episode_0011

I met with the refugee representative along with the administrative officer.

The location is our store.

The temporary homes where the refugees are staying are right next to the slum, and our store is right next to that.

There is a distance to the hall, so the refugee representative was reluctant to leave their group, and the hall is empty and feels a bit desolate without any furniture.

Since it’s a place where we encourage refugees to settle in our village, wouldn’t it be better for them to be in a cozy and warm place?

So, I took the refugee representative to our store.

Mirael, who happened to be guarding the store, quickly ran to prepare tea at the counter.

She’s really quick-witted.

“Come this way.”

The three of us sat around a small round table used for customer consultations.

The refugee representative is a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair.

He looked quite weary, but his large build and straight posture exuded tremendous presence.

“Thank you on behalf of everyone, Mayor. Thanks to you, I could save my life.”

The refugee representative bowed his head in gratitude not to the administrative officer, but to me.

“Oh, it’s not me; this is the administrative officer here.”

As I corrected him, the refugee representative, looking somewhat embarrassed, bowed his head again to the administrative officer.

Suddenly, the administrative officer apologized.

“I’m sorry… I don’t look like an administrative officer….”

I discreetly stepped on the administrative officer’s foot under the table, silencing him.

“Please have some tea.”

Mirael, carrying a tray, placed teacups in front of us.

“Um, I… as a healing potion…”

When the administrative officer cautiously made a request, Mirael brought a healing potion for him.

He gulped it down in one go.

Is he addicted to that?

After taking a sip of tea, I introduced myself.

“I am Jack, the owner of this store.”

“Are you a member of the Potion Knights?”

Smiling at the refugee representative’s question, I shook my head.

“I’m not a knight. I don’t know how much you know, but the Potion Knights are people from the slums in our village.”

“The slums…?”

After briefly explaining the founding process of the Potion Knights, the refugee representative exclaimed in admiration.

“So, are you the one who created the knights and performed miracles?!”

“What? No, no! That’s not a miracle, umm, umm!”

The refugee representative suddenly stood up from the chair and knelt down.

“Please help our republic!”

He pleaded, touching his forehead to the ground.

“Please liberate the republic from the Rosvita people! I earnestly beg of you!”

Do some of the villagers really see me as a god?

“Now, please sit down. Calm down, and I will explain things step by step.”

After finally getting the refugee representative to sit down, I cleared up the strange misunderstanding.

It wasn’t a miracle, but rather various potions fertilizing the land and feeding the fish.

A deep shadow fell over the refugee representative’s face as he understood the situation.

“It wasn’t a god… it was advanced potion-making…”

“I’m sorry. You must be very disappointed.”

“No… it’s my fault for believing in baseless rumors and relying on them… But anyway.”

The refugee representative looked at me with a faint smile.

“You are truly remarkable. It’s truly admirable that you would give away such valuable potions to the poor for free.”

“No, they were things that were about to be discarded anyway, and I had already spent money on the ingredients, so I thought it was better to give them away than to just throw them out.”

“Even if you belittle yourself like that, it doesn’t diminish the brightness of your kindness.”

“It’s a bit embarrassing.”

While we were talking, the administrator had not said a word and only glanced disapprovingly at me and the refugee representative.

I’ll have to give him some separate education later.

As the village grows, there will be more occasions like this, and it will be difficult if I follow along and the person in charge becomes a mute spectator.

“Anyway… I’m glad everyone made it to the village safely. The Mestofin landfill is so complex that one could easily get lost and die.”

“Thank you once again for rescuing us.”

“Haha, yes. But… what do you plan to do now?”

In response to my question, the refugee representative remained silent for a while.

After staring at the teacup for a long time, the refugee representative spoke.

“To be honest, I still don’t know. But one thing is certain: we probably won’t be able to return to the republic.”

“I see… then, how about settling down here?”

“Do you mean in this village?”

“Yes. We are currently proceeding with the city development plan, centered around the Potion Knights. As part of that, we are carrying out large-scale land clearance and improving our catch volume. Those things you misunderstood as miracles.”

“Is that so…”

“In the future, there will be several groundbreaking plans attempted. It would be great if the people of Jilke Republic could join us in this process.”

Saying that, when the administrator tapped the foot of the table, the administrator was startled and straightened up.

“Oh, yes… I-I see…! If you settle in the village, we will provide various benefits. The benefits are as follows. First of all, residential support…”

While stumbling, the administrator explained in a fairly professional manner about the refugee settlement support plan.

