The Treasury Officer in charge of the Sears family’s finances, budget, and trade-related matters.
Todd Sears, the Chief Treasury Officer who held the final decision-making authority there, had been working quite busily for the first time in a long while over the past week.
Why “for the first time in a long while”?
“Why do you think! I’m supposedly the Chief Treasury Officer, but I can only be busy when there’s money to spend! I’ve been living like a beggar all this time!”
“My goodness, what’s suddenly happening?”
“It’s nothing! I was just talking to myself!”
“Yes…”
Jimmy, a disciple of the Treasury Officer who had been assisting him, gave him a look that said ‘here we go again’ and returned to his work.
The Chief Treasury Officer also cleared his throat and stroked his beard as he turned his attention back to the documents.
“Ahem. Yes. It’s better to be this busy. Of course.”
An irrepressible smile spread across Todd’s lips.
A week ago.
When Cain won the duel against Hayden, which had been fought with the subsidy funds on the line, the immediately available funds nearly doubled from the expected amount.
‘How much must have been cut and cut again for it to double when we recovered the 30% that was cut three years ago. Those scoundrels.’
He shuddered once more at the Bederman family’s tyranny.
‘In any case, thanks to this recovery, I can now execute quite a lot of the budget plans I had postponed.’
Since the family head Blake Sears had made it so that budgets related to the eastern quarters and servants were to be touched as little as possible, he had no choice but to save on other areas or postpone executions.
‘I nearly split my damn head trying to divide and use what little budget we had.’
There had been more than a few occasions when he wanted to protest to the family head, but he had no choice but to turn away after seeing water leaking from one side of the internal corridor of the family head’s quarters.
What could he do when the family head himself was rolling up his sleeves to save on the budget?
Because of that, Todd had to constantly worry and think about how to spend money even a little more efficiently.
Of course, even now, executing the overdue budget had only given him some breathing room – he certainly couldn’t say he had plenty of funds.
“Chief Treasury Officer! Should we execute this repair for the left door at the north quarters entrance?”
“Yes, do it!”
“Understood.”
The Chief Treasury Officer cheerfully approved the request from another disciple who had come to his office and even hummed a little tune.
‘If nothing goes wrong, the next subsidy should continue at this level. I can gradually normalize things.’
Thud.
“Chief Treasury Officer Todd! About the warehouse maintenance…”
“Execute it! And you, how many times do I have to tell you to open the door gently! Are you going to replace it if the door falls off?”
“I’m sorry!”
The disciples working in the treasury also seemed pleased to be busy for the first time in a while, moving with vigor and bright expressions.
“Chief Treasury Officer! The carriage we discussed last time…”
“Execute it!”
“Chief! This one…”
“Execute it!”
He quickly scanned the incoming documents and immediately issued execution orders for anything without problems.
“Phew.”
Todd put down his pen with a relieved expression, as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.
Then he asked Jimmy, who was beside him.
“But really, how did that kid Cain beat Hayden?”
“That’s the fourteenth time you’ve asked that question, Chief.”
“But it doesn’t make sense. That bastard Hayden was a 4th Circle mage, wasn’t he?”
No matter how he thought about it, it was a strange affair.
Todd recalled Cain’s face when he had seen him during the Bederman family’s visit.
‘Three years ago when he caused that incident, I really wanted to beat him up. But when I saw him then, he seemed calm as if he had become a different person.’
To be honest, Todd hadn’t liked Cain much until then.
‘Well, it was because of that kid that our subsidy was drastically cut!’
The incident where Cain had punched Hayden caused the subsidy to be cut on the spot, and for Todd, the Chief Treasury Officer, it was like a bolt from the blue.
Of course, the primary fault lay with Hayden, who had tried to take away Cain’s personal maid.
And it was certainly true that the Bederman family members were despicable for using this incident as an excuse to slash the subsidy as if they had been waiting for it.
But if only Cain had handled it a bit more moderately, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point.
