I play a Evil God in Otome Game

Chapter 45 - 44: Nursing homes

"Well, along with this, we have a total of 73 properties, 36 plots of land, 2 restaurants, and 1.345 million gold," Seth said while examining the documents, as Charlie watched him in disbelief.

"I still can’t believe how you managed to amass this much wealth..."

"I agree," Dave interrupted, as shocked as Charlie. "I didn’t expect us to accumulate this much either. We nearly tripled our assets."

Seth grinned slyly, fiddling with the papers in his hand. "This has been a new experience for me as well. Truly unexpected. I can see now why people like you criminals enjoy this business."

Dave sighed and then raised an eyebrow playfully. "If you run out of money, you run out of power, unless you’re a noble..."

"So, does that mean when you’re a noble, you’re exempt from taxes?"

Hearing Charlie’s question, Dave shook his head. "No. They just submit fake invoices, paying far less than the actual taxes they owe."

Dave continued, explaining as if he were teaching a student. "Since we’re in the capital, we’re subject to the Royal Tax officials."

In the Kingdom of Holy Mary, every noble has their own tax officer in their lands. The Thornfield Duchy, in particular, is a master in this regard.

Every city, county, and barony within the duchy’s borders is subject to taxes. Moreover, if someone wants to open a business, company, or shop, it must be approved by the tax officials.

Naturally, this means more loss of money.

There are fees for establishing a company, service charges for tax officials, and monthly maintenance fees depending on the value of the shop... The list goes on.

The company establishment fee is the most expensive, while the tax official’s service fee is just a one-time payment of 5-10% of the first month’s earnings.

In addition, monthly income taxes, poll taxes, and taxes on goods deemed inappropriate by the Church, such as alcohol and tobacco, are imposed.

Using their personal connections, the Thornfield Duchy secretly avoids paying taxes and earns extra income by smuggling illegal goods into the country and selling them on the black market.

This operation typically takes place at the end of every month, in an unknown location. They’ve perfected it to the point where even the King and Queen are aware of it, but no one has ever been able to provide a single piece of evidence.

Furthermore, the tax officials use a sophisticated system to allow businesses within the duchy’s borders to evade taxes in exchange for their loyalty. Simultaneously, they collect blackmail material in case anyone attempts to expose Thornfield.

Dave finished explaining, laughing at Charlie’s astonishment, and looked at Seth, who was still deep in thought. "What are you thinking?"

"You said Thornfield is a master in these matters. How?" Seth asked. Dave explained, "The tax officials and all the inspectors sent by the Royalty at the end of each year are loyal to Thornfield."

Seth raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Simply put, the Spymaster on the King’s council allows them to do as they please."

"Isn’t that the responsibility of the Minister of Finance?"

"Yes, all administrative matters are overseen by the Minister of Finance." Hearing this, Seth realized how illogical the situation was. "So why does the Spymaster have influence in financial matters?"

"It’s a bit complicated," Dave said. "The Spymaster exploits the laws."

"What laws?"

"Each member of the council has the right to veto the decision of any other member, except the King, even if it’s only once per day."

"So you’re saying the Minister of Finance is powerless?"

Dave nodded. "Also, every member of the council can only propose one motion to the King per day. Since the King only has time for one major action each day, the Minister’s proposal to audit the tax inspectors gets vetoed daily, never reaching the Nobles’ Council or the King."

"Does the King know about this?" Seth asked, his eyes sparkling with interest at the cunning nature of the scheme.

"Yes," Dave continued. "But he doesn’t intervene."

"Why?" This time, Charlie asked. Looking at Charlie, Dave calmly said, "Let’s not forget, the Spymaster represents the Thornfield Duchy. Therefore, the King’s hands are tied."

"Wow, what a snake..."

Seth sighed and looked at Dave. "Let’s hope they don’t come after us for now. Otherwise, things will get even more difficult."

Dave nodded seriously, agreeing with the sentiment.

"Anyway, it’s better to focus on other matters for now." Seth’s eyes wandered to one of the documents on the table. It listed the names of over 3,000 children. "What do you think we should do with all these child workers?"

Dave stared at the floor, lost in thought, but couldn’t come up with any ideas. "All these kids are orphans with no relatives. Even if we wanted to send them to orphanages, we wouldn’t be able to care for so many in such a short time."

Seth nodded understandingly, then his eyes lit up as he glanced at the newspaper next to the table. "Right! The newspaper!"

"Newspaper?" Charlie looked surprised at Seth’s sudden excitement. Seth laughed and gazed happily at the paper, then turned to Dave. "Why don’t we hire them as newspaper carriers?"

Though Dave found it logical, the thought of additional expenses quickly soured the idea in his mind. "Nice suggestion, but our budget is already tight. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to spend more."

Seth’s joy faded, and he tossed the newspaper aside, slumping back into his chair in defeat. "So, what do we do? Just throw 3,000 kids out on the streets?"

"There’s no need to complain to me. I’m as lost as you are," Dave sighed. While Seth and Dave were feeling helpless, Charlie came up with an idea.

