"…Is that true?"
"I-it is! There was a sudden earthquake, and that Finance Director person fell into the mine…!!"
"...…"
Auditor Marcus froze as he heard the news. He had been reassuring the investors who had joined the collusion and subtly pressuring them by mentioning the royal family while Adam Keynes had his final discussion with the Count and went to inspect the rock salt mine.
Marcus wanted to dismiss it as a lie from this Rank 1 worker, but the massive tremor just now was real, and many people had fled from the rock salt mine.
'An earthquake that could be felt even in the city, and the fleeing workers.'
Besides, what reason did this worker have to lie?
Marcus, aghast at the unbelievable reality, felt his legs weaken and collapsed onto a chair.
"…This is bad."
"B-but the Count is alright…"
"That's not the problem…!! Sigh, no. No…"
It wasn't about whether Count Anton was safe or not. And it wasn't the ignorant worker's fault either, so Marcus stopped himself from lashing out and calming his uneasy feelings.
Finance Director Adam Keynes was someone he felt a sense of camaraderie with as a fellow Rank 1, and although they had just met, his abilities were outstanding for his age. But he couldn't be described solely by that.
He was the Finance Director of the most prestigious academy in the kingdom, and…
…the closest confidant of the strongest person in the kingdom, no, one of the strongest in the entire continent.
'Even during the audit, the Headmistress put forward the Finance Director.'
That alone showed how much the Headmistress valued Adam Keynes. Even Marcus, as an auditor, knew that the royal family was trying to intervene in the academy and that the Headmistress was firmly rejecting them.
In that situation, entrusting the audit entirely to her subordinate, even as a favor, meant…
The problem was that the trusted subordinate had just fallen into the mine.
"...…"
"Uh, Auditor Marcus? Where are you suddenly going—"
Dash!
Auditor Marcus quickly got dressed and ran past the worker, the investors who had colluded with him, and the citizens who came out in a commotion due to the earthquake.
The lord's castle, which he soon reached, was already in chaos.
"Quickly move the Count! Call the doctor!"
"An earthquake! Could it be like the last time when the mine collapsed…?"
"Forget those ominous words and focus on the rescue! Check on the other investors!"
It seemed true that the Count was safe. If he wasn't, it would have been much more chaotic.
In this situation where no one knew what to do and the orders were disorganized,
Auditor Marcus approached Butler Norman.
"Butler Norman."
"Auditor Marcus…?"
"I need to see the Count."
"Auditor Marcus, now is a busy time, so…"
"I request it with the authority of a Royal Auditor. An auditor has the right to meet with the highest-ranking person at the audit site without delay to ensure a smooth audit and grasp of the financial records."
"Financial… audit? W-what do you…"
"I need this justification to meet with the Count without any objections. Let's go."
His gaze, as he looked at Butler Norman without a word, was both unwavering and chilling.
Norman was also an experienced butler, but he couldn't win against a Rank 1 who had maintained his position as an auditor for over a decade.
Norman soon acquiesced and led Marcus to a room in the lord's castle.
"Count Anton, we meet again."
"…Auditor Marcus."
"I'll get straight to the point. As of this moment, Count Anton, lord of the Beryl territory, is unconscious due to the earthquake. The Count has no wife or children, so according to Kingdom Law, I, Auditor Marcus Rutel, a royal official present in this territory, will temporarily take control of the territory. This will continue until Count Anton regains consciousness. Do you acknowledge this?"
"Auditor Marcus! What nonsense are you—!"
"…I acknowledge it."
"C-Count?"
"Thank you."
It was an outrageous act to declare the Count, who was awake and well, albeit a bit exhausted, as unconscious and claim temporary control of the territory.
Butler Norman was naturally shocked, but Count Anton nodded with a grim expression. He did so even though he knew what it meant for a local lord to hand over control of his territory to the royal family, even temporarily.
The Kingdom Law that Auditor Marcus mentioned did exist. However, it was a law that overwhelmingly favored the royal family and was rarely enforced since most nobles had children.
"Are you taking responsibility? 'The' Marcus Rutel?"
"I am simply fulfilling my duty as an auditor."
"I can't win against you with words when you only speak of righteousness."
According to Auditor Marcus, he would be in charge of the aftermath and response to the earthquake. And that meant if things went wrong, the responsibility would fall on Marcus instead of the unconscious Count.
The Count was puzzled. The Marcus Rutel he knew and heard about was the epitome of self-preservation.
It was widely rumored that the reason he was so upright was to avoid being faulted in work-related matters. He had even threatened a noble's son with an obsolete law when going to the academy for the financial audit.
Why was Marcus Rutel, who could have stayed put, taking on the responsibility for something that could potentially backfire?
That question was soon answered.
"Then, in place of the unconscious Count Anton, I will take control of the territory and send a message through the territory's mage."
"Norman, call the mage. And the message…?"
"…I'll contact Grandis Academy."
The reason why Marcus took the risk and stepped forward himself was…
…because he was the only one who knew the 'true value' of the Finance Director in this territory, aside from the students.
"Please contact the Headmistress directly. She might be wary since I'm from the royal family, but tell her it's a top priority that needs to be relayed immediately."
The Finance Director, her most trusted and cherished subordinate, had fallen into the collapsed mine in an unknown accident.
Hiding this fact would only worsen the situation. Acting as if nothing happened after rescuing him was a naive thought.
In this situation, he had to inform the person he least wanted to inform as quickly as possible.
'I should also contact the royal family.'
Although the possibility was low, the Imperial guest currently staying with the royal family might be of great help in this situation. If the royal family wanted to gain favor with the Headmistress, they would react swiftly.
