It's better to leave at least one soldier behind.'
Honestly, the soldiers seemed to be worrying a lot, so he had thought of bringing them all.
But seeing their antics, it seemed necessary to have someone to control internal discipline.
It wasn't just that.
One of the servants was injured because of Rophen.
Precisely, an elderly servant who saw Rophen quietly moving around and was startled, fell and broke his hip bone.
When one gets old, recovery takes time, they say.
The servant claimed to be fine, but he only exerted full strength when Joseph was watching, and otherwise moved awkwardly.
No one missed that.
“...There isn't anyone to replace him immediately, is there?”
“Yes, since it's clear that experienced ones are... .”
Joseph sighed as if the ground had disappeared.
Nothing had flowed smoothly.
In the end, that servant got an unexpected vacation as soon as he was hired.
Of course, as vacation, it was just resting in the room like the young maid.
“No, it was fortunate. This is a good opportunity to learn everything needed from that person.”
Normally, for elderly hired help, there would be know-how not shared with others to protect their position.
But that could only be used when they could move.
Given the current situation, it seemed that even after Joseph finished the dungeon subjugation, recovery would take time.
Honestly, it was a situation where even dismissal wouldn't cause complaints.
Compensation for work-related injury? Industrial accident? What is that, those words don't exist in this world.
Rather, in this situation, he should be grateful that he wasn't fired.
“If the person gets desperate, they'll spill what they've been hiding.”
For a laid-off elderly person, what's left is just sitting and waiting for death.
This wasn't just in this world, but even in his previous life.
He had to prove somehow that he needed him as talent and survive.
And what was left for that elderly servant now was to pass everything to Givra.
After that, Joseph called the soldiers back.
The ones who entered the room had slightly tense faces.
It was like the expressions from when they first recruited soldiers last year.
“So, have you decided who will stay?”
Upon that, the soldiers nodded.
Immediately, Derik and Jiren's gazes subtly went to Auk.
“Auk?”
“Yes, this time I will stay.”
“Isn't it decided by some bet or something?”
“Yes. I decided to stay on my own.”
“Why?”
Joseph also wanted Auk to stay if possible.
Derik and Jiren followed instructions well, but they weren't smart.
They could be said to lack awareness.
On the other hand, Auk quickly understood Joseph's intentions and often moved on his own.
Probably, because he accurately understood Joseph's intentions this time, he decided to stay.
Above all, Auk was the one who first discovered the mercenary and maid's rendezvous.
Facing that situation, Joseph could imagine what would happen if he were gone.
But Auk's expression wasn't strangely bright for someone who made the decision himself.
It seemed like he had something worrying him.
'Oh... that's it.'
When an strange dream spread in Doran Village before, Auk who was scared ran away from Joseph who was leaving the village.
Fortunately, he came back, but he might still be sensitive to it.
If he stayed here, there might be anxiety that he wouldn't get close to Joseph in the future.
Joseph gave a small laugh.
That incident was long forgotten by Joseph.
But the other party seemed to hold onto it longer than expected.
Joseph lightly tapped Auk's shoulder and smiled.
“Well, if it's you, it should be fine.”
Upon that, Auk showed a slightly bewildered expression.
It was awkward because Joseph's action seemed to be blatantly acting.
But Joseph continued with a brazen smile.
“Good head, and quick on the uptake. Right?”
Joseph subtly sought agreement from the other soldiers, and they nodded with puzzled expressions.
They nodded because he asked for agreement, but they didn't understand the intention.
Joseph raised his eyebrows and turned back to Auk.
“So, don't worry about that incident from before.”
“...!”
Auk's eyes widened for a moment.
Then his expression began to redden.
'Did I hit the mark too directly?'
Joseph pushed the three's backs out of the room before their faces distorted more.
“Ugh...”
Immediately, Auk's strange voice was heard from outside the door.
Anyway, as a result, Auk and Givra were left to guard the mansion.
Givra would handle the overall operation of the mansion.
Auk would manage the mercenaries and servants.
Around the time of that decision, Dofnik and Braham came to the mansion.
