"Adulterated salt, you say?!"
"Then what they've been selling here isn't real salt?!"
"And here I thought it was cheap! To think they were swindling us like that!"
The gathered onlookers erupted into an uproar.
Among the crowd, quite a few seemed to be regular customers who bought their salt from this shop.
It was only natural. Regardless of the quantity, living without consuming salt was practically impossible.
No matter how prime the meat or how fresh the vegetables, without salt, food became utterly bland and inedible.
Following the recent earthquake, I had issued an official decree under my authority as governor-general forbidding anyone from gouging prices on salt (and rice), but ordinary price increases were deemed unavoidable.
After all, the earthquake had damaged roads, driving up transportation costs.
As long as it fell within a fair, non-extortionate margin, it was within the bounds of legitimate trade, so I intentionally turned a blind eye.
Amidst all that, this shop had been selling salt at pre-disaster prices.
With other merchants raising their prices slightly, a shop holding its prices down would naturally draw a crowd.
At the same time, if they adulterated the salt, customers were bound to notice.
This matter was genuinely tricky.
Salt was broadly divided into three types: sea salt, lake salt, and rock salt.
Regardless of the source, producing completely impurity-free "pure salt" was quite difficult.
Strictly speaking, producing pure salt was costly, so it was generally sold only to the wealthy.
The salt circulating in town markets and consumed by commoners was left mixed with those natural impurities.
Hence, the common folk understood that a certain degree of impurities was unavoidable—or rather, standard.
Even so, everyone possessed an intuitive grasp of the difference.
Everyone knew there was a stark distinction between the natural impurities inherent to salt and additives mixed in intentionally by human hands.
What Zoe had just exposed before the public eye was undeniable.
Once the salt was dissolved, what remained was an unmistakably artificial additive.
"You cheated us!"
"You crooked merchant!"
The outrage escalated explosively.
One person hurled a stone at the shop's employees.
Once one started, the surrounding crowd followed suit.
Stones and all sorts of projectiles came flying into the shop one after another.
Without even needing Zoe's order, the soldiers she had brought moved in to restrain the mob.
Having properly anticipated this, Zoe had brought along a large contingent of soldiers in advance.
While keeping the onlookers at bay, they placed handcuffs and chains on the shopkeepers—who had turned pale upon having their adulteration exposed—and hauled them away on the spot.
Finally, Zoe cast a glance in my direction, and I gave a wordless nod in return.
Leading the soldiers, Zoe departed with the arrested shopkeepers in tow.
That settled this matter. Now then, time for me to head back as well—or so I thought.
"Pardon me."
A man addressed me.
He was a well-dressed middle-aged man with a gentle demeanor.
His splendid beard was meticulously groomed with oil, giving off the distinct impression that his business was flourishing immensely.
"I take it you are His Excellency the Governor-General?"
"...And who might you be?"
"I am called Jammy Jakumi. My family has engaged in commerce in this land for generations."
"Is that so?"
I glanced toward the seat opposite mine. The man who introduced himself as Jammy gave a slight bow before sitting down.
"So, is that shop yours?"
When I asked just as Jammy settled into his seat, he flinched for a fraction of a second.
It seemed my preemptive strike had landed quite effectively.
However, it was only for a moment.
Jammy recovered his composure in an instant, arranged his face into a nonchalant expression, and asked in return:
"What makes you think that?"
"Your timing in showing yourself is too convenient. I've already been in this city for quite some time. If your family has been merchants here for generations, you must possess a decent amount of influence. If you wanted to approach me, you would have come much earlier—or chosen a specific occasion."
"...As expected of Your Excellency."
We exchanged glances for a brief moment, but Jammy seemingly raised the white flag with ease.
"However, if you would permit me to defend my honor..."
"What is it?"
"That shop does not belong to us. Quite the contrary, it belongs to a rival faction."
"I see, so it's the exact opposite."
"Indeed."
