Chapter 156: Land as Collateral

Honestly, for a moment I had no idea what the man was talking about.

Not until Count Schultz explained it himself.

“If I borrow a huge sum using completely worthless land as collateral, what exactly are you planning to do about it?”

“Ah, so that’s what you meant.”

Now I understood.

Packaging empty land to make it look valuable was something the bank would have to screen out anyway.

Besides, it didn’t really matter what he offered me.

I have the ability to turn even weird land into something decent.

The value of land changes depending on what’s around it.

That’s why NIMBY and PIMBY phenomena happen—good infrastructure drives real estate prices up, while hated facilities make them plummet endlessly.

If the land taken as collateral had defects, what should I do?

Just throw the Dapan Group at it.

In fact, Midias used to be nothing more than the edge of the territory.

Just some abandoned land with a few flags stuck in it.

But look at it now.

Everyone is peeking around wanting to live inside, begging to open a shop there.

It was the result of building factories, shopping districts, and clean residential areas.

“Whether the land is useless or not is for the bank to judge. Even if problems arise later, I won’t hold you responsible.”

“Wouldn’t that cause losses for Your Grace?”

“I’d simply take it as my own mistake in judgment. Do you have any buildings or land that could serve as collateral?”

“As a noble, I have more than enough. Honestly, unless it’s fertile farmland or usable pasture, I don’t pay much attention to it. Plus, it’s not like the land would go to a rival territory.”

“Really? Does the Schultz Count territory have such places?”

“Of course. Please wait a moment, Your Grace.”

Count Schultz left the reception room and hurried off somewhere.

When he returned, he was carrying a large scroll in his hands—an old-looking parchment map.

“This is……”

“It’s a map of my territory and the surrounding area. I keep it in the carriage in case I get lost. Do you see here?”

“Yes.”

The Schultz Count territory was as vast as that of any margrave.

It was a fitting size for a key figure in the Giovanni noble faction.

However, only a very small portion was marked with cities and villages.

The rest was mostly empty land.

“The places where people live and the farmland are only this much. Everything else is effectively unused.”

“Is it because building too far from houses carries the risk of monsters or bandits, so people don’t dare?”

“Exactly.”

Why had I built walls around Midias first?

To block invasions from outsiders.

In this world, if you show even the slightest weakness, you get completely plundered.

“So you’re saying I can take these lands as collateral.”

“Actually, even if I can’t repay it, it seems like it wouldn’t matter. It would still be better than just selling the land outright.”

“In that case, let’s sign the loan contract.”

“Thank you, Your Grace!”

Count Schultz’s expression brightened immensely.

He looked even happier than when he had heard that Billigert had been wiped out.

Well, that made sense.

No matter how many pirates you crushed, the lost money and manpower wouldn’t come back.

Now that he had secured a foothold for a comeback, he must have been overjoyed.

I lent him gold coins using a suitably sized plot of land as collateral.

Since we’re on fairly good terms, I’ll be generous.

It was true that I felt somewhat lighthearted because it wasn’t like he wouldn’t repay it.

But the next part was the problem.

“By the way, Your Grace.”

“Yes.”

“If I can’t repay the money and the land gets transferred, what happens then?”

“The bank will own the land.”

“Which ultimately becomes Your Grace’s land. Since you’re the owner of Dapan Bank.”

“Well, something like that.”

“Will His Majesty the Emperor be okay with that?”

“Oh……”

I had forgotten for a moment.

Land ownership ultimately translated to influence.

Of course, it was true that it was worthless empty land that no one used.

But what if it turned out to be larger than expected?

And what if it wasn’t something the Emperor had granted?

It didn’t matter for other people, but for me it was different.

It could be seen as plotting treason to seize the throne.

Anyone could see it wasn’t the case, but if the Emperor felt that way, it was over.

“It seems that won’t work. Let’s revise the contract.”

“Uh, how?”

“I’m actually quite an expert in this area.”

I smiled meaningfully.

Then I added this phrase at the end of the contract:

‘The real estate taken as collateral shall revert to direct imperial territory.’

In times like this, the best thing was to simply throw it at my cousin.

He’d probably send down some crumbs from a few of them.

That much was enough for me.

Count Schultz, seeing the revised contract, let out a hollow laugh.

“As expected of Your Grace. Your quick thinking… no, your judgment is truly impressive. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

It sounded like he had almost said “quick thinking” in a sneaky way, but maybe it was just my imagination?

When I looked at him with a puzzled gaze, Count Schultz only smiled awkwardly.

“So you are borrowing 300,000 goldens using 300 hectares of land in the northern part of the Schultz Count territory as collateral. Confirmed?”

“Yes, thank you!”

Count Schultz stamped the contract and left with a beaming face.

With this, the foundation for establishing a Dapan Group foothold in the south had been laid.

Ah, of course—only if Count Schultz failed to repay on time.

If he did repay, I could just buy the land outright.

He seemed like the type who would sell it.

Now, shall I check on the marriage information company side?

I opened the bank’s front door with a light heart, but someone greeted me politely.

“Ahem! I greet Your Grace the Duke. You may not remember me. I am Dangelo Titus.”

