I Became an Officer in Another World in Just 5 Minutes - Chapter 166

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 166

“Here you are.”

“Thank you.”

While I moistened my throat by taking a sip of water.

Krek settled into the sofa across from me.

“Do you know why I came here?”

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea at all.”

Honestly, I thought he would have roughly caught on, but looking at his expression, he really didn’t know.

“This place manufactures and supplies lightweight plate armor, right?”

“Yes! That’s correct. We’ve been supplying for three years now.”

Three years.

A period that’s long if you consider it long, short if you consider it short.

“Does the entire Blacksmith’s Forge only make lightweight plate armor?”

“Since the war started, yes.”

‘They must have made quite a bit of money here.’

Isn’t this a dream scenario for small business owners – selling everything they make without worrying about inventory?

“The contract ends in two months.”

“Uh… yes, that’s right for now.”

“You’ve heard about how the contract bidding process will work afterward, right?”

“Yes…? Wasn’t it just signing as usual?”

‘Hey now, you think you can embezzle government money that easily?’

Even a thief would back down from such an attitude.

“It seems you didn’t receive the notice. Let me inform you in advance – lightweight plate armor will also proceed with contract bidding.”

Yet another explanation about bidding – I’ve lost count of how many times now.

As my words continued, Krek’s expression began to crumble.

“What do you mean… wasn’t our Blacksmith’s Forge supposed to continue supplying lightweight plate armor? I’m sure that’s what I heard.”

“Who on earth told you such nonsense? And looking at it, the supply price doesn’t make sense. You need to make a profit, but isn’t this a bit excessive?”

“Even for us, after subtracting the cost of purchasing iron ingots, there’s really not much left.”

“I know the price of iron ingots, so what kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“That… well.”

Krek made a troubled expression and scratched his cheek.

A reaction that made it all too obvious what kind of circumstances were involved.

Once I get over this uphill climb, the truth I want will be waiting for me.

“I don’t know about the previous person in charge, but I’m going to do everything fairly and cleanly.”

“That is good, but our circumstances too.”

“What circumstances could there be? You supplied during the contract period, and it’s not like additional contracts were assigned to anyone afterward.”

“That’s…”

“Of course, if there are special unavoidable and force majeure reasons, I’ll consider them, but if not, there’s no reason to use this expensive place, right?”

Having thrown out all the bait, I leaned back on the sofa and waited for his change.

“That… well, the reason the supply price is so expensive is because of the iron ingot prices, and we really don’t profit as much as you think.”

“As I said before, I’m well aware of iron ingot prices.”

“The thing is… as a condition for securing the contract, we contracted to buy iron ingots at twice the market price.”

“What…? What on earth does that…”

Pretending I hadn’t expected this at all.

I widened my eyes and asked back.

The truth came out quickly from his mouth, having already made up his mind.

“The Gartitz Trading Company said they would continue our military supply contract on the condition that we receive expensive iron ingot deliveries from them.”

“Didn’t you think something was a bit strange?”

“I did a little, but they said that’s how all military supplies work… I’m sorry. To be honest, I was blinded by greed.”

I hadn’t thrown out those words expecting repentance, but he bowed his head.

“This sounds like an excuse, but Father passed away so suddenly, and I inherited the Blacksmith’s Forge when my skills were lacking, so sales were declining significantly at the time.”

“You needed money.”

“Yes… military supply contracts where I just had to meet standards and mass-produce were like a lifeline to me.”

I could somehow understand his feelings.

‘Damn, why is there another sad story like this?’

This is why working with just documents and data is easier – the moment you meet people, it becomes a headache.

“And they said military supplies are originally done this way, so I thought it wasn’t a big problem. I’m truly sorry.”

“So that’s what happened. Lift your head. It’s not that you’re without fault, but I understand that much.”

Personally, I don’t think cooperating after falling for a sweet proposal is a great sin.

‘If someone says they’ll give you bundles of money just for making things, how could you refuse that?’

Criticizing this would be demanding too high a moral standard from humans.

“You have the ledger you used when purchasing iron ingots, right?”

“Yes, I have it. I recorded it every time I purchased and received them.”

“Could you give that to me?”

“The ledger…?”

A reaction showing some reluctance.

That’s natural.

Whether it’s a Guild or Blacksmith’s Forge, ledgers are like being naked without clothes for humans.

“We need objective data to believe that this place hasn’t been taking excessive profits, right? Are the things you’ve told me so far different from the truth?”

“N…no! I’ll bring the ledger.”

Krek immediately backed down as soon as I applied a little pressure.

Well, what other choice did he have?

‘If they haven’t just taken unfair profits, this place seems worth continuing to use.’

Blacksmith shops with enough manpower and facilities to mass-produce armor aren’t that common.

‘Of course, eventually it’ll have to go through bidding, but that kind of coordination is a piece of cake.’

Especially now, there are quite a lot of contracts that the blacksmith needs to handle.

“Here it is!”

As I sat waiting leisurely, Krek came back carrying a somewhat worn-looking ledger.

“I personally recorded it every time iron ingots came in.”

