Chapter 52: The Targeted Orphanage

I had once said that this was a respectable city. This was indeed true. A respectable king, respectable lord, respectable guilds, and respectable residents. For the most part, that is.

Of course, there was no country that consisted only of good people. Even if there was, it would probably be devoured by some neighboring country. It goes without saying that there is no city that consists only of good people either. So, obviously, there are bad guys, idiots, and human pieces of garbage in this city too.

“Hey, I heard you orphans were making pretty good coin. Little kids like you gotta be careful. It’s a dangerous world, ya know. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you from now on. Just leave everything to us...”

Yup, here we go. I know their type well...

Today, I was delivering dried and smoked fish, along with seaweed products, to some taverns and eateries I had contracted with. I still hadn’t started handling fermented food yet...but anyway, Mine and Aral were with me. They would be handling the deliveries on their own later on, so I brought them along to introduce them to the clients. Reiko was with us too.

Each individual delivery wasn’t worth too much, so it was unlikely that someone would mess with us, and it wouldn’t be a huge hit if we did get our products or money stolen. I would come back and punish them many times over later on anyway... Or so I thought.

And here we were... Not to mention, this was happening right in the middle of the city. They probably took us for easy prey, being kids and all. Mine and Aral obviously were, but I only looked to be around twelve years old, too, and considering I was apparently in charge here, they probably assumed Reiko was about the same age as me, albeit a bit more physically mature. In other words, we looked like a bunch of ignorant kids.

They must have figured we’d do as they said if they just threatened us a little. That said, they probably weren’t just interested in the products and funds we had on hand, but wanted to squeeze money out of us on a regular basis.

I had to make sure to teach them a lesson in a spectacular fashion, without exposing our unique abilities. After a few encounters like this, no one would even think of laying a hand on Mine and Aral, even if they were alone. Now I just needed to find out whether this trio of thugs was working on their own or if they were operating on the orders of someone else.

“No, thank you,” I replied.

“We’re not so pathetic that we’d need help from pieces of shit like you three,” Reiko added. I tended to use relatively amiable phrasing when I talked to anyone, but Reiko was rather harsh when dealing with anyone she recognized as an enemy.

She really hadn’t changed at all... Seeing this, I wondered how she was able to live her life without causing trouble in Japan... Of course, I doubted that there were many people in Japan that she would instantly consider an enemy, so maybe she seemed normal for the most part. Even if she did have enemies, she wasn’t so aggressive with her wording as long as they didn’t outwardly show hostility first. Even if she was inflicting horrible pain on them in her mind...

Anyway, there was one thing I could say for sure: Never make an enemy out of Reiko Kuon.

“Wh-What did you say, you fucking brat?! Keep talking and I’ll beat the shit out of you and sell you off!” the thug yelled as he grabbed Reiko.

Gotcha!

“Help! It’s a kidnapper! He just said he’s going to assault and sell us and is taking us away by force! Call the guards, please!”

“What...?” The group of thugs looked flabbergasted in response to my scream for help.

Why were they surprised? They were threatening to attack, kidnap, and illegally sell us into slavery, so why wouldn’t we seek help? Sure, we might have been ignored if we were just a bunch of orphans that didn’t understand how things worked and if we didn’t have anyone backing us. Most people wouldn’t want to get involved when there was nothing to gain, especially if they could end up getting hurt themselves.

Not to mention, orphans wouldn’t try to ask random strangers for help in the first place. They didn’t expect anything from anyone. Even in a city with a relatively high ratio of good people, most people would obviously prioritize their own safety over that of some orphan. It wasn’t the same thing as donating money to charity. It was a shame, but that’s how it was.

But we were just an ordinary, presentable-looking group, consisting of an entrepreneur and her employees. Three of the four of us were girls, and the last one was a young child. No one would ignore our pleas for help, and anyone could see that this was a group of three thugs trying to kidnap children from a proper household, so not only did someone run off to alert the guards, but some tough-looking men and frail-looking but chivalrous people immediately surrounded the group.

“Huh? Wh...Whaaat?”

The thugs looked rather panicked, but it was too late.

“Hey, is that you, Kaoru? From Little Silver? Are you in trouble?!”

“Oh, sir! These men suddenly showed up and demanded the rights to our business... They said they’d beat us up and sell us into slavery if we refused...”

The owner from one of the taverns I did business with had walked over, so I summarized the situation for him.

“What? The local lord has been looking out for you and gave your business special rights as a support project for orphans, right? Wouldn’t they be in big trouble if they messed with you? And illegally selling children into slavery? That’s a serious crime...”

Yup, thank you for that explanatory comment!

“Yes, I think so. I was going to find out whether they were acting individually or if they were under orders, then turn them in to the guards...”

“Whaaaaaat?!”

