A/N: Time to increase the sales tax!!
※January 24, 14:40
Just now, I noticed that the taxes are not included in the income and expenditures report. When I look closely, there"s no oil or ash expense. I will fix it.
17:36
The fix is over. The balance is different. I"m sorry. As I make changes, I will slightly modify Chapter 24 and 30. There"s no change to the development of the story.
「Iya~, Haruto-san. I think it"s been a year. One year since you borrowed the 100 million, and it"s been two years since we met. Please look at Samaras Chamber of Commerce! The birds are chirping. It"s funny. I hope it will remain like this!! 」
Roa cried out in a high tension voice.
「You’re noisy so early in the morning. Keep it a little quieter 」
「But we repaid the 100 million. With interest. Besides, we borrowed 300 million Doria. Isn"t it a happy thing! 」
「Ma, that"s right」
It’s now April. It"s really fast. In January, the new slave quarters and factory expansion is finished so it was possible to secure a significant amount of labor force. The ma.s.s production of soap is also on track. The second-cla.s.s citizens also remembered the process, so the production efficiency is rising sharply.
Meanwhile, the Samaras Chamber of Commerce seems to be performing well at first, but it looks like the sales have quickly dropped. It"s because of Haruto"s luxury soap which formed a customer base. They seem to manage by their brand name, but it looks quite severe. I plan to puncture it with selling the milk soap in a few months.
「Soap can still be ma.s.s-produced. It seems that Claris" demand has already been met. As for the desert people……I have quite the order from Umar. And also, orders flooded from merchants from countries outside Claris」
「Ma, soap will not decay. It’s a little heavy but not as much as jewelry. It"s easy to use for trade」
Everyone wants to keep their body clean. It"s natural that everyone would buy it if you only need 500 Doria.
However, Asuma Chamber of Commerce is not without problems at all.
「But recently, the material cost has risen. Although it"s also good to sell it in a booming economy, material costs are expensive. And prices were going up due to the poor harvest of olives last year. Would you like to raise the price? 」
Roa pulls a face while watching the income and expenditure report.
「There is no choice. I don"t want to increase the rate since it"s a cheap thing……ma, it"s okay since it"s booming. How much can we raise it……about 600 Doria for the normal ones? Luxury soap……raise it to 4,000 Doria? 」
Haruto says to Roa. Roa answers after thinking for a while.
「There is no particular objection. However, there is the danger that customers will leave at once if given abruptly. We should slowly raise the price」
That"s true. Haruto adopts Roa"s opinion.
「The other problem is the factory. I want to expand more, but there is no land. It would be nice if there were a lot of cheap and vast areas with a well……」
A lot of distilled water is necessary for making soap. Conversely speaking, these are the only conditions, but this is still unexpectedly severe.
「Better yet, can"t we make it outside the castle walls? We can collect migrant workers from rural areas and fishing villages」
「I see. It will likely cost more than the second-cla.s.s citizens, but the land is cheap. ……By the way, how would you treat the people from the rural areas and fishing villages? They"re primarily first-cla.s.s citizens, isn"t it? 」
Hearing what Haruto said, Roa looked at him as if he’s stupid. Since it"s been two years when he came to Claris, he still has not figured out the status system so it can"t be helped if he doesn"t know. However, there is the case of Haruto"s situation, too. Alkali and lard are purchased outside the castle walls, and it"s only a business relationship in the end. Until now, he hasn"t thought about other things.
「Claris is a city formed by the gathering of merchants. You know that right? 」
「I heard that so many times my ears are going bad」
Haruto didn"t even think about it. He"s been reading a lot of books at the library during his free time. He examined Claris status system and founding history considerably. For some reason, he skipped the fishing and farm villages.
