Ch.6A Woman with No Eye for Men (1)

10:30 AM.

Tick. Tock. The spring-wound clock turns, while scratch, scratch, the pen races across the parchment. The mechanical sound is regular, but the writing sound is intermittent.

In the office without Boehm and Bom, Kain is copying a pledge form. It’s an oath promising not to disclose any information seen, heard, or learned during missions until death.

The major procedures end with submitting a handwritten pledge, security clearance certificate, and the badge and seal signifying one’s position as a Security Bureau agent.

Like all legal documents, a single sentence stretched beyond six lines. The parade of articles, adverbs, conjunctions, and embedded, connected, and compound sentences was unbearably tedious.

Arguments to introduce printing machines to the Security Bureau had persisted, but Director Verneith had declared he would sooner bring in grape-pressing machines for winemaking than allow printing machines. Naturally, this was due to security concerns.

Setting type meant intending to distribute specific information widely, and widely distributed information naturally loses value. If information were classified with clear distinctions between valuable and worthless, how delighted would potential attackers be?

Verneith maintained his position that “concealment isn’t about burying something underground, but mixing it with other things until it becomes indistinguishable.”

It was a plausible argument, but irritating for middle managers. After all, it was section chiefs like Kain who had to handle the practical work and paperwork.

“Sigh.”

Kain couldn’t concentrate. Half because of his troubled mind, and half because of Lily.

While Kain was writing, Lily would pause and steal glances at him.

She was staring so openly that anyone but a fool would notice. So when Kain looked up, Lily would lower her head and continue writing her report.

With her already large eyes now looking tearful, it was impossible not to be distracted.

Kain made a decision. To give her some advice. He might be leaving anyway, but Lily wasn’t. And an agent should always fulfill their duties regardless of circumstances.

“Ahem. How’s it going?”

“Fine.”

“You’re saying it’s going fine when it takes you five minutes to write one sentence?”

“You’ve been stopping every thirty seconds, sir.”

Kain stared blankly at Lily. Her face seemed full of resentment.

“Just because I’m leaving, you think you can talk back now?”

“You could just not leave, sir.”

“That comment just made me decide to leave. You need me more than I need you.”

“I’m sorry!”

With a scrape, Kain stood up. It would help hide his smile, at least a little. He pulled a chair next to Lily’s desk and sat down.

“So. What’s the problem? Where are you stuck?”

“Ah…” Lily, who had been gaping, quickly collected herself. “I’m writing an information analysis report, but there’s something unclear. It’s about the Kingdom of Taranto.”

The Empire is divided into territories directly ruled by the Emperor and lands governed by kings and nobles who received delegated authority. The Kingdom of Taranto is in the southeastern region of the Empire, and includes Maxi Province where Kain and Lily had conducted their operation.

The document Lily was reviewing reported strange occurrences in the Kingdom of Taranto.

Taxes.

It’s fundamental for a king to accurately report to the Emperor how much tax was collected from his territory. In this respect, King Bohemond I of Taranto’s report was strange.

The total tax amount was similar to the five-year average. The portion that should naturally be offered to the Emperor hadn’t decreased significantly either. The problem was with the income and expenditure items. They didn’t add up.

“They spent a lot on hiring new soldiers and purchasing weapons, but reduced the budget for troop maintenance. Recruiting many conscripts without training or managing them is essentially declaring they’re deliberately lowering the quality of their army.”

“What did Bohemond I say? The Treasury Department must have sent an inquiry. Those misers wouldn’t have just let this slide.”

Common health advice suggests tying your limbs to a chair when meeting Treasury people. Just three minutes of conversation would make you feel murderous. Five minutes would be enough to treat low blood pressure. Of course, the Treasury would still demand consultation fees.

“He said there were too many bandits, so they needed to increase patrol guards. He prioritized quantity over quality. He gave reasons like needing more personnel for shift work and covering wider areas. It sounds plausible, but there aren’t actually many bandits in Taranto.”

“Because of those robber knights?”

“Yes. People like Goetz have drawn bandits to their side, so bandits frequently end up under the command of standing armies or knights.”

Men like Goetz are despicable. They know the Empire and kingdoms are watching them. That means they exploit laws rather than breaking them outright.

If you’re robbed by a bandit, that’s considered victimization. But robber knights don’t operate that way.

They say things like, ‘I’m starting a chicken feather plucking business, why don’t you invest about half your annual income every year?’

In such cases, it transforms into a “legal investment,” making it difficult for the Empire to interfere.

Naturally, the kingdoms under the Emperor wouldn’t like this either. When “investments” happen this way, the kingdoms end up collecting less tax revenue. But Bohemond was doing the opposite.

“All the nobles who submitted petitions are from the Kingdom of Taranto, right?”

“That’s correct.”

A robber knight is shaking an entire kingdom. Considering that the King of Taranto is an Elector who can both be elected Emperor and elect the Emperor, it’s an even more serious matter.

But why? How could this happen? That was Lily’s concern.

“I don’t understand the reason. Perhaps, sir…”

“I don’t know either.”

Lily’s eyes widened. Kain calmly met her gaze.

“Is it strange to admit when I don’t know something?”

