——The Eastern Branch of Baim served as the headquarters of the Adventurers' Guild.
That said, Adele had been borrowing the conference room to carry out Baim's reconstruction, working almost live-in day after day.
The Guild had both bathhouses and lodging facilities, which made it a practical environment to work from — that was a major factor. At the same time, the reason she avoided upscale accommodations was partly for workplace functionality, but also to handle the steady stream of daily visitors.
Adele sat on a leather-upholstered sofa, talking across a coffee table with a former Guild executive. The man hailed from the Northern Branch — once an executive who managed the port-related adventurers.
"The port has been under Baim's management all this time! What do you mean, just snatching it away unilaterally?!"
Despite the faint dark circles forming under her eyes, Adele sipped the intensely bitter tea poured into her cup to keep herself alert.
(Please, just go home already. We're so busy here... There aren't any seats left for the likes of you.)
The fall of Baim. When that happened, the upper echelons had evacuated swiftly. As a result, sentiment within Baim — bolstered by Lyle and company's impression management — was at its worst. In fact, people had been sneaking into this Eastern Branch, which now served as headquarters, under false names.
Behind her sofa, Maxim stood at the ready, and several female knights were positioned nearby as well. They were borrowed from the Four Nations Alliance, and the Valkyries were also present, which gave Adele peace of mind.
"...I believe you already understand this, but Baim no longer recognizes you. That's precisely why you came seeking an audience under false names, isn't it?"
Adele watched the man's expression twist with frustration. It wasn't that she lacked the courtesy to be considerate — it was simply a waste of time.
What Lyle wanted was the Guild's know-how. The executives who had wielded enormous power — and had been actively exercising it — were not needed.
"...We would like to request that you accept certain merchants who cooperated in Baim's development, as well as some Guild executives. South Baim would be fine. We're not coming empty-handed, either. Surely you need information about the Dungeons that Baim managed?"
The man had anticipated that Adele and her group desired know-how, and offered to provide management expertise in return. However, Adele drank her tea with an air of complete disinterest.
"That won't be necessary. We've already secured the relevant documents. We've also brought in the Dungeon-specialist parties that were stationed in South Baim. Besides, the Adventurers' Guild will be placed under national management. The Four Nations Alliance has already been moving discussions in that direction. Cartafus and Janpair will gradually shift that way as well. Fonbeau is aligned with our position."
"Wh-what does that have to do with anything?!"
Adele finished her tea and set the cup down on the table.
"It has everything to do with it. To put it bluntly, you are unnecessary — no, you're a hindrance."
The executive shot to his feet. His hair was disheveled, and his clothes were somewhat dirty. It was painfully obvious he hadn't been living properly since fleeing. Coming to Baim must have been a desperate move, born from being backed into a corner.
"Don't tell me you also arranged for our cargo to be stolen at the port..."
Adele didn't so much as flinch.
"That's right. I needed payment for my cooperation this time around, so I helped myself to your assets. It seems quite a few people were heavily squeezed under the pretext of being allowed access to the port or set up shops."
"Y-you people..."
At this point, Adele laid out the full truth for her opponent.
"Not everything went exactly as I'd planned. However, you all danced right in the palm of Lady Liahel's hand. You've outlived your usefulness. That said—"
Watching her opponent seethe with frustration, Adele continued.
"—if you're willing to sell me your management know-how, I'll provide suitable compensation. Accept both the expulsion from Baim and this offer, and... there'll be no need for anything unpleasant."
The female knights surrounding them drew their swords. Maxim raised his spear as well.
"Y-you've got to be ki—"
Adele rose to her feet.
"Weren't you the ones who expelled us first? Besides, several other executives besides yourself already took the money and left Baim quietly. If you don't hand over useful information soon, I'll only be able to offer a similarly modest sum."
The man who had been an executive clutched his own hair with both hands, head bowed. Frustrated — yet weighing whether he could sell what he knew for desperately needed funds—
—Tahnia had come to see off her former superior, now nothing more than a disgraced ex-executive.
Her superior had decided to move back to the countryside with his family, along with a group of others who were likewise leaving Baim. Tahnia was the only one who came to see him off.
Her superior smiled as usual.
"Loyal of you. You didn't have to bother coming. You know what kind of treatment we've been getting in Baim, don't you?"
Tahnia lowered her head.
"You picked me up when I had nowhere else to go. And besides, you stayed in Baim until the very end, even though..."
Her superior smiled weakly.
