Chapter 11

The mansion courtyard had been quiet, but once we stepped outside, the town was in an uproar from the lingering excitement of the festival.

On a day like this, even the swindlers who usually loitered around the place were nowhere to be seen, perhaps because they had found some other way to make money.

“That really was a complete brush-off.”

I had not expected things to go smoothly, but judging from Iiria’s reaction, there was little hope even if we pressed the matter further.

Still, the list of expenses she had reeled off so smoothly even while explaining that she had no money had left an impression.

Whenever I went to get approval for magic stone dealings, Iiria always looked like she had cast aside her duties as lord entirely, but in truth, it seemed she had a detailed grasp of the town’s infrastructure upkeep and was constantly troubled by it.

“So having no money really means having no choices.”

Kengo said that and patted me on the shoulder.

“Let’s grab a drink. It’s not like we’re giving up over this.”

Kengo’s positive attitude was incredibly reassuring.

The two of us went into a nearby tavern together.

“There were two miscalculations,”

Kengo said after ordering ale.

“One, that little Iiria and the others really seem to have no money at all. And two, that that body-fat guy seems even more troublesome than we thought.”

Even though she was not of legitimate blood, Iiria still occupied the position of lord as a noble, and yet she had said herself that she did not want to make an enemy of Nodon.

“Do you think he hires thugs or something?”

Since I worked at the company, I had never felt it personally, but I would not have been surprised if Nodon had connections to people who handled dirty work. With the gap between rich and poor being this extreme, there were probably plenty willing to take such jobs.

“Hmm… if he used violence against a noble, that would probably be seen as rebellion. Troops would come from the provincial capital or the imperial cities, so I don’t think he’d go that far. More likely, what makes Nodon troublesome is that he practically controls all commerce in this area.”

“Hm?”

“If you anger him, maybe you end up under siege economically.”

“Ah…”

Looking at the volume of daily trade, it was obvious that Nodon’s company was in a league of its own. If a small merchant house or street vendor in town angered Nodon, their daily business would stop functioning almost immediately. They probably would not even be able to put bread and meat on the table. And perhaps even for Iiria, the lord, it was the same.

“Still, I guess we did learn one thing that’s a little encouraging.”

Kengo said that.

“Something encouraging?”

“That little Iiria and the others aren’t the type who line their own pockets with tax money.”

All the expenses Iiria had listed so smoothly had been related to infrastructure upkeep and the like in town.

“Maybe it’s the same everywhere. Honest people are the ones who get screwed.”

Kengo gave a lonely smile as he gulped down his drink.

It was not an expression that suited someone like Kengo, who had said he got hit by a car after wandering out into traffic drunk while striking bodybuilding poses.

I suddenly found myself thinking that maybe that story had been a lie.

He had such a sorrowful look on his face, but it vanished in an instant like cigarette smoke.

A figure had appeared beside our table.

Since beastfolk were constantly coming over to talk to Kengo, I assumed it was one of them, but the person was strangely short.

The figure wore a robe with a hood pulled low, and if it had been a little dirtier, I might have mistaken them for a beggar child.

But the tailoring was oddly fine, and there was a sweet smell about them, almost like honey.

Just as I thought I recognized that scent, a familiar voice spoke.

“What exactly are you two trying to do?”

The face beneath the hood, with its usual sharp eyes, yet looking as though it might burst into tears at any moment, was Kururu’s.