Section 169 Tunnel

"Your Majesty!" Allyn bowed.

"Is there anything wrong?" asked the little girl. After so many things, she is no longer the little girl who was bullied on the street before. It's hard to describe this change in temperament, but if you have to say it, it's that she already has a bit of the majesty of a queen.

"In your absence, several important things happened. Allyn began to report what had happened in Falcon City after the little girl left. Suffice it to say, the little queen won a victory on the battlefield, and Irene made the most of it. Now, the Little Queen's rule is no longer within the scope of Eagle Falcon City and its surrounding area, but has actually covered most of the country. She is no longer a queen in name, but a de facto queen.

The remaining rebels, including Byron, have lost the strength to fight back. In this regard, of course, part of the credit is due to Essien.

However, there are some exceptions, such as the church. Now as the situation has changed, the "neutrality" of the church has also seemed very unpleasant to the court of Eagle Falcon.

“...... So, Majesty, it's the church's side. You may need to put a little pressure on them. "Irene built yì.

"Well, I'll have to find an appointment to meet the High Priest of Eagle City. The little girl nodded, agreeing with Iryn's construction.

"Well, there's one more thing...... I found some evidence...... It seems to indicate that Count Ashruphat ...... "Erynn has concocted the right words. "When you were chances of being chancellor of the exchequer, there were some ......"

"What?"

"There may be some suspicion of corruption. Eryn said. "Your Majesty, you know, Count Ashrufat is a mercenary after all, and it is understandable that a person like him has an extra attachment to money, considering ......"

"It can't be!" replied the little girl bluntly. But she immediately wondered how Ashrufat could be mistaken for embezzlement......?" How did he embezzle?"

"Count Ashrufat may join forces...... Buy and sell the magic telecommunication scrolls and trade for the difference. ”

"Magic teleportation scroll?" the little girl had also heard a little about it. "Isn't that the Chamber of Commerce called the Scroll?"

"That's right, the president of the Scroll Chamber of Commerce, whose name is Akin, seems to be a friend of Count Ashrufat. Eryn said. "So, the two of them may have made some deal in private......"

"Wait, you're saying that Ashruphat buys the magic teleportation scroll at a higher price than the market?"

"It's more than that. Eryn said. "Count Ashrufat buys and sells. He buys the magic scroll at a high price, and then sells it to Mr. Ajin at a low price as soon as it changes hands. He said. "The difference is almost double...... Moreover, this kind of buying and selling...... They've been doing it for more than half a year. It's still going on even now. ”

This time, even the little girl was moved. There must be evidence for Iryn's words. But Ashrufat embezzled in this nasty way...... How was that possible? At that time......

"How many more do we have in our treasury?" asked the little girl, taking a deep breath.

"And then there's some, five or six million or so. Ellynn replied. During the time when the little girl was not in the royal city, with the authority of the prime minister, he now has a good understanding of the situation in the treasury. "With the current figures, it should be able to hold on for a while. He said.

"Why is there a ...... So much money?" asked the little girl in a voice that was talking to herself. At that time, didn't Ashrufat say to himself that there was nothing left in the treasury? What did he do later? No matter what he did, money wouldn't come out of nothing, would it?

"Although this is a lot of money, please don't forget that we still have a huge debt to pay. Eryn said. "It's okay to say next month, and a little later...... There may be a huge debt that is due. ”

"Huge debts?"

"The total is not less than five million gold oli. It was Byron's huge loan to the Silverfish Chamber of Commerce. Although it is an interest-free loan, it ...... The whereabouts of that money are unknown. One can only guess that Byron secretly borrowed money in your name. Then transfer yourself away. Your Majesty, I must remind you that no matter how full the treasury is, it cannot withstand it...... Something like this, unbridled corruption. ”

"Okay, I got it. The little girl was obviously in a trance.

"By the way, one more thing, something about your temporary governess, Ms. Rhodia...... If I'm not mistaken, she was recommended by Count Ashrufat, right?"

"yes, what's wrong?"

"Your Majesty, although it is rude, however, this lady Rhodia may be ...... Born as a dusty woman. I've heard that she seems to be a ...... Prostitutes, such people act as your governess, even temporarily...... Extremely rude thing. If people in other countries know that your teacher is actually a prostitute, then ...... I am afraid that this matter will become the laughing stock of other countries. ”

Allyn looked at the little girl's expression, but the other party never spoke.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this matter ......"

