My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 200

200. The Great Upheaval of Ruben (2)

Amelia thankfully regained her senses quickly.

And as expected, there was nothing seriously wrong with her body.

It wasn’t like she had fainted because of a bad physical condition.

From the start, it was impossible to be in bad shape in Ruben, where buffs were stacked.

However, it could be said that her mental state wasn’t good.

“What, what is it…? Why am I here…?”

Because of that, Amelia seemed to have temporarily lost her memory…

Well, this could also end as a small incident.

So, the scene unfolding now.

“Lord, could you please turn to the next page?”

Around Cyan, the merchants were transcribing Elanur’s ledger.

Amelia was receiving the transcript and organizing various things.

A scene that seemed like simple labor but wasn’t.

It took them almost three full days to transcribe the entire ledger.

But finishing the transcription didn’t mean everything was over.

Amelia needed time to check the ledger, compare it, and reveal the source of the slush fund.

So, now, after another three days had passed.

“How is it? Did you find anything out?”

“There are many suspicious places, but…”

Amelia continued speaking with a troubled expression.

“It’s complicated…”

“Very complicated?”

Amelia nodded lightly.

Then, she showed Cyan the transcribed ledger she was holding.

“If you look here, there are many abnormal flows of funds. But the problem is, there are too many. The scale of the funds is too large, so I can’t find where the flow of funds is concentrated. Of course, slush funds are used to launder money by spreading out like an octopus to hide the source. But here…”

She continued with words that were hard to understand.

Accounting knowledge that made your head hurt just listening to it.

It wasn’t that he fully understood the words.

He didn’t have as much accounting knowledge as Amelia.

But after listening to Amelia, there was one thing that caught his attention.

“So, you don’t know where the core part where the funds are concentrated is?”

“If I tell you the conclusion, that’s right.”

Amelia nodded.

In short, Amelia seemed to be struggling with the scale of Elanur’s funds.

Elanur, called the two pillars of the Empire.

Finding hidden slush funds within that enormous budget was not an easy task.

‘The core where the funds are concentrated…’

Cyan was lost in thought.

He didn’t perfectly understand Amelia’s words.

He didn’t have as much accounting knowledge as Amelia.

But after listening to Amelia, there was one thing that caught his attention.

‘Come to think of it… Roswell was sensitive to his allowance back then, wasn’t he?’

Back when Cyan was serving as the deputy administrator at the Elanur mansion.

Roswell had clearly reacted sensitively to Cyan’s words that he would cut his allowance.

A reaction as if daring Cyan, a mere deputy administrator, to touch it.

“Amelia, is there anything about allowances written in the ledger?”

“Pardon? Allowance?”

“I mean, the allowances of Nathan and Roswell. Check if Kai is there too.”

“Uh… just a moment.”

Amelia checked the transcribed ledger.

And after flipping through a few pages.

“…It’s there. But why suddenly this?”

At Amelia’s appearance, Cyan was lost in thought for a moment.

It could just be a guess, but…

“You said you didn’t know the core part where the funds flow, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then dig into it, focusing on that allowance.”

“Focusing on the allowance?”

Amelia tilted her head.

Allowance and slush funds.

Even Cyan felt that it wasn’t a very matching combination.

But.

“The last time I said I would cut Roswell’s allowance, he was very alarmed. There seemed to be something there, but I didn’t know what it was. But after listening to you, I wondered if that might be it.”

“Hmm…”

At Cyan’s words, Amelia turned her gaze back to the ledger.

Amelia, lost in thought.

At that moment.

“Lord, Hans has returned to Ruben.”

A merchant entered from outside the merchant building and said.

Hans, who had left Ruben to track Soren.

He thought it would take quite a while to find a clue.

“Hans? Already?”

“Yes. But… he returned with someone I’ve never seen before.”

“Someone you’ve never seen before?”

“I heard he was an old colleague of Hans, but…”

The merchant scratched his head as if he didn’t know either.

At the merchant’s appearance, Cyan briefly turned his gaze to look at Amelia.

Perhaps Cyan’s words just now had become a hint.

Amelia was sparkling with a terrifying concentration.

It seemed like she had caught a clue, but…

It seemed difficult to figure it out right now.

In short, it seemed that more time was needed to find the slush fund.

“I’ll go to Hans then. Tell Amelia to come find me right away if she finds something out.”

“Understood, Lord.”

Cyan quietly left the merchant building so as not to disturb Amelia’s concentration.

