The next morning, I left the children in the care of Reiko and went to the real estate agency.
I couldn't take the kids with me without knowing what the situation was, and of course I couldn't just leave them there. And since Reiko was better at dealing with kids than I was and I could easily scare them, it was more effective to use that intimidating power on the real estate agent than on the kids.
...Right person in the right place, damn it!
So, first thing in the morning, I went to the real estate agency that handled our property.
"Excuse me~!" (Kaoru)
Yes, I wouldn't suddenly get confrontational without checking the circumstances.
However, if it became clear that the property that had been involved in an accident had been sold without anyone's knowledge, there would be no mercy.
Well, let's see what the results will be...
"I see, so there's no point in meeting the previous owner..." (Kaoru)
"Yes, it seems so..."
The person in charge of the property was not an employee, but the manager (not an employee, but the owner of this real estate agency). Apparently, he thought it was dangerous to leave a "potentially minefield case" of a minor from outside the company trying to buy a property that was struggling to sell for cash to an employee, so he decided to take charge of it himself.
When I checked with the store manager for details...
That orphanage had been run for a long time by a certain devout individual, and the buildings had been duly repaired and rebuilt. With support from the lord, donations from the people, and the orphans doing simple labor and growing vegetables in their gardens, it had managed to continue operating without any major issues, albeit poorly...
It seemed that when the original operator retired due to old age, the man who took over running the orphanage was responsible for the mistake.
No, rather than saying that he "made a mistake," it would be more accurate to say that he had aimed for that from the beginning when he offered to take over.
A small amount of financial support from the lord, donations, and labor from orphans.
There was no way that money could be moved in a way that would allow for excessive profits.
If that's the case, why would a villain get involved in running an orphanage?
...Yes, because there are products that can be sold at high prices, and once they are sold, they can be easily replenished.
The name of the product is "Children".
Of course, in theory, they are adopted as "adopted children." But in reality, they are treated like slaves, exploited and unpaid.
If it were within the territory, various problems would arise, but if it is taken in by a merchant in a distant territory, information will not flow, and the lord cannot interfere in the affairs of other territories.
Yes, that coincides with what Minette, no, Mine, said last night.
...Then, somehow this was discovered, and the orphanage was closed down.
I see, so the evil deeds had already been exposed even before they faced the Goddess's iron fist.
"The villain has been brought to justice by his lordship. However, the orphanage's budget had been completely spent, and in such a situation, and with the orphanage having a bad reputation for engaging in something tantamount to human trafficking, no one was willing to take it in, and even though the lord was a good man, he could not provide infinite financial support, so the continuation of the orphanage became hopeless... The original manager was shocked and saddened, and feeling responsible, he desperately searched for homes for the remaining orphans. Of the last four, the two oldest boys were placed in the barracks by the lord as trainee soldiers, and the rest were placed in an orphanage in another town, so the orphanage was closed. Part of the proceeds from the sale of this place will be used to cover the former manager's living expenses in his old age, and the rest will be given as an honorarium to the orphanages who agreed to take in the children and the orphanage in another city that took in the last two."
Ah...
No one is to blame except the bad guys who took over.
Besides, it would be unreasonable to force those kids onto the previous management at this point...
To begin with, the boy, Aral, wasn't from here. He was just bought from another place by the merchant who sold Mine.
"I'm sorry, but I don't want to trouble the old man at this point, so please..."
I know, dammit!
"I understand. The previous manager was not responsible, and the real estate agent was not at fault. I'll handle the rest." (Kaoru)
"I'm truly sorry... So, if possible, I would like to be hired as a servant..."
They thought we weren't short of money...
We pretended that we had spent all our money to buy the former orphanage, but I guess the businessman knew right away that we still had money...
Well, no one would spend all their money to buy a house, right? Of course they would have enough money left over for living expenses after the purchase.
But, well, that's certainly true, and the fact that he would say something like that, risking angering an important customer, for the sake of an orphan who has nothing to do with him... makes him a good person, probably.
I got it, argh!
"So, what do you two want to do?" (Kaoru)
After giving a detailed explanation about the current situation here and the whereabouts of the director and his friends, I confirmed with Mine and Aral their intentions. At this age, they were probably capable of making decisions about their own life—At the very least, it was not something we, complete strangers who only met last night, should decide on our own. We absolutely hated being forced to shoulder such a heavy responsibility as deciding someone else's life. And…….
"Please let me live here!" (Mine)
"Me too!" (Aral)
Immediate answer.
