Anticipating that secret discussions would become more frequent, we had moved the previous night to an inn that rented out standalone detached houses.
The property featured a spacious garden, and upon waking up in the morning, I stood quietly in the courtyard.
The morning sun rose gently, and dew dripped from the leaves of the trees.
A breeze stirred the branches, sending a single leaf fluttering downward.
As it drifted before my eyes, I raised my hand and struck it with the middle joint of my finger, as though knocking on a door.
Puff!
With a crisp sound, the leaf shattered to pieces in midair.
Quite literally into powder; the leaf, which should have been supple with moisture, burst apart like brittle autumn foliage.
"I-Incredible..."
Zoe's voice reached me from behind.
Having just returned from outside, she stared wide-eyed in astonishment, apparently having witnessed the feat.
"Just now... was that your own power, Master?"
"Yeah."
"Is that so... Huh?"
"What's the matter?"
Instead of answering my question, Zoe muttered aloud, almost to herself.
"Lord Leviathan, Lord Bahamut, Lord Behemoth, Lady Huwawa, Lord Apophis, Lord Ziz..."
She was counting down the names of the powerful magic tools in my possession.
Having listed them all, however, her expression grew even more perplexed.
"Whose power was that just now, then?"
"Ah, I see. You've been by my side all this time, so you have a decent grasp of what each of them can do."
"Yes."
"Just as you suspected, it didn't belong to any of them."
"Huh?"
"It's my own power."
While coming here to investigate the salt tax, I had intended to train Zoe.
Taking that stance would make little sense if I showed no growth myself.
Combining my current stats with all my past experience, I had spent the night contemplating what I could achieve, which led to the strike I just performed.
Simply swinging an attack through with brute force is easy.
However, taking inspiration from how clapping hands produces a sharper sound when focusing on the split second of impact rather than merely slapping them together, I tested delivering a strike concentrated on a plane—no, focused entirely on a single point.
As a result, I perfected a technique capable of pulverizing a leaf fluttering in midair into dust.
"Your own power, as well... Master, you truly are amazing..."
"More importantly, did you speak with them?"
"Huh? Ah, yes..." Zoe said, casting uneasy glances around the garden.
"Don't worry, I'm using Ziz's power to control the surrounding wind."
"The wind?"
"Words travel through the air. By controlling the wind, I've ensured no sound leaks outside. Indoors, vibrations might carry through the walls, but in an open garden, we're safe."
"I understand. In that case, allow me to deliver my report to Your Majesty."
"Umu."
"When I told them I used the three thousand Rien to bribe Kate, they were exceedingly surprised. So when I demanded additional funds and goods, they handed them over."
"How much?"
"Pardon?"
"What was the amount?"
"The exact same amount—three thousand Rien."
"...Heh, is that so?"
When a faint smile crossed my lips, Zoe tilted her head in confusion.
"Is something amiss, Your Majesty?"
"If someone like you came to Us, We would pay at least double—no, ten times that sum. It is a textbook case of seizing a rare asset."
"I see...?"
"Offering the exact same amount struck Us as odd."
"Um... which means?"
To Zoe, who still didn't quite grasp the implication, I smiled once more.
"When dealing with someone who spends money on that scale, they only offered the exact same amount. That marks them as a B-rank individual at best—an A-rank at most, even with the home advantage. They aren't fools, but they are nothing extraordinary either."
Explaining it through the analogy of stats and plus-modifiers, Zoe nodded in sudden realization.
"I see! That might very well be true."
"Hm?"
"After I relayed Your Majesty's reaction, their opinions were split between staying the course and changing their approach. Even I could tell they were falling into an unfavorable hesitation."
"I see."
"Also, they inquired about what Your Majesty fancies."
"What We fancy, did they? And how did you answer?"
"People—specifically, that you fancy talented women."
"Is that so."
That was practically a full-marks response.
She hadn't lied; considering my past conduct, that answer held plenty of truth.
