I barely slipped out of Crawford Palace and hurried to prepare for my return.
Even though I was leaving, the work still had to be done right, so I made the rounds and inspected every single business site.
Of course, that included the wrecked National Hall.
“Rebuilding it from scratch really is the way to go.”
“It was ridiculously cramped before, after all.”
I muttered to myself when someone suddenly popped up beside me.
I turned to see a somewhat goofy-looking young man grinning ear to ear.
It was Izkaya Soltri, the man who had seized control of his family thanks to me.
“How have you been?”
“Of course. Thanks to Your Highness stepping in, everything inside and out is perfectly peaceful.”
The face that had looked half-dead just days ago was now bright and lively.
He must have been under tremendous stress.
Naturally, that was to be expected.
He had a designated successor, yet his uncles had kept a death grip on all the power. How suffocating it must have been.
Thinking about it, he’s not such a bad guy after all.
I studied him for a moment, lost in thought.
The first time I met Izkaya, he had been nothing more than a spoiled noble heir.
But after marrying Lady Eustia, he had changed completely.
Now he was a young man who truly understood the problems facing the Crawford Principality and the Soltri family, and he agonized over them.
Helping him no longer felt like a waste at all.
Still, just to be safe, I casually tested the waters.
“The throne succession will probably follow soon. That said, Marquis Soltri himself won’t be able to inherit it.”
Queens existed in this era, but they were extremely rare.
Very few countries recognized female succession to titles, and even then the son-in-law usually stepped in.
But Peilly III had clearly chosen Princess Eustia as his heir.
“I have no interest in the throne or running the state. Eustia will handle those things far better than I ever could. My wife’s abilities surpass my own, after all.”
I had only floated the idea lightly, yet his answer came out calm and straightforward.
Human greed truly knew no bounds.
Those who held power always tended to overestimate themselves.
But Izkaya had an accurate grasp of his own limits.
Of course, people could change, and who knew what the future might bring.
Still, no matter how far away I was, this was something I could keep an eye on easily.
If I register him as a Dapan Group employee, I’ll be able to monitor every detail.
I smiled faintly and spoke.
“Marquis Soltri?”
“Yes.”
“How would you feel about becoming an advisor for the Crawford branch of the Dapan Group?”
“An advisor?”
“Yes. The truth is, our company doesn’t know this country inside and out yet. We need local insight.”
“Even managing the family is already more than my abilities can handle.”
“You’d only need to offer the staff occasional appropriate advice. It’s a concurrent position with no regular duties, so it shouldn’t interfere much.”
“Haha! If it’s only that, I can help as much as you like!”
As expected, he took the bait.
A few pieces of advice in exchange for a comfortable salary—who would refuse?
Besides, this man could not possibly turn down my proposal.
Even if the workload grew heavy, he would have found a way to manage it.
Right now he was overflowing with gratitude for the help he had received.
Pretty much anything can go through him.
I finalized the formal contract with Izkaya and sped up my preparations to return.
There were far too many projects waiting back in the Empire, each one needing a quick check.
The fuel business in particular could not be allowed to slip even slightly.
It was revolutionary, and since it involved flammable materials, any mistake could be dangerous.
Finally, I took one last look at the scenery of the Crawford Principality.
“It really is a beautiful country.”
The high population density typical of a city-state.
Stunning natural landscapes and quaint old buildings.
The slums had been completely cleared away, and the city was expanding steadily.
Quite a few new houses had sprung up, giving Dapan Construction more work than it could handle.
Yet development was proceeding smoothly.
A company of this size could easily absorb that much.
Ah, I really need to stop raking in quite so much money soon.
My current assets had grown so vast they were impossible to track.
Simply stockpiling funds would stall the economic cycle.
That was why I was building a bank in the Empire and launching all sorts of new ventures.
Just as I had earned heavily here, I needed to distribute it properly.
Not by throwing it around recklessly, but through sound, constructive means.
“Build a few more commercial buildings and style them like those in Midias. Keep expanding the spirit-wood production factory steadily as well.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
I gave the orders to the Dapan Group Crawford branch manager and climbed into the carriage.
It was finally time to head back for real.
“We’ll depart now.”
“Alright.”
Mr. Brandon’s voice carried an unusual note of energy today.
It seemed returning to the Empire lifted his spirits too.
After all, no matter how pleasant the stay, a foreign land was still a foreign land.
There was no place as comfortable as home.
Besides, the Empire’s capital region had infrastructure that was downright unbelievable.
It was like night and day compared to the underdeveloped Crawford Principality.
Finally heading back!
—In the Empire I’ll be able to feast on way more spiritual energy. Hehehe!
Look at that.
Even the half-demons were overjoyed.
But just as the carriage was rolling along smoothly, it suddenly slowed sharply.
Clunk!
The coachman’s window flew open without warning.
Mr. Brandon leaned out with a cheerful grin.
“Duke Carius.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“You might need to step outside for a moment. At this rate, we won’t be able to move forward at all.”
I shrugged, puzzled.
If the road was blocked or there was an obstacle, wasn’t that the coachman’s job to handle?
It felt like he was crossing a line, which left me slightly uneasy.
Maybe I had been too easygoing with him.
