The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 35

The year at the Terra Barrier was a time that allowed me to accumulate countless experiences. Because of that, even though a group equivalent to one squad had left, and we were defending the long Terra Barrier with just two squads, it didn’t feel too overwhelming.

Although individual skill levels varied, by the time summer was approaching, only about forty people remained. After going through dozens of battles in similar situations, what could be more challenging now?

“Keep your wits about you! Nothing has changed about what you need to do! The only thing that’s different is the area you have to cover, so why are you panicking!”

“The enemies… there are too many enemies!”

“Shut up and focus! Ignore the weaker ones and just stop the dangerous ones from climbing over!”

Around this time last year, I would have been wrestling with basilisks with my group. I imagine Laurent and Gaius, who remained at the Terra Barrier, felt the same as the mage panicking in front of me. Would I have been any different? I couldn’t say for sure. I can be calm now thanks to the experience I’ve gained, but back then, I wasn’t much different from the mage in front of me.

“Conserve your mana! We don’t know when the battle will end, so stop wasting it! Or what, are you going to go down and rest under the guise of recovering mana?! We’ve done this several times; do you think I wouldn’t notice that!”

Nevertheless, there were no major changes at the Terra Barrier. It wasn’t like this was the first or second time we’d faced such enemies. What I could feel in the meantime was that those who went outside weren’t the only ones suffering. Those who remained were also doing their best, just as much as those who had left for the autumn expedition.

As we endured day after day, fifteen days passed, and then a month. Just as another harsh winter was about to arrive, when it was about time for those who had gone on the expedition to return, Duke Zieg finally returned.

#

“This is an order from His Majesty the Emperor. Immediately transfer command to me and return to the capital to have an audience with His Majesty.”

“You’re here early? I thought you’d be here at least next year.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Duke Ponk, who had been sound asleep in his office, woke up rubbing his eyes as he was suddenly greeted by Duke Zieg. While expressing admiration for Duke Zieg’s much faster-than-expected return, his attitude was as unruly as ever.

Duke Zieg rebuked Duke Ponk, who was getting up and leaving without even reading the order Duke Zieg had handed him. He hadn’t read the Emperor’s order, yet he was already moving.

“You explained it all, didn’t you? Transfer command and come up to the capital. Surely you wouldn’t have forged the order, and isn’t it better for you if I leave as soon as possible? I’m starting to get tired of killing monsters anyway.”

“Insolent……”

“I had a good time.”

With that, Duke Ponk left the Terra Barrier. However, the work was just beginning. Duke Zieg, who had returned to his post after several months, immediately summoned key figures. After traveling a long distance, assessing the current situation was more important than rest.

“Duke!”

“Have you returned completely?”

“To return so quickly, did something happen?”

Due to geographical reasons and various other factors, the Terra Barrier was particularly slow to receive news from the outside world. First of all, it was located at the northernmost part of the empire, so even the closest territories were quite far away, and the control of civilians was strictly prohibited. The only communication came from the support troops who came every year and the periodic transport of supplies.

“Don’t make unnecessary speculations. I have simply returned to carry out His Majesty the Emperor’s orders. More importantly, report on the current situation of the Terra Barrier.”

The time Duke Zieg had been away from the Terra Barrier was long if it was long, and short if it was short. However, the problem was that summer and autumn were included in that time. It was a time that included the support troops and the autumn expedition, which could be counted among the three biggest events at the Terra Barrier.

“Ah, yes! Please wait a moment. I’ll prepare it right away.”

Despite the sudden return and the immediate inspection, those gathered here were only slightly taken aback, quickly regained their composure, and began to act according to Duke Zieg’s words. Although they had been separated from him for a while, the time they had spent with him was several times longer than the time they had been apart. There was no way they couldn’t adapt to his methods now.

The conference room quickly became busy. The number of troops and supplies before he left, the documents created when the support troops arrived, and the data on those who had left for the autumn expedition.

Many things had been newly created and changed since he left. They brought the data, compared and analyzed it, and checked whether any parts were deliberately omitted or exaggerated. It was something they had done dozens of times so far, so the speed was like lightning. Nevertheless, due to the sheer volume, the audit was not completed until the sun went down.

“Good. It seems there are no major problems on paper.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at Duke Zieg’s words of satisfaction. The Terra Barrier was a battlefield where battles were fought in real time, and falsifying documents about supplies was a serious crime that could result in the death penalty, depending on the case. Knowing this well, they had done their best to be clean and transparent, but perfection was not so easy. However, Duke Zieg had no intention of ending it simply with documents. No, it shouldn’t end there. He couldn’t judge everything from documents.

“Then it’s time to compare the documents with the actual items.”

