Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 268

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 268 – Back to That Place Again

A few days after the messenger from the Baron Albero family visited the mansion.

Several decisions were made during that time, and Lili began to act on Ain’s orders.

She quickly found what they were looking for and, one evening, suddenly visited Ain’s room.

“I’ve finished my investigation!”

She came in, acting as usual.

“…That was quick, Lili-san.”

“Of course. I was given some clues, so I was able to investigate fairly openly.”

The reason she was able to investigate openly has to do with the aforementioned festival.

After much deliberation, they decided to view the Ist Trading Company positively and let them participate in the festival.

It was better than doing something in an unknown place.

They also thought it would be better to have them in a place where they could manage them to some extent.

Another idea was that,

“We were able to conduct some background checks as a condition for participating in the festival!”

Lili said.

Since the event involved the royal family, it wouldn’t be a problem to be strict about this.

And while it wasn’t really a substitute, acting openly must have been easier.

“The Ist Trading Company, after losing their connection with Viscount Sage, they seem to have made contact with Baron Albero. They’ve been associated with him for several years.”

“I see… That’s why they came to my mansion the other day.”

With the cause of the recent commotion now clear, Ain felt a little relieved.

“That seems to be the case. However, no matter how deep I look into it, that baron’s family appears to be nothing more than investors.”

“…What do you mean?”

Ain stopped what he was doing and listened intently to Lili’s report.

Her words, uttered with a groan, piqued his interest.

“Since there are quite a few people involved, I’ll give you a rough overview of the situation…”

She took a small piece of paper from her pocket and read its contents aloud.

“First, the Albero baron family is as white as snow.”

“Really, there’s nothing?”

“It’s just the usual aristocratic thing. They just want to show off and let everyone know how wealthy they are.”

Apparently, even small and medium-sized aristocratic families rarely had deep connections with trading companies, so it served as a status symbol for them.

For a baron’s family, the lowest rank of nobility, having ties with the Ist Trading Company, which used to be closely associated with the Viscount Sage family, must have seemed attractive, even though the company was in decline.

“It seems that their only son is an adventurer, so they use him as a kind of advertising tool.”

According to Lili, he is said to be handsome and often appears at the guild and in the surrounding area.

“How can a noble’s son be allowed to do such a thing?”

“Well, to be honest, the heir to a baron’s family is nothing more than a figurehead.”

(…Well, that was pretty much the same for me, the eldest son of a count.)

Come to think of it, even as the eldest son of the Roundheart Count’s family, Ain felt he had a certain amount of freedom.

He was only five years old at the time, but once it became clear that he would not become the next head of the family, Logas stopped showing his face around Ain.

“That only son of theirs seems to be quite popular wi.

0th women, and he’s apparently a fairly good businessman.”

This was obviously a jab, but considering their recent rude behavior, perhaps it was not so surprising.

Ain smiled wryly but didn’t feel like denying it.

“Hmm… Well, it’s good to have talent.”

“Yes, it is. Next is the Ist Trading Company, which is considered to be in the gray zone.”

“Gray?”

Ain raised his eyebrows, finding that term rather vague.

“In other words, the Albero Baron family is an indirect investor who doesn’t know the details. On the other hand, the Ist Trading Company, is probably a direct investor who does know the details.”

Ain thought it was black, but he couldn’t say for sure because the law didn’t allow it.

Lili also smiled wryly.

“What do you mean? Are they diverting the funds they received, the Baron Albero family’s funds?”

“That’s what it looks like when you follow the money trail.”

If the investigation result was true, then the Baron family was just being used to boost their reputation.

Or perhaps they were receiving some kind of compensation.

“So, the destination of the funds is shady?”

“No, it’s not exactly shady, but more like a shade of gray close to black.”

Lili gave another vague answer and took out another piece of paper, placing it on Ain’s desk.

It appeared to be an official report, and the paper was of a higher quality than the memo.

Ain picked it up and read it aloud.

“An ancient biological research institute? What is this…?”

“It seems to have been around for more than ten years. There are several similar institutes, but this one seems to have fallen on hard times due to financial difficulties.”

(…Financial difficulties and lower-ranking nobles… These things are connected all too well.)

He smiled wryly to himself. When it came to wealthy families and large research institutes, such connections were impossible to avoid.

He was tired of thinking about rights and money, but as the crown prince, it was something he had to deal with daily.

