Scrawny Shiloh and Fatty Meatloaf made a run for their lives. They did so after acquiescing to Lloyd and taking up his offer. They had no choice. Orc Arosh was flaring his nose beside them. He glowered at them with eyes akin to an angry gorilla.
He was ready to immediately lift the table and slam their heads with it as soon as Lloyd declared them an enemy of the Frontera barony. There weren't many people who could remain calm next to an angry orc. The two loan sharks weren't an exception.
We might really die. The sweat glands in their backs opened up, and they started to sweat profusely, but their sense of trepidation and nervousness wasn't groundless. They knew very well that orc warriors cared little for human law.
If things go south, he might just kill us right away and run back to the wasteland. If that were to happen, they would die in the hands of the furious orc. They would be dying for nothing. After quickly assessing the situation in their heads, the two immediately flashed a smile usually reserved for potential customers.
"Eh? When did we say that we won't accept the young master's offer? Of course, we will take it. Yes, yes, of course, we should," Meatloaf spoke hurriedly.
Shiloh agreed without any hesitation. "Of course we will, considering our relationship. Do you have a contract? I can sign one right away."
"Is that so? My, I am filled with gratitude." A sly smile formed on Lloyd's face.
Lloyd handed the contract to the loan sharks. It was about two things. One was permitting the baron to pay the debt in part and another was reducing the amount of interest according to the remaining principal. The two loan sharks signed the contract, enduring the welling-up bitterness in their heart. The two not only signed but also stamped it with a seal, but that was only under duress. Lloyd was silently pressuring them.
"Then…So long!"
As soon as they stamped the paper, Shiloh and Meatloaf bolted out of the house like a puppy that needed a potty break. Lloyd had struck a deal and he got what he wanted.
Very good. I was able to get the best result possible in my current situation.
The plan to threaten them with Arosh was very effective. Orc warriors were not restrained by human laws.
They were above the law in the most literal sense. The loan sharks loved to abuse the law and system. So there wasn't anyone more perfect to counter them with than Arosh.
Of course, if I could just follow my whim, I'd have threatened them more severely to clear the entire debt. Lloyd couldn't do that because it was impossible in the first place.
It's illegal. Sure, they're loan sharks, but it's true that this barony legally owes them money.
If Lloyd pushed himself and completely nullified the debt by threatening them, the two loan sharks would report him right away.
He would probably be charged with financial blackmail. In short, the entire barony would be caught in a legal debacle. I can't let that happen. However, the two terms he had gotten out of the loan sharks a while ago fell within the confines of the law. That was the farthest he could go. In other words, he had managed to extract the cream of the crop in this situation.
I'm satisfied for now. I'll get nothing if I try to get everything. One step at a time, and the way out will appear. He still had a long way to go to pay the entire debt but he believed that he would be able to pay off every penny if he kept working hard. Thinking that in his head, Lloyd turned to face the baron and Arosh.
"So, now that our barony and the Sand and Steel Tribe have become friends, let's take a celebratory selfie…No, a painting, shall we?"
"That sounds like a good idea." The baron nodded happily.
Arosh titled his head at the word "celebratory painting." Lloyd instructed the housekeeper to summon an artist. The Frontera barony was a remote province in the eastern region of the kingdom. The Sand and Steel Tribe, the powerful tribe over the eastern mountain range.
The two powers that were poles apart had formed a blood alliance. It was truly a historic moment.
***
The following day. Lloyd began to busy himself without getting some rest to relieve his travel fatigue. I don't have any time to space out. Time wasn't on his side. Even now, time was flying by before he knew it. Each passing day meant a day closer to the payment deadline—he couldn't waste any time. He had to work harder. Lloyd wrote down a list of things he needed to get done in order.
First, I want to take care of the treasures I received from the orcs in exchange for building the seokbingo. The gold and silvers were long used as fitness tools so they were damaged in many ways. Still, disposing of them at once would amount to something quite considerable. Even if he considered the damages the treasures accumulated from poor treatment, they would cover about twenty percent of the debt.