‘I know that cutting the subsidy to make even the people inside the Sears family hate Cain was the Bederman family head’s intention, and that I’m also being played by it!’
But still, how could he not be angry about the cut subsidy!
However, even Todd, who had been viewing Cain unfavorably, felt pity for Cain when the Bederman side tried to send him to the snowy mountains.
‘Anyone could see they were sending him to die.’
Todd, who had been thinking that he didn’t wish for Cain to actually die, was surprised and sighed with relief a few days later when he heard that Cain had returned safely with an Ice Troll’s head.
‘But then they said they’d have another duel with the subsidy on the line, which was really maddening. Getting people’s hopes up and then…’
Because Richter Bederman was trying to reduce the promised subsidy restoration amount with petty word games, the discussion proceeded toward betting everything on a single duel.
And Cain immediately accepted.
‘I thought there was no way he could win.’
Todd would have preferred to secure even a small amount for certain recovery, but ultimately Blake Sears accepted the duel.
-Oh no, he accepted it! I’m dead, I’m dead! Ugh…
-Chief Treasury Officer!
-Pull yourself together!
Todd didn’t have the confidence to watch the subsidy fly away before his eyes, so he didn’t go to the training ground where almost everyone in the family had gathered.
And after the duel ended.
-Chief Treasury Officerrr! Look at this!
-We brought the subsidy!
Seeing the substantial subsidy that the disciples and servants brought, Todd doubted his own eyes.
“He defeated Hayden, who had consumed all the good elixirs, reached the 4th Circle, and was even hiding it – you have to say something believable for me to believe it!”
“What can I do about the truth? I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. His skills were really incredible.”
“Ha, I should have just gone to see it directly, whether it killed me or not!”
The sight of Cain flattening Hayden’s nose, the dumbfounded expression on the Bederman family head’s face watching that scene, and the sight of them hurriedly fleeing with the subsidy.
Not seeing it directly was regrettable enough to leave a lasting grudge.
“Sigh… Anyway, that kid Cain…”
Recently, he had heard that Cain had moved up to the 3rd floor, and still maintained a perfect attitude toward education and was diligently training.
“He’s an incomprehensible fellow.”
Well, anyway, it was true that he had been viewing him unfavorably.
But now that he had cleaned up his own mess and properly gotten back at the Bederman family, he could give him credit for that.
“Right! If he does well from now on, that’s what matters!”
For now, he was in an incredibly good mood.
If Cain had been in front of him, he might have patted his shoulder encouragingly.
Todd smiled and asked Jimmy.
“Those white magic stones the Bederman bastards left behind because they lacked cash – we’re storing them all properly, right?”
“Of course. And white magic stones don’t affect quality even if stored roughly anyway.”
“Hey! Even so, expensive things should be handled carefully!”
White magic stones that could only be obtained from the depths of snowy mountains where northern winds and snow raged.
They were used to make various artifacts and could also be used to separate the contained cold energy to enchant weapons, making them expensive magic stones.
“The market price was rising anyway, so every time those Bederman bastards extorted them from us, I felt like my hair was being pulled out too. This worked out perfectly. Hahaha!”
Moreover, one of the important trading partners, the Magic Tower of Perun, had said they would pay a higher unit price in the next transaction if sufficient quantity was provided.
‘They said they had some important research that required white magic stones. The Bedermans don’t know about this fact.’
Of course, just because they offered a higher unit price didn’t mean he could ignore other existing trading partners and sell all the white magic stones to one place.
‘It would be profitable in the short term, but in the long run, it’s important to maintain relationships with other trading partners too.’
So reluctantly, he had been planning to sell according to the existing schedule, but thanks to Cain, the white magic stone supply had become sufficient, and he had secured the amount that could be supplied to the Magic Tower.
Now he just needed to load the white magic stones onto the family’s merchant caravan that would arrive soon and sell them off to earn a tidy sum.
“Are you planning to sell them all at once?”
