Stacks upon stacks of documents, civil officials waiting in line, and the occasional court lady poking her head in from who-knows-where.
Jinshi was going about his usual work. The fact that he could genuinely think of "the usual" as a happy state of affairs was perhaps proof that his standards for happiness had been thoroughly twisted.
His already busy workload had doubled ever since the shrine maiden from the West arrived. Then came the banquet held in her honor, which was interrupted by a poisoning scare. In the end, the whole incident turned out to be a self-staged affair by the shrine maiden's side, but she was now officially dead.
They really do push him too far, Jinshi thought.
The priestess was alive, and was currently staying with the former Senior Consort— Ada— —at her residence. That place had become something of a haven for all sorts of people, and he felt terrible about it.
However, the aftermath of the priestess's supposed death had to be handled by a select few, Jinshi among them.
Sha'ou— —would use the priestess as a pretext for invasion. Some officials stoked fears to that effect, but that was never going to happen. Sha'ou was a nation whose primary industry was trade. To launch a war, they would need a very substantial backer.
So, the demands they put forward were exactly as expected.
It was a reduction in tariffs. Specifically, they were requesting lower tariffs on foodstuffs.
They would never be brazen enough to say "we don't have enough food"—and Jinshi knew that. The former shrine maiden of Sha'ou knew a great deal about the kingdom's king and officials. Based on their personalities and political judgment, this response fell squarely within expectations.
It was so predictable it was almost anticlimactic, but that didn't make the diplomatic issue any simpler.
In fact, just a few days ago, he had been buried in work that made even the current mountain of documents seem quaint by comparison.
"Jinshi, over here, please."
Basen brought over yet another mountain of new documents. Even so, this was already reduced by more than half after sorting.
"Can't you reduce it by about another half?"
"Even if you ask me that..."
Nearly all the seals on these documents belonged to high-ranking officials. The clerks doing the sorting couldn't simply dismiss a document bearing a superior's seal. And so, even trivial matters ended up on Jinshi's desk.
Jinshi stamped his seal with a sigh.
In the midst of all this, one of the sorting clerks stood up, glancing repeatedly toward Jinshi. It was the same clerk who had been present when Jinshi's tea was poisoned. He had been brought in temporarily as a stopgap until Basen fully recovered, but his work had been so excellent that Jinshi had simply kept him on. The man himself seemed eager to return to his original post as soon as possible, but with the chronic labor shortage, Jinshi had no intention of letting him go.
"Something the matter?"
Basen asked on Jinshi's behalf. The clerk flinched, shoulders trembling.
"I-It's nothing, really..."
He said it was nothing, but he was clearly fidgeting. Come to think of it, he'd been acting odd for the past few days.
Jinshi narrowed his eyes. *Could it be...* "Is it really nothing? Tell me honestly."
It was Basen who stepped up to corner the clerk. Lately, dangerous incidents had been happening around Jinshi. As both a guard and someone who didn't want to be caught off guard, Basen was particularly on edge.
"H-Hiyah!"
The clerk's face contorted, and with trembling hands he reached into his robe. Basen moved in an instant and pinned him down.
Suspecting the man was hiding a weapon, Basen showed no mercy.
"Who put you up to this?"
Basen gripped the clerk's wrist. What emerged from his robe was a piece of paper.
"Basen, let him go."
Jinshi glanced at the paper and let out a sigh.
"So this is what's got you so worked up."
"Huh?"
Basen tilted his head. *What's that supposed to mean?* "Ow, ow, ow. P-Please let me go."
Basen released the clerk and looked at the paper in Jinshi's hand.
"This is just..."
"I don't know when he had it made, but this is quite thorough."
The paper was an announcement about a book being released for sale. It was dated today, with the location listed as a bookstore in the capital.
"...I-I really wanted it. Once a book sells out, there's no telling if you'll ever be able to buy it."
The clerk was half in tears, rubbing his right arm. Basen's face was full of guilt.
Books were luxury items. Unless there was tremendous demand, a reprint was unlikely. Once they sold out, all you could do was wait for a copy to surface in a secondhand shop.
"However, if he went through the trouble of printing and distributing advertisements, doesn't that mean a fairly large run was prepared?"
Printing meant a considerable number of copies. To recoup the cost, they would surely have to produce even more books.
"...I-I don't know. I think it's popular, though."
"Is the author really that popular?"
Jinshi examined every corner of the slip of paper. He had to admit, he was impressed by the concept of printing on paper and distributing it to the general public. Just who had come up with this...
"?!"
He had seen a name he was not supposed to see.
"Um... Grand Commandant Han?"
Jinshi looked at the title as well and nodded.
"I have to ask—where did you get this paper?"
"Ah, well—"
"the Ministry of Revenue—"
"I have a friend there who's acquainted with the Grand Commandant's son. He gave me some copies they were distributing among their group."
The Ministry of Revenue was the department in charge of financial affairs.
It was Rahan. If Rahan was involved, then the book was not merely some whim of the tactician's—it would have been professionally edited.
"So... a book about Go."
Come to think of it, he had caught wind of a rumor that the tactician was working himself into a frenzy over a Go book.
He just hadn't expected it to have become this large-scale.
From Jinshi's perspective, having books spread far and wide was a welcome development. He himself had his fingers in the paper and printing businesses to some degree.
Still, he was surprised that even such a serious-looking civil official would be clamoring for the tactician's book.
"I never knew the tactician had any literary talent."
"Literary talent has nothing to do with it. I hear that gentleman's words are nearly impossible to decipher. But apparently, this book contains the game records of every match Grand Commandant Han has ever played! One simply cannot ignore that!"
Just moments ago the official had been pouting, but now he was speaking with fervent enthusiasm. He had casually disparaged the tactician without even realizing it. Some people did get intensely passionate about the things they loved, and for this man, that thing was clearly Go.
"I've only dabbled in Go myself, but is Grand Commandant Han really that strong?"
Basen wore an expression of genuine bewilderment.
"Strong doesn't even begin to cover it. The only person in this country who can beat the Grand Commandant is His Majesty's personal Go instructor."
"Now that is impressive."
Jinshi, too, had been taught by the instructor on several occasions. How many handicap stones had he been given the last time he'd sat down for a lesson?
"The Grand Commandant's moves are truly impossible to read. There's no predicting how he'll play. If I could get my hands on a record of his games, it would be the holy grail for any Go enthusiast."
The civil official clenched his fist tightly, eyes gleaming with excitement. The guilt Mashan felt for having pinned him down eased slightly, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
"But I suppose even the Grand Commandant is only human after all. To think there's someone he can't beat at Go."
Once again, Mashan's way of speaking to the strategist was terrible. But it was also the truth, so Jinshi couldn't really argue.
"What are you talking about? In Go, the instructor has a six-to-four advantage—that's what it means."
"..."
"And in shogi, there's no one who can beat the instructor."
"..."
Treating him as human really was a bad idea.
"Fine. Mashan, do you have your wallet on you?"
"Huh? Yes."
Mashan pulled a wallet from inside his robes. Jinshi took it and handed it to the civil official. The man panicked, darting his gaze back and forth between Jinshi and Mashan.
"Mashan caused you trouble. It's not much, but please accept this."
"N-no. I couldn't possibly... And besides, Master Mashan's—"
As it happened, it wasn't Mashan's wallet. Jinshi simply kept his own funds in it for when expenses came up. He wasn't sure of the exact amount, but it should be plenty as compensation.
"Also, your right hand must still be sore. Why don't you call it a day and head to that bookstore? This should be enough to cover the books."
"N-no. It's far too much. I can't accept this much."
The man was far too honest. He should have just taken it without protest.
Then let me rephrase.
"What are you talking about? It's not for just one book—my share is in there too. If you can manage it, grab Mashan's while you're at it. Now come on, hurry. They'll sell out. Or should I add a delivery fee on top of that?"
"N-no. Understood. I'll be going right away!"
The civil official hurried out of the office.
Once the sound of running footsteps faded, Jinshi let out a sigh.
"Mashan. Don't you think it's a bad idea to just pin people down without warning?"
"B-but even if you say so..."
Bashin looked apologetic.
"Well, fine. At least you didn't break his arm, which means you were holding back."
Given Bashin's natural brute strength, it wouldn't have been strange if the civil official's bones had been shattered to pieces. He would concede that Bashin had shown at least some growth.
"Lord Jinshi. I have no interest in Go, though."
This was about when Jinshi had told him to buy a set for Bashin too.
"There's no harm in learning. Even sheltered young ladies dabble in Go. Even if you can't hold a conversation with your future wife, at least playing a game together would be something."
He tried saying it in a joking manner, but Bashin's face had turned bright red.
Hm. Jinshi tilted his head in puzzlement and returned to his desk.
And immediately regretted it.
There was still a mountain of documents left.
He couldn't very well call the assisting official back now.