Building a Port (5)

"Hey, Romelia. Wait up."

As I started to walk away from Ben, Velli-sensei came chasing after me. A teasing smile clung to his unshaven face.

"Well, setting poetry aside, putting Ben in charge of cooking was the right choice. He might sneak bites under the pretense of taste-testing, but he probably wouldn't embezzle any funds."

Velli-sensei, walking beside me, turned and looked at Ben stirring the large pot.

I had entrusted Ben with cooking duty not only because of his skill in the kitchen, but because I trusted his character.

A great deal of money was currently moving through the port construction project. Since we were pushing ahead at breakneck speed, the allocation of expenses inevitably had to be rather rough. In times like this, we had to be wary of embezzlement by middle managers. Food in particular was difficult to monitor at a glance, even if its quantity or quality was reduced. Moreover, once food had made its way into people's stomachs, the evidence was destroyed, so theft tended to be discovered late.

Even if we thought we were distributing enough food, it would be a problem if some of it were embezzled along the way and never reached the workers.

"I could keep an eye on the food myself, but I'm already swamped securing workers and checking materials. I'd like to leave it to Quins-sensei, but..."

Velli-sensei trailed off. Quins-sensei, who wasn't with us, had been one of my teachers, just like Velli-sensei. She was exceptionally intelligent and virtually infallible with numbers.

"I'm having Quins-sensei deal with the trading ship. Even for her, maritime trade is a new experience, so we shouldn't give her any more work than necessary."

"Seryure-san got all fired up and arranged for a trading ship."

Velli-sensei scratched his tousled head.

Seryure-san of the Jarmark Trading Company was an investor who had provided a great deal of funding for the port's construction. He had spotted a business opportunity in this port, and even though it was not yet complete, he had boarded a trading ship himself to purchase goods.

Quins-sensei had been put in charge of managing the goods Seryure-san would bring back. However, the Lionel Kingdom had no experience with maritime trade to begin with.

Goods brought in through trade had to be subject to customs duties, and we also had to calculate and collect fees for using the port and warehouses. In addition, we had to gather workers to load and unload the goods.

Quins-sensei had to work through all these tasks by trial and error, and she was struggling greatly.

"The trading ship is supposed to arrive today, isn't it?"

"Yes. Quins-sensei said late last night that she had somehow managed to finish preparing everything."

"I see. Normally, this isn't something we'd be doing while construction is still underway."

Velli-sensei scratched his head again. Once the goods were unloaded from the ship and brought into the warehouses, we would probably have to halt part of the construction. It was obvious that the site would fall into confusion.

"But thanks to that, we were able to prove this port's importance."

I remembered the time when my father, Count Graham, had lobbied the Lionel royal family and secured materials for developing the gold mine.

At first, the royal family had not believed in the port's development. The reason the situation had changed recently was entirely thanks to Seryure-san. Word of his arranging a trading ship so quickly had spread among merchants, and from there it had reached the royal family.

Though Seryure-san's action could be seen as getting ahead of himself, it had also contributed to the port's construction.

"That said, if we're going to put the port into full operation, we'll need to get our systems in better order."

"Yes, indeed. We'll need to establish a port authority."

I also felt that we could not continue as we were. We needed to establish a specialized department to manage the port.

"But that won't be easy either. Our country never had a coastline, after all."

Velli-sensei grumbled. It truly was a headache. The Lionel Kingdom had no knowledge or experience whatsoever in managing and operating a port. Even if we wanted to ask someone for guidance, there was no one with any experience. We would first have to start by finding a skilled specialist.

"Actually, I have one piece of good news about that. Kyle contacted me last night."

I mentioned the name of one member of the Romelia Squad. Kyle was small and agile, and especially skilled at infiltration missions. He had been dispatched far away for 'a certain job.'

"He says the plan is proceeding smoothly."

"That's excellent. Then it might work out."

Velli-sensei nodded at my answer. Just then, a soldier's voice rang out.

"A carriage is coming!"

Velli-sensei and I turned together toward the entrance, where the voice had come from. Then we saw a group of carriages pass by Brai, who was working on the road, and arrive at the plaza in front of the entrance.

"Ah, those are the materials and workers from Girie Valley."

Looking at the carriages, Velli-sensei turned toward the entrance. It was his job to inspect the arriving materials and workers.

"Then I'll go take care of it."

"Let's have some of the soldiers lend a hand too."

"Sorry to trouble you. I appreciate it."

Velli-sensei raised one hand in thanks for my offer.

After watching Velli-sensei run toward the carriages, I looked around to see if anyone was free. Then I saw two soldiers, one blond and one black-haired, walking toward me. They were Borel and Gatt of the Romelia Squad.

"Ah, Borel, Gatt. Are you free?"

"Yes, we just finished our break."

Borel replied in his gentle voice.

"Could you help Velli-sensei? Borel, gather the workers and check them against the roster. Gatt, look over the documents and check the materials as well. Velli-sensei should have the roster and documents with him."

Borel nodded when I asked, but Gatt grimaced.

"Ugh, paperwork? I wonder if I can even read this..."

Gatt scratched his head. He couldn't read all that well.

Most members of the Romelia Squad came from farming backgrounds, so it was not surprising that some of them could not read. Recently, however, everyone had been studying, and almost all of them had learned to read.

"That's because you keep slacking off on your studies. Let's go."

"Oh, sure."

Borel headed toward the carriages, and Gatt followed after him. I headed toward the plaza as well, wondering whether there might be any problems.