“It’s fine, isn’t it? You’ve captured the characteristics of the troops well. From now on, just make sure to submit it by the deadline, even if there are a few mistakes.”
“I-I see. But was it still hard to read? I’m sorry about that.”
“Well, the easier to read, the better. But I’ve corrected it for now. What’s more important is the content. If you get caught up in these peripheral things and neglect the essence, then it’s fine as it is.”
“…Yes! Thank you very much.”
Marde Sergeant bowed deeply.
“Hm? I wasn’t thanked for anything.”
“Actually, Lieutenant Mospitza would always scold me for typos. There were times when I’d get lectured for over 2 hours if there were any.”
“Sigh… No wonder the documents from the other platoons seemed unnaturally neat.”
That incompetent one. So he had been meddling even in such trivial matters, Hazen sighed.
“Pass this on to the other platoon lieutenants and sergeants. The documents only need to be readable at a minimum. I’ll tolerate a certain amount of typos, so please focus on the essential content.”
“Understood!”
Marde Sergeant left the room, looking relieved and happy.
“…Why is he so strict with on typos?”
Yan, who had been eavesdropping nearby, voiced her discontent.
“Because you already have the substance to back it up. Typos are less of an issue in your case.”
“What? You’re not at all kind to me. Only to me.”
“What are you muttering about?”
“Can’t you give me even 1/10th of the kindness you show to your subordinates!?”
“Kind? When have I ever been kind to my subordinates?”
“Just now!”
“I wasn’t being kind. I was just giving normal instructions.”
“So it’s okay if I have typos too, right?”
“You’re hopeless.”
“Waah! Why!?”
Shouting, the girl rushed to attack, and Hazen sighed as he grabbed her collar.
“Yan, you’ll have to create the documents in my stead. I don’t want your typos to damage the evaluation of your superiors.”
“Are you trying to have me do your work?”
“I feel like you might be better than me in the literary fields. I do have some knowledge, but ultimately, it comes down to a sense of style.”
Personality-wise, Yan was not a combat type. Of course, he would train her in magic, but her true nature lay elsewhere. Specializing her in the research field could be interesting. In that field, she would inevitably need to write papers, and typos would be a waste of time.
“You see? military folks and you are different. For civil servants, documents are their livelihood, so many are quite particular about typos. That’s why you need to consciously train to eliminate them.”
“Ugh, urrgh, urrrggghhh!”
Hazen gently patted Yan’s head.
“Of course, speed is also important in many cases. Then I won’t nitpick about typos. Just do what’s necessary when it’s necessary. I’m pointing this out because you haven’t been able to do that yet. Understand?”
“Huh, I don’t know what to do!”
Even as she exclaimed this, Yan was still teaching the Kumin language to Private Edal (with even more strictness than usual).
The next day, their task was to patrol the villages around the fortress. Among them, they would stop by the village of Dinasteld. There, they had one task – negotiations with Nandal.
“Master, can I go back to the orphanage now?”
“Not until the negotiations are over.”
“Then let’s hurry it up. Hurry, hurry!”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Yan quickened her pace, feeling eager. Perhaps it’s because her body is still that of a 6-year-old, but this girl does have a rather youthful side to her.
At this age, many would have already left their parents’ home to work. Well, one can’t stay too long at this fortress either, so for now, they’re just letting her indulge as she pleases.
Upon entering Nandal’s merchant house, it was bustling with activity. Everyone was moving busily, but without much waste. Businesses with this kind of atmosphere tend to run smoothly.
“Ah, 2nd Lieutenant Hezen…no, Lieutenant now, isn’t it? Have you looked over the list?”
“Yes. I’ll take it all. And please pass this along to the Kumin tribe.”
Saying that, he handed Nandal a few sheets of parchment.
“What’s this?”
“You could call it a specification sheet. It describes the effects of the magic wands, their sizes and shapes, which types of mages they’re suited for, and so on.”
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Scene transition
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“That’s… impressive.”
“I had Yan summarize their characteristics beforehand. I think it’s fairly in line with their needs.”
Since the ceasefire agreement, they had been sending Yan to the Kumin settlements occasionally. Officially, she was there as Edal’s interpreter, but she had practically mastered the language herself. So in his free time, she had compiled this information.
Queen Vashia seemed to have taken quite a liking to Yan, even proposing to adopt her as her daughter. Of course, Hazen politely declined (though Yan had thrown a fit, crying and demanding to be adopted).
After reviewing the magic wand specifications, Nandal nodded approvingly.
“Understood. I’ll pass this along.”
“If they like it, sell it to them. If not, I’d like to sell it on the black market. Do you have any channels for that?”
“Hmm. I do, but is that really necessary? The Kumin are sure to want these badly, so they’ll likely buy them. As long as the price isn’t outrageous.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to rip them off. But I don’t want to be taken advantage of either.”
The plan was to sell them for double the purchase price. This includes the material costs, so the actual processing fee is effectively half. As soon as Nandal looked over the suggested selling price, he nodded.
“…This should work. It’s considerably lower than what I had estimated.”
With Nandal’s seal of approval, Hezen let out a relieved expression.
“Yan, be sure to report this to Queen Vashia. These are the jewels we purchased, so there’s no need for her to scrutinize it. But if they try to divert them to the black market, we could lose her trust.”
“Understood, but I think they’ll probably buy it.”
“I need to show that there are other channels available. That way, the chances of them buying it will increase, and the bargaining power will decrease.”
“Well, I’m not too worried, but okay.”
“Nandal, is a 10% commission alright?”
“Yes, that’s fine. We’re making enough profit elsewhere, so an even lower rate would be okay.”
“Then, in exchange for lowering the rate, I have one more request.”
“What is it?”
“It’s taking time to procure the funds from the Empire. Can you issue a promissory note? I’ll add another 10% on top of that.”
“Well, we don’t mind that, but are you sure about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t want to be seen as too greedy. We’re also taking a commission from the Kumin tribe. And we’re handling the material procurement for the manufacturing, so our actual profit margin is over 40%.”
“That’s only natural.”
They were handling most of the administrative work, transportation, and wholesale. Moreover, they faced the risk of bandit attacks, so they had no intention of undercutting.
“No, but still. You’re the ones manufacturing it, so you should get 30% of the profits. Being asked for the same amount makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong.”
“I think it’s fair, but if we can secure the funding, I don’t actually plan to issue the promissory note. I believe there should be compensation for the act of lending money.”
Rather than taking advantage of the relationship, maintaining an equal footing is important to avoid failure.
“If you’re satisfied with that, then we have no issues. But you know, if it’s a request from you, I’ll listen to a bit of unreasonable demands.”
“I appreciate that. I’ll be counting on you.”
Hezen firmly shook the offered hand. Nandal was a good merchant. If possible, he’d like to see him grow into a powerful merchant who controls this entire region.
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