When Ghislain had co looking for her, thinking back on the image he had shown, it was clear that even during the ti he acted like a worthless fool and was called the Northern Scoundrel, he had been hiding so of his skills.
However, knowing about the Forest of Demonic Beasts had nothing to do with swordsmanship.
"It's not sothing he figured out on his own. That's not the kind of place where that works."
Even Count Perdium at the ti, who is now a marquis, knew nothing about the Forest of Demonic Beasts. If he had known anything, he would have started developing the forest much earlier.
That ans Ghislain must have obtained the information from sowhere else.
One thing was certain: at least in the entrance area of the Forest of Demonic Beasts, Ghislain had accurate information.
The difference between having information and not having it was huge. If she knew what kind of monsters would appear, she could have developed the Forest of Demonic Beasts herself.
Alia thought back to Ghislain's actions. Beyond developing the Forest of Demonic Beasts, the things he had accomplished so far were not things he could have thought of alone.
The developnt of techniques could have been assisted by dwarves. Predicting the drought could be dismissed as luck.
However, most of the other things he achieved were difficult to succeed in without information.
"Does he have soone backing him? Or did he discover so ancient records?"
Perhaps he found records in the Perdium family about attempts by his ancestors to develop the Forest of Demonic Beasts.
Ghislain might have discovered and attempted sothing that all the northern lords had given up on and forgotten.
For now, that was the most plausible hypothesis.
Otherwise, it could an that soone like a mage or a sage was beside him, offering advice.
"What's certain is that he has excellent access to information that others don't."
Predicting her rebellion and acting on it would have been difficult without information.
Whether the source was a hidden faction or an information organization, it was clear that Ghislain had sothing.
If only she could figure out how he obtained his information, it would be a great help to her. She could exploit it or even take away his informational power.
"I'll need to be careful. He might already be monitoring my every move."
Alia could not have imagined that Ghislain was a regressor. However, realizing that he possessed extraordinary access to information was significant.
When she replaced the incredible luck and coincidences she had dismissed with informational power, everything started to make sense.
Of course, even if he had the information, achieving those feats still seed questionable.
"What a truly intriguing man."
Alia smirked with a mix of irritation and amusent. From now on, she had to move while keeping in mind that Ghislain might be watching her every move.
"Fine, then I'll have to act unpredictably."
If the opponent was unconventional, she needed to act unconventionally as well.
Not yet, though. Fighting Ghislain now would bring her no benefit.
She had no interest in being the strongest in the north. What she wanted existed far above that.
For now, she needed to be wary of Ghislain but saw no need to pour effort into opposing him.
"It should be about ti."
Ghislain wasn't the only one watching her. The duchy that had lost Harold was trying not only to monitor her but also to control her.
She had to move unpredictably in that regard as well.
"First, I'll deal with the proxy they sent."
A cold, murderous intent spread across Alia's face.
***
"Wow! My Lord, you're the best!"
Claude scread in delight the mont he saw Ghislain.
News of the developnt's success had already arrived via a ssenger. When he heard about the types and quantities of resources obtained, he nearly fainted.
"We're saved! We're finally saved!"
They had run out of rune stones, and their cash reserves were drying up. Despite the enormous inco from costic sales, food sales, delivery services, and road construction, it wasn't
enough.
Funds were tight, and the growth of the territory had started to slow. With so many projects ongoing, expenses were astronomical, and the inco hadn't caught up yet.
But now, with so many resources gained, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Watching Claude bouncing around, Ghislain chuckled faintly.
"Happy?"
"Of course! Do you know how much my head hurt as the money kept running out?"
As Claude made a fuss, Ghislain replied indifferently.
"That's good. But first, take care of rewarding those who participated in the developnt."
"Of course. I'll assess things and-"
"No, I've already told you how to handle it."
"...How?"
Claude's face grew anxious. He knew that when Ghislain spent money, he spent big.
Sure enough, Ghislain smiled brightly as he said,
"The developnt team gets three years' worth of salary in one lump sum. The workers get three tis their usual bonus."
"Get it done quickly."
"...We don't have that kind of money right now."
"We just brought back a lot, didn't we? And we'll keep bringing more. We have enough to pay
them now, don't we?"
"But that's all in raw materials... To pay the rewards, we need to convert them to cash..."
"I don't care. Just get it done."
Ghislain said his piece and disappeared into the castle.
Claude stared after him in disbelief, clutching his head.
"Why can't I ever be happy?"
Just when he thought they were saved, thanks to acquiring valuable resources, they were
about to lose an enormous amount of money again.
What made it worse was that the rewards had to be distributed imdiately.
The Lord himself had promised the rewards to those who worked hard. If they weren't given
on ti, it would damage the people's trust in the Lord and foster resentnt about the work
in the territory.
With no choice, Claude called the administrators and ordered them urgently.
"Contact the rchant guilds and the magic towers now!"
Fenris was the northern powerhouse and the center of food production. The call from the head
butler of such a place was no small matter.
The rchant guilds around Fenris dropped everything they were doing and rushed over
imdiately.
When the guild masters gathered, Claude, with a smug expression, crossed his legs and spoke.
"I will not take a commission fee this ti."
The notorious bribe king declared he would not accept any bribes, leaving the guild masters
puzzled.
"Instead, buy as much as you can."
When they saw the goods Claude presented, their jaws dropped.
In addition to the usual food and iron ore, the collection also included a wide variety of
dicinal herbs.
Despite being in urgent need of cash, Claude refrained from selling the rune stones or Fairy's
Blessing.
