The Duke summoned Butler Apel, the maid, and the cook to the meeting room.
He had ordered everyone in the house to be called, searched every corner, but these were all who could be gathered.
He really is a remarkably down-to-earth person for a Duke.
Everyone sat around a small table that looked like it could seat about six people.
It was hard to read the expressions of those gathered.
They seemed calm, and in some ways, even cold.
“Well then, Clerk. Let’s talk about the documents you drafted earlier.”
At Duke Helpion’s words, I cleared my throat and began to speak.
“I’ll get straight to the point. In the Helpion Duchy, there are three major factions that control the flow of the market, order, and regulations.”
I paused here and looked at the others to gauge their reactions.
Their faces remained impassive.
Was it because this was all information they already knew?
Or were they simply keeping their composure because the Duke was present?
For now, I decided to continue the briefing.
“When I first saw the documents, I was taken aback. The taxes were a complete mess, and the actual transaction prices, which serve as the basis for those taxes, would change drastically in just a day or two.”
These were things hard to call normal.
“So I focused my attention elsewhere. Rather than looking at the prices of goods, I looked at who was actually involved in the transactions.”
There’s something a Professor at Delphi Academy always drilled into me when I was learning administrative work.
The answer lies in the numbers.
Numbers don’t lie.
But.
Not every number is written in the documents.
The person who writes them can lie, after all. That’s why, when reviewing documents, you must consider what the writers are trying to say, and what intentions lie behind the actions of those named in the documents.
You have to read between the lines.
“The first group I discovered was the Grizzly Mercenary Corps. They handle the sales of Monster byproducts.”
The Grizzly Mercenary Corps was the largest mercenary group in the Helpion Duchy.
All of their mercenaries were A-rank, totaling about 250.
Considering that most other groups ranged from 50 to 100 members, this was an overwhelming number.
“They were formed by Pan, a merchant-turned-war profiteer, during the Empire’s war 15 years ago.”
Butler Apel added some details that would have been hard to gather from the documents alone.
“Pan is both cunning and devious, but also possesses formidable strength. Although he started as a merchant, he’s skilled enough to be considered a beginner Swordmaster.”
“Pan consistently trades goods outside the Duchy, using his mercenaries to move merchandise and keep the prices of Monster byproducts steady.”
“What do you think about the price trends?”
At the Duke’s question, I recalled one of the documents I had reviewed that afternoon.
“It’s a mess—strange, even.”
“In what way?”
“To get proper prices for Monster byproducts, they have to be worth that much.” That’s why even some Monster dung has value.
“For example, the debris that falls from a Gargoyle’s body contains magic, but in the end, it’s just a rock. It might be rare, but it’s not necessary, so it doesn’t fetch a high price.”
But there was something odd I noticed here.
“The items distributed by the Grizzly Mercenary Corps, and their prices, have no consistency. Completely useless goods sometimes fetch high prices, while materials essential for battle and survival are sometimes sold dirt cheap.”
“If there’s no consistency, can you really say they’re controlling the market?”
“So I took a broader view and noticed a certain intention.”
If their goal isn’t to dominate the market itself—
Then their actions make sense.
“They aren’t trying to set the price of each individual item. Rather, I believe they’re trying to keep the ‘market’ itself constantly alive within the Helpion Duchy.”
Currency doesn’t have an absolute value.
The value is set by the consensus of those who distribute and use it.
The Grizzly Mercenary Corps was targeting that very aspect.
“I see. Then, what’s the next faction?”
The Duke simply nodded, closing the first topic.
“Next is… well, since they don’t have an official name, I’ll call them the ‘Inn.’ Codename Inn refers to those in charge of maintaining order and security in the Duchy. Whenever an incident occurs, people gather at the Inn to resolve it.”
“Codename Inn, huh? Interesting.”
This time, there was a more lively reaction.
All four people, including the Duke, gave faint smiles.
“How does the Inn operate?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I suspect it’s a kind of informal court. If the people of the territory have grievances, they gather at the Inn in the evening, and by the time they leave, they’ve reached an agreement.”
No further questions followed my explanation.
Judging by their faces, it seemed they already knew about this.
“I see. Then, what’s the third faction?”
“The third, I called the Village Women’s Association.”
For the first time, the maid let out a clear laugh.
“Village Women’s Association? That’s a fun name.”
“The Village Women’s Association refers to the group of people who settled here with the Duchy’s warriors. It includes the mercenaries’ spouses, children, and all other family members.”
But it was far from an ordinary group.
“If you just hear that, they might seem like insignificant civilians, but their true nature is much stronger.”
Their strength was displayed in a different way.
“These people serve as the lifeblood of the Duchy. They handle village cleaning, everything from childbirth and childcare, and even form vigilante groups when Monsters attack.”
