Roland had come to the quest reception desk to get the personnel Lange wanted.


    He said, "Ah. Mr. Roland. Welcome.


    The young receptionist, who had previously treated me with arrogance, looked completely horrified and treated me with more condescension than necessary.


    I was sitting in a chair, but she took the trouble to get up and bow to me.


    She had been like this ever since Roland became the representative of the "Arsenal of Spirits.


    Lilianne pressured me not to disrespect Roland.


    The receptionist visited Roland in a panic with her boss and apologized.


    Although the "Guardian of the Magic Tree" was not as good as the "Golden Eagle," it was still a big customer, and the quest office could not afford to lose it.


    The receptionist apologized for getting carried away, even though it was a request from "The Golden Eagle," and since then she has been treating me with a completely apologetic attitude.


    Her apology was so desperate that Roland was almost afraid of her.


    What can I do for you today?


    Well, today I''m looking for five people with a B or higher in the skill "Ore Mining" and five people with a C or higher in the skill "Item Storage.


    I will be in touch with you soon. Please wait a moment.


    She flipped through the files with uncommon speed, looking for alchemists and item storers who met Roland''s requirements.


    There are five of you, sir, with the skill ''Item Holding C.''"


    Then arrange for an interview right away."


    Yes, sir.


    She sloppily fills out the paperwork.


    How about ''Mining''?"


    I''m not sure what to do. I am sorry. There are currently no positions available for B or above in the "Mining and Mining" department.


    She came to me apologizing flatly.


    She apologized flatly, "Oh, no, it can''t be helped if you''re not here. Raise your head. You don''t have to go that far.


    Roland was surprised and won her over.


    After that, she went beyond polite to humble in her attitude toward the customer.


    (But I''m weak. We can''t fulfill Lange''s request unless we have five people from "Mining and Mining B.


    (After all, when it comes to "Mining B" personnel, there are rarely any freelance workers, right?)


    As Roland left the quest reception desk and walked around, worrying about procuring personnel, the night was already falling on the town.


    The stores were lit up and everyone was stopping by the bars after work.


    (It''s been a while since I''ve been to a bar.)


    Roland recalled that when he was an adventurer, he always exchanged information and got hints for his adventures at the bar.


    He went through the western door of the tavern for the first time in a long time.


    Then, he bumped into someone from the alchemy guild with whom he had a chance to communicate during his "Golden Hawk" days.


    Isn''t that you, Mr. Roland?


    Mr. Zens. It''s been a long time.


    They hadn''t seen each other in a long time and decided to have a drink at the table together to renew old friendships.


    I was wondering if Roland-san is no longer a member of the Gilded Eagle?


    Yes, I am. I am ashamed to say that I have been expelled.


    I see. Then I have no problem complaining to you about Lucius.


    Combined with the momentum of the alcohol, Zens began to vent his frustration with Lucius.


    He said, "Not at all. I can''t stand it. First he wants us to deliver iron A for 200 gold, and then he wants us to suspend the smelters who can make ''earthcraft. And now they want us to make the finest wedding gifts out of silversmithing.


    Silversmithing?


    I heard that a high ranking member of a noble family is going to hold a silversmithing competition to commemorate his bride-to-be. He wants me to make a piece of work to exhibit there. Well, in short, I guess they want to use us to curry favor with the aristocrats. How in the world can they expect us to produce the finest silversmiths when they shut out high-class smelters?


    Zensu stirred up the ale in an untenable manner.


    (Is Lucius making such reckless demands? It''s tough, isn''t it, Mr. Zensu? (Even though it''s the biggest alchemy guild in this city.)


    Roland involuntarily felt sorry for him.


    It''s a big mess at the scene," he said. You know that, don''t you, Mr. Roland?　How much money does it cost to rank up a skill?"


    Yes, of course.


    Skills, once acquired, don''t deteriorate easily, but it costs a good deal of money to improve a skill.


    Zensu must have made a reasonable up-front investment to improve the skills of his craftsmen, but all of the costs will be borne by Zensu''s guild and will not be borne by Lucius in any way.


    Right now, someone under Lucius'' command is monitoring our kiln," he said. The "ore refiner B" and above, who can refine "earthcraft," are not allowed to approach the kiln. Even refiners who were close to acquiring "Ore Refining A" are not allowed to train at all. By the time they came back, they had to start all over again."


    (Lucius is a Lucius too. No matter how many dungeons were snatched away by the "Guardian of the Magic Tree". (How can he tighten his grip like this on the alchemists of the guilds under his control?)


    Roland began to feel more and more sorry for Zens.


    Then a good idea came to him.


    Oh, yes. Mr. Zens. If you don''t mind, would you like to buy some of the iron we make?　I don''t mind paying 100 gold for Iron A. That way, even 200 gold would be profitable, wouldn''t it?


    100 gold for iron A?　That would be very helpful, but, no, but are you sure?　For that price."


    Yes, it''s nice that you made it, but, holla, that guy Lukius controls the alchemy-related market, doesn''t he? So, it''s been sitting in a warehouse, salted away, with no one to buy it.


