Royal Social Sciences Research Institute.
As obvious as it may seem, the title of “Research Institute” was merely a pretext to remove Yulia from the royal palace.
Therefore, there were no plans to conduct any kind of academic exploration worthy of being called “research”.
However, being a royal institution, there had to be some sort of output. After all, it was a research institute, so research results were expected.
That was the problem.
Neither Lloyd nor the princess possessed the deep knowledge necessary for such exploration.
‘That’s why we gave it the title of Social Sciences.’
A field of study that could produce results through interactions with people.
In modern times, this would involve complex processes like various analytical techniques and statistics, but in this fantasy world, such things were unnecessary.
‘Oh? Then we can meet our goals without really doing any research, can’t we?’
With that conclusion, Lloyd and the princess established the Social Sciences Research Institute.
A place with a sign on the door, where they could hide in plain sight.
It was the perfect cover for their true purpose—plotting.
“…I didn’t expect to actually receive a request.”
As the Princess muttered to herself, Lloyd looked at her with an incredulous expression.
“Why did you think that?”
“Well, what kind of place is a Social Sciences Research Institute? From the outside, the building looks old and run-down. Why would anyone send a request here?”
…Is this something the building’s owner should be saying?
“Is this something the building’s owner should be saying?”
“Lloyd, you said that out loud.”
“My apologies.”
As Lloyd bowed his head, Yulia looked at him with a bemused expression. Lloyd quickly fled to the first floor.
‘…As a strategist, I need to work hard.’
On the first floor, a girl with reddish-brown hair was peeking through the door.
“I came to make a request…! Ah.”
Perhaps she thought no one inside had heard her.
When the girl saw Lloyd, she quickly clamped her mouth shut, her cheeks turning red. It seemed she was embarrassed by her loud voice.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah—well, I came because I wanted to make a request!”
“This way, please.”
Lloyd’s face brightened as he guided her inside.
It was no wonder; they needed to accept requests somehow.
Of course, the Social Sciences Research Institute was technically a paper company, but since it was a royal institution, they were required to meet certain annual goals, such as producing a certain level of research results and recording the requests they received.
‘Originally, I was planning to fabricate something later with a nearby guild.’
It was much easier to accept a request like this than to resort to such shady measures.
— Creak
The door to the reception desk, which had been meticulously cleaned, opened smoothly.
To think the day would come when they actually used the reception desk. Lloyd led the girl to the reception desk on the first floor.
As the girl looked around, her face, which had been questioning, “Is this place really trustworthy?” began to show a little less doubt.
“It’s more decent than I thought…”
Ignoring her muttering, Lloyd stood at the counter.
Given his height for his apparent age, he could look down at the client quite effectively.
“Please fill out this form.”
As he handed her the “request form” that had been prepared under the counter, the girl tilted her head in curiosity.
“Is there something you’re unsure about?”
At Lloyd’s question, the girl hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking.
“Isn’t there an adult here?”
“…Pardon?”
“Well, it’s not that I’m suspicious or anything…”
The girl pointed at Lloyd with her finger.
“You look about my age, so… aren’t you just an errand boy?”
“This is why I don’t like sharp kids.”
Lloyd briefly pondered how to explain his capabilities.
“You can trust me with this.”
But he didn’t need to, because the princess soon appeared.
‘But… Wait.’
Lloyd was taken aback as he looked at Yulia.
No wonder—she wasn’t dressed in her usual attire.
Her hair was neatly tied back into a ponytail.
A pair of translucent glasses that seemed to have appeared from nowhere.
A pristine suit resembling a knight’s uniform.
Yulia looked every bit the professional guild leader.
And with the added aura of her noble heritage, the game was already over.
“Oh, hello.”
The girl, who had been eyeing Lloyd with suspicion, immediately bowed her head when she saw Yulia.
“You seem to take this research institute seriously, huh?”
“Quiet.”
Yulia blushed at Lloyd’s teasing comment but turned to the first client with a bright smile.
“Despite his appearance, he’s quite capable. I’m sure you’ll get the results you’re looking for.”
“Y-Yes, Sister!”
The girl looked up at Yulia with the same awe one would reserve for an idol.
Well, Yulia was indeed quite noble and beautiful.
Let’s gather clients using that as a sales point.
Lloyd thought, but quickly pushed the idea aside.
“So, what is your request?”
He had many other questions he could have asked.
How did you find out about the Social Sciences Research Institute?
Do you have the money to pay for this request? And so on.
But the most pressing question was about the nature of the request itself.