#

“T, this is…”

Wigo couldn’t believe the sight unfolding before his eyes.

The scenery of Ruben filling his vision.

Wigo had solved countless requests and incidents as the Mercenary King.

Even if you gathered the careers of most mercenaries, they couldn’t compare to Wigo.

The title of Mercenary King was a title that was that hard to obtain.

Wigo had solved a great number of requests and incidents.

Among them, there were quite a few requests from nobles.

And among them, there were quite a few requests from lords who ruled a region.

Accordingly, Wigo had visited and seen many territories.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had been to almost every territory in the Empire.

He had also been to many territories in other countries besides the Empire.

Therefore, Wigo could say with certainty.

“Is this… really a territory…?”

There was no such territory in the Empire.

No, it couldn’t exist.

He had been to almost all the territories in the Empire.

He hadn’t been to all the territories in other countries, so he couldn’t judge the truth.

Even so, Wigo could say with certainty.

The Ruben he saw before his eyes was not a territory.

This was not a level that could be defined by the concept of a territory.

If this was called a ‘territory,’ all the territories in the Empire were nothing more than garbage dumps.

There was no place to define as a territory on the continent.

Therefore, the Ruben unfolding before his eyes was not a territory.

A paradise on earth.

Or a utopia in heaven.

It could be defined as such.

No, it had to be defined that way so that other territories could exist as territories.

“H, how can this be…!”

But how could that be?

This level of development was impossible with just management.

In other words, it was not a level that an individual lord could handle.

There had to be external advantages to that extent.

It had to be the core of distribution where goods from all over the Empire gathered.

Or the capital of the Empire, called the heart of the Empire.

Or the center of culture where people gathered.

There had to be these geographical, political, and environmental advantages.

This level of development could be achieved based on those advantages.

No, would that still be possible?

He had doubts, but anyway, it was not a level that the lord could handle alone.

But Ruben was not like that.

It was not the gathering of goods from all over the country.

Ruben was a barren and desolate land.

The capital of the Empire was not even worth mentioning.

And it was a dangerous area where monsters held festivals.

A space so barren that people could not live.

The forbidden zone that even the Empire had given up on, the Forest of Darkness.

Ruben was located in that Forest of Darkness.

Therefore, Ruben had to be devastated.

It had to be in a state of utter poverty.

But the scenery of Ruben that he saw before his eyes now.

The ramparts surrounding Ruben on the outermost edge.

The soldiers and knights guarding Ruben.

The various buildings located inside Ruben.

The orderly facilities.

The level of buildings and facilities.

Even the neat roads connecting all areas.

“Take this! Deadly Asura Chop!”

“Kueeeeek!”

“Kyahahaha! How can you scream like the Lord!”

Finally, the laughter of children heard like background music.

This was adding vitality and energy to the scenery of Ruben.

Everything.

Everything he saw in his vision was perfect.

“T, this is…”

Wigo’s wide eyes showed no sign of calming down.

Hans, who had been out of contact for almost 30 years.

Hans had been living in such a territory all this time.

Wigo slowly turned his gaze to look at Hans.

But what.

“W, what…!”

Hans was also widening his eyes and surprised!

Hans’ reaction was not much different from Wigo’s!

Wigo wondered for a moment.

What was Hans doing?

He was surprised while looking at his own house.

What is this…

“You… didn’t you say you were living in Ruben?”

“W, well, I did, but…”

Hans continued speaking with a dazed expression.

“This… is not the Ruben I knew…”

Wigo wondered what kind of nonsense that was.

He really wondered what kind of nonsense that was.

Of course, he knew that Hans had temporarily left Ruben to meet him.

But that period was less than a month.

How could his house change in just a month?

“T, this is…”

But it seemed that Hans was not like that.

That’s because the Ruben when Hans left and the current Ruben.

There was a difference of about 150 million gold in that Ruben.

More than anything.

“Kids! You’ll be late for the academy!”

“Eh! Is it already time! Jedus! Let’s go! We’ll get scolded by the teacher!”

“We’re off!”

“Okay, be careful!”

The children running down the street with their school bags.

What on earth was that?

And it wasn’t just the children.

There were people running around with books in various places on the street.

In other words, there were some people who looked like students.

But students in Ruben…?”

“It’s really nice that the academy was built recently.”

The voice that came into Hans’ ear at that moment.

“That’s right. I’m so glad I can work in the morning without worrying about the kids.”

“That’s right. I was worried about my child being home alone while I was working… I’m so glad I can concentrate on my work thanks to sending them to the academy.”

