Chapter 332
Chapter 332: I’ve Been Dying to Try This (1)
Thinking back to how Ghislaine presented himself when he came to find me, even during those days when he acted like a pathetic rogue known as the “Northern Brute,” he must have been hiding his abilities to some extent.
However, knowing about the Forest of Monsters has nothing to do with swordsmanship skills.
“You didn’t come up with this on your own. This isn’t something that works here.”
Even the Count Perdium, who is now a Marquis, knew nothing about the Forest of Monsters. If he had known something, he would have explored the forest much earlier.
That means Ghislaine must have gathered information from somewhere else.
One thing is certain: he has reliable information regarding at least the entrance of the Forest of Monsters.
The difference between having information and not having it is huge. If he knows what kind of monsters might appear, he could very well venture into the Forest of Monsters.
Amelia reflected on Ghislaine’s actions. Everything he had done so far, aside from exploring the Forest of Monsters, could not have been conceived on his own.
Development of technology could be aided by dwarves. Predicting the drought could be attributed to luck. But most of the other things would be nearly impossible to achieve without information.
“Does he have a backing? Or did he find some ancient texts?”
Perhaps he discovered records of attempts by the Perdium family to explore the Forest of Monsters over the years.
After all the Northern Lords had given up exploring, Ghislaine might have found and decided to give it a go. For now, that seemed to be the most plausible hypothesis.
If not, it’s possible that some wizard or sage is beside him, giving him advice.
“What’s clear is that he has enough intelligence to know things others don’t.”
Predicting and moving with his rebellion would have been difficult without information.
Whether the source of his information is a hidden power or an intelligence organization, it’s evident that Ghislaine has something.
If I could just find out how he obtains his information, it would be of great help to me. Conversely, I could utilize that information or even take away his intelligence network.
“I need to be careful. He might be monitoring my every move even now.”
Amelia never even imagined that Ghislaine was a regressor. But realizing his extraordinary intelligence was already significant.
What she had dismissed as mere luck and coincidence until now suddenly made perfect sense underpinned by intelligence.
Of course, whether possessing that information allows him to achieve such feats is still questionable.
“Truly, he’s quite the enigma.”
Amelia smirked with a hint of annoyance. She needed to keep in mind that Ghislaine might be watching her.
“Right, then I should move unpredictably.”
If my opponent behaves irrationally, I too should act outside the box.
Though not right now. Right now, there’s no benefit to fighting Ghislaine.
She had no interest in being the strongest in the North. What she desired was to exist far above that.
So, for now, she would need to be cautious around Ghislaine without pouring energy into trying to confront him.
“Is it time for them to arrive soon?”
It wasn’t only Ghislaine who was watching her. The duke, having lost Harold, was not only observing but outright trying to control her.
Therefore, she had to act unpredictably on that front as well.
“I must deal with the deputy who arrives first.”
A chilling aura spread across Amelia’s face.
*
“Woww! Lord, you’re the best!”
As soon as Claude spotted Ghislaine, he squealed in delight.
He had already received word of the successful exploration from a messenger that arrived before. When he heard the kind and quantity of resources obtained this time, he nearly fainted.
“I’m alive! I’m truly alive!”
The runestones were all gone, and cash was starting to dwindle. Though the money earned from selling cosmetics, food, the delivery business, and roadworks was tremendous, it still wasn’t enough.
With the shortage of funds, the growth rate of the territory had slowed recently. There were many businesses opened, leading to a monstrous outflow of money, but the income had yet to catch up.
But now that they had obtained this many resources, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Ghislaine chuckled as he watched Claude bounce with joy.
“Are you happy?”
“Oh, absolutely! How could I not be? My head was spinning with how rapidly our money was running low!”
Ghislaine replied blandly to the excited Claude.
“That’s good. We need to reward those who participated in the exploration first.”
“Well, I can estimate fairly reasonably…”
“No, I’m already instructing it.”
“…How so?”
Claude showed a look of anxiety. He knew Ghislaine can be extraordinarily extravagant when spending.
