[A Golden Opportunity]
The Seneschal stepped down from the podium, and Head Maid Chloe took his place. "I shall explain the rest. As you all know, our great Baron Esper’s eldest daughter, Yekaterina, has become engaged to the Saxen Viscounty. The meeting I attended was to strengthen the ties between our two noble houses."
—BANG!
Head Maid Chloe suddenly slammed her fist onto the podium. Everyone jumped, and I flinched as well. That petite frame of hers packs some serious punch.
"However, that was merely the surface! In truth, this meeting was a [Secret Gathering] of high-ranking nobles, where [Advanced Intelligence]—information never meant for the ears of commoners—was exchanged!!!"
Chloe shouted with a booming voice, her expression heavy with meaning.
"Ad... advanced intelligence?!"
"A secret... gathering?"
"What could that be?"
The maids and servants gulped, their eyes fixed solely on her. Having secured their undivided attention, Chloe flicked the monster subjugation request form in her hand, making it snap sharply.
"As you can see, this is a goblin subjugation request. You are all aware that, strangely enough, an enormous number of goblins have appeared, even though it isn't harvest season. Just listening to the talk in the village, stories abound about crops being stolen by goblins, village girls being kidnapped, or adventurers and merchants going missing."
"I think I heard that too."
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen that busty girl who delivers milk from the ranch for a few days..."
"And the city gates are closing earlier than usual, too..."
Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, Chloe confirmed that the shills she had planted were doing their jobs properly, and she continued her speech.
"This anomaly is not limited to our Esper Barony. Goblins have appeared in massive numbers in the Saxen Viscounty as well, which is why we held the meeting to discuss the problems of our two allied territories. However, the reason this is being kept strictly secret is none other than..."
Chloe trailed off to heighten the tension, swallowed hard, and then continued.
"...It is to entrust this matter to the Adventurer's Guild at the territory level."
Everyone looked puzzled. What? I felt the same way. Fantasy = Goblins = Adventurer's Guild = Request. Isn't that the standard procedure? Does this really require a secret meeting? Is she just hyping this up for no reason?
But then, a piece of news reached our ears that made everyone—including me, a dog—prick up their ears.
"And it’s for a bounty that is twice as high as the standard rate, at that."
"Gasp!"
"Twice as much?"
"Yes, that is correct. From what I heard, they decided to increase the reward from 1 copper per 4 goblins to 1 copper per 2 goblins. This will be announced in three days, and it is a matter that our Esper Barony and the Saxen side will announce simultaneously."
Chloe spat as she shook the parchment. "However, this is only temporary! If we were to go through the Adventurer's Guild, the actual payout would effectively double when you factor in commissions and labor costs! In reality, it could jump to 1 copper per goblin head! That’s a fourfold increase!"
"Fo... fourfold!"
"400%?!"
"For just one goblin?!"
The crowd was in shock. 1 copper per goblin head. I don't have a great sense of the economy in this fantasy world, but it must be a massive sum for a commoner.
"Excuse me. I have a question."
Her heated speech paused for a moment, and someone in the front raised their hand. A young man who looked like a servant raised his hand, and Head Maid Chloe pointed at him.
"Jason. Go ahead."
"Um... what does the increase in goblin subjugation rewards have to do with us? We work in this mansion; we aren't adventurers or mercenaries who earn money by fighting."
"A good point. Of course, I am not telling you to go out and catch goblins. Furthermore, as I just said, this fact has been kept as a [Secret Gathering] between nobles and is scheduled to be announced in three days by mutual agreement."
"That... is true, isn't it?"
As the servant named Jason replied skeptically, Chloe smirked.
"But you all know this fact in advance, don't you?"
"Uh... uh..."
"In three days, the price per goblin head will skyrocket by a whopping [4 times]. However, unfortunately, our Barony cannot announce this to the public first. This is a matter agreed upon with the Saxen Viscounty."
At those words, Jason, the servant who seemed to have been struck by a hammer of realization, spoke in an excited voice.
"Th... that means...! If we let other people know about this... and collect the heads in advance... mmmph!"
"You clueless idiot!!! How can you just blurt that out!"
"Four times! It's four times!"
Others rushed over to forcibly cover the mouth of the clueless servant named Jason and dragged him away. Chloe, who was surveying the greedy masses blinded by money, wore a satisfied smile, having achieved her desired result. She was the very image of a ruler dominating the space.
"My, my. I never said any such thing. This is a [Fact You Do Not Know]. Besides, we cannot just hand out money indefinitely. It is only to subjugate the goblins that have suddenly increased. Furthermore... goblins aren't infinite, they are [Limited], and I heard this request is [Urgent]..."
Chloe muttered like a voice-phishing scammer posing as a skilled telemarketer, then quickly put on a refreshed expression.
"Wouldn't it all be cleared out once word gets around here and there within three days?"
"Th... three days!!!!!!!!!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!!!!"
"I can't believe it! A weekly bonus!!! And secret information!!!"
