Uncollected Trade Taxes, Bribing Officials, Smuggling (3)
Half a day had passed since our arrival at Duke Eslend's castle.
Already the sun, risen beyond the ridgeline, was erasing the twilight that had settled over the world.
Though the hour was still quite early, I stood before the carriage, ready to leave the castle.
The Duke, who had gone out of his way to see me off, spoke.
"Caenderic, are you truly certain about this? If it would be a burden, I can try to talk her out of it somehow."
"It's fine. Having Lidia's help will make things a little smoother, so I'm actually glad of it."
I had accepted Lidia's request to use her as my assistant.
It would be a lie to say there were no private feelings involved, but that was not the only reason.
Lidia possessed exceptional talent for magic. She could have joined the Magic Tower, or even become an imperial mage if she set her mind to it. She simply remained an ordinary young woman because she herself had no desire for such a path.
Still, what is it that Lidia wants?
I did not know what Lidia wished for. Not in my previous life, and not in this one either. What was she living for? Perhaps discovering that was a task given to me as well.
Lidia appeared at my side before I knew it and bowed her head lightly.
"Father, I'll be going now."
"Don't make trouble for Caenderic."
"I'll keep that in mind."
That was the end of the farewell with the Duke. Lidia and I boarded the carriage at once and left the castle.
I watched the castle grow distant through the window, then turned my head. There was Lidia.
"Lidia, why on earth did you insist on coming along?"
"I wanted to see. Why you gave up your dream of becoming a knight and became an inspector instead."
"You could just ask me that."
"Well, if I asked, would you tell me the truth? No—actually, you know that better than anyone, Cain."
I could not easily answer Lidia's words. They had struck the mark dead center. Yet why did she believe I would not tell her the truth? I could not fathom the reason.
After that, we changed the subject and spoke of other things. Nothing important—just idle chatter. If I left the heavy atmosphere as it was, the entire journey with her would be difficult.
Even that did not last long, of course. No matter how much one might want to talk, one cannot chatter for two whole days. As time went on, the stretches of silence grew longer and longer.
Then came the second day. At last the carriage entered Casian County.
It was clear this was a center of trade, if nothing else. The number of carriages we met on the road was extraordinary, and every one of them was loaded to the brim with cargo.
"Cain, where do you plan to go first?"
"The port, for starters."
According to what Duke Eslend had said, there were people who had paid bribes to avoid the trade tax. The only way to confirm that was to go to the scene myself. Unless the Count himself was a complete fool, the ledgers would already have been thoroughly falsified.
Along with that, I needed to check for smuggled goods. From what I had seen in Lidia's diary, Count Casian seemed to have brought into the empire things that should never have been allowed in. That he was guilty was certain. All that remained was the process of proving it.
By the time the carriage arrived at the port, quite some time had passed—it was late afternoon. Lidia stepped down from the carriage, beamed, and ran off somewhere.
"Cain, look at that—!"
In the direction she headed lay the sea. The sun, perched precariously on the horizon, dyeing the water crimson, was a magnificent sight. I, too, was seeing the ocean for the first time, and I found myself quietly awed.
But such leisure did not last long. My eye caught a ship just then entering the harbor, and a man standing as if waiting for it. The man was neatly dressed and held a sheaf of papers in his hand—likely the one who managed this port.
"Lidia, this way."
I set off with Lidia. Before long we reached the man in question.
"What cargo is that ship carrying?"
"Cargo? How could I name just one thing? It's loaded with all sorts."
"I see."
"But... who might you be...?"
The man, who had kept his gaze fixed on the ship, turned his head only belatedly. Perhaps my unusually neat attire had drawn his attention. Confusion showed on his face.
"I'm Caenderic, from the Inspectorate. I'd like to see the ship entry records."
"Th-the Inspectorate...? What business brings someone from there all the way out here...?"
"I can't tell you that much. But don't worry. If there's no problem, I'll leave without doing a thing."
