In Crown, the treatment of slaves is exceptional for this world.
For those who work diligently, their treatment is no different from that of ordinary citizens.
In fact, in some cases, they can even attain a higher position than ordinary citizens.
Of course, to reach such a status, commensurate effort is required.
Compared to the early days when Crown was first established, it has become almost impossible for slaves to attain high positions in Crown.
The reason is simple: talented individuals with ordinary citizenship are drawn to the name of Crown.
It’s accurate to say that there’s no longer any room for slaves to climb up.
That being said, even if they can’t achieve high positions, their treatment was exceptional compared to others.
First, they are given rest days.
Once one becomes a slave, it’s natural to have no days off.
If you’re lucky enough to have a very good master, you might get a few days off per month.
In a world where that’s considered normal, being employed by Crown guarantees at least one day off per week.
Furthermore, their treatment is no different from that of ordinary citizens.
Normally, slaves are treated solely as slaves.
This is natural, but in Crown, a certain degree of human rights were recognized.
First and foremost, slaves are not treated unfavorably simply because they are slaves.
News of this spread among the slaves, and being bought by Crown became the best possible outcome for them.
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“I see, so that’s how it is…”
Lisa, looking up from the report, wore a troubled expression.
Gazaara noticed this and spoke to her.
“What’s wrong? Is this a particularly difficult case?”
“Well… it’s difficult if you think of it as difficult, and simple if you think of it as simple.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
Gazaara tilted his head at Lisa’s evasive response.
Then, he began to read the report Lisa had handed him.
“Hahaha. I see now.”
What was written in it was a report concerning slaves.
The content of the report stated that slaves were being treated poorly, but the problem was that these slaves were not affiliated with Crown.
They were the slaves of officially registered adventurers.
It’s not uncommon for adventurers to own slaves.
When forming a party, disputes often arise over how to divide rewards.
Some adventurers, to avoid this, even have their entire parties made up of slaves.
The act itself is not the problem.
The problem lies in their treatment.
Recently, at the Crown branch in the southern city, an adventurer who was officially registered with Crown began to work with their slaves.
However, this adventurer’s treatment of their slaves was apparently excessive.
If it were only that, the branch members would have simply warned them, but this adventurer was completely unresponsive.
Moreover, Crown’s treatment of slaves applies only to employees affiliated with Crown.
There is no specific mention of slaves owned by adventurers.
Logically, one would assume that any slave associated with an adventurer affiliated with Crown would receive similar treatment. However, this adventurer apparently insists that it’s their own private matter.
This adventurer is also quite shrewd, as they do not treat Crown-affiliated slaves particularly harshly.
They only treat their own slaves in such a manner.
Since the branch also had no specific regulations regarding the treatment of an adventurer’s slaves, they were in a difficult situation.
“So? What are you going to do about it?”
Gazaara asked Lisa.
After all, Lisa herself is a slave, so he reasoned that she wouldn’t ignore the slaves of those adventurers.
However, no matter how much of an inspector she is, she cannot punish an adventurer for something that is not covered by Crown’s regulations.
“There’s nothing to be done about it. I will punish them according to the regulations.”
“Oh? Were there such regulations?”
Gazaara’s eyes widened at Lisa’s casual remark.
“Well, it might be a bit of a stretch, but I don’t think it deviates from the spirit of Crown’s regulations.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing that.”
Gazaara said deliberately.
In such cases, he made it a rule not to ask how the judgment would be rendered on the spot.
“Well, it is a rather delicate matter, so I will get Wahid-sama’s approval first.”
“That’s unusual.”
Lisa possesses considerable authority as an inspector.
However, there are cases where her authority does not extend, or when Lisa herself cannot make a judgment.
In such situations, she is supposed to consult Wahid for approval.
That said, Lisa rarely has to seek approval from Wahid.
However, since there are various delicate points this time, she decided to seek his approval just in case.
“It may not be necessary, but it’s for the sake of caution.”
With that, Lisa left her assigned private room.
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“Who the hell are you?! How I treat my slaves is my business!”
That enraged shout echoed within the Crown branch building in the southern city.
The adventurer from the report was the one who spoke.
With that shout, they drew the attention of the adventurers present.
To be exact, they had already garnered some attention, but that shout only amplified it.
By the way, Gazaara had not intervened so far.
Gazaara’s role was to step in if the adventurer resorted to violent means.
Lisa decided to proceed as planned, with the same response as in the report.
“That is not true. The moment you purchased a slave, you incurred responsibility for that slave.”
“Hmph! You’re not making sense. So, as part of that responsibility, I am disciplining them!”
“No. That is incorrect. The responsibility in this case is to Crown. Or rather, perhaps I should say, an obligation.”
“What did you say?”
The adventurer’s expression became suspicious at the deviation from the previous discussion.
“As you are well aware, Crown demands normal treatment of slaves. This is an obligation for those affiliated with Crown. This does not change for adventurers, does it?”
“Ha! Ridiculous. Where is that written anywhere?”
“No. It is not something written anywhere. It is a matter of common sense.”
The moment Lisa said “within the bounds of common sense,” Gazaara let out a snort.
Indeed, there were no detailed regulations written for the conduct of adventurers towards slaves as part of their affiliation with Crown.
However, there was indeed a regulation stating, appropriately, “Act within the bounds of common sense.”
“Hey. What’s so funny?”
“No, no. I just thought that your treatment of slaves was ‘outside the bounds of common sense.'”
“Huh? Are you an idiot? I’m just acting according to my own common sense. It’s not your place to say anything about it!”
Lisa nodded at the man who declared this.
“I see. Understood. Then, you are implying that you no longer wish to be affiliated with Crown, Liralamamiya?”
“What? Why would you say that?!”
“It’s simple. The regulations for affiliation with Crown are as I just explained. However, you have stated that you do not intend to abide by those regulations.”
Gazaara continued, taking over from Lisa’s statement.
“Simply put, we adventurers contract according to Crown’s regulations. Being unable to abide by those regulations naturally means a breach of contract and expulsion from Crown.”
“I-Impossible! That sort of thing…!”
The man looked around, but no one met his gaze; instead, they averted their eyes.
“W-What authority do you have to expel me!!”
“Ah, forgive me. My name is Lisa, and I am an inspector for Crown.”
“To put it plainly, this young lady has the authority to expel you. Well, you can probably re-register in about five years.”
The cornered man made one last desperate attempt, but it was easily rebuffed.
“Wait, please! If my treatment of slaves is wrong, I’ll fix it, so please withdraw this!”
“Listen, you’ve been warned repeatedly at the counter. We came all the way here because we don’t believe you’ll change.”
Lisa continued, looking at the man who had glanced toward the counter.
“If you are thinking of retaliating because of this, it would be best not to. Unless you go outside the continent, there is nowhere that Crown’s influence does not reach.”
“Wherever you go, you’ll have nowhere to go. Well, if you were to become a bandit, that would be another story.”
In the past, there were those who sought revenge and tried to do something to receptionists, but the consequences were well-ingrained in the adventurers.
The man was no different, and his previous attitude completely faded, leaving him with a slightly pale expression.
“Therefore, please give up and go to the reception as is. You can complete the withdrawal procedures here.”
Finally, Lisa said this, and the man’s knees buckled.
This concludes Chapter 22.
Chapter 23 will begin tomorrow.
“Within the bounds of common sense” is the strongest phrase, isn’t it?
No matter what, if it’s said to be Crown’s common sense, it becomes an obligation.
However, the Crown side has no intention of using this to impose unreasonable demands.
If they did, people would quickly leave.
