Chapter 100 – I Should Have Gone When They Offered (4)


    ude blinked his eyes in a blurry haze.


    Was it because of the tears? After rubbing his eyes a few times, the world became clear again.


    Fortunately, it seemed that he hadn’t lost his head while he was out of it.


    He cautiously turned his head and nced around.


    There was no one else in the room but him.


    ‘Ah, I really don’t want to work.’


    ude sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed.


    “Come on, shouldn’t they at least give me some kind of adjustment period? How do they expect me to handle all that work all of a sudden? It’s not like I lived here before.”


    Havingzed around for so long, suddenly being thrown into work made him feelpletely unmotivated.


    He was also worried about how he would manage all that work.


    “At first, I thought the lord was kind-hearted, providing me financial assistance so easily. But no, he’s a devil, a devil I tell you. No matter how urgent things are, how can they expect me to do all that at once? They must be out of their minds! Couldn’t they just assign me a reasonable amount?”


    ude’s timid grumbling grew louder and louder without him even realizing it.


    “They really don’t know how precious people are… just wait and see. I’ll make sure things can’t run without me, and then I’llin. Actually, no— no one else is willing to take the work anyway, so maybe I should just run away right now!”


    Just then, the door creaked open.


    ude, startled, jumped up onto the bed.


    “Wh-who’s there?”


    A calm-looking maid slightly bowed her head.


    “Hello, Chief Overseer. I’m Wendy, assigned to serve you by the head butler’s orders. I’ll also be handling your security. I look forward to working with you.”


    “Head butler? Ah, Belinda.”


    It seemed that Belinda, who had recently been appointed as the new head butler, had sent a personal maid to him.


    But security? ude smirked as he asked.


    “Serving is one thing, but security? A mere maid guarding the Chief Overseer of an estate? You must really be short on people.”


    Instead of responding to his sarcastic remark, Wendy lightly waved her hand.


    Whoosh!


    Something quickly flew past his ear, and a dull thud sounded from the wall behind him.


    ude slowly turned his head, cold sweat forming on his forehead.


    A cockroach, pinned to the wall by a dagger, twitched feebly.


    With the same calm expression, Wendy spoke again.


    “The castle is old, so there are many pests. Please take care of this issue as well, Chief Overseer.”


    “…Understood.”


    A maid, she said…


    ‘Nothing is normal in this estate.’


    ude held back his tears internally.


    “The lord has ordered that you start working as soon as you wake up. Please get moving.”


    “…Understood.”


    Ah, so she wasn’t here for security. She was here to keep an eye on me. I guess running away isn’t an option. Even the maid is making me work!


    ude sluggishly rose, like an animal being led to the ughter.


    Just as he was about to leave, Wendy suddenly added, as if she had just remembered something.


    “The head butler had one more message to convey.”


    “What is it?”


    “She said to wash up before you start working. If you bring even a single flea near the lord, she’ll kill you.”


    “…Got it.”


    It had been a few days since he’d had a proper wash aftering all the way from Austern.


    Though he had been feeling grimy, washing wasn’t a bad idea…


    But could they not choose their words kindly?


    He couldn’t tell if he was the Chief Overseer or a ve.


    “Ugh, they’re all just dying to eat me alive. Who said I wouldn’t do it? Fine, I’ll do it. Should I just break everything while I’m at it?”


    …I grumbled to myself. I had no desire to end up skewered by a dagger.


    Even while we were heading to the prepared office, Wendy remained silent.


    ude, who had been watching us carefully, cautiously asked,


    “Um… do all the servants here throw knives as well as you do, without even batting an eye?”


    “No, sir. A few of us were trained by the head butler from a young age. I originally served Miss Elena, but I was rotated to my current position.”


    “Miss Elena? Ah, the lord’s sister. Well, it’s a relief not all of you are like that.”


    If all the maids were like this, it was clear that just eating a meal would be a nerve-wracking experience, likely leading to indigestion.


    ude arrived at the office with a heavy heart, letting out a sigh as he surveyed the room.


    Piles of documents were stacked high on the desk.


    The lower officials had dumped all the backlogged tasks there.


    And that wasn’t even all of it—he still had to add the tasks Ghiin had assigned.


    ‘Well, what can I do? I’ll just have to work myself to death.’


    * * *


    ude, half out of obligation and half by choice, had been so buried in work that, within a few days, he had lost weight.


