Chapter 343 There Are Human Employees Too
Once the fever system was in place, Sara had little to do. She wasn't a medical expert, so she couldn't interfere much. As guildmaster of the Sophia Merchant Guild, she should let her team handle food distribution and home visits with golems.
Sara thought it was about time for the Sophia Merchant Guild to properly train its "human" employees.
'Honestly, I wasn't very good at training my subordinates...'
In her past life, Sarasa struggled with leading a team. She often took on too much work herself or helped her subordinates too much. Her boss would always remind her, "Trust your team more."
Now, as the leader of a merchant guild, Sarasa knew she had to delegate tasks. So, she decided not to get involved directly and let one of her younger subordinates handle an important fever response project--even though he was over ten years older than her.
She chose Samuel for the job. He was once a student of Cordelia and junior to James. James wanted him to become a bureaucrat, but Samuel preferred business. After graduating from the academy, he worked for five years at a large merchant guild in the royal capital but returned home after being betrayed by his colleagues there.
He is very capable, but because he has a straightforward and kind personality, Sara has some doubts about whether he can manage well in the world of cunning merchants. However, she thinks someone with this kind of personality is more suited to be in charge of the fever prevention project, which is a job that disregards profit.
The Sophia Merchant Guild created a special department to deal with fake products. They hired Ethelbert, a man in his late 30s, for this role. Ethelbert was once a low-ranking noble from Roisen but fled to Avalon after his family was falsely accused and executed. He changed his name after exile and cut ties with his noble background.
Around 10 years ago, he had the chance to return to Roisen after Prince Adolf's downfall but chose not to. Ethelbert worked for several guilds in the royal capital but often quit due to social issues caused by his prideful and strict personality.
When Sara (as Sophia) interviewed him, she felt he was a good fit despite his harshness. Unlike many others from Roisen, Ethelbert didn't look down on her as a woman. While he may not be perfect for merchant work like Samuel, he's fair and just in what he does.
Ethelbert is facing a big problem with counterfeit products, and it's already causing real damage. People expected that some would buy the Spieluhr, take it apart, and try to copy it. But so far, no one has been able to recreate Alicia's encrypted magic circle. Plus, no merchant guild has a steady supply of the high-purity magic stones needed for the Spieluhr.
The real issue is that a certain merchant guild is buying Spieluhrs from the Sophia Merchant Guild and reselling them as if they made them. They add designs to the wooden box and embed jewels, then sell them at triple the price! While this resale isn't illegal, doing it without permission hurts trust between customers and the Sophia Merchant Guild.
Ethelbert quickly informed noble families who bought these modified Spieluhrs about what happened. He also posted warnings on public boards using real names of those involved. He made it clear that he won't do business with that guild anymore.
But things got worse when other merchant guilds started doing similar tricks--buying products through third parties from Sophia Merchant Guild. Sara finally lost her temper when they began selling Amelia's herbal tea in fancy jars as their own product! Even worse, they were copying Robert's book illegally too!
"Well, it's true that they have a strong business spirit, but their methods are just too crude."
Sara was fuming as she received Sedrick's report while sitting on her bed before going to sleep. Sedrick thought her angry look was kind of cute, but he knew that if he said so, it would only make Sara even more upset, so he kept quiet.
"Recently, a thief sneaked into Lady Amelia's family home to look for the herbal tea recipe."
"What?!"
"However, Lady Amelia's mother is dating a rather strong adventurer, and he kicked the thief out."
"That's a lucky break, but I can't believe that happened. Does Amelia know?"
"Yes, she is aware."
"She could have consulted with us... Did Amelia hold back?"
"That might be the case."
The maidens play a big role in developing products for the Sophia Merchant Guild, and they don't hide it, even using it for promotion. However, Sara realized she never thought about how this could put her family in danger. She assumed that as long as Maiden's Tower was safe, so were they.
Alicia is the daughter of Theofrastos, the Alchemy Guild Manager. Coming from a rich family in Grandchester and being a descendant of Paracelsus--known for great alchemists--it's hard to threaten them.
Amelia's situation is different. She lost her father early and grew up poor with her mother and siblings. She used to gather herbs to help her family until Alexander found her talent. Without him, she might still be doing that today, leaving her family vulnerable.
Teresa lives alone after losing her father but stays in a tenement with many craftsmen. Thanks to good relationships with neighbors and information from Sedrick, Sara believes Teresa is relatively safe.
"Maybe we should have Amelia's family move to a safer house."
"I think that's unnecessary."
"Why?"
"Her mother is currently pregnant, and the adventurer she's dating has proposed to her."
"Huh? Pregnant!? Does that mean Amelia will have a little brother or sister?"
"It seems so."
"Amelia's mom is impressive. How old is she?"
"By the time the child is born, she'll be 40. But she looks much younger, though."
"If it's thanks to Amelia's herbal tea, that's amazing. It could be great advertising."
Hearing about the birth of a new life made Sara feel happy. There would probably be many deaths from the fever soon, but in exchange, new lives would be born. Sara was somewhat aware that this was a bit against the natural order, but she wanted to be genuinely happy about it.
"Anyway, the mother and sister have moved to the other party's mansion since the night the thieves came in."
"The mansion? The other party is an adventurer, right?"
"He is the son of a knight, but he chose the path of an adventurer instead. His parents have already passed away, and he was living alone in the mansion. Of course, there are servants."
"Didn't he have a younger brother?"
"Yes. His younger brother, who is 2 years younger, lives independently in the adventurer guild's staff dormitory."
"An adventurer?"
"No, he's a staff member of the adventurer guild."
"I see. So Amelia has less to worry about now. From now on, she needs to make herself happy."
"I hope so too, but Milady Sara, please try not to interfere too much."
"Because it's frustrating!"
"You underestimate your own influence, milady. I think it's important to watch over them as well."
"Okay."
Sara worked hard to create magic that made skin beautiful, all to show off Amelia's cuteness. She agrees with Sedrick's comments--it's her bad habit to go overboard sometimes. But this magic also helped save Blaze's life, so maybe it's something she can be proud of, even if the effects are too strong to share openly.
By gradually entrusting more work to those around her, Sara created an environment where she could focus on her duties as a noble lady, while Sophia could concentrate on her role as the head of the merchant guild.
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