Rayrn left the new settlement and returned to Ophern Castle. The thing that spurred him to move was a summons from his father, the Count.
“What on earth is happening? This is more than I expected.”
“I didn’t expect it either. Take a look.”
The documents the Count handed to Rayrn were packed with various excuses.
‘They’re talking complete nonsense.’
The Ophern Fief was a territory guarding the border. A portion of the royal army, supported by the kingdom, was stationed at the western border. For their operational costs, 300,000 gold was sent from the royal family to the Count’s House every year.
It was a type of subsidy.
For the Ophern Fief, which was barely managing its territory, this 300,000 gold was vital.
‘Thanks to that, we avoided a deficit.’
For the Count’s House, which had poor finances, it was a necessary amount. They used it to fill the gap in their lacking capital. Without this money, they would not have been able to escape bankruptcy long ago. Even if they didn’t go bankrupt, what if they couldn’t adequately arm their forces due to a lack of funds? A Marquis’s House or a Duke’s House would have immediately targeted them and rushed in.
It was that important of a fund.
However, the money that came in this time was…
“Is it only 100,000 gold?”
“They say it was a bad harvest. It’s nonsense.”
It was one-third. 200,000 gold had evaporated. The documents Rayrn received were filled with excuses for this.
‘Bad harvest, my foot. This year was an average harvest overall. So they’re saying they don’t have the money? That’s bullshit.’
Currently, the Count’s House’s budget was overflowing. Even so, the fact that the money that used to come in had disappeared was painful.
“Just as you said, they are keeping our family in check.”
“I suppose so. Hmm…”
First, they blocked talented people from coming in. Now, they were slowly trying to block the money flow. At this rate, the subsidy might be cut off entirely by next year. It could even reach the point where the fief would have to provide the supplies for the stationed royal army.
‘I have to stop that.’
After crossing the mountain known as the Marquis of Owen, now it was the royal family. In the end, there were only two methods.
“It happens to be the Second Princess’s birthday. I’ve received an invitation, so it might be good for you to go.”
“What is it that you want, Father?”
“What are your thoughts?”
One way was to pledge loyalty to the royal family once again. Pledging loyalty again meant entering the royalist faction. The royal family might stop their current restraint and provide support immediately. This was the easy path.
The second path was a difficult one. It wasn’t about a pledge of loyalty.
“Father, once you bow down, bowing a second time isn’t difficult.”
“I know.”
Even if they pledged loyalty to the royal family, it shouldn’t be like this.
“Doing it this way only lowers our value. It’s not good.”
“Then is there another way?”
“There is.”
In Rayrn’s view, if the royal family was blocking the new flow of the Count’s House, then they just had to break through.
‘If I give them one big blow, even a clogged dam will burst.’
If they were blocking the family to keep them in check, Rayrn had to create a flow so large that they couldn’t even dream of blocking it.
‘The Jegal Clan was also restrained like this. They were slandered.’
This experience wasn’t new to Rayrn. With the experience of his past life, he knew the breakthrough for such matters.
“What should we do?”
“I just need to get some attention. I feel bad for the Second Princess on her birthday, but I’ll have to steal all the spotlight.”
After receiving my father’s permission, I immediately packed my bags. They were bags for attending the party for the Second Princess.
‘If I’m going to do it, I’ll do it right.’
Getting attention meant being the center of focus. To be the center of focus, one had to have a special quality that was different from others.
“The easiest way is to throw money around. Let’s see. I should start by packing the Baekhwaju.”
Creating something special was easy. I packed the Baekhwaju that had been newly produced at the brewery. In this place, this liquor, named White Flower, was strong but a masterpiece.
‘I made it through the distillation method. I also mixed in Mana.’
The moment you open the stopper, the scent rises as if flowers have bloomed. When you drink it, the Mana inside moves and even washes away fatigue. Because it was a masterpiece made with special care, it took a considerable amount of time to implement.
‘The princess’s birthday party should be enough for a grand debut.’
This precious liquor was the first step for me to attract interest. In addition to the Baekhwaju and other liquors made at the brewery, I also packed several pieces of equipment made of Mana-infused iron from the refinery.
‘I engraved all of them with Magic. They are master swords.’
I packed things that anyone would gawk at. The second plan was…
“You’re taking 300,000 gold?”
“Yeah. The funds are left over anyway. I’ll also use the proceeds from selling the items there.”
“Did the Count give his permission?”
“He told me to take more. My father is originally quite generous in these matters.”
“Hoo…”
It was loading the bullets to show off my wealth. Whether it was the Murim or Earth…
‘Showing off wealth is the best. It’s always fresh.’
If you spend more money than anyone else, in a way different from others, you get noticed. Even the nobles, who talk about dignity and etiquette, are ultimately human. If you burn money spectacularly, even nonexistent attention will appear.
‘Of course, there will be a real goal behind it.’
Using this attention, I planned to bring interest to my family, a Count’s House from the outskirts. I would become the newly rising attention-seeker. And by using that…
‘I’ll open the blocked pulse.’
I would give a blow to the royal family that was blindly blocking our territory.
The bags were packed quickly. Thirty knights armed with brilliant magic equipment and 200 elite soldiers were added to the party. I also added the Iron Fist.
‘I should also check out the capital’s Underworld. If I can make it mine, I will!’
