Chapter 151: The Value of Serving
Rosalinde’s attendants, the twins Laurence and Lulaiya.
Besides these two, a total of about a dozen others, including Knights and Servants, live in the annex of my mansion.
I just heard from Laurence and Lulaiya, and apparently, I haven’t been paying them a salary.
From my perspective, since Count Missgancia was the one who called them, I thought, “Count Missgancia must be paying them~!” But that wasn’t the case at all.
However, according to Laurence and Lulaiya, they seem to believe they are “receiving a large salary from me”…
In other words, it seems that payment in kind—food, clothing, and shelter—is the norm in this world…
“Wait a minute? Did you just call me ‘Master’?”
“”Yes, Master.””
“…Isn’t your master Count Missgancia?”
“”No, all of us were ordered by Count Missgancia to serve Lord Andrews.””
Ah…?
…Hey, hey, no way.
Count Missgancia did say he would “give” me Knights and Servants…
Does that mean he wasn’t “dispatching” them, but “giving” them to me like objects…?!
Gah! Seriously, human rights don’t exist here!
If that’s how it is, it can’t be helped.
Either way, Rosalinde is a noblewoman, so it’s not like she can just live alone with her husband!
In that case, it’s better to have the personnel I was given. I did specify people I knew…
“…Okay, I get it. Now, about your daily lives… you live in the mansion’s annex, right? I should have at least prepared beds and blankets.”
“Yes, the quality beds have been a great help.”
“What about food? I haven’t prepared anything specific…”
“Eh? We receive bags of wheat, dried meat, and vegetables every week from Master’s Mazoku attendant, under the pretense that they are from Master…?”
Hmm.
“Tris! Come here!!!”
“What is it, Lord Andrews?”
I called for Tristia.
“What have you been feeding the Servants?”
“Eh…? W-was that wrong? I was just sharing the surplus food from the storeroom…”
“Storeroom? The one in the west wing?”
“Yes… the supplies meant for donation to the Slums… But those aren’t exactly inedible, and I thought it was better than letting them sit unused in the spatial refrigerator as usual…”
Hmm…
The supplies meant for donation to the Slums include the failed products from my extensive research into new foods, as well as vegetables and wheat bought as animal feed to create an alibi for my life in the city.
It’s true that most of it is standard food from this world, so it’s not like it’s inedible, but…
Should I give them things from the ‘Garden’ after all?
No, that would be a bit excessive. Perhaps I should only provide things from the ‘Garden’ if they run short, and have them purchase things from the market normally.
Besides, with about ten people living here, it would be too suspicious if they never bought anything at the market.
“From now on… right. Let’s have the Servants do the shopping.”
“Regarding that, the funds from Count Missgancia-sama have increased,” Tris informs me.
Ah, I see?
Count Missgancia gives me rewards in cash each time because I told him “Give it to me in cash”…
Apparently, the amount of those funds has increased recently.
It seems he meant for me to use this money to support the Servants.
Thanks to Count Missgancia’s policies, the Missgancia region has a high circulation of currency despite being a frontier territory.
The Missgancia region is amazing, you know? Actually, believe it or not! There are markets everywhere in the city, and you can go to the market and buy bread with coins!
So, Count Missgancia is probably telling me to use money to support my subordinates. He’s saying that he’s created a situation where problems can be solved by paying money. That’s what that man is saying.
…But I had completely dumped all that onto Tris, so I had no idea!!! Because I can live without using money anyway…!!!
“So, Laurence. Who does the cooking?”
“Yes, Linda’s daughters, Mina and Nonna, bake the bread.”
“What about a bread oven?”
“They don’t have one, so they apparently bake using an iron pot they brought with them.”
Haaah… I feel really bad about this.
“Sorry. I’ll prepare one later.”
“N-no, it’s no problem! Besides, we receive plenty of food!”
“What about work? What’s it like?”
“We guard Lady Rosalinde-sama, taking breaks in shifts. The four of them—Godwin, Diane, Yolanda, and Mick—guard the gate and train. Emilian and Mary do as well.”
“Linda, along with Mina and Nonna, handles the mansion cleaning, laundry, and meal preparation.”
Hmm…
“You stay outside in this cold?”
“”That is our job.””
“What about Mina and Nonna? Where do they get water for cooking?”
“”From the well in the garden…””
“It’s the middle of Winter right now?! Water from outside must be freezing!”
“”Isn’t that just how nature is…?””
“…Wait a minute? Don’t tell me, baths too?”
“”Yes, with water…””
“You’ll catch a cold?!! You can use the bathhouse, you know?!!”
“”Impossible! We servants cannot possibly use facilities meant for our master!””
Ah, ah, hmm, right.
…Anyway, it seems I need to build some facilities for the staff.