Chapter 4: Mitsunari and the Detective
After parting ways with Annaliese, the lord he now served in this world, Mitsunari walked into a back alley without the slightest hesitation.
Over the past week, he had more or less memorized the layout of the royal capital.
His feet eventually stopped in front of an apartment building that blended seamlessly into the surrounding scenery.
Following the customs of this world, Mitsunari knocked on the door two or three times.
After hearing a voice invite him inside, he opened the door and entered.
The apartment was clean and neatly organized.
A man sat in a comfortable-looking chair.
His age was difficult to determine.
He could have been in his twenties, thirties, or even forties.
He possessed a sturdy build, yet his face was so ordinary that he could disappear into any crowd.
However, Mitsunari had served Hideyoshi and been involved in more than his share of dirty work.
He could sense that behind the sheath of mediocrity lurked something dangerous.
“Excuse me.”
“I have a job I wish to commission.”
“Oh my.”
“If it isn’t the young lover of the duke’s daughter.”
“I am not her lover.”
“I am Ishida Mitsunari.”
“I was hired by Annaliese as her advisor.”
Mitsunari felt irritated at being called a lover.
At the same time, he was impressed that this man possessed information about events in the Agares Territory despite residing in the capital.
He had spent an entire week carefully evaluating potential candidates.
It seemed he had made the correct choice.
“Then, Advisor Mitsunari.”
“What sort of job would you like to request from us?”
“I have heard that this world has an occupation called a detective.”
“And that you are one.”
“I wish to commission an investigation.”
With a heavy thud, Mitsunari placed a large sum of money on the table.
It was all of Annaliese’s allowance for the year.
One should not underestimate the allowance of a duke’s daughter.
To ordinary citizens, it was a fortune they could never earn in a lifetime.
“That sounds suspicious.”
“For a payment this large, what exactly do you wish me to investigate?”
The detective agency director, Detective Noah, became visibly cautious.
“The complete history of Annaliese Agares.”
“Especially her misdeeds.”
“As thoroughly as possible.”
“The reason…”
“I’m assuming it’s better not to ask?”
“Simply do work equal to the payment.”
“I am not asking you to break the law.”
“Understood, Lord Mitsunari.”
Detective Noah bowed respectfully.
To a detective, a wealthy client was far more deserving of respect than a king who paid nothing.
After returning to the Agares Territory, Annaliese found Mitsunari deeply engrossed in a stack of documents.
Incidentally, he was no longer wearing the kimono he had arrived in when summoned.
Instead, he was dressed in a newly tailored kimono made in this world.
Although they had Mitsunari’s original garment as a reference, the fact that local craftsmen had recreated Japanese clothing so perfectly in such a short time spoke highly of this world’s tailoring skills.
“Hey, Mitsunari-san.”
“What have you been reading this whole time?”
“Your history.”
“The one I had a detective investigate.”
“Pffft!”
The shocking statement made her nearly spit out her breath.
Fortunately, she hadn’t been drinking anything.
“You hired a detective to investigate my behavior…?”
“Are you a stalker!?”
“Or maybe you’re actually a marriage candidate!?”
“I do not know what a stalker is.”
“But this was necessary.”
“We needed to know the past of Annaliese Agares that you yourself do not know.”
“Ah, that’s true!”
“There was no way for me to investigate my own past!”
“Thanks, Mitchy!”
“Three… Nine… Road…?”
“Never mind.”
“Annaliese.”
“I have good news.”
“Perhaps because you are still a child, your misdeeds amount to little more than throwing tantrums at servants who displeased you, flipping over chessboards when you were about to lose, and behaving arrogantly at tea parties.”
“Most of it can probably be dismissed as youthful foolishness.”
“!”
“Which means…?”
“You have not yet committed anything truly irreversible.”
“~~~~~~~~~~!”
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
A faint light had finally begun to shine into the future that had seemed completely dark.
What Mitsunari had just told her was nothing short of salvation.
“I-I did ittttttttt!!”
“A light of hope has appeared!”
“It is too soon to celebrate.”
“You seem to lack awareness that you are not merely Annaliese Agares.”
“You are also a duke’s daughter.”
“There is bad news in addition to the good.”
“Listen carefully.”
“…Can it wait until tomorrow?”
“No.”
Annaliese’s plea was instantly cut down.
She appreciated that he was doing this for her sake.
At the same time, she wished he could be a little gentler.
A maiden’s heart was complicated.
Ignoring the subtleties of her emotions, Mitsunari continued.
“I will be blunt.”
“Your father, Duke Olbart Agares, is an extraordinarily incompetent ruler.”
“His administration of the territory is careless and negligent.”
“The military under his command consists largely of useless men who consume resources without contributing anything.”
“Commerce is in ruins.”
“The hearts of the people have completely drifted away from their lord.”
“The only saving grace is that the land is fertile enough to produce reasonable harvests.”
“If a lord like this had existed during the era before Taiko-sama unified the realm, a neighboring daimyo would have destroyed him within a month.”
Hearing that from a man of the Sengoku era was no laughing matter.
The kingdom currently enjoyed peace following its recent reconciliation with the Kingdom of Asmodeus.
However, if civil war ever erupted within Bael, Mitsunari’s concerns would likely become reality.
“H-How did things get this bad!?”
“Because everything is handled carelessly.”
“I just told you.”
“To allow such negligence to continue without making the slightest effort to improve it is laziness beyond belief.”
“Both from the ruler and the retainers who support him.”
“W-Well…”
“If he’s not actively oppressing the people, maybe he’s not a bad person.”
“Maybe he just lacks motivation.”
“Whether he is evil or not is irrelevant.”
“There have been daimyo with rotten personalities who were nevertheless loved by their people because they governed effectively.”
“They understood that sharing prosperity would eventually benefit themselves as well.”
“For example, Ieyasu.”
The fact that Mitsunari used Ieyasu as an example suggested that despite hating him, he acknowledged his capabilities.
Mitsunari frowned as he reviewed documents detailing the territory’s economic situation.
“But this Olbart Agares lacks the will not only for reform, but even for tyranny.”
“He lacks the energy to do anything.”
“There is no saving him.”
“If he’s beyond saving, then what do we do?”
“When turbulent times arrive and revolution becomes possible, idle and incompetent rulers are simply swept away.”
“The only way to avoid that fate is to cease being idle and incompetent.”
If that was the case, there was only one thing to do.
Annaliese summoned her butler.
“You called for me, Young Lady?”
“We’re going to Father’s main estate.”
“Make preparations immediately.”
That was right.
The only option was to confront him directly.