Chapter 32

The Duke of Walthere, of course, governs the Walthere Duchy.

He was a portly man with a habit of pinching his Kaiser beard while speaking.

He was the supreme ruler of this country and, of course, had also heard reports about the accident at the Izumi mine.

"Hmm? That's strange. Wasn't it said that the accident at the Izumi mine was quite serious and might take six months, or even close to a year, to recover from? Am I mistaken?"

"No, Your Grace, your memory is correct. You did indeed scold the Minister of Mines, saying, 'Reduce it to three months. For every day it exceeds three months, I will cut your salary.' That much is true."

The one who answered with a serious face was an old woman, frail and feeble.

This old woman was the Duke's tutor and the only person in the country who could speak her mind to the Duke.

"I didn't scold him."

"Is that so? You were so loud that you said, 'My blood boiled. I'm going to sleep,' and then took a three-hour nap afterward."

The old woman had a perfect memory.

Knowing he couldn't win an argument with her, the Duke moved on.

"Then? It's strange that they say it was restored in just one month. The Minister of Mines was begging to be relieved of his position, saying it was absolutely impossible to do it in three months, and he was even prostrating himself on the floor."

The Duke's memory was also quite good.

"Upon investigation, it seems there were individuals who worked hard to restore the mine."

"Really?"

"They used 'Fifth-Class' magic to reinforce the mine's rock strata and drained the water with a magical device that no one had ever seen before."

"What is that? A hero from a fairy tale? It's not possible to continuously use 'Fifth-Class' magic."

"There's another interesting point. Those two individuals are not heroes but young girls who haven't even reached their teens."

"Hmm?"

"Furthermore—"

"No, isn't one interesting point enough?"

"Furthermore—"

The old woman ignored the Duke.

"The one who supported and, rather, controlled those two is a maid."

"A maid?"

"The miners have called her a 'Saint' since the treatment activities after the accident."

"What is that? Who is the maid's master? Is it one of the wealthy people in our duchy?"

"No... it seems she has no master."

"I don't understand. A maid without a master is a stray maid, right?"

"Your Grace, that's quite a clever name you've come up with."

"R-really?"

The Duke, who rarely received praise from the old woman, was easily pleased.

"Then, summon that maid. If she's interesting enough, I'll take her into my service. Along with the 'Fifth-Class' mage and the mysterious user of magical devices."

"There is one concern, the Marquess Markwood of Crescendo Kingdom."

"What's this all of a sudden? He's a noble I occasionally hear about, right?"

"Yes. The Marquess, who has rapidly gained fame in Crescendo Kingdom, is now offering a bounty to find a maid who left his mansion recently."

"A bounty? Did the maid commit a crime and flee?"

"The details haven't been made public, but normally, one would think of a crime like stealing jewels. However, the bounty has increased significantly and is now 10 million gold in Crescendo Kingdom currency."

"Hmm... quite interesting. In our duchy's currency, that would be about 100,000 tel."

The Duke of Walthere, being the ruler of a country, was not incompetent.

He immediately recognized the "unusual" increase in the bounty and the fact that a 10 million gold bounty implied a value "greater than that."

"A 100,000 tel annual salary isn't enough to hire a 'Fifth-Class' mage for a year."

"More than double would be necessary."

"Developing magical devices for 100,000 tel would be a bargain."

"It would be a steal."

"The monthly production of iron ore from the Izumi mine is about 100,000 tel, right?"

"Far from it. It's at least 500,000 tel."

"Then it's settled."

The Duke of Walthere smiled slyly.

"Make an offer to the maid. To be taken into our service."

"Understood. What about the amount?"

The Duke slammed his hand on the table.

"An annual salary of 1 million tel."

While the Marquess Markwood, who had expelled Nina, and Nina herself were unaware—Walthere Duchy had decided to offer a single maid an annual salary of 1 million tel, or 100 million gold in Crescendo Kingdom currency.