In Deus’ laboratory, a strange machine continuously sucked in and spit out sheets of paper. Watching the machine work better than he had expected, Ian spoke to Deus.
“You made it faster than planned, and it works better than I thought.”
“Hoho, have you finally recognized the greatness of Deus, Your Highness?”
“Have you already forgotten who it was that brought you the mana stones from the Chancellor?”
“How could I forget? If you continue to supply me with mana stones and groundbreaking ideas, I’ll clear your thorny path even further.”
“Your words are inspiring.”
As the strange machine, a scanner, finished scanning a batch of tax receipts, Ian replaced them with another set.
“At this rate, it will take about six hours to scan all the first quarter documents.”
“To increase efficiency, we could use higher-grade mana stones, but I wouldn’t recommend it. We only have a lot of data now because it’s the first scan. Regular scans can be done with lower-grade mana stones.”
Indeed, a professional knows what they’re talking about. Considering the future volume of input, how could one not appreciate it?
Seeing Ian smile at his words, Deus approached and patted his shoulder.
“Ian, just trust this big brother.”
“Whether I trust you or not, let’s decide after checking other things.”
Ian picked up the ‘pad’ that displayed the scan results at a glance. Activating the pad with his right index finger, the scanned tax receipts were clearly organized.
Looking at the neatly arranged numbers on the pad, Ian involuntarily recalled moments from his strategic planning team.
One of the most consistent and important tasks of the strategic planning team is to gather and report the ‘performance status’ from each department to the management.
Identifying issues through ‘status assessments’ and devising strategies to resolve them is the core duty of the strategic planning team. However, they were always pressed for time because gathering and organizing numbers from each department took a long time.
But now, the pad in his hand showed the empire’s tax flow at a glance. Ian couldn’t wait to see how the Emperor and the Chancellor would look at him when he presented this data.
Deus noticed Ian’s slightly excited expression and approached him with a slightly tense look.
“Is something wrong, Your Highness?”
Ian pointed to a part of the pad and said.
“Isn’t this a bit much?”
“Wow, this goes beyond mere embezzlement.”
“Right? If I report these results to the Chancellor and His Majesty, the ringleader of this corruption might have their entire family eradicated.”
Deus nodded in agreement with Ian.
“Yes, if there’s no issue with our settings, the tax documents’ totals don’t match the actual expenditures. It means they siphoned off funds below and reported manipulated numbers above.”
Ian pondered Deus’ words.
‘Can it really be this easy?’
Or was it the greatness of the modern computerized system he had taken for granted?
“It seems our tax office officials have taken more than their share.”
“Ian, with these results, I bet my entire fortune we can get more mana stones from the Chancellor.”
Excited at the thought of getting more mana stones, Deus spoke enthusiastically. He already had plans for numerous experiments he wanted to conduct with additional high-grade mana stones.
“That’s not a bad idea, but Deus, new creations always require cross-verification. Reporting wrong numbers is foolish.”
“Ian, do you really think there could be a problem with a machine I made? That’s disappointing.”
Seeing Deus’ confident expression, Ian couldn’t help but smile.
“Alright, oh great genius of magical engineering. Could you check if any papers were missed during scanning? If the results match what’s on the paper, I’ll personally secure some high-grade mana stones for you.”
“I’ll do that, my patron!”
Motivated by the promise of more mana stones, Deus exaggeratedly marched towards the scanner piled with tax receipts.
“Ian, you should secure at least twice the budget we got for the Detector.”
Deus didn’t forget to add pressure on his superior, and Ian had no reason to refuse. He understood the impact of efficient administrative structures from his AI project ‘Janus’ at the company.
After wrapping up the conversation with Deus, Ian stepped out, where Tom approached him.
“Your Highness, a letter has arrived similar to the previous one.”
“Is it from the servant in charge of groceries?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Seeing that Alex had sent the letter quicker than expected, Ian thought he might need to revise his evaluation of him—assuming the letter contained successful information.
[Your Highness, this is A.
I urgently write to inform you of news related to the task you assigned me.
Using the gold you provided, I quickly obtained the needed information.
After treating the men transporting the incense to expensive liquor and snacks, they revealed the schedule.
In two days, the incense will be sent to the inner palace through the Rose Inn.