“Ah, I know you. Count Titus. But what brings you here?”

“I’d like to take out a loan as well……”

I just stood there blinking.

Count Titus wasn’t on particularly good terms with me.

He had received an unfavorable ruling in the territorial dispute trial.

He had tried to snatch some of Count Braden’s land but ended up getting stripped instead.

This place—Midias, where the bank was built—had originally been his territory.

He was probably looking at me with resentment.

But he’s still here for a loan? Low interest rates really are king.

Of course, I had no personal feelings toward him.

After all, the land he lost was basically just border area anyway.

It had been a place where he couldn’t do anything originally, so he probably didn’t feel too much regret.

I nodded readily.

“Please come in.”

The loan service I had never planned for in my fate left me completely exhausted.

The current bank tellers were simply guides.

They informed newlywed couples who came from the Dapan Marriage Information Company about the loan products.

I couldn’t put those staff in front of high-ranking nobles.

They would probably just cower under the pressure of authority.

Ah, damn. I ended up creating more work for myself.

In the beginning, it was a business I had started lightly—to make the marriage promotion policy successful.

But once I decided to do it properly, the scale had grown enormously.

“Still, I can’t half-ass it with my personality.”

The day I had to leave for the Crawford Principality was approaching rapidly, yet there were still too many things unprepared.

It seemed I would have to entrust some parts to someone……

As I was deep in thought, I suddenly felt bright, sparkling gazes on me.

“Huh? Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

When I checked the desk, Shugl and Feltron were staring at me—with eyes full of expectation.

At first I didn’t understand why they were acting like this.

But from the events of the past few days, I could guess.

Ah, these guys… Are they aiming for another position again?

The football league was currently booming.

Every match’s tickets were sold out, and merchandise was flying off the shelves because there wasn’t enough.

As a result, the two half-demons were collecting vitality fairly easily.

Of course, the purity was lower than when I obtained it for them, but they must have seen the potential there.

They realized that high positions draw genuine respect from humans.

But these guys only knew one thing and not the other.

Did they think that simply holding a high title would bring sincere respect?

No way.

If you didn’t act in a way befitting the position, you’d only earn resentment instead.

“Yeah. No.”

—Ah, why! I ran the football club properly. Doesn’t that qualify me enough?

—That’s right! That’s right! Hand over the president position of the marriage information company!

Seeing them throw a tantrum that had no chance of working, it was time to discipline them a bit.

From the beginning, I had them form the team because there was no one else to entrust it to.

Everyone was busy to death, and I still had to create soccer matches on top of that.

So I tried to make use of these half-demons who did nothing but play around every day.

“You two.”

—Yes!

“Step down from the club owner position now.”

. Eh?

For a moment, Shugl and Feltron’s expressions froze.

It was like they had been trapped in ice.

—Hey, how can you do that!

—Exactly! Do you know how pissed off you’d be if someone gave you something and then took it back?

I looked at the two with a dumbfounded expression.

Then I started delivering a brutal barrage of facts.

“Let me ask you one thing. Whose money was used to build that club?”

—W-well……

“Who made it possible to recruit the players?”

—Eeeh!

Shugl and Feltron stood there with their mouths wide open, looking at each other.

They had nothing to say.

Because I had provided all that support.

Naturally, the club owner’s personnel authority belonged to me as well.

It seemed the two half-demons had finally realized it.

That they were nothing more than figurehead presidents.

After the whip comes the carrot.

I grabbed the now red-faced and pale Shugl and Feltron in both hands.

Then, as usual, I placed them on my shoulders.

“I’m not saying I’m throwing you out. Be honest. Was the vitality you gained while being club owners high in purity?”

—It wasn’t. There was more than before, but it wasn’t that great.

“Because it’s no different from extorting it through fear. That’s what high positions are like.”

—But the human duke receives a lot of respect. How do you do it?

“It’s too hard to explain in words?”

Why do people trust and follow me like this?

Probably because my actions are on a completely different level from existing nobles.

Fair trials, an attitude that doesn’t try to take what belongs to others.

A positive influence that says let’s move forward together instead of rejecting people.

These guys would never be able to do it even if they died and came back to life.

Half-demons are fragments of authority shed by demons.

Since they came from beings whose default is evil deeds, it’s natural for them to rule rather than coexist.

“Don’t you want high-purity vitality? Then you have to stay by my side. And listen well to what I say.”

—Hmm.

“If you don’t believe me, forget it.”

—No! I understand perfectly. So where are we going this time?

“The Crawford Principality. I’ll be doing something similar to what I did in Delriat.”

—Whoa!

Shugl raised his front paws high and danced around.

He must have remembered the highly concentrated vitality he got in Delriat.

But Feltron looked confused.

That was a natural reaction.

This guy hadn’t experienced the time when I was governor-general.

Then Shugl said this.

—Don’t worry. Being the governor under the human duke is seriously the best.

Hey, why does this guy’s way of talking have to be like that?

If someone heard, they’d get suspicious.

I flicked Shugl on the head and waved my hand.

Thwack!

Eek!

“All right, it’s decided then. Let’s go. To the Crawford Principality.”