Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 93

A Lucky Day

Ayra gracefully lifted her teacup. The tea brewed by Botello, who had served the lord’s household for many years, was richly fragrant and perfectly sweet to her taste. How long had it been since her last proper teatime...? As if reading her mind, Jinas spoke.

"I can’t remember the last time we had a proper teatime like this."

Geez, it’s like he really did read my mind. Startled, Ayra’s pinky gave a small twitch. The two of them admired the city through the window, blanketed overnight with fresh white snow and now glistening under the morning sun. Solar, just entering winter, was truly beautiful.

‘Would be nice if a hot spring sprang up somewhere around here... could use it as a tourist attraction...’

She was thinking such thoughts, then felt a bit ashamed of how worldly they were in the face of such breathtaking scenery. She glanced over at Jinas, just in time to hear him mutter:

"With all these mountains, if we dig around properly, we might find a mine somewhere. Should be worth around 10,000 Cell or so."

"...You really have no greed, do you? It’s got to be at least 100,000 Cell. Then we can hire additional staff, outfit the soldiers with new weapons and armor, maybe even buy new horses..."

"..."

"...Enough pointless daydreaming. Let’s get to work."

"...Yes, my Lord."

With their brief teatime over, Ayra and Jinas turned toward the mountain of documents piled high on the desk. After sipping the remaining tea, the two of them wordlessly picked up the papers. There was still a lot of work to do, but the dark shadows beneath their eyes had lightened, and they now had the luxury of enjoying the occasional break. In the past, they hadn’t even had time to drink a proper glass of water.

Gripping her quill, Ayra summoned the Territory Window before starting work, and words began to float up on the blank document.

Territory Name: Solar

Lord: Solar Sing Ayra

Area: Approx. 2,300 Zenta

Population: 156,429

Debt: 10,000 Cell (Monthly interest: 50 Cell)

Military Level: 3 (The soldiers feel satisfaction in their duties!)

Heroes: Bloom (☆☆☆), Hera (☆☆☆☆)

Knights: 85

Soldiers: 1,412

Security Level: 2

Overall a safe city, except for the slums!

Under Hero Hera’s leadership, the skinheads are gradually forming a militia.

Commerce Level: 3

Trade: Just barely breaking even.

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.

Tourism: Faithful from other territories have started visiting in earnest. Try developing it into a Holy Site for greater profits!

Quarrying: Production has increased due to a new temple construction contract with Sobletz.

Approval Rating: 32% (Strong support in Dalum Village and near the Lord’s Castle.)

Religion Level: 5

Most of the clergy, led by the High Priest, are hostile toward the Lord.

Sacred Teacher: Currently receiving bonus approval from this title.

Special Notes

Days until collapse: 145

One-Line Review: A liiiittle bit of progress. Try harder!

Additional Feature Upgrade: Territory development required

Though the one-line review in the territory window remained annoying as ever, a few minor changes had appeared. The population had slightly increased, military had risen to level 3, and both Bloom and Hera had been registered as Heroes—as if rare characters had been drawn. Commerce had risen to level 3, and Religion was already at level 5. All of this was thanks to the successful sermon in the chapel, which had helped shift the image of the lord.

Of course, it wasn’t like one flashy sermon had suddenly made all the territory’s citizens start thinking positively about mages. To most of them, mages were still seen as something unpleasant, to be avoided. Even after watching Ayra’s magical spectacle in the chapel, quite a few people had shaken their heads, muttering about devilry. But a significant number of citizens had begun to say things like:

‘Our Lord may be a mage, but she’s different! She uses divine magic recognized by the Church!’

Technically, it wasn’t divine magic but illusion magic, but Ayra was just grateful they were even willing to think positively at all. As Solar continued to interact more actively with other territories, public opinion of mages would probably shift gradually.

After closing the Territory Window, she opened the Map Window. Centered on Solar, the surrounding territories were displayed, with ma-beasts marked as blue dots and humans as red dots. If she searched for a specific person, their dot would blink—like Janus’s was doing now. Ayra tapped her desk with her fingers.

‘When’s he planning to come back?’

The week Janus had mentioned was nearly up. Every now and then, she checked the map during breaks, and Janus still hadn’t left Bolni. Maybe, since Solar didn’t offer much entertainment, he was just taking his time having fun while he could. Ayra frowned slightly.

‘He’s definitely not human, so why the hell is he showing up as a red dot?’

It was a darker, more muted red than most humans, but red was red. Maybe the system didn’t categorize by species but by a certain level of sentient intelligence? She closed the map window with that thought in mind.

Pushing thoughts of Janus aside, Ayra returned to work—until she noticed a familiar surname on an old document.

"Hess Pol Yurika?"

She muttered absentmindedly, and Jinas immediately reacted.

"Ah... That’s my mother’s name. She was the previous chief administrator. That document needs the administrator’s seal—I’ll take care of it."