And the chances of Marcus being dismissed would decrease after reporting this opportunity, but…
At this moment, Marcus didn't care about self-preservation or dismissal.
'…I'm scared.'
The Headmistress, who had created a giant basin by herself, upon hearing the news of her most trusted subordinate's accident…
…there was no guarantee that she wouldn't do the same to this territory.
***
'Wow.'
What was this? What just happened?
A tremor like an earthquake suddenly occurred, and as I tried to escape, something seemed to pull me towards a hole in the ground, even though it was quite a distance away, and I fell in.
And then…
"Student Ruth, Student Ruth!"
"…Finance Director."
"Student Ruth, are you alright!?"
"I'm… alright."
Ruth saved me.
I must have hit some rocks while falling into the mine. Unlike me, who had cuts and bruises from the debris, Ruth was perfectly fine. My concern was unnecessary.
Was this the difference between Rank 1 and Rank 6? It was truly disheartening.
"It's a relief that you're okay. But where did we fall…?"
"Up there."
Up? I looked up in the direction Ruth's finger was pointing, and there was a faint light far, far above. Thanks to that light, I could barely make out Ruth's figure and her finger.
Well, climbing up there was impossible. Then…
"We need to find another exit."
"…Will there be one?"
"There has to be. This is the main shaft, but Tunnels 2 and 3 had other small entrances besides the one we saw on the surface. They were intertwined like a maze."
I didn't remember the map in detail, but I knew there were other exits.
Actually, it would be best to stay here and wait for rescue, but…
"It will be difficult for the Beryl family to rescue us. I saw various equipment being destroyed by the tremor, and the only possibility is the Rank 5 mages they hired."
The force required to pull someone up was different from the force required to simply fall. Even Ruth, a Rank 6, wouldn't be able to climb up there, so could several Rank 5 mages do it? No way.
We would need a Rank 7 or 8 to rescue us… Oh, right.
The Headmistress would rescue us. That was also why I wasn't feeling a sense of crisis.
'And I have a reliable escort right next to me.'
But it wasn't like we could just sit here and do nothing.
Although it wasn't intentional, we had entered the rock salt mine, and I even had an escort with me.
"Let's explore the mine. Perhaps… we can find out why the rock salt mine collapsed."
We might be able to find the cause that ruined the futures trading and messed up the academy's finances. Of course, the root cause was the Headmistress, but…
Ruth simply nodded at my suggestion, which could be dangerous.
Sigh, but…
"Student Ruth, can you see well?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll leave the navigation to you. It's completely dark except for where we fell."
This was a closed-off mine. Any light sources had long been taken away, and the only light was coming from the hole where we presumably fell.
Even that was faint, so it would be impossible to see anything if we moved. I didn't hesitate and grabbed Ruth's hand.
'It's a good thing she's a cross-dressed girl.'
It would be a bit awkward to hold a man's hand and walk around like this.
When I grabbed her hand, Ruth flinched for a moment, then started walking ahead. I couldn't see her expression in the darkness.
"By the way, Student Ruth, did you feel anything strange?"
"Strange, you say…?"
"This mine has collapsed. The three tunnel entrances we saw on the surface were all blocked with rocks and dirt. But a hole opened up in the tunnel with just one tremor, and it was just big enough for us to fall into."
And even the space we were walking in now. If the ground entrances were filled with dirt, shouldn't this space have collapsed long ago?
Of course, I wasn't an expert, but it was strange that there was only a hole just big enough for two people to fall into.
Moreover, we were pulled into that hole as if something was dragging us, even though we were quite a distance away.
"Perhaps the reason the mine collapsed wasn't because of reckless expansion or disturbing the groundwater… but something else."
"...…"
It felt like the mine hadn't collapsed from within, but rather, the entrance had been buried from the outside to close it off.
What in the world happened in this rock salt mine?
I followed closely behind Ruth, holding her hand tightly. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything. I couldn't even see the hand I was holding.
"Tunnels 2 and 3 branch off from the main path of the main shaft."
"…Where should we go first?"
"Let's go to Tunnel 2 first. Student Ruth, do you see any artificial objects like signs?"
"…There's nothing. They're all broken or destroyed."
"I understand."
I see.
How long had we been walking through the darkness, holding hands? Ruth suddenly changed direction, and it felt like we entered a different space.
"We've arrived at Tunnel 2."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Tunnel 2, Tunnel 2.
Putting aside the strange familiarity of this place,
I asked Ruth,
"How did you know?"
"…Excuse me?"
"I haven't told you which way to go from the fork to reach Tunnel 2. But you seem to know the location of the tunnel very well. Only Auditor Marcus and I saw the blueprints."
"...…"
"And you said all the artificial objects like signs were broken or gone. Yet you entered Tunnel 2 without any hesitation, which means…"
It was obvious.
"The place where you said you earned money from mining. And where you saved Auditor Marcus."
"...…"
"Was it all… this rock salt mine?"
"…Yes."
He had guessed as much, but hearing the confirmation was still quite shocking.
So the fact that Ruth was in the rock salt mine meant…
"I know this is a very rude question, but I have to ask."
"I didn't cause the collapse—"
"H-how much did you earn?"
"What?"
"You engaged in futures trading as well, didn't you, Student Ruth? That's how you could offer 50 times the rent! Just how much money do you have…?"
"...…"
As someone who had to clean up the mess of a failed futures trading, seeing the person who succeeded in that trade right in front of him…
He felt the same emotion as when he saw Julius, who had also succeeded in futures trading.
He was incredibly envious…!!