I transcribed a summary of the price survey onto paper.
I wrote out two copies, tucking one into my breast pocket.
Handing the other to Gigi, I gave her instructions.
"The price of rice in Almeria has dropped. We will use this for comparison in the next report, so memorize it so you can produce it whenever asked. It is of the utmost importance."
"Y-Yes! I will memorize it!"
Gigi snapped to attention, her entire body stiffening with tension, and took the paper from me.
I stood up and spoke to Don as I began walking.
"I'm stepping out for a bit. I leave the rest to you."
"Should we dispatch someone to Almeria?"
"Let's see... Almeria is still under Evelyn, correct?"
"Yes, she is Your Majesty's retainer."
"Don't make a fuss over it. It's enough to simply ask Evelyn, 'Has anything unusual happened?'"
"By your command. Have a safe journey."
☆
Changing into plain clothes, I left the detached palace and boarded a carriage.
It was not meant for the Emperor, but rather of "modest" prestige—the sort used by imperial envoys.
I chose this arrangement because I was officially still away on a personal campaign and was acting on information gathered by my spies, so for now, I didn't want to cause a stir.
The carriage headed straight for Byron Alan's estate.
It was a mansion I had visited many times since my youth. Unlike back then, it now bore a coat of arms linking him to me, and the building itself had become far more luxurious.
Naturally, there were gatekeepers at the front, but the carriage I rode in carried the prestige of an imperial envoy.
The coachman exchanged a few words with the gatekeeper, and the guard let the carriage through without fuss.
The carriage drew up before the main house. After waiting for the coachman to set down the footstool, I stepped out.
Word had already been sent ahead, and Byron emerged from inside the mansion.
The moment Byron saw me, his face filled with shock. He rushed over in a panic, preparing to drop to his knees on the spot.
"I had no idea Your Majesty would grace us with your presence! Please forgive my gross—"
"Enough. We'll talk inside."
"Understood!"
Stopping Byron, I led the way into the mansion.
Byron scrambled after me to guide me in person.
As we walked, he barked out various instructions to the servants to arrange hospitality for me.
Thus, I was ushered into the most luxurious reception room in the estate—another room I had visited countless times.
After dismissing all the servants, Byron, now alone with me, dropped to his knees once more.
It was a formal bow, strictly adhering to etiquette.
"You need not be so formal. As you can tell from that carriage, this is an informal visit."
"Y-Yes."
"I have something to discuss. First, take a seat."
"Thank you very much."
Having received my permission, Byron waited for me to sit before taking the seat opposite me across the table.
"First, look at this."
Saying so, I pulled out the paper I had pocketed and handed it to Byron.
It was identical in content to the one I gave Gigi: a price list of civil goods in Almeria.
Byron accepted it and looked it over.
Glancing at the memo, Byron furrowed his brow and looked at me with a bewildered expression.
"This is...?"
"It's from Almeria. The items and numbers are accurate. It reflects market prices over the recent period."
"What?!"
Startled, Byron lowered his eyes to the memo once more.
"Incredible... This is completely on par with what I have on record—no, it's even more detailed."
"There are a few things I want to ask. First, the premise. Does that information seem accurate?"
"Y-Yes... I believe it is largely accurate."
"I see. Do you know why only the price of rice has dropped?"
"Pardon?"
Byron hurriedly checked the memo again.
After staring intently at it for a while and adopting a look of deep, troubled thought, he spoke.
"Indeed... compared to this time last year, the price has clearly fallen."
"...Mhm."
"Could it have been a bumper harvest?"
"I consider that unlikely."
"Has Almeria not reported it as such?"
In the first place, reports regarding whether a harvest was bountiful or poor came from the local magistrates.
Some might lie and report a bountiful harvest to curry favor with the Emperor, but the magistrate of Almeria was Evelyn.
She knew me well; she would never lie about a good or bad harvest that depended entirely on the weather, and always reported things exactly as they were.
According to the report from Evelyn, the magistrate of Almeria, this year's weather had been average—neither a bumper harvest nor a poor one.
"There is no magistrate who wouldn't report the good news of a bumper harvest. Therefore, it shouldn't be a bumper harvest."
"Indeed!"
Byron nodded vigorously.
As someone who also managed subordinates, Byron understood all too well that "good news is never left unreported."
"Besides, a bumper harvest wouldn't cause this."
"What do you mean by that...?"
"Ninety-nine percent of bumper harvests happen because of favorable weather."
"Just as you say."
"Weather spans vast regions. Yet the prices of other grains in the same territory have barely fluctuated."
"Huh?...Ah."
"Goods of this nature may have variations, but they always move along the same trend. Wouldn't you agree?"