「Nonetheless, it’s not like there was nothing at all until the merchants gathered. There are some farming villages and also fishing villages. People in the farming and fishing villages are descendants of them」
According to Roa, Claris has merchants gathered all over the world. It seemed that the two groups are descendants of the people who lived in this land initially. Merchants bought land from the native people one after another to make large farms and make factories. Although at first, they coexisted with the natives, the aboriginal people were slowly driven out due to the difference in financial strength. It later became the farming and fishing villages they see right now. Being exploited by the merchants still continues even now. She withheld specific names, but it seems that Eu○ne and Br○ch are the major ones.
「That"s why the people outside the castle walls are legally first-cla.s.s citizens, but speaking of the level of their life, it"s equivalent to second-cla.s.s citizens, even less than them. They"re quasi-citizens. Mostly because Claris merchants also have guilty feelings to these people, but their presence is taboo」
「Why don"t the rural and fishing villages do business? It"ll solve……」
As Haruto says so, Roa made a big sigh. She was quite disgusted with him.
「Is it that easy to become a merchant? Haruto-san has your knowledge in soap, and you were able to read and write with the power of a blessing. You have succeeded because you received an advanced education more than anyone else. If one of these are missing, you wouldn"t be as successful as you are now. Can the quasi-citizens read or write letters? How do you think they would fight crafty Claris merchants? I won"t give a specific name……but selling to Br○nch, and having debt from Eu○ne, this partnership combo will lead them to the slave course. Besides, it"s not easy for them to relinquish their ancestral land」
「I see」
That bossy expression is irritating but it was an easy to understand explanation. Haruto finally agreed.
「In short, I will make a new workplace for those people」
「……that"s a matter of perspective. They will see you as a capitalist who wants them to work for cheap wages……no, nothing」
Haruto has also become stained by the Claris merchants. For better or for worse.
「By the way, to change the topic……don"t you think it"s recently cramped」
「Eh? What? 」
Haruto asked for clarification.
「The room」
「I think it"s narrow from the front……」
Haruto looked around the room. It"s a plain and small room with only the minimum necessary furnitures. It"s quite tight with two people occupying it, but they only sleep in here, so they don"t really care.
「Why did we live in such a room in the first place? This room? 」
Haruto hears Roa say that.
「It"s because we have no money」
2 years ago, they had no money at that time. They wanted to avoid spending as much as possible, and it"s good as long as they could sleep on it, so they had been sleeping in the guest room. Moreover, they currently earn enough to buy the shop.
「How much is the monthly income of Haruto-san right now? Less the income tax」
「E~tto, over 30,000,000」
Haruto"s income is rising every month, ao Haruto did not know his exact monthly income.
「Is this the house of a man who has a monthly income of 30,000,000? 」
「In short, it"s time to buy a house, is that what you want to say? 」
Haruto replied to Roa.
「That"s right. Do you want me to buy a mansion? You should be able to buy a house more than most people. And don’t the rich have to spend money? 」
It"s obligatory for the rich to spend their money. Rich people spend a lot of money and the economy turns. Haruto, which is now quite wealthy, has an obligation to use money……Roa"s argument is like that.
「But you can still live without it. This is just a hobby……now it"s my job, but I hope I can make soap. I want a delicious meal and a place where I can sleep」
「A sense of life without a dream……」
Roa looked at Haruto as if he was stupid.
「Cause I, I"m from the Enlightenment Generation……」
「What"s that? Please don"t just make up some topic」
Roa says so and grabbed Haruto"s clothes.
「Anyways, Haruto-san is satisfied but I am not satisfied! Also here, how about a house with a bath? Can"t you put it? 」
「U~n, it"s tempting. but it"s large and cleaning is……」
「I will do the cleaning! Anyways, let"s buy it!! 」
Roa raised a loud voice and interrupted Haruto"s words, trying to make Haruto buy a house.
「That"s true. Let"s buy it」
「Hurray!! 」
Roa jumped in joy.
「So, I would like to build a house but what should I do? 」
Haruto asked Domoor.
Haruto does not know how to build a house. He"d never built a house in j.a.pan in the first place, so he doesn"t know how to make a house in this world. Naturally, Roa also doesn"t know.
