Volume 10 Chapter 50 That Man Is No Saint
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Embezzlement. Window-dressing. Tax evasion. Family business.”
From the maid’s lips, words resembling an incantation were spun. Was it some new kind of Magic or something similar?
”…Wh-what are you talking about?” Klock asked.
”Playing dumb won’t hide it. Just what is the meaning of this?”
Klock was in his office, uncharacteristically occupied with clerical work. Standing before him was a maid radiating an aura of palpable fury. She thrust a bundle of documents forward, her gaze piercing through Klock more sharply than any rapier. The corrupt official, Klock, broke into a cold sweat even as he maintained his business smile.
”Regarding that robbery at the weapons shop. I heard some of the stolen equipment was lost, but a portion was recovered, wasn’t it? Yet, instead of returning them to the Merchants, you claimed they were sold off and forced them to accept the loss, only to then make the gear the property of your own troop.”
”D-did I really do something like that?” Klock muttered.
Klock puckered his lips like an octopus, feigning total ignorance.
”Furthermore, you had Sir Boit—a member of your clique—intervene in the market under the guise of fishery management. All under the pretext of state-led support for sales, fishing operations, mutual aid, and livelihood assistance.”
”Ah, that’s right. The goal is to stimulate economic recovery, after all. I gave Boit authority as a director and left the rest to him. We’re not a charity; I plan to collect some of the profits as a source of funds, daze.”
A ‘clique’? Suzette seemingly viewed Boit and Klock as little more than a band of common thieves.
”Even though you’re billing the city for this as a national project, you’re processing it as a private business here, aren’t you?”
”…”
Today, Klock noted that the stains on the wall were remarkably sparse. The cleaning must have been incredibly thorough. By averting his eyes from Suzette, Klock directed his focus elsewhere.
”Sir Boit has applied for reconstruction and redevelopment support as a legal entity. This is part of the temporary support system established recently that all private companies related to marine resources and trade are eligible for. If so, Sir Boit should be acting as a private business. Yet, in the accounting, it is listed as a national project.”
Suzette flicked her gaze from the documents to Klock. For that briefest of moments, Klock looked away.
”This support is intended for relevant business operators only, yet the support Sir Boit requested covers three hundred people. Isn’t Sir Boit the only one eligible? For some reason, the figure matches the exact membership of the Brigante¹.”
Klock didn’t understand what she was talking about, but surely there must be a fishing club named Brigante or something of the sort. Honestly, what a nuisance for a group to use the same name as a glorious resistance troop led by a Hero.
”And as for the core business itself, it claims to promote sales operations and fishing management in Dayrid² while providing livelihood support for those in the fishing industry. Since it’s a national project, the city naturally pays out the money, but while the requested amount for livelihood support is unusually high, the profits are strangely low. It doesn’t match the number of participating businesses in the other documents, and it seems there are massive unrecorded entries in the balance sheets.”
Suzette glanced at Klock again. For some reason, Klock became intensely interested in the empty space behind him and stared out the rear window. It was a lovely day.
”There are traces of grand accounting manipulation. Window-dressed settlements, and with them, massive tax evasion and unjust billing. It seems this town has a truly dreadful corrupt official, doesn’t it? Or rather, hasn’t the flow of funds become suspiciously unclear from Sir Boit’s side in the middle? I heard a rumor that some kind of entry fee was being taken during participation, but there’s no record of that anywhere either.”
”Y-you’re just imagining things…” Klock replied.
Boit had cooperated joyfully when he heard about this plan. Usually, he made a sour face whenever Klock asked him for a favor, but this time his face had broken into a wide grin. Surely it was because this was work to make the world a better place. Such a good guy would never do something bad just to line his own pockets.
”Furthermore, I heard something slightly concerning. There are rumors that members of the Brigante are buying up jewels and the like in town.”
Even today, the spreading blue sky felt exceptionally beautiful. Perhaps it was because there wasn’t a single cloud. It was a brilliant sky that seemed to hint at the future of Mankind.
”In these times, what would a combat troop like the Brigante use jewels for? Are they going to imbue them with magic power from scratch to use as substitutes for magic stones? No, that’s not it. To begin with, where on earth did the funds to buy such things come from?”
”…No, I didn’t…” Klock muttered.
With a trembling hand, Klock grabbed the cup Suzette had poured for him and brought the tea to his lips. Delicious. Far too delicious. To think she would pour such tasty tea for him. He truly wanted to thank her. Gratitude for everything in this moment.
”I don’t suppose it could be money laundering, could it?”
