Chapter 28
“Wow… you really had your hands in everything, didn’t you?”
Even while hiding his true identity and running multiple businesses in the domain, Bephar had been secretly working with outside merchant guilds to make even more profit.
“You sure kept yourself busy.”
His influence reached merchants who traveled all across the Demon Realm buying and selling goods.
The wagons he traded with even had false bottoms.
Through those secret compartments, Bephar sold things that were illegal and smuggled in luxury goods completely unfitting for this poor domain.
“Unbelievable… it just never ends, does it?”
All the wealth of this traitor was confiscated.
With that alone, the domain would be able to run without worry for quite some time.
Every construction project Bephar had started was either stopped or handed over to someone new.
Ariella decided to personally oversee material supplies from now on.
Without thieves taking a cut in the middle, goods would finally come in at a fair price.
And along with this wave of change came a surprise gift for the people of the domain.
“You’re… giving away food? For free?”
Soldiers stood before the townsfolk, carrying sacks of food.
They explained to the stunned crowd,
“Yes. This is a decision made by the Demon King’s contractee.”
“The contractee?”
Ariella’s name began spreading among the people again.
Faces lit up in both surprise and joy.
“Unbelievable! I’ve lived my whole life and never seen anything like this! The Demon King’s castle giving out food!”
All this food came from Bephar’s mansion.
It was enough to feed many and save them from immediate hunger.
After giving this out for free, Ariella planned to bring in more food from outside and sell it in the markets—at much lower prices than before.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
Even when news spread that Bephar had died, the townsfolk hadn’t been shaken. But what caught their attention now was a different rumor.
“Haven’t you heard? All this… it’s by order of the Demon King’s new contractee.”
“What? The Demon King formed a contract?”
“Seriously? Have you been living in a cave? This is the most famous story in the domain!”
One resident started explaining to his clueless friend.
“You know that library construction project a while back?”
“Oh! Right. My neighbor, the kobold, got lucky and was picked to work there. Came back loaded with food as payment! I wanted to join, but I was too late.”
“Well, the one who ordered that project and paid the workers from her own pocket—that was the contractee!”
“What? That wasn’t domain money? She paid for all of it herself? How rich is she, and what does she even do?”
“I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure… she’s not just some kind-hearted human.”
“Then?”
“She’s apparently insanely good at magic.”
“Humans can be that strong in magic?”
“I don’t know about other humans, but right now, the whole castle is buzzing about her. They say…”
The man lowered his voice, and his friend’s eyes went wide.
“She burned two vampires alive… while they were still alive.”
“No way… the contractee?”
“Yep. Plenty of witnesses. Two vampires came to kill her, and she dealt with them on the spot. And you know how terrifying vampires are.”
Vampires were known as some of the most dangerous and powerful among demons.
To take down two of them so easily… for normal townsfolk, that was a shocking story.
“But why were those vampires after her in the first place?”
“You don’t know? That Bephar who died… turns out he was—”
The more the rumor spread, the more the people grew fond of Ariella.
Even demons inside and outside the castle began treating her with more respect.
At first, it was only because Ludwig had ordered it, but as the story of her killing vampires spread, fear played a big part.
If she could burn vampires alive with ease, then she could crush lower-ranked demons without even lifting a finger.
Fearing her overwhelming power, they started bowing to her on their own.
Of course, the truth was that the intense light magic she had used back then hadn’t been from her own power alone.
But even though the rumor exaggerated her strength, Ariella made no effort to correct it.
She had more important things to focus on.
Bephar’s stash turned out to be bigger than I thought. Where should I invest this?
She wasn’t planning to spend it all on free food.
That would be like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it.
To make the domain self-sufficient, its foundation had to be rebuilt.
I can’t just put out fires forever. I gave out food for now, but that’s not a long-term fix.
While she was puzzling over how to develop the domain, another senior staff meeting was called at the Demon King’s castle.
“All in favor? Then Ariella will take Bephar’s place as the Demon King’s temporary treasurer and, additionally, the new auditor.”
“Agreed. With her recent achievements, there’s no reason to object.”
“Fine by me—just as long as I’m not the one doing it. Numbers give me a headache.”
Richmond and Ulken agreed without hesitation.
Ariella looked around the table.
So that’s settled for now?
She had asked for the auditor position because she wanted to make sure no one like Bephar could rise again.
“The worst part was realizing no one had noticed Bephar’s corruption, let alone tried to stop him.”
“It’s a structural problem,” she explained. “The finance department was completely isolated—hoarding all information and operating independently.”
Richmond nodded.
“Indeed. Even I, who handled every other part of administration, knew nothing of their secrets.”
It had been a mistake, though Ludwig didn’t punish either Richmond or Ulken.
In truth, he considered it mostly his own fault, and Ariella agreed.
We’re severely understaffed. We have to make the most of who we’ve got.
Still, new talent was a must.
I’m only taking the treasurer role temporarily.
If the domain was to grow, there were endless things to do.
Money was the blood of the territory, but she couldn’t spend all her time counting coins.
“We need to find Bephar’s proper replacement. That’s the only way I can focus on other matters.”
Right now, her top priorities were strengthening the domain’s defenses and…
“We need to open a new trade route to the outside. As soon as possible.”
There were merchant caravans traveling between Demon King territories, but…
“We can’t keep dealing with the old merchant guilds. They colluded with Bephar in his dirty schemes.”
Ulken growled, “Those bastards! I’d march over there and break their necks myself if I could!”
“I get the feeling,” Richmond said, “but we don’t have the troops for that.”
Ariella stepped in.
“Even if we can’t crush them, we can’t keep doing business with them either. They’d think our domain is a pushover.”
She had already made up her mind.
“So, we’ll open trade with a new caravan.”
That way, she could sell off Bephar’s luxury goods and buy food from outside—until the barren farmland was restored.
She couldn’t wait for merchants to come to her; she’d have to go find them herself.
And she could only think of one person who could do that right now: herself.
Which brought her back to the same problem.
If I’m going to travel, I need a new treasurer.
But who?
As the meeting ended, Ariella asked everyone,
“Anyone have a recommendation for Bephar’s permanent replacement?”
Ulken shook his head.
“All the guys I know can only fight. Numbers aren’t their thing.”
She looked to Ludwig, but he shook his head too.
Apparently, none of his wanderer contacts were suitable either.
That left only one person.
“…!”
Richmond noticed Ariella’s hopeful stare.
“Hahaha!”
“Don’t laugh! This is serious!”
“I know, but listen. In the Demon Realm, good finance people are rare. If they’re good, the Demon Kings snatch them up and never let them go.”
From the way he spoke, she could tell such people were hard to come by.
“So… you’re saying you don’t know anyone?” Ariella asked, her face falling.
Richmond chuckled.
“You’re impatient. Let me finish. As I said, ‘these days’ all the good ones are taken. But from an ‘earlier era’… that’s a different story.”
“Earlier era?”
It was an odd phrase.
Ariella’s mind started turning.
“You mean… retired people?”
“Exactly. I know someone who didn’t work in the Demon King’s castle, but in a place bigger than most Demon King territories—and then retired.”
Now that was something worth hearing more about.