“That’s right. There’s the Magic Tower deal, and if I divide the sales just because the market price is rising, I’ll lose money due to the round-trip fees.”
“The eastern section of the Hibernen region does have rather murderous fees.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying! Those damn Bederman family bastards have a complete monopoly!”
Todd frowned.
“It’s painful, but if I grit my teeth and pay just this once, there will be returns. I have no choice but to think of it as being robbed by bandits…”
And then.
“Chief Treasury Officerrr!!!”
Thud.
The disciple who had opened the door forcefully earlier came in panting.
“What now! How long has it been since I told you to open the door gently… Fine, just execute it!”
“Th-that’s not it!”
“Huh?”
Then a servant entered behind the disciple.
“Chief Treasury Officer, we have a big problem. Our merchant caravan that we’re about to send to Hibernen isn’t coming, is it?”
“That’s right.”
“Those Bederman family bastards have raised the toll and fees to 1.5 times and 2 times respectively!”
“…What?”
When he first heard it, Todd’s face went blank for a moment, then his eyes twitched slightly, and soon his entire face began to turn red and purple.
“Two times? Two times? Does that make any sense! Huh!”
The servant giving the report flinched at Todd’s roar.
“Are you sure? Huh?”
“…Yes. Several merchant groups coming from across Hibernen to our territory have been cursing in unison.”
“Of course they’d curse, these damn sons of bitches!”
Finally, profanity burst from the Chief Treasury Officer’s mouth.
“Ha! So they left the white magic stones instead of cash because they were planning to screw us over like this?”
Jimmy, who was beside him, also spoke up.
“It’s not just our merchants who use that route, and even if it’s the Bederman family, if they take such excessive profits all at once, there will be backlash.”
“Well, for regular travelers and small merchants, they’re only charging a bit more in tolls, and the security fees remain the same. But for anything above that, they’re raising the fees. They say it’s because it becomes difficult to guarantee safety if there are expensive goods, so they have no choice but to raise the fees… It doesn’t make sense. It wasn’t cheap before either.”
Todd ground his teeth at the blatant measure targeting the white magic stones.
“Those bastards…”
Ugh.
Todd made a groaning sound.
‘I underestimated those Bederman bastards.’
Come to think of it, there was no way they would sit still after the Bederman family head’s most precious son was completely humiliated by Cain and even had money extorted from him.
‘Sigh… Should I tell them to take the southern route? But if they get attacked in the swamplands and lose the goods…’
There was also the option of sending them with plenty of additional guards, but even that wasn’t 100% safe.
‘If we send 4th or 5th Circle disciples with them, it would be almost 100% safe, but having such high-level personnel leave the family for an extended period to escort a merchant caravan…’
Merchant caravans don’t basically carry just one type of goods.
They carry various trade goods and follow pre-designed routes, buying goods here to sell there, and buying there to sell here – that’s what a merchant caravan does.
In other words, once you escort them, you have to follow routes unrelated to the white magic stones.
‘Once they leave, they need to be away for at least a month before returning.’
The southern swamplands of Hibernen were the only really dangerous section – after safely passing through there, there weren’t any significantly dangerous areas – so a 4th Circle or higher escort would be a tremendous waste of personnel.
Unless someone volunteered, most disciples of 4th Circle or higher were direct descendants, and probably no direct descendant would want to travel with merchants, enduring uncomfortable sleeping arrangements and schedules for a boring month just because of some swampland.
‘Or maybe go around the long way… No, then we can’t meet the delivery deadline. The Magic Tower is so sensitive about dates. Damn it!’
Unfortunately, the Magic Tower was the farthest among the trading partners, so it was impossible to visit them first.
‘Should I just grit my teeth and ask the family head if there’s any unbusy 4th floor disciple who could escort them? But if a request that needs 4th floor disciples comes up in the meantime…’
Todd was holding his head as if about to tear his hair out in worry.
