Chapter 339 Not A Saint
"By the way, the Sophia Merchant Guild is providing food in the slums, right?"
Robert asked Sara.
"That's the plan. It's like an extension of our usual food distribution, so we won't have the means to give out things like oral rehydration solutions or nutritional supplements. We do plan to provide blankets, but if we give a blanket to a child in the slums, it might get taken away or sold for money. Not that we have any way to stop that, though."
"That's somewhat unavoidable, I guess."
"We'll have the golem explain how to deal with fevers. Many people won't be able to read even if we put it in writing."
"That makes sense."
After saying that, Sara hesitated for a moment before speaking her next words. She herself couldn't decide if what she was doing was good or bad.
"And, I think I'll try to find children in the slums who have magical power."
"Magical power?"
"I don't really want to do it actively, but if there are kids who can have their magic absorbed, I thought I might give them a reward based on how much magic they have. The golem will carry a magic tool to absorb magic while patrolling, so it'll be like collecting magic at the same time."
"Why would you do that?"
"To secure magic to replenish the magic stones. I plan to use their magic to refill the magic stones needed to create medical magic tools. Of course, I won't absorb magic from sick children. Also, absorbing a child's magic could increase their magic capacity. If there's a child with a lot of magic, I might protect them at the Sophia Merchant Guild."
"Is that to replenish magic?"
"That's true, but if possible, I want to teach them magic and hope they become magicians in the future."
"Are you saying that the Sophia Merchant Guild wants to secure their own magicians?"
"That would be ideal, but I don't intend to force their future. I want them to choose their own jobs wherever they like."
At that moment, Edward, who had been listening to Sara and Robert's conversation, spoke up with a hint of disbelief.
"Doing food drives for the slums is quite unusual. But even if it's for magic power, the kids from the slums probably don't have much magic to offer."
"You won't know until you try. By absorbing magic every day, they might grow into unexpected talents."
"My niece seems to be quite the philanthropist. Do you plan to become a saint or something?"
"Maybe I do."
Sara smiled gracefully, like a true saint.
"Hey, Ed, you know Sara isn't a saint. If you still don't understand her, that's pretty bad for a future lord. Have you forgotten when she threw a 1 Dal coin at your forehead?"
"But what benefit is there in giving to the slums?"
"If a talented magician comes from the slums, even if they don't become a magician for the Sophia Merchant Guild, they'll still have a good image of the guild. The large academy that the Sophia Merchant Guild will likely expand into will probably be the same. Many people who have a positive view of the Sophia Merchant Guild will be born every year. Sara is developing long-term customers for the Sophia Merchant Guild."
"I see, she's definitely not a saint."
"Of course! This girl is a merchant's daughter. Plus, she has the blessing of the fairies, so she can see really far into the future. I think we, who manage the territory, should learn from that."
"Father, that's mostly correct, but shouldn't you keep such things to yourself? It's cruel to expose a maiden's secrets."
"I'm sorry. But we're family, so can't you cut me some slack?"
Robert apologized to Sara with a wry smile. However, Edward was looking at Sara with a serious expression.
"But you said you don't really want to do this. Can I ask why?"
"Living in the slums is not easy for children. Often, there are adults behind them, making the kids beg or pickpocket. Beautiful children can be forced to sell flowers from a young age or even sold like sl*ves. Of course, most of the money they earn is taken by those adults."
"...Is that so?"
Edward, who was also a father of 3, frowned.
"What do you think will happen if a child with magic suddenly realizes they can earn money?"
"The money will be taken from them."
"That's probably true. But more importantly, there are people who would sell a child with magic as a weapon. There are mercenary groups skilled at teaching attack magic. The more magic they have, the higher the chance they can use it."
"What!?"
"That's why I really don't want to do this unless we have a proper environment to protect children with magic power. Honestly, I was thinking of creating a dormitory to accept children with magic power for free after the academy was established."
Sara let out a small sigh and looked down.
"Then why start before you're ready?"