「Why don"t you try looking at the ones on sale first? You might unexpectedly find something if you search」
Domoor said so and took out a bunch of thick papers. It"s tied together by a string.
「Don"t worry. I"ve done everything from ready-built to building some. There"s no problem if you leave it all to me. So then, what kind of property do you want? 」
Domoor listened while turning over the bunch of paper.
「I want it to have a bath」
Haruto said uninterestedly.
「The kitchen should be substantial since the garden can be small. I would like a fashionable house as much as possible, and so the store……it"s more convenient if it"s closer to the Central Street. In the future, I expect to give birth to more than 6 children so it should be a large one. I want to build a room for each child so the number of rooms should be high. If possible, create a new building. other than that (etc.」
「As expected, there"s nothing」
Haruto appallingly looked at Roa.
「There it is! 」
「Eh, seriously!? 」
Domoor shows the material to Haruto and Roa.
「Here. all the conditions should be satisfied. The price is 20,000,000 Doria! 」
Haruto read the material. Certainly, all the conditions of Roa is satisfied.
「But isn"t it too cheap? 」
Anything less than 20 million Doria is too cheap. The small and narrow store is 20 million. It"s a place where transportation is convenient so it can"t be said that the land price is cheap. But the price is too suspicious.
「In fact, 9 months ago, a newlywed couple committed suicide here. Shortly after that, the couple who lived there 3 months ago committed suicide. And after 2 months……the old man who lived there 4 months ago died in an accident. Moreover, you can hear their screams at night. But the conditions are good」
「That"s interesting. Then here」
Haruto who seemed uninterested so far has finally shown interest.
「No no, why! It"s a haunted house! Absolutely not. I don"t want to die. Please don"t decide on our home just because it"s interesting!! 」」
Roa shouted and pressed the material back to Domoor.
「It"s okay, isn"t it? It"s cheap」
Domoor pushes back the material. Seemingly wanting to sell all the bad debts.
「Absolutely no!! I"ll rip it if you recommend it!! 」
Roa refuse to purchase it by making the doc.u.ment hostage. Domoor gave up and put the materials back.
「Well then, you can build a house normally……what about the land? 」
When Haruto said that, Domoor once again took out a doc.u.ment. Roa has a wary face.
「The land is written here. Certainly, it has a good amount of traffic. Here, there are 15 cases that apply」
Haruto and Roa read the doc.u.ments.
「How about this? Traffic seems to be good. There are also lots of shops nearby」
「But it"s narrow. This one is good. You can use the carriages」
「This is also good. The traffic is a bit subtle, but the land is wide. Are you thinking of having a wagon? 」
Haruto, Roa and Domoor talked for a while, then they decided on one property.
「I understand. You"re good with this one? I"ll make a temporary design after 3 days. Come back in 3 days」
Domoor said so and tries to get up. Haruto hurriedly detained Domoor.
「Wait a moment. I want to build a new factory outside the castle walls. Is there any land available outside the walls? 」
Hearing Haruto say so, Domoor shrugged his shoulders.
「I"m sorry. Ma, you can go to the town hall. It"s hard to buy land from rural farmers. Ah, tell me when you want to build it. I can make it immediately」
Haruto and Roa thanked Domoor and left.
Haruto and Roa headed to the town hall by Domoor"s recommendation.
「Ah, Haruto-san. Please look. El Smith. He went to the pharmacy. Do you think he’s buying stomach medicine? 」
Roa pointed to El Smith and said that. Haruto grabbed Roa"s finger.
「Don"t point at people」
While having such conversations, they arrived at the town hall in an instant.
「Excuse me. I want to check out the land outside the walls. Please show me some doc.u.ments」
As Haruto says so, the staff gave a map and some papers to Haruto. The area on the map is subdivided by broken lines, and each section of land has a number.
「I see. So you match up the number with the doc.u.ments」
Haruto looked at the broadest land, number 45.
