Leon, who was inside the office of the clan house, was holding his head while sitting at the desk.
On top of the desk were the receipts submitted by his allies. If there were any expenditures that could be claimed as expenses, the receipts were supposed to be submitted to Leon, the sub-master. And if it was judged to be a legitimate expense, it was a rule that the clan would reimburse it.
For example, the cost of purchasing equipment, items, and Skill-books were all claimable expenses. In addition, a portion of their rent and food expenses could also be claimed.
However, among the receipts that he had received from Alma and Hugo, there were many that clearly couldn’t be claimed as expenses. It would have been fine if it was just expensive clothing and meals, but personal expenses such as the cost of purchasing luxury antiques and the admission charges for plays had also been included.
It was obvious to anyone that they were all things that were completely unrelated to Seeker activities. If he included such things as expenses, it would be a clear act of tax evasion.
In Hugo’s case, it was still understandable. According to him, he used to leave the administration of his money entirely to a tax accountant, so it had probably become a habit for him to get and submit receipts no matter what kind of expenses they were. If the differences between a self-employed person and a clan member were explained to him, he would likely rectify that from the next time onward.
But in Alma’s case, she was definitely doing it on purpose. He had warned her sternly last time, but she had shown absolutely no signs of improvement. In all likelihood, she was probably getting cute with Leon. She undoubtedly thought that he would give up and include them if she kept on submitting them. She didn’t understand at all that it would be a huge problem if he did so.
Kouga was the exact opposite of the two of them, and would always forget to submit the necessary receipts. It appeared that he had the laid-back notion that it was fine even if he paid for it out of his own pocket. However, for the sake of protecting each individual Seeker, imperial law stipulated that a clan had to pay a member's necessary expenses. In other words, if things were left unchanged, it would greatly affect future clan assessments. They would undoubtedly receive a stern warning from the Seeker Guild.
The only one who did it properly was Noel, the clan master. Leon, who had to sort through the ridiculous receipts, heaved a great sigh.
「Only the extra work increased, and I haven’t been able to do any battle training since then…… Even though I’ve finally ranked up, isn’t this putting the cart before the horse……」
In truth, even if he was the sub-master, there was no need for Leon to be in charge of accounting. They should have hired a clan clerk or left it to a specialist.
But Noel had been unwilling to do that. His reason was that it was an important time for the clan, so it would be troubling to let a complete stranger who couldn’t be trusted know the internal affairs of the clan. That was why he chose the method of handling it with their current members, instead of leaving it to others. Although it was inefficient, it was an understandable choice when it came to safety. It was for that reason that Leon also decided to help out as the sub-master.
Truth be told, the accounting for a clan that only had a mere five members should be easy to manage, even if Leon did it alone. The reason why it had become so difficult was entirely the fault of the self-centered members.
「Whew, it's finally finished……」
He had finished sorting through the receipts and doing the accounts. Leon got up from the chair and headed to the office kitchenette. He made a pot of hot tea and then carried it to the break room. There were sofas, tables, bookshelves, board games for entertainment purposes, and also a pool table in the break room. There was just one dart left on the dartboard hanging on the wall. Hugo and Kouga had been playing darts for money till late last night, so one of them probably forgot to put it away. It was likely Kouga.
Leon pulled out the dart, put it back in the case, sat down on a soft sofa, and sipped his tea. It was just before noon, so the light shining through the window was bright.
It’s great that I was able to finish the accounting work in the morning. I’ll go out and have lunch once I finish this tea.
Just when he thought that, he heard the sound of someone knocking on the door coming from the entrance.
「Hey~, is anyone in~?」
The voice of a young woman rang out. The owner of the voice was Marion from the Seeker Guild. For a moment, he tilted his head and wondered what business she had, but he immediately remembered that he had been told that Marion was coming to pick up the necessary documents. Leon hurriedly returned to the office, grabbed the envelope containing the documents, ran to the entrance, and opened the door.
「Sor, sorry to keep you waiting」
「Ohh, it’s just you today?」
When Marion asked, Leon nodded.
「Yeah, everyone else is out. Would you like to come inside?」
「No, I don't have much time so the entrance is fine」
「Alright. Here are the document that Noel left with me」
Inside the envelope that he had handed to her were the report of the battle against the Lord and an application for the use of the training center operated by the Seeker Guild. The training center was a facility that could only be used by clans recognized by the Empire or the Seeker Guild staff. It was under the city, sturdy and spacious, so it was possible to carry out large-scale combat training there.
「Certainly, you have all of the necessary documents here」
After checking them, Marion put the documents in her bag, took out another envelope, and looked up.
「Noel seems to be out, so I’ll give this to you. It's a new subjugation request」
「Ahh~, about that, I’m very sorry, Noel asked me to decline such matters. We have yet to finish our preparations for the next job」
「Is that so? I’ll pass it around to the other clans then」
Marion acknowledged the refusal readily and returned the envelope to her bag. In all likelihood, she had probably sensed the state of their affairs. Leon had said they weren’t ready, but in truth, it was simply because Noel had yet to fully recover. He had even started smoking cigarettes that he claimed were medicine, so Leon and the other allies were worried about him.