“My child can learn a lot too.”

What on earth was that?

Academy?

Was there an academy in Ruben?

Hans really wondered what that was.

“……”

Hans blankly looked at the changed scenery of Ruben.

“……”

Wigo also blankly looked at the scenery of Ruben, which was like a paradise.

The two old men stood frozen in place.

And how much time had passed?

“Hans? What are you doing here blankly?”

A familiar voice was heard from one corner.

Looking there.

Cyan was approaching Hans with a bewildered expression.

“Ah, Lord.”

Hans was able to come to his senses then.

Cyan, who had already come close.

Hans looked around once and asked Cyan.

“What… what is this?”

“Huh? What?”

“The academy. Was there an academy in Ruben?”

“Ah, that?”

Cyan continued speaking with an indifferent expression.

“I built it.”

“……”

And Hans was once again dazed.

That’s because Cyan’s words that he built it.

Was that something that could be glossed over with just the words that he built it?

Even in less than a month?

He wondered if that was some nonsense, but Hans quickly shook his head.

From his experience so far.

He knew that if he thought deeply, he would only go crazy.

“W, what…?”

As a definite example, Wigo next to him couldn’t come to his senses.

“Hans knows Ruben’s administration well, so he knows that Ruben’s internal affairs are a bit… weak, unlike what it looks like.”

At Cyan’s continued words, Hans nodded slightly.

Unlike the power that Ruben had, the internal affairs were a bit… poor.

He had been blocking it somehow until now.

As the dark elves joined and the scale grew, he was now slowly reaching his limit.

“So I tried to strengthen the internal affairs this time.”

“So the academy…?”

“To strengthen the system of internal affairs, various talents are needed. And children also need various educations. No matter how much Ruben is in the Forest of Darkness… it’s useless if all they learn is fighting.”

Cyan shrugged his shoulders once.

Hans blankly looked at Cyan’s appearance.

Even if he just pretended not to know, no one would say anything.

Nevertheless, he was paying attention to each and every one of the territory residents.

“Ah, right. In that sense, I also put Hans in the academy as an educator.”

“Me…?”

“There are many students, but there are not enough teachers. Because of that, it seems like there is a shortage of manpower again… Various complicated problems including the population have arisen again, but anyway. Hans has been busy with administrative work alone all this time. I need to pick some administrators to replace the work.”

Of course, Hans would have to directly train them now.

Cyan smiled awkwardly and swallowed the rest of his words.

“Well, anyway, I built the academy for various reasons. And I wondered what would happen if people didn’t want to study… but fortunately, everyone seems to like it.”

Cyan shrugged his shoulders once again.

“More than that, who is next to you?”

And Cyan’s continued words.

Hans was able to come to his senses properly then.

“Ah, this is a friend named Wigo. Let me introduce you. This is Lord Cyan.”

Only after Hans’ words, Wigo was able to come to his senses.

“I greet Count. I am a mercenary named Wigo.”

Wigo slowly bowed his head towards Cyan.

Hans called Cyan Lord, but that was only possible because it was Hans.

Cyan was a veritable Count of the Empire.

No matter how much he was called the Mercenary King, Wigo’s status was only a commoner.

“Nice to meet you. I am Cyan. I have heard a lot of stories from Hans. I heard you are called the Mercenary King…”

Nevertheless, Cyan did not speak informally to Wigo.

Both the conversation with Hans earlier.

And the fact that he is not speaking informally now.

Wigo was able to know roughly what kind of person Cyan was.

“It’s just that I’m an old man who is being treated well. It’s not something to be proud of.”

At Wigo’s words, Cyan smiled.

He knew that the title of Mercenary King was not given to just anyone, even if he said that.

It was not something that could be obtained simply by being old.

In the first place, there was a reason why someone was called the best in any field.

Cyan smiled at Wigo once again.

And he turned his head and said to Hans.

“More than that, Hans. You came back earlier than I thought? I didn’t think you would come until you found a clue about Soren.”

“I was thinking of doing that too, but…”

Hans nodded once and continued speaking.

“I found out where Soren is faster than I thought.”

“What? Already?”

Cyan widened his eyes.

How long had it been since he left that he had already found him?

Even someone who was under the protection of Elanur.

“Wigo’s help was great here.”

“Really?”

Cyan looked at Wigo with surprised eyes.

As expected, the Mercenary King was the Mercenary King.

“What did I do? Some old men in the back room used their strength.”