Surely, she must have seen the sign and come in, but what kind of request could it be?
‘She looks like she’s from a farming village.’
The cloth tied around her head, likely to keep her hair out of the way, was the kind used to shield against the sun while working in the fields.
That meant she was from a farming village.
‘Is there some kind of political strife in the village?’
Or perhaps it was a love affair or a scandal.
There had to be some reason she sought out the Social Sciences Research Institute.
That’s why Lloyd was caught off guard when the girl pulled out a small box with a rustling sound.
She unwrapped the cloth and placed something on the table.
“I came because of this.”
It was about the size of a fist, half brown, half black.
Its identity…
“The potato is sick.”
Lloyd shot up from his seat.
Why is she bringing a sick potato here?
“Maybe you should take it to a hospital instead.”
“That’s not it!”
The girl grabbed Lloyd, who was about to stand up and leave.
“No one else will take this request! I’ve been to guilds and big farms, but no one knows what’s wrong! They won’t take it because they can’t figure out the cause! They said it’s not worth the money…!”
“Well, of course. It’s a sick potato.”
“Please, you’re my last hope. It might just be a potato, but it’s the main source of income for our village. If we lose this crop, we’ll all starve… The village will be ruined.”
The girl’s voice began to tremble, tears welling up in her eyes.
‘… The village will be ruined?’
Lloyd turned back to look at the potato.
Half of it was blackened.
“Will it kill you if you eat it?”
The girl shook her head.
Lloyd carefully touched the blackened part of the potato with his fingertip.
‘It’s not burnt.’
He then brought it to his mouth.
“Lloyd! What are you eating!”
Yulia’s shout was brief.
Lloyd, who had tasted just a tiny bit with the tip of his tongue, raised his hands to indicate he was fine.
He focused on the sensation on his tongue.
“Tsk.”
He quickly spat it out.
It was so bitter it made his tongue tingle.
Even the rest of the potato he tasted had the same bitterness.
“My family has been farming potatoes for generations… If this continues, we’ll all starve. We can’t eat these potatoes.”
The girl was now sobbing openly. Yulia, who had been comforting her, looked at Lloyd and silently asked with her eyes.
‘What are you going to do?’
Lloyd crossed his arms, deep in thought.
Potatoes were certainly not his area of expertise, and it wasn’t exactly the kind of issue the “Social Sciences Research Institute” was designed to handle.
But there was a whiff of conspiracy in the air.
The entire village was dependent on these potatoes.
There might be some foul play targeting the village.
“Has anything unusual happened in the village recently?”
The girl, still sniffling, responded hesitantly,
“N-No, nothing like that… But, um, there’s been a guild coming and going from the village more often lately.”
“A guild?”
“Yes.”
Blackened potatoes.
A village on the brink of ruin.
And a guild frequently visiting such a village.
It was starting to make sense.
“Make sure you’ve got a good payment ready.”
Lloyd said with a sly smile, watching as the girl abruptly stopped crying.
◆
— Clatter!
Unlike the royal carriage, the farmers’ wagon offered a rough ride.
“Potato farming, can you believe it? Me, the future Empress…”
Rumble, Rumble.
The complaints from beside him only added to the discomfort of the ride. Lloyd chose to ignore them, but he couldn’t help but worry about the person next to him.
“Yulia, you should avoid saying anything like, ‘If there are no potatoes, let them eat cake.’”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“A sincere piece of advice from your advisor.”
“Hmph.”
Despite her pouting, Yulia quietly mumbled to herself as the carriage rattled along.
After several hours of travel, as buildings gave way to more fields, the wagon finally came to a stop.
“We have arrived.”
They disembarked from the wagon.
The girl, Zenya, who had jumped down first, spun around and began introducing the village with a bright smile.
“Welcome! This is ‘Namir,’ also known as the Fields of Easton!”
Gone was the tearful girl who had come to the institute; Zenya was now cheerful and chatty as she showed them around the village.
“You can tell she really loves her village.”
“It certainly seems that way.”
Lloyd also found the village quite charming.
It wasn’t perfectly organized, given that most of it was farmland, but the vast, sprawling plains stretching into the distance were undeniably beautiful.
“And… the problem field is over here.”
Following Zenya’s lead, they rounded a corner.
“Oh.”
Yulia’s gasp was the first reaction.
Before them lay a vast field of potatoes, stretching out to the distant horizon, all of them blackened.
And before they could react,
“Zenya! Have you brought more outsiders into our village?”
A booming voice was heard from behind.