“As a result, when Viscount Sage fell from power, the Ist Trading Company approached him, and that’s how the relationship between the two began.”

“I see. So, why is the ancient biological research institute considered to be close to the dark side?”

“There’s a chance they’re conducting illegal research.”

Ain’s body twitched.

“Didn’t you go into the ancient biological research institute to investigate?”

“I tried, but it was heavily guarded. It wasn’t something I could investigate directly, but I saw some unsettling things.”

“Why couldn’t you investigate further?”

“It is bound by confidentiality, so… If I had the name of His Majesty or Ain-sama—or better yet, a royal order—I could investigate anything without any problems.”

He thought about why that hadn’t been done.

When Ain had gone to Ist to investigate the red fox, he had understood the peculiarity of that place.

At the time, he couldn’t reveal his identity as the crown prince, but the situation was different now.

However, the peculiarity of that place remained unchanged.

“Are there too many drawbacks to using a royal order?”

In the unlikely event that there are no clues or, conversely, if they were operating honestly,

There would inevitably be dissatisfaction among those involved. It would be best if it remained at that. However, it would be unwise to take any unnecessary action that could turn Ist’s people against the royal family.

However, knowing this, Ain still felt that it should be used.

He understood that rushing into things was not the right approach.

“So, what do you mean by ‘unsettling shadows’?”

“Yes, it’s research that violates the law…”

“…Can you elaborate?”

When Ain asked her that, Lili slowly began to speak.

“We found some kind of waste that looked like a combination of different biological characteristics.”

“You mean like attaching wings to a cow?”

“Y-yes, that’s basically what it is.”

You might call it chimera research.

I see. So that’s why she said it was grayish black, Ain thought.

“Why didn’t it turn black?”

“Actually, the waste was the head of a two-headed red bison. There have been several cases of this kind of mutation reported by adventurers in the past.”

“Ah… so it wasn’t definitive evidence.”

Shouldn’t they investigate regardless of such concerns? It’s not that they didn’t think about it.

However, Ishtalika was not a small organization with only a few members; it’s a large country, several times larger than Heim and the others.

If they took drastic action without preparation, the resulting discontent and confusion among the people would be unimaginable.

They couldn’t treat the rise and fall of a nation lightly.

However, something certain came to Ain’s mind.

The men in robes flashed through his mind, and he remembered Leonard’s words.

“Maybe that legend isn’t so far-fetched after all…”

This wasn’t the time to stand around.

He decided to make a few more adjustments before the festival and suddenly stood up.

“By the way, why is that strange research prohibited?”

“It could affect the ecosystem and lead to unforeseen events.”

“Ah, so that’s why. Yeah, that’s good enough.”

Lili stared at Ain, wondering what was enough when there wasn’t enough evidence.

Then he suddenly started walking toward the door.

“With Katima-san here, we have a good excuse. With my quick thinking, we’ll be fine… I think.”

Nodding, he finally turned back to Lili.

“Lili-san. We have two weeks until the festival, so I’ll be away from Strohm for a little over half that time.”

“W-what? Ain-sama, what are you talking about suddenly?”

She asked, but she knew what he wanted.

If anything, she was gauging how serious he was.

“I’m going to Krone’s room. I have to tell her a few things and make some preparations.”

“What? You mean you’re going to Ist?”

What was he doing at a time like this? No, the crown prince wouldn’t go that far.

She had plenty of complaints and expressions of surprise, but she couldn’t think of anything to say to stop him.

Come to think of it, he was the kind of man who would throw himself into battle.

There was no way she could stop him.

(I’ll leave Leonard and Batz to Marco. The three of them should investigate this area for Strohm’s sake.)

“Ain-sama! You’re not really going to…!”

Lili tried to speak, but Ain was so focused that he didn’t hear her.

(I can’t take any of my men with me. It would be inconvenient.)

What should I do? Ain started to wander off, ignoring Lili completely.

(I don’t want to lower the defense of this mansion. The only ones I can take with me are…)

Then, remembering his previous trip to Ist, Ain smiled defiantly.

He clapped his hands and rejoiced, as if to say his plan was set.

(I also need to stop by Magna. And also, I have to ask Sylvia-san about that legend.)

He couldn’t help but smile wryly, realizing that the journey might be longer than expected.

But he didn’t mind such hardships or journeys.

Recalling his journey to investigate the red fox, Ain nodded firmly.

(Well… maybe this is just my style after all.)

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