On Hourai Island, Laojun reviewed the information transmitted by Tama while simultaneously conducting surveillance through a Peeper.
"It appears this noble is merely engaged in simple smuggling."
Having observed the entries being jotted down in the ledger, Laojun arrived at that conclusion.
If it was nothing more than petty smuggling, it intended to leave the matter to the Celuroa Kingdom's authorities.
"In that case, let us have Tama investigate another location."
With that, Laojun issued fresh instructions using the manacam built into Tama.
(Understood. Moving to the second target.)
Spotting a window cracked open by roughly ten centimeters, Tama slipped outside without making a sound.
It landed softly upon the grass below.
Finding no more mice in the vicinity, it darted across the garden, bounded over the perimeter wall, and cleared the mansion grounds.
From there, it headed toward the second objective Laojun had designated.
It was the home of a medium-class merchant, situated slightly inward toward the central district from the town's outer edge.
(Rather than navigating the streets, I should take the rooftops.)
As the buildings clustered closer together, Tama opted against the street level with all its obstacles and took to the roofs instead, nimbly scaling higher and higher.
The vantage point from the rooftops offered a clear view, and the targeted merchant's residence was visible in the distance.
Leaping onto a higher roof one moment and dropping down to a lower one the next, Tama pressed onward toward its mark.
Its swift movement was like a gust of black wind.
Without drawing a single eye, Tama reached its destination.
(Now then, I'll have to enter through the chimney here... though soot will get all over me.)
This was not a matter of being squeamish about getting dirty, but rather that soot stains would increase the risk of the infiltration being exposed via pawprints.
Ultimately, Tama erected a barrier to ward off the grime and deployed its force generator to slip down through the chimney.
(Still, to think there is no fire lit in this weather... Is this building merely a dummy?)
Indeed, the primary reason Tama had chosen the chimney as an entry point was that it had detected no fire burning within the hearth.
It was the dead of winter, a season when nighttime temperatures plunged below freezing. There was no reason for a chimney linked to a fireplace to lack any warmth.
(No presence of people, either? No, wait.)
The presences Tama detected belonged to automata.
Even so, they were exceptionally crude constructs. They could not even begin to rival the Quinta.
(They barely manage to look human on the surface, but from every angle, they are glaringly artificial.)
Four of them stood motionless inside the room.
Since they still emitted a faint magical aura, Tama judged they were not deactivated, but rather resting in a standby state.
(They likely spring to life upon receiving orders or detecting an intruder.)
Accordingly, Tama kept its Invisible barrier active.
(The fact that these sentries are stationed here suggests there might be something important in this room.)
Tama reached out to Laojun via its built-in manacam to have the room scanned.
The findings arrived five minutes later.
"There is a concealed safe embedded within the western wall containing a set of documents. They appear to be ledgers detailing smuggling operations."
From what Laojun could ascertain, various goods were being smuggled into the Kingdom of Franz as well. Judging by their descriptions, none of it was legitimate merchandise.
"The mastermind must undoubtedly reside on the Celuroa Kingdom's side."
Laojun deduced that the contacts within the Kingdom of Franz were merely low-level subordinates at best.
Of course, even the mastermind within the Celuroa Kingdom was petty small fry compared to the defunct Unifilar or the Magic Federation.
Setting that aside, Tama pondered its options, knowing it had to bypass the dormant automata to inspect the documents.
(Using the Magic Canceller would solve the immediate problem, but an inspection later on would reveal they were disabled by an outside attack....All right.)
Conceiving what it deemed a brilliant plan, Tama remained Invisible, slipped through the lone unlatched door, and crept into the adjacent room.
It was completely barren, which was precisely why it lacked any guards or security measures.
(Is anyone in the next room?)
After checking the adjoining space with its built-in Peeper and confirming it was empty, Tama used magi-craft to bore an opening through the wall and stepped through. Naturally, it cast another spell to cleanly seal the hole behind it.
(The hidden safe should be right behind this wall.)
Its clever scheme was to use magi-craft from the neighboring room to extract the documents from the reverse side of the safe.
Carving a breach into the wall exposed the safe's rear casing, prompting Tama to bore a matching hole directly through the metal.
(Are these the records Laojun mentioned?)
Despite working with feline paws, Tama deftly turned the pages one by one.
From Hourai Island, Laojun scanned the contents in real time.
"That will suffice. Tama, please return the documents to their place."
In roughly thirty seconds, Laojun thoroughly analyzed the contents of the forty-odd pages.
Once the verification was complete, Tama reversed the procedure, seamlessly restoring both the safe and the wall to their original condition.
"As expected, this appears to be nothing more than the local lord overstepping his bounds on his own..."
What Laojun gathered from the documents was that the feudal lord presiding over this territory, which encompassed the town of Ronsk, was stirring up trouble with the Kingdom of Franz entirely of his own accord.
In other words, the Celuroa Kingdom as a sovereign nation bore no involvement in the schemes against the Kingdom of Franz.
"It is fortunate that the Celuroa Kingdom itself is not implicated. While we could easily confront an entire nation, innocent civilians would inevitably be dragged into the fallout."
Every so often, local lords harbored twisted ambitions.
Such ambitions generally centered on political advancement or personal enrichment—nearly always boiling down to a lust for power or coin.
And this town's lord had recruited a handful of merchants to instigate friction with the Kingdom of Franz.
"Given that he brought merchants into the fold, monetary gain is almost certainly the goal."
There were broadly two ways such illicit funds were utilized: indulging in personal luxury, or buying higher status and influence.
"Knowing this lord's character... lavish indulgence is the more probable motive."
The noble governing and administering the entire region, including Ronsk, was Baronet Lane de Matillac.
And the merchant who owned this dummy property was Seneca Koyo.
"If we shake down their affairs, endless filth is sure to spill out."
Nevertheless, Laojun determined that, for the immediate future, the matter was best left to the Celuroa Kingdom's law enforcement.
To facilitate this, Laojun intended to transcribe the captured intelligence and deliver it directly to the appropriate authorities.
"The central leadership of the Celuroa Kingdom appears competent enough these days, after all."
Even so, as was typical of large nations, the distant fringes remained susceptible to corruption.
In Esaia, the royal capital of the Celuroa Kingdom, stood the Royal Palace.
The reigning monarch was Baudouin Valois de Celuroa, a sovereign belonging to the Valois family, which had preserved its lineage for four hundred years since the era of Cesar.
He was twenty-eight years old, unmarried, and therefore without an heir.
Having ascended the throne only two years prior, he was still far from mastering the full reality of his realm.
"Hmm, the regional economy remains sluggish. If this continues, civil discontent will only mount."
King Baudouin Valois de Celuroa crossed his arms, brooding in silence.
With the collapse of the Magic Federation, industries tied to magi-devices and magi machines had begun to show signs of recovery, but it remained insufficient.
Consequently, the young king spent day and night pondering solutions to revitalize his kingdom.
As part of these initiatives, he had been spearheading public works projects focused on the Hardening of the domestic highways.
Because this initiative more than doubled the travel speed of carriages, the new king earned widespread praise from the merchant class.
"Yet I cannot afford to grow complacent."
He knew full well that economic revival was no easy feat.
Even so, convinced of the long-term benefits, he had established the Road Corporation to oversee the infrastructure projects.
"What measures must I take to bolster our national strength...? In times like this, I suppose I should summon him."
With a firm motion, King Baudouin Valois de Celuroa rang the call bell atop his desk.