The Gold-Eye Tribe and the Gold-Eye Tribe (2)

When I opened the office door and stepped inside, Count Saliere was there.

The dark circles that had settled under his eyes indirectly showed the current state of the territory. He, too, was a public servant.

"Thank you so much for making time in your busy schedule."

"Come now, you're Rote's friend—there's no need to be so formal. Make yourself comfortable."

"Then...."

"Ah, before that."

Count Saliere slowly swept his gaze over me, rolling his eyes. His gaze mainly went toward my head.

Why was he staring at the top of my head? Had I started losing hair or something?

No, that couldn't be it. Sure, I'd been through a lot of stress, but this was a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe body—there was no reason for my hair to fall out. While I was having such pointless thoughts, Count Saliere narrowed his eyes and asked me.

"When did the dye come out?"

"Pardon?"

Again. It was the exact same question the maid had asked earlier.

Why were the people here acting like this? There was no reason for the mansion staff to suddenly start running a Truman Show with me as the subject.

If it wasn't a hidden camera, there was only one answer. Something involving me had happened while I was away. Maybe a doppelganger with a different hair color had been running around causing trouble or... yeah, that was absurd.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"Didn't you say not long ago that you'd come back from bleaching your hair at Auntie Camilla's hair salon?"

"I've never done that. I don't even know where that salon is."

"Strange."

We stared at each other blankly. Just like before, both of us wore expressions of mutual incomprehension. At the very least, one thing was certain: something had happened.

"Well, we can talk about that slowly later."

I had an uneasy feeling, but it wasn't an urgent matter. For now, dealing with the beastman issue took priority.

Count Saliere and I sat facing each other at the reception table situated on one side of the office. Just then, a maid brought out two cups of black tea. As he lifted his teacup, the count carefully read the courtesy letter I had sent.

"A curious thing. A Gold-Eye tribesman going to such lengths for beastmen."

At the count's question, I gave a wry smile and brought my teacup to my lips.

Exactly. If it weren't for Frey, I never would have taken any interest in beastmen. I probably wouldn't have even known what kind of tribe the Fox Beastmen were until I left this place.

"Do you know someone among the beastmen?"

"Yes. While I was heading west to meet an old friend, flood damage occurred. That was when I heard what my friend had to say. That the typhoon had left the tribe short on food, so they had to do something. That sort of thing."

I had to hide the fact that this friend was Frey. Not everyone in the Empire was as tolerant toward beastmen as Count Saliere. The best course was to conceal her identity so the little one could graduate from the academy safely.

"Mm, during this season it's often the case that a few tribes come down to raid or beg. That's something I already knew."

Oh, competent. This made the conversation much easier.

"How have you dealt with it in the past?"

"If we could talk, we shared food. If the tribe couldn't be reasoned with, we blocked them and drove them out. The beastmen tribes each have different dispositions, so you have to handle them as the situation demands."

"What about the Fox Beastmen?"

"The Fox Beastmen."

The count let out a heavy sigh.

"They're tricky. Some years they can be talked to, and other years they launch surprise attacks without warning. There have been times when we got along well and they still tried to stab us in the back, and there was a year when they actually returned goods they'd plundered before leaving."

What the hell kind of tribe was this? I couldn't get a read on them.

"They're foxes, literally. They try to move in whatever direction benefits them as much as possible, those ones."

"This time, providing support would be better."

"Do you have a reason for thinking so?"

I deliberately raised the intensity of my statement. It was to sharpen the count's awareness and steer the negotiation in the direction I wanted.

"Since the flood damage wiped out their food supply, they'll have nothing to lose. If we don't placate them first, it's clear they'll come to raid within the month. The territory already suffered considerable damage from the typhoon as it is—if the foxes attack on top of that, the economic losses will obviously get even worse."

"You have quite an eye."

"I simply extrapolated from what you told ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me, my lord."

In any case, Count Saliere was already acknowledging this problem. Thanks to that, the negotiation proceeded in one swift stroke.

"So, material support for the entire Fox Beastmen population living in this vicinity until next spring. That will be quite a loss in its own right."

Count Saliere propped his chin on his hand and let out a short hum.

The Saliere Territory had also suffered damage from this typhoon. Even though they had prepared well, losses had occurred.