「The landowner……Branch Ainsworth. Amazing. Does it produce apples」
She"s truly one of the three greatest merchants in Claris. To have such a large plot of land.
「Let"s see. Considering water and transportation, it would be nice to have a vast land facing the river and near the city」
Claris is a big city. A large town needs a lot of water, and Claris is in a place where you can secure a lot of water. In short, there are many rivers. However, there"s a problem.
「All of them are almost someone else"s land. The owners are part of the Congress」
Most of such convenient land is owned by prominent merchants, conducting large-scale agriculture.
「This may be useless. It"s better to buy the property inside the walls quietly……」
At the time Haruto was about to give up, Roa raised a loud voice.
「Please look. Here, it"s land from a farmer. There are also adjacent lands. If you buy everything, it should be four times the size of our current factory 」
Haruto sees the land that Roa pointed at. It"s a bit far from Claris, but it"s on a tolerable range. A river is also nearby.
「That"s true……but why? Ma, whatever. For the time being, let"s go there」
「You"re right. Let"s go immediately」
Haruto and Roa decided to head to the land.
「Now then, we"ve finally arrived……it"s quiet」
Haruto looked around. There was no one. The field is also neglected, it was covered in weeds.
「Why is it neglected? Apart from that, it seems that the soil is extremely thin」
Roa watches the weeds that have grown to the height of her back.
「But it seems that there"s no problem if we build a factory. Well, this is the address of the landowner……」
Haruto took out the doc.u.ment and the map, confirming their current location.
「Is there a rural village from here. Everyone is cl.u.s.tered around here. Let"s take a little walk」
Haruto and Roa started to aim for the farming village.
「Why is it neglected? 」
Roa said to Haruto again after looking at the surroundings.
「Who knows? Maybe someone committed suicide? 」
Haruto said with a laugh. Roa shuddered.
「Please stop it. Seriously」
The moment Roa said so, there was the sound of gra.s.s rustling coming from the fields. Roa jumped up.
「Wh-what is it! 」
「You"re really afraid of ghosts」
Haruto picked up a fallen branch from a tree with a happy face, standing ready. Haruto has never seen a ghost. That"s why he"s looking forward to it.
The gra.s.s rustling sound is getting louder. It was definitely getting closer here.
「Kyaaa」
The gra.s.s swayed considerably before their eyes, and something popped up. Roa unexpectedly screamed and hugged Haruto.
「Fumu, it"s a demon not a ghost」
It was a demon who came out. He has a very horrible face. It was angry while baring its fangs.
「Get out!! Illness from this land!! 」
「Brat, don"t get carried away」
Haruto hit the demon……to be exact, the demon child was. .h.i.t with the branch that Haruto is holding. The child tries to escape, but Haruto grabs the child"s shoulders and does not let go.
「H-Help me! I"ve been caught. I"ll become a slave!! 」
「Calm down. I"m not a moneylender」
When Haruto said so, the child stopped running away and looked at his face.
「Eh!? Isn"t Nii-chan a merchant? 」
Haruto answers while scratching his head.
「I"m a merchant but not a moneylender. Are you someone from that village? 」
Haruto points to the village in the front.
「That"s right, but……what did you come here for? 」
「I came here to buy this land」
Haruto pointed to the ground. As Haruto says so, the child beamed.
「What. Then you"re a customer. You should have told me that first」
Haruto and Roa looked at each other. Roa lowered to the same height as the child.
「Why is the field abandoned? 」
The child smiled and answered.
「There was a disease. The crops caught it. That"s why the area became useless and they threw it away. The fields on the east side of the village is wiped out, but the western side isn’t affected, so we managed somehow. We can barely live. But there is debt. We were no longer able to pay the interest since our income is halved. That"s why we want to sell the land to repay the debt……some moneylender intends to buy the land on the east side for about 2 million Doria. And the village chief got angry. It"s a dangling situation」
「So, why did you call me a demon? 」
Hearing Haruto says so, the child lowered his head and apologized.