    I see. No, but it''s kind of bad. We are on Lucius'' side, too.


    I''m sorry to say this, but would you be willing to transfer five staff members from "Ore Mining B" and above to our company?　Of course, we will hold your salary.


    I''m not sure what you mean by that. I wouldn''t mind that at all.


    Zens had just been squeezed out of refining by Lucius, and he was having trouble deciding what to do with his mining staff.


    ''Then it''s settled,'' he said. Yes, it is. How about if the smelters who are under house arrest are transferred to our company as well? We will take care of refining materials for iron A and silversmithing.


    No, of course I wish that. But is that really necessary?


    Yes, but could you please make sure that Lucius doesn''t find out about this?　Right now, I''m being watched by Lucius, and if he finds out that I''m being subcontracted by Mr. Zens, I think it will be bad for both of us.


    Hm. I see.


    （There''s something going on.)


    Even the quintessential Zens realized that there was more to Roland''s story.


    However, even Zens did not expect that there was someone in the "Arsenal of Spirits" who could refine 100 pieces of "Earthcraft" per month by himself.


    Besides, now was not the time to be picking and choosing means.


    If he didn''t do something, his workshop would be saddled with tremendous costs, he would have to fire a large number of employees, and if he did it badly, he would go bankrupt.


    I understand. Let''s do everything according to Mr. Roland.


    They decided to meet tomorrow at some secluded place and work out the details.


    After leaving the bar, Roland felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.


    (Whew! I think I''ve got a good idea of where we''re going to get the manpower. We can handle the inventory, and now we can improve Lange''s management skills.)


    Roland had to be careful to continue to hone not only Aryeh''s but Lange''s skills as well.


    There was an urgent need to procure staff to develop and maintain his management skills.


    (The more people you hire, the more things you have to think about, totally.)


    With the procurement of personnel in hand and the pressure relieved, Roland began to think about his next move, a plan to give Lukius another shot in the arm.


    Roland stopped by a weapons shop that was open at night.


    Currently, most of the alchemists'' guilds are under the control of Lucius, so all the weapons in the stores in town were made by alchemists under Lucius'' control.


    (Cheap.)


    I thought as I looked at the goods.


    All of them were unbelievably cheap, and no matter how hard I tried, the "Arsenal of Spirits" would not be able to make weapons cheaper than this.


    (I suppose it could be that Lucius is buying them cheap, but I guess there is a big difference in capital and scale.)


    If you order a large quantity of items at one time, you get a discount.


    The alchemy guilds would also be able to use the large amount of cash they received to staff and equip themselves to make their products even more cheaply.


    The 10 alchemy guilds under Lucius have a total of over 500 talented alchemists assigned to them.


    Every day, these over 500 alchemists compete to find the cheapest way to make weapons in large quantities and supply them to the market.


    On the other hand, there are only two people in Roland''s workshop.


    Even if he were to procure a staff this time, he would still have less than 20 people.


    (This is no way to compete, no matter how hard you try to stand on your head.)


    In fact, Lilianne could only buy "earthcraft" from Roland, and when it came to ordinary weapons, she had to buy them from the alchemy guild under Lucius.


    Roland thinks.


    Roland wondered how he could compete with Lucius.


    (The "Guardian of the Magic Tree" would not necessarily order "Earthcraft" forever. ) "We have to go head-to-head in this field of weapons sooner or later," Roland said. But the size and capital are too different, so there is no way to win in a price war. The only way to do this is to create weapons that fill the gaps in the market that the guilds under the Lucius umbrella cannot create. We have to make one product that stands out from the crowd. To do so, we can''t do it with just our current staff. No matter how high the quality of the product, we cannot create the only one. We need to find staff with more idiosyncratic skills (......)


    As Roland walks down the path back to his room, thinking, he sees a girl selling flowers.


    She is talking to people on the street in a faint voice, sounding unsure of herself.


    Her voice is awkward and clearly not suited for a flower seller.


    Excuse me, sir. ......, sir.


    She tries to call out to a man on the street with flowers, but he doesn''t even notice the girl and quickly walks away.


    The girl nods in frustration.


    (Poor girl. Nothing in life is sadder than being forced to do a job you''re not cut out for.)


    Roland suddenly decided to appraise her skills.


    Her skills were as follows.


    Silversmithing" B to S


    Product Development D to A


    Product Design E to A


    Spiritual Addition" A to S


    Roland gulped.


    (Nope. Silversmithing, product development, and product design all have potentials above A!　No, more importantly, what is this "spirit addition"?　I have never seen or heard of such a skill. (This means it''s a unique skill!)


    Roland uses "Appraisal" to display a detailed explanation of "Spirit Addition.


    Spirit Addition."


    A skill that traps spirits in gold and silver jewelry.


    It is especially common to trap them in silver.


    The gold and silver jewel in which the spirit is trapped will have a special effect.


    Hey, you.


    Yes?"


    Roland unexpectedly calls out to the flower vendor girl.


    The girl who turned around was an elf girl with flowing silver hair, deep green eyes, and pointed ears.