The thugs were completely dumbfounded. Well, all that talk about beating us up and selling us off was probably just an empty threat, since it was pretty much the standard when dealing with kids. But if you said you’d punch or sell a full-grown woman into slavery, you’d be in some serious trouble.

“You must be the kidnappers!”

“What...? N-No, we were just...”

“That’s them, sir!”

We were close to the center of the city, so the guard station was close by. Thanks to whoever ran off to get them, they had shown up in no time. Six guards in total...

A bit much, isn’t it?

“If it isn’t Kaoru! These bastards tried to lay a hand on Kaoru?! Hang them.”

“Whaaaaaat?!”

The commander, who had gone from zero to a hundred right away, was an acquaintance of mine. He probably wasn’t going to actually hang anyone, but they were definitely gonna get the book thrown at them. After all, I was considered to be a young noblewoman who had put her own funds into buying an old orphanage in order to run a charitable business, even if it was actually for profit. Not to mention, the lord of the territory treated me favorably.

And, of course, I had spread gifts around the guard headquarters and guard station here, while asking them to help the kids if they were ever in trouble, and various other such requests. That was why several of the guards recognized me. I had also let them know that Reiko and I were fifteen, making us adults, even if we did look young.

That meant this was being interpreted as a case of some adult women who ran a charitable business being attacked by kidnappers. Yeah, that was a huge deal. The thugs figured they were just trying to bully some orphans out of their money, and assumed they would get scolded a bit and maybe spend a few nights in jail at worst, but this was far more serious.

“Please find out whether they’re acting on someone’s orders, whatever it takes.”

“Leave it to us!”

In this world, “whatever it takes” obviously referred to some pretty brutal methods of interrogation.

“Oh, and please let me know once you find out.”

“Of course. You’ll need to know who’s out to get you. Of course, there’s no need for you to deal with something like this. We’ll handle it for you.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“No problem!”

And so, the three thugs were dragged away by the guards, and things got peaceful again. News of this incident would surely spread to all the thugs and criminals throughout the city. Criminals didn’t last long if they were slow to pick up on information, after all. Mine and Aral would be much safer after this.

One or two more run-ins with idiots like these and I probably wouldn’t have to worry about simple, violent criminals like them, for the most part. But there were just so many bad guys out there...

“So you’re the orphans that have been living in the remains of the orphanage without permission! I’ll make arrangements so you can live there legally, as long as you do whatever I say!”

Aaand here we go!

A weirdo visited our residence a few days after those thugs messed with us. It wasn’t his appearance that was weird, though; he looked like a not-so-wealthy merchant. As far as I could tell, this didn’t seem like it was going to get violent or anything, but considering that had been the first thing he said to me when I went out to greet him, I had to think that “weirdo” was the only way to put it...

“Um... Who might you be...?”

“I am Darlish, a clerk of the Goneshell Trading Company.”

Ah... Must be some small-to-medium-sized trader...

“Is this a personal matter? Or are you working under the orders of your chairman?”

“The chairman wouldn’t involve himself in such petty matters as these. I’ll be the one taking care of you.”

Right...

It seemed that he wanted to make some side income, or maybe even report it to the company and get credit for it, at least once he made sure he could make some decent money off of us. Did his higher-ups know about us? Or maybe this guy was ignorant of our situation and acting on his own? Well, it didn’t really matter much either way.

“I refuse.”

“Hmph...” The clerk named Darlish didn’t react with surprise or anger, but just looked at me condescendingly. He’d have to be crazy if he thought I would obey him with that attitude. I figured he was just trying to act tough to gain control of the conversation. That, or he was really taking me lightly.

I figured this guy was one of several clerks, and a low-ranking one at that, so he probably didn’t have much authority or information. Otherwise, he should have known that I had purchased this place through official channels, and that I had already talked everything through with the lord of the territory.

In other words... He wasn’t even worth my time.

“Tell me how you make the dried and smoked food you sell. If you do, I’ll let you work under me.”

We’re already making money on our own, so why would I want to give you a cut...?

This guy was probably treated like an intern, getting two meals a day without any actual salary. No, an intern would learn how to get work done and have aspirations to eventually become independent. Though, they’d still have a lot of hurdles and competition to get through...

Anyway, I had far more knowledge and ability when it came to business management, and I was already independent and making a profit, so why would I even consider working for some intern who would likely steal my manufacturing methods, then kick me out and threaten to report me to the guards if I copied “his” products?

That route would be going in the complete opposite direction of success. So...

“If you’d like me to tell you how to make my products, I’ll be taking a down payment of 500 gold coins. I’ll also take ten percent of your sales. Of course, that would be after you introduce me to the Commerce Guild as a guarantor and sign an official contract.”

500 gold coins may have sounded like a lot, but it was only worth 50 million yen or so. Someone could take these techniques and start a business in the royal capital and the other major cities in each region, then expand to other countries, eventually establishing a major market share for dried and smoked goods. And if one of the products became famous, it would help massively in selling other products too. Considering all that, the price really wasn’t that high.

