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The mining city of Klauchen is located on the northeastern edge of Miraldia. It is one of the oldest cities in Miraldia. It is also the hometown of Rasie, the former fake Saintess.
As expected of a town at the foot of the Northern Mountain Range, various minerals are mined here, but the primary resource is rock salt. Rich in impurities, the rock salt boasts beautiful hues, and its flavor varies by color.
Long before Miraldia was unified, this place flourished as a major rock salt production center.

For that very reason, the Difort family—the lineage of the Governor of Klauchen—holds significant influence. The first governor was a hero who made a name for himself by slaying werewolves, and it seems that successive governors have also been renowned for their martial prowess.

“From the Senate’s perspective, I imagine they’re a difficult opponent to deal with.”

Kite murmurs as he slips on an extra jacket.

“They have the crucial role of salt production, and they’re rolling in money from the rock salt trade. On top of that, Klauchen was established before the Senate.”

For the Senate, which relies solely on secular authority, they’re a difficult opponent.

I nodded at his words and voiced a thought that had just occurred to me.

“And the fact that they suffered almost no damage during the Miraldia Unification War might be a factor, too?”
“Ah, that certainly seems likely.”

After all, the same was true for Belrüsa and Lotzo.
Their only weakness is their location in the snow-covered mountains, but depending on how you look at it, that can also be a strength. During the winter, there’s almost no risk of being attacked.

For these reasons, the city of Klauchen had established quite a prominent position for itself.
It provides substantial funds to the Senate, and thanks to its track record of supplying rock salt to the market at stable prices, the Senate apparently can’t take a hard line against it.
Still, I can’t help but feel it’s a bit much to go and snatch the governor’s family heirloom from a city like that.

“How many standing troops do they have?”

Kait answered my question immediately.

“There are three hundred guards, but there’s also a vigilante force of about six hundred made up of hunters and former guards. Through the vigilante network, they can mobilize the citizen militia right away.”
“That’s quite a challenge.”
“It’s deep in the mountains, after all. If they can’t fight for themselves when push comes to shove, they won’t survive.”

It seems Rasie’s hometown is a tougher place than I expected.
We tried to enter the town, but this time, Kait’s position was actually a bit awkward.

“Actually, the Senate told me not to enter the city of Klauchen. They said it’s a delicate time, so I should just stick to surveying the surrounding area.”

It seems the fun of extorting money from the enemy on this tour ends here.
But from here on out, the Demon Lord’s Army’s connections will come into play.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go to the city gates. I’ll use enhancement magic to temporarily alter Kait’s appearance. That should be enough to fool them.”
“Huh? But Mr. Veit, surely you can’t mention the Southern Federation’s name, can you?”

Even I have no intention of introducing myself to the guards here as “an envoy from the Southern Federation.” Since there’s no telling where or how information might leak, I want to make sure no one other than the governor himself finds out.
That’s why I’ve taken proper precautions.

By the roadside leading to the castle gate, the unscrupulous merchant Mao stood with a fed-up expression.

“You’re late. I thought you’d be arriving by now, so I waited all day yesterday.”
“You didn’t have to wait personally.”

This guy employs a few traders and servants. He’s like the CEO of a startup.

Mao shrugged.

“If you’re coming in person, it must mean something big is happening, right? I can’t just leave it to others.”

I couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

“You really should delegate a little more.”
“Coming from you, that’s not exactly convincing.”

As Mao sighed, Jerich nodded deeply.

“He’s right.”

So what?

Only Kait was staring intently at Mao’s face.
Then he said quietly.

“You’re that corrupt smuggler from back then…”

Mao tilted his head suddenly, as if he’d just realized something.

“Aren’t you that s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y investigator from the Senate?”
“Who are you calling a s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y investigator!”
“Any official who doesn’t take bribes is a s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲.”

No, Mao, you’re the one who’s wrong.

“What? You two know each other?”

When I laughed, Kite and Mao looked at me as if they’d found their sworn enemy and retorted.

“Mr. Veit, you can’t rely on a guy like this! He was hoarding stone materials under the pretense of using them for the northern reconstruction.”

Ah, you mean when we built the walls of Lüenheit…
So, he really did use some shady methods he couldn’t tell anyone about.
Then Mao retorted with a straight face.

“We were gathering them under the pretext of using them for the northern reconstruction, there was no need for you to investigate every single one of our cargo. Besides, I gave out plenty of bribes.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! A Senate investigator never accepts a bribe!”

Kait flew into a rage, but Mao brushed it off nonchalantly.

“Your superior sure gladly accepted them, though?”
“He WHAT!?”
“Thanks to that, we were able to successfully purchase all the stones.”
“You corrupt merchant!”
“I respect your efforts to remain incorruptible, but a single drop of clear water is pointless in a muddy stream.”

What a terrible guy.

Since I’d contacted Mao in advance, we were able to enter the city of Klauchen safely as his subordinates.
As we walked toward our inn, he reminded us sternly.

“Since all three of you are being treated as my servants, please don’t cause any trouble, okay?”
“Of course that’s our intention, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“……Well, I figured you’d say that. About the salt fields—I’m really counting on you, okay?”

Overhearing the conversation between Mao and me, Kait pulled a disgusted face.

“Hey, Mao, you’re up to something again, aren’t you!?”
“Could the Senate official please refrain from butting into the Southern Federation’s affairs?”

I don’t care about your rivalry, just don’t start a fight.

As we walked through the town—a group consisting of two werewolves, a traitorous official, and a crooked merchant—the northern part of the town came into view.
The northern side of the mining city of Klauchen has no city walls; instead, sheer cliffs rise up like a wall. It’s a natural fortress.
Halfway up the cliffs, there are abandoned rock salt mines scattered here and there that are no longer in use. It seems to be a remnant from when this used to be a small mining town.
I heard that now the mining operations are outside the city, and that’s where they’re digging.

“What’s going on with those abandoned mines now?”

Kait and Mao answered my question almost simultaneously.

“I hear they’re being used as storage facilities.”
“They’re storage facilities now.”

“You shut up.”

Kait glares, and Mao laughs.

“You haven’t actually seen it yourself, have you? I’ve actually been inside the abandoned mine managed by the Klauchen Chamber of Commerce.”
“They won’t let me in because if I go, their shady dealings will be exposed.”
“See? You’re so upright that people just can’t stand you.”
“That’s my job, so don’t blame me, okay!?”

Since I didn’t want them to keep arguing like this, I stepped in to calm them down.

“You two, please just behave yourselves.”

At that, Kait and Mao nodded with serious expressions.

“If it’s a request from Mr. Veit, I suppose we have no choice.”
“If it’s a request from Lord Veit, we’d be happy to.”

And then the two of them glared at each other again.
Jerich, who had been following along in silence the whole time, muttered with his hands clasped behind his head.

“Humans sure are a pain in the neck…”

Tell me about it.