Chapter 15: Delos Is in Sight

“Damn it!”

Pablo lamented as he watched Dien’s figure fade into the distance.

The strength of the girls blocking his path was so immense that he couldn’t move forward even an inch.

“Don’t bully our musician!”

The girls threw sharp words at Pablo, who had slumped to the ground.

“Sigh… No respect at all for artists.”

People nearby also clicked their tongues in disapproval.

He wanted to reveal immediately that he was the Court Musician, but he looked so pathetic sitting there that he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Dien’s figure completely disappeared from sight.

Now that there was no reason to struggle, his strength left him.

The girls who had been blocking his way eventually left as he sat there limply.

Pablo stared up at the sky with a hollow heart.

Dien was gone, but the lingering impression he left behind was still vivid.

“How did that melody go again…?”

Pablo tried to recall the notes of the song Dien had played.

“Hum hum hum~ Hum hum~~, no, more cheerful than that! Hum hum huum!”

After sitting on the street humming for quite a while, Pablo suddenly spread his arms and burst into a boisterous laugh.

It wasn’t perfect, but he had managed to piece together a rough score of the song Dien had performed.

“Hahaha! This is insane! How can this be!”

Pablo reviewed the sheet music he had drawn in his mind.

His mouth wouldn’t close at the sheer shock of a format he had never even imagined before.

“This recital will be a success…”

The atmosphere of the piece shattered existing frameworks.

The King would surely sense that it wasn’t a standardized melody, and he would undoubtedly be struck by a fresh shock. Just as Pablo himself had been when he saw the street musician today.

“I must… find him.”

A musician who had vanished after delivering a tidal wave of inspiration in just three minutes. He couldn’t erase the image of the man who had drawn out such a dazzling melody from his mind.

If they crossed paths again, he would recruit him for the Royal Orchestra no matter what.

He knew better than anyone how destitute a street musician’s life was.

After all, he had once been a street musician himself.

If he promised a certain reward, the man likely wouldn’t refuse a position in the orchestra, let alone a role as an attendant.

“He will definitely show up again.”

When a musician runs out of money, they are bound to appear in the plaza.

He wouldn’t let him go next time.

Biting his lip firmly, Pablo stood up with a determined expression.

***

“I’m doomed…”

Dien, who had headed to the royal castle, was beyond horrified.

The aide’s office. And Persian Cherbil’s office, located further inside.

He had opened the door to the aide’s office and sat in an empty seat, but Persian Cherbil’s aide had rushed over and told him to get up, saying he had a separate assigned seat.

So, he followed him to move his seat…

The aide stopped in front of Persian Cherbil’s office door and knocked.

“Come in.”

Persian Cherbil’s voice sounded heavy from within.

“Young Lord Dien has arrived.”

The aide pointed to a seat positioned diagonally from Persian Cherbil.

“The Young Lord may use that desk.”

“Eh?”

Just imagining it felt suffocating.

He couldn’t slack off right next to the Blood Chancellor.

When Dien asked back with wide eyes, the aide was visibly struggling to hold back his laughter.

It seemed he found it amusing that Dien had to work right next to his superior.

“Is this funny to you?”

Dien asked him with just the movements of his lips.

As their eyes met, the aide’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

This guy.

He was laughing instead of looking at him with pity.

Once he received his official appointment, Dien vowed to put in a personnel request to keep this guy by his side.

Just you wait; I’ll show you what a working hell looks like.

With that resolution, Dien headed to his seat.

“Did we not agree previously to conduct your successor lessons in my office?”

Persian Cherbil spoke, glancing briefly at Dien.

“I didn’t realize the seat would be right next to yours…”

The words only hovered inside his mouth.

Following his words, the aide withdrew.

Dien couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

He barely managed to manage his expression and sat down beside him.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Yes! I will bring it immediately.”

“No. Stay where you are. Petro—.”

“Yes!”

The aide who had just left entered again.

“Two teas.”

“Yes!”

Dien gave Petro a sharp glare.

Flinching, Petro quickly exited the office.

The aide brought the tea, and Persian Cherbil, who had been scanning documents in silence, finally spoke.

“Have you heard that there is a mana stone mine in the Asmania region?”

Persian Cherbil tossed the question out casually while looking at his papers.

“Yes, I am aware. It is a mine whose output alone meets the entire mana stone demand of the Kingdom of Delos. It was nationalized in the fifth year of the kingdom’s founding, and to this day, the mining, refining, distribution, and management are all overseen by an agency under the Chancellor’s office.”

Dien replied, recalling the content he had heard during his lessons.

“Exactly. But it seems the managers dispatched there are playing games with the budget.”

Persian Cherbil continued to speak as if it were a trivial matter.

“What makes you say that?”

“The livelihoods of the mine managers have improved significantly.”

At Persian Cherbil’s words, Dien nodded deeply.

They were bureaucrats with fixed salaries. If their household wealth had improved noticeably, it was Persian Cherbil’s reasonable suspicion that there was corruption involved.

Even in his previous life, there was a system called the ‘Public Official Wealth Registration.’

It was a system designed to ensure the fairness of public service by disclosing the assets of high-ranking officials to regulate the acquisition of wealth through their positions and prevent illegal wealth accumulation.

If wealth increased, they had to submit the reasons along with supporting documentation.

“You are suspicious of them.”

“The problem is that it’s only a suspicion; there’s no physical evidence. And it seems the Ministry of Finance has caught a whiff of it too. They’re showing signs of organizing their own inspection team to poke around the mine… We need to handle it before they do.”

Persian Cherbil’s expression was grim.

If the Ministry of Finance found evidence and disciplined someone from the Chancellor’s office…

It would be like a neighbor coming into your house to tell you how to manage your chores.

