Chapter 34
As Kain stared blankly at Fohn's face for a moment, the light in Fohn's eyes quickly returned to normal.
"S-sorry! Th-that... I just did it without thinking... Please forget what I just said!"
Fohn's face instantly flushed crimson.
It looked as if he was circulating fire mana through his blood vessels instead of his mana circuits.
Fohn lowered his head, only slightly raising his gaze to look at Kain.
Then, he opened his mouth in a barely audible voice.
"...Funny, right? I-I suddenly just..."
"Explain in detail."
"Huh...?"
"What you just said. Explain it in more detail."
Kain's expression was as serious as ever.
"In detail...?"
Fohn swallowed hard.
Kain was still looking at him with serious eyes.
After a moment, Fohn cautiously opened his mouth.
"A-as I just said, the distribution route from the east of the Hyperen region to Grenden is the most efficient in terms of distance and risk. T-that's why the Bederman clan has control over it. But actually, I heard there was another route that was used more frequently before that section."
"A more frequently used route?"
Fohn's expression brightened slightly as Kain listened intently.
"Yeah. There's a route that goes all the way down to the swamps south of Hyperen, then to Ashbourne in the east, and can bypass Grenden entirely. But as monsters started appearing in the swamp area, that road became unusable, and apparently, bandits even appeared closer to Ashbourne."
Simply put, there was a route that offered an advantage in terms of the overall path, but it became unusable due to monsters and bandits, forcing them to reluctantly use the Bederman clan's distribution network.
"It would be even better if we could cut straight through to the southeast, but the south of Hyperen is swampy, and especially the southeast has a very large swamp, so we can't go that way. Still, if we could resolve the monster and bandit issues in the swamp area, we could take a sufficiently fast route without paying fees to the Bederman clan."
Fohn added in a slightly unsure voice,
"O-of course, I don't know how to solve that problem. If it were financially beneficial for us to hire more guards ourselves or subjugate the monsters, the Finance Department would have told us to do so..."
"That's probably true."
Once a monster establishes itself and begins to reproduce in a certain area, it's not easy to completely eradicate it, except in a few special cases.
'It's almost impossible unless you eliminate the fundamental cause of the monster's establishment.'
The problem was that the reason varied greatly depending on the monster and the situation.
'If they poured resources into something uncertain and failed, the damage would be doubly significant, so it wouldn't have been easy for the finance department to attempt it.'
If they tried to subjugate the monsters in the south and pave the road because they didn't want to pay the Bederman clan's expensive fees, and then failed, they would waste resources and still have to pay the Bederman clan's fees, incurring losses.
'There's even a possibility that if news of the failure reached Bederman, knowing that the alternative was gone, they might raise their fees further.'
If they had financial leeway, they might have tried once or twice, but considering the Siers clan's financial situation up until now, it would have been difficult to take such a gamble.
'There's also a limit to sending them with strong escorts every time.'
Escorts were just a minimal safety measure.
Once they entered a dangerous area, it wouldn't be strange for variables to arise at any moment.
If the clan dispatched disciples as additional escorts and casualties occurred due to a battle with monsters.
In the worst case, they could even have all their goods stolen and lose their lives to bandits who appeared later.
It wasn't for nothing that people paid tolls on relatively safe roads and fees for the security system that guaranteed the safety of the surrounding paths.
'Anyway, I roughly understand the situation.'
Kain finished speaking and stared intently at Fohn, who was fidgeting nervously.
'By the way, I didn't know Fohn was knowledgeable in commerce. This is an unexpected gain. Especially those eyes...'
Kain recalled the sparkling eyes Fohn had when he was engrossed in his story.
'There were a few disciples who had that kind of look before.'
-Clan Head! Listen to this! Remember the medicinal herb I mentioned last time? Demand for it is exploding right now. Since the price will drop again after the season, if we sell everything we stockpiled then, leaving only the bare minimum...
The disciples who were particularly skilled had that exact look in their eyes.
"Then do you know about the distribution routes for items other than the White Magic Stone?"
"Yeah! I think it should be about time to distribute Arcane Ice Stone, Snowdrop Herb, and Ice Honey too..."
Fohn explained what he knew in a voice that had risen another octave, and Kain nodded, listening attentively.
Thinking that he might have truly found his talent, Kain opened his mouth.
"Fohn, I didn't know you were knowledgeable in commerce. Usually, direct line disciples tend to focus solely on magic training."
"Ah. S-sorry. I'll try to focus more on training from now on."
Fohn lowered his head, perhaps thinking he was being scolded for paying attention to something else.
"No, you don't need to apologize. I'm praising you."
"P-praising?"
Fohn's eyes widened as Kain corrected him.
"Yes. I don't know how much time you usually spend on that, but at least you're not neglecting your magic training while being distracted, are you?"
"N-no, I'm not! I study a little bit in my spare time after finishing training."
"Then that's fine. Were you interested in this from the start? Or did you learn from the Finance Department after being recommended by someone?"
"Uh, I didn't learn it separately from anyone..."
"You didn't?"
As Kain nodded, signaling him to continue, Fohn cautiously began his story.
"Actually..."
Ever since he was young, Fohn had unknowingly pricked up his ears whenever he heard stories about money, buying and selling goods, or calculations, and as a result, he had naturally become interested in commerce.
Rather than being interested in money itself, his curiosity naturally grew towards how money moved and how the world's economy functioned.
So, even before learning magic, Fohn had started reading commerce-related books in his father's study for fun, little by little.
But when he talked about what he had learned to the disciples around him, they were quick to run away.
-So, when you buy something, you shouldn't just look at the current price, but also...
-Haha, Fohn's smart. But I just remembered I have something to do, so I'll be going now!
They would praise him with a smile on the surface, but then...
