A Guest from the Empire – Part Two
"Inspection unit, prepare yourselves."
"If you continue to obstruct us, we will use force within the limits permitted."
They were going to blow. I couldn't even begin to guess how rigid a woman they had sent.
"Hey! All of you—just finish cleaning this place up!"
"Understood."
Stalling for time would only tank the evaluation further. We scrambled through a rough, hurried cleanup of the manor. We probably hadn't managed to hide everything—but standing by while our people clashed with the Inspection Bureau's force was out of the question.
"Ah—forgive me. I was delayed making preparations."
And so my first impression of the inspector was…
She's small.
I was grateful the thought never made it out of my mouth. She really was on the short side.
About a hundred and fifty centimeters, maybe?
But that was almost beside the point. Everything about her radiated experience and severity. Short black hair that matched the crisp, no-nonsense cut of her face. Blue eyes, one of them watching me through a monocle.
"I am Cassius, master of this estate and second son of House Valerius."
"Good day. I am Elin Belmore of the Imperial Inspection Bureau."
She observed proper courtesy toward a noble first, then presented her identification.
"As you can see, once I have completed my duties as inspector, I intend to depart at once. Hospitality will not be necessary."
"Well, you've come a long way. Letting you rest for a moment won't make us vanish."
"I can hardly keep imposing on a nobleman."
Not a single opening.
Then the best approach was to ease the tension a little and simply show her around.
"Before anything else, show me the warehouse where the ledgers are kept."
"Very well."
"There's still a mountain of things we haven't put in order."
"As one of my men already told you, we only just returned from the wedding ceremony. Things are rather chaotic."
"That's fine. We did not come to inspect how neatly a military unit keeps house."
Polite—and completely empty of give. She kept jotting something into a booklet no larger than her own small frame. I had no idea what she was writing.
"It's a little disordered, but if you're willing, I'll show you the way."
"Yes. Please do."
By rank alone a noble stood above her—but the office made the person. I couldn't tell which of us was truly higher.
"Here we are…"
I opened the warehouse door, praying the servants had finished putting everything away—
"Hey—hey, the shelf's going over!"
"What? I told you to brace it from underneath!"
"Aaaagh—!"
Crash!
One bookcase toppled, taking the one beside it down with it. Books and scrolls spilled everywhere in a wild cascade.
"You absolute idiots…"
I couldn't stop the curse from leaving my mouth, inspector or no inspector.
"……"
Until now Elin had worn only the faintest look of suspicion toward me. Seeing the full-blown disaster before her, her expression shifted slightly.
What on earth are these people doing?
That was the face she made.
Ahem.
"We'll help you tidy up. Let's begin at once."
Well—at least she was getting to work. We had hidden the important things well enough. It should be fine.
Right. If we just get through this, we're clear.
"This is a common method. They underreport the population, but without consistency—compare it against the ordinary survey records and the missing tax revenue jumps right out."
"This one's a little more sophisticated. Foodstuffs listed at luxury prices, and the supply ledgers match those inflated figures. But if you dig up the actual notices issued to the soldiers, a completely different menu appears."
We were being thoroughly gutted. Every single improvised cover-up, without exception, was being torn open.
"Ah—mark that one as well. I'll be taking the original; if you need reference material, I'll leave a transcript for you to process."
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
I still had no idea how she managed to cram so much writing into that tiny booklet.
"There is no such thing as a truth that stays buried forever."
Of one thing I was certain: nearly every problem I had wanted to keep hidden had already been exposed.
"Tax revenue manipulated. Local populations plundered beyond the authorized levels. Funds spent on campaigns that never even existed."
Now she was staring straight at me. If this report reached the capital, I would be looking at forced deployment to some godforsaken frontier—at the very least.
Or execution?
I had only just taken a wife!
Damn it. All or nothing.
I was not dying like this.
"Wait. Can we talk for a moment?"
"Do you intend to use force?"
The inspector immediately stepped back, booklet in hand. Her guards moved between us.
"No. We also campaign in the name of His Imperial Majesty. I'm saying we should speak honestly."
Plenty of what we had done would look damning under inspection. But none of it had gone into my family's coffers or my personal purse.
"Just because this is an audit doesn't mean we only have to deal with problems like these, does it?"
"…Very well. Speak."
She was deeply, deeply suspicious. I doubted she would truly listen to anything I said. The moment I took a single step forward—
Click.