But the moment I opened the passenger door and stepped out, Mr. Brandon’s words made perfect sense.
“Duuuuuke!”
“Waaaah! Please, don’t go!”
“This country can’t function properly without Your Excellency the Chancellor!”
“Please reconsider! Waaaah!”
A massive crowd blocked the road, sobbing uncontrollably.
Every last one of them reached out desperately, begging me not to leave.
Most were poor folk who had gained jobs and homes thanks to the Dapan Group.
But it wasn’t only the lower class.
Nobles moved by the changes sweeping the country were shedding tears as well.
It felt as if the entire population of the Crawford Principality had poured into the streets.
“Hah……. Wow.”
Yet instead of joy, what hit me first was a heavy sense of burden.
Receiving such fervent love from the public meant shouldering that much more responsibility.
The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment when things went wrong.
If I ever slipped up, enormous criticism would rain down.
They would probably feel utterly crushed.
No point being scared of maggots and refusing to make fermented soybean paste.
Still, it was the path I had to walk.
I smiled brightly, shaking each person’s hand one by one and patting their backs with warm hugs.
Then I slowly waved both hands, and the entire square fell silent in an instant.
“I’m returning to the Empire, but I’ll leave my heart here in the Crawford Principality. Through the Dapan Group, I won’t spare any support so that all of you can live well.”
“Whooooaaa!”
Cheers erupted even before my speech was finished.
I took in their faces and left one final word.
“So please, be happy.”
That day became a national holiday for the Crawford Principality.
The first news I received upon returning to the Empire was quite surprising.
—Whoa! You know the day the human duke left? That day’s now called National Reconstruction Day. They’re taking a day off and throwing a festival, apparently.
—Crawford Principality creating a brand-new public holiday? Our boss is amazing.
Shugl and Feltron seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits lately.
They were even praising me openly.
The reason was simple.
On the day I left the Crawford Principality, I had received an incredible amount of respect.
Thanks to that, they had gorged themselves on spiritual energy.
That was why they were suddenly so flattering.
“Shut up. I’m busy, so don’t bother me.”
—Got it. Hehehe!
—Hah! Life feels so much richer without any paperwork.
After being away so long, there was far too much waiting for me.
But I could not simply dump it on the half-demons.
The scale of the Dapan Group’s operations was on a completely different level from the tiny National Hall in Crawford.
One mistake here could cost hundreds of thousands of goldens.
Knock knock knock.
“Mayor, President Paul of Dapan Industries has arrived.”
“Ah, yes. Please send him in.”
“Understood.”
This was actually the mayor’s office in Perias.
But because I handled so many different roles, I had no choice but to juggle tasks across locations.
That was why I had simply summoned President Paul to the city hall.
“It’s been a while, Chairman.”
“You’re looking much healthier these days. Your complexion has improved a lot.”
“I suppose it’s because I spend less time in the sun. I’ve been staying inside the factory lately.”
“I see. I was about to ask if you had started using sunscreen or something.”
“Excuse me? What’s that?”
“Ah…….”
I started to answer naturally, then caught myself.
This was the Middle Ages, where even decent cosmetics barely existed.
People mixed fish oil and charcoal to make eyeliner.
The standard was to whiten faces with clay dissolved in vinegar.
Some cosmetics even used mercury because it temporarily smoothed skin and provided whitening.
Come to think of it, the cosmetics sector could be quite profitable.
Everyone, man or woman, wanted to look beautiful.
If I could fulfill that desire with safe products, people would gladly pay.
Rather than letting dangerous cosmetics circulate among the nobility, I might as well create safe ones myself.
With Vargas’s help and repeated research, it would be entirely doable.
While business ideas kept chaining together in my mind, President Paul spoke up.
“As you requested, we’ve completed the safe stove. Please take a look.”
“Ah, yes. This was an important matter.”
A four-burner range measuring sixty centimeters on each side.
Spirit-wood cubes were fixed securely inside, and a lid could extinguish the flames.
Used fuel was swapped out via a cartridge at the bottom.
The finished product looked far better than I had imagined.
“How do you control the heat?”
“It’s divided into four stages. Pressing the button changes the number of cubes fed in, like this.”
Clunk!
President Paul demonstrated, and sure enough four cubes rose upward.
He turned the valve, and with a sharp impact sound the fire ignited.
Tap tap tap tap! Whoosh!
“It uses a flint.”
“Yes. We’ve also standardized the parts so they can be replaced easily.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Not at all. It was possible only because of the ideas you provided, Chairman.”
President Paul bowed humbly.
But his achievement was tremendous.
I had only suggested the basic form and functions of a gas range.
The internal design and production had been entirely his work.
I should give him a proper bonus.
It was hard to believe this was the same wage laborer who had once come to me in despair.
Once the explanation was finished, I nodded readily.
“We can launch it as is. Coordinate with Dapan Construction to secure space in advance.”
“I will.”
The meeting wrapped up smoothly.
President Paul bowed deeply and picked up the safe stove.
Just as I was about to wave goodbye, another idea flashed through my mind.
“President Paul.”
“Yes?”
“Besides the home version, it would be good to make a portable one too. Something like this.”
I quickly sketched the shape of a gas burner on a piece of paper.
President Paul’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Ooh! This is!”