“But aren’t those things all civilians do in any territory?”
For the first time, the Head Chef spoke up.
A sharp question.
“Of course, if that were all, I wouldn’t have called them a faction. The reason I gave them that title is because they’re in charge of rumors.”
“Rumors?”
At the Duke’s follow-up, I nodded.
They are the blood.
They circulate, carrying nutrients throughout the Duchy.
“Calling it ‘rumors’ makes it sound too trivial. It’s better to say they handle information. Who got injured, or if a high-level dungeon was discovered—stories like that. From such trivial matters to high-level intelligence about Relics or Artifacts, everything spreads in just a day.”
But that was just what I thought at first.
The Akashic Record taught me that answers only come after intense contemplation.
“So I formed a hypothesis. All those countless stories exchanged at the bedside, the ones shared in the most comfortable places. If there is a hub where every story in the village converges…”
“Interesting. Then, who do you think is the president of the Village Women’s Association?”
At the Duke’s question, I pulled out a document.
“No matter how I look at it, it has to be Lady Elcia.”
Lady Elcia.
Seven years ago, she came to the Helpion Duchy with her husband and daughter, but her husband died within a year.
Since then, she has run the village grocery store with her daughter.
Most of the Duchy’s warriors live day-to-day by hunting, so there’s little proper farming.
So, most people end up visiting Lady Elcia’s grocery.
“Lady Elcia controls the flow of rumors, and based on those, she assigns tasks to the civilians of the Duchy. You could call her a kind of militia chief.”
“Hoho. To think you figured that out just from looking at documents.”
“The Clerk’s ability is… truly impressive. It’s not just about handling documents, but being able to infer information that’s not even written there.”
“Remarkable.”
After the third faction was covered, the retainers voiced their admiration.
Did I do well?
“All correct. Impressive. The previous Clerk took about two months to figure out the power structure.”
“Haha, I was just lucky.”
There were so many unprocessed documents piled up, it was possible.
If I’d had to process them every day, it probably would have taken me a month or two as well.
“There’s no need for humility. Being able to speak frankly about your abilities is also a virtue. Especially here in Helpion.”
“It’s a blessing for the Helpion territory. For such a talented person, far more capable than the previous chief, to have come here on their own.”
“There’s one more thing.”
I interrupted the Duke and the others.
Their puzzled gazes turned toward me.
Honestly, I was unsure about this part, so I debated whether to bring it up, but hadn’t the Duke said that being frank about one’s abilities was a virtue?
Then I might as well go for it.
“I said there were three major factions, but I never said those were all.”
“Are there no minor factions?”
“I don’t think they’re minor at all. In fact, the faction I’m about to mention wields far greater power than the previous three.”
The atmosphere in the room grew tense.
“This faction shakes the Duchy with capital. Sometimes, with more money than the Grizzly Mercenary Corps, they manipulate the Duchy’s finances. Some days, they flood the market with Monster byproducts almost for free; other days, they buy them up at exorbitant prices without limit.”
I slowly turned my head, meeting the eyes of each person one by one.
And then, I stopped on one.
Butler Apel.
“The final faction is Duke Helpion himself, and Apel, who acts on the Duke’s orders.”
At first, I had thought this.
That Duke Helpion, a brute who knows nothing but the sword, was only good at fighting.
That he left the territory alone because he knew nothing about administration.
So, the Duchy, while under the Duke’s rule, became a sort of autonomous region, with the Grizzly Mercenary Corps, the Inn, and Lady Elcia forming their own powers.
But then I found some odd documents.
Sometimes, things happen that the three factions alone could never accomplish.
And even those three are swept along, unable to resist the current.
In the Helpion Duchy, there’s only one power capable of that.
The Duke and his retainers.
The Duke wasn’t indifferent to his domain.
He simply played the role of a conductor, creating the minimal flow needed for the territory to sustain itself.
“…I’m truly astonished.”
The Duke looked at me, eyes wide.
“I was surprised before, but this is even more shocking. It’s like the feeling I had when I saw the Demon King’s Secret Technique at the Demon King’s Castle. Can you really see that much just from reading documents?”
“I studied hard.”
“Study, yes. Whether you master the sword or reach the peak through study, it’s all the same. I never understood what it meant to become a master in another field, but today my eyes have been opened.”
“You’re too kind.”
“As I said before, too much formality can be rude as well. Just a single afternoon. You’ve grasped secrets known only to the core members of the Duchy. It’s an amazing skill.”
I smiled at the Duke.
Here, revealing your abilities is considered a virtue—those were the Duke’s own words.
If that’s the case, surely there will be a reward commensurate with the abilities I’ve shown.
“Head Housekeeper and Head Chef, return to your duties. Only the Chamberlain and Clerk will remain.”