When the carriages of Silver Ice Merchant Guild and Kerbe Merchant Guild stopped in front of the mansion at the same time, the young maids began to move in a fluster.
They knew their employer was a mage who traded with the guilds, but seeing the guild leaders visiting directly was their first time.
Depending on how they treated guests, they could elevate or tarnish the employer's name.
And whether their rice bowl was maintained depended on the result, so the young maids couldn't help but be tense.
“Don’t make a fuss and just stay quiet! After all, you won't face them directly.”
Among them, the relatively older maid was the only one who calmed them, but it seemed it would take quite some time for them to adapt.
In the meantime, Givra familiarly went out to the front gate to welcome them.
“Joseph-nim is currently making artifacts, so please wait a moment and I will be grateful.”
“Of course! We can wait as long as we want, so please tell us to come slowly when it's complete.”
“Yes. We will bring the carriage soon. This time, a good carriage has arrived, and we hope you like it.”
Givra chatted lightly and guided them to the reception room.
He was calculating the time until Joseph's work was complete, and thanks to that, he didn't notice the young maids brightening their eyes while looking at the young steward.
Anyway, after Joseph's artifact production ended, he immediately headed to the reception room.
Dofnik and Braham were leisurely drinking tea and chatting.
“Hello!”
When Joseph entered the room, they greeted Joseph.
“Before even departing, what sudden business is this?”
Joseph said that, but he guessed the reason they came.
He was planning to leave Caladon for quite a long time.
Naturally, the guilds that had to continuously receive artifacts would be concerned.
So, he had instructed the artisans to make as much as possible in advance.
“Ah, no! It's not because of that.”
But unexpectedly, both shook their arms hurriedly and denied it.
“Is that so?”
When Joseph looked at them with a puzzled face, they looked at each other for a moment, then immediately brought up the main point.
If it were someone else, they might have chatted more, but now they had also figured out Joseph's personality to some extent.
“I heard you are going to the dungeon subjugation this time.”
“Yes. I think I'll be away from the city for a few months.”
“That is what I mean. If it's okay, we would like to participate as well, so we came like this.”
“...Dungeon subjugation?”
Joseph's eyes widened.
The guild wasn't a mercenary guild, and a guild, especially one specializing in ice artifacts or sales, why dungeon subjugation?
“Precisely, it means we want to support Joseph's dungeon subjugation.”
“Support...?”
Then Dofnik slowly explained the situation.
Guilds occasionally become sponsors of the subjugation decree from the mercenary guild and divide the rewards.
In the same way, they wanted to lend strength to Joseph for this subjugation.
However, Joseph didn't nod readily.
If the purpose was simply business expansion, there was no need for this.
They were already trading with Joseph for artifacts, and even the ice artifacts were selling smoothly to the wealthy and nobles.
If money came in just by staying, what was the reason for doing this much.
When he asked that, Dofnik and Braham smiled awkwardly.
“First, the biggest purpose is... to allow Joseph-nim to travel more safely.”
Joseph had planned to take two soldiers and a few mercenaries to join with Davie.
With his soldiers this time, he didn't think of pulling 10 or so like in Harbert Forest.
“We haven't met Lord Davie directly, so we can't be sure, but facing a noble alone for a long time won't be a pleasant experience.”
Of course, Davie respected Joseph as much as possible.
But two merchants, one being a Caladon merchant who had bad relations with the Fabidea family, couldn't help but be wary of Davie.
So, it seemed they were thinking of directly supporting Joseph and attaching troops.
“Thank you for that.”
Joseph was a bit surprised that he didn't know they would go this far, while understanding their concerns internally.
“And to be honest, I am also interested in dungeons.”
“Dungeons?”
“Precisely... we don't want to miss the opportunity either.”
Dofnik and Braham looked at each other for a moment, then Dofnik cautiously opened his mouth.
“Joseph-nim is becoming a bigger person. That's why the Fabidea family also came to look for you.”
Upon that, Joseph recalled what Davie had said before.
- I want to know and get along with you for a long time based on trust.
Joseph finally understood their true intentions. This was an investment.
An investment in the future Joseph, not the current one.