■ The Thief’s Warning □
“…….”
Surprisingly, Dorothea was really strong.
I thought I was pretty good at chess, but Dorothea literally played around with me and crushed me.
Out of frustration, I kept challenging her, but I lost all five games.
She was nothing short of a chess grandmaster from another dimension.
“Did you just eat and play chess all day?”
“You know me well. There’s nothing better for brain activation than this.”
Dorothea explained it as if showing off.
Basically, mages are capable of parallel thinking.
The higher the rank, the more precise the formulas become, making it impossible to process everything with a single core.
It seems Dorothea ran simulations in her brain using that parallel thinking.
“If you separate the left and right brain and have them employ different tactics, you can play chess by yourself. I came up with this method when I was alone at home.”
“Huh, really….”
It was indeed an incredible skill, but hearing that she developed it while being unemployed made it feel a bit awkward.
Anyway, during the intense chess matches with Dorothea, two hours flew by, and since most of the staff had already gone on business trips, the Finance Management Room was eerily quiet.
Just as I was about to move, gathering my documents and standing up, Agnes, the second financial officer, approached and asked.
“Do you plan to go out?”
“Yeah. A marquis-level matter requires me personally.”
I answered while putting a black fedora on my head.
“You’re going to Count Dueseldorf’s mansion, right? This guy will accompany you.”
“Yes, thank you very much.”
“I appreciate it.”
The two, meeting for the first time, shook hands awkwardly.
“Not to be rude, but may I ask your name?”
At this, Dorothea placed her hands on her hips and replied.
“Dorothea Gale. Among humans, my most famous nickname is the Witch of the West.”
“Witch of the West!”
“Do you know it?”
Agnes pushed up her glasses slightly, blushing a little as she responded.
“It’s a character from the fairy tales I read when I was young.”
“Oh~ That’s the story of the original Elphaba. I’m the second generation.”
“Is the Elphaba from the fairy tale dead?”
“Well, yeah. She was already hundreds of years old when I met her.”
Dorothea shrugged while saying this.
“Generally speaking, apart from me, the Four Directions Witches are all closer to their deaths than their lives, but that’s how it goes.”
As I listened to the two talking, I adjusted my coat collar and asked.
“So, when do you plan to leave? I’m about to go now.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Agnes seemed to remember her duty late and bowed slightly before stepping back.
“I’ll take care of lunch myself, so please inform the staff.”
“Yes.”
“Dorothea, work hard too.”
“Get me some 38-year-old Macus when you return.”
“That stuff isn’t even available in its origin, Nídavellir.”
As I stared at her incredulously, Dorothea stuck out her tongue and grinned playfully.
“Didn’t you say you’d buy me anything I wanted this morning?”
“That… sigh. Alright.”
Since I had already promised, I reluctantly agreed.
“Ooh, I’ve been saving quite a bit.”
“Please! Not that!”
“Hmph, stay still.”
Currently, I was conducting a search and seizure at Marquis Quillern’s residence.
A marquis should be setting an example by paying taxes diligently, but these wealthy people often don’t pay taxes while filling their own storerooms to the brim.
That’s exactly what the Finance Management Room does—recovering unpaid taxes.
Of course, those who lose money curse and grind their teeth, but from our perspective, we’re merely performing our duties.
How is it their money? It’s still the state’s money they haven’t paid yet.
“Madam!”
After glancing at the Marquise Quillern collapsing with her forehead pressed against her hand, I collected all the colorful ingots hidden in the secret safe inside the bedroom.
They were the rare Orichalcum ingots.
I never expected him to have piled up so many Orichalcum ingots.
Honestly, selling just these could cover the two years’ worth of unpaid taxes by the marquis and still leave a surplus.
Of course, I won’t sell something so rare that can’t be bought even with money.
‘Let’s make some anti-magic armor with this.’
While happily imagining possibilities and rummaging through the documents in the safe, I found something peculiar.
“This is…?”
It was a wooden board inscribed with unknown characters.
But judging from the repeated patterns, there seemed to be some kind of rule.
I immediately realized.
This must be the Linked Tablet that Master mentioned.
