Chapter 36
It didn't take long for the Finance Minister's report to reach the Clan Head and for the final approval to be granted.
"What! Double the fees? Surely it was agreed that Kain hitting Hayden would be considered as not having happened!"
"I never trusted those bastards from the start. You know that too, Clan Head."
"Haa... Even so, I didn't expect them to be this petty right away."
"We've been paying without complaint all this time, and now it seems they're openly planning to fleece us. If we endure any longer, they'll end up skinning us alive."
"We can't let that happen. Understood. Then we'll send them through the swamp area."
"Very well."
Todd nodded with a deliberately resolute expression.
"We'll send the four people I just mentioned as additional escorts: Kain, Edward, Fohn, and Bolio. Anyway, they were the ones who proposed it, and they said they wanted to go."
"Right. Kain was the one who made the proposal, wasn't he?"
"Yes. He explained it so clearly that he convinced me in one go."
"Oho. That's surprising."
Blake, who knew how picky Todd could be, raised his eyebrows.
"I didn't know Kain had knowledge of commerce as well."
"Ah, but it seems that the information and evidence he presented were surprisingly provided by Fohn."
"Fohn?"
"Yes. He apparently had an interest in it and had been studying it on his own for a while. So, I was wondering if we should have Fohn work in the finance department. If you and Elder Wayne give your permission, I'll have an interview with him and bring him in according to his wishes."
"Inducting him into the finance department..."
Blake studied Todd's expression.
His words were relatively polite, but his eyes were already shining like those of a predator who had spotted its prey.
'He must be quite taken with him. Todd is being so proactive.'
Blake nodded.
"Alright. I'll talk to Wayne separately."
"Thank you."
The corners of Todd's lips curled up slightly.
"That Kain fellow probably brought Fohn here hoping I would do this. He was quite blatant about it."
In fact, if Kain had been so inclined, he could have just extracted all sorts of information from Fohn and then come alone to make the same proposal.
'Judging by his speaking, he himself seemed to have a solid basic understanding of the commercial world.'
It would be almost impossible to perfectly explain something based solely on acquired information in front of the Finance Minister without a single stutter.
'Yet, he deliberately brought Fohn himself and showed him to me, and the moment I asked where he had learned it, he pointed to Fohn as if he had been waiting for it.'
In Todd's eyes, it looked like he was saying, 'Here's a talented individual. You see him, right?'
"Huhu. Perhaps you're right. Especially considering he was the first to propose going as additional escorts along with the other children."
Blake, who had directly witnessed Kain overwhelming Hayden and the near-perfect magic Kain had cast, actually thought that Kain alone would be sufficient for this additional escort duty.
Since the merchant caravan already had its own escort mercenaries, his judgment was that Kain alone would be enough as 'additional escort.'
Even if they were to secure more personnel in consideration of unforeseen variables, it would be better in many ways to recruit other disciples from the 3rd floor rather than 2nd Circle disciples.
Kain probably knew this as well.
"Yes. He's probably taking Fohn with him to give him some on-site experience."
Both to give escort experience to the friend he had made when they went to the snowy mountains together, and to give Fohn experience in the commercial world.
It was highly likely that he had said he would accompany them along with Edward, Fohn, and Bolio.
'Edward and Fohn, I can understand, but even taking care of Bolio like that...'
Although the rules stated equality, Blake knew that it was realistically difficult for direct descendants and entry-level disciples to fully mix.
Especially for a direct descendant to take the initiative to care for an entry-level disciple was a rare occurrence.
Moreover, there had been friction with Bolio on the first day of his enrollment.
Yet, he was embracing Bolio.
'He takes after his father after all, with a generous heart.'
As a proud smile spread across Blake's lips, Todd asked,
"Clan Head? What are you thinking about? Your expression suddenly looks a bit..."
"Hmm hmm. It's nothing. Anyway, let's do as Kain intends. If Kain stepped forward with such confidence, we probably don't need to worry too much."
Rather, considering the danger and relative difficulty, among the various extraordinary things Kain had done since the Snow Leopard incident, this escort mission could be considered very moderate.
"We just need to get through the swamp safely, what big deal could there be?"