Klock sputtered, choking. He set the cup down, coughing painfully. Usually, Suzette would help him with a worried look, but today she didn’t move an inch. She simply looked down at Klock as he coughed with teary eyes, her face a mask of indifference.
”I am well aware of the Brigante’s financial situation. I understand that eventually, it will be difficult to get by on only the war funds received from Lady Cianie. Nevertheless, you should at least distinguish between what is acceptable and what is not. Isn’t that right?”
”Y-yeah, I guess so.”
”So, where did the money exchanged for those jewels come from? Just where did you get such dirty money?”
”………”
Thump! The documents Klock had spent all night preparing were slammed onto the desk. Suzette leaned over the executive desk, bringing her face close. It was a terrifying gaze; once glared at, one became unable to move, as if pinned in place. The swell of her breasts was emphasized, a sight he desperately wanted to admire, but before the beautiful maid radiating silent pressure, he was forced to avert his face.
* * *
”Um, my name is Gonmi… I’m just a tanuki girl as delicate as a flower… hehe!”
Time rewinds slightly. This was a corner of the town of Dayrid. A room in a building being used as a temporary jail. Hooked into heavy handcuffs was a young Beastkin girl with a plump, adorable tail.
”I don’t need a self-introduction. Where did you put the stolen goods?” Klock asked.
Klock placed a chair he had brought and sat down with a heavy thud. The bouncing tanuki girl, Gonmi, flinched. She had a strangely tough-sounding name, but she was definitely a girl.
”I’ve had your hideout searched thoroughly. But the stolen goods were nowhere to be found. Where’s the loot?”
”Ehehe… calling it a hideout is a bit much…”
For some reason, the tanuki girl had a bashful look on her face. It was as if she was embarrassed by someone calling the secret base she’d made as a child a ‘hideout.’
”Don’t think lies or evasions will work. The reason you and your lot were fast asleep in your hideout was because you drank sake spiked with sleeping pills. There were empty sake bottles rolling around the shop that was robbed. It’s a classic trap, but I set it to hunt idiots. I didn’t think you’d fall for it so easily, though.”
”Fufufu… you might already know this, but tanuki like potato sake too…”
”I didn’t ask.”
Klock showed a look of exasperation, feeling slightly irritated. In contrast, the tanuki girl wore a smug look for some reason.
Klock gave a signal with his fingers. Then, Paul, a member of the Brigante standing by behind him, pulled out something white. As it was unfurled, there was no mistaking it—they were children’s panties.
”Th-those are… those panties are…!!” Gonmi cried out.
”Your younger sisters and brothers. Even though they’re in a cell, they haven’t stopped yelling and making a racket. It’s not a bad thing for brats to have bright faces. I suppose you’ve lived quite happily until today. But well, today might be the end of that.”
As he spoke, his tone of voice dropped a level.
”Y-you don’t mean…”
”Choose. Do I send your sisters to a brothel? Or do you return the goods?”
Klock hooked the panties he’d received onto his finger and swung them around. He looked down at the young girl with a completely villainous expression, causing Gonmi to turn pale.
”Give them back! Give my sister’s panties back!!”
”Hah? The one doing the returning should be you! Spit it out already!! Where did you put the stolen stuff?!”
”Hieee?!”
Klock signaled with his fingers again. Paul, who had been standing by, left the room, leaving Gonmi and Klock alone in the cell. He stood up and approached the trembling tanuki girl. She wore ethnic clothing common in the Beast Country³. Grabbing her by the collar—
”Hyan?!”
He yanked it down.
”Hoh. For a thief with a large family, you’ve got a nice set. Did you eat some really good food with the money you made stealing? Eh? Looks like you could handle fifty customers a day.”
He grabbed her chest and pulled it out from her clothes. They were reasonably large. A suitable size for a sandwich. He could even feel some talent in the way the tips were getting slightly hard.
”Hyah?! Please forgive me!! Gonmi is scheduled to be welcomed by a handsome tanuki prince from some country in the future…!!”
”What kind of pathetic dream is that for a filthy thief?! Instead of a brothel, I’ll make you the exclusive plaything for my soldiers. If you handle fifty men a day, you should be able to pay back your debt in about thirty years.”
”Gyaaaa?! I have to be a plaything for the rest of my life?!”
Gonmi was pushed down with a thud. As she lay there, he reached for her waist and pulled her panties down all at once, stripping her.
”Where did you put the stolen goods? If you keep quiet again, I’ll let every single soldier waiting outside have their way with you.”
”Hieee?! U-um… I did it…!!”
”Huh?”
”I already sold them…”
The words he didn’t want to hear had been returned. Well, he had expected such a conclusion.
