Chapter 175: Kitty's Forced Love on a Business Trip (Patreon)

Odette really did have dance practice. It wasn't a pretext to put off inviting Piers, so she left quickly, and before long it was just Piers and Sandrone in the room again.

Sandrone finally let out a breath and, at last, finished off the document that had been lying open on her desk for a good while.

"Thank you, Lady [Marionette]. Would you like some coffee? It's easy to get drowsy in the afternoon."

Piers didn't stand there like an idiot waiting for her answer. He walked straight over to the little grinder and scooped out some coffee beans, because even if Sandrone didn't want any, he did.

"Make me one. Oh, and you're coming on my business trip tomorrow."

"Me?"

His hand on the grinder paused. He was plainly confused.

"Yes. What, do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course I do. I don't think anyone in my position has ever gone on a business trip. What made you decide to take me along, Lady [Marionette]?"

He went on cranking the grinder as he asked.

"Precisely because no one has. I suddenly felt like trying it. What of it? Is that not allowed?"

Given what Piers did, he really wasn't suited to business trips. Documents were all delivered to fixed locations. Unless something was truly critical, in which case someone would be arranged to take over his work in advance anyway.

Even so, it would be a hassle. You only had to look at when Vesna filled in for Piers: having the couriers chase the documents to wherever he was on a trip would have been a pain.

Business trips meant moving around, which made people hard to find, and a courier might lose the documents on a long journey.

"Then what about my work? Should the Adventurers' Guild send adventurers to deliver it? Snezhnaya's situation right now isn't exactly safe."

"Leave it to Katarina."

Sandrone said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"All right, then..."

It was a good solution, really. It would probably just be a lot of work for Katarina.

"Oh, right. There's also the task Lord Rooster assigned to the Adventurers' Guild. I should probably stay and keep an eye on that..."

"Huh? What, are you actually going to take that seriously? Shall I go drag Odette back here for you right now? After all, Lelek is the most extreme member of the Rokot."

Piers was at a loss for words. All he could do was sigh and give in.

"So what's the trip for?"

"Maintenance of the energy equipment. That was the original plan, anyway. But just now I came across a document sent over from Sretomorozsk, about an energy problem."

As she spoke, Sandrone took out a document she'd set aside within reach. Piers brushed the leftover coffee grounds off the little grinder with a small brush, then walked over and picked it up.

"Sretomorozsk is really far from Snezhnaya Castle. I rarely see any intelligence coming from there."

He flipped through it idly, but as he read on, his brow slowly knit together.

"A severe energy shortage? Did the example we made of them in Morepesok wear off that quickly?"

"There are always a few who aren't afraid of dying. They figure a place is so far away that we can't reach it."

"Sretomorozsk is so far from Snezhnaya Castle that Guild members basically never bring documents out there unless something serious happens."

Sandrone stretched her joints and stood up from her seat. She walked over to the freshly ground coffee, scooped some into a cup with a spoon, and poured hot water over it.

"I have to inspect the energy equipment in person. I'll leave the intelligence side of the investigation to you. It was never my strong suit anyway."

"No problem, leave it to me. I'd like to see just who has the guts to try this."

"Oh, and when we get back from the trip, you'll attend the Capital Council with me."

Sandrone added it as the thought suddenly struck her.

"The Council? Didn't we just have one this morning? Do they really meet that often these days?"

"This morning's session was a proposal on the basis for allocating energy quotas between regions. The next one is to verify implementation. Did you even pay attention during the meeting?"

Sandrone frowned at Piers.

Come on, does anyone actually listen to those meetings?

Piers grumbled inwardly. In his opinion, apart from Regrator, only Sandrone could sit through them. Regrator did it out of sheer talent. Sandrone probably had a CPU in her head and had installed some kind of memory module.

"Uh... Of course I paid attention. I just missed a bit, that's all."

Sandrone rolled her eyes at him, then handed him one of the freshly brewed cups of coffee.