They were at the point where even pouring money into the territory wouldn't be enough. If they had to spend money on non-residents to provide food here on top of that, it was certain to generate discontent among the populace. There would inevitably be people calling it a waste of tax money even if the intent was explained to them.

Moreover, the aftermath of the Black Death had not yet fully subsided. Due to inflation and war, the imperial economy was in a precarious state at any moment. For fiscal stability, they should have been tightening their belts right now.

"It can't be helped. I'll have to charge a slightly higher interest rate."

Count Saliere wrote the necessary details on the official document, stamped it with his seal, and finished.

"Thank you. I'll deliver it promptly."

I accepted the document, gave my farewell, and exited the office.

Let's see. At this point, the commission was effectively about ninety percent complete. Once I delivered this official document to the Fox Beastmen, obtained their agreement, and returned to Count Saliere, the contract would be concluded.

After that, all I had to do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was go to Jormungand. Go there, complete the first stage of the Teller-Ulam design, and be done with it. I could return to the academy after that.

"First, the little one would have to get here."

I decided to kill time here until Frey arrived.

Come to think of it, I also had to pack. I needed to retrieve the things I'd left here because they were too heavy when I headed to the Fox Beastmen village and load them onto the carriage. For instance, things like the Tokamak that I'd brought all the way here only to shove it into storage as if it were a useless piece of junk.

—Click.

"What was this? It was open?"

Normally it should have been locked to prevent theft. A maid must have opened it to clean or something.

What did it matter? All I had to do was find my own things and leave.

"What the hell."

The moment I flipped the storeroom switch, something that should have been there had vanished. The simplified Tokamak I'd built while making the Flare had evaporated like ethanol.

"Excuse me. Have you seen the large iron machine that was here?"

"I-I don't know anything about that...."

I grabbed passing maidservants and asked, but every single one said they didn't know. It was enough to make a ghost weep.

That wasn't the only strange thing. Several maids went rigid and trembled the moment they saw me, as if they'd laid eyes on a ghost. Some rubbed their eyes repeatedly while staring at me blankly, then quietly slipped away.

Watching the back of a maidservant fleeing at superhuman speed with a broom in hand, I let out a deliberate sigh.

"What had gotten into everyone?"

[A doppelganger who looks like you must be running around, Master.]

Couldn't it at least make jokes that were halfway plausible?

In any case, I'd wandered around the mansion quite a bit since earlier, but Rote was nowhere to be seen. Had she gone out to do flood recovery work with her brother or something?

Well, that would be just like Rote. She'd have dashed out in a flash, going on about the duties of a noble or whatever. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Since I was back, she at least ought to have told me she'd returned.

"Do you happen to know where Rote is?"

"Sh-she's... in the study with her, with her friend...."

"Her friend?"

"I-I don't know anything about it!"

I simply decided to conclude it like this. That yesterday the maids had collectively eaten something bad.

Following what one of the maids had said, I decided to go find the study. It was quite a distance, since I had to go all the way to the mansion's annex. But somehow, the closer I got to the library, the more I felt a familiar atmosphere.

I didn't quite know what that familiar atmosphere was. It was a gut feeling for which I could offer no scientific evidence.

─ It's strange, I'm telling you. I never sent any letter to the count. Why would I communicate in writing when we're in the same mansion to begin with?

And then from beyond the door came a familiar voice.

Judging by the tone and timbre, it wasn't Rote's voice. No, rather, it was chillingly similar to my own. For some reason I couldn't explain, I became afraid to open the library door and walk inside.

─ Oh, wait. I think the rain stopped?

─ Really? I should go out for a bit—it's been a while.

There were at least two people in the study. The voice that followed was Rote's. Then, a moment later, the tap-tap-tap of footsteps approached in my direction.

There was no particular reason to hide or run away. Before they came out, I grabbed the doorknob first and turned it.

With a creaking sound, the door swung forward, and there stood Rote together with another girl. Wearing something resembling a lab coat, possessing an appearance that was both alien and homogeneous... she was golden-eyed.

"...Huh?"

A sigh burst from someone's lips. Whether I let it out, or Rote let it out. Or if the other girl let it out—I couldn't tell. Perhaps all three of us did it at the same time.

The three girls' faces went blank at the same time. And I, I.

Really.

For a reason I couldn't understand.

"......Kasha?"

I spoke the name of a little sister I had never once met.