Chapter 349: The Fate of the Bad Guys

　In the salt lake that stretches out from the town of Caxart, the number of flaming crabs has been decreasing as adventurers continue to subjugate the crabs on a daily basis, and salt producers are beginning to work to restore the salt production.

“It seems that the damage to the salt producers is greater than we thought.”

　Tauro asked this at a dinner with his foster father, Count Graunewald, as the topic of conversation turned to the future of the city of Caxart.

　At present, the Count is in the process of calling in a representative from the capital to govern the city of Caxart, and in the meantime, he is leading the work himself and seems to be quite busy.

“The situation is certainly more serious than I had heard. Many of the surrounding facilities have been almost completely burnt down, so they need to be rebuilt. Even if the facilities are in place, there will be many employees who have left, so they will have to be recalled or new ones will have to be hired. If they are new, there will be a period of time to teach them how to work from scratch, and then it will take time to get production up and running. The company is currently keeping an inventory to prevent salt prices from skyrocketing, but that inventory won’t last forever. There is a possibility that there will be a shortage of salt before the new production starts, which will cause chaos not only in this territory but also in the entire northwestern region of the country.”

　The count also answered Tauro without concealing important information.

“…In that case, if the salt production process is simplified, it would be more efficient and would prevent any confusion, wouldn’t it?”

　Tauro asked as if he had just thought of something.

“Of course. The salt in this town is produced using the Caxart salt field method, which involves spreading sand on clay slabs, sprinkling lake water is sprinkled on top of it, and it evaporates to precipitate salt on the sand surface. Then collecting the sand, dissolving it with lake water to make brine, and boiling it down in a kettle. It is a labor-intensive process, so it takes a long time to ship. But, If we could shorten that, I think production would catch up before we run out of stock. ……”

“I have a good idea. If it works, we may be able to shorten a large part of the process.”

　Tauro replied, pulling out a fist-sized sphere from his magic storage.

“Is that some kind of magical tool?”

　The Count looked curiously at the sphere with a magic circle pattern on it that was placed on his desk.

“This is a magic tool that I made to filter water. By putting it in water, it absorbs dirt and makes the water clean, but it was left in the prototype stage because with magic, it’s not that difficult to find drinking water. If we can make it so that it can adsorb salt instead of dirt, ……”

“──! All that will be left to do is let it dry…do you mean that!?”

　The Count looks at Tauro in surprise.

“Yes. It would be easy enough to make that change, so I would like to make a prototype using that technique. If it works, I will lend it to a salt producer free of charge. I think that will at least make up for the previous mayor’s blunder a little.”

　Yes, that’s right. The mayor’s blunder is also the responsibility of the lord who left it unattended.

　The Count noticed Tauro’s concern.

“Also, if we could lend them the construction costs of the facilities without interest, we would be able to help the merchants that are struggling for funds, and I think they will be able to recover quickly.”

　Tauro continued his proposal.

“In all the busyness, I’d forgotten about that part. I’ll have the money paid out of the property I confiscated from Baron Colon! And my son Tauro. Thank you. I am grateful to have such a talented boy as my son.”

　Count Graunewald showed his delight with a gentle smile.

“No, I am grateful too, and I would be honored to help in any way I can, Father.”

　As if in response to that gentle smile, Tauro responded with a smile.

“…That’s right. What happened to Baronet Colon and the others?”

　Tauro asked about the punishment of those whose crimes had been proven by the testimony and evidence of his new friend, Zion.

“Baron Hoot Colon ……, or rather former Baron Colon, will be stripped of his title for his crimes, and he will be reduced to a commoner. On top of that, in light of the crimes he committed with the adventurers, his death sentence is inescapable. The adventurers of the “Gray Vultures” are also condemned to death for their past crimes, as well as their use of forbidden servitude magic. Finally, the deputy branch manager of the Adventurers’ Guild will also be seriously punished by the Adventurers’ Guild for leading the cover-up of a serious crime. He’s still in jail and on trial. The Adventurers’ Guild headquarters will most likely ask us to hand him over.”

“An extradition?”

“Since the actions of the Deputy Branch Chief this time are a serious incident that affects the credibility of the entire Adventurer’s Guild, I think they will want to hold a large-scale trial in the royal capital. That’s why we haven’t decided on what to do with the Deputy Branch Chief.”

　The Count made a choice to protect the face of the Adventurers’ Guild and further ingratiate himself with them.

　This was a very shrewd decision on the part of a leading aristocrat of the neutral faction.

“I see. …… I’ve learned a lot. ─ ─ Then will Zion-kun’s testimony be necessary in the trial in the royal capital?”

　Tauro thought he might have to return to the royal capital once again.

“Zion? ──Ah! That boy who testified against them? Come to think of it, he was a boy with a mysterious atmosphere. ……”

“Actually, we have decided to welcome that boy into the “Black Golden Wings.””

“I see! …… you made a place for that boy. I was a little concerned too, so as a parent I’m proud of my son for making that decision.”

　Count Graunewald had a big smile on his face as he said this and drank the alcohol from his glass.

　Tauro was pleased to see his father, the Count, rejoicing in his son’s kind act,

　I can’t say that I left him in the village of the dragon people in order to make him stronger!

　And I could never talk about it, imagining the hell Zion might be going through right now.

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