Episode 60 - "A Part-Time Worker Who Came to Visit"
As usual, Lynn was busy with paperwork.
(Oh, my God. I can't
keep up with all the work.)
Lynn had a lot of work ahead of him.
Although Lynn had managed to hire a part-time worker
to handle the elevator transportation, he had to handle the rest.
Moreover, he had to manage it while protecting the
trade secrets to prevent others from copying the business model.
Lynn and Theo skillfully protected the trade secrets
by dividing the work of transporting the products in the elevator.
Here's how they did it.
Load the cargo on the Renril and let the apprentice
mages, who are not yet allowed to enter Alfredo, take care of starting the
elevator.
The work of receiving the goods in Alfredo will be
done by non-magical people who have been brought to the city as laborers.
In addition, those who purchase goods in Renril and
those who ship them to the warehouses of the retailers in Alfredo will be assigned
to different people.
The person who buys the goods transports them to the
warehouse near the elevator, but does not know that they will be transported by
the elevator.
The person who operates the elevator and transports
the goods does not know where the elevator is going.
The person receiving the goods in Alfredo does not know where the goods are coming from.
The person shipping the goods from the warehouse in
Alfredo has no idea that the goods came via the elevator.
Thus, Lynn and Theo keep their trade secrets while
letting others work for them, but it is all Lynn's role to manage them.
He has to tell them how much merchandise to buy,
when to buy it, how much to transport from Renril to Alfredo, and how much to
ship to each store.
And that's not all. He also has to pay the
employees, issue invoices to the stores, process various campaigns and
marketing data, report to the Mage Association, and if there is a problem with
the elevator, he has to rush to the scene to solve it.
The reason why they were trying to protect their
trade secrets in this way was because Theo was planning to control the
distribution and the land that could be the route of the elevator without the
other people being aware of it.
So Theo concentrated on negotiations with the
outside world, and thanks to his efforts, the sales channels expanded and sales
continued to grow, but this also increased the burden on Lynn due to the
increased transportation work and paperwork.
(I can't do this
anymore. Seriously, I'm going to die of exhaustion.)
Lynn laid his face down on the desk and went to
sleep.
(It would be nice if I
could have a part-time worker to do at least some of the chores and paperwork.)
But it was hard to find a mage who could read magic
and perform elementary level magic to help Lynn and Theo's company.
Even though the company was posting jobs with much
better conditions than others, they couldn't get anyone, whether it was because
they were short-staffed or because they were seen as a scam.
(That's right, of
course. I have no idea what the company does. I'd probably pass on it too.)
I think it's okay to disclose the nature of our
business, but Theo wants to keep it hidden.
But if we don't disclose the information, the
employees won't come.
We'll just have to hold out until we buy up enough
land to build an elevator or monopolize the sales channel.
But before that, I'll die of overwork.
But if we don't disclose the information, the
part-timers won't come......
Recently, Lynn has been going in this roundabout
way.
When Lynn was in a daze, a fairy brought a letter to
his desk.
Lynn looked over the letter in a slouched position
with his face lying on the desk.
The sender says, "Lorea Tax Collection
Contractor Office."
(Tax collection
contractor office? Who
the hell is that? I've already filed a report with the Mage Association and
paid my taxes. Do they still want to charge me for something?)
Lynn read the contents of the letter.
In the letter, they accused Theo's business, told
him how much trouble they were in, and asked him to come to their office.
(Yeah, okay. This kind
of people again.)
"Fairy. Incinerate
this letter."
(I'm busy, you know.) The fairy burns the letter
when Lynn recites the spell.
(I have no time for
these nonsensical complaints.)
Since Lynn and Theo's business began to turn around,
complaints from rival companies like this have been coming in frequently.
In the beginning, he had paid attention to every
complaint, but recently he had stopped paying attention to them.
(It's not about the
complaints, it's about the manpower. We really need to do something about
that.)
However, there is a silver lining to this situation.
Finally, the first applicant was scheduled to come for an interview today.
(I hope the new
part-timer can come soon. I hope they will be good for the job.)
It was time for the part-time job applicant to
arrive for the interview.
As Lynn straightened his clothes and waited
nervously, a knock was heard at the door.
It seemed that the applicant had arrived.
"Come in."
Lynn calls out, and a dark-haired woman opens the
door and walks in.
"Hello. I'm here
because I saw your application for a part-time job. I used to work in an office
at a grocery store, so I'm confident in my clerical skills...... Eh? Lynn?"
"Huh? Sheila."
It was Sheila who came in.
"Do you work here
too?"
"No, I'm the
co-owner of this company."
"What? You're a co-owner?"
Sheila rolled her eyes.
"Yes, well. I
didn't expect you to be here for the interview, Sheila."
Lynn smiles shyly.
"I saw the job
offer and it pays pretty well per hour. Are you sure? Will you be able to pay?"
Sheila scanned the interior of the company
suspiciously.
"Yes, it's
fine."
"No, it's true
that I puzzled over the name of the company when I saw it. But it's not that
unusual a name. I had no idea it was your company. That means Theo is here too,
right? Well, now what should I do?"
Lynn panicked. If I don't hire more people as soon
as possible, I won't be able to sustain myself.
I'm not sure how long it will take for the next one
to show up if we lose her.
"Please, Sheila.
Will you work for us? We are in dire need of employees."
Although Sheila did not shake her head, Lynn
continued to plead.
"It would be very
reassuring to have someone as reliable as you working with us, Sheila. Please
think of it as helping us and lend us a hand. Please do."
Sheila agreed with a wry smile.
''I don't have a
choice. I can't say no if you insist so much. I'll work here for you."
Theo was reluctant to hire Sheila, but after some
persuasion from Lynn, he reluctantly agreed.
On a sunny afternoon, Lorea's men were standing in
front of an office in a corner of Alfredo 28th Street.
The sign read, "Theo and Lynn's Company.”
There was no doubt that this was where his business
was to be conducted.
He knocked on the door and raised his voice.
"Theo-dono.
Theo-dono. Are you here? I'm the messenger from the Lorea Tax Collection
Contracting Office. If you're here, please come out. I have something to tell
you. Theo-dono. Theo-dono."
He kept knocking on the door for a while, but there
was no answer. It seemed that nobody was there. He sighed.
(Good grief. No matter
how many times I come, he's never home. Is he really busy?)
He had no choice but to leave the letter with the
fairy at the door and leave the place.
If it were possible, he would have waited until Theo
came back, but he had his own business to attend to: Tax collection.
Recently, there were a lot of companies that were
not paying their taxes on time, and he was just getting more and more busy.
(If I could use my
magic, I'd be able to do my job more efficiently. ......)
He was nothing more than a foot soldier, or a slave,
brought by a mage to live in Alfredo.
He had no freedom of movement, not even in an
elevator.
He somehow managed to get around Alfredo by getting
rides on the freight elevators that ran on a regular basis.
If he could hire a mage, he wouldn't have to do
this, but there is a shortage of workers who can read magic, and Lorea, who has
a complex about her inexperience as a mage, is afraid that a mage more powerful
than herself will come to work.
If only Lorea herself could use magic to do her job,
but unfortunately she is lazy and not very good at it.
That's why people like him, who can't use magic, are
given important jobs and are treated like mages.
(Theo, huh. He's still
in his teens, isn't he? I can't bear to take the life of a young man with a
future. It would be nice if he would agree to a settlement. However, if they
can't reach an agreement through talks, I can't let them get away with it. I'll
just have to let them think that it was the end of their luck to mess around in
Anshe Marcier's turf.)
Next time: Episode 61 "Lynn and Sheila's Office
Time"
Thanks for the chapter
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