"By the way, Yui. I have to tell you something"
"What is it?"
After the whole meals over chat was over, Jennard; while sipping coffee, turned and faced Yui with a serious expression.
“When I went to the royal palace today, rumors are there is a disturbing movement in the southern part of the capital, but we can't find any evidence to support this statement at the moment"
“Southern…part?”
The capital of the Claris Kingdom, Eltobourgh, is located on the level grounds in the center of the kingdom. The southern part, though some parts are ruled by the royal family, majority of the territory is ruled by the nobility. Among them, the largest ones are one: the territory of Duke Meniel, one of the four major powers and two, the territory of Count Shalem, who was once the leader of military authorities. Fifty percent of the whole southern region was occupied by these two territories alone.
The Duke of Meniel is famous as a clean and innocent gentleman and Yui never felt any worries about his territory, However, with regards to the other Count of Shalem, knowing the identity of the person himself, although it was only based on rumors, it stirred up his anxiety from the get go.
And the source of his anxiety was furthermore enhanced with the existence of the Kelum Empire, a large country south of Shalem County.
“Oh, I heard that the empire was involved in the case at Carlin the other day. I heard that they are pursuing the expansion of armaments one after another, but what on earth are their purpose?”
“If we regard the case the other day, it is probably the magic stone mined from the Croceon mountains. Because the Kelum Empire heavily depends on the imports for the magic stones, and because these magic stones are not excessively excavated, Count Tarim who was actually in Carlin seems to have diverted the excavated magic stones en route to the kingdom to the empire instead; and in these routes, a few magicians were deployed by the empire to monitor and protect them"
"I see. So Claris Kingdom, which has a lot of magic stones, including Croceon, is a mountain of treasure for the empire, you say?"
With that being said, Jennard slowly sips the coffee in his mouth. Then at that time, the door at the entrance of the dining hall was opened, showing up a young blonde man.
"Senior Yui, you have come back!"
"Welcome home. You seem pretty well, Eins"
In a distance where you can see Eins from the outside, noticing that the burns and scratches from the kidnapping incident are completely cured, Yui was brought to a smile.
"I see that your wounds have completely healed"
Eins looked like he was not involved in the incident a while back, but wanting to ask just to make sure can be perceived from Kain's face.
"Mr. Kains, it has been a long time. Don't worry; it has already gone better"
As he said that, Eins flexed his right arm, showing his well-developed biceps as he swatted it with his left hand.
Then it's good. After all, Sir Eins played the most active part that time"
As Kains said so, Eins could only smile in shyness. Then, Jennard, who was interested in the story, asked further for details.
"Ooh, and I thought he was exaggerating when he told me the story……Is my son really telling the truth?"
"If it's the truth, he worked even harder than our captain here"
Kains looked at Yui for a moment, then smiled splendidly as usual.
"Hey, I also worked hard you know?"
"Not really. Captain just took the most delicious part at the end. I really can't say that counts as working hard"
Kains said as he broke to a laugh. Yui on the other hand, could only rest his cheek on his hand and look up the ceiling with a frown.
Looking at his captain's figure, Eins added more fuel to the fire while grinning.
"That's right. Eating the tastiest part, he has now became like a hero in the kingdom; he was not at the center of the talks every day, to the point that there is no tavern in the city who doesn't say his name"
"Hasn't the story of the kidnapping incident been circulating the city already? Yui is a hero now, isn't he? I always thought your demotion to Carlin is temporary, now I am glad, really"
Just like that, Jennard revealed his evaluation of Yui. However, as if something has brought up to is realization, he then glared Eins with a stained expression.
"……By the way, Eins. You seem to know a lot about Yui being the talk in the taverns. Can you care to explain more about that?"
As the next head of the household, Jennard has been keeping an eye out on his son in his relationships with women for a long time. And because he usually gone out night after night to play with girls at the taverns, he quickly found a flaw in Ein's remarks a while ago.
"Uhm…. That is……you see, it's like this……"
Now that I mentioned it, You stink of booze, and did I just smell perfume? Well, since Yui has come today, I won't pursue any further, but take all of it in moderation"
Seeing Eins becoming small from the harsh remarks of his father, in order to change the topic, Yui decided to ask his junior.
"By the way, Eins. Which ministry are you in now?"
"Uhm, right now? In the Ministry of Finance after coming back here. Well, I'm just acting as their advisor for the Ministry of Tactics in terms of assessing the military budget for the most part, though.
"Ministry of Finance? I see. Then I'd like to ask a question for you. Haven't there any major fluctuation occurring in the prices of commodities just recently?"
"Prices, eh. Well, I only cover those concerned with the military. Is that still okay for you?"
"It's fine. I don't mind"
"Now then, where should I start… ah, right. The most evident problem was about the recent term; with the prices for the food and weapons for stockpiling rising and the budget allocated for military being reduced, the case is worsening and worsening till this day"
Remembering the rising price of grains due to the decreasing amount distributed in the market thus adding to the difficulty to organize the budget for the term, Eins could only sigh in exhaustion.
"Can you tell me since when?"
"Hmm, the problem was brought up for the first time since the exercise last month, so it has probably occurred the month before that. The price increase affected mainly the grains, which is 30% higher compared to last year. Also, metals somewhat increased in price, too"
Trying his hardest to trace his vague memory, Eins recited the contents of the military budget this season.
"Is that all? Then I'd like you to check this one further. I think the grains which should be traded in the market are probably hoarded to various countries, but which country will it lead to the last? This will probably lead to an overseas investigation, Eins, so I would appreciate more if you could talk to Sir Ahmad as well"
"The last? In other words, you mean that some country is buying them up?"
"That's right. The rise in the grain prices before the harvest season is abnormal. In the next few months before the harvesting stage, grain prices would generally go down, so if you are an ordinary merchant, you will not raise their prices in order for the customers to buy up all your grains this time of the year. In other words, there are countries that have to collect grains more than necessary. And that is probably…"
Yui halted his speech right there, and remembering the rumor at the south he was talking to earlier, the pieces of the puzzle were put up together, and Jennard then was brought to realization.
Yui. Are you suspecting the Kelum Empire is behind all of this?"
"Don't you think? With all the rumors in the south coming to light, it's becoming a matter of concern. Wait, wasn't our information still insufficient at this stage? Then I'll stop making any conclusions for now. Probably Sir Ahmad will come up with more information in the near future"
Yui then drank the leftover coffee in his cup, then sighed deeply as he scratched his head twice.
Seeing that sight of Yui, Jennard spoke.
"Well, since that is not going to happen right away, it's too early to make any conclusions. By the way, Yui. You just came back from a long journey, so how about resting your head in the room today?"
"Oh, thank you for your kind offer. We'll do just right that"
As Yui said so, he and Kains moved to their respective rooms.
As soon as he entered the room, he took the bed on the spot, remembering the events unfolded that day like a revolving lantern.
The promotion to fourth rank, the reunion with Ahmad and Jennard, the rumors and the price hike at the south, and the shadow of an empire.
"whatever it will be in the end, let it be"
With himself currently in a position he was unsure, and with also the fact that there is no use worrying any further, Yui could only mutter as he rolled on his bed.