In a certain room of a certain house, there were two men.

'What did the lord say?

'He's leaving it to you.

'It's great that you trust us, but it's not easy to live up to that trust.

'But if you do so and make a good record, he will give you a knighthood like me. I was a commoner's maid, and now I'm a knight?　It still seems like a dream.

'I'm the son of a nobleman who helped the rebellion, and they're hiring me, I'm so grateful I'm crying.

You can probably guess who's who in this conversation, Ayn of the Dark Serpent Squad and Mulder, the manager of Bath Nakes.

'You can't measure the size of a lord's heart, you know. Sometimes it gets a little small, though.'
Ein said,

'You're talking about Mirko-dono, right?　I'm sorry to hear that, but it's Mirko-dono's fault for flirting in the carriage to the point of irritating the lord.
Mulder said, laughing.

'Oh well. So, back to the matter at hand, how do we manage the stores?

'It's good that we have more stores, but there are too many for me to keep track of them all by myself. For the time being, I'll take care of the main store and branches in the capital, but I think it would be better to assign four branch managers in the east, west, south, and north to manage them.

Currently, there are three Bath Nakes in the capital and 20 in the kingdom outside the capital. They are mainly located in the territories of dukes, marquises and counts, and there will be more.

If that's the case, shall we do the same with the Dark Serpent and have it surveyed region by region? I'm sure they won't do it, but there's no guarantee that the person who became the branch chief won't betray us by selling information to other houses.''

'Well, I am indebted to the lord, but the others are not as indebted as I am.'

'Contact me when you've decided on a candidate, and I'll reexamine.

'Yes. If you borrow money from an unknown source and are in debt, you might sell the information.

'If you lived modestly, you wouldn't have to borrow money.

'When you're young, you tend to be vain, pay tribute to women, and use alcohol to cover up unpleasant things.

'I'm still young, but I'm not vain.

I'm still young, but I'm not vain.' As the lord said, alcohol, money, and women are the three most important elements that can destroy a man, though I'm sure Lord Ein is fine. It's my job to keep that in check and gather information.

'I should contribute to the manor and reassure the family as soon as possible. Your wife is still a little scared of you, isn't she?

'Well, you know, on the estate, well, the former estate. I was there, so I saw the lord's battle firsthand, but my wife also comes from a noble family and knows what happens to noble families that go under.

'The nobles were able to get by because they were working in the position of nobility, but when they became commoners, they almost fell into debt slavery.

'Yeah, I'm happy that I can live a normal life with a small house. Besides, the lord is very generous to those who swear allegiance to him.
As I said this, there was a knock at the door,

'What is it?'
Mulder said, and the door opened,

'Dinner's ready. There's one for you too, Mr. Ein. My daughter will be waiting.
Mulder's wife entered the room and said.

'Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry to be a frequent guest.
Ayn bowed to Mulder's wife,

'No, no, my daughter Sarah asks me every day when you're coming, so you're always welcome.
He said with a smile.
Yes, Mulder's daughter has been asking him that too. When will you be here again?

Mulder's daughter is fourteen.

She's probably, no, definitely in love with Ayn.
He's a bachelor and a nobleman with a knighthood.
He's younger than Mulder, but he's also Mulder's boss in a way. Ayn would deny it, but Mulder thinks so.

(What would be my position if my boss and my daughter got married?

Mulder's depression will continue for a while.