■■■■■■■■■■
075 The
Minister of Finance
■■■■■■■■■■
Translator : PolterGlast
In a room in the annex
of the Duke's mansion in the royal capital, Anneliese was giving me a lap
pillow. It was to calm my mind. Anneliese simply lent me her lap without a
word. This kind of thoughtfulness was precious.
I wondered if
Anneliese wanted to know why she was cursed. Perhaps she might be happier if
she were to believe it was a dungeon curse. Living with resentment towards
someone is emotionally exhausting after all.
Still, I felt I had to
ask her. If she wanted to know the reason for her curse.
"Anneliese,"
I called.
"Yes," she
replied, her emerald eyes, beyond the twin mounds, gazing at me. No matter the
angle, Anneliese's face possessed an artistic beauty.
"Do you want to
know the reason you were cursed?" I asked. Anneliese looked a little
puzzled and replied, "No."
"If I hadn't been
cursed, I wouldn't have met you, Toi-sama. So, it's fine," she said. She
must have spent her days living in fear of dying from old age at any moment,
yet she lived looking forward. Anneliese must be strong precisely because she
overcame such a past. In that case, I decided not to say anything. Instead, I
would avenge Anneliese. I would, no matter what.
***
I was summoned by the
Duke.
"The matter has
been accepted," he stated. It seemed the Princess had given her approval
for Yamato and Itsukushima-san.
"I see," I
replied.
"However, there
is a condition," the Duke added.
A condition?
"We wish you to
hunt over 1,000 monsters on the 10th floor of the royal capital dungeon."
"You mean thin
out the monsters?" I asked.
"Indeed," he
confirmed. So, he wants me to do the very thing that Heroes were summoned for,
huh? Oh well. I was already planning to level up anyway, so entering deeper
floors of the dungeon was what I wanted.
"That will take
some time," I remarked. I had no intention of taking forever, but we had
only just conquered the 7th floor.
"I understand.
However, I cannot have it take 10 or 20 years," the Duke said.
"I have no
intention of taking that long," I assured him.
"Then that is
good." For the Duke, allowing the two summoned individuals to reside in
his territory would mean taking on trouble. He's not saying anything about it
must be his way of repaying past debts.
"Your Excellency,
do you know Count Erbasil?" I inquired.
"Count Erbasil?
Yes, I know him. He is a prominent noble family," the Duke replied. I
didn't know what "prominent noble family" meant in my old world, but
in this world, it seemed to refer to nobles who served the royal family and did
not possess their own territories. Zaigen, for example, was also a noble
without territory, but he served the Ducal House. Such nobles apparently aren't
called prominent noble families. Only nobles who serve the royal family are
called prominent noble families.
"May I ask you
directly, what kind of person is he?" I asked.
"Has something
happened?" the Duke asked, looking at me suspiciously.
"I had a slight
encounter with his son," I explained.
"...Count Erbasil
is of the finance faction. You can think of him as the Ministry of Finance's
number three. His character is... a philistine," the Duke stated, his face
stern, spitting out the words. His expression showed he disliked him quite a
bit.
"If you have
evidence to crush him, present it. I will crush him immediately."
"I don't have
any," I replied.
"Then acquire
it," he ordered.
"Don't ask for
the impossible," I countered. Though I will acquire it.
"Very well. I
shall wait with expectation," the Duke said.
"Shouldn't that
be 'wait without expectation'?" I asked. Even Zaigen was nodding. It
seemed that Count Erbasil was quite disliked.
Grissom had many
criminal records, including murder and rape. Some crimes aren't recorded on
record cards, but murder and rape are clearly recorded. He'd be finished if his
record card were checked, but since his father was influential, officials
probably couldn't easily lay a hand on him.
Grissom's mansion was
holding several illegal slaves captive. This alone would be grounds for a raid,
but it was too weak. His father, the Count, could easily suppress it. I wanted
stronger evidence, but I couldn't find any. Nothing illegal was found besides
the slaves.
He shouldn't be
intelligent. If he were intelligent, he wouldn't keep illegal slaves in his
mansion. He probably just didn't leave any evidence. For example, if you kill
someone in a dungeon, their body disappears. In boss rooms, only the body
disappears, and equipment remains, but outside boss rooms, even equipment is
absorbed by the dungeon. If there were no witnesses, it would be a perfect
crime.
