Chapter 85

The 6th Net Novel Grand Prize has been awarded, and it will be published as a book by Takarajima Publishing.

I am grateful for the many congratulatory messages I received in the activity report comments.

Thank you.

Ricardo and his companions returned to the capital.

Tania, back at the Magician's Guild, entered her laboratory and spread out the Great Magic System by Sage Manuel. This Great Magic System is a copy that Tania transcribed from the one in the library.

"It's not here. As expected, it's not recorded."

The spell for the "True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet" that Ricardo taught her used an unfamiliar system word. When she confirmed with Ricardo, he said it was an unannounced system word for a composite magic.

Tania was surprised by this. Even more surprising was that the new system word was not even listed in the Great Magic System.

Sage Manuel wrote that not all magic words are recorded in the Great Magic System, but no one had discovered a new magic word until now.

Tania went to Ricardo's laboratory.

"Hey, where did you discover the magic word 'Amval'?"

Ricardo looked troubled.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say. It's a promise I made to the Crown Prince."

"The Crown Prince is involved... It's frustrating, but I guess there's nothing I can do. ...Are you going to publish it as a paper?"

"I don't plan to publish it for a while. So, please chant the spell in a low voice."

When aspiring magicians start learning magic, they are told to chant spells loudly and clearly. This is because it makes the magic easier to activate.

However, as they become more skilled, they can activate magic even when chanting softly. Therefore, those who chant spells loudly are considered beginners.

"Of course. I'm a researcher at the Refinement Bureau, you know."

"I'm sorry. I said too much."

Tania thought that if Ricardo had so easily taught her a new magic word, there might be more than one.

"By the way, is this the only magic word you discovered?"

Ricardo smiled.

"Anything more is a secret."

Tania looked disappointed and dropped her shoulders.

"Right. I shouldn't expect you to tell me."

When Tania returned to her laboratory, Ricardo wrote a report and an expense report, attached the ears of the bicorn armored bear as proof of the hunt, and handed them to the administrative officer of the Hunt Bureau. The reward would be paid after the expenses were checked.

The officer, a woman in her early twenties, looked surprised when Ricardo handed over the documents and the ears.

"You're from the Refinement Bureau, right? You've already hunted it?"

When Ricardo asked why she was surprised, it turned out she thought he hadn't gone on the hunt yet because he hadn't gone through the procedure to hire a monster hunter.

When hiring a monster hunter, the contract must be made through the administrative officer of the Hunt Bureau.

"We didn't need a monster hunter. Instead, I got help from a colleague at the Refinement Bureau and a friend at the Miscellaneous Affairs Bureau. Is that okay?"

"You didn't hire a monster hunter... Just a moment."

While Ricardo waited, she brought the head of the Hunt Bureau, Cismund.

"Hey, you're the one who took down the bicorn armored bear with just magicians?"

"Yes, I am."

"You took a dangerous risk. Not having a tank is unacceptable. Are you taking the Hunt Bureau's job lightly!"

Cismund, the head of the bureau, knew how dangerous monster hunting could be and came to lecture Ricardo after hearing from the administrative officer that he had gone on the hunt with just magicians.

"I knew it was dangerous. That's why I prepared a magic cannon staff for this mission."

"What? A magic cannon staff... The opponent was a bicorn armored bear. A magic cannon staff wouldn't even slow it down."

Cismund, who was part of the royal faction and promoted the use of magic cannon staffs, apparently still thought they were not practical.

"It's a newly developed magic cannon staff. While it couldn't take down the bicorn armored bear, it could slow it down."

"Newly developed magic cannon staff?"

"Magic cannon staff technology is advancing rapidly. I'm sure you've heard about how Prince Aurelio used a magic cannon staff developed by the Emilia Workshop to defeat a pig-headed demon."

"But that magic cannon staff can't be obtained without Prince Aurelio's approval."

"The new magic cannon staff is not just Prince Aurelio's. Researchers at the Refinement Bureau are also developing them."

Tania's developed magic cannon staff was planned to be published as a paper, so it was fine to tell Cismund. Tania's research was officially registered with the Refinement Bureau and funded.

"Ryuben, if you were developing something like that, you should have reported it to the Hunt Bureau."

Cismund, the head of the bureau, muttered under his breath. Ricardo gave him a cold look, thinking that such weapons should be developed by the Refinement Bureau at the request of the Hunt Bureau.

