Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

“I heard it from Mareus. ”

“ ……!? ”

Jegalhwa Young nods, and Byeon looks puzzled.

What does black market have to do with me? ’

He turns to Mareus, his gaze unwittingly referring to him.

He opens his mouth as he strokes his beard.

“Haha... I'll explain that to this old man. ”

* * *

It was months ago. On that day, Stefan's palace was still busy in the northern city centre.

It's been about two years since the Northern War, and that's how much work has been done in the developing world.

Of course, there was no need to say who was the busiest.

“Mareus, we have received a report on Bern's development progress. ”

“A wave in the Northwest is said to be a relief for the people there. ”

Mareus looks at the paperwork, scratching his head.

‘It's not that we don't have an objective number of talent, but we have too much land! It's going to be hard to avoid shortages for a while. ’

Yes! The North was a land large enough to occupy a quarter of the Imperial territory, and as we looked to develop it quickly, the North has always suffered from chronic labor shortages.

Mareus and other bureaucrats were more preoccupied with reducing the murder workload by two or three times per person than the center. There, he was the General Manager, had to regularly go to the capital and did quite a bit of what Yurius had asked for.

‘At this age, I have to look at my grandchildren's jokes... ’

“I'll go in.”

Yuck.

The door of his office opened again, sighing deeply into his heart.

“Mareus, I've compiled this month's tax report. ”

“Oh! You've done well, too. ”

His name is Byan, a young man who rarely greets him with a shimmer. He was a talented man who stood out in the North with his passion these days.

‘If all the new recruits are as good at their jobs as this one, I don't want anything more. Drag...' ’

At first, I thought he was still a young child, but I liked how fast he was learning to work, and I also liked how meticulous he was not being a young man of great age.

Recognized for its calmness and ability, the handling of financial issues such as taxes has been expected to be handled in Bain's best interest, with the exception of the final payment.

‘King Yurius has asked me to be discreet there, so should I leave the secret deal with the Blue Dragon Merchant Guild to him soon? ’

“Mareus, I'm sorry, but I have some questions about this report and I need to report them separately. ”

“Huh?"

He opens his mouth a little nervous before he finishes thinking about it.

“Tell me. What the hell is going on? ”

“Actually, I've been going over the books from the northern major cities for the last few months, and I think I made a mistake. ”

“What's that supposed to mean? ”

He's the one who saw all of Byeon's reports. Mareus, one of the best administrators in the empire, saw his report flawless.

“May I sit down for a moment? The calculation should be easy to see at a glance. ”

“Suit yourself. ”

Seeing his questionable expression, Brian sits at the table in the office and pulls the tabletop out of his arms.

Tadak!

The speed at which he fried the flagstone was as fast as lightning.

“First of all, this is the tariff for the major cities in the north, including Stefan. ”

The customs duties referred to here refer to taxes paid by commercial unions or licensed merchants in the city.

“Hmm……. ”

“And this is a list of the merchants currently active in the Northern City. Here's a summary of the transactions they've submitted individually. ”

Byan speaks his final words in a discreet tone.

“In contrast, there was a fairly large error of about seven percent in every city. ”

“What am I supposed to say? Haha... ”

Mareus laughs as if it were fresh. It was nothing to him.

“Isn't there always that kind of error in the customs books? It's a shame, but not every rule of the empire is kept like a sword. ”

‘You're still young, but you're not flexible enough. ’

In his experience, customs revenues were not always kept like swords. I paid the equivalent in cash, but sometimes the market crashes, and it's embarrassing, but it's not uncommon for local officials or lords to cheat.

However, he looks serious again.

“It's not that I haven't thought about it through years of practice. ”

“What's that supposed to mean? ”

“These cities I gave you the list of, although they are large, are emerging cities, and no nobles have received them as lands yet. I think we should consider the uniqueness of the North. ”

“ ……. ”

Mareus is not a fool. He might have missed something in the process of doing too much. After thinking about it for a while, he opens his mouth again.

“There's definitely something a little suspicious, so you want to investigate? ”

“I brought it because I didn't have the experience to judge. But I don't think it's a good idea to look at things that aren't going right for months, uniformly like this. ”

“Ugh…. ”

The peculiarity of the north, as Byun said, is that it is a city that has been carefully planned and developed from the beginning, unlike any other region.

It was clear that the majority of the residents were immigrants. Because the Empire regularly conducts a thorough census to secure tax water, there was little chance of errors occurring in emerging cities.

"There is no lord there yet and no native or merchant capable of corruption?" ’

Of course, even though the guards guarding the gates and terminal management were likely to conduct their own misconduct, Bain said it was impossible to penetrate the books that far.

At that moment, Mareus raises his eyes. That's what I mean!

“You mean there are those who do big tax evasion in the north? ”

“I can't say for sure, but I think so. ”

“ ……. ”

At some point, Mareus' hands are trembling.

"How dare some scumbag do such a thing on the land you entrusted him with! ’

Boom!

He heavily slaps his desk and raises his head, shouting.

“Bring me the heads of all the commercially licensed people in the Northern City! ”

In the north, there seemed to be a lot of bloodshed due to tax investigations, but the results were surprisingly bland.

