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Several days had passed since we heard about the estate, and now it was an afternoon in the office.
Inside the room, everyone was as busy as ever with their work.
Winter’s February was nearly over, and it was the season to begin preparations for spring.
There’s a lot to get done.
Furthermore, in addition to the usual crowd, there were many members of the 1st Unit of the Knight Order coming and going today.
With more citizens beginning to travel outside the city, the Knight Order would be getting busier too.
We were also reallocating personnel from the 2nd Unit, and Teresa was discussing something with them.
But while all that was happening elsewhere in the room, I was sitting at the table in the lounge area in the corner, having a completely unrelated conversation with Fiora.
“This one’s nice too, isn’t it?”
“Hmm… Then maybe I’ll go with that?”
On the table, Fiora had spread out materials on indoor-use magic tools, and she was explaining them to me as we looked them over together.
By the way, the page we were currently viewing was about lighting fixtures meant to hang on the wall.
The basic functionality was the same, but depending on the design, the light could either illuminate the entire room or just the area around it. It was quite interesting.
The one Fiora was recommending now was different from the rest—it was the type that only lit up directly below it.
There were plans to install several other lights in the room as well, all of which would be the indirect lighting type that illuminate the surrounding area.
Since it was a guest room, it wasn’t necessary to brighten the whole space.
Of course, there were also ceiling-mounted types available… but thinking about the maintenance, this one seemed better.
I nodded at her suggestion.
“Let’s go with these for all the guest rooms then, shall we? In that case, next is…”
After checking the box, Fiora moved on.
◇
The Müller family estate was planned to be built in the noble district of this city.
It had already been decided that I would become the master of the estate, but the actual design and construction of the house would be handled by a local workshop, so I didn’t need to do anything in particular myself.
That said, the start of construction was still a long way off, but we decided to proceed with whatever preparations we could make in advance.
After all, furnishings and magic tools can take time to gather.
So today, Fiora and I were having a meeting about the magic tools that would likely be installed in the estate.
For everyday-use magic tools and small items, you could just go directly to a local tools shop or workshop in town to purchase them.
Families of commoners who were a bit more financially stable might have one or two items in their homes—those were the kinds of people being targeted.
However, in cases like this planned estate where a large number of items would be needed all at once, orders were typically placed in bulk with a single workshop.
Well… it’s not like we’re talking hundreds of items, so if the workshop focused on production for a few months, they’d be able to make everything.
And that workshop would continue to be responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the magic tools installed in the estate going forward…
If a single workshop could secure orders from several noble households, that alone would be enough to sustain their business.
That’s probably why the atmosphere in the room changed the other day when the estate was brought up in the office.
If you could refer such a major client to a workshop you had ties with—well, that’s what they call a vested interest, right?
There must be a lot of profit in it.
In my previous life, that kind of thing would have been labeled collusion or bid-rigging and become a huge problem, but in this world, it doesn’t seem to be an issue.
Besides, we can’t constantly keep track of the workshop’s internal affairs, and unless someone’s demanding huge sums of money or making unreasonable requests, leaving things to personal discretion is the norm.
I didn’t know because I’d never been involved before, but apparently, whenever someone wants to build a structure in this city, they’re required to report it to the lord at least once.
That rule applies not just to commoners, but also to nobles—nobles from other territories included.
Once permission is granted, construction can proceed, and the civil officials working in the office receive all the information, which gives them plenty of ways to get involved.
Some extra funds must end up in their hands somewhere along the line, but in return, they take care of all kinds of arrangements.
If we had the internet, communication would be much easier—but that’s not how things work here, so we have to do everything in person.
Considering that, maybe it’s a fair exchange for the hassle.
And of course, that applies to the Müller family estate we’re about to build.
However, for people like us who can freely come and go from the office, we can take care of certain things ourselves and then place the orders afterward.
Especially with regards to magic tools—since we have Fiora.
She won’t be directly making them, but she’s helping me a lot with consultations.
Due to her position, she might not be able to take command directly, but we’re planning to get her involved in the estate’s design, and I get the feeling it’s going to end up being a very functional place to live.
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Sera・Blessing・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】
Blessed Item・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】+1【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・8 cards
Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards
Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards
Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards
Mnotia[Translator]
Just a guy translating stuff.