"Drink less. You won't be able to sleep tonight."

"It's fine. Coffee just puts me to sleep. It's not much different from hot water for me."

…

Before he knew it, the next day had arrived. Piers was waiting at the train platform bright and early, and Sandrone showed up exactly five minutes before the train pulled in.

After a full half day of travel, the two arrived at their destination. The distance was nothing to Piers, and he had even suggested as much to Sandrone.

He could easily have flown her to Sretomorozsk himself. It would have taken a dozen minutes at most. Sandrone refused.

She said that if they strayed from the itinerary, the officials handling the handover would have a mountain of extra trouble. Compared with that nuisance, she'd rather sit on a train for half a day.

Piers understood that all too well. The itinerary had been set in advance, and throwing it off at the last minute really would cause a lot of hassle. Still, the two of them had made it there after half a day on the train.

The local Fatui official received Sandrone and Piers according to protocol. Unfortunately, the place was simply too far from Snezhnaya Castle. Even the so-called best "inn" amounted to little more than thatched huts whose roofs had been swapped for wooden ones.

Piers didn't mind the accommodations. It was reasonably clean, at least. The bed was a little hard, but the bedding was neatly folded and there was hardly any dust on the windowsill.

What did make him want to complain was why Sandrone got an entire floor to herself while he was stuck in a small room downstairs, where every other space was taken up by her machines.

He knew it was probably down to their ranks, but he couldn't help muttering a few words to himself anyway.

"I'm going out to check the energy machinery here. Sretomorozsk is too far from Snezhnaya Castle and I seldom come this way, so equipment that's gone years without repair will take some time. As for the energy matters..."

"Leave it to me, Lady [Marionette]."

Seeing Piers accept, Sandrone nodded, turned, and left with a squad of Fatui.

Right after Sandrone left, a man came walking over. He wore square-framed glasses and had a yellowish-brown beard along his jaw, and he was dressed in a faded gray old coat. His face was honest and kindly.

He stopped as he approached the door. When he saw Piers, he was so deferential that he didn't dare shake the snowflakes off himself, and the snow just sat there on his shoulders and the brim of his hat.

"You must be Lord Piers."

"And you are?"

The man looked a little familiar. Piers thought it over silently. Sretomorozsk might be remote, but not just anyone could get near a Harbinger's lodgings. This was probably an official of some standing, and perhaps Piers had seen him somewhere before.

"Hello, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Shishkin, the liaison officer of Sretomorozsk."

The instant he heard the name, Piers knew exactly who this was.

Wasn't this the embezzling liaison officer from the main story? No wonder he'd looked familiar.

As for why he hadn't recognized him sooner... recognizing a real-life NPC from a game NPC's model was admittedly difficult.

"I know of you. Your signature is on the reports Sretomorozsk submitted through the Adventurers' Guild."

According to the main story, this Liaison Officer Shishkin would embezzle Kresnik Kristall, and even collude with the Fatui who transported it.

Had Piers not intervened, he could have confirmed it right away. But he had already made an example of someone once in Morepesok, so the chance of Shishkin taking that risk wasn't actually very high.

Of course, it wasn't impossible either. There were always a few who weren't afraid of dying. Piers kept his expression calm and simply watched the man.

"It's an honor to be remembered by Lord Piers. When I received word that you and Lady [Marionette] were coming to Sretomorozsk, I specially prepared lodging and meals. But Sretomorozsk is just too remote, so it probably can't compare with daily life in Snezhnaya Castle."

Piers waved a hand to cut him off.

"No need. We didn't come for a holiday, and it doesn't have to be fancy. I hear resources in Sretomorozsk are tight to begin with, so there's no need to waste energy on extras."

"Yes, I understand. I heard Lord Piers gave up his own share of Kresnik Kristall, and ever since then I've wanted to meet you in person."

This man... he certainly had a way with words. No wonder he'd gotten away with embezzling for so long while the villagers took him for a saint.

