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That’s why, if we were to liken the mercenary guild to management and the supervision of its members, the manufacturing guild is more like an organization that maintains fair prizes and prevents moral hazard. It also oversees the quality and progress of the work, but most of the time that is just left up to the workers themselves.

By the way, even if you’re just a carpenter on the side, you can accept requests without having the same qualifications as a member of the manufacturing guild. There are no proper carpenters in Luneville, so Sullivan, who mainly sells and repairs weapons, accepts most of our carpenting commissions.

Alright, back to what we were talking about before.

First, we’ll need to schedule a meeting with the manufacturing guild, and depending on the scale and variety of facilities, we can get a rough estimation of how much it will cost. Based on that estimation, we should look for people willing to convert their land into space for lodgings, but…

“The documents only really list the budget for the new highways. Will they be giving us a budget for the construction of inns and extra payments for existing residents to move?”
“Let’s see… These are all going to be handled federally, so my guess is that it would be okay if we just include those into the expenses as well.”
“…I feel like they would try to make Ector pay the existing residents, though.”

Well, I feel like it would be just as likely for the king to fund that as well, winning him a favor from Luneville.

Anyways, the country is going to provide Luneville with funds for a housing loan, which saves the guild the trouble of lending the city money. If it came down to the guild to loan money, there would be no equal monthly payments, and depending on the loaner’s job, the repayment deadline might also be shorter. Not to mention the stricter background investigations before giving a loan.

This time, we’re dealing mostly with people from the merchant guild, so most of them should have no problem with their background, though.

“After that, we have to take into account how much it would cost to ship and guard the supplies we need. Oh, and guards for the workers who will be constructing the highway.”
“Yeah. So I guess we have the construction of new infrastructure and inns first, and then the construction of the highway. Is that the right order?”
“…that’s a lot of people.”
“Yeah. Even if we put in commissions for guards from the mercenary guild, at least a number of those people will decide to stay here. Do you think we have enough to cover all these people?”

Enough what? Food, of course.

“If we order more food every batch and also provide a delivery service, I think we might be able to manage… Are you planning to have people open up new restaurants?”
“That’s well… There isn’t much we can do if no one wants to open their own restaurant.”
“Yeah, right…”

Even in my previous life, I did little in hotels other than taking showers and sleep. I feel like most places had other options for food. When I think about finding new routes to order more food and hiring more people to cook it, I start to think it might have been a better idea to just reduce the number of people we serve in the first place.

Or something like that.

I’m sure there’s someone who thinks that.

Well, that aside, what I’m really worried about is that the number of monsters in the area will increase along with the influx of people. It’s sort of like the chicken and the egg. As the people increase in an area, so do the monsters, and then more people arrive to subjugate the monsters, which then…

You get the point. It’s a vicious cycle.

For the guild, this is like a dream come true. However, a lot of the assumptions that the plan makes are wrong, which I would point out, but this isn’t the place for a mere receptionist to poke their nose in.

More importantly¹, there are plenty of people in Luneville who are hoping for this plan to succeed. It’s not something I can get in the way of with a light heart.

Almost a month has passed. Meetings were held, documents were signed, and requests were sent out to the guild. The transportation of raw materials and building construction has gone on for a few weeks already.

“Illya, sorry! Can you take this to Ellie!?”

I nod, then take the plate from the kitchen window and head towards the temporary terrace just outside the guild entrance.

The moment before I reached out to push the door open, someone opened the door with the force of a truck. It was Elize. Both of us are rather slender, so it wasn’t difficult to step aside to avoid bumping into her.

“Ah, sorry Illya! And thank you!”
“No, no, I’ll bring this one over. Just go get the other plates.”
“Got it!”

On the other side of the door, 12 large tables were left on the terrace facing one of the city’s main roads. All of them were fully seated. The dining hall inside the guild was the same as always, but now there were even people standing while eating outside.

I scan the numbers on the tables, then bring the plate of food to the right one.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, here is your chicken skewer combo.”

A chorus of appreciation could be heard from the table.

“I’ll take the plates that you’ve cleared, alright?”

I don’t like the drunk look in their eyes, which means I get out of there as fast as I can. Elize comes out just as I reach the door, and we exchange dry smiles before I reenter the guild. As I push open the door I see Frank standing at the reception counter in my place.

“Sorry about that, Frank.”
“No, no, I totally underestimated this. Sorry to work you to the bone too, Luke. You weren’t even supposed to have a night shift today.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like I had plans.”

Just like usual, Frank gives Luke another strained laugh. Currently, Ria and LaShelle are working on the second floor and Daren is waiting tables there. Elize and Claris are working on the first floor, and Cynthia is waiting tables here. Luke and I are in charge of reception.

Basically, everyone who can work is at work. Daren and Claris usually take care of reception, so you can imagine the kind of corner we’re being driven into.

“At any rate, this is quite the number of people…”

I can’t help but look over to the dining hall at Frank’s remark. In the rush to build new inns and organize the city blocks, Luneville’s population has temporarily doubled. The only reason that adding to the terrace was enough was because we’re also delivering food to what I would have called prefab huts in my previous life.

“I guess we need to hire some new people to wait tables, or I don’t think we can keep this up for much longer.”
“Don’t forget about new people working in the kitchen as well.”
“Yeah… yeah, you’re right.”

Even if I have cheats, doing everything myself would be mentally exhausting.

As a request from Ector, Luneville’s guild has also begun constructing new dining halls. The building is being built right next to the branch office, but Frank still hasn’t decided on who to hire as the operating staff. I’m sure he’s still on edge from the last time some assassins visited our office—even though I told him that I would tell him if I spotted any.

“You think our guild is going to be okay?”
“Yes. I think with how well everyone does their jobs, we were a bit too relaxed before this.”
“Hm. Maybe you’re right.”
“If business increases in the guild, we can remodel the second floor’s dining hall into an office.”
“Yeah.”

That said, the workload has increased in both waiting tables and reception. Well, it is about time I asked for a bit of help.

1. Shurim: This is the third page I’m translating and this lady is still talking about the price of infrastructure. I could honestly care less..