"As expected of Your Majesty. It is exactly as you say."
Byron looked down at the memo once more, pondering with a serious expression.
"Then... a rebellion?"
"The possibility isn't zero, but I consider that unlikely as well."
Byron's deduction was a classic one.
When a planned rebellion or insurrection occurred, price fluctuations in grain were practically guaranteed.
If it was a calculated move backed by a clear objective, it would be of considerable scale, and a rebellion of considerable scale required securing provisions.
That, too, was something where fluctuations occurred, "even with some variance"—however.
"In the case of a rebellion, prices would rise, not fall, wouldn't they?"
"Ah... P-Please forgive me."
Byron hurriedly bowed his head and apologized.
Gathering more than the usual amount consumed meant an increase in "buying."
More buying than usual leading to a drop in price simply made no sense.
Realizing his deduction was completely off the mark once I pointed it out, Byron had started in surprise and hastily apologized.
"..."
I looked at Byron for a moment and decided to change the subject.
"Well, no matter. You don't know either. Finding that out alone is a gain."
"I-I am terribly sorry. Please give me a little time; I will dispatch people immediately to investigate."
"Yeah. Still, it's quite inconvenient, isn't it?"
"W-What might be?"
"Having you investigate made me think. For instance, Byron, how long would it take for you to send someone to Almeria to look into it? It would take around ten days at the fastest, wouldn't it?"
"I-I apologize."
"I am not blaming you. It's much the same for me. At times like this, it makes me think: I'd like to exchange information instantaneously, at least."
"Yes... Unlike physical goods, simple information can be conveyed faster than by person or horse if one uses carrier pigeons, but even so, over the distance to Almeria, a round trip would take three days..."
"Mhm."
I gave a firm nod.
It was just as Byron said.
Three days by carrier pigeon was practically the fastest possible, but even that was slow.
I wanted to be able to convey information much faster.
In the case of Almeria, if a round trip could be completed in a single day, many things would change.
"When it comes to this... even we merchants, who prize the freshness of information, are helpless."
"True... Hm?"
As I started to nod, something in Byron's words caught my attention, and my eyes widened as I stared intently at him.
Suddenly finding himself pinned under my gaze, Byron panicked.
"I-Is something the matter, Your Majesty?"
"What did you just say?"
"Eh?"
"The freshness of information..."
"Y-Yes. To a merchant, the freshness of information is more precious than life itself... but...?"
Byron wore a look that asked what of it.
That in itself was fine, completely fine.
That the freshness of information mattered more than anything to a merchant was something I agreed with wholeheartedly.
The issue wasn't about merchants.
The freshness of information.
Hearing those words, the figure that surfaced in my mind was my father.
☆
Inside the palace, Father's bedchamber.
Just like last night, I slipped inside and stood before Father.
Since it was already the second time, and because I was no longer trying to conceal my presence, Father was not surprised by my visit.
"It seems you couldn't obtain the information you wanted from the merchant."
As expected of Father.
Not only did he know I had gone to Byron's estate, but he also seemed to grasp my objective and every detail of my exchange with Byron.
I gave a small nod and said with a sigh, "Byron Alan won't be of much use for a while."
"Ho? Because you couldn't get the information?"
"No, that's not it. The problem is that he didn't notice the difference in last year's figures until I pointed it out."
"Fumu."
"More than the freshness of the information, he failed to notice the market fluctuation despite having both the past and present numbers in hand. That is the fatal flaw."
"I hear he has become completely devoted to his child lately."
"Having his first biological son at that age will do that to a man," I said with a straight face.
That in itself wasn't a bad thing.
It wasn't bad, but...
It meant he was that infatuated with the child, which also meant the possibility of him neglecting Cindy in the future had risen slightly.
I thought it best to find the right opportunity to formally take Cindy under my direct wing.
"Let's put Byron aside. More importantly, I'd like to ask you something, Father."
"Mhm."
"Do you have any ideas regarding faster information transmission than what we currently have?"
"Why ask me?"
"You built the most extraordinary information network in this empire, Father, and you still operate it even now."
The fact that he knew about my visit to Byron's was proof enough of that.
"The dissatisfaction I feel right now must be something you passed through decades ago, Father."
Saying so, I looked straight at Father.
That was the reason I came here.
Just as I felt dissatisfied with the current slowness of information transmission, Father must have felt the same frustration as he handled various intelligence over the years.
And it was impossible that Father had done nothing at all about it.
That was why I came here to ask him directly.
"...Impressive, Noah."
Father gazed at me for a moment, then spoke with eyes full of admiration.
"Have you ever played with a tin-can telephone?"