Well, I guessed Aral was just following Mine's judgment. ...Of course. This world was not kind enough for a nine-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy to live a normal life. Even though the lord of this town is a good nobleman, and most of the townspeople were relatively decent people... This was, after all, a world with a much lower level of civilization than Earth, where it was the law of the jungle and the weak have no choice but to become prey for the strong. This "strong" could come from many different sources, such as physical strength, intelligence, economic power, military power, political power, or some other type of "power"...
"Are you planning to turn this into an orphanage again?" (Reiko)
When Reiko asked me that, I shook my head.
"No. I have no intention of starting a business to take care of orphans. It's just..." (Kaoru)
"Just?" (Reiko)
"All we're going to do now is hire an orphan to live with us." (Kaoru)
"...It doesn't seem to have changed much..." (Reiko)
No, not at all. Here, we do not look after the orphans, but the orphans looked after us. Yes, just like when everyone at Goddess's Eye helped me with the cooking, laundry, and all the other housework. I'll leave all the troublesome work to the orphan and live a leisurely life. I'll pay for rent, food, and even a salary, so there's no problem. This is a regular employment relationship. And since I am a kind-hearted woman who runs a business to help orphans, men tend to like me, and my search for a husband goes smoothly!
Fuhaha.
Ahahahaha!
"Ahh..." (Kaoru)
Then, realizing everything, Reiko let out a voice of astonishment. Yes, Reiko understood me very well.
"I feel pathetic that I could figure out Kaoru's plan..." (Reiko)
Shut up!
"So, you work to earn a living." (Kaoru)
That was what I explained to everyone. Reiko and I didn't need anyone to take care of us, and I didn't intend to force a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old to do the laundry. —Not yet. It would be problematic to entrust them with doing the laundry using a special liquid detergent (potion)...
I think I'll teach you how to cook for a while and then leave it to you. No, it's for the children's future. To help them acquire the skills to live independently, although ...there are other motives. Well, nowadays, young labor is being put into other areas, right? …Yes, the long-standing concern was to start a profitable business that would give the appearance of earning a small living.
"First, we will revive the vegetable garden that we used to have at the orphanage. Whatever we can’t eat will be up for sale. Next, fishing. Anything that is not consumed at home will be sold. It will not be sold raw, but processed to increase its market value." (Kaoru)
Yes, the market value of fish is increased by drying, smoking, pickling, stewing, grilling, and other various processing and cooking methods. If it was raw, something that a child caught on the shore would not have much market value in a port town.
However, if it is a processed product or a cooked dish, and if it is prepared by us who are familiar with the processed foods and Japan's cooking methods, which is particular about food, it may be possible to sell it as a luxury item at a high price to a bar, a high-class inn, or a restaurant. Even if there is a custom of eating fish roe or milt, it is not cooked in a sophisticated way like in Japan.
Of course, Reiko has been gathering information on this matter. Someone who knew they would be reincarnated into another world and had 70 years of preparation to do so is, as you'd expect, different! ...Damn it!
Besides, if they could see the children trying their hardest, there would surely be buyers in this town, where there are apparently a lot of kind-hearted people. Tear-jerking movies featuring children and animals always sell! Just like in the Japanese film industry...
Also, if I put them in the item box, they wouldn't spoil, so there was no waste from unsold items being thrown away. If we made a lot at once and stored it, we could save on labor. We didn't have to be there all the time to dry or smoke the fish, and we could leave the monitoring of the heat to the employees. Yeah, it wouldn't take up much of my and Reiko's time and it looked like we could make a decent amount of money. We own our own home, water was free, and we provided our own vegetables and seafood. Of course, we did use small cheats, such as potions to accelerate the growth of vegetables and replicas of the latest Japanese fishing equipment. Fishing was also a form of entertainment, a break, and a way for employees to relax, so we didn't plan on doing it too hard.
"Also, we will make and sell things that are used in our hometown but are not common around here." (Kaoru)
Yes, I was thinking of trying to make things that have little to do with differences in civilization, such as marbles, marbles, menko, tops, stuffed animals, bisque dolls, kendama, karuta, yo-yos, hula hoops, and the like, one by one, little by little. Of course, if it sold well, it would surely be copied in no time, but we could offer a much cheaper price, and if we made it clear that we were the original inventors, there wouldn't be many merchants who would stand in the way of an orphan, or rather, a "former orphan," doing their best.
Let's hope for the kind of people in this town! Well, if it doesn't work, I can just think about my next move then...
Author's Note
The New Year's holiday is over and updates are back.
Thank you for your continued support this year. (^^)/