Kays Translations

Chapter 227: Dealing with Money

"Got a delivery from the Count." 

Announced Gerhardt as he casually placed a leather bag on the well-worn table in his enchantment workshop. With a hearty clink, the bag revealed the reassuring sound of gold coins. The sound alone was more beautiful than the voice of an angel.

Lately, Josel's consciousness of "it's base for a knight to cling to money" had been fading. Having money meant more possibilities, more choices.

...There's no morality in money; it merely reflects the morality of its user.

With the dream, or perhaps ambition, of forming the Second Knight Order to restore peace in the Count's domain, Josel couldn't afford to shun money idealistically. He had to gradually change his mindset.

As Josel peered into the bag, Gerhardt nodded slightly before continuing.

"There are fifty gold coins. First, listen to my proposal for distribution. We can discuss objections later."

"Please go on."

"As a reward for me and Samurai Mask, five coins each. Five coins for debt repayment. The remaining thirty-five coins will be your share. What do you think?"

Josel's eyes widened. Out of fifty coins, thirty-five for him. Since the debt repayment was due to Josel's own mistake, his actual share would be forty coins. It seemed like too much. But when Josel hinted at this, Gerhardt chuckled in response.

"This is the job you brought, after all. Samurai Mask and I were merely hired. Getting five coins for one adventure is quite generous."

"But..."

Josel looked troubled. It didn't sit right with him to profit more than his master.

"Then let's do this. Put five coins as a reward into your own pocket, and keep the thirty coins for future use."

"For future use?"

"If another bandit appears or if you need to hire someone or equip yourself for battle, it will cost money. Having money ready for use anytime is crucial for swift action. It's for the sake of the world and its people. Still hesitant?"

"Thank you for your guidance..."

Josel bowed and then took out fifteen gold coins, stowing them in his pocket.

Heavy. Was it just gold, or was it the weight of responsibility?

"It's fine to talk fast, but, how should I put it... you're quite rough with your calculations."

"Is that so? That's just how adventurers divide things."

Gerhardt's expression seemed to say it was obvious. Josel, not being well-versed in accounting, still felt that something was off.

"I heard from Ricardo that the distribution of rewards for the recent flame demon extermination was quite arbitrary."

While Claudia was said to have been in charge of the distribution, it was also a rather rough calculation, uncharacteristic of a merchant.

"Maybe it was Claudia-san's kindness."

"Huh?"

To Josel's puzzled expression, Gerhardt replied casually. Perhaps Claudia's lax approach wasn't about embezzling the remainder. Josel's impression and Gerhardt's evaluation were completely opposite.

"Well, Josel, this is the fundamental premise for continuing this conversation..."

"Yes?"

"Adventurers are basically idiots."

"Huh..."

Josel couldn't just agree to that, considering his master was once an adventurer himself.

"They can't read, they can't do math, and on top of that, they're quick to fight and short-tempered. Imagine trying to explain expenses and timelines to them; they'd shout and cause a ruckus."

Josel, not well-acquainted with the reality of adventurers, imagined the knights of the Count's domain as representatives of fools. It seemed unlikely that those idiots would calmly listen or understand detailed explanations. When he thought about it that way, it made sense.

"So, I simplified it deliberately."

"I see. By the way, Claudia-san was supposed to be in charge of dividing the spoils from the flame demon extermination, right?"

"Yeah, that was it. Come to think of it, Kevin, the lumberjack, and the adventurer, what was his name... ah, Kasim. There was no need to give them money."

"What do you mean?"

"Kevin was the client for the flame demon extermination, so depending on how you look at it, he'd be the one paying us, since he hired Lutz and the others. There was no obligation to provide funds for the village's reconstruction."

"That makes sense... And what about Kasim, the adventurer?"

He probably just tagged along on his own. After the extermination was done, he'd say 'thanks for the hard work' and that's it. While it wasn't a perfect blade, Lutz's sword couldn't possibly cost ten gold coins. It wouldn't make sense to receive less than thirty coins. I'd rather have ten."

"Hmm..."

Josel felt a bit uncomfortable around Claudia. It wasn't just because she was the type to complain to nobles directly or because she disliked knights. Her way of thinking seemed like an incomprehensible, mysterious entity.

If the opportunity to consider the handling of money increased with the establishment of the Second Knight Order, perhaps he should reconsider his approach to dealing with her by keeping a distance.

"There were plenty of opportunities to act treacherously, weren't there?"

"Ha... huh... What are you talking about? You're no different."

"Huh?"

"If you hadn't returned the sword you took from the bandits to Naval, you could have added thirty more gold coins to the reward."

"That's true, but, how do I put it, it's something I shouldn't do. It's wrong."

"Surely Claudia had similar thoughts."

Is that so? Perhaps. Claudia was indeed a difficult person to evaluate from Josel's perspective.

"...So, I've praised you this much, but allowing rough calculations is only acceptable within the group. If we're using taxes for our activities, we must manage expenses properly."

After saying so, Gerhardt realized something and chuckled.

"Oh, stop it, stop it. If we delve too deep, we'll end up back at the discussion of whether the Count's household should have provided money and people for the flame demon extermination."

"Give me a break," Gerhardt said, spreading his hands wide. Josel chuckled along, but in the back of his mind, he was contemplating how to handle money in the future.

A few days later, curious about what had happened since then, Josel visited Naval's shop and encountered an unexpected person there.

"Oh, if it isn't Lutz-dono."

It was the blacksmith, Lutz. He was carrying luggage from the shop to a carriage.

"Hey there, Josel-san. What a coincidence."

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Naval-san is closing the shop, so Claudia bought the remaining goods at a low price."

"...Doesn't it bother you to be used like that by a woman?"

Realizing he had said something unnecessary, Josel couldn't help feeling annoyed.

Lutz was the Count's official blacksmith with a title equivalent to that of a knight. In other words, he was important. It seemed like allowing such a man to be used as a porter went against the honor bestowed upon him by the Count, almost like a disruption of order.

However, Lutz didn't seem to care about any of that. He was simply helping because his beloved wife asked him to. That was truly all there was to it.

"I'll be enjoying myself later." 

Lutz said with an unworried smile.

Josel couldn't understand their way of thinking. He felt a slight anxiety about whether he could get along well with someone who didn't value the status of nobility.

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