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"
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"