I couldn’t find out who will receive it, but they mentioned sending someone to oversee the delivery.
Ah! I am now heading to meet the Katarina faction.
In case something unfortunate happens and I can’t report back to you, I’m sending this letter beforehand.
I sincerely hope nothing happens.
I trust you will come to my rescue, Boss, I mean Your Highness.
From A, who thinks only of Your Highness]
Ian, who had spoken with Alex, found his formal writing style awkward but was satisfied with the content.
‘More useful than I thought.’
Although not depicted in the original story, he seemed valuable enough to play the role of a tenacious salesman.
Reading the information Alex provided, Ian felt that fortune was favoring him.
Timing is everything in life, isn’t it?
“Tom, tell the servant delivering the letter that I want to meet them.”
“When should I have them come?”
“The internal affairs meeting is in three days, right?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I have a lot to do until then. Arrange for the servant to come right after the meeting. Tell the servant I want to meet them.”
“Yes, Your Highness, I’ll have the servant ready immediately after the internal affairs meeting.”
As crucial information for his plan started coming together, Ian prepared to meet the Katarina faction.
He needed to rescue the subordinate who called him boss and recruit key information personnel to his side.
***
Two days later.
“Work faster, you useless brats, you’re just wasting food.”
A burly man shouted at the thugs loading a carriage. The thugs dared not resist and followed his orders without a word.
After the carriage was fully loaded and packed, a man who seemed to be in charge approached the burly man respectfully.
“Hello, Mr. Rocky. I’m Leff, in charge of this shipment. Thank you for your attention. Our master is greatly looking forward to this better product compared to the last.”
Seeing the noble’s subordinate show him respect, Rocky laughed loudly.
“This batch was made with extra care. Even if no one has tried it before, once they do, they won’t be able to stop. No matter how noble they are, once they use this, they’ll be begging you for more.”
Leff looked around nervously, worried someone might overhear Rocky’s careless words. Fortunately, only Rocky’s subordinates and his own were around, and none dared challenge the burly man known as ‘The Butcher.’
“Why, are you scared?”
Rocky asked, holding a sword fitting his size, making Leff break out in a cold sweat.
“No, Mr. Rocky. I was just ready to deal with anyone reacting strangely to your words. But I realized it’s unnecessary in your territory.”
Satisfied with Leff’s reply, Rocky sheathed his sword and spoke amiably.
“No need for us to escort you, right?”
“We’ll be fine. The inner palace is close by carriage, and there’s little risk of an attack in broad daylight.”
Leff couldn’t openly say that an escort would draw more attention.
Rocky approached the carriage, examining it as if he were a palace guard inspecting the inner gate. Suddenly, he thrust his large sword into one side of the cargo. White powder spilled out.
He tasted the powder with his finger.
“Hmph.”
Leff froze as Rocky’s sudden action caught him off guard. Seeing Rocky approach with his sword, Leff’s legs began to tremble. He had thought the carefully packed sugar, a rare commodity in the empire, wouldn’t raise any suspicion.
Whoosh.
With a swift motion, Rocky’s sword stopped just in front of Leff’s neck. Leff closed his eyes involuntarily but didn’t make a sound, fearing that any noise might provoke The Butcher’s wrath.
He realized why his predecessor had given him money when handing over this job. If it were a good position, that guy would have tried to take money from him instead.
Satisfied that Leff didn’t scream, Rocky spoke with a twisted smile.
“Not bad.”
“Pardon?”
Rocky laughed, patting Leff’s shoulder.
“You’re better than your predecessor. Most would have wet themselves. With this courage, you’ll handle any surprises.”
Pleased with the compliment, Leff smiled and replied.
“I will dedicate my life to ensuring there are no problems.”
“Then we’ll be on our way. Let’s go, guys.”
“Yes, Boss!”
After Rocky’s group left, Leff had the porters fill the hole Rocky made with new sugar and headed towards the inner palace. Receiving praise from Rocky and considering the improved product, he anticipated a bigger reward.
But as Leff approached the inner palace, he felt a sudden chill.
“Isn’t this strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s no one on the road to the inner palace.”
As everyone sensed something was wrong, a group suddenly appeared and surrounded them.
“W-Who are you?”
As the saying goes, timing is everything.
Leff’s vision started to go dark.
Cliche Novel 