"Then I have no
choice but to change my approach." I obtained permission from the Duke to
freely enter the castle and palace. Fortunately, there was the matter with
Itsukushima-san and Yamato, and I had also been troubled by Akaba and his
group, so the country seemed to be considerate of me and granted permission
quickly.
"I'd like the two
of you to cooperate," I told Yamato and Itsukushima-san.
"Sounds
interesting! I'm in!" Yamato immediately agreed.
"I'll cooperate
if it's to punish someone who did such terrible things," Itsukushima-san
also promised her cooperation.
I decided that I would
claim to be meeting with the two of them while I was investigating Count
Erbasil. It was an alibi.
"But there are scoundrels
in this world too, huh? I need to be careful myself," Yamato said, shaking
his head.
"People say human
desires are boundless..." she began.
"It's human to
suppress desires with reason, Itsukushima-san," I clarified.
"Yes. That's
true," she replied. Itsukushima-san, looking down sadly, truly had a kind
heart.
***
The palace (which the
royal family apparently called the inner palace) was where the royal family
lived. The castle was the location for administration and military. The
Ministry of Finance's number three, Count Erbasil, worked in the castle. I
would find his office.
I had no idea who was
who, so I used Detailed Appraisal on people as soon as I saw them. What I
learned was that many prominent nobles were scum. Bribery and embezzlement were
commonplace. One in five had committed some kind of crime. Quite a few people
even had the Bandit job.
"One in five is a
criminal, yet the country still functions well?" I wondered.
I didn't know if this
number was high or low, but even in Japan, Diet members often resigned due to
money-related scandals, so it probably worked out somehow. In both Japan and
here, visible crimes were probably just a handful. However, do nobles not have their
record cards checked? I think the country should do that, but why don't they?
Fortunately, the
officials (those who weren't nobles) were still relatively decent. That doesn't
mean there weren't any at all, but there were very few.
I made a note of the
names of particularly terrible individuals, but for now, it was Count Erbasil.
Deeper inside the castle, in an area like a government office with constant
comings and goings, seemed to be where the Ministry of Finance was located.
Officials, who were not
nobles, were busy processing documents. An official carrying a stack of
documents headed deeper inside. I followed him and entered a private room. The
official handed documents to his superior and then left. This superior was not
Count Erbasil, but he had a criminal record. However, it was mostly minor
offenses; he was a small-timer.
I looked around other
private rooms. There were too many private rooms. I wished there were fewer.
Gradually, the rooms became larger, and the furnishings more luxurious. It was
about time I hit the jackpot...
"How is that
matter progressing?" I heard a voice say.
"We have skimmed
40% of the budget for the Nardia River's river work. No problem," another
voice replied.
"Good," the
first voice affirmed. This wasn't Count Erbasil, but the Minister of Finance.
If the Minister of Finance was like this, I couldn't expect the Ministry of
Finance to clean itself up. But 40%? Was that a large or small amount for
embezzlement...?
His subordinate was a
small-timer, but held a decent post in the Ministry of Finance. He seemed to be
the Minister of Finance's lackey.
The subordinate left,
leaving the Minister of Finance alone. He tossed the documents aside and took
out a bottle of wine and a glass. Drinking alcohol during duty hours—he lived
well. He poured a full glass of wine and gulped it down. This man was a
pre-alcoholic, on the verge of becoming an alcoholic. It didn't seem to be
significantly affecting his work yet, but he would probably mess up eventually.
The Minister of Finance took out some documents from a drawer, glanced at them
for a few seconds, and then crumpled them up. What was written on them?
"Gardland is
troublesome as well. To entrust an alchemist and an item crafter to that
Footscythel? Foolishness," he muttered. He's talking about me, huh? By the
way, Gardland refers to the Duke.
"Gardland
probably doesn't like that I profit from selling the items those individuals
create," he added. No, no, that's not it. And you're doing that too, huh?
How greedy.
"Those foolish
Heroes are useless for now, and they're not worth the large expenses spent on
them." He only cares about money.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
DavidA
Geral Aponso
Nepheos
RobertJay
ShitaiNoKootoRyuu
[Silver]
1EYED_SLOTH
Creris
Fred A.
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Matthew Fraser
Anton Lim
Crushingon
Ctdela
Curious Panda
Joe Smith
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