”Who did you sell them to? Is the buyer from this town? At the very least, the goods shouldn’t have left the town yet.”
”To…”
”To who?”
”To a man from the Majin…”
A vein throbbed on Klock’s forehead. It seemed there were experts at irritating Klock other than Kispe. They were surprisingly close by.
”Don’t mess with me, you piece of trash!! You, of all people, sold them off to the demon race?!”
”Hieee?!”
If the Demonkin were involved, was this due to the sabotage activities carried out during the stationing in Portline? Perhaps they were doing it as an easy, low-risk activity in preparation for the attack on Dayrid. On the surface, what they were doing seemed modest, but using Beastkin instead of Majin was clever. They had succeeded in dragging his feet without any effort. Furthermore, with this, even Suzette wouldn’t be able to notice.
”You’ve really done it now!! Your brothers and sisters—I don’t care if they’re eight or nine—every single one of them is going to the brothels!! I’ll make sure they have twenty men a day, so be prepared!”
”Higyaaaa?! Please, please, just spare my sisters!!”
”Hah? You think I’m letting your brothers off? I’ll gather every pederast in town. While they’re still in the single digits, I’ll sell them until their rears are ruined and turn them into the best in town!!”
”Gyaaaaaa!! My cute little brothersuuu!!”
If she had just returned the weapons, he wouldn’t have been reluctant to overlook it. But since they had been sold to the enemy race, he could no longer forgive her.
However, this made things troublesome. Gonmi was the eldest daughter. She had been operating as a bandit with her younger sisters and brothers as a family, but most of them were children in the single digits. He couldn’t actually send Beastkin children to a brothel. In short, he would have to consider how to dispose of these idiots.
”W-wait!! I-I have money…!!”
”Huh?”
”The money from what I sold, I’ll return it… hehe!!”
Gonmi began to rub her hands together, fawning over him with a smirk.
* * *
”And that’s how it is.”
”Funya?”
Time returns to the office. The Majin maid tilted her head at Klock’s explanation. Joined by a fluffy blonde Cat Girl who had arrived during the conversation, the three of them faced each other.
”What exactly am I supposed to be convinced by in that story?” Suzette asked.
”No, like I said… the money Gonmi returned. It’s currency from the Demon Continent⁴, daze.”
”Foreign currency funds?”
There wasn’t just one type of gold or silver coin in circulation. In the Human Continent⁵, currency situations differed between several countries, but putting that aside for now—while the Human Continent generally used the Goddess Gold Coin⁶ and sword-and-shield silver coins, the Demon Continent used gold coins engraved with an unknown castle and silver coins stamped with a dragon.
”In other words, you bought jewels and such with unusable Demon Continent currency?”
”Well, that’s about it. Even if we collect such things, there’s no way to use them, daze. I thought about whether we could remint them since it’s the same gold, but we have no way to stamp them in the first place. But the Merchants here and in Rushelora⁷ are different. Demon Continent gold can be used in the Beast Country.”
Dayrid and Rushelora were the towns on the Human Continent with the largest number of Beastkin. Just across the sea lay the Beast Country. Naturally, there were many Merchants traveling back and forth to Fwavlotz and Nushutei.
”So, in order to quickly turn it into usable funds, you exchanged it for jewels in this town?”
”That’s the idea. Of course, the jewels themselves will need to be liquidated, but if we send them to the Count as a tribute, there’s no need for that, daze.”
Suzette stared at him with judging eyes. There was an atmosphere that suggested she still had more to say, or rather, since nothing had been resolved, there was no wavering in the sharpness of her gaze. Next to her, Meina didn’t really understand the situation and had probably just come because she wanted attention, so she was yawning and dazing off. Cute.
”If Sir Klock gains a position, he will undoubtedly become a corrupt lord in the future. When we reunite with Lady Cianie, I shall report as much.”
”Eh?” Klock asked.
”It is only natural. Since it is wartime, some things may be unavoidable. However, do not think this will be tolerated in the future. Or rather, this will be found out immediately. What do you intend to do if this comes to light?”
She had found out just by looking at the documents Klock had worked hard on. That might be true. But that was probably because it was Suzette, who knew all the circumstances.
”It’s fine, it’s only while we’re staying in Dayrid. When we leave here, we’ll hand over the entire business to the Count’s family, so all the responsibility afterward will be theirs. What we want isn’t money, but results, daze.”
”…”
Creating this trashy route for fund inflow was the goal itself. Sending this to The Golden Count as a ‘result’ was part of the set. Before that, the Brigante got to have a little bit of a sweet deal, but he had no intention of continuing to extort money forever.
