Reformation

"I mean, technically speaking it's not an empty bowl. Like, they could do it a hundred more times and the kingdom would still provide the insurance, so I guess that's smart of them to be honest." I shrugged as I said that.

"Hmm, I guess you're right about that." Jerome mumbled.

"Now, my question right now is why the treasury won't do a single background check before giving out money like it's nothing." I spoke.

"Oh, they know! They know very well what's happening." Jerome replied.

"What do you mean?" I was kinda confused at that point.

"Well, think about it. Isn't this the easiest way for laundering money?" Jerome asked.

"I see. So that basically means that everyone except the common people are involved in this, huh?" I couldn't help but sigh at that point.

"That would be the case, yes." Jerome nodded his head as he spoke.

"Hmm, so tell me. What do you think would be the ideal thing to do in this scenario? Should I try resolving just this one case or should I go to the root of the problem?" I asked.

"Well, although I believe that going for the root of the problem is the ideal thing to do, you might have to consider the risk of pulling that off." Jerome replied.

"Ah, it's the same with Duke Myghell, huh?" I voiced out my immense displeasure as I said that.

"Well, not really if you think about it. Duke Myghell is one powerful person. But the treasury… Well, it's a collective of people of the upper echelon. And too many people from the upper echelon means that there are multiple egos clashing. And if we played it smart and messed up their egos, then it would be easier to beat them compared to Duke Myghell." Jerome explained.

"Hmm, that does sorta makes sense." I couldn't help but agree with what he said at that point. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's head to the treasury."

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"Umm, do we even have a proper plan? Like, coming here like this is all fine and all, but what the hell are we even going to do now?" Jerome looked concerned as he said that.

"Bruv, why are you expecting me to pull out a miracle in one day?" I shrugged as I said that.

"Wait, you weren't planning to do that?" Jerome seemed confused at that point.

"Hell, nah! Rome wasn't built in a day, you know? It takes time." I replied.

"Rome?" Jerome continued looking all baffled, which is when I remembered that Rome doesn't exist in this place.

"Ah, it's gonna be too hard to explain, so I'm not gonna do that. Let's just get in now, shall we?" I asked as I stepped inside the treasury building.

It was once I got inside and talked to those people that I realized that I don't really excel in creating a plan that doesn't involve exerting brute strength. And what I mean by that is I'm an idiot. No matter how hard I tried, nothing noteworthy came to my mind. Initially I decided to look upon the nobles who claimed the insurance the most and realized that it was either the members of the treasury or their branch families that did it. Although that was important information to come by, the only plan that I could think of was to wage war against them. And since war wasn't on the table, I basically had nothing.

"You look really concerned." Jerome spoke when I was in some kinda deep thought.

"I mean, I guess I am. Like, I don't know man. I got documents stating that the members in the treasury are possibly using innocent lives to fill their pockets, but that's just it. Even though I can point that out, it isn't conclusive proof. So, what's the use?" I asked.

"Well, it's simple then, isn't it? Just find one person being corrupt and we could easily topple the entire system." Jerome explained.

"Hmm, you're talking about the connection with the bandits, right? Like, connect the dots for one and they would be forced to conduct a proper investigation, right?" I asked.

"Precisely." Jerome nodded his head.

"Well, that would be great and all if it works the way that you think." I spoke.

"What do you mean?" Jerome asked.

"I mean, think about it. We expose one, they decide to conduct an investigation, which would in turn lead to the big guns trying to either kill the investigation or destroy the evidence before the investigation turns towards them. So, that would just mean that we did it all for nothing. And I don't like doing things like that." I replied.

"Then let's do it discreetly then." He spoke.

"What are you suggesting?" I asked.

"Well, it's just as I said. Let's be as discreet as possible while exposing everyone." Jerome replied.

"Then what we should do is to conduct an external investigation." I spoke.

"And do you know who has the right to conduct an investigation like that?" Jerome asked.

"The Emperor?" I asked.

"Royalty. Not just the Emperor, but every person recognized as royalty. And I just happen to know someone who is royalty." Jerome smiled as he said that.

"That really doesn't seem that practical if you ask me. I mean, that just gives every royal person free reign to pull out bullshit, right?" I shrugged as I said that.

"Yup. I mean, if you haven't got that by now, I don't know what to say." Jerome replied.

"So, I guess that the task I got in my hand right now is to use that power of mine without alerting the rest of my family, right?" I asked.

"Yes. Although it might be really difficult, if you managed to pull it off, you would be basically reforming the Kingdom for the better." Jerome smiled as he said that. And although I basically had little to no confidence in pulling this off for some reason, I couldn't help but feel inspired as he said that.

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