“…Eh… Well, Noein-sama.”
“Ah.”
Noein, who had dozed off in his office, woke up when Mathilda gently called his name and shook his shoulder.
“Sorry, Mathilda. I must have fallen asleep.”
“Noein-sama, are you feeling unwell at all?”
He returned her worried expression with a smile.
“I’m fine, thank you. I’m just a bit tired from working too hard.”
“Then at least take a short break? I’ll make some tea.”
“Sure, please do.”
“I’ll bring it right away.”
As Mathilda left the office, Noein stood up from his chair and stretched.
The development was going extremely well, and there was no immediate concern about money. The comfort of the residence was perfect.
However, Noein was currently facing a major issue.
A shortage of manpower.
Running a territory involves unavoidable tasks such as administration and accounting. Until now, he only needed to keep track of the income from monster hunting and expenses from purchases. But now, with the sale of lapis lazuli raw stones and payments for construction, the flow of money had increased, leading to a significant rise in the management of those numbers.
Additionally, since the male inhabitants were working in shifts to mine at the Restio Mountain Range and performing laborious tasks like repairing wooden fences, road maintenance, and building houses around the residence, there was also the task of organizing these shifts. Balancing the workdays to avoid disruption was quite a challenging job.
Because many men were away from the farmland due to various duties, it was necessary for the remaining inhabitants to manage the unattended fields. Shifts for this task had to be arranged as well.
Thus, Noein had been handling detailed administrative and accounting work, and when there was an absolute shortage of manpower, he would use golems to assist with farming and take time to clear forests for expanding flatland… leading to quite a bit of overwork.
Managing the work of dozens of inhabitants and keeping track of all the finances of a small territory were unfamiliar tasks. Stress was building up, sleep was scarce, and honestly, he was struggling.
Yet, there was no one else he could rely on.
Mathilda could do basic reading, writing, and calculations, but she had to manage the household, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, and preparing baths. Furthermore, she was also in charge of the upkeep of the lord’s field. For now, she could only help Noein when she had some free time.
Noein wanted to hire maids from among the female inhabitants to free up Mathilda’s hands, but the current residence didn’t have the manpower for that.
Yuri and the others, who had experience in financial management and resource handling from their mercenary days, could support Noein if needed. However, they had duties like maintaining order within the residence, patrolling the surrounding area, and shopping trips to Retvik, as well as managing their own fields.
Even Yuri, who was likely the most reliable due to his experience as a former mercenary leader, was away from the residence for more than half of the month managing mining operations at the Restio Mountain Range.
Edgar, the village chief’s son, could read, write, and calculate, but he had the job of overseeing and guiding the farmers.
The current Earlkvist territory was critically short of personnel who could handle intellectual tasks and were available. Noein strongly wished that at least one person capable of handling administration and accounting tasks were available.
While pondering these thoughts, Mathilda returned with warm tea. Taking it, he had a sip.
“Though it might be a bit early, I suppose I should try asking that person…”
Relaxing with the aroma and flavor of the tea, Noein murmured softly.
A few days later, Noein was heading to Retvik for shopping while operating the golems. Accompanying him today were Mathilda, Pence, and Mai.
Although the arrival of draft horses at the Earlkvist territory had freed him from the task of shopping and he had been leaving it to his retainers recently, there was a specific reason why Noein was personally going to Retvik this time.
After half a day of travel, he arrived in Retvik and entered Eliza’s store.
“Hello, Eliza-san.”
“Oh, welcome, Viscount. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit directly recently.”
“Oh no, we’re always grateful for the large amount of food you purchase from us.”
With the significant increase in the population of Earlkvist territory, Noein’s business had become a considerable profit for Eliza. From her perspective, Noein was one of her most valued customers.
After purchasing food and paying for it as usual, Noein brought up a topic with Eliza.
“By the way, Eliza-san, I have a bit of a consultation to ask…”
“Oh? What is it? If there’s any way I can help, I’d be happy to do so.”
Eliza responded cheerfully, and Noein continued.
“Actually, we’re currently facing a shortage of personnel for administrative and accounting tasks in our territory… I thought, since you’re a merchant, you might have connections to someone who could fill such a role. Is there anyone you could introduce me to? If so, I’d be willing to assist with their relocation.”
“Someone who can handle administrative and accounting tasks and is willing to relocate to your territory… I’m afraid I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head. I’m sorry.”
“I see. I suppose that’s the case.”
“If someone can handle reading, writing, and calculations, they could find a good job here in Retvik. It’s quite rare for someone to consider moving to another territory…”
“Ah, yes, my territory is still quite rural. I understand, and I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
While they were having this conversation, Noein noticed that Eliza’s daughter, Anna, had an expression as if she wanted to say something.
She had something she wanted to say, but she couldn’t quite gather the courage to speak.
However, as Noein was about to leave the store and head back, Anna finally mustered the courage to speak up.
“Um, excuse me! Viscount, about that relocation… w-would it be possible for me to take up that opportunity?”
