Previously
Ludvic scolds Ariella for not using Flight or Jump magic to escape Bivar, only to be stunned when she reveals she taught herself magic from a book he destroyed during his summoning. Ariella uses the opportunity to trick the illiterate Demon King into agreeing to literacy lessons starting the next day.
“He really pulled out all the stops.”
Beyond operating various covert ventures within the territory, Bivar had also struck deals with merchants from outside, pocketing extra profits along the way.
“He certainly led a busy life.”
Even those traveling through the demon realm to buy and sell had not escaped Bivar’s reach.
It was said that the carts belonging to the merchants he dealt with had false bottoms. Through those hidden compartments, Bivar sold illicit goods and brought in luxuries utterly unfitting for this realm.
“It just never ends. It really doesn’t.”
The ringleader’s entire estate was confiscated. With this much, the realm’s administration would face no trouble keeping things running for the foreseeable future.
Furthermore, every project Bivar had once overseen was halted, or those in charge were replaced.
Ariella decided to oversee the procurement of raw materials herself. Since there was no longer anyone skimming off the top, resources would enter at fair prices from now on.
And alongside this sweeping wave of changes came something akin to a pleasant surprise for the people of the territory.
“You’re saying you’ll distribute this food for free?”
The soldiers had arrived laden with provisions and stood before the residents of the territory. They proceeded to explain the situation to the astonished crowd.
“Yes. It is the decision of the Demon King’s contractor.”
“The contractor!”
Ariella’s name echoed through the crowd once more, their faces alight with disbelief and sheer delight.
“Good heavens! In all my life, I’ve never seen anything like this—food being handed out from the Demon King’s castle!”
Every scrap of these provisions had been seized from Bivar’s estate.
It was enough to save many from starvation for the time being.
Ariella’s plan was to distribute it freely at first, then secure further supplies from outside to sell in the market.
And naturally, at prices far lower than before.
“What brought this on all of a sudden?”
None of the locals had seemed particularly moved by the rumors of Bivar’s death. But what truly caught their attention was a rumor concerning someone else entirely.
“Haven’t you heard? All of this was done under orders from… the Demon King’s new contractor.”
“What? The Demon King formed a contract?”
“Man, have you been living under a rock? Even if you’re slow on the uptake, this is ridiculous. Don’t you know the famous story yet?”
One resident began explaining to a friend who seemed completely cut off from the world.
“You remember the library construction project recently, right?”
“Ah! Yes. The Kobold next door happened to get picked. He went, and came back loaded with food as payment! I wanted to go too, but they’d already filled the quota.”
“The person who ordered that project herself, and paid the workers’ wages out of her own pocket, is that very contractor!”
“Really? All that didn’t come from the territory’s coffers, but from her own pocket? Does she have that kind of money? Just what kind of human is she?”
“I don’t know, but one thing is certain… she isn’t merely some kindhearted human.”
“Then what?”
“Word is, her magical power is terrifying, too.”
“Can humans even use magic in the first place?”
“I don’t know about the rest of them, but the castle is buzzing about her right now. They say she…”
Lowering his voice to a whisper, he uttered words that made his friend’s eyes widen in utter shock.
“She burned two vampires alive? The contractor did that?”
“Yes. And it wasn’t just one or two witnesses. A vampire came to cut her throat, and she eliminated him on the spot. She took out those terrifying vampires!”
Vampires were renowned among demons for their formidable strength.
For someone to dispatch two of them with ease was nothing short of horrifying to ordinary folk.
“Wait, why did those vampires go to kill the contractor in the first place?”
“You don’t know that either? Bivar, who died recently—he was actually the one behind it…!”
As the rumors spread, the people’s admiration for Ariella deepened swiftly.
The demons both inside and outside the castle began treating her with growing respect day by day.
At first, it had been out of obedience to Ludvic’s commands, but as time passed, the rumors of her incinerating vampires played an immense role.
If she could burn vampires to ash with such ease, she could surely crush lower-ranking demons with the flick of a finger.
Terrified by that overwhelming might, they began kneeling of their own accord.
Of course, that powerful surge of Light Magic back then had not been achieved through Ariella’s power alone. But even though the rumors exaggerated her prowess, Ariella made no move to deny or correct them.
Instead, she directed her focus elsewhere.
‘The money recovered from Bivar’s estate is far more than I expected. How should I invest it, and where?’
Ariella had no intention of converting all that wealth into food just to hand it out indiscriminately. That was merely a stopgap measure, unsustainable in the long run.
A solid foundation had to be established so the territory could stand on its own two feet.
“Still, I couldn’t just ignore the immediate fires, so I distributed food for now… but I can’t solve everything that way.”
