"Hmm...."
He was starting to see the big picture. But it was still too early to draw any hasty conclusions.
Yuri nodded.
"Alright, I get it for now. Anyway, how much total money was taken through taxes?"
Yuri instructed them to confirm the number of Allied Army veterans in Euzeth and how much money had been extorted from them. Ace immediately sent a comrade.
"None of us are good with numbers...."
"Don't worry. A professional will come and do the calculations."
"A professional?"
"Someone from the Rein Company is coming. Just leave it to him."
"You have ties with the Rein Company?"
"It just happened that way."
Ace grabbed Yuri's hand.
"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, Prince, I would've died on the battlefield, and even here you're...."
Yuri gave a small chuckle and patted his shoulder.
"Thanks to you guys, I survived too."
"Prince...."
"Pull yourself together. Now's the time to steel your heart."
"Yes, sir."
Yuri stroked his chin.
"Getting the money back itself isn't the hard part."
Once it was revealed that the compensation from the Allied Army Veterans Association was actually a gift from the Third Prince, the fabricated tax would vanish entirely.
The important part was what came after.
"We have to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Yuri had come to Euzeth in person as a sort of inspection.
While helping the Allied Army Veterans Association, he wanted to check the sentiment of the people in Briol and see if there were any other irregularities.
Yuri tapped the table.
"Among the Allied Army veterans, there are some still wandering without a place, right?"
"There are, yes."
"Right. Make a list of those guys too. We need to turn them into decent people. If we don't give them proper training now, they'll turn to banditry later."
"Oh come on, really?"
"Really. That's exactly what'll happen."
Yuri had seen the proof of it just before coming to Euzeth.
"At the very least, we need to provide vocational training."
"You'd go that far for them?"
"That's what the Allied Army Veterans Association is for."
As they exchanged various conversations, Yuri suddenly became curious about Raymond's reputation.
He personally thought highly of him, but he wanted to know how others saw him.
"What do you think of Raymond?"
"He's an excellent knight."
"Do the others follow him?"
"Of course."
"I see."
Yuri nodded.
That was the answer he was hoping for.
The Allied Army Veterans Association still had a long way to go. To operate an organization like this, the leader at the top had to be a person of integrity.
"There are fewer decent people in the world than you'd think."
"You're absolutely right."
"Raymond is one of those rare few."
Yuri decided to appoint Raymond as the president of the Veterans Association.
The general discussion was finished.
Yuri looked at Ace, who was just sitting there blankly, and grinned.
"Ace."
"Yes?"
"Looks like everything's wrapped up...."
Yuri rubbed his fingers together and gave him a meaningful glance.
"How about showing off your skills again?"
"Ahaha, yes, of course."
Ace immediately pulled a deck of cards from a drawer and began to shuffle them skillfully.
"I've been dying to do this...."
Yuri snatched the deck of cards from him.
"You bastard, you seriously can't help yourself, huh."
"Prince?"
"You said you quit."
"Huh? Oh, I-I really did."
"Then why do you have cards?"
"Just, uh, as a memento...."
"I was testing you again, you know."
"I figured as much, so I was only planning to play one game...."
"This little punk...."
Yuri got up and called out toward the door.
"Excuse me. Ma'am. Your husband is...."
"Please, no!"
***
Morning came.
Yuri was having breakfast in the first-floor dining room of the inn where he was staying, waiting for someone.
Soon, the door opened, and a child came in, holding a bundle, looking around.
Yuri jingled a coin.
"Here."
The child handed over the bundle, took the money, and immediately left the inn.
Yuri drank his coffee and unwrapped the bundle.
It was packed with documents Asana had captured from Genard's castle.
"Hmm...."
Yuri got a rough grasp of the picture.
There were signs that Genard had persuaded other nobles to collect money from the Allied Army veterans.
Just as he'd expected—it was a scheme Genard had orchestrated.