"Of course, it's because we need magic power to create medical equipment. We can't get funds to buy a lot of magic stones from anywhere."
"But for magic stones..."
"Are you suggesting we ask the Sophia Merchant Guild for them? Or do you want me to replenish them with my own magic power?"
"N-no, I didn't mean it like that..."
Edward was flustered, having been hit with the truth.
"Uncle Edward, you need to realize that you are the next lord. Instead of relying on me every time there's a problem, shouldn't you think of sustainable solutions? There must be commoners with magic power too. After all, only direct descendants can call themselves nobles in this country, so collateral relatives will eventually become commoners. This means there are a lot of commoners with noble blood. If that's the case, there must be plenty of commoners with magic power as well."
"I see."
"Besides, the magic power to operate golems, the magic stones that can replenish magic power, and the magical tools to replenish magic power are all provided for free by the Sophia Merchant Guild. Before asking me for magic power, why not draw from your own or your family's magic power? Since you are a direct descendant of Grandchester, you must have a lot of magic power."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think this through."
Sara felt that Edward's honest apology was nice, but at the same time, she was worried about his many thoughtless comments.
'I feel like there are too many things he lacks as a ruler. Will he really be able to learn everything before grandfather retires?'
"But shouldn't we consider protecting children with magic powers, Sara?"
"Yes, but it's quite difficult. First, there aren't any places to take care of the children."
"Isn't an orphanage an option?"
"There are 2 orphanages in the capital, but both are already full. And the environment isn't very good either; some kids have even run away from the orphanage to go to the slums because it's so unpopular."
"How did it come to that?"
"Probably because there isn't enough budget. Maybe some of it was embezzled. For now, we can only watch and try to strengthen the regulations."
"That's really frustrating."
Edward looked down and rubbed the wrinkles on his forehead with his fingers.
"It's lucky that uncle noticed my concerns. Father wouldn't even listen."
"I didn't think that deeply about it. After all, it's just a problem with slum kids."
"That's a very noble way of thinking, father."
"I think it's more bureaucratic than noble. After all, the slum residents don't pay taxes. From the governor's perspective, it's hard to be told to help people who are living in the territory without permission. I don't think they're not deserving of pity as people, but if we can't help everyone, we should prioritize the citizens who pay their taxes."
"I see. That's a reasonable opinion. However, if we leave the slums alone, it will cause problems for maintaining public order, so finding a good balance is probably the realistic approach."
Edward, who was watching Robert and Sara's exchange, let out a deep sigh and slumped his shoulders.
"Seeing you two makes me wonder if I'm really fit to be the next lord."
"Huh, are you saying that now, Ed?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"You've been acting like a stuck-up Young Marquis for years, hardly returning to the territory, and the people have probably forgotten your face. It's a bit late for that, don't you think?"
"Is it really that bad?"
"Yes, it is. That's why I've been living here and working hard, so you won't have any trouble when you become the lord."
"Is that so? I thought you were just running away to avoid trouble with women in the capital."
"That's rude, even if you are my brother. What do you think of me?"
"A brother who's useless with his crush but somehow popular with others?"
"That's just because people misunderstand me!"
"That's because you say all those sweet things. Plus, you were definitely pursuing widows and divorced women."
"That was fine because they were okay with it!"
'This conversation is getting weird... I kind of understand now why Mother was angry with Father.'
"Uncle Edward, can we stop there? Even though I'm his adopted daughter, I really don't want to hear too much about Father's scandals."
"I apologize for that."
"By the way, do you want to quit being the next lord?"
"It's not that I want to quit, but I can't help but wonder if I'm qualified. Sara, you said you would teach me how to use merchants to increase wealth, right?"
"Yes, I did."
"Could you go further and teach me how to enrich the territory and make the people happy?"
"I'm not very knowledgeable about managing a territory. Shouldn't uncle learn that from grandfather, the lord?"
"Of course, I will learn from my father too. But I really want to learn more from Sara."
Edward looked at Sara with serious eyes, genuinely pleading.
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