—she took a step back.
"Her Majesty the Empress issued a clear order: seize the forward territories as far as the riverlands."
"And so you embezzled. Is that what you're saying?"
"Yes."
"…?"
She had clearly expected a denial. A flicker of puzzlement crossed her face. She had seemed nothing but severe—yet her nature showed more readily in her expressions than I would have guessed.
"The gold the Empire sends us—how much do you think it's actually worth in the local markets?"
"Imperial currency has never changed."
"That's because your goods are rotting in piles at the center—ah. I mean in the capital, of course."
Calm down. Getting heated wouldn't help me make my case.
"Out here, even imperial gold is already worth only half of what it used to be."
"That… is interesting."
She opened her booklet.
"Please continue."
There might still be a chance to salvage this.
"So what you're saying is that the funds the Empire provides… are insufficient for the actual war?"
"Exactly. That's right."
I was already venting, but this was better. This was the Empire's real problem—and it meant I could tell the truth about our side of things.
Push this as a frontline grievance before the audit turns into a formal charge.
Even I had to admit it was a solid strategy. And it was true.
"Think about it. The men are owed a certain amount—and that amount is worth half of what it should be."
"Even so, the military itself belongs to the Empire, does it not?"
"And how well do you expect an army to move when you pay it so little?"
The inspector who had introduced herself as Elin glanced toward the guards escorting her—as if seeking their opinion.
"Not everyone serves out of a sense of duty."
Nods all around.
Yes. They're nodding.
"So yes—we diverted tax revenue and requisitioned more resources than authorized. But the reality is different."
"Different in what way?"
"……"
That had been ice-cold.
"We didn't spend a single coin on family greed or personal desire."
Should I show her this?
"Hey—bring the ledgers we hid!"
So the materials from the underground storage came up as well.
"There's even more diversion here…"
Damn it. They could have been a little more selective.
"Anyway—look carefully at where the funds obtained this way were actually spent."
Military funds. Then the more granular line items.
"Provisions. Weapon maintenance. Performance bonuses for outstanding small units."
"See? The money—"
"One moment."
She chewed the end of her pen, thinking hard.
"Standard rewards… factoring in the claimed local prices…"
She wrote the numbers she was calculating down the page.
"They nearly match. A more thorough review will be needed, but there's nothing irregular about this ledger."
A long breath left me.
Was it over now?
"In that case, I will need a more detailed account."
"Of what?"
"I intend to verify the actual market prices of goods traded in this region."
She really was relentless…
"Yes. There appear to be no falsehoods."
At last she closed her booklet and began her closing remarks.
"There is something everyone misunderstands."
"Which is?"
"I am not the sort of person who personally executes corrupt nobles."
Then what?
Had all the rumors so far been nothing more than Carna's bluster? She was going to need a little discipline in bed for that…
"I simply bring every wrongdoing before Her Majesty."
"……"
Which amounted to the same thing.
"No. Therefore I will take both this record of irregularities and everything you have told me about the front, and present it all to Her Majesty."
She rose from her seat. The conversation was over.
"Judgment always rests with Her Majesty."
She was so perfectly manual it was almost impressive.
"Ah—and this is separate, but how do the soldiers in this region spend their leisure time?"
"Why don't we go look around together?"
"If you simply indicate the locations, I will walk them myself."
I marked the places on a map.
"What is this one?"
"A brothel."
"Ah. I see."
She was writing—then suddenly stopped.
"But what sort of leisure does one enjoy at a brothel?"
"Sex?"
"Ah. Is that so."
Was she seriously asking because she didn't know?
"Is sexual intercourse considered a form of leisure?"
"…Are you asking me?"
"Yes."
Why?
My brain felt as if it had briefly turned to mush, but I pushed the conversation forward anyway.
"For the sake of the men's morale."
Something about this is off.
"Does the front view sexual intercourse as having an effect similar to encouragement or support?"
"No—it's more that when something builds up, people want to release it. Human desire. For those who need it…"
"Releasing what has built up is desire…"
Scratch, scratch.
Why was she writing that down too…?
The conversation stalled, as if neither of us could quite grasp the other's meaning.
"In any case—thank you for your cooperation."
"Yes. Please make sure Her Majesty hears the front's side of things."
Has that woman ever done anything in her life besides inspect people?