The Doomed Fief’s Dying Lord (4)

“Eek! You scared me!”

“W-what the… !”

She’d flung the door open and screamed, and I jolted with her.

The one who burst in was Ronari.

“Yo-young master, why are you here?”

“I was going over the ledgers. Administrator Ronari, why have you come back?”

“Ahaha… I forgot my things and came to retrieve them.”

She gave her trademark shy smile and lifted the bag she’d left at her desk.

I couldn’t help being suspicious.

‘Did she really return just for that? She’s not here to pilfer something like Tandel, is she?’

How would I know whether she’s S-rank at embezzlement or S-rank at her job?

Just because she’s new doesn’t mean she couldn’t be doing the same as Tandel. Even if she isn’t the mastermind of some scheme, she could still be involved.

Taxes are already under suspicion for embezzlement.

‘What kind of hidden dagger could this innocent-looking girl be hiding…?’

“Then I’ll be going, young master.”

“No. Wait. Stay there. I have something to ask.”

“Yes? Ah, if that’s the case…”

I fixed her with the same look I’d given Tandel that morning.

Behind me, sunset light slanted across the window.

Ronari went still, tension locking her in place.

“Administrator Ronari. What are your assigned duties?”

“…Managing collected taxes. Converting procured grain or tribute into cash… that sort of work.”

‘Hmm. So that’s it, then.’

Everything clicked neatly into place.

“Administrator, I need you to come somewhere with me.”

“…Where are we going?”

A flicker of wariness crossed her eyes.

‘Ha. So she is wary.’

Even I knew my timing and tone weren’t exactly friendly.

But still, no need to look at me like that.

‘Someone might think I make a hobby out of hauling in administrators.’

It was true I suspected her.

But I had no intention of dragging her off to be tortured or anything.

‘What do you take me for! I even forgave Tandel!’

Not that she could read my mind.

I felt a pang of inexplicable melancholy… but I said what I had to say.

“This may sound odd, but could you help me tour my domain?”

“Tour your domain?”

Some of the wariness eased from her face.

I continued.

“I promised my father, the lord, that I would revive Denabi’s economy. But I’m not well versed in Denabi’s affairs. It’s embarrassing. I need to inspect the domain and learn how the people are living.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Yes. And I want an expert’s help.”

At that, Ronari waved her hands, flustered.

“An expert? I’m just a new, low-level official!”

“No. You are an expert.”

I said it with certainty.

She had described her duties herself:

‘Converting procured grain or tribute into cash.’

There’s one ability you absolutely need for that job:

‘You must be well-versed in the domain’s situation.’

To convert tribute grain or specialty goods at the right price, you have to know their market value.

You can’t do that without fast, accurate information.

“That’s why I thought you were the right person.”

“Ahaha, I don’t know what to say… y-you’re flattering me…”

It wasn’t just flattery.

‘How could I not rate you highly? Your potential is S+.’

Honestly, right?

I already had a dream.

Score the easiest domain-clear ever thanks to absurdly good talent.

‘Ah, even to me it sounds ridiculously modest.’

Still, it would be nice if it came true… just a little.

For starters, there was an S-rank potential right in front of me.

The work Ronari handled was, at a glance, difficult.

It was more than you’d usually give a new hire with less than half a year in.

Yet she’d been entrusted with it.

It was almost astonishing that someone so young had that level of information acumen.

‘Is that evidence of S+ potential? Or…’

Just then, Ronari asked:

“Shall we go then?”

She pointed to the office door with both hands.

Wait… big misunderstanding.

“Uh, I didn’t mean right this instant. It’s late today, and there’s a lot to see.”

“Then shall we start tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow morning.”

“Morning? How many days will this take?”

“Short would be a week. Long, two weeks?”

“Then what about my duties in the meantime…”

“…I’ll give you overtime pay.”

“…”

Denabi, the black company.

It wasn’t even summer… it was spring.

The next day, as promised, Ronari and I set out to inspect the domain.

She’d looked glum when she left yesterday, but this morning her expression was bright as the sun.

‘*You’ll be doing overtime after the inspection, yet your face is so cheerful!’*

I thought about saying it aloud, then pictured the aftermath and swallowed the line.

“Good morning, young master. It’s a lovely morning.”

“Yes, good morning, Administrator Ronari.”

We exchanged greetings and boarded the carriage.

It was requisitioned at the steward’s request.

‘It would be nicer… and more comfortable… to ride a horse if I could….’

I don’t know how to ride a horse.

I’m a country bumpkin from Seoul who hasn’t even been to Jeju Island.

Where would I have learned to ride?

A noble who can’t ride properly…

I felt a little ridiculous… like a truly childish young master.

In the carriage, Ronari asked:

“By the way, is it just the two of us going?”

“Yes. I think it’s better to keep the group small.”

“Why? Wouldn’t guards be better…?”

Honestly, it’s hard for me to travel alone too.

This body is way too out of shape for its age!