If Piers hadn't watched the main-story video the System gave him, he'd probably have been fooled too. The disguise was just that good: an honest, kindly face and impeccable manners.

"It was only a small matter, nothing worth mentioning. Besides, even if you hadn't come to find me, Liaison Officer, I had business with you."

Shishkin put on a horrified look. His eyes went wide and his hands rose slightly, as though the words had frightened him.

"Please don't scare me, Lord Piers. Just call me Shishkin. Whatever it is, please say so. As long as it's within my power, I'll do everything I can."

"I've heard that the crystal ore quota the people of Sretomorozsk receive is extremely small. I'd like to look into it. You're the liaison officer, so you should know something of the inside story."

As he spoke, Piers fixed his gaze on Shishkin. Shishkin looked utterly innocent, even a little pained. His brows drew together and the corners of his mouth turned down, as if a sore spot had been touched.

"That's something that weighs on me too. As Sretomorozsk's liaison officer, I haven't been able to get enough crystal ore to everyone in town. I've done all I can, but there are still people who have died of the cold, and I can't deny my share in that."

"Kresnik Kristall is distributed uniformly by the Fatui, and the funds are handled by Northland Bank. It has nothing to do with you."

"But I'm Sretomorozsk's liaison officer. Watching people die and being powerless to stop it..."

Shishkin lowered his head. Tears even welled in his eyes, and his voice dropped, turning a little hoarse.

"Liaison Officer Shishkin!"

Just then, a voice suddenly called out. A figure bundled in an old padded jacket came running over in a panic, panting hard, white breath puffing from his mouth in clouds.

"Liaison Officer Shishkin, the train carrying the crystal ore has arrived!"

"Understood. I'll be right there."

After answering the man, Shishkin turned back to Piers with an apologetic smile. He lifted a hand and wiped the corner of his eye, and the traces of tears dried quickly.

"My apologies, Lord Piers. I think I need to go over there first."

Piers held out a hand with a kindly look.

"By all means."

With Piers's permission, Shishkin gripped both sides of his coat and pulled it tight around himself. Then he turned and stepped into the layer of snow on the road.

His boot sank in halfway, and when he pulled it out it brought up a small clump of slush. Piers didn't stay where he was. He followed.

Tailing an ordinary person, he didn't even need to hide. He was sure Shishkin could never notice him.

"Why has the crystal ore gone up by a third again this time, and the limit's been cut too? You only come twice a month, and the current limit can't even last a week!"

By the cart handing out the crystal ore, a man waiting in line to buy some complained. His voice was loud, and several people around him nodded along.

"The supply and pricing of Kresnik Kristall are set according to current output and price data. The Fatui only handle transport and security, so we can't explain the calculations behind them for you. But the numbers in front of you are real and fair."

The Fatui in charge of distribution explained impatiently, a registration board in his hand and the tip of his pen hovering over the paper.

"So you don't care whether we live or die? Without heat, who can survive even one night in snow like this?"

"I really don't want to repeat the same thing every time I come here: Kresnik Kristall is not a monopoly. You're free to buy whatever you're short of on the market."

The distributing Fatui still wore that impatient look. As he spoke, his gaze had already passed over the man in front of him to the queue behind. That made the man in line angrier. His fists clenched and his neck flushed red.

"Where can you even buy it now? And when you can, it's ten times, eight times the price. How is that different from robbery?"

"Then know this: if the Capital Council hadn't passed the proposal to support the border regions, you wouldn't be able to buy even this much. If you're only here to argue, make room for the people behind you. Everyone's freezing."

"You... you..."

Just as the mood threatened to boil over, Shishkin arrived. He moved quickly, the hem of his coat lifted by the wind.

"Now, now, everyone, let's all calm down. Let me say a few words. We are all subjects of Her Majesty, and we're all giving ourselves to her great cause. We all know it's cold, and the more it snows, the harder life gets. Everyone has their troubles, so there's no need for us to make things difficult for one another."