    With darkened eyes, he flipped through the documents, falling into deep thought.


    “Mm… Can this ce really be saved? The estate’spletely ruined. Sure, the man in charge might bepetent, but that alone…”


    The tasks Ghiin had assigned were all things essential for the estate’s prosperity.


    It was surprising how a noble knew such things.


    Most lords didn’t even know how their own estates operated.


    At best, they might care about their wealth or military strength.


    But Ghiin had meticulously given him a considerable amount of work to do.


    This meant he had aplete grasp of how the estate functioned.


    Most of the tasks Ghiin assigned required pouring money into them.


    Even in construction, while it would take some time, it wouldn’t be too difficult if mages assisted.


    However, the Fenris Estate was like a bottomless pit.


    As much as they spent, they would have to find a way to earn it back from somewhere, but at the moment, the Fenris Estate had no means of generating ie.


    “The only valuable thing Lord Fenris owns is the Runestone.”


    But even the Runestone wasn’t an infinite resource.


    For now, there was no immediate problem, but without a sustainable source of funds, maintaining the status quo in a few years would be impossible.


    Yet, no matter how many times ude reviewed the situation and inspected the estate, he couldn’te up with a solution.


    “Money… How do we make money?”


    ude fell deep into thought.


    Seeing the estate inevitably heading towards ruin, he couldn’t ignore it as the Chief Overseer.


    It wasn’t that he wanted to escape from the seemingly endless swamp of work.


    Suddenly, ude’s eyes gleamed, and he smiled.


    “This is a good idea. Heh heh heh.”


    If he was going to make money, he had to do it boldly and efficiently.


    And ude knew just the way to do it.


    “Since I need to report anyway… Let’s push everything through while I’m at it. He might even like it.”


    ude gathered up the ideas he had been thinking about and headed toward the conference hall.


    ‘Hah, the protagonist always shows upte, right?’


    He purposely walked slowly. Wendy, who had been quietly following him, spoke up.


    “Chief Overseer, your pace is too slow. The lord has likely already arrived.”


    “…I know, stop rushing me. Can’t I even walk at my own speed? I’m exhausted here! Let me rest a bit, at least now!”


    As he spoke, his throat tightened with emotion.


    Wendy looked at ude, who was on the verge of tears, with a somewhat pitying gaze.


    He wasn’t someone who left a particrly good impression, but she had seen how much work he had over the past few days, barely getting any sleep.


    He did seem a bit pitiful.


    “…Ah, yes. Please walk at your own pace.”


    Feeling triumphant over this small victory, ude proudly continued to walk slowly.


    By the time he finally arrived at the great hall, Ghiin and all the vassals had already gathered.


    The vassals all bowed their heads in greeting as ude appeared.


    ude raised his chin, basking in their attention.


    ‘Ah, no wonder everyone wants to grab power. Sure, the workload sucks, but this part? I like it.’


    Despite everything, he was still the Chief Overseer of the estate.


    Considering the additional titles Ghiin had bestowed upon him, at least within the Fenris Estate, ude held the highest position below the lord himself.


    On top of that, with authority over personnel appointments, everyone was cautious around him, afraid of giving him any excuse to target them. They knew they’d end up buried in work if they made a mistake.


    Still, not everyone greeted him warmly.


    Kaor met ude’s eyes and tantly scowled.


    His expression clearly conveyed that if given the chance, he wouldn’t let ude off.


    ude felt conflicted about it.


    ‘Hmm, that guy’s seriously dangerous. His patience is thinner than an ant’s leg hair.’


    Even with the lord’s tant support behind him, Kaor didn’t hesitate to draw his sword before the lord.


    ‘It’d probably be best to stay on good terms with him.’


    With that thought, ude winked at Kaor with exaggerated sincerity.


    “Did that bastard just…?”


    It was like throwing oil on a fire.


    Kaor drew his sword in a sh and charged. Wendy quickly pulled out her dagger, stepping in front of ude.


    Belinda moved to stand next to Wendy, while Gillian gripped his axe and aimed it at Kaor.


    The soldiers guarding the hall, unaware of what was happening, rushed to the lord’s side.


    The only ones panicking were the vassals.


    ‘These lunatics are drawing weapons in front of the lord again!’


    ‘Where on earth did the lord gather all these lunatics from!?’


    At that moment, Ghiin lightly stomped his foot.