When I held out my hand, he hesitated, then handed over the sheaf of papers he was holding. The papers recorded ships' arrivals and departures. According to those records, there ought to have been a total of nine ships remaining in the harbor at present—yet—
"The number written on the paper doesn't match the number of ships docked."
"Th-that can't be. I recorded them one by one myself..."
"Then confirm it with your own eyes."
I showed him the records written on the paper. The record said nine. The actual number of ships docked in the harbor was ten. He scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ah, aigoo, I must have left one out by mistake. Getting old, my mind's all over the place."
"So it was a mistake—is that what you're saying?"
"That's right. A mistake."
There was some sense in his words. Anyone with a sound mind would hardly think of fleecing the empire. I only hoped it truly was a mistake.
"Who handles the management of trade goods?"
"A fellow named Carlson does that."
"Where is he?"
"Near the Chaldea that just put in... though you wouldn't know the name. The one with the blue deck and white sails."
The Chaldea was an especially large vessel among those docked. Even with two more ships between us and it, it was clearly visible.
"I'll be going, then."
"W-wait a moment, you need to give the record sheet back..."
"I'll return it once I've confirmed there's no problem. Until then, write a new one."
With that, I turned on my heel. Just as I was about to head for the Chaldea, I felt a vague sense of emptiness.
Lidia. Lidia was gone.
Realizing it only then, I hurriedly scanned the surroundings—and
What on earth is she doing over there...
Fortunately, I found her not far away. She was examining large crates in a secluded alley.
Haa—
I sighed and went straight to her.
"Lidia, what are you doing here?"
"Ah—, there's just something interesting."
"What's interesting?"
"There's magic on these crates. It looks like the contents have been disguised as something else."
"Can you tell what the original contents are?"
Lidia shook her head. Apparently even she could not know without seeing for herself.
Creeeak—
After a brief moment of thought, I opened a crate. The nails came free with a noisy clatter, but we were deep in the alley, so no one seemed to be watching.
"I-is that okay?"
"We can just hammer the nails back in. Dispel the magic for me."
Inside the crate were sacks filled with wheat. Lidia raised her hand over them—and the wheat in the sacks turned into green leaves.
I took a leaf and brought it to my nose. A smell that stabbed sharply at the nostrils. I had smelled it a few times in my previous life. Mostly on vagrants collapsed on the roadside, drooling. And no wonder—this was—
"It's a drug."
"R-really? I wouldn't know."
"I'll cover it back up for now."
I closed the crate's lid again and drove the protruding nails back in. With aura, something like this was nothing. I hadn't expected to use aura for work like this, though.
"Cain, what are you going to do?"
"Well..."
There were two possibilities. First, that the goods had nothing to do with Count Casian. Second, that they did. In the former case, I could seize them on the spot without issue. The crime would rest solely with the smuggler who brought the drugs in.
But the latter was a different story. Not only the smuggler but Count Casian himself would be guilty. If I exposed the crate's contents here, the Count would deny everything without fail. Proving the crime would become considerably harder then. So my choice was this.
"Lidia, can your magic do things like tracking locations?"
"It can."
"Then please put a tracking spell on the crate."
When Lidia placed her hand on the crate, a small magic circle appeared and then vanished. If not for her, I would have had to watch the crate from somewhere—so it was a tremendous stroke of luck.
Come to think of it, when we had gone to investigate Marquis Geneva, Lena had packed all sorts of survival supplies. Now I understood why. Being an inspector was truly a grueling occupation.
Just then, someone entered the alley where Lidia and I stood. A gaunt man in neat clothes.
"You shouldn't put your hands on those goods... They're meant for Count Casian..."
"We were simply talking for a moment."
"Ah—, I must have misunderstood. My apologies."
"By any chance... might you be Carlson?"
"Yes, I am Carlson, but..."
I had been about to go looking for him anyway. Convenient timing.
"I'm Caenderic from the Inspectorate. Let's have a short conversation."
Confusion settled over Carlson's face.