It was the Iron Fist that had been trained and strengthened by me. As they grew stronger by the day, they would be good soldiers to sweep through the royal capital.
Preparation was perfect.
“Let’s go. To the capital!”
“Yes, Master!”
*Thud, thud.*
With the disciplined march of the knights, the advance toward the royal capital began. There was nothing to hinder the path. I was the one who had decided to make a grand debut in the royal capital.
‘I should reveal about 50% of my strength.’
After consulting with my father, I had decided how much strength to reveal. Therefore, there was nothing to hold back. Along the way, the monster Gireun occasionally appeared.
The Gireun, despite being a low-grade monster, carried a greatsword and had the special ability of Greatsword Creation. They swung the massive greatswords quite impressively, often turning people into pulp in one strike. However, the reason they were evaluated as low-grade was that they had no finesse or skill.
—Krrr!
—Krrrrk!
Not long ago, my father personally conducted a monster subjugation for the settlers. These were clearly some of the low-grade monsters that had escaped the subjugation.
‘Good.’
I had been waiting for monsters like these.
*Vrrr—*
I immediately stirred my Mana.
“Just block their retreat! Fire Blast!”
*Fwoosh! Boom!*
I poured out Mana without sparing it, causing an explosion.
—Kieeeek!
Even if I revealed only a small portion of the power I possessed, devastating a low-grade monster village was no big deal. The corpses of the Gireun, killed whenever they were seen, were loaded into a carriage prepared in advance. They would become monster carcasses to be sold in the capital.
“Is the cleanup done?”
“It’s complete. Thanks to you only blowing up their heads, the cleanup was easy.”
“Well, I should at least do that much. Hmm…”
I moved while clearing out any monsters in the vicinity. Since I personally took charge of the cleanup, the speed was fast. It was to the point where I thought the journey to the royal capital, which was expected to take about one month, might be shortened by about one week.
The edge of our Count’s territory was soon coming into view.
‘…I think I know who it is.’
However, there was a familiar presence I felt.
“Come out.”
I glared toward the place where I felt the presence. Perhaps thinking I was just testing the air, the opponent did not come out. I called out again.
“Let’s not waste our mental energy needlessly.”
“…How did you know?”
*Shik.* The person who revealed herself was Arne.
Arne, wearing tight black clothes to hide her body, was showing off a different charm than when she was at the guild. If I were a vigorous teenager, I might have had some naughty thoughts, but I wasn’t. Rather, seeing her reveal herself, I felt a bit fed up.
‘She said she’s my exclusive agent, but she’s really a stalker.’
She was the person who took on the role of my exclusive informant in the Information Guild. While she was there to give me information, she was also there to get information from me. It was natural, in a way, for such a person to follow me.
I would always welcome a beautiful woman following me, but not this kind of following.
“It’s so obvious, how could I not know? If you call that hiding, I’m disappointed.”
“I… I’m usually not caught by most people.”
“It was easy.”
Arne pouted her lips at the fact that I had found her.
‘She’s so bold even while stalking me.’
Far from having any guilt about secretly following me, she only conveyed her determination to stick to me properly this time.
“You’re going to follow me, right?”
“Of course.”
See? She’s bold.
“What if I don’t let you follow? Maybe a spell will accidentally fly your way. I might shoot thinking you’re a monster.”
“…Is that a threat?”
“Depends on how you hear it.”
When I gave her a slight threat, she took on a tense expression. The power I had revealed so far was only a part of me.
‘It’s not even 50%.’
But in her eyes, it was not power that a 15-year-old should possess. Since she had seen me skillfully handle monsters, she would know my skills well. That was why she was tense.
It was a common occurrence for allies to be killed in groups by misfired magic on the battlefield. Furthermore, dying where there were monsters was nothing. It would be a dog’s death.
“It’s not that there’s no way at all. I’m not a closed-minded person, you know?”
“…How will you allow me to accompany you? Perhaps even this body…”
“Forget that.”
I held out my hand to her, rubbing my thumb and index finger together.
“…This is the first time someone has extorted information fees from the Information Guild! I wonder how the higher-ups will take this…”
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. That included Arne. No matter how beautiful she was, I was the type to definitely get what was owed. What she would gain by following me around was information about me. Since she was getting information, I made her pay the price. That was money.
‘In this world, nothing is as certain as money.’
This money would become the capital for my wealth-displaying spree once I entered the royal capital.
“They’ll probably evaluate me as a miser who only cares about money. Isn’t that also information?”
“…This is hard to judge. Ugh. I didn’t even expect this!”
“What did you expect?”
“Well… like not getting caught. Or even if I did, you showing me some favor.”
“Nonsense. Right, Benson?”
“There’s no way the Young Master would fall for something like that. He’s very thorough. Indeed.”
As the knight who followed me, Benson, spoke cheekily, her pouting grew even larger. Then, she began to burn with determination.
“…Anyway, I’m going to get the information properly. I’ll stick right by your side and find out everything! I have to get my money’s worth!”
“Do it if you can.”
“Just you wait!”
Would she really be able to find out information about me?
‘There’s no way.’
In my view, it was absolutely impossible. Still, the reason I kept Arne by my side was…
“Go ahead and lead the way. I don’t know the Gisert territory very well.”
“…What about the guide fee?”
“Do you want to go separately? By the way, there are no refunds.”
“…Ugh.”
It was because she was very useful.
‘She’s a good talent. Yes, she is.’
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