Guards carrying me in a palanquin would be nice…

“Unless you want the whole town to know the young master is out and about, we should avoid that. It would interfere with the inspection.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

“And today’s destination isn’t particularly dangerous. Can you guess where it is?”

“Hmm.”

She didn’t think long.

“W-well… I don’t know?”

‘Ah, you don’t know?’

Well, her potential might be S, but not her current ability.

“So what’s the answer?”

“The place that should be the liveliest in Denabi.”

“Liveliness?”

What? Still not getting it?

I was a little disappointed in the S-rank sitting in front of me.

But when we arrived, I realized:

‘Ah, my hint was lousy.’

We reached Denabi’s castle-town market.

The place that should have been the liveliest in the domain was…

’…there wasn’t a trace of liveliness to be found.’

Ronari saw my shock and offered an embarrassed smile.

“There should be more people in the morning, but… because of the dungeon, as you can see, it’s like this. Ahaha…”

Expecting liveliness in this cesspool of a situation had been foolish.

“By the way, young master. Is there a particular reason you chose the market? There’s a lot to see here.”

The reason was obvious.

I answered plainly:

“It’s the same reason I stormed into the administrators’ office first.”

“No way…”

She swallowed hard.

An awkward silence stretched.

What? Why that face?

“Are there embezzlers to arrest here too…?”

No, what on earth?

‘Was clearing a domain with talent a bit premature?’

I rubbed my face and answered:

“…No. It’s because you can see the flow of money.”

“Ah.”

Everyone spends half their life on economic activity:

Production, selling, purchasing.

How human life functions.

How do you grasp that most intuitively?

By understanding how their money circulates. That’s what I meant.

‘That’s why I went to the administrators’ office to look at the books.’

The market concentrates the residents’ economic activity.

What they make, what they sell, what they consume.

In other words, how they live.

“To learn that, visiting the market is a hundred times faster than touring every shop or every field.”

“…I completely understand!”

I hoped she did.

Following Ronari’s lead, our first stop was:

A cluster of food-supply stalls.

I pointed at a row and asked:

“Grains and vegetables are piled up, but the fruit section is bare. Do you know why?”

“Yes. Fruit prices have risen a lot. I heard the dungeon that spawned is in the orchard district. They can’t access it… so this harvest dropped significantly.”

I see.

‘A dungeon in the orchards, huh….’

Once again, the dungeon was the culprit.

But that meant if we handled the dungeon, fruit production would bounce back.

And since it wasn’t a storm that ruined the crop, the fruit should still be on the trees.

“If we could just clear that dungeon, the orchards would return.”

“Well, it’s easier said than done.”

It was the first cynical remark I’d heard from Ronari.

I wasn’t surprised.

Retaking the orchards?

If it were easy, they’d have done it already.

A bit of cynicism was only natural.

‘But, Administrator Ronari, most problems yield to money.’

“Administrator Ronari, what’s your estimate of the orchards’ value… the ones we can’t use because of that dungeon?”

“Uh, well. Usually the total price of fruit produced there in a year is…”

She started calculating.

Seconds later, she answered decisively:

“Considering depreciation from other factors, the monetary value within Denabi is about 39.7 billion. It could be higher long-term.”

What… this girl knew that offhand?

‘Good. She loses a few points for that earlier weird answer, but can she handle the next one too?’

“Ahem. Do you recall the average monthly defense expenditure I mentioned yesterday?”

“Yes. About 3.3 billion.”

Good, good! Exactly.

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“We have 3.3 billion… or to be conservative, say 4 billion. If we spent an additional 4 billion, we could double our one-month assault strength against the dungeon. Right?”

“Yes, that sounds about right. Rushing to conscript personnel and equipment would cost more. Ah, perhaps…”

She seemed to catch what I was aiming for.

‘Good. So far, so good.’

Snap!

“…!?”

I snapped my fingers to cut her off.

“I caught Chief Administrator Tandel’s embezzlement yesterday. As a result, our ledgers increased by 1.8 billion. It’s a rogue’s way to count it, but it’s as if 1.8 billion that didn’t exist now does. If we can just secure another 2.2 billion…”

“You mean we could fund the operation to retake orchards worth nearly 40 billion… is that it?”

I nodded, pleased.

How about it? Isn’t this a master plan?

Ronari’s eyes widened.

“Forty billion is more than 20% of Denabi’s current treasury! If with just 4 billion we can clear the dungeon and retake the orchards… the domain’s finances would ease up. Future assaults would become easier too! But…”

There it was… the last question lingering.

“…If we could only get that remaining 2.2 billion. Do you have a way, young master?”

“I do.”

Color returned to her face for a heartbeat.

“Really, really? You’re not lying? But 2.2 billion is a lot of money…”

Goodness, this girl worries a lot.

“Sorry to say, but until I stepped in, you didn’t even notice Tandel’s scheme. Can you really insist we can’t earn more? You’re not hiding anything from me like Tandel did, are you?”

“A-a-a-no… I… I’m absolutely not!”

Wait… that was just a remark?

‘But this… her reaction is suspicious, no matter how you look at it.’