Let’s Get to Work
“Why was I brought here?” I asked, sitting at the desk where Raziel had slammed down a stack of documents.
I had been dragged by Raziel to the annex of the mansion that served as the Company’s office. The employees all avoided eye contact with me and didn’t lift a finger to help.
“Did you forget? I warned you that if you kept silently increasing the workload, you’d have to help out.”
“Hold on. You’re the one who asked me to go see Maria and listen to her, and that’s why the cool fabric was created. I didn’t increase the workload myself. This isn’t fair.”
“Besides the cool fabric, you’ve made a bunch of new products, haven’t you? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already.”
“......” I tilted my head.
“Sigh… It was just recently, and you’ve already forgotten? The warm fabric, and the deodorizing masks.”
“We ended up making warm fabric, sure. But I reported that to Mother. The deodorizing masks are only for the knights, so that doesn’t count. I didn’t break our agreement.” I argued. But apparently, I was wrong.
There were still areas where human labor was needed to handle things like livestock manure, sewer waste, and night soil treatment, even if slimes helped with disposal. The demand was high.
I was told that the deodorizing masks the knights used had become a hot topic and inquiries were flooding in.
So, I was told, let’s get to work.
I couldn’t accept this, but Raziel declared that I wouldn’t be released until I finished the documents on the desk. If I couldn’t finish today, I’d be brought in again tomorrow. He even said he had gotten my parents’ approval, so I couldn’t run.
Why? Why *me*? I’m eight years old. Complaining didn’t help—he ignored me.
With no other choice, I picked up the top document.
What is this? What is it trying to say?
It started with a seasonal greeting, then praised our company, and then somewhere in there it asked whether they could purchase some of our products. But there was no mention of which products or how many, nor of the budget.
This isn’t an order form, is it? What are they trying to say with this document? Or is it a letter to request a business meeting?
I read the others. They were all the same. Is this how documents are in this country? Isn’t reading this kind of thing just a waste of time?
When I asked Raziel if these were letters to request meetings or actual order forms, he said they were supposed to be order forms. In the capital, where people could meet directly, they’d turn into negotiations. But through letters, this is what things look like.
How do these turn into order forms? This makes no sense.
With such vague documents, you’d have to exchange letters multiple times. It’s a total waste. No wonder the workload keeps increasing.
I asked for some straw paper and drafted a sample order form. Since I didn’t know what products we handled, I made two templates: one was a product list sample with space for names and unit prices; the other was a blank order form with fields for product names, quantities, per-item prices, and total cost.
I walked over to Raziel’s desk.
“Raziel, I’ve only looked through a few of these documents, but they all say basically the same vague things, and I don’t understand any of them. I think it would be faster if we sent these two templates to the senders and had them reply using them.” I said, showing him the forms I had made.
Raziel admitted it was a good idea, but pointed out the risk of fake order forms being circulated. Dishonest merchants could pretend to be from our company and create similar forms to commit fraud.
So I asked how responses to these vague letters were normally written, and he said we usually write back with the number of items we can supply, how long delivery will take, and an estimate.
When I complained that showing me documents without explaining anything was just mean, he said it was to let me personally experience how hard this kind of work was.
Still, the whole process seemed incredibly inefficient. He had said that in the capital they conducted direct business talks, right?
“Since letters just increase the workload, why don’t we open a branch in the capital?”
“We don’t have the staff, budget, or inventory to open a branch.” Raziel replied coldly.
“Then what about a store just for taking orders? It could be small, with only two or three employees, and just display samples. That way, the budget wouldn’t be too heavy. We could rotate staff between the domain capital and the royal capital. And what if we got scholarship students from St. Arthur Academy to help with tasks like appointment arrangements and back-office work? During summer break, they could come here and stay in the staff dorms with meals included and train fare covered. If we propose it through the academy, they might accept.”
Also, by setting an upper limit for the number of products that could be ordered, we could establish delivery estimates. If customers wanted more, we could direct them to ask the trade guild, who could tell them which shops were selling the items.
Since our products were already patented, other stores that signed contracts with the trade guild and paid royalties could be taught how to make and sell them.
When I mentioned we could also use a double-copy contract (or order form) for in-person negotiations with a split seal to prevent forgery, Raziel asked, “What’s a split seal?”
So that’s where I had to start explaining—there’s no such thing here?
Since they didn’t have personal stamps, I explained using sealing wax, like the kind used for envelopes. I borrowed some sealing wax that wouldn’t matter if I messed up, added ink instead of a stamp, and pressed the edge of the two sheets together to show the sealed split across both.
“So this is a split seal. True, even if you fix the position where you press it, the exact placement will differ for each document, making it effective against forgeries.”
“Right? And if you make the stamp design complex enough, no one can replicate it. Also, if you file the contracts in date order, they’ll be easier to locate when needed.”
“What’s a file?”
“It’s something to organize contracts like a booklet. You write ‘Contracts’ and the date range on the spine so you can easily tell what’s inside.”
“But if it’s bound like a book, you can’t take the documents out later, right?”
“That’s why you leave margins in the contracts, punch holes in them, and tie them together with string. That way, you can still take them out if needed.”
“But if the hole positions aren’t consistent, it’ll be hard to make it into a booklet.”
“You don’t have a punch?”
“What’s a punch?”
“It’s a tool that makes holes in the same place every time.”
“Nope, we don’t have that.”
“Then can I ask Maria to get one? Also, a special ink pad for the seal stamp. As for the stamp itself, you should request it from whoever makes your sealing wax tools.”
“Judging by what you’ve said, this would definitely make work smoother and easier, so I can’t argue. I brought you here to make you reflect, but now you’ve just added more work instead.”
Raziel looked totally defeated.
But these were proposals to reduce workload through efficiency. How strange.
In the end, I was told I didn’t have to handle the documents anymore. Raziel just told me to have Maria prepare the ink pad, punch, and files, and then let me go.
What do you think about this chapter?