With the administrator’s policy proposal and my persuasion, the refugee representative decided to settle in our village.

Jilke Republic is quite far from the kingdom our village belongs to.

They are completely ignorant of the situation and geography here, and there is no reason not to settle here, especially since we will save their lives and provide radical support.

The refugees, numbering just under fifty, will be a great help to the village.

But ironically, the most pleased person should have been the administrator, who had completely lost his mind.

“This is a big problem, a big problem…”

After the refugee representative left, the administrator left alone in the store muttered incessantly.

“What should I do… where should I start… this is the first time we’ve received so many refugees… this wasn’t even on the test… I’m going crazy… what if they suddenly decide they don’t like it and leave… oh…”

“Why are you like that?”

Mirella looked at the administrator, whose mind was gradually collapsing, with a strange look in her eyes.

“Administrator. Instead of this, you should designate homes for the refugees first.”

When I spoke, the administrator nodded.

“Oh, yes… that’s right. Since we promised to give them houses, we should give them houses…”

I probably shouldn’t let him handle this alone.

“Get up. Let’s go to the hall. I’ll help you.”

When I forcibly lifted the administrative officer from the chair, Mirella quickly went to the opposite side and supported him.

In this way, the administrative officer was dragged by me and Mirella as if he were being taken away, and headed towards the community center.

“Walk on your own!”

Mirella shouted.

* * * * *

As I entered the community center, I first looked for the building manager.

This place gathers information on all authorized buildings in the village, where we can see the location and size of vacant houses and distribute people accordingly.

“Where is it….”

The administrative officer rummaged through a bookshelf on one side of the wall for a while but ultimately couldn’t find it.

“I’m sorry…. I hardly ever have anything to do…. Where did I lose it….”

“No way. Since you didn’t take it out, it’s probably buried somewhere deep. Let’s look for it together.”

The three of us, including Mirella, started searching the community center.

“Why is it so dark here?”

Mirella walked briskly and swiftly pulled aside the blackout curtains that partially covered the window.

Seeing the bright light pouring into the community center, I clicked my tongue.

I didn’t know, but it’s a mess.

The community center looks like a real dump when seen in the bright light.

The drawers and cabinets are full of dusty tableware and office supplies.

Empty bottles and unused paper are scattered on the floor, also covered in dust.

A small sofa, seemingly placed for complaintants, had its leather worn out and torn, with its contents spilling out, and the rest of it was covered in stains that I didn’t want to identify.

“Brother, it seems our village administrative officer might be mentally ill.”

Mirella approached and whispered.

“Let’s express it as someone with a troubled mind.”

“That’s what I meant. Seriously. How can it be dirtier than a slum?”

“What can we do? People with depression can’t do things like cleaning. They become lethargic.”

“Ugh, it’s really the worst.”

Mirella grimaced as she picked up the underwear scattered haphazardly on the chairs and tables.

But the bras are huge.

They could fit over my head.

At that moment, the administrative officer sat down on the floor, looking extremely gloomy.

It seemed as if a dark energy was flowing around him.

“I think I lost it…. I’ll probably get disciplined and dismissed….”

“Don’t worry. The central authorities probably won’t bother about the loss of the village building management register.”

The administrative officer’s face momentarily turned red at those words, but it was fleeting.

“Anyway, this won’t do at all in this state.”

He pondered while looking at the building piled with garbage and odds and ends.

“It really won’t do. Mirella, go call the security guards. If there are any remaining members of the order, bring them here.”

“Got it!”

As soon as she spoke, Mirella ran outside the building.

“Sir, right now, the refugees aren’t the problem; we need to clean the building first. We can’t do anything in a place like this.”

“Cleaning… probably won’t work… I’ve tried several times and failed…”

That’s probably true.

People with depression tend to have extremely messy rooms in common.

When they lose motivation, they don’t want to do anything.

That’s why tidying up the surroundings is essential.

A little later, Mirella returned with five security guards and four members of the order.

This should be enough.

“Huh?!”

The members of the order who entered the building were horrified by the sight inside.

“Now, let’s start cleaning the building from now on!”

Applauding, he drew everyone’s attention.

“First, take everything from the inside out to the courtyard without leaving anything behind. We’ll throw away what needs to be thrown away, clean what needs to be cleaned, and then put everything back in!”

Since it was late spring and the weather was warm, it was a good time to turn everything upside down and clean it properly.