Indeed, Ghislaine beamed and said,
“The exploration team gets three years’ worth of salary at once. The laborers will receive triple the allowance.”
“……”
“Hurry up with it.”
“…Uh, we don’t have that much money on hand right now.”
“Didn’t you just bring a lot? There will be more to come. We’ll have plenty of money to give out, right?”
“That’s in goods… To hand out the rewards, we need to convert them to cash…”
“Oh, I don’t care. Just handle it quickly.”
“……”
Ghislaine tossed out his demands and vanished into the castle.
Claude stood there staring in disbelief before tearing his hair out.
“Urrrgh! Why can’t I ever be happy!”
He had thought he found some money-making opportunities, and now it seemed he’d be bleeding money again.
What was even worse was that the exploration rewards had to be processed immediately.
He had to commend those who had worked hard himself. If the promise wasn’t kept, not only would the people lose trust in their lord, but they would also harbor resentment against the activities in the territory.
With no other choice, Claude called upon the managers and pressed them.
“Get in touch with the merchant groups and the Mage Tower!”
Penris is the strongest in the North and the center of food production. It was a direct order from the chief officer there.
The merchant groups around Penris dropped everything they were doing and rushed over.
Once the merchant leaders gathered, Claude crossed his legs and said with an arrogant expression.
“I won’t be receiving ‘fees’ this time.”
The Lord of Bribes not taking bribes left the merchant leaders puzzled.
“Instead, make sure to purchase as much as you can.”
Seeing what Claude had put on the table, the merchant leaders gaped.
In addition to the usual supplies of food and iron ore, various medicinal herbs were also laid out.
Even while cash was tight, he withheld the runestones and the fairies’ blessings.
The runestones needed to be traded with the Mage Tower and were the highest strategic supplies for the territory, so they couldn’t be offered.
In order to quickly enhance the skills of the mages and knights, he needed a lot of runestones.
As for the fairies’ blessings, Ghislaine had already mentioned he had ample use for them, so Claude didn’t touch those.
Unaware that the most important resources were missing, the merchants eagerly bought up everything Claude offered.
“They usually control inventory when we ask for more food and iron ore, but this time, they are offering it all up?”
“I heard rumors that they just returned from exploring the Forest of Monsters. It seems they need rewards for the soldiers.”
“Well, at least it’s fortunate that they aren’t taking bribes this time. They must be in a cash crunch.”
“Indeed. Look at this mandragora; its roots are remarkably thick. Where on earth did they find it? It looks at least double the size compared to the usual ones!”
It was truly rare for Claude not to take bribes. The merchants left after having a satisfying transaction for the first time in a while.
The news that they secured a large number of runestones from Penris reached the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
The Mage Tower, having to cut back on its runestone purchases due to having spent all its funds on food, was absolutely thrilled to hear the news that they could now buy even more runestones with the improving food situation.
The elders eagerly exclaimed to Hubert.
“Tower Master! It seems we’ve obtained a lot this time as well!”
“It’s been a while since we’ve made exchanges; perhaps we should pay a visit?”
“We should show our faces more often to build camaraderie!”
Though the elders prodded, Hubert turned away with a gloomy expression.
“No… I don’t want to go…”
“Why not?!”
“That guy became a Count… And now he’s the strongest in the North… If I meet him, I have to show my respect…”
“Is that really the only reason?”
“That’s not just a trivial excuse! How can you say it’s just that!”
Hubert was fuming, pointing accusatory fingers at the elders.
He had been humiliated by Ghislaine more than a few times.
Still, thanks to his position as Tower Master, he had managed to keep his pride intact.
Yet now that status was rendered meaningless. Ghislaine now stood higher than him, undoubtedly, and not a bit lower.
“I won’t go! I won’t go! I’m never meeting him again! I have some pride, you know!”
Hubert is widely recognized as a narrow-minded and childish individual, regardless of his abilities. The elders, knowing his personality well, could only shake their heads in despair.