Furthermore, the Chancellor’s office and the Ministry of Finance were rivals that constantly checked and pressured each other.

With political reasons mixed in, there was no way his expression could be bright.

“Are there no other unusual points besides the improvement in the managers’ lifestyles?”

“That’s right.”

At Persian Cherbil’s answer, Dien’s eyes grew sharp.

“Is there perhaps a merchant guild near the mine that could launder the budget?”

“The operation of the mine is entirely under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Delos. No merchant guilds are involved.”

“Is there no possibility that they are siphoning off the mined mana stones?”

“There are too many eyes for that to be possible. Besides, if they released siphoned mana stones onto the market, they would have been caught by now.”

“Then there is only one method they would choose.”

At Dien’s final remark, Persian Cherbil turned his head.

“Consumables.”

Dien answered with a firm gaze.

As if he were used to such matters.

“Consumables?”

“Yes. Consumables used for mining. For example, things like shovels, gloves, paper, and the mana stones used to power the mining machinery—things that are used and then discarded. They likely manipulated those. They might be reporting that they bought consumables they never actually purchased, or they might have inflated the prices to unfairly demand more budget.”

“So you’re saying it’s possible because they can excuse it by saying they already used and threw away the consumables even if an inspection comes?”

“Yes, please look into the consumables specifically. One of them will surely get caught.”

Dien replied with a nod.

“Impressive.”

It was a genuine exclamation directed at Dien.

He had mentioned it just to vent his frustrations, but Dien had found an answer so easily.

“I have a morning meeting I must attend. Could you investigate the mine matter for me?”

“Yes. If you provide Aide Petro to assist me, I will investigate it with him.”

“Let it be so.”

Aide Petro, who had sneered while showing him to his seat.

Perhaps an opportunity for revenge would come sooner than expected.

He would tell him only what he needed to do and work him to the bone.

The amount of consumables used in a mine would be astronomical.

Tracking every single one of them would be an unimaginably grueling task.

“I’ll make sure you never smile at me again!”

A wicked smile played on Dien’s lips.

Just as Persian Cherbil was packing his things to leave the office.

Watching him, Dien called out to stop him.

“Chancellor!”

“What is it?”

Persian Cherbil turned back toward Dien.

“Are you taking your sword with you?”

Dien barely forced the words out.

“Yes, is there a problem?”

Dien contemplated for a long moment whether he should speak. His lips kept trembling.

“Speak quickly. I don’t have much time.”

Since Persian Cherbil had seated him in the adjacent spot out of favor, surely he could handle this much honesty.

After agonizing over it, Dien spoke.

“Please leave the sword behind.”

“The sword? Why is that?”

“You are attending the meeting as the head of the Chancellor’s office. I thought it might be better to set aside your status as a High Knight and attend the meeting solely in that capacity.”

Persian Cherbil’s eyebrows twitched at Dien’s words.

Dien’s heart sank, fearing he had crossed a line, but he continued speaking.

“A sword is scarier when it’s in its scabbard, and a scabbard is more fearsome when it remains unseen.”

A long silence followed.

Persian Cherbil thought about it for a while.

Had he perhaps been carrying the sword to compensate for what he lacked until now?

To show off his history as a High Knight to others?

But now, he wanted to be reborn not as a knight, but as an administrative official and the capable head of the Chancellor’s office.

The weight of the title of Chancellor had become greater than the honor of being a High Knight.

“Still as arrogant as ever…”

Despite his words, Persian Cherbil set the sword down with a faint smile.

As he reached for the doorknob again.

“Wait a moment, Count!”

“What now!”

Dien called him back once more.

“Please keep wearing the pince-nez you were using.”

“…..?”

At Persian Cherbil’s question, Dien scratched his cheek and looked at the wall.

“Just because.”

“Just because?”

“Just… because it makes you look gentler and more intellectual.”

At Dien’s words, Persian Cherbil burst into a fit of laughter while still holding the doorknob.

“Bwahahaha!”

After laughing for a long time, Persian Cherbil suddenly gestured toward Dien.

When Dien just stared blankly, not understanding the meaning of the gesture, he shouted.

“You told me to wear the glasses! Bring them here quickly!”

“Yes!”

Dien grabbed the pince-nez from the desk and ran over to Persian Cherbil.

***

The southern entrance of the capital.

Through a low-lying fog, a group riding white horses moved rapidly.

Neither the tall silver grass nor the sinking ground beneath the fallen leaves could slow them down or hold them back.

“Saintess, we can reach Delos in half a day.”

“Let’s pick up the pace.”

The seal of a ‘Sun’ pattern was engraved on the saddles.

It was the insignia used by the Paladins of the Holy City.

A hundred members had set out from the Holy Empire, but to shake off the formless energy pursuing them, the members had gradually scattered, leaving only ten now.

Because the devils also coveted the power they sought. They relentlessly sent monsters to monitor them.

“Damn it.”

Saintess Shilona shouted as she spotted a red-eyed crow hovering in the sky.

“We’ve been discovered!! Paladins, listen! We are splitting in half again! Five of you, including Captain Ben, turn southeast toward Delos and then head back toward the Holy Empire. The remaining five, including myself, will continue toward Delos!”

“Yes!”

At Shilona’s command, the Paladins split in half and scattered in an orderly fashion.

Seeing this, the red-eyed crow followed Ben’s group, fortunately.

“We can’t afford any more losses in manpower.”

As Shilona raised her hand and clenched her fist, the following knights simultaneously pulled their reins and brought their horses to a halt.

“From here, we walk.”

In the plains ahead, they hid themselves in the tall silver grass to avoid being spotted by the monsters.

“Let’s go… I can see Delos.”

The high fortress walls finally revealed themselves before them.

With Shilona leading the way in a low crawl while scouting the surroundings, the remaining knights began to follow quietly behind her.