At the same time, it remained suitably narrow in scope.
"Well done, Zoe."
"Thank you very much!" Zoe beamed, her face lighting up with delight. "In that case, do you think they will send someone like Evelyn-san?"
A talented woman.
From Zoe's perspective, that naturally brought to mind Evelyn, her senior maid and the shining star among the retainers of the Thirteenth Imperial Prince Mansion, who had risen all the way to governor.
However.
"You're overestimating them."
"Am I?"
"For a B-rank person, based on that information, the best they would send is a courtesan skilled in the arts, or an entertainer who doesn't sell her body."
"Ah... I see..."
Zoe still seemed a bit unsure.
Well, she would understand soon enough.
"Now then, we know how they operate. Today, let's head out and pretend to investigate while waiting for them to make contact. There is no doubt they will attempt to bring some sort of 'talented woman' into contact with Us."
"Yes! I will make preparations right away!"
Zoe nodded, dashed inside the inn, and readied our departure.
☆
Stepping out into the streets, the town remained in a state of "recession" today.
Though it was a grand thoroughfare wide enough for six carriages to run abreast—a six-lane street—it was unfittingly devoid of life, with hardly any goods on display.
Just as Zoe had heard, they seemed determined to maintain this exaggerated facade of a slump.
Good grief, just how much wealth were they sitting on?
At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising if they openly boasted that "there is nothing that cannot be done in this town."
They had orchestrated a situation powerful enough to back up such a claim.
"Master... this means... everyone is being forced to live unnaturally, doesn't it?"
"That's right."
"To think everyone actually complies... I still find it hard to believe."
"The guild, or perhaps the merchant syndicate, must hold absolute sway. Well, with enough money, such things are only natural."
"Is that how it works?"
"Yeah. You know about the 'secondary residences' owned by the imperial princes, right?"
"Huh? Um... do you mean what we would call a 'village'?"
"That's half-right, but not quite," I said with a soft chuckle. "Technically, they are 'secondary residences,' situated far from the imperial capital. It's just that they happen to be on the same scale as an entire village or town."
"Ah, I see."
Beginning with the retired emperor, members of the imperial family frequently owned towns and villages under the guise of villas or secondary residences.
The thousands of residents living in those estates were, effectively, the imperial family's servants.
"In those estates, if the ruling imperial prince says black is white, it becomes white; if he says the sun rises in the west, it does so. If an inspection were to take place, some imperial princes would order their subjects to practice strict self-restraint for the duration, wouldn't they? It's the exact same principle; only the scale is brutally massive."
"I see..."
Zoe swallowed hard and looked around.
While this went well beyond the realm of simply being "a bit large," the analogy seemed to give her a tangible sense of the sheer power the salt merchants wielded.
"Hm?"
"What is it, Master?"
"Business seems unusually lively over there."
I pointed toward the far end of the main street.
While the rest of the town wore a manufactured gloom meant to deceive my eyes, that single corner bustled with the same vibrant energy we had seen the night we arrived.
As I drew closer with Zoe in tow, the chatter of the townsfolk drifted into our ears.
"A truly incredible songstress from the capital came to that shop over there."
"A songstress from the capital?"
"Yeah, I already went and heard her, and man, her singing was something else. A melody like that will stick with you for the rest of your life."
"Is she really that good?"
Catching the conversation of the passersby who kept stealing glances in our direction, I exchanged a look with Zoe.
This is it. We nodded to each other, following the fragments of dialogue toward the establishment where this supposed songstress was performing.
"As expected of you, Master, right on the mark!"
Zoe grew visibly excited by how accurately my prediction had landed.
Immediately afterward, however, she—and I as well—would be taken completely by surprise.
As we reached the front of the shop, a familiar melody drifted out to greet us.
"Could this be... Alice-san...?"
The singing voice filtering softly from within the shop unmistakably belonged to Alice.