--This is how we, the White Wolf Knights, will welcome two new knights.

　Silver Wing (Garnet), Rainbow Rainbow Scales (Hild), Purple Joint (Mark), Blue Peacock (Sophia) and Golden Fang (Lionel).

　If you add in the Knights of the Dragon King, who have already declared that they will not be sent for the time being, then half of the existing twelve Knights have expressed their attitude and the other half have yet to respond.

　Should I say it's still half, or should I say the other half?

　Personally, I'm in the latter mood.
　Even though it's a knighthood, or a new knighthood, I thought that considering the time it takes to prepare, it would be a long time before the full-scale activities would begin.

　And yet, I noticed that nearly half of the knights who are scheduled to be dispatched have already arrived.

　I just showed Sir Lionel to his base just now, and even though that base isn't all completed yet--





　--that is, the work of the weapon shop will also be done without delay.

　It's true that the organization of the Knights is progressing faster than expected, but as a matter of fact, the busyness itself is even better than the days of the Demon King's War.

　The main role assigned to the White Wolf Knights is to mediate between the adventurers exploring the dungeon and the royal palace and other knights.

　The only time we get busy is when an adventurer makes a new discovery or a decision is made by the palace, as in the case of Roy and his team reaching a realm deeper than the Demon King's Castle Realm.

　Although we have been ordered to conduct various other investigations, they are based on the results of adventurers' explorations, so it's difficult to make significant progress without new reports coming in.

　That's why I can usually focus on the White Wolf Store too - at least for now.

'...... Hey, manager. That guy's really been sitting around for a while now, can we just leave him alone?

　In between the usual customer service, Erica sneaks an earful to me.

　Out of the corner of my eye that I threw a sideways glance, a plainclothes-clad Sir Sophia was sitting on a chair behind the accounting counter, leisurely looking through a stack of documents.

　Probably using [Speed Reading] or a similar skill, the time spent reading one sheet is surprisingly short, even though she doesn't seem to be in an extreme hurry to get ahead of herself.

'...... I see. ...... Here's another good one: ......'

　The reason why he goes out of his way to work behind the counter is because he wants to get it done where I, the person in charge, can see it.

　It's a position that isn't very visible from inside the store, but even so, it's not completely hidden, so every once in a while a regular customer notices the presence of an unknown woman and tilts her head in wonderment.

　Incidentally, he has yet to reveal to anyone other than the Knights' officials that Green Hollow and the surrounding area is about to be allocated as a territory.

　Since we're still waiting for a response to our inquiries, there are many problems with leaking information to people outside the Order.

''In a manner of speaking, I heard that's part of their official duties too: ......
I didn't really understand what it was all about, but I'd like to know what it's all about: ......, Alexia, you're back.

　Sophia, who was not paying attention to her surroundings, was approached by Alexia, who had returned from the back of the store and was trudging up to her with a large gait.

　In her hand she held a thick document roughly bundled together.

''Well, was it Sir Sophia of the Peacock Knights?　That's all the paperwork you want. Every inch of the budget procurement for product development will be blank. Is that satisfactory?
'The Order of the Blue Peacock. As you say, the funding for the weapons development seems to be quite sound. Thank you for your time.

　In response to Alexia, who seemed to be in a state of bewilderment, Sophia responded to her with her calm demeanor.

　While sneaking a glance at it, she explained to Erica again the purpose of Sophia's visit this time.

''Our store had a lot of business with the Golden Fang Knights as well, right?　Including a request from the Order to develop a weapon. He wanted to make sure there wasn't any strange money flowing in the process.
Oh ...... money that the common people could live with playing with, you were gunning from right to left ......

　The explanation Sophia received earlier was full of petty expressions, so when I rephrased it as plainly as possible, this time Erica seemed to understand it right away as well.

　The mithril products I make, the various magic tools made by Noir's company, and the weapons and tools created by Alexia's skillful technology.

　All of them are ordered by the Golden Fang Knights, and the unit price is also reasonable.

　I'm sure the Blue Peacock Knights, who are tasked with auditing, had no choice but to check once to see if there was any illicit movement of funds.

　Of course we can proudly claim our innocence.

　I'd like to have them check it out once and get their approval that there are no problems.

Thank you for your cooperation. I need to fill out some paperwork, so may I borrow your space for a while longer?
Be my guest.

　Alexia replied for me and came right back to us.

'This is why it's so hard to deal with the higher-ups (Kami). This time it was a job under the name of the shop, so it's still fine, but if it was a job I took on personally, I would have to prepare all the paperwork alone ......

　As if she was getting distracted by herself, Alexia cut off her words in the middle and shook her head.

　The majority of the documents that Sophia was looking through were the ones that Noir had finished with her [Quick Writing] skills.

　If she could even handle that task on her own, it would already require a great deal of effort.

''Well, as much as it's hard work, the benefits are also great. ...... Oops, right. Luke, to change the subject drastically, do you plan on hiring new staff?
That's a bit of a jump. You got someone you want to introduce to me?　Or maybe it's just getting harder and harder to keep the store running.
I don't have a specific person in mind. I just thought of Noir when I heard about the paperwork.

　Alexia continued to speak as she put her hand over her mouth.

''You've been complaining lately that it's getting harder and harder to balance the work of making magic tools with customer service work. You said it's hard because you can't outsource some of it like I can.
I've heard that too. I've been trying to find out if we can hire other people who can use their magic tool making skills, but I'm not getting anywhere.
Then I thought, conversely, why not hire more customer service staff and have Noir concentrate on manufacturing? But of course, my own wishes come first.
I see. ......

　It's certainly one of the options that seems to work.

　The demand for the magic tools that Noir was working on was growing.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this, but I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

...... I'm sure it will inevitably be the next best thing to stopping, but if you can't seem to find anyone who can make magic tools, it looks like it would be a good idea to try that as a temporary measure.

　As I was discussing this and that with Alexia about the store's personnel, I suddenly felt the door to the store's entrance open and someone walked in.

'Welcome ...... ah what, Natalia?'
'Good morning, Manager Luke. May I have a moment of your time?

　There was Natalia, the manager of the Hollow Bottom branch of the White Wolf Store, who was there.