CH 214

Words : 1066 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

I Gave Nick His Salary “Oh, I better prepare that as well.” While on my way to the drawing room, I remembered that I had something to give to Nick, and so I returned to my room. Once I was sure that I had it right, I took it and went to the drawing room. “Brother! Long time no see!” “Hello, Nick.” As I hadn’t seen Nick since going to Range village, it had indeed been awhile. His hair seemed to have grown a little…so he wasn’t completely bald. …It sort of made him look like those highschool students who play baseball… Well, maybe not that young. “Here, Mr. Takumi.” “Thank you. Here you go, Nick.” “Aye!” Ms. Gelda had been waiting with the bag of herbs. I took it from her and passed it to Nick. “Also…here.” “…Money…? What am I to do with it?” I gave Nick the gold, silver and bronze coins that I had brought from my room. However, Nick didn’t understand why I was giving it to him. “Well, you’ve been working very hard. This is your salary. …Though, I deducted the advance I gave you last time.” “…Salary… But…it’s so much!” It was nearly a month since Nick started working for me, so I thought I better pay him properly now. While he seemed to be working seriously, I needed to show him that he would be paid, or he might run away. …Well, I didn’t want to create a situation like my old company. Overworked and underpaid… As for the amount, I had decided it after discussing it with Sebastian. “I don’t know if it is that much, but let’s just say that I expect you to continue to work hard.” “If I am being paid this much… Brother, thank you! I’ll stay forever!” “No, I’d rather you didn’t go that far…” A few gold, silver and bronze coins. According to Sebastian, it was a little higher than the average salary in Ractos. Leaving that for now… “I’ve also deducted the taxes already, so you can use this amount freely. As long as it isn’t anything disreputable.” “Even the taxes…and there is so much left… I know. I will save up what I don’t use for living expenses! Mr. Kalis has taught me the importance of saving money.” “I see.” It seemed like Mr. Kalis was teaching Nick to save his money. Regardless of how much he was getting paid, you never know what might happen. So it would not hurt to save up. While I had said that I had deducted the taxes, I had actually paid it separately. It was when paying my own taxes that I realized that I had to calculate it separately and… It wasn’t that I did them together because I was lazy or anything. Yes. In fact, Sebastian said that I didn’t have to pay taxes, but since they were letting me stay at the mansion, and as long as I was living in this world, I wanted to pay it. Besides, I was making more than I thought by selling herbs… And my savings continued to increase, even after buying the wine barrels. It was almost a little frightening, since I had been nothing but a humble commoner before. Speaking of this world…well, the duke’s lands, you were supposed to pay a fixed percentage from your salary as taxes. There were no other kinds of taxes, like consumption taxes or fixed property taxes, and so you only needed to pay income taxes to be recognized as a citizen… That made things a lot easier to understand. Though, there was a toll you had to pay when entering the lands of other nobles, which was about two or three silver… And it was only one way, so you could go back for free. With income taxes, you could choose to calculate it yourself, or have it deducted from your salary. I suppose if you didn’t trust your employer, you might want to do it yourself. Not only that, but no matter how much you earn, the tax rate is the same… It was impressive that they were able to run things like this. I suppose it was proof of how good Mr. Ekenhard was with his business. Perhaps other nobles had much higher tax rates. “Now, please deliver this to Mr. Kalis’s store.” “Aye. I will do that. Leave it to me! Later!” Nick had been moved close to tears after accepting his salary, and he was in good spirits as picked up the bag and headed back to Ractos. After seeing him go, it was time for lunch. I enjoyed Ms. Helena’s cooking, which was as good as always, and once I was full, one of the butlers entered the dining hall. “Excuse me… Mr. Sebastian…” “Yes… What is it? …I see. I will go right away.” The butler had whispered something into Sebstian’s ear and then left the room. “Excuse me, something has called for my attention. …I’m terribly sorry, but I think you should stay here for a while longer.” “…What is it, Sebastian?” Sebastian addressed the room in this way, but Ms. Claire was curious as to what had happened. “A messenger has arrived from His Grace. …But considering the distance from the main house, it is too soon…” “Father? I see.” Apparently, there would be a message from Mr. Ekenhart. If I remember correctly, it was about a week on horseback. So a round trip would take two weeks… While Mr. Ekenhart had been contacted about the glass sphere, it had not been that long ago, even if it was before Sebastian arrived in Range village. So it was too soon. What could this mean? “Why would Mr. Ekenhart contact you so early…” “Indeed… I do not know. Father is very impulsive… Something must have happened.” I asked Ms. Claire, but she also did not seem to know. Leo would be able to make the trip in much less time, but he certainly did not have a comparable method of transportation… How could such distance be covered in so little time… Impulsive… Yes, he certainly appeared to be that way. But I doubt he could have thought of some revolutionary way to travel.

CH 214

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