    A deadly, heavy mana spread throughout the room.


    Everyone froze in ce, as if time had stopped.


    Ghiin spoke in a dry, emotionless voice.


    “Enough. What do you think you’re doing in the middle of a meeting?”


    Upon hearing his words, everyone had no choice but to put away their weapons and return to their original seats.


    Kaor, still fuming, red at ude until the veryst moment.


    Only after Kaor turned his head away did ude let out a sigh of relief.


    ‘Wow, even when I try to be friendly, it turns into a mess. I bet my hair that jerk probably doesn’t have any friends.’


    Once the chaotic atmosphere settled down, Ghiin turned to ude and asked.


    “How are things going?”


    “Well, uh… We’re slowly gathering food supplies and materials. We’ve also posted recruitment notices for workers, and we’re currently looking for sh-and-burn farmers. However…”


    “However?”


    “The tasks you ordered, my lord, will need to bepletely withdrawn, and you’ll have toe up with a new n.”


    The retainers turned pale.


    They had already spent a huge amount of money, starting various projects. Now they were being told to scrap everything?


    And it was Ghiin himself who had issued those orders.


    ude was essentially pointing out that the lord had made a mistake.


    But Ghiin, rather than showing any anger, responded with an intrigued expression.


    “Why? Is there a problem?”


    “Of course there is! Not just one problem—there are tons of them.”


    Narrowing his eyes, Ghiin gestured for ude to continue.


    ude swallowed once and opened his mouth.


    “First of all, thisnd is too barren. No matter what farming techniques we improve, the yield can’t be increased. If there’s no food, the poption won’t grow, and naturally, neither will the tax revenue.”


    Ghiin nodded calmly.


    “And?”


    “And what? You’ve ordered all sorts of facilities to be built. But where are you nning to get the maintenance funds when the taxes don’te in?”


    “Hmm.”


    “If the farming situation were merely difficult, that would be one thing, but there are no resources at all. We can’t produce handicrafts as specialty products because there are no people, and since we’re not a transportation hub, we can’t rely on trade. Really, there’s not even a single viable way to make money.”


    “Just listening to this is depressing.”


    “That’s exactly what I’m saying! It’s so hopeless that there’s nothing we can do.”


    The retainers who had lived in the Fenris estate nodded their heads without realizing it.


    The previous lords hadn’t ignored the problem either.


    They had tried everything they could from generation to generation, but all attempts had ended in failure.


    Even the recent war had been an effort by the previous lord to find some kind of breakthrough.


    But in the end, he was defeated and lost his life.


    As the others showed agreement, ude, feeling more confident, spoke with greater vigor.


    “There are some facilities we absolutely need, I acknowledge that. But the rest? They’re useless for now. And there’s no reason to build them on such arge scale. I mean, what’s the point of putting up so many facilities in an estate that’s practically penniless?”


    “Why are you crushing our young master’s spirit like this?”


    Belinda suddenly shouted.


    “I’m not criticizing! I’m just saying that’s the reality.”


    “We have plenty of Runestones! Why not use those?”


    “I already told you, the problem is the upkeep. Do Runestones multiply on their own? If we recklessly expand just because we have money now, we’ll be left with nothing but dust when the Runestones run out.”


    “That’s why we brought you in! To fix these problems!”


    ude, bbergasted, let out a dryugh.


    “What, do you think I’m a god? Can I just touch barrennd and turn it into fertile soil? Do you think mines will suddenly pop up if I dig around? No, thisnd is beyond hope unless a godes down and rebuilds it.”


    “Why aren’t you a god then?”


    “…Yeah, why am I not a god? Honestly, I wish I could just blow up this whole estate….”


    ude muttered in frustration, but then caught himself and quickly nced at Ghiin’s reaction.


    “N-no, my lord. I didn’t mean it like that….”


    Ghiin chuckled softly and nodded.


    “I didn’t expect you to perform miracles. But judging by the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’ve thought of a different solution?”


    “Yes, that’s right. The core problem is theck of steady ie. We need to stop spending money on pointless things and focus on securing a stable source of revenue. And I’vee up with an idea—a quick and easy way to make money. When you hear it, you’ll be amazed.”


    “And what is it?”


    ude, full of confidence, shouted out.


    “We’ll open a gambling hall!”


    At that moment, Belinda’s foot shot through the air and struck ude in the face.