A few days later.

“No killer was found? ”

“Yes, unfortunately the merchant guild or the union does not seem to have a culprit. ”

“Huh? ”

I was thoroughly investigated, but the ledger was empty and the killer was nowhere to be found.

‘Not the merchant guild? And there's no way the books are wrong? ’

Mareus, wrapped around his head, thought about it, eventually had to go to the Blue Dragon Merchant Guild. It's because Yurius has instructed us to consult you if something goes wrong.

And a few weeks later.

* * *

Yurius opens his mouth with an interesting look.

“So the reason the books were empty had something to do with the black market? ”

“Yes. I've been able to capture what Black Market is secretly digging through the northern commercial unions. At that time, there was not enough research into what group... …. ”

According to Jegalhwa Young, that was the main method of the black market. Infiltrate power using local authorities or the Merchant Guild. And if it's a big city, it's taking over the slums or the black market and increasing power.

Yurius kicks his tongue. If you use commerce, it is likely that the Cult will spread more widely across the continent than you thought.

“Tsk! Now I know why they've developed it, and how quickly they can reach the North." ”

“Everyone's my fault. ”

“How is that your fault? ”

He comforts Mareus, smiling bitterly. The discipline of discovery was by Byun, but he recognized it and commissioned the Blue Dragon Merchant Guild to investigate because Mareus, the head of all things, was wise.

Yurius, who heard of it and comforted him, turns his eyes to Byeon as well.

“And, Byron, you've done a great job this time. I won't forget this. ”

“How can you be a ball if you have done what is responsible for you? You are too complimentary.”

Bian looks a little shaken, but he doesn't know why Yurius is treating him so well.

“No. Do you know what the players said about the country's finances? ”

“I'm not sure. ”

Yurius smiles and opens his mouth again.

“Here's the thing. It's not that the country has no money. There are a lot of thieves in this country! ”

Did you say something like that? ’

Everyone in the intestine put a question mark on their head. Did any of the players say that? Even the Inquisitor Mareus or Bain was a novice, but would the Crown Prince lie?

There, Byan, the listener, nods his head.

‘It is a bit harsh, but in a certain sense it is the right word. ’

In his opinion, the secret to making money that would not have been possible was to primarily prevent waste.

Even Mareus was a rebel at first, right? ’

In fact, Mareus laughed at his report at first because he was usually obsessed with numbers. Even in the academy, there were few people who tried to get tired of him.

But in this case, his meticulousness definitely worked.

Yurius also took out a plausible quote from the help of knowing it and told him.

‘I knew that the secret to his ascension to the throne of a nation at a young age was his meticulous personality. ’

Soon, he was going up to the emperor, and as the player said so, the buyer was greatly impressed.

"Honestly, I don't know what the big ball is, but this guy knows me! ’

Yurius glances at him with a smile, his gaze returning to him soon.

“So what's the outcome of digging around like that? ”

With an organization that spread so densely, it was meaningless to wipe out some of them. The first thing to do is to find the stronghold and kill that bizarre Archbishop.

“I think it needs a little more clue. ”

At this moment, Jegalhwa Young was slightly dead. It was natural that we should send back two of Sega's best men to the east right away, but the information sector is not making much progress.

“Hmm?”

But even in that report, Yurius did not complain. Rather, I made an unexpected offer.

“Then, could you have predicted the approximate location? ”

“For now, it's definitely not in the north and center of the Empire. We found their work cut off right in the capital. And I'm pretty sure that's where I cut my tail off. ”

I knew it!

He said with a smile of contrition in his heart.

“Then, if we can find their trail south of the Empire, we'll have less time finding their strongholds." ”

“ ……!? ”

Jegalhwayyoung replied with a confident expression, because it was the same as if he knew the clue.

“If it's clear that their stronghold is in the south, I can show you their progress in a month! ”

Yurius grins.

“That's good. Actually, the last person to call here will have that information. ”

Glug.

At the same time, the door of the lockroom is opened again. It was a figure who had a ‘clue’ that Yurius spoke of.

“Who's this?”

The one who came in was a gray-haired old man. As soon as he enters, he looks over at Yurius and kneels.

“Thank you so much for protecting the honor of His Holiness. ”

“I was just keeping my terms with you. Long time no see, Victor! ”

He was shaking his whole body with an expression that he could not fit. In fact, no matter how powerful the Duke is, how can he be forgiven for treason against the Imperial Palace?

But not only did Yurius complete the conditions he thought were impossible, but he also added an extra layer of honor to the Grand Duke. It wasn't hard for him to shake with emotion.

And so, at last, all the people besieged Yurius gathered.

Nua has become his strong ally in the North!

The Eastern Seal of Information, Schemes, and Power!

Mareus, Byeon, and Devan will each be his head in politics, civil affairs, and the military!

Beatrice and Caines, the most talented members of the friendly forces!

Victor is in charge of Gladius, who was originally the Grand Duke's force, but has finally entered his arms!

Yurius thought it was enough to hit the black market.

“Now that we've got everyone here, I'm going to explain this to some strangers. ”

There were many mysteries that he did not yet know, but what was clear was that his real fight was only just beginning.