「Sorry. It was a joke. Please follow me. Maybe the village chief can welcome you」
Haruto and Roa headed for the village at the direction of the child.
When Haruto and Roa came to the village, they were looked at with animosity at first. But when the child called Haruto and Roa as『customers』, they were met with favorable eyes.
A bossy old man appeared after a while. He’s a very energetic old man contrary to the lifeless village.
「Follow me」
The old man said so and turned on his heel. Haruto and Roa followed the old man.
Haruto and Roa were guided to the biggest building in the village and were urged to sit in a chair.
「Now then, what is your business? Merchants」
The old man……the village chief said.
「Honestly speaking, I would like to buy the land over there. How about 20 million? 」
It"s twice the amount that the money lender presented. From Haruto"s perspective, there"s nothing wrong with buying land for 20 million if it"s four times the size of the current factory.
The village chief says after lifting his eyebrows.
「It"s useless. I"m not talking with that. How about 100 million? 」
When the village chief says so, Roa said from the side.
「That is quite the talk. Would you sell a dead land for 100 million? Simply ridiculous. Considering the land value from around here, it should be 6 to 7 million. And with the fact that it"s dead, 20 million is already high. We won"t negotiate. Let"s go to another. Haruto-san」
Haruto and Roa tried to stand up after saying so. The village chief quickly detained them.
「Just kidding, it was a joke. But 20 million is too cheap. We have circ.u.mstances also. At least 40 million, no 30 million」
The village chief begged Haruto and Roa. Haruto sighs.
「Then 25 million. More than that is not cheap」
The village chief took out the contract after suffering for a while. It seems that he acknowledge it.
「I"ll tell you one thing」
Haruto tells the village head while writing his name.
「You had better stop talking about selling sympathy. Or you"ll see my feet」
Haruto and Roa got up and left the place.
「Even so, you can still buy it if it"s 50 million. It"s a factory so you don"t care about the dead land」
After going back to the store, Roa says while smiling.
「The guy who tried to cheat on me is bad. I"ll let it go if he just want a bit more. Like 10 million 」
A field where crops can"t be planted is just garbage.
「Ah, what is it? 」
Roa saw Haruto holding a letter, and asked.
「The fishing village……it"s a letter from the village chief of the fishing village supplying us the ash」
The ash supply from one fishing village can"t catch up with the demand, so Haruto made a deal with multiple villages. This letter came from the representative from those fishing villages.
Haruto spreads the letter and starts reading.
「What"s written there? 」
Roa said so while sitting on the bed.
「It seems they want to negotiatte to increase the price」
Haruto said with a blank expression.
August to January (before completion of the new factory)
Income 395,400,000
Expense 222,000,000 (Various things) + 20,000,000 (shop) + 11,860,000 (Sales tax) + 39,540,000 (Income tax)
Income－Expense 120,000,000
100 million in debt
Balance 126,740,000
Total a.s.sets 26,740,000
Other Properties
60 slaves
Employees
Accounting Officer and Slave Director Roa・Samaras
Accounting a.s.sitant Dennis
Supervisors Ash brothers (sisters)
Mercenary Rusk & Pudding, Rang & Tart
February to March (after completion of the factory)
Income 300,000,000 (debt) + 330,000,000 (60,000 luxury soaps + 300,000 normal soaps)
Expense 121,600,000 (various things) + 110,000,000 (10% annual interest rate) + 30,000,000 (slaves) + 99,000,000 (sales tax) + 33,000,000 (income tax)
Income－Expense (debt not included) 125,500,000
Debt 300 million
Balance 452,240,000
a.s.sets 153,240,000
Slaves 160
Employees
Accounting Officer and Slave Director Roa・Samaras
Accounting a.s.sitant Dennis
Supervisors Ash Brothers(sisters)
Mercenary Rusk & Pudding, Rang & Tart