Reason
When I asked Maria about the status of the copper tape, she said she was having trouble adjusting the roller gap for stretching the copper plates to less than a millimeter, down to the thickness of paper.
I asked if she could use a paper-making machine for reference, but apparently, she would have to pay a patent fee just to see the blueprints.
Considering how much Maria has contributed, I said we'd cover the patent fee and told her I'd talk to Raziel about it.
The hole puncher was complete.
I'm always amazed at how she manages to complete these things with just my vague recollections.
I'll take it over and ask Raziel about the blueprints while I'm at it.
Given that the Delm Company issue still seems to be bothering him, I should be able to get through without any complaints, so let’s hurry.
The matter of the paper-making machine blueprints was quickly approved.
As I explained how to use the hole punch I brought, I tried it out myself.
The employees had returned to the office, so I had them use it as well and asked for their feedback.
It was well received as being easy to use and understand.
However, they said they’d also like a type that could punch holes in a large number of pages at once.
I see, that’s feedback from people actually using it in the field.
I’ll have Raziel mention it to Maria instead of me.
After leaving the office, I headed to the greenhouse.
I’d finished my assigned duties, so I planned to enjoy my free time as usual.
Then I noticed an employee heading toward the back of the garden, and exchanged glances with Georges, who was with me.
“I believe that was Abel Laurel. Shall we follow him?”
We’d better. If things go wrong, I’ll just escape using my defensive magic.
We followed him and ended up at the slime shed.
Georges nodded and moved silently.
Watching the scene, I saw he was holding Tonmi and Uga.
The slime that loves Tonmi and Uga was going up to Laurel.
While the slimes were eating the Tonmi and Uga, Laurel entered the slime shed, took a box of liquid, and started transferring the liquid into another bottle.
“What are you doing?” I asked from behind.
Laurel was holding a bottle of slime fluid.
He tried to run, but Georges pressed a dagger to his back.
“Don’t move,” Georges said.
“Was it the Delm Company who asked you? Or was it your family? Let’s hear the full story,” I said.
Realizing that everything had been found out, Laurel stopped resisting.
Just in case he tried to run, I wondered if there was a way to prevent it.
Maybe I could try making handcuffs using defensive magic.
“What did you do, Young master Hardt?”
“I cast defensive magic on his wrists so he can’t run. I also added a tracking spell so I’ll know where he goes if he tries to escape.”
I tied him to me with a magical tether, like a leash used for walking a dog.
Whether it would actually work if he tried to run was unclear.
But sometimes a bluff is useful too.
I entered Father’s study.
When he saw me bringing Laurel, he looked at me silently as if to say, “What are you doing?”
“I caught him red-handed trying to steal the slime fluid from the Tonmi and Uga-eating slimes for in the slime shed.”
Father seemed surprised by what I said.
“The slime fluid, you say?”
“Yes. Both Georges and I witnessed it, so there’s no denying it. The bottle Laurel was holding is the evidence.”
According to Laurel, his family had borrowed money from the Delm Company, and he’d been contacted to help repay it.
The request from Delm Company was to steal a new product that Westland was developing and to gather detailed information about beastkin.
They promised that doing this would wipe out his family’s debt.
“Was that promise made in writing?” Father asked.
“It was a verbal agreement. If we don’t repay the debt, my sisters will be sold to a brothel. I wanted to prevent that at all costs. Since we’re the ones in debt, I couldn’t insist on having anything in writing,” Laurel replied.
“Where did the investment proposal come from?”
“It was a merchant my eldest brother met at a salon he frequents. He made a profit twice from small investments, so he thought it would be fine to invest a large sum this time. But he was swindled. We borrowed the investment money from the Delm Company.”
“Has your family been involved with the Delm Company for a long time?”
“They got introduced by Viscount Zardane during a joint business venture, and that’s when they borrowed the funds.”
“What was the nature of the joint venture? And why use the business capital for investing?”
The joint project was to build a storage warehouse for straw paper.
The funds they borrowed weren’t enough, and borrowing more would require putting land up as collateral, which they wanted to avoid.
They’re all clearly in on this.
It must’ve been a setup to take their land.
Is there something special about Baron Laurel family’s land?
What’s their true goal?
Why would they want the baron’s land…
And I still don’t understand why Westland is involved in all this.
What do you think about this chapter?