It seemed that the position of bureau head was determined by the power dynamics of factions, with little consideration for actual ability.

After getting Cismund to understand, Ricardo returned to his laboratory, tidied up, and went home.

"Brother Ricardo, you're back."

Pamela, who was playing in the yard, ran over to Ricardo. He picked her up and spun her around. This was Pamela's favorite thing.

Pamela's delighted laughter echoed, and Monta and Serge also came over.

"Next time, me too," "And Monta too."

For a while, he played with his younger brother and sister, and Monta, who pulled him to the place where he had planted the corn tree seeds, boasted.

"Look, it's grown bigger."

Monta seemed happy that the corn tree had grown, and he boasted about it every day. The corn tree grew incredibly fast, already exceeding 130 centimeters. In return, it needed a lot of fertilizer, and he had been giving it a lot of compost bought from the farm.

"Monta's tree is amazing."

Monta puffed out his chest, looking adorable.

Hearing the commotion, Antonio came out to the yard.

"Ricardo, I need to talk to you about hiring new employees for the breeding facility. Do you have time?"

"Let's talk in my room."

"Aww, can we play more?"

Telling Pamela "later," Ricardo went to Antonio's room.

Antonio's room had the same layout as Ricardo's, but it felt larger. While Ricardo's room was not messy, it was cluttered with books and magic tools, making it feel cramped. In contrast, Antonio's room was well-organized, giving it a spacious feel.

Antonio sat in a chair, and Ricardo sat on the bed.

"Today, I met with Bernaldo and discussed the orphans in the slums."

Antonio had heard from Micol and others that there were dozens of orphans living in the slums and consulted with Bernaldo.

"Bernaldo said that while it's easy to take in the orphans, there aren't enough people to educate and teach them jobs."

"That's true. The Unius breeding facility already has eight orphans. To find someone who can educate them..."

Simple laborers could be gathered by Bernaldo and the nearby villages. However, the only ones who could provide the necessary education for the orphans were Antonio and Ricardo.

The workers at the breeding facility, like Dario, were also studying, but they were not yet at a level where they could teach others.

Ricardo felt something nagging at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"What's wrong?"

Antonio, concerned about Ricardo's silence, asked.

"While thinking about the personnel, something nagged at me, but I can't remember what it is."

Suddenly, he remembered the young servants working as pages at the Magician's Guild.

"That's it. The pages working at the Magician's Guild."

Ricardo explained about the pages to Antonio.

"But aren't those pages trying hard to become magicians?"

Antonio asked, and Ricardo nodded.

"Yes, but they can still study at the breeding facility. If we offer to teach them magic as part of their compensation, they might come. I'll check with them tomorrow."

"There's no need to rush. Even if we take in the orphans, we don't have a place for them to live. We might need to observe the orphans' situation a bit more."

At this point, Bernaldo and Ricardo were underestimating the situation of the orphans living in the slums.

The next day, Antonio and Ricardo asked Micol and others for more details. They learned that the orphans' situation was dire.

Winter was hell for the orphans. It was difficult to obtain food, and in the slums with poor heating, several orphans died from hunger and cold.

Afterward, Ricardo and Antonio went to Bernaldo's shop to discuss the orphans' situation.

"I see. If we don't do something before winter, some of the orphans will die. It's a serious situation."

Antonio, with a serious expression, asked.

"Can't we do something to help the orphans?"

Bernaldo, after some thought, replied.

"If it's just the orphans, we can take them in and protect them in the work sheds we built."

"Really?"

"But, from what I've heard, not just the orphans, but other residents of the slums might also die."

Ricardo and Antonio looked grim.

They had a vague sense that life in the slums was harsh. They now understood that even a minor illness could lead to death. However, they knew it was impossible for them to help all the residents of the slums.

"...If the slum residents had jobs during the winter, their lives might improve a bit."

Hearing Bernaldo's suggestion, Ricardo thought about jobs for the winter. Winter was the season when agricultural work, which required the most labor, came to a halt. The only remaining work was civil engineering, but the king had increased the royal budget and reduced the budget for land development.

Curious about what the increased royal budget was being used for, Bernaldo investigated.

"The royal events are becoming more lavish and grand."

Antonio tilted his head.

"What are royal events?"

"New Year's parties, Prince Aurelio's triumphal parties, and so on. Another reason for the increase in the royal budget is the extravagance of the queen and the king's mistresses."