But he still didn't know why he started doing such things, what his true motive was.
"Was he jealous of me?"
After finishing his meal, Yuri wiped his mouth and got up from his seat.
As he left, he told the innkeeper something for Laurent and Jared, who were probably still sleeping.
"If my companions come down, please tell them I went out on my own to have some fun."
"Yes, sir. Understood. Have a good day."
It must've been an expensive inn, since the owner was very courteous. Yuri tipped him and stepped out into the street.
The chilly morning air greeted him.
"Where was it again...."
Yuri made his way toward the Euzeth branch of Uncle's Daily Loan, located near the market.
Before long, a shabby gambling den came into view.
It seemed these guys always set up base in similar places.
Even at this hour, there were quite a few customers—probably addicts who had been gambling all night.
Yuri passed through the noisy interior and knocked on the door of the office where loans were handled.
A burly man opened the door and greeted him.
"Here to borrow money?"
"No."
"Then get lost."
"Nope."
There was some commotion, but it was settled in an instant.
The moment the branch manager arrived, what he saw was a boy sitting casually on top of a pile of knocked-out gang members.
Yuri waved his hand.
"Yo."
"W-Wait, Prince?"
"Looks like you made it big, huh?"
Yuri had seen this manager before in the capital. He used to work directly under Gorio.
"Good. I was worried I might not recognize anyone here."
Only the high-ranking members among Gorio's men knew about Yuri and Gorio's relationship.
Yuri recalled the man's name.
"Was it Etman?"
"Yes, sir."
"Long time no see."
Etman was the guy missing a finger.
He'd always seemed terrified of Gorio, but having served him faithfully for so long, he seemed to have earned a branch to manage.
"How's Gorio doing?"
"Doing well, sir. Though he's a bit grumpy these days."
"Well, that's the Empire for you. The country's just too damn big."
"Hahaha...."
"I came here to ask something."
"Y-Yes, of course."
Etman was intimidated by Yuri. Because the person who practically commanded the terrifying Gorio was this prince.
"Just say the word."
"You guys aren't the ones making kids beg, right?"
"Kids begging?"
Etman shook his head.
"No, that's the kind of thing third-rate gangs do. We run a proper business."
"Good. Then get rid of all the child beggars as soon as possible."
"Pardon?"
"Send the kids to orphanages."
"Ah, understood."
"If any orphanage says it's difficult, let me know which one. I'll donate."
"Yes, sir."
Guessing the situation, Etman nodded.
Before falling into debt with Gorio, he had been a decent young man, so he could understand Yuri's heart.
"Understood. I'll take care of it."
"And, by the way, do you know why Genard suddenly started targeting Allied Army veterans?"
"That matter...."
Etman fell into thought. He wanted to be helpful and get into Yuri's good graces, but nothing came to mind.
"Sorry, but I don't th—"
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered how Gorio operated.
He was a cruel but clever man. He often found connections between seemingly unrelated pieces of information.
"Hmm..."
Etman cautiously spoke.
"This might not be related, but there's something that's been on my mind..."
"Go ahead, tell me anything."
"There's a Crystal Tower branch here in Euzeth. One of Euzeth's officials visits there often."
Crystal Tower was a brothel operated by the Gorio group.
"So?"
"A while ago, a noble from the Empire came by."
"A noble from the Empire?"
"Yes. One of Genard's officials accompanied him. He was the one who introduced the place. Several people from the Empire came together."
"When was this?"
"It was right after the Allied Army disbanded and things got noisy."
"Hooh..."
Yuri stroked his chin. The keyword 'Empire' made him instantly alert.
In his past life, Genard had sided with the Empire right after Briol collapsed and retained his noble title.
The process had been so smooth that Yuri had grown suspicious of Genard, and now it seemed there had already been a connection.
Yuri's mind raced.
"Hey, hey..."
Suddenly, one of the large men under Yuri raised his hand.
"What is it?"
