Chapter 46: Cliff Follows the Mystery of the Eggs
Chapter 46:
Cliff Follows the Mystery of the Eggs
MY BUTLER RONDO came into my office in the middle of the reprieve I’d rightfully taken from the morning’s mountain of paperwork.
“I apologize for intruding, sir.”
“What is it? Something urgent?”
“No, it’s nothing dire, but I think it’s something you should hear.”
If Rondo said so, then it probably really wasn’t that important. Regardless, it seemed to trouble him.
“Recently, a large number of kokekko eggs have started to flood into the town, under odd circumstances.”
“Odd in what way?”
“First of all, we do not know where they are coming from. In addition, they refuse to sell them if I use the Fochrosé house’s name.”
“Wait, what?”
“Every time I inquire with our suppliers about the eggs, they always speak in riddles. When I tell them they may take their time explaining the situation, they never give me a response. However, when I go to shops as a normal person would, I am able to obtain eggs, but when I ask that they be delivered to the Fochrosé house, they tell me that they are out of stock, and that making an advance order won’t be possible for the foreseeable future.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
Now it was starting to trouble me.
“The only thing I am certain of is that they refuse to sell eggs to the Fochrosé household. Even when I inquired at the merchant guild, they claimed to have no knowledge of this.”
I didn’t particularly mind not being able to eat eggs, but it didn’t put me in a good mood.
“I don’t have any urgent work for the afternoon. I suppose I’ll head over to the merchant guild.”
I cut my break short and headed to the guild.
I’d made no appointment, but I was still able to secure an immediate meeting with the Guildmaster.
“Why, Lord Cliff! What brings you all the way to the merchant guild?”
Milaine gave me a suspicious grin.
“I’m not here to talk business today. I came to ask about something personal.”
“What could that be?”
“It’s about the kokekko eggs.”
“Kokekko eggs?” Milaine’s expression didn’t budge.
“That’s right. Apparently no one intends to sell them to me.”
“We’re doing no such thing.”
Milaine had always been upstanding with me; what moved her to lie to my face now?
“The information that’s worked its way up to me says otherwise.”
“Are you sure that it wasn’t just that the eggs sold out or advance orders filled up because they’re so popular?”
“The people selling the eggs said the exact same thing.”
“Then that’s how it must be.”
“Do you really think I’d accept that explanation?”
“It wouldn’t kill you to go without eggs to eat.”
“I’m offended that I have no idea who is doing this to me. Also, I’d like to have eggs for my daughter.”
“Well then, would you like to take some home for her?”
“What about some for me?”
“I’m afraid we don’t have any for you.”
Milaine grinned at me. What an irritating woman. There weren’t many people around who could stand up to me.
“So you just won’t tell me at all?”
“That’s the arrangement—don’t sell eggs to Lord Cliff.”
“Do you intend to keep that promise even if it means damaging your relationship with your own lord?”
“That’s right. If you weren’t the bad guy in this situation, I likely would have been on your side. This time around, I’m with her, though. I rather like her.”
I was the bad guy? And who was this her? Who could Milaine be talking about?
“You’ve made many children suffer. She rescued them.”
Suffering children? Who in the world was she talking about? I didn’t remember torturing anyone.
“I recognize that you’re a splendid lord, but I mean to support her so long as she’s plainly in the right.”
“It’s rare for you to back someone to that extent.”
“She intrigues me. I’ve met my fair share of people up until now, but I’ve never met any other person whose strength, behavior, and philosophies I haven’t been able to figure out.”
“Hearing that from you, I’d like to meet her, regardless of the egg situation.”
“I’m not planning on connecting you two.”
“Could you at least tell me what it is I did?”
“No. If I told you, you’d put two and two together, and figure out how she’s connected.”
“Then maybe I’ll have you repay that loan from earlier?”
“The loan?”
“You’re weren’t able to prepare the king’s gift, right?”
The merchant guild couldn’t make its usual arrangements this year.
“And you’re bringing that up now because?”
“That’s one of the guild’s duties, isn’t it?”
“Come to think of it, did you decide on an offering for the king?”
“Yeah, the adventurers’ guild gave me a goblin king’s sword.”
“A goblin king’s sword?”
“Yeah, that bear adventurer got it when she defeated the goblin king.”
“By bear, do you mean Yuna?”
When I mentioned Yuna, Milaine’s reaction changed for the first time.
“You know Yuna?” I asked.
“She’s the rookie who defeated a hundred goblins, overhunted the wolves, slayed tigerwolves, recently defeated the black viper, and dresses like an adorable bear.”
“You seem awfully knowledgeable about her.”
“That’s because she’s a promising rookie. Even the merchant guild has its eyes set on her. I had no idea she’d gotten a goblin king’s sword when she slayed the goblin horde. I wish she had have sold it to the merchant guild.”