The king seemed to prefer women with a penchant for extravagance.

Moreover, the funds obtained from leasing the Parente coal mine were partly used for Prince Aurelio's military expenses, and the rest went to paying off the royal family's debts.

The royal family borrowed money from the four major merchants about two months before the end of the fiscal year.

Incidentally, the royal family had a vast fortune. The loans were taken out due to a temporary shortage of operating funds and were repaid annually after tax collection.

The merchants who could lend money to the royal family were limited to the four major merchant families. Ordinary merchants could be made to write off their loans by the royal family's power, but the four major merchant families had business foundations not only in the royal domain but also in other noble territories and countries. If the royal family betrayed them, they had the capability to sell the loan contracts to other countries.

Ricardo felt angry that the royal family was borrowing money from merchants in their own country and still living extravagantly, but upon reflection, it was similar to Japan. Despite having a huge debt, the country still couldn't control unnecessary spending.

Thinking about this, a sigh involuntarily escaped Ricardo's lips.

"Ah, politicians and bureaucrats are the same everywhere."

Bernaldo looked at Ricardo curiously.

"Ricardo, are you familiar with the internal affairs of other countries?"

Realizing he had unconsciously compared it to Japan, Ricardo hurriedly replied.

"No, it's knowledge I learned from books."

Ricardo recalled the theory of economist Keynes that he had studied in his student days. The theory suggested that during a recession when unemployment increased, the government could carry out public works to escape the recession.

While he remembered it vaguely and it might not apply to the current situation, he thought it might be possible to create jobs for the slum residents.

However, the royal family didn't have the resources for public works.

Ricardo had some assets, but not enough to undertake a large-scale public works project. So, he consulted with Bernaldo.

"Creating jobs for the slum residents... Hmm, interesting."

Bernaldo seemed interested, but Antonio was worried.

"But there are hundreds of residents in the slums."

Bernaldo, with a serious expression, thought.

"That's true... Among them, there are also those who make a living from theft and other crimes. Perhaps there are 200 to 300 people looking for agricultural work."

"The breeding facility needs more hands, but five would be enough."

Bernaldo also agreed with Antonio.

"My place could use about ten... And..."

According to Bernaldo, there were some residents in the slums with poor conduct, so if they were to choose regular employees, it would be better to select diligent and honest young people from nearby villages.

Additionally, the labor force from the slums was relied upon by farms during the busy agricultural season, so if Ricardo and the others created jobs that took away this labor force, the farms would be in trouble.

"Jobs only for the winter. That's difficult."

The three of them brainstormed and discussed, but they couldn't come up with a good idea. In the end, they decided to purchase a large piece of land and request the slum residents to convert it into farmland as a substitute for public works.

Of course, this would be a seasonal job during the agricultural off-season, so it wouldn't affect the farm labor force.

They planned to plant Monta's corn tree on the newly created farmland.

"But, how much land should we buy?"

Currently, the coastal land where the breeding facility was located was about 30 hectares owned by Ricardo and about 50 hectares owned by Bernaldo. There were also other merchants who had purchased 50 hectares of land and were using it as a breeding facility for magical trees, but there was still a vast expanse of undeveloped land.

"How about buying all the coastal land stretching to the rocky mountains?"

Bernaldo proposed buying about 1000 hectares of land. Ricardo wondered what they would do with so much land.

"Do we really need that much land?"

"No, no, the Unius breeding facility is attracting attention. Most merchants are still evaluating whether breeding magical trees is profitable. If it proves to be profitable, they will surely buy up the surrounding land."

Ricardo understood that this was a judgment based on his business acumen. However, he wondered if the king would sell such a vast amount of land.

"The king considers the coastal land to be worthless. It should be cheap now."

Bernaldo was confident, so Ricardo decided to leave it to him.

Antonio asked about something that was bothering him.

"Bernaldo, the other merchants must know that the Unius breeding facility is making a profit by selling the fruits of the Shuram tree, which is a catalyst. Why are they still evaluating it?"

"That's because the only place with the technology to grow the Shuram tree using magical trees is the Unius breeding facility. They are waiting for my breeding facility, which doesn't have such specialized technology, to succeed."

Bernaldo's breeding facility was preparing to raise the magical tree Trill by building a sturdy fence. They planned to start breeding the magical tree Trill in the spring, and if it succeeded, many would follow.