After all, the fish, which was the main ingredient of the products, didn’t cost all that much, and they could be bought from other harbor towns or small fishing villages for cheap instead of in just this city. You could even make processing facilities near those places where the fish would be bought. But this guy saw us as some random orphans, so he had no intention of paying that kind of money.

“Hah, what a joke. Do as I say, or I’ll kick you out and sell you off to some slavers!”

...Yeah, I saw that coming.

“We have no intention of obeying such unreasonable demands. That means your statement is nothing more than a threat to sell us into slavery. As such, I will defend myself appropriately...”

I snapped my fingers, and Reiko, Mine, and Aral appeared. Each of them were wielding wooden swords that I had made...

“What...?”

Then we beat the crap out of the clerk guy and tied him up. I mean, some pot-bellied, middle-aged man didn’t stand a chance against two girls who were physically fifteen years old and two kids who didn’t know how to hold back. Plus, we were all wielding wooden swords. Reiko had handed me one too.

“Okay, Reiko, you stay on the lookout. Mine, Aral, go to the guard station and let them know a man came to us and threatened to sell us to slavers. Make sure you give them the name of our business and talk to an officer. I’m going to the Industry Guild to make the same report, then to the Goneshell Trading Company to see if this was done on their orders.”

“Roger that!”

“Okay! We’re off then!”

“What...? N-No! Stop! Don’t go! Nooo!!!”

But Mine and Aral had already taken off.

“H-Hmph! No one will believe a bunch of orphans like you! All I need to do is say that I refused to obey your demands to pay you, then you made up a story to set me up. Then you’ll be the ones who will get arrested, not me...”

Yup, it was that familiar pattern again. But...

“Well, we’re not a bunch of orphans who are living here illegally as you claim. We paid big money to buy this place, and we’ve done the proper paperwork and got permission from the lord of the territory to run this business. We’ve joined the Industry Guild too... Also, me and Reiko here are fifteen, making us adults,” I replied, then continued before he could interject.

“In other words, you’re a heinous criminal who barged in here and made unreasonable demands upon a legitimate business, got mad when we refused, then threatened to sell two adult women and two children into slavery. I’ll be asking the guards to question you in detail to find out whether you were working under the orders of the Goneshell Trading Company and its chairman when you did all that.”

“What...?”

Is that all this guy can say...?

“N-No, please! If you do that, the chairman will...”

Not my problem!

He was looking real pale, but this couldn’t have been a complete surprise for him. This was just the result of his own actions, all of which he had undertaken of his own free will. He had no reason to be shaken or regretful.

If we really had just been a bunch of orphans, he probably would have taken advantage of us by force. He had taken a risk and now it had turned against him. What use was there in whining about it? His loss was due to his own lack of knowledge and ability. No one would take him seriously if he cried about the loss afterward.

Information spread slowly in this world, and it tended to change drastically in the process, so you had to be careful. This sort of thing is what happened when you didn’t do your due diligence and instead decided to do stupid things based on your own misconceptions. It wasn’t as if everyone needed to know everything. Even if one didn’t have constant access to the latest news, they could make steady profits as long as they worked earnestly.

Put simply, if you were going to take a risk instead of putting in honest work, you needed information and analytical capabilities. This was the result of getting greedy without the skills to back it up.

“Okay, I’m going now!”

I left the screaming merchant behind and headed to the Industry Guild and then to the Goneshell Trading Company. At each place, I went to the counter and shouted at the top of my lungs:

“Excuse me! I’m from Little Silver! A clerk from the Goneshell Trading Company barged into our business, made unreasonable demands, then threatened to sell us to slavers! Is this standard practice for members of the Industry Guild? I sent a runner to the guards to report this, by the way!”

Yeah, that made pandemonium break out at both places. Then, since I didn’t want to get stopped and made to answer a bunch of annoying questions, I fled quickly afterward. I didn’t want to leave Reiko to deal with the guards all by herself, so I had to get back to her soon.

Afterward, we got visited by another merchant and a local thug, for a total of two more attempted shakedowns, but that was the end of it. The merchant must have heard about us through his network. Maybe the Industry Guild had made some sort of move. Although it was pretty much just a small-time merchant’s association in a rural town, they couldn’t just overlook something like that...

I was also impressed that the thugs had caught wind of the news. Though, even among thugs and criminals, there must have been some orphans or people who had been taken care of at the orphanage when it was still around. So, some of them had to be opposed to the idea of messing with a business that was actively helping orphans.

In any case... We, Little Silver, had succeeded in fortifying our social standing here among the other merchants, the general population, and even in the community of thugs. No one would try to mess with us now, unless they were exceptionally stupid or confident in their abilities... Not in an obvious way, anyway.

We weren’t valuable enough for anyone to take a risk coming after us quite yet.

No, not “yet.”