“And that’s how I got an offering for the king. So maybe I’ll have you return that loan for not making good on your duty to prepare an offering for the king?”
“That’s underhanded. So it seems you already know Yuna, then.”
“More or less. She’s also caught my eye. I’ve never met an adventurer as interesting as her.”
“Well, it looks like that very same adventurer hates you.”
“…what was that?”
“Yuna is the one who is supplying eggs to the guild. She also made her deal with the merchant guild on the condition that we refuse to sell them to the Fochrosé family.”
“It was Yuna?”
That bear girl hated me? I felt unsettled.
When I first met her, I thought she was an interesting girl. I ruminated on what I knew of her—her peculiar house, her generous gifts to my family, her accomplishments in battle. She seemed personable. That Yuna hated me? It didn’t seem that way the last time we spoke.
“May I ask why she feels that way about me?”
“You’ll need to ask her yourself.”
I doubted I’d get an answer even if I kept pressing her. Milaine was that kind of woman.
“I understand. I’ll go see Yuna.”
I left the merchant guild and made my way to the notorious bear house.
I called Yuna out, waiting at her door.
“Welcome, Lord Cliff. What brings you by?”
“Yuna, I have something I want to ask you.”
“What could that be?”
“Why will you not sell eggs to the Fochrosé family?”
“What’re you talking about?”
“I pressured it out of Milaine, so don’t get mad at her.”
“I’m not really that mad. I told her that she could tell you about me if it caused trouble for the guild anyway.”
“Well, why did you tell them not to sell them to me?”
“It’s because the orphanage is producing the eggs.”
“…um?”
“So, I just had them not sell them to you to rile you up.”
“Why would you not sell eggs to me because the orphanage is producing them?”
“Are you for real? You’ve been steadily chipping away at their funding until you just cut them off in the end. Sure, the orphanage isn’t contributing to the town, but I don’t think that justifies driving kids to their death when they’ve got a future ahead of them. It’s not like the kids don’t have parents because they want to. I don’t like how you sacrificed them just because they weren’t essential.”
Yuna didn’t give me any time to process.
“The children were so hungry,” she went on, “they were scavenging for people’s leftovers. The orphanage’s instructors were begging for the shops and inns’ scraps. They wore the same clothes every single day. The house they sleep in is drafty. They don’t have warm blankets for their beds. Why should those kids feed you with the eggs from chickens they worked so hard to raise?”
“…”
“Besides, I’m sure you could survive without eggs—you’re a lord, after all.”
I didn’t understand what Yuna was saying. Every new detail of her account baffled me afresh.
“I figured they earned a little retribution on their behalf, even if the headmistress already seemed grateful enough just getting a place to live.”
As I started assembling the pieces of Yuna’s account, I understood why Milaine had sided with her—but I hadn’t cut off the orphanage’s funding. Why did she think I had?
“Yuna, you probably won’t believe me, but I didn’t cut off the orphanage. I’m going to go home and confirm that. Once I understand what’s going on, I’ll come back.”
I quickly returned to my residence. I didn’t walk—I ran. I needed answers.
Once I returned to my office, I called for Rondo.
“Are you back, Master Cliff?”
“Rondo! This is urgent—I need you to find out what happened to the orphanage’s funding.”
“The orphanage’s funding, you say?”
“That’s right, find the person who made me look like a heartless lord!”
“I understand.”
Rondo bowed his head and left. I was so worked up, I didn’t get any of the afternoon’s work done.
Rondo came back to my office that evening.
“May I, Master Cliff?”
“Did you find something?”
“Yes, the person managing the orphanage’s funding is Master Enz Roland.”
“It was Enz?”
I see. So he was responsible. I wanted to punch myself for not knowing what was going on in my own domain.
“It seems Master Enz is embezzling the orphanage’s funds.”
“He did what?!”
At its core my job was to delegate work to others, yes, but also to check up on them. Every month, when the orphanage’s request for funds crossed my desk, I would sign it and release the funds without giving it another thought. Of course Yuna would be angry.
“I have yet to examine the details; however, it seems that Master Enz has falsified the records of every fiscal exchange he has been involved with to conceal his embezzlement. It appears he is also in debt.”
“Why would he need to take out loans if he’s embezzling our funds?”
“It seems he’s quite the womanizer. Furthermore, his wife seems to have a bottomless appetite for jewelry and such, and his son seems to have taken to his father’s extravagant philandering habits.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
That was the town’s money.
“Does he take us for fools?! Rondo! Gather the soldiers immediately and surround Enz’s estate. Absolutely do not let him escape; I want the entire Roland family brought to me alive!”
“Yes, understood.”
Rondo headed out of the office.