Wigo waved his hand as if scattering Hans’ words.

He didn’t know the details, but it seemed that he had grasped Soren’s location anyway.

“But…”

Hans’ words were heard again at that moment.

“There is one problem.”

“Problem?”

“That is…”

Hans hesitated and couldn’t open his mouth easily.

He looked like he was having trouble explaining where to start.

It seemed like the story would be quite long.

“Let’s go inside and talk about the details.”

Cyan took Hans and Wigo to the Lord’s Castle Lv.4.

#

Cyan’s office located in the Lord’s Castle Lv.4.

Cyan’s office had also been greatly expanded to match this upgrade.

Cyan’s first impression was that it was unnecessarily large.

“T, this is…”

It seemed to have the effect of giving a considerable sense of intimidation to those who faced Cyan.

It was like suppressing the opponent before the start.

In short, even a mutt eats half at his own house [meaning even the weakest person is confident in their own territory].

‘That was really the name.’

And it was not a simple metaphor.

[Lord’s Castle Lv.4 Lord’s Office Effect] – Even a mutt is the king in his own house!

It was actually the name of the effect that the office had.

The expression of the mobile lord was applied, but anyway.

“This is the location of those presumed to be Soren.”

Cyan carefully examined the map that Hans had handed him.

A map containing the geographical information of the Empire.

Rather than geographical information, it was a summary map showing the eastern, western, southern, northern, and central areas.

And the location of major cities.

Still, it was a map.

There were a total of 10 areas marked on such a map.

All of them were marked with areas where Soren was thought to be.

But.

“You don’t know which one is the real Soren?”

“That’s right.”

Hans nodded at Cyan’s words.

“It seems that they are trying to confuse the movement to worry about being tracked.”

“It’s something that those who have something to hide do…”

Cyan nodded at Hans and Wigo’s continued words.

Soren, who ran away with the funds of the Brahe Merchant Group.

How could he not have something to hide?

“My colleagues are still tracking him, but…”

It seemed that no further progress was being made.

In fact, this was also reduced and reduced.

And originally, they wouldn’t have been able to track him this far.

They were able to track him this far because of the traces that Soren had left while moving urgently.

So he suspected it was a trap, but it wasn’t.

He didn’t know what it was, but there was a reason why Soren had to move urgently.

Therefore, it was right to assume that he couldn’t catch Soren unless it was this time.

“How about poking around each of these places?”

“If we do that, Soren will realize that someone is tracking him. Then…”

“Soren, who realized that fact, will hide without a trace, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

In the end, it was impossible to poke around all 10 places one by one.

“Then how about attacking simultaneously?”

“It would be possible if we attacked simultaneously with a difference of one day, but…”

That was virtually impossible.

How could they match the time exactly in areas spread all over the Empire?

“And they are dispersing their movements to create confusion within each area. We need to investigate who is who with a disguised identity separately.”

“Thorough…”

He didn’t even know that someone was tracking him, but he was doing this much.

“Hmph…”

It was not easy to catch Soren in many ways.

It was not for nothing that he said there was a problem.

‘Should I just guess…?’

But he quickly shook off his thoughts.

“But what is that trace that Soren left?”

Cyan asked Hans after much deliberation.

Soren, who had no traces until now, suddenly left traces this time.

“It was an abnormal flow of funds.”

“Abnormal flow of funds?”

“Yes. For some reason, a huge amount of funds was being distributed at once. In fact, the areas marked on the map are also marked with the areas where those funds flowed.”

“Abnormal funds…”

And a huge amount of funds.

A huge amount of funds…?”

“…… Uh?”

At that moment, a thought flashed through Cyan’s mind.

Abnormal flow of funds.

And a huge amount of funds.

Soren was the mastermind who ran away with the funds of the Brahe Merchant Group.

And Elanur was related to it behind the scenes.

So one thought naturally came to mind.

“Could this be…?”

Isn’t this Elanur’s slush fund?

Thinking about it this way, it was quite a possible story.

What if Elanur was moving Soren to use the current slush fund?

What if Soren’s traces came out because of that?

“Do you have something in mind?”

Hans asked with a questioning expression.

Wigo was also looking at Cyan with curious eyes.

Of course, he had to check the details to know.

And that confirmation was one.

The source of the slush fund that Amelia is revealing.

And if.

The source of the slush fund that Amelia revealed overlaps with one of these 10 places…?”

What is there to worry about?

“Let’s go to Amelia together now.”

Cyan got up from his seat right away.