"I see, you go down first. The little girl said.

A few minutes later, Irene arrived at the prime minister's office. Although the Regent's Mansion is large, it is not a royal palace after all. During this time, with the expansion of power, the number of officials in the court increased rapidly, making it seem a bit small. In the prime minister's office room, there was already a small group of officials of all ranks.

"Prime Minister...... "Seeing Irene returning, everyone saluted. "What did Her Majesty the Queen say?"

"I'm afraid the queen won't be able to make up her mind for a while. Eryn said. "After all, Count Ashrufat...... once saved the queen's life in a critical moment. And she was still skeptical about it. ”

"So, that Rhodia thing......"

"I'm afraid this matter has to be said in conjunction with the matter of Ashrufat. Eryn said. "This thing...... His Majesty must be made aware of the man's unreliability. ”

Well, while it's understandable that mercenary-turned-people are obsessed with money, after all, he is the prime minister and can't allow this kind of thing to continue.

......

"Things are really bad in Fornoros. The royal army did not have any intention of launching an offensive and seemed to want to carry out a simple siege tactic, but since the grain warehouse was burned down, the city would not hold out for long...... In addition to this, there is news that Byron has lost his peace...... The people of the city are terrified......"

Ashrufat sat quietly alone in the big tent of the Chinese army, his eyes closed. The words carried by the winds of magic flowed through his mind, as if someone had spoken to him so clearly in his ear.

It seems that this is some of Tiberius's spies in the city of Fornoros, who is using magical communication to send information back to his master.

Contact with the winds of magic was anything but a pleasant experience, and it felt as if a grit of grease surrounded him, causing him to feel his stomach twitch. But it was worth it, and today, after receiving a lot of boring business reports, Ashrufat finally found the information he needed.

He let go of the wind of magic, but the smell of putrid grease still filled his senses, and he didn't go away. It took a while for this feeling to fade.

"Sure enough, that Byron guy, did you want to do this at the critical moment?" he whispered to himself, then stood up and walked out.

I think it's time to look at the situation in the siege tunnels.

After a short while, he came to a place on the edge of the camp. The dwarven craftsmen were still busy, and Ogreve, the dwarven master engineer, was there with pen and paper and calculating. Ashrufat didn't bother him, but stood to the side, waiting for him to finish his calculations.

"Very well, that's it!" O'Greif said to himself, finally finishing his calculations. He turned around, only to see Ashruphat beside him.

"How's it going, Master Oglief?" asked Ashrufat. He had now discovered that the dwarf named O'Greif liked to be called "The Master". Although he had modestly stated that he was not yet worthy of the title of "master", every time Ashrufat called him master, his face would be a little more joyful.

"It was done in ten days. O'Greif replied confidently. "When the time comes, I'll detonate the gunpowder and ...... With a bang, the walls were gone. ”

"Ten more days?"

"Hell, don't you see how long our tunnel is?" Oglife replied dissatisfied. "Only we dwarves can dig so fast. If you humans do it, we'll have to dig for at least a month!"

"Of course, I'm happy with your progress. Ashruphat looked at the entrance of the tunnel, the dwarves were indeed masters of digging, and they could be quiet while maintaining high speeds. He could be sure that the other party had not noticed it so far.

"By the way," O'Greif lit his special pipe (which is cleverly made to prevent sparks from being exposed, and is clearly a professional item), and took a hard breath. "We're going to use a new type of gunpowder for this blast, much more powerful than your human gunpowder. This gunpowder had to be charged extra. ”

As he spoke, he picked up a small restaurant from his side, which contained a black granular solid. "That's it. ”

For some reason, Ashrufat suddenly knew that it was actually ordinary black powder, but it was made into particles with some kind of glue. After granulation, the power of gunpowder increases. However, the dwarves do not seem to intend to popularize this science and technology to humans, but only to say that the two gunpowder recipes are different.

"Absolutely. Ashruphat replied quietly. "But price-wise, you know, the Society of Engineers has promised me the best price......"

"Beard on it!" Oglife cursed. "You're the most business-savvy human I've ever met!"

It's only been ten days...... Ashruphat squinted his eyes and looked at the walls in the distance.