An hour later, my men presented me with Enz in all his swinish glory, along with his wife and son. All three of them were absolute scum. I felt sick to my stomach.
“Lord Cliff, what possible reason could you have to send soldiers for us at this late hour?”
“I feel like executing you and your family immediately, so please choose your answers wisely.”
“…”
“Did you embezzle the funds meant for the orphanage?!”
“I have done no such thing.”
“The orphanage is claiming they haven’t received anything!”
“Well, it’s the people at the orphanage saying that. They’re probably just hoping to get more out of you by pretending they didn’t receive the money. Trash is as trash does.”
You’re the trash!
I controlled the urge to strike him and continued with my line of questioning.
“It seems that the jobs I’ve entrusted to you have largely remained undone.”
“It will all be done at a future date. We’ve just had some slight setbacks,” he responded, keeping calm.
“There’s also the matter of your debts.”
“Those are minor. I’ll be able to repay those soon, so it’s nothing you need to be concerned about.”
It didn’t look like he intended to tell the truth.
“Then you won’t have any problems with me inspecting your house.”
“Well…”
Finally, his expression changed.
“We have already begun searching your residence.”
“You really think you’ll be able to get away with that? I’ll tell my brother in the royal capital.”
“This is my town. As soon as I gather evidence, I will have you executed. Throw those three into the jail!” I ordered the soldiers.
“Wait, you have to let me contact my brother in the royal capital!”
“Someone shut this guy up. He’s sickening.”
The soldiers gagged the Rolands’ mouths with cloth and took them from the room.
Some time later, Rondo came back from examining Roland’s house.
“Did you find anything?”
“Yes, we found all the proof we needed.”
Rondo was pale.
“What’s wrong?”
“Master Enz’s actions were despicable.”
“Was it that terrible?”
“Embezzlement, fraud, rape, murders, illegal dealings—just too many things to count.”
“Murder?!”
“We are still tallying the corpses in the dungeon. The cruelty was such that I could hardly believe it had all been done by a human.”
Rondo’s account was just unbearable.
Apparently Enz would hire young girls from the country as his servants, have his way with them until they died, and abandon them in the basement. Since they had recently come from the countryside, no one would notice when they went missing. If a family member or their sweetheart came in search of them, he would invite them to his residence, ensnare them, and kill them. This had gone on for a while.
His wife would spend money freely on jewelry. Enz would then embezzle or misappropriate the funds he needed to pay off the debt she racked up.
His son would do as he liked abusing women in the town and would squash any lawsuits using Enz’s money and influence. He was in the habit of extorting shopkeepers around town, forcing them out of business if they defied him.
The reason none of this had reached me was obvious now—Enz had put a stop to it before it could. His older brother was most likely pulling strings for him, but this was my town. I wouldn’t let them get away with whatever they wanted.
“Execute them.”
I was out of patience.
“Are you certain? We risk making enemies at the capital.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll say they were killed by a home invader.”
The Roland house was executed. We secured evidence of their crimes. We seized their assets. We rescued the survivors in the dungeon. Once we treated those who had a place to go, we prepared them for the journey home. After everything was done, I headed back to Yuna’s house.
“I’m sorry.”
I lowered my head and explained why the orphanage’s funding had been cut off. Normally, I wouldn’t tell an ordinary person about any of this, but I felt I had to tell this girl.
“My subordinate embezzled the money. I didn’t realize it. I will be reinstating the orphanage’s funding immediately.”
“You don’t need to.”
“…”
“They’re all already working their butts off. They don’t need a subsidy anymore.”
“But that’s…”
I still didn’t feel better about it.
“If you have that kind of money, why not put it to good use?”
“And by that you mean?”
“Like you could use it to make an oversight department to make sure something stupid like that doesn’t ever happen again.”
“To oversee things?”
“They’d make sure that the money is being used the way you instructed it to be. For example, if they were in charge of the orphanage funds, they would go to the orphanage every few months and check in to make sure they were using the money for expenses they actually needed. They’d check whether the stuff they were buying counted as a reasonable purchase. If there was a person doing that, it wouldn’t be that easy to misappropriate or embezzle the money. Then again, if the person overseeing stuff ended up becoming a criminal, there wouldn’t be a point.”
“Then what would I do?”
“That’s obvious. You can’t just choose someone you trust—you need to pick someone who’d trust you so much they’d put their life on the line. You have to have at least one person like that, right?”
“Actually, I do.”
I had Rondo.
“Really? Good for you.”
Yuna didn’t say anything after that.
“So the orphanage really is fine?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You really saved me there. We got by without any of the children dying. Thank you for that.”
I left Yuna’s house and returned to mine. I had a mountain of work. Rondo would have to take a break from being my butler so he could work as my right-hand man.