Episode 59 - Two Businesses Starting to Take a Turn
"Phew. Good grief."
Lynn was taking a break from the paperwork. He stretched his back lightly.
He was now working in a newly rented office room.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. The date was about to change.
Theo had gone out for lunch and still hadn't returned.
The negotiations seem to be dragging on.
(Theo is a hard worker.)
At this rate, I'll have to do all the paperwork for today by myself. Lynn sighed as he looked at the pile of papers on his desk.
Lynn and Theo's business had been growing rapidly.
Since their business had been officially approved by the Mage Association, they had received an overwhelming influx of orders from merchant associations that had previously held back.
The two of them were so busy that they were swamped with work.
(Since registering our business with the Mage Association, the amount of paperwork we have to process has suddenly increased. It was time to ask Theo to hire a part-time clerk to do the paperwork. It's really too much for the two of us to handle. Or perhaps we should just subcontract it out. But then again, it would be a hassle to manage employees and sub-contractors.)
Lynn pulls out a sheet from the pile of papers.
(I'll have to handle this one.)
He was holding up a document about sales and profit margins.
This is a well-documented trade secret.
Lynn looked at the numbers on the paperwork again to make sure that the digits matched what he had seen before.
He sighs when he realizes that he has the right digits.
The documents show monthly sales of 20 million Legica and profits of 1 million Legica.
The profit margin should be even higher if rationalization is promoted.
Moreover, sales are on the rise.
In any case, it was a far cry from the days when the two of us were struggling to make 200,000 legica together.
(I wonder if it's okay. We're doing so well. If people knew that the two of us were making so much money alone, it would be a problem. Well, the original tax collection amount was too high. I don't know how this kind of bullshit business survived.)
As Lynn traveled with Theo to his business partners and negotiated prices for products, he had developed a good sense of market prices. Lynn used to think that Theo's ideas were outrageous, but now it turns out that the world is stranger than he thought.
(I guess everyone was too busy with studies, part-time jobs, and tea parties to question these prices.)
Lynn yawned.
(I'm sleepy. I still have to do my report for the academy by tomorrow. I haven't finished my work on Mass Magic and Fairy Magic yet.)
Lynn looked at the pile of papers and did a quick calculation of how long it would take to finish.
There was no way he could finish everything today.
(Some of the documents would have to wait. But this one has to be done by tomorrow.)
Lynn took out a sheet of paper.
On it, it says "December Campaign" and "New Product Proposal".
(Finally, Theo is getting into marketing.)
Lynn looks over the document, half-impressed, half-dumbfounded.
The other day, Theo made a suggestion to his business partner's store, and sales increased, so they asked him to do it again.
"Theo. How much work do you have to do before you're ready?"
Lynn thought to himself in his empty office.
It seemed that Theo wanted to increase his market share as much as possible while he could, and if possible, make his company an even bigger competitor in the market.
(If I don't finish it today, we won't be ready for the December campaign.)
Lynn regained his energy and picked up his pen. The data he had collected had to be compiled into a table by the end of the day.
(I'll be up all night today. Hah. I don't know what I'm doing. I came to this tower to become a respectable mage. Lately I've just been buying and selling goods.)
Lynn sighed at the thought of staying up all night every day.
"Oh, man. I'm so tired."
(But......)
Lynn reconsidered.
(If you I hang in here and make 10 million legica, I should be able to take paid classes at the academy and even a bottom mage like me should be able to compete with the nobles on the 100th floor.)
"Okay. Better hang in there."
Just as Lynn was ready to resume his work, he heard the door open.
It looks like Theo is back.
"I'm home."
"Oh, welcome back. You're late."
"The manager at Ruffled Berry talked too long."
"Ah, he's a long talker."
Theo took off his crimson robe and laid down on the sofa.
"How's it going? Are you going to finish by tomorrow?"
"Well, I think I'll just do the marketing stuff. I can't do the others. I can't handle the paperwork by myself anymore. I'm going to die of exhaustion."
"Hmm? You should hire a part-time worker for that."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too."
""Hahaha!""
The two of them laughed together.
Both of them were in a strange state of tension due to the late night and fatigue.
“Well, I better get a part-time worker. We have to do it soon. I also have to do a report for the academy.”
"Hey, you should rather have a part-timer do your reports."
"Oh, I didn't think of that."
They laughed together again. Theo, however, buried his face in the cushions of the sofa immediately afterwards.
"I can't stay awake anymore. Is it okay if I go to bed first?"
Theo seemed to be having a hard time speaking.
He was mumbling and his eyelids were closing.
"Yeah. It's okay. I'll take care of the rest. Good night."
"Thanks. Good night."
After saying this, Theo closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep.
Lynn was about to head for the paperwork again, when he stopped to pick up his pen and thought of something.
He grabbed a blanket from his bed and draped it over Theo.
Lynn made sure that the blanket was neatly draped over Theo's shoulders, and then went back to face his desk.
Next time: Episode 60, "The Part-Time Worker Who Came to Visit"
Lynn is too kind, as usual. Also, great translation. Your hard work has paid off! Thanks a lot!!
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