"L-Listening to you talk, something came to my mind..."
"Should I get off you?"
"No, no. It's f-fine."
"No, I'll move. Gorio must've worked you guys hard for you all to be this nervous..."
As Yuri got up, three of the men stacked on top of each other rolled off to the side in turn.
The big man on the bottom quickly jumped up and bowed to Yuri.
"Sorry I didn't recognize you earlier."
"Of course you didn't. And sorry for hitting you."
"N-No, it's alright."
"Okay then, go ahead and speak."
"Well, someone came to me and asked if I could do a job."
"A job?"
"Stuff like dragging someone into gambling or getting them into debt. I refused, saying I don't do that anymore, but something about it kept bothering me."
"Who was it?"
"I don't know who he was. He had a hood on..."
The big man licked his lips and continued in a firm tone.
"But the target he mentioned was an Allied Army veteran."
"An Allied Army veteran?"
"Yes. Ace, you know, the guy who used to gamble a lot. They asked me to get him hooked again..."
"Tell me everything."
The big man didn't remember much. All he knew was that a shady person had come with a request.
Yuri nodded.
"Got it."
By now, it was clear—someone was deliberately trying to sabotage the Allied Army Veterans Association.
"Anything else I need to ask...?"
"No, that's all. Good work."
Yuri stepped out of the gambling den.
He took a deep breath of the chilly air, flushing the stifling stench of the den from his lungs.
It seemed it was finally time to confront Genard directly.
"That bastard Genard..."
In his past life, Yuri had been close to Genard.
Genard had lured him with sweet words and led him into various misdeeds, and Yuri, having fallen for it, had considered him a loyal vassal.
It had been a pitiful relationship, but there had still been some semblance of familiarity.
"Even if I wanted to go easy on him, I can't."
Yuri walked to a nearby fruit stall, wiped an apple roughly with his sleeve, and bit into it.
"How much is this?"
"One cooper."
"Alright."
Yuri handed over a copper coin.
"You open shop early."
"Gotta make a living."
"Any interesting news lately?"
"Banana prices are going up. They say some kind of blight is spreading."
"That's serious."
"Apparently, fruits from the East will be imported soon. I'm curious about how they taste."
"Wow, that's exciting."
The vendor was a middle-aged woman. Even while busily arranging fruit, she chatted away.
Yuri asked,
"Eastern fruits coming in—that's thanks to the Allied Army, right?"
"That's true. But young man, are you not from around here?"
"No. I'm from the capital."
"I thought so."
She looked at Yuri and playfully put a finger to her lips.
"Be careful, young man. The lord here doesn't like Allied Army folks much."
"Why?"
"How would I know? He's a nasty one. You never know what mood swing he'll have next. Folks like us just try to live quietly, like we're dead."
"I see. I wish someone would come and give that lord a good scolding."
The woman burst out laughing.
"That's right. I wish that famous Third Prince would come visit."
Yuri smiled warmly. His fame had spread even here.
"They say that kind-hearted knight is going to trial soon. I wonder if the Third Prince might show up for real."
"Who?"
"There's a great knight named Sir Raymond. Not sure what he did to offend the lord, but he's going to be tried. Euzeth is getting harsher by the day."
"That's terrible..."
Considering Genard's nature, Yuri had expected Raymond's treatment to be settled quickly.
Feigning ignorance, Yuri asked her,
"I should go watch the trial. When is it?"
"Tomorrow, or maybe the day after."
"If a lot of citizens show up to watch, the judge might feel pressured and go easy, don't you think?"
"That judge only watches the lord's face."
"What a vile man."
The apple was quite tasty. Yuri bought another basket of apples and paid, then said to the woman,
"You should go see the trial too, just in case. Who knows? That dashing, handsome Third Prince might suddenly show up and scold the wicked judge and lord."
"That would be nice. Here, take one more banana."
"Thank you."
[T/L: Read more chapters on Ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]