MDLCM Chapter 8

   Mimi, the dancer, arrived on time. She had rented a private room in Lyra’s store and there were only three people in the room, Ray, Bridget and Mimi.

　Mimi seemed to understand the situation as soon as she entered the room.

   “I’m Taylor, the auditor. However, I go by Miller now. Thank you for your letter.”

   “Well, I thought it was strange that such a handsome guy would pick me.”

　Mimi laughed and dropped her bags.

   “But thank you for coming just for the letter. I understand the situation.”

   “I was skeptical, but I’m glad I was right. Can we talk to you?”

　Bridget ordered a drink and the three of them sat around the table.

   “My father is a candle maker at Lynx. You know, the high end ones with the decorative engraving on the surface.”

　Bridget had a pen at hand and listened as she took notes.

   “That’s why he happened to notice the injustice a while ago and got very angry. However, he was afraid of losing his job if he reported it so instead I wrote a letter to you without letting you know in advance.”

   “I see. What do the dates and the numbers on the letter refer to?”

   “The date and quantity of royal candles shipped. Apart from this, there are also records of order quantities.”

　Bridget thought about it.

   “So this is a fictitious order, isn’t it?”

   “Yes. Can you pursue it?”

   “Um, what exactly does that mean?”

　Ray asked, interrupting them. I didn’t really understand what kind of injustice was going on. Bridget explained in further detail to me, drawing a diagram on a piece of paper.

   “For example, let’s say the Royal Court Administration ordered 100 candles for 100 gold and let’s say that Lynx only delivers 90, but the Court Administration says they received the full 100 and paid the full price of a 100 gold. 10 gold would then be off the table.”

   “So in essence there are people on both sides who are in on it?”

   “That’s right. I guess the order and delivery checking system of the Royal Court Administration is not very good. But we’ll find out pretty quickly if we commence an audit.”

   “My father just happened to notice it when he was checking the inventory of the products he was assigned to, and he wrote down the dates and numbers, hoping that he could summon the respective authorities one day.”

   “Lyra told me that the officials from the Royal Capital do whatever they want under the guise of inspections.”

　Bridget stopped taking notes and asked, to which Mimi replied with a scrunch on her face.

   “Yes, they come to Glossier frequently and go on a bar rampage, often with Lynx executives. I can’t stand it.”

   “Do they play around using the money they got illegally?”

　Bridget continued to ask Mimi some more questions and eventually put her notes away.

   “Thank you very much. I understand the general situation now. Thank you so much for coming in, Mimi.”

   “Thank you for coming out here, too.”

　Bridget called Lyra and ordered some food and drinks.

   “Mimi, come eat and drink with us. You can eat and drink with me and my husband.

   “Eh.”

   “Okay! Also let me dance for you as well.”

　Bridget and Mimi ate and drank well, while Ray felt frustrated in the background. Mimi danced powerfully with her well-trained body, and Bridget clapped along with her.

　The three of them ate and drank until the very end of the time they had reserved Mimi for, and they eventually parted ways.

　♦︎

　After dropping Bridget off at the inn the next day when she decided to visit the district auditor, Ray headed for the lake on the outskirts of Glossier.

　Although Glossier is an industrial area, if you travel a short distance from the center of the city it is rich in nature. When Ray arrived at the lake, he observed the plants in the area and collected a few unusual ones and froze them. The lake was clean and clear, and several species of aquatic life could be seen in it.

　After circling the not-so-wide lake, I layed down under an outstandingly large tree at the side of the lake. The wind felt good.

　Magic power is considered to be one of the spirits of nature, and sometimes when you get in touch with nature like this, you realize that your magic power is being restored.

　Since such opportunities are rare when working as a mage in the royal capital, all retired mages retreat to the countryside in search of nature.

　Ray is a division commander because of his overwhelming magical power, but now there are not many opportunities to use such high level magic. Industries are developing and the country is stable. People with such high magic power are a much more rare occurrence now.

　But Ray was okay with that. The lack of work as a magician was a sign that the country was calm and stable.

　Ray stretched out and closed his eyelids to get some sleep.

　When Ray returned to the inn in the afternoon, Bridget had already returned.

   “How was it?”

   “I was able to talk to a former colleague and it seems to be working out. Thank you for bringing me here. I’m going to be busy when I get home.”

　Having fulfilled the purpose of their honeymoon, they decided to return to the royal capital. I gave my farewell to Lyra and told her to give Mimi my regards.

   “You should have taken it a little slower,”

   “We have a lot to prepare for the audit. We’ll come back another time for vacation.”

   “It’s a must.”

　On the way back, we followed the same route as we had taken. In the port town, we bought things at the market again, ate on a bench, and bought lots of souvenirs.

   “I thought it was more of an overnight excursion than a honeymoon, but it wasn’t really an overnight excursion either. It was mostly a business trip. Thank you for going out with me.”

   “I enjoyed going to places I’ve never been to and eating good food. If this is a business trip, I’ll reimburse you for the expenses through the Magic Division.”

　Bridget almost spit out the tea she was drinking.

   “That’s a fraudulent business trip. I’m going to have to go in for an audit and rub it out.”

　Ray laughed, imagining the scene.

　♦︎

　Although she returned two days early from her originally requested leave, Bridget went straight back to work.

　The team was surprised at Bridget’s early departure from her honeymoon, but they were even more surprised by the fraudulent issue of the Royal Court Administration that Bridget had brought back with her.

　From there, preparations were made for a quick but unannounced audit to ensure that no information was leaked.

　Glossier requested the assistance of a judicial body that was independent of the state as well as the Audit Office, since the knights may also have been involved in the fraud.

　Since Lynx was a private company, it was not subject to audit by the Audit Office, but rather the local tax office, which handled tax-related matters.

　Since it was the time of year for filing taxes, the Audit and Tax Office, which was appointed by the judicial body, decided to conduct an investigation, calling for a confirmation of tax documents.

　It was three weeks after the honeymoon when Bridget went on an unannounced audit of the Royal Court Administration and Lynx, while staying in close contact with the Glossier District Auditor.

　Meanwhile, Ray returned to work after his scheduled vacation. When he spread out the souvenirs at the Magic Division, the members gathered around and said it was time for tea, even though we were still at work.

　When I told them about the honeymoon, they all envied me, saying how nice it was, and Ray laughed at the lack of tension in his office.

　♦︎

　Bridget finally breathed a sigh of relief after the unannounced audit revealed a fictitious order and a number of people were punished.

   “The Knights of Glossier were also in on it. It seems that they turned a blind eye and did whatever they wanted with the ill-gotten gains of the Lynx Company.”

   “I’m glad you’re okay.”

　Bridget had been busy ever since she got back from her honeymoon until now. Today, for the first time in a long time, she came home earlier than Ray.

   “It seems like a long time ago that I went to Glossier with Ray. Let’s go on a proper trip for fun this time.”

　Ray smiled and nodded.

　Since it had been a long time since they both had been home for dinner, Connie, Miranda, and John decided to join them for dinner.

   “It was really quiet and cold in this house without Bridget’s presence. I’m glad everything worked out well.”

   “I don’t want to be busy for the time being either. I want to eat your cooking at home, John.”

　John looked down, red with embarrassment as he was suddenly mentioned in the conversation.

　　Bridget began to doze off after drinking and talking a lot, so Ray carried her to bed and dinner was adjourned.

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