“Let me take a look.”

Since it came up, I opened the ledger to examine the data, and it was quite a sight.

‘Look at this? They weren’t selling at double the price, but almost triple.’

Somehow, a guild that procured in bulk was charging twice as much as the price for small purchases at the market.

So at bulk delivery prices, it was almost triple.

There was a reason for that miraculous operating profit margin.

‘No, this actually makes it even stranger. Selling like this and the operating profit margin is only 16 percent?’

Without exaggeration, shouldn’t they be making 50 percent profit?

‘There must be something else fishy going on.’

I don’t know how finding the source of the stench made an even fouler smell waft over.

‘That’s enough. This is sufficient.’

It’s not that I don’t want to investigate further, but this alone is already enough.

“I can see how difficult it must have been. I’ll take this into consideration.”

“Thank you…!”

“However, you need to know that letting things slide like this only happens once. Whether it was an unavoidable situation or not, it’s ultimately improper conduct.”

“Yes…! I’m truly sorry. I’ll make sure this never happens again.”

Krek bowed his head and apologized with what seemed like a sincere voice.

‘Right, well, an apology is enough.’

Some might think letting this slide makes me a pushover.

Honestly, these guys are decent compared to others.

‘At least they delivered the goods properly.’

Just think of it as the same as Saerom Factory.

“Let’s get going then. Good work.”

“Please go safely! We’ll see you again!”

Receiving their send-off even outside, I took the carriage and went around to other places instead of the quarters, gathering data.

And the next morning.

A report to the Inspection Bureau and another report to the Intelligence Agency brought a hurricane-like storm.

* * *

“Honey, I’m really sorry to ask again, but isn’t there a way to block the bidding? At least for the projects we’re managing.”

Belin cautiously asked Colonel Gavel, who had stopped by the quarters for lunch.

“Didn’t I tell you there isn’t? If we mess with it wrong, it’s all over. So don’t be greedy and just stay put for now.”

“No… I want to do that too, but if our income suddenly gets cut off, we won’t be able to pay the building rent and employees’ salaries. We also have contracted farms.”

“Just plug the gap with the money you’ve saved up so far. It’ll be six months at most.”

Colonel Gavel absolutely doesn’t think Paran will stay with the Support Unit for long.

‘He’s not even a specialist in this field, so once the problems are solved, he’ll probably go back to the front lines.’

The colonel is confident that when that time comes, his world will unfold again.

“How can we survive on what we’ve saved up? There’s not much there.”

“What?! How many deals have I opened up for you? How the hell did you manage things!”

At Colonel Gavel’s irritated voice, Belin stepped back.

“Well, to go after contracts from higher up, we needed a lot of things, so we bought this and that… We never expected this kind of situation to happen.”

The luxury enjoyed through dresses and expensive jewelry.

It’s not like only Belin enjoyed it though.

“Last month, you lost at the casino…”

“Shh! Didn’t I tell you not to talk about that?”

Since it was a dizzying memory just thinking about it, Colonel Gavel’s face crumpled.

“How many months can we last?”

“If we assume all work gets cut off, two months at most.”

“Two months, got it. I’ll find a way, so you just try to save up as much money as possible.”

“Understood.”

Belin’s expression brightened upon hearing the positive response.

“I’ll be back late today, so take care of dinner yourself.”

“Be careful out there.”

Smooch.

Belin lightly kissed Colonel Gavel’s cheek as he was leaving for his afternoon shift.

“Why is this woman acting like this?”

“I’m just grateful. You’re always working hard and getting stressed because of those strange nobles.”

“It’s all to make a living. You have it tough too. I’ll be back.”

After exchanging warm conversation for the first time in who knows how many days, Colonel Gavel opened the door to his quarters, only to find an unexpected scene unfolding before him.

“Are you Colonel Gavel, Director of Personnel Administration for the Western Support Unit?”

“That’s correct, but what’s this about…?”

Before Colonel Gavel could finish speaking, the male lieutenant at the front pulled out a document from his jacket and showed it to him.

“You need to come with us to the Inspection Department immediately on suspicion of embezzlement and illegal transactions. Your spouse behind you as well.”

“What… what did you say?! Me, embezzlement?!”

Colonel Gavel raised his voice and stepped backward.

“It’s understandable that you’re shocked, and if you’re innocent, you can prove it there. Please come out for now.”

“Wait… wait a moment. Let me talk about this first.”

Colonel Gavel’s feet wouldn’t move easily since he had something to hide.

Especially since they said they were taking Belin too, his anxiety grew even more.

‘Did they catch on…?’

If they had figured everything out, Colonel Gavel knew better than anyone that he would never return safely.

“Let me just meet with someone first and then I’ll go to the Inspection Department myself. There are some urgent matters I need to handle…”

“If you don’t cooperate smoothly, we’ll have no choice but to use force. We’d prefer if we could all go comfortably.”

“I’m the Director of Personnel Administration! It’s not that I won’t go, but I need to organize some things…”

“Sigh.”

The Lieutenant of the Inspection Division let out a deep sigh and raised his hand.

“Subdue him.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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