After politely taking the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) document from Ayra, Jinas gently brushed his fingers over it before stamping it. The look in his eyes as he carefully read the document was filled with deep longing. Ayra could read the emotion even without using a pebble to do so. Come to think of it, Jinas was still quite young. He hadn’t been in his post long. Ayra hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked:

"Is the former administrator doing well?"

A shadow fell across Jinas’s face. As he stamped the document, he replied calmly:

"My mother passed away two years ago. She slipped while climbing a mountain... and that was that."

Just as she feared. Ayra clicked her tongue inwardly.

"May she rest peacefully in Morunka’s embrace."

Ayra drew a sincere sign of the cross. He knew the pain of losing family all too well. He’d lost them twice—once in his previous life, and once again after reincarnating. Jinas gave a faint smile and bowed his head.

"Thank you."

[Favorability with Hess Lu Jinas has increased by 5!]

Current Favorability: 47♡

She hadn’t said it to increase favorability, but seeing it rise like that—she couldn’t help feeling a bit proud.

Just as they were getting back to work, someone began banging urgently on the door, shouting “My Lord! My Lord!” Ayra snapped her fingers, and the curtain he had pre-installed swished down to cover his precious display case. Only then did he open the door.

To her surprise, the visitor was a young administrator. Pale-faced and panicked, he cried out:

"M-My Lord! Commander Bloom is trying to kill Administrator Graffni!"

"What? Who’s trying to kill who?"

Jinas shot to his feet in shock. Ayra let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. The quill in her hand snapped with a sharp crack. She was still young, yet already her neck was starting to ache.

Why could this territory never go a single day without incident? At this point, nothing even surprised her anymore. She instantly opened the map window to locate Bloom and Graffni, then dashed out of the room. She slipped past the stunned administrator and leapt from the third floor to the first-floor hall in a single bound.

Even then, she didn’t forget to use illusion magic. Golden particles trailed behind her like a beautiful ribbon wherever she moved. People in the castle had seen her use magic so often that no one batted an eye anymore.

Bloom and Graffni were in the castle’s inner wing. More specifically, Bloom had Graffni by the collar and was dragging him toward the dungeon. Administrators were shouting in a frenzy, and the knights were blocking them with grim expressions. Though Bloom had drawn his sword, it didn’t seem like he intended to actually kill the man. Still, Ayra cast a spell to block his path.

A wall of earth suddenly rose before Bloom, forcing him to stop in surprise. Upon seeing Ayra, he immediately sheathed his sword and dropped to one knee.

"My Lord!"

"M-My Lord! Please save me!"

As Ayra arrived, Graffni scrambled toward her and began bawling at her feet, face pale. Bloom glared down at him murderously. Even before hearing a word, Ayra’s head was starting to pound. It was probably Graffni’s fault—again—but just in case, she decided to hear both sides.

"What do you all think you’re doing here? Watching for fun? Return to your posts, now!"

Jinas, who had arrived late, dispersed the spectators, as well as the knights and administrators facing off. Ayra silently studied the two men. Bloom kept his head bowed, and Graffni shrank his neck like a turtle.

"Both of you, follow me. We’ll talk inside."

Both men held high positions within the castle, so publicly interrogating them like this was not ideal. Besides, it was freezing outside. Ayra was already shivering. When Bloom stood up with a respectful “Yes, my Lord,” Graffni let out a pitiful squeal and stumbled along after him.

Ayra led them to the nearest vacant room. Since the air was cold, she threw three magic stones into the fireplace and lit it. Then she crossed her arms and sat down on the sofa, glancing between Bloom and Graffni.

"Sir Bloom, you first. What happened?"

She assumed it was just another case of Graffni burning important documents or something, but Bloom’s answer took her completely off guard.

"Administrator Graffni embezzled military funds!"

"What? Embezzled funds?"

Ayra’s voice rose sharply. If that were true, it would be a massive scandal. Even Jinas gasped. This idiot wasn’t just incompetent—he stole military funds too? Ayra shot him a sharp glare, and Graffni promptly burst into sobs again.

"N-No, my Lord! I’m innocent! I swear I didn’t do it!"

"My Lord! Criminals always deny their crimes. He’ll just keep saying no if you ask. I suggest we throw him in the dungeon and interrogate him properly!"

Bloom’s eyes gleamed sharply. He looked ready to tear the man limb from limb. Graffni let out a leaky whimper and scooted as far from Bloom as he could.

"M-My Lord, I-I really didn’t—"

"Sir Graffni, be quiet. Let’s hear Sir Bloom out first."

With a wave of her hand, Ayra cast a simple physical spell that sealed Graffni’s lips. He turned a ghastly pale and let out muffled noises, then finally fell silent, shivering.

"Sir Bloom, what made you think Graffni embezzled the funds? Do you have proof?"

Casting a cold glance at Graffni, Bloom opened his mouth to explain.

"I first found it suspicious when I placed a personal order at the forge."

The blade of his favorite dagger had gone dull, but there had been too many public security issues flaring up to deal with it. So Bloom handed a generous amount of magic stones to a young page and sent him to the forge—to place a personal order and pick up a few supplies.