“N-no, sir.”

“So, what I’m asking is, what’s the real problem here?”

“Pardon?” Lily tilted her head. She looked just like a rabbit. “As I mentioned, why the King of Taranto is behaving this way…”

“No. That’s not what I mean.” Kain scratched the back of his head. Kain was an agent, not an academy instructor, so teaching someone was always difficult.

“I understand you don’t know why the King of Taranto is doing this. Then the next question should be ‘Where should I look for answers?’ If you knew where to find answers, if you knew whom to ask, you would certainly have done so. Your real problem is here. You don’t know where to find answers, how to solve this problem. Right?”

Slowly, a bit late, Lily nodded.

“Yes. That’s right. I don’t know where to find answers to this problem.”

“Hey. Whetstone, I mean, Lily.”

Surprisingly, Lily hesitated slightly. As if the agent name “Lily” had become awkward.

“Yes, sir.”

“You weren’t stuck because you were thinking ‘What am I missing?’ were you?”

“How did you know?”

Seeing her cover her mouth with her hand, he sighed again. Lily was too honest with her emotions. Excessively so, dangerously so. That would be fine for a knight, but for an agent, it was a disqualifying trait.

“You’re re-reading the stack of documents from the beginning every five minutes. It would be stranger if I didn’t notice.”

Lily hesitated. She pulled in her neck, turned her head, and covered her mouth. But her small hands couldn’t completely hide her bright smile.

“…So you were watching me.”

He swallowed the words, ‘No, it’s because you were watching me.’ Especially now, as Lily slightly averted her gaze and kept brushing her falling hair behind her ear.

“You got in here by passing the exam. That means your capabilities are sufficient. You’re smart. You couldn’t reach a conclusion because you lack clues, not because you’re not intelligent. Understand?”

“Yes.”

A small, pointed tongue briefly appeared between Lily’s lips before disappearing again. She looked like she had a candy in her mouth. Kain sighed.

“Gather more information. You can meet people from other departments, or go to the archives with your clearance certificate.”

“Please teach me, sir.”

Suddenly, Lily grabbed Kain’s arm. Her grip was strong enough that he couldn’t easily twist free.

“Please teach me. I want to know. I want to learn more.”

“Hey, Whetstone.”

“Just one day.” Lily showed no intention of letting go.

“Just one day, please? If not a day, then half a day. If not half a day, then just one hour.”

Lily swallowed dryly. Her cheeks were flushed. Her lips seemed slightly heated.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

A loud sound rang out. It was the bell announcing 10 o’clock. Startled, Lily’s grip loosened slightly. Kain gently but firmly pushed her hand away.

“Even if I wanted to help, I can’t. You need a confidential clearance certificate to enter the archives. And I need to go to the Internal Affairs Department now. I have to return my clearance certificate, security pledge, agent seal, and badge.”

Lily lowered her head. Kain thought about patting her shoulder but decided against it.

“Ask Boehm and Bom. They’ll help you.”

“…Then.”

“Hmm?”

“At least let me go with you to the Internal Affairs Department…”

“Come on, it’s not that far.”

Lily raised her head, deliberately hardening her expression.

“…I want to know the way to the Internal Affairs Department.”

“You already know it.”

“I forgot. I can’t remember. No, I’ve never been there. I don’t even know what it is. So please show me.”

Her face was brazen, but her eyes were moist.

“Fine. Fine. Let’s go.”

* * * * *

Section 4 is in the main building, while the Internal Affairs Department is in the annex. To get to the annex, one must cross through the park.

Kain’s original plan was to leisurely spend time somewhere in the park before finishing copying the pledge, but with Lily sticking close beside him, that wasn’t possible.

‘I haven’t finished it yet. About 1/4 left? I’ll finish writing it inside the Internal Affairs Department.’

The early summer day was bright. The park flowers were vibrant, and gardeners were busily moving around with bonsai scissors. Since the park was open to the public, it was full of people on picnics.

People spreading blankets and enjoying wine and cheese. Music students with instruments performing serenades, hoping to earn lunch money. Children running away in fear of bee stings, and women who watched them worriedly but never stopped chatting.

Kain and Lily walked along the path. There were quite a few people, causing minor collisions, and each time, Lily moved a little closer to Kain. Beyond just their hands brushing, now their shoulders and arms were touching.

Pretending not to notice, Kain slightly moved away. Each time, Lily deliberately followed and stayed close.

“May I carry your document bag for you?”

“No.”

“I have nothing in my hands. You have the document bag on your left arm and you’re using a cane with your right. You seem to have a lot to carry, so let me help you.”

“Are you planning to run away with it?”

It was meant as a joke, but Lily flinched.

“N-n-n-no way! I’m not a thief.”

“Ah. Then were you thinking of temporarily relocating the bag somewhere else?”

Judging by the lack of response, that seemed to have been her intention. Kain grinned and looked ahead.

Then he frowned. There were agents from Section 2, and their leader, Agent Godfrey. The eldest son of the Duke of Hohenburg.

“Well, well. Our Section Chief Kain. What brings you to this precious place? The air is already becoming more ‘common.'”

The Section 2 agents burst into laughter. Lily’s body stiffened.