While Ariella was turning over ways to develop the territory in her mind, another meeting of the high-ranking officials was convened at the Demon King’s castle.
“Everyone is in agreement, then. In place of Bivar, we shall appoint Ariella as the Provisional Financial Manager of the Demon King’s castle, as well as Auditor General for the newly created post.”
“Excellent. There is no room for objection given her recent accomplishments.”
“I agree as well. Just please don’t push it onto me. Dealing with numbers is far too exhausting!”
Richmond and Olken voiced their approval at the same time.
Ariella looked at each of their faces, thinking to herself.
“So, this is how appointments are settled?”
Taking on the role of Auditor General—and having the position created in the first place—had been at Ariella’s own behest.
“Because someone like Bivar must never emerge again.”
What had shocked Ariella most while uncovering the truth was that no one had noticed or attempted to rein in Bivar’s corruption all this time.
“It’s a structural issue. The financial administration was completely cordoned off from the rest. He monopolized all information and operated in complete isolation.”
Richmond concurred.
“Indeed. To the point that, even though I oversee administrative affairs, I knew nothing of their inner workings.”
While their lengths of service in the territory differed significantly, remaining entirely in the dark was a failure in itself.
Even so, Ludvic did not reprimand either of his two subordinates. In truth, he felt the greatest blame lay with himself.
And Ariella agreed on that point.
“Our numbers are far too few. It seems we must make full use of those we have.”
Furthermore, recruiting fresh talent was essential.
“Serving as the financial manager is only a temporary fix, too.”
The tasks required to develop the territory were practically endless.
While money was the lifeblood that kept the territory moving, Ariella could not spend all her days simply counting coins.
“Work is piling up like a mountain. If we want to pick up the pace, we first need to find a proper replacement for Bivar.”
A permanent financial manager had to be appointed so that Ariella could dedicate herself to her true duties.
As she saw it, the two most pressing matters right now were shoring up the territory’s security, and second…
“We must open a new trade route connecting the territory to the outside world. As swiftly as possible.”
In the demon realm, numerous merchant caravans traveled between the various territories of the demon kings.
“We cannot continue dealing with the existing caravans, can we? They were complicit in Bivar’s dirty deeds.”
Olken spoke, simmering with rage.
“Those scoundrels! If it were up to me, I’d take the soldiers right now and crush every last one of them!”
“I understand your feelings, but our current military strength is not yet sufficient to take that on.”
Ariella chimed in.
“Even so, our pride won’t allow us to keep doing business with them. Wouldn’t they see us as the weakest of all demon king territories?”
Ariella had already made up her mind.
“Therefore, we must establish ties with a new merchant caravan.”
Only then could they liquidate the luxury goods Bivar had left behind and secure food from the outside.
Until the farmland regained its fertility and was reclaimed, relying on external sources was unavoidable.
And they could not simply wait for caravans to stumble upon the territory on their own. In the end, someone had to take the initiative, scout trade routes, and finalize contracts for buying and selling.
Ariella could think of no one else suited for the role.
Naturally, her thoughts circled back to the starting point.
‘If I want the freedom to move, I need to hire new staff first!’
The question was, who?
Just before the meeting adjourned, Ariella directed her question to everyone present.
“Does anyone have a suitable candidate to be Bivar’s true successor?”
Olken shook his head.
“The folks I know only know how to brawl… they’re completely hopeless with numbers.”
Ariella turned her gaze to Ludvic, but he shook his head as well.
It seemed that even among the acquaintances he had made during his wanderings, there was no one suited for the task.
Or perhaps he had no network of connections to speak of in the first place.
That left only one person to rely on.
· · ·
Noticing the urgent look Ariella fixed on him, Richmond chuckled.
“Hahaha!”
“Don’t laugh! This is urgent.”
“I understand, but talent in finance and administration is exceptionally rare in the demon realm. If anyone gains a reputation for competence, the demon kings snap them up immediately and never let them go.”
Considering the state of things, that certainly sounded true.
Ariella’s face paled slightly.
“So none of your acquaintances fit the bill either?”
Richmond gave a soft chuckle.
“You are far too quick to judge. Hear me out. As I said, talent in this era has become remarkably scarce. But from past eras… the situation is somewhat different.”
“Past eras?”
The phrasing struck an odd chord. Ariella’s mind raced.
“You don’t mean… you’re talking about someone who has already retired?”
“Precisely. Not from a Demon King’s castle, but from an organization of equal stature… no, larger than most Demon Kings’ castles. He served there before his retirement.”
His words were enough to pique her curiosity entirely.
END