"Why don’t we create something that allows them to work and live comfortably at the same time?"

Seth and Dave’s eyes lit up. They both found Charlie’s idea reasonable and immediately thought of the same solution.

"Children’s homes could really work."

These 3,000 kids were all experienced, having worked for at least four years. They had matured early due to their circumstances, learning the harsh realities of life.

"Everyone over 10 can take care of the younger ones, and each home should have at least three adults assigned, with a minimum of 100 children in each home." Seth’s words made Dave nod in agreement. "And until we can build these homes, we should cover all the expenses for these children."

"Understood," Dave said. After a quick calculation, he responded to Seth. "In about a month, we can build more than 30 homes, which will accommodate at least 1,000 children."

"After we settle these 3,000 kids, we can increase our profits by setting up new, low-cost children’s homes."

"Still, this means we’ll take a huge loss in the short term," Seth interjected, calmly pointing out. "But if we think long-term, it could be profitable."

These children’s homes could turn profitable within a year, once the Morvos Consortium gained reputation. It was a risky project.

Still, both Charlie and Seth approved of it, knowing that they were now responsible for the 3,000 children. These kids couldn’t be treated like animals and forced into labor.

At the very least, they could give them hope for now...

"Since we’ve discussed this, let’s move on to the next topic," Dave interjected.

"It would be good if we could raise funds from the nobles. If we reach out to the Merchant Guild in the northern region and present our projects to the regional manager, we might secure new investments," Dave calmly suggested.

"For now, let’s get in touch with Lady Morrigan."

Raising an eyebrow, Dave asked, "You mean that Dark Mage?"

Hearing Dave’s question, Seth gave him a slightly threatening look. "Do you have a problem with her?"

Feeling the change in Seth’s aura, Dave was startled and backed off nervously. "I have no issue with Lady Morrigan. It’s just that her reputation seems a bit dangerous..."

Seeing that Dave was actually uneasy about Morrigan, Seth sighed and looked at him. "Don’t believe the rumors. Lady Morrigan isn’t what the rumors say."

Although Dave nodded, he still felt uncertain. Ever since his fight with Seth, he had been uneasy about dark magic.

The feeling of approaching death, those terrifying glowing red eyes under Seth’s cloak...

Though Dave acted brave, it was the first time in his life that he had been defeated so easily and had nearly died. Every time he looked at Seth, he was reminded of that moment, and he tried not to upset him.

"He’s right, Dave," Charlie said, looking calmly at Dave. "My grandfather always used to tell me: Even if a woman looks white, it doesn’t mean her pussy is always pink."

Charlie, who had caught a glance from Dave and Seth, had a look of admiration when mentioning his grandfather. A slight smile appeared on Seth’s lips as he looked at Dave. "Who would have thought this guy named Hanson would be so twisted..."

Dave had to agree; he wouldn’t have guessed that Hanson would teach such things to his grandchildren.

"As my grandfather said, we should never judge people by their appearance," Charlie said gently, then pointed to the area where the heart is. "What matters is not the appearance, but what’s inside."

"I think your grandfather implied something else, but whatever." Seth chuckled with amusement. A minute later, they researched which nobles they would approach for investments with Dave.

"If we can gather an investment worth 10 million Gold, it will relieve us for six months," Dave said. Seth agreed. They had already identified Morrigan as their first target.

"Then tomorrow we’ll have to go on a trip. We’ll stop by Lady Morrigan first, then head towards the Merchant Guild."

Seth, who approved of Dave’s plan, sighed and leaned back in his chair. It was already 8 PM. The moonlight streamed in through the window.

Charlie yawned, while Dave still looked serious. Seth glanced at Charlie. "If you’re sleepy, you can go to bed; we’ll stay awake until midnight."

Hearing Seth, Charlie shook his head. He wasn’t doing anything here anyway. "Alright then. I’m going to sleep."

"Good night, Young Master."

With that, Charlie left, leaving Dave and Seth alone. As Dave tiredly sorted through the documents in his hands, his eyes turned to Seth. "This seems like it’s going to take a while."

Seth chuckled; unlike Dave, he didn’t need sleep or anything else. "Speak for yourself, Muscle Boy."

"Muscle Boy? Is that my new nickname?" Dave rolled his eyes.

As Seth laughed, he decided where the properties would be established on the map, which neighborhoods would have which restaurants, and where the bank branches would go.

Meanwhile, time passed quickly, and it hit midnight.

Here’s the English translation of your text:

---

Meanwhile, the clock moved quickly, reaching 12.

Dave was exhausted after documenting the last file in detail; without Seth’s help, these tasks would have taken at least a day. Still, they managed well.

As Seth took a sip of his coffee, his eyes turned to Dave. "What will happen to Aristotle? What do you plan to do with him?"

Dave’s eyes briefly sparkled with murderous intent as he turned to Seth and said, "I will kill him."

After watching Dave for a moment, Seth smiled slightly, then leaned back while taking another sip of his coffee. "Alright, I will trust you with this."