"Head Maid Chloe!! We believe in you! We believe in you!!!"
"Four times!!! Wooooooo!!!!!"
Head Maid Chloe laughed, "Ho ho," at the sight of the fanatics, who looked like followers of a cult. The Seneschal standing behind her also seemed satisfied, clapping his hands with his cane hooked over his arm, and Angela looked up at the Head Maid with envious eyes.
"Now, everyone calm down. But as I said, what is one of the things I always tell you?"
"[Reward the good, punish the evil]!"
"Exactly. I believe that only those who can properly utilize this [Secret Information] and are diligent should be given the opportunity. So, decide here. Either vomit up the bonus you just received and stay in the mansion for three days to keep the secret, or... use this opportunity to actively go out and earn a fortune."
".........."
Silence hung over the room. Vomit up the weekly bonus they had just received and stay in the mansion for three days until the information leaked? There were too few options. Besides, if everyone left the mansion to hunt for goblin heads, who would clean the mansion? Who would cook? Who would entertain the guests?
However, that, too, was included in the calculations of the incredibly shrewd Chloe.
"As it happens, the Baron and the Baroness suddenly left for a trip to the main estate today, so no one would know if there was no one in the mansion for a while."
".........!!!!!!!!!!"
"For your information, you know the Baron takes care of the loyalty of his household staff like us, right? Those who have been here for a long time know it even better. You know what happened back when the territory war broke out."
Chloe's words meant that this entire event was Baron Hordin's way of filling the pockets of his poor staff. The servants and maids of the great Esper Barony quickly checked each other and kept their distance.
"Maid Angela."
"Yes."
Before anyone knew it, Angela, the acting Head Maid, was sitting at a desk next to the podium, holding a piece of parchment and a quill.
"Pay will be deducted for the three days you are not working in the mansion. Of course, since you received your weekly pay as a bonus, it might not mean much. Those who wish to stay out overnight, come before me, sign, and leave."
As soon as Angela finished speaking, people rushed over to form a line.
"M... me first!"
"Move!"
"My rank is higher!"
"I've been here longer!"
There was one puppy watching the people rushing at each other from below, blankly.
'What a dog-eat-dog world.'
It was none other than Tommy, the hyper-intelligent genius dog.
******
As all the servants and maids in the mansion packed their bags and left in an instant, the Esper mansion became very quiet. Seneschal Heather and Head Maid Chloe, sitting facing each other in the garden, drank the cheap black tea poured by Angela and blossomed with laughter in a harmonious atmosphere. Right next to them, Tommy, the puppy, was running around the green lawn, chasing a butterfly fluttering in the air. In the picturesque scenery, the Seneschal opened his mouth.
"Excellent."
"Who taught me, I wonder?"
"Well. This old man wouldn't know."
"You've always said that."
"So, what will you do now? You know this won't be solved by just this, right?"
Chloe, with no one to watch, leaned back comfortably and sipped her black tea before replying.
"Of course. If I unleash the kids below and leak the information that goblins are money, at least the immediate fire will... the villagers will also step up to subjugate them... urgh. Still, the most important thing is, as always..."
"The missing adventurers and merchants."
"Exactly. The eldest young lady is also racking her brain over that problem right now. Whether the sudden disappearance of so many people is because of the goblins, or if it's because of other monsters, or if bandits have infiltrated from somewhere. Because there's no way to know the reason."
Seneschal Heather nodded at the words of the well-grown Head Maid Chloe.
"It's ambiguous to pull any more troops from the territory to find the people."
"Really? Even if a gang of robbers or mountain bandits came, there’s nothing to steal anyway. We should just send all the guards and find the missing people."
"If you always think extremely, you will eventually collapse. You must always think about what lies behind."
"There is no return without risk. Especially in a situation like ours."
"Don't you think someone induced this situation?"
"I hate getting on a board someone else has laid out with my temper. I'd rather just smash everything."
Angela listened intently to the conversation between the two, who didn't give an inch, and occasionally poured black tea into the emptying cups.
"Anyway, finding the missing people is the biggest problem, and it needs to be solved as quickly as possible. If the Imperial Court sends investigators, we'll be in trouble if the adventurer or merchant guilds make a fuss, even if we keep our mouths shut. But no matter how much I think about it, I don't know. What to do about this... Seneschal, what do you think?"
Chloe let out a deep sigh, and her cute expression drooped. Seeing that, Heather smiled and replied.
"The best way is to hire an expert. Use an adventurer specialized in tracking monsters, or a ranger specialized in tracking. They must also be tight-lipped."
"Is there such talent attached to this great Esper Barony?"
"Of course, there isn't one here."
At Heather's smiling words, Chloe's brow narrowed.
"No, seriously... don't joke around."
"That is why, when the young lady and you left for the Saxen house, I had already arranged it just in case."
"What? What is that..."
"Seneschal!"
Just then, a guard holding a spear ran over from afar.
"A guest has arrived."
As if he had been waiting, Seneschal Heather stood up from his seat.
"It seems they have arrived right on time."