Jammy replied, and I nodded.
My conjecture had missed the mark, but it hadn't been entirely off base.
I had guessed that someone approaching at this timing would be an ally of the shop, but he was actually their enemy.
I believed that a conjecture turning out to be the exact opposite of reality wasn't always inherently wrong.
Provided it was a clean, mirror-image opposite, that is.
Taking into account that Jammy called them enemies, I decided to hear him out once more.
"And your reason for approaching me at this juncture?"
"To state my position, so to speak."
"Hm?"
"I, along with the Jakumi family, have no intention of acting contrary to Your Excellency's policies. I wished to convey that first and foremost."
"Is that also why you were the sole party who didn't send me an inauguration gift?"
"Yes."
Jammy gasped softly for an instant, though unlike before, it wasn't out of fear or shock.
Ever since I assumed office as governor-general of this land, various individuals had sent all manner of gifts.
In nearly all cases, they were sent under the pretext of "inauguration gifts."
Back when I was merely an imperial prince, it might have been a different story, but accepting such things in my capacity as governor-general bordered on bribery. Thus, I had returned every single gift sent to me so far.
Among all the merchant firms based in this region—particularly in Larak—the Jakumi Firm was the only one that hadn't sent an inauguration gift. Having received a report about them from Wards, I had kept that fact tucked away in the back of my mind.
"For now, I'll commend you for holding back on that and watching to see how things unfolded."
"I am deeply honored."
"As well as for probing me through the shop's naming."
"—-!"
When I first offered words of praise, a faint glimmer of delight had appeared on Jammy's face, but the instant he heard my next remark, his eyes widened so far the corners looked ready to tear.
Utterly struck with shock, he stared straight at me as though rendered speechless.
"Y-You were aware...?"
"It's the exact same logic behind the trick pulled on the deputy governor-general I executed the other day."
"The sword... was it?"
Jammy's face soured as if he had chewed on a bitter bug.
The executed official in question was a man who had accepted bribes totaling 300,000 Rien and ended up hanging from the gallows for it.
That man had originally been famous for his integrity.
For that reason, right after arriving in this region, he had refused all bribes, turning them away just as I was doing now.
One day, someone requested swordsmanship instruction from him, given his background as a knight.
Thinking of it as fostering the next generation as a fellow knight, the man readily agreed.
Sometime after the lesson, the client sent him compensation worth roughly five times the going market rate.
Flustered, the man pressed the client on what this could possibly mean, to which they answered:
"The sword that served as proof of direct instruction from the deputy governor-general is on display in our dojo."
In other words, they had added the value of the sword serving as "proof."
The man had been bewildered, but it wasn't an entirely unheard-of practice.
In the case of a man of letters, for instance, one might receive compensation for writing a commemorative inscription upon the completion of a building.
In that scenario, earning 1,000 Rien per character might look like an exorbitant profit, but the value lay in receiving calligraphy directly from an individual of high status and renown. Considering the prestige it conferred, it was by no means extortionate.
If the Emperor of the Empire were to do the same, there would be people willing to pay 100,000 Rien per character.
It was a similar principle.
Direct instruction from a man who was both a knight and the deputy governor-general, along with the sword serving as testament to it.
A reward roughly five times the going rate was by no means excessive.
—Except.
"Remarkable. To think you were aware of even that."
"It's a commonplace method. I've seen similar ploys many times."
"Yes, well..."
"Still, it was skillfully done. Seeing how it all concluded, I was quite impressed. In the end, it seems they were paying two thousand times the going rate for a single lesson and a single sword."
"...A connection with the previous official held that much value."
Jammy stated with a straight face, completely unashamed.
In a sense, he was right.
An official who had been "fattened up" with bribes would become thoroughly accommodating to their interests, so viewing it as the cost of maintaining that connection, claiming it had "that much value" was correct in its own way.
"Ah, there's no need to be timid."
