Chapter 125

125 Dark clouds

“…The numbers are strange . Compared to what they were in the past, imports and exports have decreased . ”

Staring at the file, I pointed out the parts that bothered me .

“Why is that…it’s not commonly used products, but imports that were referred to as luxury items . What’s more, the decrease is only in the east . ”

“…You saw the patterns . ”

One of the members of the financial division spoke up, eyes wide .

“Although it’s a bit embarrassing, I didn’t realize it at all before Dean pointed it out . ”

Hearing him say so, I couldn’t help but smile in exasperation .

“What did you think? Would I have realized it on my own, or did you think that I wouldn’t?”

“Are you testing me?”

“I don’t know . I was just a bit curious as to how my subordinates viewed me . Back on topic . If it was Dean who realized, then there should be a report on this completed already . How has that gone?”

“There isn’t a report yet . Dean is looking for a reason as well, and is sending people to the east . He said if it were you, you would definitely notice things like these . And he told us to hand you the documents while he was gone . ”

“Ah! Then I’m being tested by Dean . ”

I couldn’t help but chuckle .

“Not at all . Isn’t this interesting…what could the reason be? I’ve looked at the other information we have currently . It’s not a decrease in population, or a decrease in the desire for consumption among the population . The prices have even went up a bit . None of the other regions have seen this change…is someone manipulating this from behind the scene?”

I said this as I flipped through all the other documents in the room .

While I looked through them, the waiting official observed me in silence .

“Call Sebastian over for me . Thank you for your report . ”

I gave Tanya an order, and dismissed the officials .

When Sebastian came, I immediately issued an order to him .

I wanted him to bring me all the reports from the Eastern region .

There were docks in the east .

Historically, they’ve always been an affluent area .

Since I became substitute leader, I expanded the dock and reorganized things, putting a lot of effort into our interaction with other countries .

It was an important area for income…so I took it perhaps a bit too seriously .

If I couldn’t figure out the reason behind this change, I wouldn’t be able to relax .

Although only a portion of products were affected, there was no promise that it wouldn’t eventually spread to everything else .

“Dean, I’ve received a report already . How have things been going?”

I said, as Dean walked in after a quick knock on the door .

“Honestly, with our current situation, there hasn’t been any progress made . What remains is for us to wait for the reports of those who have been sent to the east . Still, something bothers me…”

“You say that no progress has been made . Is there nothing odd other than the numbers for the region?”

“Yes . It’s too quiet . Even when they receive reports of accidents on the shore, no merchant guilds have gotten out of hand . Speaking of which, when it comes to a decrease in imports and exports, the guild hasn’t raised any opinions or talks . They’re the ones affected, but haven’t spoken up about anything . That alone is quite amazing . ”

“If only this were all concern for nothing…I keep having a bad feeling . Dean, how long can you stay here?”

“Originally I was planned to leave tomorrow . Because there was something I couldn’t push off any longer, I have to leave the territory for a week or so, and will return after all is finished for an immediate report . While I’m gone, all this will be under the control of Sebastian and the officials who handed in their report earlier . ”

“Is that so…I guess there’s nothing to be done about it . ”

Honestly, having him here the whole time made me feel so much better about everything .

But relying on him the whole time wasn’t a good thing . Plus, having to depend on him was something I could not stand .

“I understand . If you think of anything or have any ideas, then let me know . ”

After that, I headed toward the library…or rather, the book room .

It’s great that we discovered this issue while Dean was here .

If it was before he came, then I might not have been able to handle it because of all the work on my plate .

No, it was the other way around .

It was only because he was here that I noticed it .

Because there was so much work to handle and I had no time, he was able to discover something like this, confirm it with officials, then report it to me .

No matter what, I owed him a big thank you .

Deep in thought, I paced into the book room .

“Ah, Rehme, I haven’t seen you here in a long time . ”

“Lady Iris!”

She smiled and approached .

Although she was technically the head of the library, I had appointed so much work concerning the academy in the capital that she was spending much less time here .

“Has something happened, Lady Iris?”

“There’s something I want to look into concerning the east . ”

“What is it? If it’s to do with food, then it would be this one and this one…ah, and you would also need materials concerning maps and geography . ”

“…Yes . Things like previous mayors, criminal records…”

“The records of previous mayors are here . I’ve organized the materials carefully and put them into book format . Please be careful when reading them . ”

“I understand . ”

I received the information from her .

“Other than that, criminal records…there aren’t many from the east, unfortunately . Even if you look at them, you might not be able to see any patterns that aren’t already known . ”

“Ah, I’ve heard that…before the change of power there was no record of anything aside from huge events or riots . There’s nothing to be done about that . But why is it that there are so few from the east?”

“The east has always been a place for spirited people . Arguments and riots have become commonplace . Since the 波魯提庫家族 took over, there have been very few reports . ”

“The 波魯提庫家族 family? What is that?”

Hearing the word that I hadn’t heard before, I tilted my head to the side .

“It’s an organization that has controlled the dark side of the town . In the past when you were surveying the lands, didn’t Dida stop you? That’s what is referred to as a ‘gang area’ . ”

“I see . I’ll go and confirm the recent movements of this associations . Do you know anything about changes within the association?”

“Well…the family itself is very old . It has been in existence since the territory was born and the east was designated as a dock area . The family has its own rules and regulations . Although what it’s doing is immoral, it’s surprisingly not disliked by the locals . ”

“What do you mean, immoral things?”

“Buying and selling illegal products and slaves . Plus, protecting their land and opening up casinos . ”

“I see . If they’re also protecting their own territory, that means that they take care of problems before they become big enough to spread over here . If things happen without us knowing and are resolved without us knowing, then of course there would be no records . ”

“Precisely so . ”

“Speaking of which, you really do know everything!”

“That’s because the previous records of the family’s helpers have been preserved, as well as the things they’ve been investigating . Isn’t it interesting?”

“I see . I should be the one finding this information…but thinking about it is enough to make one reel . ”

To find select information amidst the countless books in this collection would take unimaginable labor .

If it’s just reading, that’s one thing . But to search through reference materials during research is completely different .

…It was really such a relief that Rehme was here .

“Are there other similar organizations?”

“Of course, there seem to be several . Although I don’t know if they still exist…they seem not to usually interact, but sometimes they’ve opposed this one as well . ”

“I see…thank you . ”