"It can't be helped. That's why I was able to negotiate the condition that even with the expulsion, I'd stay in Baim's — no, in the urban area of North Baim. I don't have the confidence to live somewhere far away or in a foreign land, so I think this worked out well."
Tahnia raised her head and wore a serious expression. Clenching her fists, she made a suggestion to her superior.
"Given your abilities, Baim will need you going forward. If you asked Adele—"
"—Add the proper suffix. She's essentially the acting ruler of Baim now. Besides, with me around, the Guild staff will keep coming to me for help. My methods could drag the Guild back to what it was before. Fundamentally, what I'm aiming for and what they're aiming for are different. So sooner or later, there'd be a rift. …Also, I'm just tired. I used the reward to organize a pioneer group. I'd like to take it easy from here on out, so would you not interfere, Tanya?"
Tanya was Tahnia's other name — the name she'd gone by when she was a Sweeper. When the superior needed to dump unpleasant tasks on someone, she used Tanya's name, not Tahnia's.
"…I'm sorry."
"My bad. But I can't stay here. Besides, country life isn't so bad. Or rather, whether North Baim's reconstruction can actually succeed… You've got the harder job ahead of you, Tahnia."
The two shared a light laugh, then parted ways at the gates of Baim—.
"…Huh?"
I'm sure I let out a stupid sound.
In the office inside Lufence's castle, I listened to the report Novem had brought from Baim and was utterly dumbfounded.
"No, I'm talking about the maid situation. Right now, Shannon-chan is the only one who could be called Laiel's maid. But rather than me looking after him…"
It felt more like he was looking after me. Granted, I had gotten to the point where I could handle quite a few things on my own, but Shannon was fundamentally not cut out for combat.
Following Monica, Novem, or Miranda and helping out was about all she could manage. Even possessing Mystic Eyes, she was too useless to make proper use of them. That Shannon was occupying the maid slot for me was surprising enough…
"Well, Monica and the Valkyries are all far more capable than a mediocre maid."
At that, Novem's gentle smile suddenly turned terrifying.
"That's exactly the problem! Laiel, please understand that we're already short-staffed as things stand. Monica and the Valkyries all have work of their own. What can be done by a maid must be left to a maid. Besides… the push to assign maids has already started. I've already received several inquiries through Eva."
"Huh? Nobody told me."
Then, from within the Jewel, the Third Generation spoke up with something like admiration.
"In my era, it was maids, or talented women, or daughters of village notables. There were times we took them in and educated them over a few years. Well, we also took in daughters from families that had lost their breadwinners to war."
The Seventh Generation watched the Third Generation's remarks with great interest.
"Since the scale of our territories differs, in my era there was an educational aspect, but beyond that we simply hired maids to work. The daughters of our retainers would work at House Walt for a few years, and that served as bridal training. However... considering the position Rael is aiming for, it's a different matter altogether."
"It sure is. Candidates for concubines under the guise of maids, or assistants to those concubines, aren't they? Ugh, I've read about that kind of thing in books. Apparently it gets really messy."
Despite the disgusted tone, the Third Generation sounded like they were enjoying themselves. The Seventh Generation was the same.
"Women love those kinds of stories, so there were plenty of them in literature aimed at female readers. Not a single one a man would find amusing, though... So Rael is going to have that kind of messy harem, is he?"
No, I don't want one. I want to refuse that sort of thing entirely.
"A-And it's more like having helpers, right? So, this maid candidate thing — what does it actually look like?"
Novem kept her serious expression.
"Since we can't say the outcome is decided yet, the pool is limited. As for noble daughters, several — from Kartafus, from the earldoms and such — have expressed interest, including eldest and second daughters. The elven clans have also come forward — hunters, traveling troupes — with some of them under Eva's care. We've received inquiries from dwarves and gnomes as well. Currently, Lord Rael does not discriminate against demi-humans, and many of them see this as an opportunity to improve their station, or at the very least maintain it."
I'd been swamped dealing with the Banseim problem, and somehow the issues were now coming from my own side.
"...That's definitely entangled with factions and all sorts of politics, isn't it? I really hate messy factional disputes."
The Third Generation laughed.
"Even tiny villages have factions, you know. Get three humans together and they'll form factions, so you might as well accept it. You have to learn to control those things well too. Besides, didn't we already have this conversation before?!"
The Seventh Generation was of the same mind.
"Well, it's inevitable, really. A lot of it forms unintentionally. But, Rael — stop gathering everyone inside the Jewel from now on. We've been burned by that last fiasco. In fact, I'm absolutely refusing it going forward! ...One wife really is best. Mm."
