Minas Tirith, the Lord's Residence.
Veylin stared at the ledger in his study, the tip of his quill hovering above the page without coming down.
The flames in the fireplace danced, casting the shadows of strings of numbers onto the wall like monsters with their bloody maws wide open.
Tristan stood beside Veylin. Seeing his lord fall into a rare silence, he asked softly, "My lord, is there a problem with the accounts?"
"A serious one." Veylin set down his quill and touched the bridge of his nose. "If my calculations are correct, at our current rate of expenditure, the Gray Marsh Fief will face a substantial deficit in three months."
Tristan's expression did not change, but his fingers tightened slightly around his folder.
Of course he knew where the problem lay-the three Leviathans. These Level Five Magical Beasts were like three bottomless pits, devouring the fief's wealth every day.
"This is the consumption report for the three Leviathans last week." Tristan placed a sheet of paper on the mahogany desk.
Veylin opened the report and carefully read each line of figures.
[Mixed feed, ten tons.] [Breakdown: primarily a mixture of minced fish bones and flesh with grain bran. Total: 20,000 pounds. Through the Golden Sail Merchant Guild's purchasing channels, the overall cost was reduced to 0.48 Copper Leaf per pound, totaling 9,600 Copper Leaf. Equivalent: 40 Gold Sun.] [Fortified bone meal and mineral mixture, 1.5 tons.] [Breakdown: total of 3,000 pounds. Overall cost remained at 1.5 Copper Leaf per pound, totaling 4,500 Copper Leaf. Equivalent: approximately 19 Gold Sun.] [Crude Alchemical Potion, 80 gallons, used to provide essential energy and suppress wild instincts.] [Breakdown: approximately 0.2 Gold Sun per gallon, equivalent to approximately 16 Gold Sun.]
"Seventy-five Gold Sun in total..." Tristan's voice was heavy. "That is