The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family Chapter 6 : Chapter 6

Chapter 006

I possessed a power unlike anything I had ever known.

If I used this power to crush those rchant-company bastards, might we not be able to start receiving good ingredients again, the way we used to?

Even if I did not go that far, all I really needed was to catch so sign of dishonest dealings.

The important thing was information.

I needed to gather as much of it as possible and put my own knowledge to work. I still lacked experience, after all.

“Your na was Roy, was it not? Bastards who toy with food deserve to be taught a lesson.”

For no reason at all, I suddenly found myself recalling the shriveled side dishes from my school lunches back in middle school, and my emotions flared.

In any case, calm down for a mont.

I should explain the situation a little more fully.

In truth, after I left the dining hall, Chef Ramsay followed out and gave more information.

Apparently, similar things had happened several tis before, and even though apprentice butlers and full butlers had reported the circumstances, the matter had always been quietly buried.

In other words, this place was rotten from the inside too.

A rather sad thing.

I understood that there was no easy solution. The more people gathered in one place, the more factions ford and held one another in check. Was there not a saying that anywhere people lived was ultimately the sa?

If anything, that only made it more interesting.

In the past, whenever I saw that kind of injustice and irrationality, I had no choice but to let it pass. I did not have any power of my own.

But things were different now.

I had a strange ability that let view other people’s information, and my physical abilities had improved dramatically. If I used that well, I could probably overco any difficulty with ease.

The important thing was that none of this was for the honor of the House.

It was for .

Selfish, was it?

Before I got hit by the Reincarnation Truck, I had lived thoroughly as the powerless one, never hesitating to serve as a professor’s slave. Not once had I ever truly lived for myself. And what did I get in return? Not a master’s degree, but death beneath a truck.

That incident had been a genuine shock.

It had taught that even a diligent life did not guarantee a good ending.

So in this life, I intended to live a little more for myself.

By making suitable use of my power.

“Beron might even be the one pulling strings behind this. I need to gather more information. It would be best to ask Rohan later.”

First, I needed to learn the area where the Arkain rchant Company operated, and also find out who was backing them.

The easiest approach would have been to gather hard evidence and report it to the higher-ups, but if I did that, I would lose my chance to earn any rit from it.

Right now was the ti to make even a small matter look important and turn it into sothing that benefited .

Especially if I wanted to clean up the ss left behind by this body’s original owner.

For now, I returned to the office to see the Training Officer again.

It was not wise to push ahead with a matter like this while still only a Butler Apprentice. At the very least, I should secure permission from my superior.

“I have sothing to report for a mont.”

“A report? Has so sort of problem arisen?”

I nodded calmly.

From here on, I needed to act well. If I wanted to be entrusted with a task, it would be best to appear confident. Even I would never place a bet on soone who seed unreliable.

“I believe a small issue has arisen with the rchant company delivering ingredients to Rosetta.”

“To Rosetta?”

Tilting his head, the Training Officer ran his sharp eyes over so earlier docunts.

The Training Officer was a man nad Cornel.

He was over thirty, and had been appointed to the role because of his sharp intellect and tidy handling of work.

For that very reason, he was also famous for having a sharp disposition and little rcy. At a glance, he looked exactly like the sort of man who would remind you of a boot camp drill instructor.

Even so, there was no helping it.

The Training Officer was the person who oversaw the evaluations of apprentices.

In other words, for apprentices, he was practically a god.

“Looking at the reports submitted earlier, there did not seem to be any special issue. What sort of problem could there possibly be with the rchant company?”

From those words, I ca to suspect that several butlers and apprentices might be entangled in the corruption. The quality of the ingredients being delivered was that poor, yet no one had raised a proper objection.

That was why this sort of petty corruption was frightening.

It quietly consud the stores without a sound, and by the ti you realized what was happening, the granary was empty.

“The quality of the delivered ingredients is extrely poor. After hearing the circumstances from Chef Ramsay, it seems this has been happening for quite so ti.”

“Is that truly the case?”

“It is.”

Cornel stroked his chin and fell into thought. There were only a few possible reasons for his hesitation. Either he would make this into a larger matter, or he would bury it quietly.

“Have you reported this to any other superior?”

“No. I assessed the situation and ca directly to you, Training Officer.”

“Well done.”

Sothing about that felt strange.

At a ti like this, should he not usually be angry, or at least suspicious? Why was he wearing an expression of relief?

There was clearly sothing I did not know.

But that could not be helped. The original owner’s mories were fragnted, and whatever information belonged to him was no longer being updated.

Rising from his seat, Training Officer Cornel clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing around the office. His thoughts were clearly stretching out further.

After a while, he stopped and turned back toward .

“I do not think there is any need to make a large issue of this. As I understand it, the recent flooding has severely damaged the crops. If that is the case, then there is only so much the rchant company can do.”

“Is that really so?”

The unexpected challenge piqued Cornel’s interest. A strange light entered his eyes. An ordinary apprentice would have said, Yes, understood, and withdrawn.

But I was different.

I had t many kinds of people while doing all manner of work up until now. It was not a terribly long career, but it was more than enough experience to persuade another person.

“I would say that is precisely why it should be investigated even more thoroughly.”

“Why?”

“Because this is the Adeline Marquis House. It is the most exalted place in the territory. No matter how severe the flooding, I believe the rchants still bear an obligation to deliver the finest ingredients possible.”

Even I had to admit that line was splendid.

Sure enough, Cornel fell silent in thought again.

At least among the nobles I knew, honor was precious. This might be a simple matter of food, but once it was tied to noble honor, the story changed.

Was it not only natural that anyone should believe the organization they belonged to was the greatest?

