"Well, what do you think, Lord Pegin Vorontov?"
"Guh..."
Pegin Vorontov’s face twisted in frustration.
"You have seen for yourself the true caliber of the magi I have discovered, have you not?" Paerova asked, his tone thick with pride.
At this point, the Duke intervened.
"That is enough. Everyone acknowledges that the skill of the magi under Paerova’s employ is first-class."
It was likely an attempt to keep the peace between the two, but the effort proved to be in vain. Pegin spat out a retort that sounded like pure sour grapes.
"I will admit they are first-class. However, as for whether they are truly elite? I would ask that you reserve judgment until you have seen the golem my Groma Tray is currently constructing."
Paerova scoffed at him.
"I see, I see. Bragging about a future project after losing a match. How very petty."
"What did you say?"
"...Enough. I understand your feelings, my lords, but we have already far exceeded the scheduled time for today’s meeting. We are finished for the day."
Having washed his hands of the matter, the Duke threw out those final words, turned on his heel, and vanished into the palace interior.
"Indeed, I cannot afford to be occupied with such trivialities forever....Well then, Lord Pegin Vorontov, I shall take my leave."
Paerova didn't wait for a reply before heading out, leaving Pegin behind.
He thought he heard cries of "Wait!" and "Are you planning to run away?" behind him, but he ignored them all with the smug composure of a victor.
"Today went exceptionally well."
"Indeed it did."
Paerova and Jed were talking in private.
"I believe we’ve managed to keep the Council of Ten in check, at least for a while."
"It would seem so. However, we still have a long road ahead."
"Hmph....That Pegin is a slippery one. Conversely, if we can just manage him, the other nine will fall into line."
"Certainly."
"Jin, was it?...The claim that his memory is fuzzy is becoming harder to believe. Just what was his objective in coming to this country?"
"I have no idea myself. He is quite difficult to read," Jed Alamold replied, tilting his head. "The most likely scenario is that he was simply a 'lost child,' but even so, I have no idea why he would appear in Taji Village of all places."
"So even you don't know..."
"You have my apologies."
"No matter. As long as he does not become an enemy."
"Yes. Regarding that, as his personality is not aggressive, I believe he will be safe to keep so long as we do not make unreasonable demands of him."
"I see. More importantly, we must ensure... no, that includes Eira and Kachea as well. We must never let them go. They are vital national assets."
"Truly. I shall take every measure possible."
"...If we do not, our country will never escape its current predicament."
Jin and his companions were having dinner together.
"The food in the Ducal Palace is delicious!"
"It really is."
"The fish is fresh, the soup has a rich stock, and they must have an abundance of seasonings."
Jin figured that was to be expected of a place that possessed Warp Gates for trade.
"The tea is good, too."
While sipping green tea after the meal, a question suddenly occurred to Jin regarding their commerce.
"...I wonder what the source of funding is to buy these goods?"
Kachea latched onto his words.
"Ah, I was wondering about that too. What exactly are they paying in return?"
The value of gold was virtually the same in every country. The monetary economy of this world operated on the gold standard. Or rather, paper currency simply didn't exist.
In the era Jin knew—around the year 3460—the population collapse from the Great Magic War meant that gold, silver, and copper coins minted before the conflict were in such oversupply that nations were struggling to manage the surplus.
He wondered how things were in this era.
"The Principality can't mint its own currency. Which means if they pay in coin, the gold reserves will eventually vanish from the country," Eira explained. "I’m not an expert on economics, so I don't know the specifics. Apparently, the major nations hold a 'World Conference' to decide on the currency to be issued. Don't ask me about the standards or anything—I'm clueless there."
"The World Conference, huh..."
Hearing that name filled Jin with a sense of nostalgia.
The World Conference he and his colleagues had once proposed—it was apparently still active today.
"This country doesn't really have any local products to boast about," Eira said, pulling Jin from his thoughts. "No matter how I look at it, I don't see how they can provide enough goods to balance out the cost of magi-crystals and magi-devices."
"I think Eira-san is right. If they aren't paying with currency, it would have to be an exchange of goods, but..."
She couldn't think of anything that could possibly match the value.
"It couldn't be... people, could it?"
"What!?"
"Wait, what?"
Eira and Kachea reacted with shock to the half-joking murmur Jin let slip.
"People... huh..."
"They are encouraging high birth rates, aren't they...? I thought they were just trying to increase the population to grow the nation, but..."
"Hey, now, I was only joking."
He had simply recalled tales of the illicit trade where kidnapped girls were used as payment for contraband.
"It's not an impossible theory, so I'm not laughing."
"But there aren't many people missing, are there? Your siblings are all doing fine, right, Kachea?"
"...I... believe so..."
Her reply was hesitant.
"Well, maybe they aren't actually independent and they're just receiving those materials as charity from a parent nation. There are all sorts of possibilities."
Jin threw out another theory to try and smooth things over, but it sounded completely unconvincing.
So, he tried to force a change of subject.
"...Since we're in the royal capital, it might be worth trying to look into it if we get the chance."
He felt that Paerova and Jed would likely dodge the question, so he wouldn't go out of his way to ask them directly. There was nothing to be gained by damaging their relationship.
"Y-Yes, you're right."
"I agree."
Kachea and Eira both nodded.
"Maybe we could try asking that guy... Groma?"
When Jin suggested it, Eira’s face twisted in blatant disgust.
"I don't like him. He’s frivolous, yet you never know what's going on behind those eyes. In the first place, there's no reason a top-tier magi would go out of his way to come to a country like this."
Jin could only manage a wry smile at that.
"Eira, aren't you being a bit of a hypocrite there?"
"Eh?...Ugh... maybe I am. But while I'm clearly miserable with my lot, he seemed quite satisfied."
"Ah, true. He did say the one he's making now will have several times the performance of the last one. That implies he has access to very abundant resources."
"He said that?"
That makes him even more suspicious, Eira muttered.
And so, with many mysteries still lingering, the night in Mahalig deepened.