Met with a gaze that looked as though she were viewing garbage, Klock claimed he had errands and left the room as if fleeing, taking Meina with him. Suzette’s concern was perfectly natural, but to gain money in a short period, one had to do at least this much.
War takes money. Especially for Klock and his group, who were merely a single troop, their financial situation was very tight. Some people were making a sweet profit by moving the economy, but the current Brigante was merely continuing to waste away.
This war better end soon, daze. If it takes years, we’ll end up disbanding due to lack of funds.
Regardless of Klock’s worries, the situation was about to move significantly.
* * *
”Sir Klock.”
”Master.”
It was a certain day after the date had changed. The maid and the pseudo-maid. Klock’s eyes widened at the two who had come to his private room in the monastery.
”What’s wrong, both of you?” Klock asked.
”Please, you go first,” Kispe said to Suzette.
Both seemed to have business with Klock. Kispe yielded the floor to Suzette.
”An emergency summons from the Count. There has been a report that the Barreith⁸ army is approaching Dayrid.”
”What?!” Klock stood up with a clatter.
”This is also emergency news. Just now, a Vampire’s familiar came to me,” Kispe added.
”…A Vampire’s familiar?”
”That child. Rugandia, Viola’s childhood friend. It seems there has been movement on the enemy side.”
He had told Rugandia to spend time on the Vampire side as usual. On top of that, he had asked to be told if there was any movement. Was it about that?
”What happened?” Klock asked.
”It seems a summons has been sent to the Moon Court⁹ forces from Mr. Bandanzine. The order for an all-out attack on Orrid¹⁰ has also reached Ms. Viola.”
”An all-out attack on Orrid!!”
The time for the decisive battle was approaching.
—
Summary:
Suzette confronts Klock with evidence of his massive financial fraud, including money laundering through jewels. Klock reveals the origin of the funds came from a tanuki bandit girl named Gonmi who accidentally sold stolen goods to the demon race. To secure usable currency, Klock set up a scheme to convert demon coins into jewels to present as a ‘result’ to the Count. The chapter ends with news of an impending enemy approach and a simultaneous all-out attack order by the enemy forces.
—
Character Insight:
Klock’s ‘necessary evil’ philosophy is on full display here; he is willing to use heinous threats—including the exploitation of children—to achieve his ends, yet he justifies it as a means to fund a war and ‘gift’ a functional economy to the Count. Suzette acts as his moral anchor and intellectual equal, seeing through his complex schemes instantly, showing that while she follows him, she does not approve of his methods. Gonmi serves as a comedic yet tragic foil, showing the collateral damage of Klock’s pragmatic ruthlessness.
—
Behind the Scene:
The author uses the financial auditing scene to ground the high-fantasy setting in mundane logistical reality, a common trope in ‘corrupt official’ or ‘kingdom management’ subgenres of light novels.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Boit – A merchant involved in human trafficking, with a villainous face and a loud, obnoxious voice. He is pragmatic and willing to help Klock escape the country in exchange for something. His relationship with Klock is business-like, though both are aware of each other’s illicit activities.
• Suzette – The older maid from Viscount Fennec. The head maid at the Viscount Fennec’s villa. She is confident, clear-spoken, and professional.
• Dayrid – The city the Demonkin army is planning to attack next, intending to strangle Dayrid from land and sea. This confirms the Demonkin’s immediate military objective for Klock.
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Gonmi – A young Beastkin girl of the Tanuki tribe. Leader of a family-based bandit group. Has a plump tail and a surprisingly large bust. Naive and prone to being bullied by Klock.
• Yuu – A young boy, the Empress’s current boyfriend, who sits naked on her knees during their intimate moments.
• Rushelora – A port where demons are allowed to stay at embassies under special circumstances. It is a location where humans and demons have trade relations.
• Fwavlotz – A town beyond a mountain north of Rizan Village, it is an alternative location for Klock to verify his humanity.
• Meina – She is a golden-haired catgirl employee of the beastman (Larana the cat woman) Inn, appeared performing fellatio, desperate and tear-streaked, with an inexperienced yet earnest approach to her work.
• Rugandia – Human maid from Sand Village appearing before Croce Estate’s fire, assigned by Sylvia’s father as her loyal, diligent servant.
• Bandanzine – They are one of the Four Heavenly Kings, appeared as a warrior with a dignified gaze, known for their frontline combat prowess.
• Orrid – Southern pleasure town near Conro, known for its chaos and vice. Serves as Brigante’s next destination and Count Grasso’s sphere of influence. Rumored den of spies and mercenaries.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply