"Here you are, young master Luca," Louis set out the journals that covered our current business before me. "Just so you know, there are additional runes on these, so they won't be able to leave this room."
I nodded and took a seat at the table. I was well aware of the security precautions in place.
I was below the Frey Manor in one of the rune-locked rooms. Despite being underground, it was a rather cozy space, with wooden shelves lined with notebooks and ledgers. White light stones covered the ceiling, providing ample lighting to the office.
Father cared deeply about the Frey Merchant Guild and took any threats to the business seriously. Even now, he was away from the capital and could not attend my grandmother's funeral because of a rather significant development.
I frowned.
And yet my favorite information broker obtained information on our dealings. It was both impressive and concerning.
"These highlight the most recent transactions having taken place," Louis explained and pointed to the notebooks to my right. "The further left you go, the older the ledgers are."
"Thank you, Louis. You may leave," I told him.
Louis hesitated as if about to say something but changed his mind.
"Very well. Call me if you need any assistance," he said.
He bowed and closed the door behind him.
"Peep!"
What are you going to be looking for?
She jumped down from my hair and inspected the leather-bound journals.
"What lines of business the Frey Merchant Guild is currently involved with. Depending on our connections, some items will be easier and more lucrative to sell off than others," I explained and pulled open the rightmost ledger. "I don't know what my family was involved in at this time, so I'm getting familiar."
This was something I could have asked Louis or one of the other employees, but I figured that as the official heir to the Frey Merchant Guild, it was best that I took a look with my own eyes.
Or rather, the System's.
I flipped through the pages of the journals, giving my eyes just enough time to review the contents before moving on to the next page.
"Peep!"
Luca, can you read that fast?
Leona's golden eyes stared wide-eyed at me.
I chuckled.
"Hardly," I said, explaining what I was having the System do for me.
"Peep!"
How peculiar. But it sounds like it saves a great deal of time.
I nodded my head and reached for the next ledger.
"It does."
Had I attempted to read the contents myself, it would have taken me hours to pour over the words and make sense of everything. It was infuriatingly frustrating. So I never even bothered in my original life. Because even if I managed to decipher a sentence, it often lost its meaning before I could fully grasp its significance, bringing it back to square one. Reading was like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. No matter how hard I strained, I could never see the whole picture.
However, with the System's help, I felt like the dancing words were strung into obedience. I could finally see and understand.
"System, did you get all of that?" I asked, having finished running through the first ledger.
[ Of course. Would you like me to recite the contents for you? ]
"No, not yet. Let me get through all of the ledgers first."
I closed shut the first ledger, placed it on a table behind me, and moved on to the next one.
"Peep!"
I suppose this will take a while.
Leona's beak stretched open, and she produced a large plate of pastries.
Care for a snack yourself? I'm not greedy.
She motioned with her yellow wing at a poppyseed-covered pie slice.
"No, I'm quite alright," I replied, focused on getting through the ledgers.
More for me.
***
A large yawn escaped my mouth as I reached for the final ledger. A little over two hours had passed based on the last time Louis had come by, offering help.
I stretched my tired hands above my head, trying to relieve the tension that had settled within my muscles. Sitting for so long was surprisingly tiring. It hardly helped that I had somehow sat through Professor Whistle's lecture before coming down here.
The silence of the cellar was broken only by the faint breathing sounds of the sleeping Leona, who had rested herself atop the completed journals on the table behind me. Looking at her, I felt a tinge of envy, also wanting to rest up.
Oh well. Just one left.
With a deep breath, I straightened my back, and my hand grasped the oldest of the ledgers, a blue leather-bound journal. My fingers expertly swiped through the pages, having had plenty of practice with the slew of ledgers currently sitting behind me.
My fingers finished moving, and I smiled.
I didn't get a wink of information yet myself, but the System had diligently been observing the pages. It would be able to provide answers better than any attendant or employee of the Frey Merchant Guild on the contents of these ledgers. I could have had it go through just the first ledger. Still, by having it read all of them, now, rather than having to go through one of the ledgers ever again, if I ever had a question about my family's business, I just had to ask the System.
"Here you are, young master Luca," Louis set out the journals that covered our current business before me. "Just so you know, there are additional runes on these, so they won't be able to leave this room."
I nodded and took a seat at the table. I was well aware of the security precautions in place.
I was below the Frey Manor in one of the rune-locked rooms. Despite being underground, it was a rather cozy space, with wooden shelves lined with notebooks and ledgers. White light stones covered the ceiling, providing ample lighting to the office.
Father cared deeply about the Frey Merchant Guild and took any threats to the business seriously. Even now, he was away from the capital and could not attend my grandmother's funeral because of a rather significant development.
I frowned.
And yet my favorite information broker obtained information on our dealings. It was both impressive and concerning.
"These highlight the most recent transactions having taken place," Louis explained and pointed to the notebooks to my right. "The further left you go, the older the ledgers are."
"Thank you, Louis. You may leave," I told him.
Louis hesitated as if about to say something but changed his mind.
"Very well. Call me if you need any assistance," he said.
He bowed and closed the door behind him.
"Peep!"
What are you going to be looking for?
She jumped down from my hair and inspected the leather-bound journals.
"What lines of business the Frey Merchant Guild is currently involved with. Depending on our connections, some items will be easier and more lucrative to sell off than others," I explained and pulled open the rightmost ledger. "I don't know what my family was involved in at this time, so I'm getting familiar."
This was something I could have asked Louis or one of the other employees, but I figured that as the official heir to the Frey Merchant Guild, it was best that I took a look with my own eyes.
Or rather, the System's.
I flipped through the pages of the journals, giving my eyes just enough time to review the contents before moving on to the next page.
"Peep!"
Luca, can you read that fast?
Leona's golden eyes stared wide-eyed at me.
I chuckled.
"Hardly," I said, explaining what I was having the System do for me.
"Peep!"
How peculiar. But it sounds like it saves a great deal of time.
I nodded my head and reached for the next ledger.
"It does."
Had I attempted to read the contents myself, it would have taken me hours to pour over the words and make sense of everything. It was infuriatingly frustrating. So I never even bothered in my original life. Because even if I managed to decipher a sentence, it often lost its meaning before I could fully grasp its significance, bringing it back to square one. Reading was like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. No matter how hard I strained, I could never see the whole picture.
However, with the System's help, I felt like the dancing words were strung into obedience. I could finally see and understand.
"System, did you get all of that?" I asked, having finished running through the first ledger.
[ Of course. Would you like me to recite the contents for you? ]
"No, not yet. Let me get through all of the ledgers first."
I closed shut the first ledger, placed it on a table behind me, and moved on to the next one.
"Peep!"
I suppose this will take a while.
Leona's beak stretched open, and she produced a large plate of pastries.
Care for a snack yourself? I'm not greedy.
She motioned with her yellow wing at a poppyseed-covered pie slice.
"No, I'm quite alright," I replied, focused on getting through the ledgers.
More for me.
***
A large yawn escaped my mouth as I reached for the final ledger. A little over two hours had passed based on the last time Louis had come by, offering help.
I stretched my tired hands above my head, trying to relieve the tension that had settled within my muscles. Sitting for so long was surprisingly tiring. It hardly helped that I had somehow sat through Professor Whistle's lecture before coming down here.
The silence of the cellar was broken only by the faint breathing sounds of the sleeping Leona, who had rested herself atop the completed journals on the table behind me. Looking at her, I felt a tinge of envy, also wanting to rest up.
Oh well. Just one left.
With a deep breath, I straightened my back, and my hand grasped the oldest of the ledgers, a blue leather-bound journal. My fingers expertly swiped through the pages, having had plenty of practice with the slew of ledgers currently sitting behind me.
My fingers finished moving, and I smiled.
I didn't get a wink of information yet myself, but the System had diligently been observing the pages. It would be able to provide answers better than any attendant or employee of the Frey Merchant Guild on the contents of these ledgers. I could have had it go through just the first ledger. Still, by having it read all of them, now, rather than having to go through one of the ledgers ever again, if I ever had a question about my family's business, I just had to ask the System.