“Chief Treasury Officer!”
“What now! Don’t execute it. This isn’t the situation for…”
“That’s not it, young master Cain has come to see you.”
“Huh? Cain?”
Speak of the devil – was it because they had just been talking about Cain?
If so, he wanted to talk about the Bederman family’s Chief Treasury Officer right now to make him appear so he could slap him.
Anyway, looking up with disheveled hair, he saw Cain, Ed, Fon, and Bolio entering one after another.
“I greet the Chief Treasury Officer.”
After Cain politely greeted him and the other three were about to greet him in turn, Todd waved his hand dismissively.
“Yes, greetings are fine. Why did you suddenly come here?”
Cain bowed his head again and said.
“First, I apologize for overhearing your conversation. I heard there seems to be a problem with white magic stone distribution, and I’d like to propose a solution regarding this matter.”
“A proposal? From you?”
A direct descendant who probably hadn’t even experienced the first letter of commerce was making a proposal to the Chief Treasury Officer.
Normally, he would have started with a reprimand.
“Alright, let’s hear it.”
Half giving up, Todd nodded weakly.
And then.
“…to go around the mountain range would take too much time…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…if we safely pass through just the swamplands…”
“Right.”
As Cain’s words flowed like a clear stream, Todd’s nodding head began to gain strength.
“…Therefore, the four of us here, including myself, would like to serve as additional escorts for the merchant caravan. What do you think?”
“…”
When Cain’s long explanation ended, the surroundings became quiet.
Including the Chief Treasury Officer, the treasury disciples inside also had surprised faces.
Todd asked the first question that came to mind.
“You, where did you learn about this?”
“I spoke based on information provided by Fon Sears here.”
“Fon?”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Fon.
Fon seemed burdened by the attention and slipped behind Ed.
“Yes. He said he studied alone by reading books and records from the archives.”
“Studied alone? Is that really true?”
When Todd stared intently at Fon, Fon nodded slightly.
“Yes… So there might be some incorrect parts.”
“No, no. It’s not wrong at all.”
Rather, like scratching an itch, every single explanation was very accurate and clear.
The only concern was that the additional escort personnel consisted of one 3rd Circle and three 2nd Circle mages.
If Ed, Fon, and Bolio were all 3rd Circle, it would be different, but with only one 3rd Circle, it was honestly a bit worrying.
‘However, Cain recently won a one-on-one duel against Hayden, who had just reached the 4th Circle.’
And from what he heard, it was with an overwhelmingly superior skill difference.
‘At that level, wouldn’t it be okay to treat him like a 4th Circle mage?’
If he thought of it as one 3rd Circle close to 4th Circle with three 2nd Circle assistants, the story became quite different.
Normally, he would have thought ‘still, 3rd Circle is 3rd Circle,’ but in Todd’s mind, he was already beginning to imagine not paying those damn Bederman bastards fees while still meeting the delivery deadline.
‘Moreover, that kid Fon Sears. If what Cain said is true about him studying alone, I’d want to bring him into the treasury department and nurture him right away.’
He would need to conduct an interview to ask his intentions and report to the family head to go through procedures, but if Fon joined the treasury department.
‘The experience of accompanying a merchant caravan like this would be tremendously helpful.’
And by actually escorting a merchant caravan and working in the treasury department, he would be able to form his own thoughts about whether he wanted to work in the treasury or not.
Todd looked at Cain’s face.
Cain was looking at Todd with calm eyes, impossible to read his thoughts, waiting for an answer.
“Phew…”
After all this, this was clearly a gamble.
Moreover, even if they returned safely this time, as long as the fundamental problem of monsters and bandits in the swamplands wasn’t solved, they would have to cross the swamplands every time to avoid paying fees.
But,
“Alright. Let’s give it a try.”
Thud.
Todd Sears placed his hand on Cain’s shoulder. Then he patted it and said.
“Let’s give those damn Bederman bastards a taste of their own medicine.”