I chuckled faintly.
"Under the law, bribery charges only apply to public officials. Currently, there exists no law under which you merchants can be prosecuted."
I laid it out clearly.
The fact that the former Thirteenth Imperial Prince and current Emperor Noah Ararat was strict regarding the law had to be common knowledge among those in the know.
For merchants whose very lifeblood was information, it was a piece of standard intelligence they undoubtedly possessed—indeed, failing to know it would warrant condemnation.
The man before me, Jammy Jakumi, was a capable individual who had refrained from sending me an inauguration gift and had devised such an unconventional method of bribery for my predecessor. There was no way he didn't know about me.
He had likely presented himself before me precisely because he was confident that, no matter what happened, he could not be punished for the bribery matter.
Though he likely wasn't worried about it, I formally told him not to fret.
"However, were a new law to be enacted to prosecute such offenses..."
Jammy took a step further instead.
He possessed quite the daring streak, which impressed me a little.
"The fundamental principle of Imperial Law is non-retroactivity."
I declared with a serious expression.
My pride as the former Royal Minister of Justice subtly surfaced.
"Regardless of the law or the offense, it cannot be applied retroactively to matters preceding its enactment. This is absolute, and so long as the current reign continues, there will be no exceptions."
"..."
Jammy's eyes widened, and he drew in a sharp breath.
He promptly stood up straight, bent at the waist, and bowed deeply.
"I offer my sincerest apologies for the immense disrespect in all my actions."
It was a bow born of genuine admiration.
Because such conduct was entirely unfitting for a city eatery, the shopkeeper, who had been vaguely glancing our way from a distance, tilted his head in bewilderment.
"Pay it no mind. Sit."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"I understand your declaration of intent. So long as you exercise such discretion, I will not become your enemy."
"I am exceedingly grateful."
Jammy bowed his head once more, this time while seated.
When reduced to its essence, the reason merchants bribed officials was solely to ensure their business ran smoothly.
In that sense, my words—"I will not become your enemy"—were worth tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Rien to someone like Jammy.
And the same held true for me.
In the reconstruction phase following a disaster, wild fluctuations in prices were a major source of anxiety.
If it were a natural shift driven by supply and demand, or simply by increased costs, one could resign themselves to it.
However, if merchants took the opportunity to gouge prices, the resentment would naturally fall on the offending merchants, but it was obvious that public anger would also turn toward the rulers who allowed it to run rampant—namely, us.
—So long as you exercise discretion.
Through our conversation thus far, Jammy had declared that he would refrain from such practices as long as I was present.
That was not unrelated to the fact that I was the Emperor of the Empire.
No matter how much I proclaimed myself to be the governor-general, I could not completely detach myself from being the Emperor, and in the first place, I would eventually return to that position.
In that case, the merchants couldn't simply rely on bribes alone to get by; they had to consider other ways to ingratiate themselves with me.
If bribing officials to bend business to one's will was considered high-risk, high-return, then aligning with my wishes as Emperor and avoiding price gouging could be called zero-risk, low-return.
Based on several events, Jammy had likely deduced that this was what I desired, becoming convinced that he could win me over by taking that direction.
Even so...
"Is there anything I might assist Your Excellency with?"
Jammy asked.
It seemed doing nothing still left him uneasy.
I chuckled faintly.
"What do you deal in?"
"Anything that yields a profit—"
Jammy smiled.
"—that is to say."
"Anything at all, hm?"
"Remarkable."
I correctly understood Jammy's words, and Jammy understood that I had grasped his meaning.
Profit was not limited to the margin between wholesale and retail prices.
Meeting the demands of someone who was both governor-general and Emperor, thereby pleasing me, naturally served as a profit for Jammy as well.
In other words, it meant anything I desired.
That said, there wasn't anything I desperately wanted at the moment.
After pondering for a bit, I fished out a suitable matter from the pending affairs I was handling as governor-general.