"It would have been perfect if you hadn't said that last part, though."
***
The interview between Fohn and Todd took place quickly.
After the interview, Fohn ran to Kain, who was doing strength training, and said with a bright expression,
"K-Kain! I talked to the Finance Minister."
"Oh, did you get inducted?"
"Yeah! He said he'd let me in no matter what, as long as I want to!"
"That's good."
"B-but he told me to do the escort mission first, in case my feelings change... B-but I'm definitely going to join!"
Fohn was already excited, clenching his fists and looking thrilled.
"T-the Finance Minister asked me this and that, and I answered and talked about things related to that. And he listened really well."
-...the most important interest rate here is...
-Oh, right. You know that well.
-...moreover, in the case of issuing promissory notes...
-Th-that's enough, Fohn.
"That was the first time I've talked about commerce for so long. Th-thank you, Kain. It's all thanks to you."
"I'm glad you seem satisfied."
Fohn had plenty of conversation he wanted to share, and Todd had completed his assessment of talent, so it must have been a more than satisfactory interview for both of them.
"Fohn! How did it go? Did it work out?"
Edward and Bolio, who had been running in the distance, sped up as they saw Fohn, curious about the result.
When Fohn told them what he had just told Kain, Edward was overjoyed.
"That's really great! Congratulations, Fohn!"
"It's definitely a place that suits you."
"Th-thank you, both of you!"
"But if you go into the finance department, does that mean we can't take classes together anymore?"
Fohn shook his head at Edward's words.
"N-no, that's probably not it. The class schedule is already set anyway, so I can just come and attend then... A-and the Finance Minister told me this."
Fohn cleared his throat softly and put strength in his eyes as he spoke.
"Listen carefully, Fohn. The guys here are the types who've half given up on studying magic, and they don't listen even if you tell them to! But you're a direct descendant, so you absolutely must not neglect your magic either. Got it?"
A moment of silence flowed.
Edward and Bolio exchanged glances without saying anything, then simultaneously burst into laughter.
"Puhahaha! Fohn, did you just imitate the Finance Minister exactly?"
"Pwahaha! It's exactly the same!"
"Indeed, you've clearly learned and implemented the Finance Minister's intonation, way of speaking, and habits well in a short amount of time."
Even Kain bit his lip as if trying to suppress a slight smile.
Only then did Fohn's face turn bright red, and he didn't know what to do.
"I-is it that funny?"
"No, no. Fohn, we're not making fun of you, it's just that you sound exactly like him. I've never seen anyone imitate someone so well! Right, Bolio?"
"Yeah, it's a compliment. A compliment. Pwahaha!"
"To think I haven't noticed Fohn's talent like this in the 15 years I've been with him... I'm sorry, Fohn. For not recognizing it."
"...Y-you're really complimenting me?"
As Fohn sent Kain a look asking for help, Kain raised his hand to get their attention.
"Alright, if you've all heard the news, we should get back to training. The merchant caravan will arrive in a few days, so it's best to train as much as we can within the clan until then. Especially if you want to reach the 3rd Circle quickly."
He deliberately didn't mention the reason why the Finance Minister had emphasized to Fohn not to neglect his magic.
'Judging by how he said it, even though it's quite early, he must have marked him as one of the candidates for the next Finance Minister.'
After meeting Todd yesterday, Kain had looked through the records of past Finance Minister appointments in the archives and also asked Alice and Nefty to gather information about him.
'Todd Siers' current level is the 5th Circle.'
It wasn't low, but it was true that it was insufficient for the head of a prominent clan's finance department.
'Considering his age, it's highly likely that reaching the 6th Circle will be difficult for him.'
Having reached the 5th Circle, known as the limit achievable through effort, he must have been facing the great wall ahead for a long time.
'Moreover, even though he received the Siers surname, he was originally an entry-level disciple.'
The clan had a rule that surnames could be bestowed upon entry-level disciples who had made significant contributions or reached the level of a department head.
Kain himself had first been able to use the name 'Sein Siers' when he made contributions and was appointed as the head of the research department in his past life.