In this task, the administrators, knights, and mages he had brought from his territory shone. When he was at the Terra Barrier, he could monitor in real time, so he was sufficient on his own, but that was not the case now. These were people who would be sent back to the territory once the current task was completed, so they were not in a relationship that could be entangled with vested interests, and as a result, they were the ones who could uncover corruption more fairly than anyone else.

“Let’s begin. I expect you to thoroughly cooperate with their actions. If anyone obstructs them, I will assume that they have done something that could be caught in the audit, do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes!”

#

Knock knock-

“Yes.”

“Are you the mage Renil?”

“Yes, I am. Who is it?”

I opened the door and greeted the guest who was looking for me. A mage with a face I’d never seen before. However, I could figure out his identity through the emblem engraved on his chest and his words.

“I have come by order of Duke Zieg to audit your research during that time.”

“An audit?”

“Yes. According to the documents, you have used magic stones for the improvement of scorpions and various other reasons. Could you show me the related data?”

After being flustered for a moment, I handed over the related data that I had stored in the corner of the room to the auditor. I had had the experience once before. Of course, I was too busy adapting at that time, so there was nothing to be caught in the audit, but since then, I had always left supporting data when using materials within the Terra Barrier.

“Here it is.”

There was no need to examine many things. The only thing to do was to figure out whether the magic stones were used for the intended purpose and whether only the necessary amount was used. At least I was confident that I hadn’t done anything that would prick my conscience.

“Why was the magic stone used in this process?”

“Ah, that’s……”

How long had it been since I cooperated with the audit, answering the auditor’s questions from time to time? The mage who reviewed the last document stood up with a satisfied smile. I wasn’t anxious because I had actively cooperated with the process and thought that I had transparently explained the parts pointed out by the auditor, but I could tell from that smile that everything had gone well.

“Thank you for your hard work. There’s nothing particularly problematic.”

“Of course. Using the empire’s assets for personal matters is impossible.”

“As the young lady said.”

“Yes?”

“The young lady asked me to tell you. She was grateful that you persuaded her at that time, and thanks to you, her mother was able to rest in peace.”

The words I heard from the auditor were quite shocking. It wasn’t the words that she was grateful for persuading her that were shocking, but the story that the Duchess had passed away was shocking. That meant that Duke Zieg had come up to the Terra Barrier as soon as the Duchess died or as soon as the funeral was over.

“Rest in peace means……”

“Yes. The Duchess passed away about two months ago.”

Hearing those words, I felt respect and fear at the same time. Respect for immediately engaging in public affairs without caring about personal matters, and at the same time, fear that he was like a machine in human skin.

“If you survive here and are discharged, she said to be sure to visit the Zieg territory.”

“I will.”

“Finally, may I ask you for one favor?”

I was surprised once again at the auditor’s words that followed when two emotions, shock and fear, were mixed together.

“Would you help with the audit?”

“Me?”

“Yes. In fact, there are only two mages in charge of this audit, including me, which is woefully insufficient. I heard that usually each squad leader conducts the audit, and Lord Ild said that you, Renil, would be helpful.”

The thought of last year suddenly came to my mind when he asked me to help with the audit. Last year, I was audited by Ild. Nothing special happened, but I remember that he was cold and stiff enough to make me wonder if he was the same person.

Auditing those who belong to the same group could lead to internal whistleblowing. I might get a bad look. But even if I hide it here, the data will be passed on to the capital and will be exposed. Knowing that, even though the squad leaders, who can be said to be internal figures, are in charge of the audit, there is not much talk about it. It may be a little different, but I didn’t think there was a possibility of hearing bad things.

“Okay. What can I do to help?”

#

Knock knock-

“Senior, it’s me, Renil.”

“What’s going on all of a sudden… Is it an audit?”

“Yes, it is. I would like to ask for your cooperation.”

“Yes. Well, come on in.”

As expected, no one was dissatisfied with me. It was something that had been done every year, and if they hadn’t done anything to get caught, there was no reason to stop it. On the contrary, there were even seniors who encouraged me.

“You’re going through a lot. It would take more than a day or two to look at the data of nearly sixty people.”

What I did was simple: mediation between the auditor and the auditee, reviewing whether the research was really for the defense of the Terra Barrier, etc. I certainly said I would help, but as one senior said, it wasn’t something that could be done in a day or two. And not everyone was able to pass the audit safely.

“What kind of research is this?”

“It’s, it’s my personal research. Even if you came here a year earlier than me, the unspoken rules……”

“Since you received the magic stone, it’s no longer personal research. You can only receive magic stones for research for the Terra Barrier, and even at a glance, the research purpose in the document and this research are completely different. How does this help the defense of the Terra Barrier?”

Just a few months ago, a problem broke out from a rookie belonging to the Terra Barrier.

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