Rune stones were critical for negotiations with the magic towers and the territory's most strategic resource, so he couldn't release them.
Fairy's Blessing was reserved for special uses Ghislain had ntioned, so Claude dared not
touch it.
Unaware that the most valuable resources were excluded, the rchant guilds competed fiercely to buy up the rest of the goods.
"You usually limit food and iron ore sales even when we ask for more. But now you're offering
so much."
"I heard they went to develop the Forest of Demonic Beasts? Maybe the rewards for the
soldiers are needed."
"Well, at least he's not taking bribes this ti. Guess they really need cash."
"Right? Look at the size of these mandrake roots. They're twice the size of ordinary ones.
Where did they find these?"
Claude's refusal to take bribes was a rare event. The rchants left satisfied after completing
their purchases.
The news that large quantities of rune stones were secured in Fenris reached the Scarlet Fla
Magic Tower as well.
The tower, which had been forced to reduce its rune stone purchases due to food expenses,
was thrilled to hear they could now buy more rune stones.
The elders fussed over this news and suggested to Hubert:
"Tower Lord! It seems they've brought back a lot this ti!" "We haven't visited in a while. Perhaps you should pay them a visit?"
"Maintaining good relations requires showing your face often!"
Despite their nagging, Hubert turned his head away with a sullen expression.
"No... I don't want to..."
"What? Why?"
"That guy's a count now... and the strongest in the north. I have to act all formal when I et
him..."
"That's it?"
"That's it? How could you say that's nothing?!"
Hubert, known for his petty and immature personality, threw a fit.
Although Ghislain had repeatedly humiliated him, he had managed to maintain his dignity
thanks to his position as a tower lord.
Now, however, Ghislain's status had surpassed his, leaving Hubert reluctant to et him.
"I'm not going! I'll never et him again! I have my pride too!"
The elders, well aware of Hubert's stubborn and childish nature, shook their heads in
resignation.
Count Fenris had saved their struggling tower. Yet, seeing Hubert's obstinacy, they could only
sigh.
In the end, the elders themselves decided to visit Fenris with various magic tools as gifts. Thanks to Claude's resourcefulness, Fenris quickly secured an enormous amount of cash.
It was a result of the extensive network Claude had built among the rchant guilds.
"Take it away quickly!"
He distributed the developnt rewards to the soldiers and workers, albeit in a bad mood. So chose to receive part of their paynt in food.
Once the reward distribution was complete, the territory was filled with a festive atmosphere.
"Wow! I've never seen so much money in my life!"
"Following the Lord was the best decision ever. Our territory is the best! The Lord is the
best!"
The soldiers and workers of the developnt team spent their days praising and cheering for
Ghislain.
A few years ago, such a scene would have been unimaginable.
So people had struggled to eat daily, while others were denied fair compensation even for
their hard work.
Life in the north had been hopeless.
But after Ghislain beca the lord, everything changed. For the people, it was as if the world
itself had transford.
These changes led to an incredible effect.
"Even if I die, I'll protect this territory."
"This is the only place where we have hope." "As long as we follow the Lord, everything will be fine."
Receiving fair rewards allowed people to accumulate wealth. Naturally, their quality of life
improved.
In turn, their outlook and attitude changed. People who had sothing to protect, whether it was money or family, grew stronger.
Especially their loyalty to Ghislain-it skyrocketed.
Those who received large sums of money spent generously within the territory. rchants
from nearby guilds brought luxury goods and alcohol, creating a bustling atmosphere.
The thriving economy brought unprecedented vitality to the territory.
"Our Lord is truly amazing! He fought through an army of a million enemies alone! Incredible!"
"Really? There were a million monsters?" "Yes, a million! And I helped take them down!"
Rumors always tend to grow with ti. Before long, Ghislain was known as a superhuman
who had defeated an army of a million monsters.
The soldiers didn't know the exact number of Greggs they faced. They just rembered there
were countless of them.
As exaggerations spread, the territory buzzed with energy, but Claude's complexion
darkened.
"We're out of money... again..."
The rewards had drained their cash reserves completely.
There were still plenty of resources, and more would continue to co in. Turning them into
cash with ti wouldn't be difficult.
The problem was that even the rchant guilds had exhausted their cash reserves due to the
recent transactions. With no imdiate funds, Claude was stressed.
"Ugh! I'm so annoyed! Tell everyone to tighten their belts for this month. We have no
money!"
Watching Claude grumble daily, Belinda, Gillian, Vanessa, and Galbarik couldn't help but tread carefully around him.
"Imagine a territory overflowing with resources yet constantly out of money. How
frustrating."
As others reveled in joy, Claude muttered under his breath while reviewing docunts.
"Hmm... We'll manage sohow. In two or three months, we'll secure cash again."
With abundant resources, the issue was only a matter of ti. Claude reassured himself that if
they endured a little, everything would stabilize.
"With the businesses now entering a stable phase... Surely the Lord won't start another
project." They were rging Desmond's territory, strengthening their military, and steadily increasing production. Improving the people's lifestyle and culture was a long-term goal. As long as they maintained the current path, all would be well.
Claude couldn't imagine Ghislain introducing yet another plan.
"Good, the Lord can just sit back and watch-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Ghislain burst into the office.
"It's ti to start the next project." "... What is it now?"
"We're founding the Fenris rcenary Corps."
Claude clutched his forehead and let out a deep sigh. [T/L: Please support and read 385 extra chapters: sko-fi/revengerscans ]
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