Of course, I did not yet know just how great the Adeline Marquis House truly was. I would need more experience before I could feel it in my bones. I also needed to build up more knowledge of this world.

“There is reason in what you say. Indeed, you are right. Considering the prestige of the great Adeline Marquis House, such a thing should be unthinkable. Those Arkain bastards have been quiet lately, and now they stab us in the back like this!”

Returning to his seat, Cornel folded his hands and spoke in a grave tone.

“Very well, then. What do you intend to do? I do not think you ca all the way here rely to inform . I would like to hear your plan.”

“I intend to inspect the rchant company’s warehouse. If they are keeping top-quality ingredients there, then we should lodge a formal protest.”

“That is too reckless a move to make without evidence. rchant companies either possess ard groups of their own or have organizations backing them. You would inevitably have to clash with them.”

Clicking his tongue, he shook his head. I understood the reaction perfectly well.

Cornel knew nothing about the abilities I now possessed.

With the power I had, knocking down a handful of back-alley thugs would not even be difficult.

More than that, there would be value in the outco beyond simply earning a favorable evaluation. The more dangerous the situation, the better chance I had to examine the limits of my power.

It was not as though I were going to a battlefield.

If it was only fighting a few n at a warehouse, that was acceptable.

I had learned that much for certain when I dealt with Beron earlier.

Handling four or five grown n would be no problem at all.

“If it is only a simple inspection, there should be no major issue. They will feel pressure as well. After all, it ans the upper ranks are questioning the quality of their goods.”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“Only suspicion.”

“It seems far too reckless to stir up a matter like this on suspicion alone.”

“It is a matter of justification.”

A brief silence followed, and soon Cornel gave his order.

“Very well. Then go ahead and do as you see fit!”

***

Now that I had Cornel’s permission, I was able to move about with a fair degree of freedom. I had been issued a pass, which made going outside much easier as well.

But there was sothing I needed to do before heading into the village.

I made my way to the mansion courtyard where Rohan was working.

As befitted a man with Cleaning at A rank, the way he wielded a broom was dazzling.

Then, quite suddenly, I noticed a group of maids passing by.

At their head stood a noble young lady with sapphire-colored hair flowing behind her.

Was that Young Lady Sapiela?

I had heard that her sea-blue hair was trendously attractive, and it was true.

On top of that, she was astonishingly beautiful. So much so that it was impossible to tear my eyes away.

Then, perhaps sensing my gaze, she turned in my direction.

Her cold, haughty eyes swept over , then turned away at once as if I had failed to interest her in the slightest. Nearby, I noticed Arwen. That reminded of what she had said the other day, about receiving cookies from the Young Lady as a reward.

“If serving a beauty like that is part of the job, then being a butler might not be so bad after all.”

Muttering that to myself, I approached Rohan again.

“What brings you here? Were you not assigned to Rosetta today? Why are you loitering around here?”

“A bit of a problem ca up, so I was about to head out.”

“What kind of problem?”

I told Rohan about what had happened at Rosetta, and about the bargain I had struck with Training Officer Cornel.

Naturally, his eyes went wide.

“Have you lost your mind? You hit your head and sothing really went wrong with you. Are you saying you are going to investigate the rchant company by yourself?”

“It is worth trying.”

“Stop it! What are you going to do if you end up stabbed in so dark alley?”

His voice kept rising. I patted him on the shoulder and told him to calm down.

“If bad ingredients keep coming in, we suffer too. Would not the Young Lady Sapiela you like so much be disappointed to see shriveled food on her table?”

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? That is one thing, but this is far too dangerous! You are not even taking the knights with you, and you plan to go alone?”

“What choice do I have? I will be thrown out of the mansion in a month. I cannot just sit around doing nothing.”

“Hah. And because of that, you are going to stake your life on sothing like this?”

“You said becoming a butler was your dream, did you not?”

Rohan let out a sigh and looked at as though I were hopeless.

He knew too that I would have to leave this place in a month.

“So then, what exactly is it that you want to hear?”

“I do not know where the Arkain rchant Company is located. It would help if you could tell roughly where it is. And anything else I should be careful about.”

After glancing around for a mont, Rohan led to a more secluded spot and spoke in a quiet voice.

“The Arkain rchant Company is notorious for poor quality. You know that apprentice nad Beron, right? I heard his father is a high-ranking executive there.”

I know.

That was one of the reasons I was involving myself in this at all.

It might all be a misunderstanding, but I was not the type to let sothing like that slide after being wronged.

“Not just with Rosetta, either. There are many people inside the mansion connected to the rchant company. That is probably why nothing was ever reported to the higher-ups.”

“I suspected as much. Training Officer Cornel said he had not received any reports either.”

I smiled.

If things went well, I might be able to tie the Rosetta matter together with Beron and send them both down in a single blow.

Then suddenly, another hypothesis occurred to .

What if reports had in fact been submitted, only to be blocked at Cornel’s level?

“There may be so kind of connection between the rchant company and Training Officer Cornel.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“It is only a guess. We cannot afford to let our guard down. It felt suspicious how easily Training Officer Cornel gave permission for the investigation.”

Rohan rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.

But his intelligence level was not especially high.

I changed the subject and pressed him for practical information instead.

“The rchant company is near the Village Hall. If you go over there and ask around, people will probably point you to it.”

“Thank you, my friend.”

Apparently, the Village Hall was a large building with a red roof. It sounded as though I could confirm its location on the way down and move from there.

“Hey. Are you really planning to go like this, empty-handed?”

“It is not as though I have many options.”

“Honestly, you really are a troubleso bastard. Co with !”

Rohan motioned with his hand and took the lead.

He headed toward the place in the distance where smoke was rising and the sound of hamring rang out.