The one who saved the almost-failed Mage Tower was Count Penris. Yet here he was, being so stubborn.
Regardless, they still ought to visit and offer congratulations and gifts.
This would ensure future access to runestones and a good relationship.
Thus, the elders of the Tower of the Bloody Flame packed various magical tools as gifts and went to the Territory of Penris.
Thanks to Claude’s remarkable skills, Penris managed to secure an extraordinary amount of cash overnight.
It could be said that all of this was due to the connections with the merchant groups that Claude had built over time.
“Quickly, bring it over!”
He nervously distributed the exploration rewards among the soldiers and workers. Those who wanted could take some food mixed in with it.
Once the reward distribution was over, the territory fell into a festive mood.
“Wow! I’ve never touched such a large sum of money in my entire life!”
“I knew following the Lord was the right choice!”
“Our territory is the best! Our Lord is the best!”
The soldiers and workers from the exploration team were busy showering Ghislaine with praise and cheers every day.
Just a few years ago, this was something they could never have even dreamed of.
Some folks struggled just to survive each day, and some who worked diligently received no rewards.
The people of the North lived without hope back then.
But everything changed once Ghislaine became Lord. For them, it was as if the world had turned upside down.
And this change in circumstances brought about astonishing effects.
“I will protect this territory even if I die.”
“Our hope lies only here.”
“All we have to do is follow the Lord to the end.”
As everyone received fair rewards, their wealth began to grow. Naturally, the quality of life gradually improved.
With that, the mindset of the people also changed from what it once was. Those who have something to protect, be it wealth or family, become stronger.
Especially loyalty towards Ghislaine soared to unprecedented heights.
Those who received large sums of money began to spend freely in the territory. The local merchant groups also arrived with various luxury goods and alcohol.
Thanks to the revitalized economy, the territory became more vibrant than ever.
“Our Lord is truly amazing! He single-handedly charged through a million enemies! Wow!”
“Really? Did a million monsters really come out?”
“Ah! I’m saying! I’m just trying to say that I took them all on!”
It’s customary for rumors to exaggerate. At some point, Ghislaine had transformed into a superhuman who triumphed over a million troops.
The soldiers had no idea how many of Gregx’s troops had shown up. They just knew there were simply a staggering number.
So, they exaggerated liberally, and thus an absurd number spread.
As the rumors grew, the territory buzzed with excitement, but Claude’s face gradually turned pale.
“Money… I have no money…”
In the rush to hand out rewards, the cash was quickly depleted again.
Of course, they still had an abundance of resources. Those resources would continue to accumulate. It wouldn’t be difficult to secure a large amount of cash again over time.
The issue was that the surrounding merchants were also out of cash due to this transaction. Claude was troubled by the immediate lack of cash.
“Ugh! This is so annoying! Tell everyone to save money this month! We’re out of cash!”
Seeing Claude snapping day after day made Belinda, Gillian, Vanessa, and Galbarik squirm.
“Is there anywhere more frustrating than a territory with plenty of money-making opportunities yet no cash?”
While everyone else was having fun, Claude himself felt wretched as he muttered over some papers.
“Hmm… But it’ll somehow work out. In a couple of months, cash will be secured.”
Resources are overflowing, so it’s ultimately just a matter of time. Claude thought he just needed to tighten his belt for a bit and hold on.
“Well, the businesses are starting to stabilize… Surely the Lord won’t come up with more tasks now, right?”
He was busy merging the Desmond Territory and steadily increasing military strength. Various production numbers were also steadily rising.
Improving the level of people’s lives or culture was a long-term endeavor. If they maintained this course, everything would be fine.
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem like the Lord would want to impose additional work.
“Alright, the Lord should just watch over what’s happening in the territory peacefully…”
Before Claude could finish his sentence, Ghislaine burst into the office.
“I’m starting the next task.”
“…What is it?”
“I’m establishing the Penris Mercenary Group.”
Claude pressed his forehead and let out a sigh.