-Fohn, he always stutters annoyingly when he talks, and sometimes he gets all excited by himself and acts like he knows everything.
-Just because he's a direct descendant and we listened to him with a smile, he actually thinks he's smart.
-Being a direct descendant, he should be thinking about learning magic, but what does he know about money that he keeps...
After accidentally hearing such words behind his back, Fohn stopped talking in front of others.
-It's okay, Fohn. I'm curious. Tell me the rest of what you were saying earlier.
At least Edward would listen to Fohn's stories.
-Oh, really? That's super interesting! You're amazing, Fohn!
-Oho! I see! You're amazing, Fohn!
His reactions were consistent, so Fohn wasn't sure if he really understood, but anyway, he often confided things he wanted to say only to Edward.
He was careful not to say them to anyone else.
But recently, perhaps because he felt he had become closer to Kain, who diligently helped him with his training and often ate with him,
When Kain was pondering something, and it happened that the content of his worries aligned with what he had been interested in and studying alone for a long time, he got a little excited.
That's why he had quickly asked Kain to forget what he said, worried that Kain might also dislike it.
"B-but I never thought you'd actually ask me to tell you more..."
"So that's how it was. Anyway, thank you. It was very helpful."
"R-really?"
"Yeah."
Kain nodded.
'Judging by the fact that he knows not only the theory but also the current situation, he must have read trade and commerce records in the archives as well. To be at this level on his own without being taught by anyone... he definitely seems talented.'
He thought that if he nurtured his aptitude well, he could play a significant role in the finance department.
'Since his talent for magic is also decent, he's perfect to accompany me when I go out on missions.'
Frankly speaking, in terms of pure magical talent, Fohn seemed to lag slightly behind Edward and Bolio.
There wasn't much difference now, but unless he had a special epiphany, the gap would widen little by little over time.
However, if he could protect himself with magic and be treated with respect for his skills while going out on missions as a member of the finance department, not just a regular disciple, and handling and directly managing commercial affairs.
Then Fohn's magical ability would take on a completely different meaning.
'Most of the disciples working in the finance department are entry-level and usually lack talent for magic.'
The fact that he was a direct descendant would also be an undeniable advantage in the future.
Kain thought that he should appeal to the Finance Department about Fohn's aptitude when the opportunity arose in the future.
Ah, but of course, before that.
"Fohn, do you perhaps have any interest in working in the finance department later on?"
He had to ask the most important person's opinion first.
"Huh? S-suddenly? If I could, that would be amazing...! B-but as I said, I haven't properly learned anything, and I don't know how the Finance Department would see it..."
"Then that's settled. Just keep studying steadily in the areas you enjoy. You have talent."
"T-talent...!"
Fohn blinked with his mouth open.
Then, he muttered "talent, talent" to himself a few times before looking at Kain and clenching his fist tightly.
"Th-thank you, Kain! I'll work hard! A-and of course, with magic too!"
"Good."
Kain nodded with a pleased expression at Fohn's enthusiastic demeanor.
'Good. Then I should look for an opportunity to visit the finance department.'
Going in blindly without knowing what the problem is and going in after recognizing and understanding the problem and proposing a solution are worlds apart.
Kain planned to recommend using the route to the swamp south of Hyperen during the White Magic Stone distribution process to the Finance Department, offering to personally escort them.
'If it's a rampant monster in the swamp area, I have a few solutions that come to mind.'
While escorting them, he would examine the site and resolve any fundamental issues if possible.
If successful, they would no longer have to be extorted by the Bederman clan every time they traveled.
Since they would be making a profit every time they went back and forth, it would be a great help to the clan's finances.
'And if I can take these guys with me this time, it would help them reach the 3rd Circle before the exam.'
Especially in Fohn's case, he would be able to gain on-the-job experience in the commercial world by directly escorting the merchant caravan.
"I-I'd like that! But would the Finance Department allow it...? H-he might just say it's dangerous and not let us go."
"I'll think of a way to persuade him."
Fohn agreed for now.
Kain was about to call the other two to ask if they wanted to go with him, when Edward and Bolio approached from that direction with zombie-like steps.
"Heyyy! Kain, Fohn!"
"What have you two been whispering about since earlier?"
Kain asked directly,
"You came at the right time. You two, do you want to escort a merchant caravan? There's a high possibility of encountering monsters or bandits along the way."
"What's with this sudden talk? Well, if we're going, we're going."
"If it's a chance to go out and gain experience, I'm in!"
"Understood. I'll call you again later once it's decided."
As Kain nodded, Bolio said,
"Wait a minute. Is that it? You should at least tell us what's going on, right?"
"If you're curious about the details, listen to Fohn. Fohn, you can explain, right?"
"D-details? Is that okay?"
Fohn's expression brightened at Kain's words.
"Yeah, I've decided to go for now, so I'll go back to training. Call me later!"
Edward, having seen the look in Fohn's eyes, quietly stepped back.
"What is it? Hurry up and explain."
As Bolio frowned and spoke to Fohn, Fohn began his detailed explanation.
And a little while later.
Bolio regretted asking Fohn to explain.
"...so not only for this distribution but also in the future..."
"Okay! I get it! I get it!"
"I've only explained about half of it..."
"Please shut up!"
As Bolio shouted and tried to run away, Kain, who had been thinking of a way to persuade the Finance Department, opened his mouth.
"Wait, both of you be quiet."
"Kain! Thanks!"
Bolio looked at Kain, his face lighting up.
Kain stared towards the North Wing and quietly brought his index finger to his lips.
"......?"
And then.
Soon, a servant's urgent shout came running from the North Annex.
"Finance Ministerrrrr!!! Something terrible has happened! The Bederman clan...!"
Having heard a very familiar line, Kain immediately rose from his spot.
