The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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

Claude 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 glanced around.

There was no one else in the room but him.

‘Ah, I really don’t want to work.’

Claude 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.”

Having lazed around for so long, suddenly being thrown into work made him feel completely 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?”

Claude’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’ll complain. 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.

Claude, 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? Claude 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.

Claude 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.’

Claude 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!

Claude sluggishly rose, like an animal being led to the slaughter.

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 after coming 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 slave.

“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.

Claude, 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 become a nerve-wracking experience, likely leading to indigestion.

Claude 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 Ghislain had assigned.

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

* * *

Claude, 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 place really be saved? The estate’s completely ruined. Sure, the man in charge might be competent, but that alone…”

The tasks Ghislain 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 Ghislain had meticulously given him a considerable amount of work to do.

This meant he had a complete grasp of how the estate functioned.

Most of the tasks Ghislain 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 income.

“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 Claude reviewed the situation and inspected the estate, he couldn’t come up with a solution.

“Money… How do we make money?”

Claude 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, Claude’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 Claude 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.”

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

‘Hah, the protagonist always shows up late, 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 Claude, who was on the verge of tears, with a somewhat pitying gaze.

He wasn’t someone who left a particularly 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, Claude proudly continued to walk slowly.

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

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

Claude 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 Ghislain had bestowed upon him, at least within the Fenris Estate, Claude 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 Claude’s eyes and blatantly scowled.

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

Claude 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 blatant 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, Claude winked at Kaor with exaggerated sincerity.

“Did that bastard just…?”

It was like throwing oil on a fire.

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

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, Ghislain lightly stomped his foot.

A deadly, heavy mana spread throughout the room.

Everyone froze in place, as if time had stopped.

Ghislain 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, glared at Claude until the very last moment.

Only after Kaor turned his head away did Claude 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, Ghislain turned to Claude 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 slash-and-burn farmers. However…”

“However?”

“The tasks you ordered, my lord, will need to be completely withdrawn, and you’ll have to come up with a new plan.”

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 Ghislain himself who had issued those orders.

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

But Ghislain, 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, Ghislain gestured for Claude to continue.

Claude swallowed once and opened his mouth.

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

Ghislain nodded calmly.

“And?”

“And what? You’ve ordered all sorts of facilities to be built. But where are you planning to get the maintenance funds when the taxes don’t come 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, Claude, 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 a large 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!”

Claude, flabbergasted, let out a dry laugh.

“What, do you think I’m a god? Can I just touch barren land and turn it into fertile soil? Do you think mines will suddenly pop up if I dig around? No, this land is beyond hope unless a god comes 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….”

Claude muttered in frustration, but then caught himself and quickly glanced at Ghislain’s reaction.

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

Ghislain 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 the lack of steady income. We need to stop spending money on pointless things and focus on securing a stable source of revenue. And I’ve come up with an idea—a quick and easy way to make money. When you hear it, you’ll be amazed.”

“And what is it?”

Claude, full of confidence, shouted out.

“We’ll open a gambling hall!”

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