Chapter 1-26 : Shards of Departure [Side B] (part 2)
ーSomewhere in a castleー
*The feudal lord’s pov
「I’ve done what your lord told me to do. That man is in jail now.」(feudal lord)
After receiving a report from my subordinate that the guards had put the owner of Keema Shop and some corrupt higher-ups in the army in jail, I spoke to ‘someone’ in my office while facing the window, looking at the scenery of the city.
Although I called them ‘someone’, I could barely feel their presence.
「Well done. My lord will surely be pleased.」(??)
My skin crawls every time I hear their voice.
「Great… Please convey my regards to your master.」(feudal lord)
As soon as I said that, I could no longer feel their presence.
I turned around and I saw no one as if they were not in this room from the beginning.
The windows were locked and I didn’t hear the sound of the door being opened and closed. However, ‘that person’ was certainly here a second ago.
What a mysterious person…
「…That person left… Phew… I never thought a Marquis Family would get involved in this matter…」(feudal lord)
A few days ago, that mysterious person sneaked into my room at night. I thought they were an assassin but they said they were an errand for a Marquis Family.
I barely felt their presence and I couldn’t see their face clearly, but they told me to capture the owner of Keema Shop as he had caused harm to their master’s relative. They then disappeared after giving me that order.
They didn’t say which family they were working for, but I found out the next morning when I received a report from the captain of the guards.
He told me that he had received a request from a girl owning a dagger with the Kushaq Family’s crest. He also told me that the girl was kidnapped but luckily, she escaped, and the person suspected to be the culprit was the owner of Keema Shop.
Kushaq Family is the leader of the faction I belong to, and as a viscount, I had no choice but to obey them.
I ordered the captain to investigate the suspect, but he told me that his higher-ups were hindering them, so I allowed him to use my name.
A day later, I found files about damage reports from aristocratic families and wealthy merchants who had their jewelry and magic items stolen.
Not only that, I also found a letter saying that Keema Shop had been selling those stolen goods, and the ledger contained that information was hidden somewhere in the shop.
Furthermore, it was stated that Keema Shop also carried out transactions in illegal goods such as illegal herbs and dangerous plants that had the effect of attracting monsters. If it was true, then they might be the ones who were responsible for the monster outbreak the other day.
It wasn’t hard to guess who put these files and letters on my desk. It must be that mysterious person.
They seemed to have been collecting information to help me with this investigation.
Thanks to the information they provided, the guards were able to capture the owner of Keema Shop and some corrupt people in the army he bribed to protect him.
This case was over, but for some reason, the Merchant Guild requested to see me.
To be honest, I didn’t have time to deal with the Merchant Guild but then I thought it might have something to do with this, so I accepted their request.
ーKnock knock.
「You may come in.」(feudal lord)
The door opened and a beautiful lady in a guild uniform came in.
「It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir. My name is Illumina. I’m an executive of the Merchant Guild.」(Illumina)
「Please have a seat.」(feudal lord)
「Thank you.」(Illumina)
We sat on the sofas facing each other.
「So, how can I help you?」(feudal lord)
「I came to talk about the kidnapping case that occurred at the same time as the monster attack the other day.」(Illumina)
I knew it.
Is this woman also an acquaintance of the Kushaq Family…?
No… Maybe I’m just thinking too much…
「The kidnapped girl, Kako Mayama, is a merchant who belongs to our guild. She is an excellent herb collector who provided us with a large amount of high-quality herbs.」(Illumina)
「I see.」(feudal lord)
Seems like the Merchant Guild cares about their members, but even so, they can’t do anything about it, so they ask my help. I see now.
I bet this woman will be surprised when I tell her that the culprit has been captured.
「Thanks to her, we had enough potions to heal the people who were injured in the battle against the monsters. She has been a great help to the town. But… Unfortunately, she had to leave because some bad people were trying to kidnap her.」(Illumina)
「So, you came to ask me for help?」(feudal lord)
「Exactly. I deeply understand that you are busy, but pleー」(Illumina)
「ーMiss Illumina, was it? You can rest easy ‘cause the guards have captured the culprit.」(feudal lord)
「…Eh? Is the culprit… The owner of Keema Shop…?」(Illumina)
「Correct.」(feudal lord)
「I see… Just as Kako-san said… Thank god.」(Illumina)
She looked impressed by how fast we solved this case.
Well, I didn’t do it by myself. It was all thanks to the guards and the Kushaq Family.
「So? Is that all?」(feudal lord)
「Umm… Actually, I have another matter I want to discuss with you. As you know, the price of medical herbs and potions has been skyrocketing over the past few months. We have been investigating it and we have noticed something unusual about it.」(Illumina)
「Something unusual?」(feudal lord)
「We found out that Keema Shop had been buying medical herbs since its price started to rise.」(Illumina)
「Hmm… Isn’t that normal? I don’t know much about trading businesses but I think it’s normal for merchants to buy a particular product.」(feudal lord)
「You are right, Sir. However, the amount of medical herbs they bought didn’t match the amount of potions they sold. They didn’t buy that many herbs but they were able to sell so many potions.」(Illumina)
「So… The amount of potions is strangely way too large compared to the number of medical herbs…? That can’t be…」(feudal lord)
Miss Illumina nodded as if proving that what I was thinking was correct.
「The potions sold by Keema Shop had been excessively diluted with other substances.」(Illumina)
「I knew it!」(feudal lord)
You are allowed to dilute potions with other substances especially when your town is short of potion stock. However, you can’t dilute it too much because it will greatly decrease the effect of the potions itself, and the government had stated that this kind of action constituted a crime.
That vile man… Not only did he sell illegal and dangerous items but he also did such a dishonorable thing.
This scale of crime is far too large for a crime committed by an owner of a small shop in a town.
Don’t tell me… Is someone pulling the strings behind the scenes…?
I think that’s possible…
Perhaps the owner of Keema Shop was only being used by someone with power for their own purposes.
But… Who would have done that…?
「Miss Illumina, thank you for the information. I will make sure that the guards will severely punish the owner of Keema Shop and his subordinates who were complicit in his evil deed.」(feudal lord)
Maybe I will order the guards to send those scumbags to the mines to work as slaves for the rest of their lives. That would be a good punishment for them.
「Thank you, Sir. There’s one more thing I want to ask you.」(Illumina)
「Go on.」(feudal lord)
「Is it possible for us, the Merchant Guild, to take over Keema Shop? The existence of that shop is very important for the adventurers. They would be in trouble if that shop closed.」(Illumina)
「I see. Alright, the Merchant Guild may run that shop under new management and trusted staff members.」(feudal lord)
「Thank you very much. That would be all I wanted to say. Thank you for your time.」(Illumina)
As soon as she finished her business here, the Merchant Guild’s executive lady bowed to me and immediately left the room.
We are both busy people so I understand that she didn’t want to waste our time, but…
「Ugh… I forgot to ask her about the girl in the center of attention in this case…」(feudal lord)
Who was her name again? Kako Mayama, was it…?
What a weird name…
I wonder who exactly that girl is… Why does she have a dagger with Kushaq Family’s crest? And why would the Kushaq Family go that far to help that young girl?
No… I think I should stop wondering about her…
After all, there are many things in this world that are best left unknown.
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I bet they are thinking mc is a noble related to that family lmao, it was her master
that viscount really need to be selective for his faction seriously just kick someone like this feudal lord and replace it to a decent one, otherwise he will be like mitsunari ishida in his final battle lot of faction’s member but useless and stupid