However, even Sein Siers had been subtly looked down upon by the heads of other families until he rose to the position of Clan Head, overwhelmed everyone with his skills, and gained fame.
No matter how much the world valued ability, among those with similar skills, those with the shallow privilege of being a direct descendant of a prominent clan held their heads high.
Anyway, it was obvious without seeing it how much Todd had been ignored in front of other families and gossiped about behind his back when he stood forward as the Finance Minister.
'It must have been even worse now that the clan's name has fallen to the ground.'
Therefore, Todd would have wanted his successor as the Finance Minister to be a direct descendant, with magic skills that were not lacking, so that he could confidently stand before others without being looked down upon.
'But usually, direct descendants of prominent clans don't want to go into the finance department, which manages the clan's money...'
It was natural.
Why would direct descendants with talent for magic willingly bury themselves in the finance department and spend all day managing money?
In such a situation, Fohn's existence must have been like welcome rain to Todd.
'Postponing his induction until the end of this escort mission and respecting Fohn's opinion until the end is rather admirable.'
Perhaps he thought that unless Fohn joined of his own will, being the next Finance Minister or anything like that would be meaningless.
'There's no point in telling Fohn these things now, as it would only be a burden. My job now is to help Fohn grow well, as the Finance Minister hopes.'
And that was also the wish of Kain himself, who would become the next Clan Head.
Kain didn't want the Siers clan's Finance Minister to be looked down upon anywhere.
"3rd Circle!"
"Yeah, we absolutely have to reach the 3rd Circle before the next exam!"
"I-it would be nice to pass the exam and go straight to the 3rd floor..."
Anyway, motivated by the mention of the 3rd Circle, the three obediently turned their steps towards the training grounds.
"Alright! Just ten more laps and then we're going straight to Fire Arrow training!"
"Let's gooooo!"
"W-wait for me!"
Kain silently watched the three of them running towards the training grounds for a moment.
Then, before returning to his own training, he suddenly turned his head sharply in the opposite direction.
Whoosh.
Someone quickly hid behind a pillar of the building over there.
Of course, they couldn't escape Kain's eyes.
A girl with long blonde hair and red eyes.
Her name was definitely... Anias, wasn't it?
Bolio seemed to have called her a nasty piece of work.
What business did she have here?
"......"
As Kain remained still, she cautiously peeked out again after a moment.
"......!"
Surprised that he was still looking, she quickly hid herself again with a whoosh.
"Why are you doing that over there? If you have something to say, come out and say it."
But there was still no answer.
Kain tilted his head at the sound of footsteps fading away, tap-tap-tap.
"Looks like she has nothing to say."
And he continued his training.
***
A few days later.
"The merchant caravan has arrived!"
As predicted, the merchant caravan arrived, and the servants were busily moving to carry the trade goods to be loaded onto the wagons from the morning.
"Young Master! I've packed your clothes and the sweet snacks you like!"
Since this mission was going to take a relatively long time, a small number of maids would accompany them.
One from Edward's side and Alice from Kain's side would accompany them to attend to their needs.
-I'll go! I want to go, Young Master! Please!
-Alright. I was going to ask you to come with me anyway.
-Really? As expected of you, Young Master...! You understand my heart! I'll serve you with utmost care, so don't worry!
-You don't have to go that far. Just be yourself.
-You mean to serve you with utmost care!
-.......
There was another reason he was going to ask her to come, but he didn't bother to say it.
Alice, who was excited about something, bustled around like a squirrel from the morning, repeatedly checking if anything was missing and filling her bag to the brim.
"Alright then, let's go."
"Yes!"
"Please be careful on your trip, Young Master. Have a safe trip, Sister."
After receiving Nefty's polite greeting, Kain opened the door to leave his residence with Alice.
"......"
Kain met a pair of red eyes looking up at him.
A girl with blonde hair reaching her shoulders, about half a head shorter than Kain.
It was Anias.
"So, did you think of what you wanted to say?"
"......"
"If you still haven't, then move aside. I'm busy right now because I have a mission to go on."
As Kain was about to pass Anias,
Anias finally opened her mouth.
And said something unexpected.
"I want to go too. On that mission."
