← Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Next Chapter →

The Reincarnated Thirty-Something Woman’s Otherworldly Reform Life

The Azenda Trading Company and the Little Boss Girl

Translated by: ME

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

After squeezing time out of everyone's hectic schedules, the representatives of each department were finally summoned to the Guild. It was a meeting to establish the trading company.

Once again, Magnolia’s thoughts were conveyed, but the workshop staff adamantly refused to accept one point: the idea of the Lord’s family not being involved in the management.

Indeed... normally, if a business of this scale were established, letting go of it would be unthinkable. Perhaps the Gilmore family was just uniquely devoid of greed, or perhaps they were simply eccentrics.

It was hard to tell if the Margrave’s family even had a concept of "normalcy"; they followed their own unique path in everything they did.

「...There are two knights retiring from the Order. One is a knight who has served as an escort for the transport of goods and people several times, and the other is a knight who has been in the accounting department for many years and is well-acquainted with numbers. I believe they would be well-suited as the trading company’s exclusive guard and accounting instructor.」

Everyone nodded in response to Servas’s explanation.

Even though they were told they were forming a trading company to ward off outside interference caused by their high sales, they were, after all, a group of total amateurs. The individuals who had been "selected" as representatives were the ones breathing the heaviest sighs of anxiety.

The "Cinderella story" of being plucked for a major role and having one’s life change overnight is fun because it’s a story; it’s quite another thing when you, who were grumbling in a corner of the city just the other day, are suddenly called a department head or a representative.

Beyond being troubled by the magnitude of the impact and the sheer amount of money involved, it was pathetic, but they were actually trembling. Sudden changes and opportunities are nothing but terrifying... Remembering his previous conversation with Magnolia, Dan let out a heavy sigh.

「Even if we call it a trading company, we don’t know anything... Someone knowledgeable in bookkeeping and accounting would be extremely helpful.」

「I hear there’s a group of wandering bandits appearing lately. There’s no guarantee we won’t be targeted from now on, so it would be a relief to have a former knight guarding us.」

Although he was still young, the presence of Paul—who had held a decent job before—was a blessing.

Starting with Dan, those who had taken positions from the slums mentally organized what they needed to do from now on, only to be horrified by the monumental mountain of tasks. ...For now, they would have to ask Paul or the old knight to teach them how to read and calculate. They felt that not being able to read detailed documents would be a disaster in the future.

While they were thinking such things, the old knights, who had been easily accepted by the workshop people, also wore relieved expressions.

The representatives for each department were as follows:

For the Manufacturing Department, Dan. However, because this department was so broad, two more people were added: one specifically for the agricultural team and one for the health food team, making a total of three. Both were from the slums and were known for their quick wits.

For the Sales Department, Paul. For the Accounting and Management Department, the former knight.

For the Logistics Department—which was essentially security—the other former knight. This department would handle the transport of goods and people while simultaneously ensuring their safety. The specialized carriages currently circulating to various locations would also fall under this jurisdiction. Whether they would separate security and logistics in the future would depend on the times, the scale of the trading company, and various other circumstances.

For General Affairs and Administration, a person who had been a leader among the orphanage children and was soon to reach adulthood was hired by the workshop and appointed to the role. His name was Eric. He was proactive in organizing the children and was well-versed in all the minor chores.

Eric, having received such a massive promotion, was currently sitting at the edge of the table among the adults, looking quite nervous.

...For the Handicraft Team, "Granny" was the natural choice, but she was quite elderly, and the burden might be too much for her. They planned to observe various people for a while before deciding on a candidate.

And since the conversation remained at a stalemate and couldn't be settled, Servas reluctantly... and tentatively... assumed the position of Chairman. He would act as a "windbreak" against external pressures until the business was on track. The plan was for a representative or someone everyone agreed upon to take over after a few years, once they were accustomed to the new system.

「We at the Guild shall also impart the know-how of running a trading company to you. ...Don’t worry. I’ll whip you into shape in no time.」

At Dominic’s expression—which made it impossible to tell if he was joking or serious—the workshop staff turned pale. ...They had a strong premonition that they were about to be put through a Spartan-style training regimen.

As a general set of rules, the following was decided:

* The Chairman will be decided through discussion or a majority vote, regardless of blood relations.

* The term of office will be reviewed every five years (reelection is possible). This was intended to prevent collusion, deception, and embezzlement. When things are not going well, changing the leadership makes it easier to shift direction.

* In the event of misconduct, the person can, of course, be dismissed after discussion. The same applies to general employees.

* If desired, one can rotate through all departments over several years to acquire all job skills. If there is a desired department or team, transfers can be made.

* Major rules and changes will be decided through meetings... and so on.

They would add or change rules as necessary. Some things would only become clear once they were operational.

「...When people gain status and wealth, they change. We want a 'stopper'—someone who will keep a proper eye on us,」 Dan said, and everyone else nodded deeply.

「Besides, this was all created through My Lady’s ideas and efforts. ...I understand there are various circumstances, but I still think it’s wrong for My Lady to have nothing to do with it. I know she’s thinking of us, but... I can’t put it into words very well...」

He had mellowed out considerably, and his way of speaking was much more refined than when they first met. Magnolia smiled softly at the fact that they were thinking so hard about her.

