The Little Witch’s Daily Struggle – Chapter 1266

Chapter 1266: Greed Above, Bribery Below

I summoned the Knight Captain using a fly as a remote observer. Under the shock and fear, the City Clerk didn’t even consider why the Knight Captain would show up so proactively, only thinking about how to absolve himself.

“I am a technical consultant for the Steam Armor Factory, and I’m preparing to sign some orders with the Lord of the City’s manor. Could you please take a look and see if there’s anything wrong with this order?” I asked in a business-like manner.

The Knight Captain was somewhat confused as to how I had become a technical consultant for some factory, but he also understood that it was not appropriate to expose their true relationship in such a setting.

“Alright, let me see.” He took the order and pretended to examine it. At first, the Knight Captain thought it was just a formality, but after a few glances, his brow furrowed.

Some knights understood documents like orders or reports. They needed to manage their own territories, and if they couldn’t understand them, they would have to hire scribes to help.

The Knight Captain preferred to handle matters personally because his subordinates often engaged in petty schemes. It was precisely because of such experiences that he immediately noticed something was amiss with the order.

“The funds allocated by the Lord of the City for purchasing armor were clearly fifty thousand gold coins, yet the order only shows ten thousand gold coins. Moreover, why is the unit price so low? Can you even buy armor for five gold coins?” A flicker of suspicion crossed the Knight Captain’s eyes.

“Well, I intend to distribute the order to several different factories, so each factory only gets a share of ten thousand gold coins. As for the price, I’m initially quoting a low price, and then I’ll negotiate the price with the manufacturers slowly,” the City Clerk said, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.

It had to be admitted that he was indeed quick-witted and experienced in this regard, managing to justify his lies in just a few words, even in a state of panic and helplessness.

An ordinary brute might have been fooled by him, but he had run into the Knight Captain. “Nonsense! The Lord of the City’s manor ordered two thousand sets of armor, how could it be split? If you give two thousand sets of armor to one factory, how could it possibly be completed in a week? Not to mention five gold coins per set, it would be a miracle if you could even make a breastplate!”

The Knight Captain cursed so angrily that the City Clerk didn’t dare to look up. He had completely chosen the wrong person to lie to. If it were about something else, he might have been able to deceive them, but Numanuer was a legitimate knight, well-versed in the value and craftsmanship of armor. How could he be fooled?

“I, L,” the City Clerk was already sweating profusely, completely lost and unsure how to explain. I provided the final straw that broke the camel’s back by saying from the side, “He said he can reduce some of the craftsmanship, only making the simplest breastplate and arm guards, and that he can pass the quality inspection.”

Armor is more expensive the more complex and meticulous the parts are. If it’s just a whole piece like a breastplate and arm guards, it can indeed reduce a lot of cost and time, and even a slightly poorer quality could be passed off.

“I confess my guilt, Master Numanuer! Please forgive me!” The City Clerk finally broke down completely. He knew he couldn’t hide it any longer; the truth was out. He immediately fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

I knew he had a problem, but after verifying it with the Knight Captain, I hadn’t expected the problem to be so serious. To put it simply, he had deceived his superiors and colluded with his inferiors, both embezzling public funds and actively soliciting bribes.

The procurement budget of fifty thousand was largely swallowed by him, leaving only ten thousand for purchases. At market price, two thousand sets of armor would be worth forty thousand; he could only ask manufacturers to make simplified armor.

What was supposed to be ordered was standard soldier’s armor, which, while not full body coverage, included a skirt armor, a half-covered helmet, upper arm guards, and lower leg guards for basic protection.

Then he drove the price down so low and demanded kickbacks from the merchants. Manufacturers could only further simplify the armor. In the end, what could be made would probably be no different from just strapping an iron plate to one’s chest.

Then, by virtue of his authority in review, or with the help of his accomplices in the den of vipers, he would issue this shoddy armament to the soldiers and deem manufacturers unwilling to give kickbacks as unqualified.

Such a small City Clerk dared to be so bold, profiting from both sides. It was truly astounding; the small temple bred a great evil wind.

“This armor will eventually be equipped to the soldiers and sent to the battlefield. I’d like to ask you, if we discover the armor is faulty, how will you explain it to the Lord of the City!?” The Knight Captain grabbed his collar in anger.

At this point, the commotion had attracted the attention of those around. Even the great nobles with the Lord of the City had noticed this side, and it was about to escalate into a major incident.

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, the Lord of the City generally doesn’t manage these matters…” The City Clerk was already terrified. When the Knight Captain pressed him, he spilled everything like a string of beans. “If you ask, I’ll say that time was too tight, and manufacturers could only achieve this level in a week!”

So that was the excuse. No wonder he set a one-week deadline; I wondered why it was so tight. He had calculated the production process to ensure that manufacturers wouldn’t have enough time to produce a complete set of armor.

Furthermore, he precisely exploited the mentality of those in power. The Lord of the City didn’t concern himself with military matters and would never inspect the equipment of the lower-level soldiers, while his own personal guards would naturally be well-equipped.

The Knight Captain was rather upright and rarely thought the worst of others. If he said it was armor rushed due to time constraints, the Knight Captain might very well believe him.

“A mere clerk like him absolutely could not have come up with this plan; it’s too meticulous, and he couldn’t have executed such a large operation alone. There must be someone else orchestrating this behind him,” I whispered, reminding the Knight Captain.

“What’s going on? Numanuer, what happened here?” The Lord of the City asked, somewhat annoyed. Such a conflict at his banquet would make him lose face.

“This scoundrel embezzled your money, blackmailed manufacturers for kickbacks, and intended to equip the front-line soldiers with shoddy armor!” The Knight Captain angrily kicked him in front of the Lord of the City.

“Tell us yourself, reveal your master, and your accomplices. Perhaps the Lord of the City can spare your life!”

I had been observing the person I suspected the most, the Jester Rodrigo, who was hidden behind the crowd. As expected, when the Knight Captain asked the City Clerk to reveal his master, a fleeting change appeared on his face.

“Lord of the City! I truly didn’t mean to. I was momentarily confused and misled…” The City Clerk had barely spoken when he suddenly paused, his eyes rolling back.

As everyone looked at him in surprise, they saw the City Clerk suddenly fall to his knees, tears streaming down his face, grabbing the Lord of the City’s thigh and crying, “It’s all my fault! I did it in a moment of confusion! No one else was involved!”