‘Bingo.’
Apparently, today was my lucky day.
Not only did I obtain a large amount of Orichalcum ingots, but I also secured the legendary Linked Tablet.
Before anyone could see, I quickly tucked the Linked Tablet into my bosom.
Right after, one of the police officers waiting behind cautiously asked.
“Is it really okay to ransack the house of a marquis like this? Marquis Quillern is one of the strongest factions among the Royalists in the capital.”
“I’ll handle it, so focus on your job.”
“A, yes sir.”
After dismissing the overly talkative police officer, I watched as the unconscious Marquise was carried away by the maids.
Hmm. The marquis was definitely over 60, yet his wife looked to be in her 30s—definitely beyond the realm of thievery.
Anyway, the search and seizure was almost done, and since I had gathered all the important items, I was about to leave when…
“What sort of mischief is this?!”
A young man’s voice echoed from outside the door.[[#]]”Are you the person in charge here?!”
Stepping out of the marquis couple’s bedroom, I saw a handsome man confidently striding through the police line, someone who probably had experience charming women.
His confident stride, luxurious attire, and notably the same blonde hair as the marquis captured yesterday clearly indicated a blood relation.
So, I smiled politely and asked.
“Are you Marquis Quillern’s son?”
“That’s right! I am the heir to this family!”
Confidently declaring his identity, he pointed at me and said.
“What happened in there that caused my mother to be carried out by the maids?! Explain that first!”
Faced with such an unreasonable demand, I gave an awkward smile and replied.
“I didn’t do anything. I simply confiscated the emergency funds in lieu of the overdue taxes.”
“How much tax could possibly warrant such destruction! Aren’t you afraid of heaven?! Even if demons are lawless, this is excessive!”
Upon hearing this, I decided to kindly explain things to the naive young master.
“Three hundred million gold.”
“S-S-Three hundred million!”
Startled by the unexpected amount, the heir gasped.
“The accumulated taxes over two years come to this much. If payments had been made regularly each time the Governor’s Office sent someone to collect taxes, it wouldn’t have piled up like this.”
“Even so! Breaking into someone’s house like this is not right!”
“If you prefer, we can proceed legally. Anyway, I’ve achieved all my objectives for today’s visit.”
As I said this, I subtly showed the bag filled with Orichalcum ingots, causing the heir to furrow his brows and reach out his hand.
“Bind.”
“Grrk! What are you doing!”
“No, it seemed like you were about to do something impolite.”
“That’s the family’s money! It’s not something outsiders should touch!”
In order to break free from the restraint, I tripped the struggling heir with my foot.
Clang!
He fell helplessly to the floor.
“Submit the medical expenses claim to the Governor’s Office later. The magic will wear off in three hours. Then, I shall take my leave.”
“Cawing! You’ll regret this! I’ve memorized your face!”
I glanced down pityingly at the heir wriggling on the floor like a shrimp and said.
“Rather than worrying about that, shouldn’t you be concerned about your own family?”
“What?!”
“No, nothing.”
You’ll find out in a few days anyway, so there’s no need to tell you now.
“Release me and let me go!”
As I heard the heir’s voice from behind, I waved casually, ignoring it.[[#]]On this day, the raid on the residences of various Royalist figures across the capital recovered approximately 3 billion gold in unpaid taxes.
Truly an astronomical sum.
Moreover, since this wasn’t fully converted yet, working throughout this week would likely bring in even more money.
Around evening, after gathering to report our achievements just before quitting time, everyone dispersed.
Under normal circumstances, we would have immediately organized a drinking party after earning this much, but since there was still a long way to go, we postponed the group dinner for a bit.
Besides, starting today, there was something I absolutely had to do.
That was deciphering the Linked Tablet obtained from Marquis Quillern’s house today.
It appeared to consist of around 30 types of letters converted into ciphertext, and finding the phonetic rules would likely require several nights of sleepless work.
Dragging my tired body home with Dorothea, I reached the front door and noticed something stuck in the door crack.
“What’s this?”
Curious, I pulled it out to check, finding a white paper with a black butterfly drawn on it, with the following message written:
“Will visit you soon?”