「Then, why don’t you just become 'The Boss,' like one of those old men who own big stores with lots of branches?」

「The Bosh...?」

At the words of Viktor, the Adventurer Guildmaster, Dan asked back. Beside the swaying red hair of the now somewhat more energetic man, Dominic made his signature face, looking like he’d just swallowed a bitter bug.

「Yeah. People who run many stores can't oversee everything themselves, right? So they hire or appoint managers and chairmen, and they don't really touch the day-to-day of each individual trading company. It’s not strictly defined, so some people interfere a lot while others basically leave things alone—it varies.」

「I see... In that case, unless it’s something truly major, she wouldn't have to show up for contracts or negotiations, so it would be harder for her face to be recognized.」

Paul chimed in happily. The expressions of the others also brightened.

...Is that something like a Chairperson or an Owner? Magnolia tilted her head. Diagonally in front of her, Dominic remained staring forward with his typical deadpan eyes.

(The Boss... I don’t think that's something a toddler is supposed to become...)

That said, the conversation would likely stay at a stalemate if they continued like this. Everyone was also busy. When Magnolia looked at her two guardians, they both nodded, indicating she should do as she pleased.

「I undewth-tand. I have a few conditionth, though...」

She would not receive executive compensation. Her participation would be as an individual, not as a member of the Lord’s family. Her income would consist of a commission of five percent of the net profit from the things Magnolia herself had conceived.

She conveyed several other wishes, all of which were accepted.

...Simply deciding on these things caused the pile of tasks to grow even higher.

While Servas was Chairman, things would likely be fine, but if it were to be a formal private trading company, using the fortress or the church for a long period would be difficult. People might start complaining about favoritism.

For now, they had the excuse that the business had to be pushed forward rapidly to save lives, so there was no time or capital to prepare a building.

Although the Margrave’s family was providing the funds (which were likely to be recouped soon), they never intended for it to be a permanent project of the Margrave’s house. They simply wanted to provide a place for the impoverished citizens to become self-reliant.

It is impossible for impoverished people to suddenly start a business from scratch. While they had intervened temporarily, it was for the sake of treating and preventing Sailing Sickness and for the self-reliance of the struggling citizens.

It would have been faster to make it a territorial business, but it wasn't for the sake of territorial revenue. Even though they had set the stage, the motivation of the people would likely be higher if they expanded it themselves.

...That said, they were only being overlooked because the business’s future was uncertain; as their presence grew, there would surely be those who would try to find flaws or points to criticize.

「I’ve been thinking about th-ish fow a while, but if the people in the sh-lumh don’t mind, how about we we-owganize the awea whre they live and build the twading company, workts-hopth, and housh-ing there?」

「...It’s a back alley, though. Are you sure?」

「It's just a few streets, right? I think young people or those with little capital wanting to open shops might find it easier to gather there instead.」

Servas had recently decided not to interfere too much in the territory’s administration in order to leave it to Claude. Since Claude was naturally capable, Servas hadn't interfered much anyway... and Servas, who had spent his life running across battlefields, didn't think he had much to teach in that regard.

「Zoning and redevelopment, huh...」

「We don’t have to do it all at onshe; we could divide it into shectionsh and take our time. It could sherve ash a training ground for apprentishesh, jusht like with the glash bottlesh. Shinshe it involvsh thoushing and shtoresh, we’d need profes hionalsh to check the work regularly to avoid empty mishtakesh. The amount we recouped would differ depending on whether the buildingsh are bought or rented, but either way, we could ushe that money ash funding to shubsidizhe the next phashe..」

「Hmm...」

Claude lowered his long eyelashes and fell into deep thought. Magnolia turned back to Viktor.

「Would it be too difficult to get apprentishesh from sheveral different workshhopsh inshtead of relying on jusht one?」

「No. For big jobs, we sometimes divide the work into parts and have multiple workshops do it, but a project restricted specifically to apprentices might be an unusual pattern... Well, we could just put out a recruitment through the Guild focusing on apprentices for the sake of skill improvement, right? For tasks that don't require an expert, we can leave them to day laborers.」

「...Um, what are we going to do about the name of the trading company?」

Eric asked the question tentatively, apologetically interrupting the exchange that looked like it might go on forever. Everyone in the room blinked and exchanged looks.

「A name, huh...」

「...The Anything Trading Company?」

「No, that's a bit questionable...」

「How about the Sauerkraut Trading Company?」

「No good. What about the pickles and the patchwork?」

「Wouldn't it be better to have a name that really grabs people's attention?」

After everyone had voiced their opinions as they pleased, they all looked at Claude.

「...Since it seems to be known as 'Azenda’s Sauerkraut' in foreign countries, wouldn't the 'Azenda Trading Company' be easy to understand?」

Company names that incorporated place names were common even in her previous life. It was easy to understand and safe. It lacked impact, though.

「「「「「「No objections!!」」」」」」

Everyone nodded in unison. Claude wore a salty, complicated expression that was hard to describe.

*****

Note: Sorry, can't help it.

Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.