For that reason, Leon was at a loss. In addition to the documents, Noel had asked him to pass on a message. He wondered, Is it something that I should tell Marion……
「Marion......」
「Hmm?」
「I've a message for you from Noel」
Leon struggled over what he should do, but decided to tell her in the end.
「We can’t accept any jobs for the time being. But should a red humanoid Lord cross over, it appears that he wants you to pass the request to us first. That Lord has a man-made battle axe」
「What the heck? You guys can't accept jobs, right?」
「That’s……right. But to Noel, it seems like that’s a special Beast」
「A red humanoid Lord…… That’s the Beast that defeated Night Rage, isn’t it? Why is he hung up on that Beast?」
「According to what Noel said, it appears that it’s to avenge his grandfather’s death……」
When Leon replied, Marion widened her eyes in surprise.
「Grandfather……Do you mean Over Death?」
「Yeah, that's what I heard」
When Leon had asked about the circumstances behind Noel’s fixation on the red Lord, while looking like he wasn’t particularly hiding it, Noel had told him in a matter-of-fact manner. He remembered feeling all the more scared because of that calmness.
「I see, I heard that Over Death and a Beast had ended up killing each other at the same time, but the Beast had lived, huh…… I hadn’t looked into the records of that incident……」
Marion murmured as if convinced, but she had a complicated expression on her face.
「It’s possible to accommodate him. That’s because there aren’t many clans that wish to hunt a specific Beast even when the prices of its materials haven’t soared. Wild Tempest also has the achievement of subjugating a Lord already, so there probably won’t be anyone who will object to it. ……But is it really alright? Noel is far from being in perfect condition. Even if that Lord crosses over and you guys get to fight him, your chances of winning are small」
「You’re probably right」
「You’re probably right, you say…… You're the sub-master, aren’t you? Isn't it your job to stop the clan master's reckless behavior?」
At Marion’s critical tone, Leon laughed.
「What's so funny?」
「No, I simply thought that you’re perfectly right. Certainly, I’m in a position where I should be Noel’s brakes. To tell the truth, I should probably stop him」
「In that case, why aren’t you stopping him?」
「Because of “Willfulness”, I guess」
「Huhh? What do you mean?」
Marion had tilted her head. It was difficult for Leon to put his current feelings into words. But that didn't mean that he had any doubts.
「Noel is a cool-headed man. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. I know that from experience. But that's all for his goal of leading the strongest clan. Therefore, he never lets his personal feelings lead him astray. Such a Noel is purposely looking for a fight that isn’t necessary, purely for revenge. When I think about his feelings, I can't bring myself to stop him」
「In the end, is it sympathy?」
「Maybe. But I'm not simply taking pity on him. Should Noel's willfulness be realized, it’ll become a bargaining chip in future, won’t it? There’s no next time, I would say」
「Hahaha, I see」
Marion smiled happily.
「You have a surprisingly good personality, don’t you?」
「It’s because the clan master is my clan master, you see? I can't help it」
Besides, said Leon as he continued.
「For the current us――for Wild Tempest, we have nothing to fear, no matter who the enemy is. We won’t lose, no matter what kind of battle we face」
「Understood. I shall believe in those words」
Smiling cheerfully, Marion nodded, and then left the clan house.
As he watched her back grow smaller, Leon thought about the future. It seemed like Noel was up to something again in order to become one of the Regalia. Leon didn’t know the details yet, but like before, he would undoubtedly raise a big storm.
He couldn’t approve of those misdeeds. However, though he didn’t approve, he had no intention of stopping them. In order to become strong——in order to show strength, there was a need to resort to evil at times. Sky Winged Knights had been dissolved midway through because they hadn’t been able to understand that.
He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Having said that, he had no intention of becoming Noel's yes-man. Just as Noel himself wanted, he had already resolved himself to clash with Noel if necessary. Because that was the way to have a healthy relationship with a business partner.
「No, that’s not all……」
Leon thought about his current feelings and told himself mockingly that he should be honest. After going back into the clan house and closing the door, he drew a deep breath and then exhaled.
「I like it here. So I don't want to lie to my heart」
It was obvious to him that his allies would tease him, so he couldn’t tell them to their face, but that was the current Leon’s true feelings.
“You have a surprisingly good personality, don’t you?” In case it wasn’t clear, Marion is being sarcastic here. And Leon is jokingly blaming Noel for rubbing off on him in the next line.
So, super short chapter this time, a bit of hilarity, a bit of seriousness and a peek inside Leon’s heart. Which came at a good time because I’m in the midst of slowly, and I mean slowly, revising the chapters in Part 1. Why? Because I noticed by accident that there were changes to the text, and when I properly looked through it, I realized that many changes had been done. My guess is that the author put up all the edits he did for the LN, which is great for us, though a lot of work since I have to go line by line and redo quite a lot as there are more than a dozen changes per chapter. No major changes so far though, nothing that affects plot, but to give an example of the changes, he introduces airships in chapter 1 now, instead of midway through Alma’s arc. At the time of writing this afterword, only 3 chapters have been revised but I’ll keep doing them alongside my translating.
Well, what’s next after this? The word castration is involved, so……stay tuned?
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