I wanted only one wife too! But the one who kept sticking their nose in and letting the numbers snowball wasn't solely my fault! ...Probably.
Novem broke into a smile.
"Please accept it. I also intend to be mindful of anything that would burden Lord Rael. However, it's not just the maids..."
"What is it?"
"...Factions are forming within the army as a whole as well. Sir Maxim has pledged his loyalty to Adele, while those who have sworn pure loyalty to Lord Rael are Sir Baldoa and Sir Broa. However, Sir Broa is being propped up by Banseim soldiers, and the overall picture is shaping up as everyone else rallying around Sir Baldoa."
"Huh, Baldoa did something like that?"
Third Generation said with a exasperated voice.
"That's why! I got close to Sir Baldoa because he was Lord Rael's aide, since I needed a rival. Sir Baldoa probably didn't want it either, did he?"
Novem said, looking at me.
"Also, there's a minor issue with Rolfis within the Four-Nation Alliance."
"Is there still more?!"
"Among the four nations, only Rolfis hasn't produced a woman close to Lord Rael. Because of that, their contribution within the alliance is low, and morale is low as well. They're surrounded by our allied nations, so I don't think they can withdraw, but..."
What is it? Why do we have to bicker over strange things at such a busy time? I think it's fair to think that, and in fact, I don't think I'm wrong. However, perhaps Seventh Generation noticed my expression.
"Hmm, Rael. When the scale gets bigger, these kinds of problems are inevitable. Give it up."
"I understand. I'll figure something out. ...Is it because there aren't enough hands everywhere?"
Novem nodded with a smile. I decided to forgive her because that smile was cute.
"Yes. To be honest... even if we win, we don't have the personnel to maintain the continent. We have a decent number of soldiers, but we also need rear support, plus taking care of Lord Rael... Monica has her physical limits too."
We haven't even won yet, so why do we have to worry so much about it? I wish they would focus a bit more on the war.
Clara was looking at the mass-produced Porters captured from Banseim.
Magicians. Specifically, she was gathering those who were considered low-level and teaching them the Golem's magic. The training mass-produced Porters really were just built like horse-drawn wagons without the horses.
Simple and sturdy. However, the specifications required skill from the user.
Damian, who was also sitting on a wooden crate watching, was yawning. He had been collecting data on the Valkyries and had probably pulled another all-nighter analyzing it.
Clara, who had returned to South Baim, was training personnel to operate the Porters. That's why she dragged Damian along, wanting his advice.
But the man himself said,
"No good. You can't use these without improving the Golem itself. Since time is short, wouldn't it be better to remake them into something easier to operate?"
Clara pushed her crooked glasses back into place.
"So it's as I expected?"
"If I already knew, I wouldn't have asked. You've accumulated quite a bit of experience operating the Porters, and you had talent to begin with, didn't you? That's why you can operate the current ones. When it comes to Porters, I'd say your operation skills might even surpass mine."
Hearing this from Damian, who had completed the Golem's magic, made Clara happy. But that very fact presented her with an unpleasant reality.
"…So to make them usable, we need to rebuild the Golems themselves into something easier to operate?"
Damian was having his shoulders massaged by Automaton Number Three, the one that attended to him.
"More than that, the build quality is poor. They tried to mass-produce them, or rather… it feels like they were rushed through production? I think they'd break if you loaded too much cargo on them."
Clara looked at the Banseim Porters they had gone to the trouble of recovering. Unlike their own Porters, these had been built purely for function, making it hard to feel any attachment to them.
"…What should we do? Adele was so pleased that we could reinforce the rear guard without any additional budget."
Damian looked at Clara.
"Ah~ who was that again?"
Number Three answered with a smile.
"The woman serving as Lord Lael's proxy in North Baim, Master."
"That girl! She's always so fussy about money, isn't she? Besides, it's unusual for you to call her by her first name."
Hearing Clara call Adele by her first name, Damian seemed to find it noteworthy.
"I'm not very good with Adele. *Sigh*… I wonder if an additional budget request would get approved?"
To that, Damian answered with a smile.
"Even with the money, it probably wouldn't work. Master Ratata and all the craftsmen in South Baim are incredibly busy, you know. I don't think they'd be able to clear their schedules."
Clara's expression turned serious.
"…Is she really as skilled in domestic affairs as people say?"
They were grumbling about Adele, who wasn't even there. Damian tilted his head as well.
"Hmm? Is she not good with money matters? That pink-haired one—"
"It's Lianne."
Despite receiving the correction from Third, Damian didn't seem interested and kept talking—
"Yeah. That person was probably the more impressive one."