Apart from the treasures, there was something else as well. The metal bars Bangul had occasionally excreted were stacked up quite high. A portion of them was for sales, while the rest was for future construction. Add to that and the treasures, and I might be able to pay thirty percent of the principal. But there is no way to sell them right now.
Even if he owned precious and expensive items, they meant nothing if no one wanted to buy them. The Frontera barony was occupied by ordinary farmers, woodcutters, and some small merchants who sojourned in the fiefdom. There was no one to purchase the treasures and metals.
Even so, I can't hand those over to the two loan sharks. They'll surely haggle the prices of these items way too low. So I must cash them out. The loan sharks had to be paid in coins.
Once he made up his mind, Lloyd resolved to travel to a big city soon to sell those treasures and metals in exchange for gold coins.
Of course, he would need to prepare first before going there. Should he travel all the way there with such a huge crate of items and sell nothing… Should he find no buyers… He would be wasting both time and effort. Every step he takes would be in vain, and so Lloyd went to the baron. He asked the baron to find a merchant who could buy the items he had brought here a few days ago.
"I see that it must be taken care of first. Yes. I will ask around for the merchant. Once I find a buyer, I will arrange it, so you can go to the City of Cremo with those items of yours."
Cremo was a central trade city in the Cremona region, and the Frontera barony sat in the middle of it. Whew, so now, I just have to wait until everything is arranged for me to dispose of those items. In the meantime, I will deal with the others. Another task of priority was excavating coal.
That's why I invited the orc miners. Lloyd lifted his head. The lot space in front of the mine.
One hundred twenty buff orc miners stood there. Lloyd shouted toward them, "Okay, so I believe you have already heard what kind of work we will be doing."
"We've heard, oink!"
"Dig, oink!"
"Break, oink!"
The orc miners lifted their large fists and flailed them around. Lloyd repressed his smile.
"Yes, you are right. We will go into the mine. After that, we will excavate the coal and split and break the rocks."
"Breaking is fun, oink!"
"I am excited, oink!"
The orc warriors became even more excited. They lifted the pickaxes and shovels that were given to them to use. Their energy was so intense they looked like they were preparing for battle and perhaps that was why the orc warriors widened their already large eyes when they heard what Lloyd said next.
"But not everyone here will be working at the same time. Because, you see, every job has a proper order."
"What, oink?"
"What do you mean, oink?"
They were curious and they cocked their heads to the side. Lloyd continued to explain.
"Everything that I do is for the sake of ensuring efficiency and safety. Now, look from there to there. And from here to there. Okay, good. Let's divide into groups."
Lloyd commanded the orc miners, motioning. After a small bustle, the orcs divided themselves into four groups, with thirty orcs in each.
"Good job. And now, please name your groups for easy identification."
"Chest, oink!"
"Back, oink!"
"Shoulders, oink!"
"Legs, oink!"
The orc miners bawled the names. Just like that, the names of the four groups were decided in a clip.
Lloyd spoke, "Good job. And now, I will inform you of the schedule for each group."
Deploying the orc miners by dividing them into groups…That was Lloyd's plan.
Two shifts every day. One in the day. The other at night. They would be working for six days and on the seventh day…Everyone will rest. After all, rest is crucial. Then the following week, the night and day shifts would be switched. Those who pulled the day shift in the previous week would do the night shift and vice versa. Once such a plan was announced, a commotion broke out among the miners.
"Then we will go in there first, oink!"
"We will dig for coal all day, oink!"
"Workout! Workout, oink!"
The orcs just saw the mine work as exercise…And because of their passion, Lloyd had to sweat a lot to quell them down. It took him a lengthy explanation of how muscles grow faster when their scheduled workouts and breaks are balanced. Aside from this method, Lloyd supervised the men in other ways.
The mine work is tiring and dangerous. Each group was added with five civil engineer soldiers. He appointed them as safety guards. Moreover, a ventilation system was installed in the mine and anti-dust masks were provided. Working after hours was banned and Lloyd installed bath facilities at the entrance of the mine. Not only that, he gave the orc miners a lodging where they could rest up and be at ease.
On top of that, there is also storage as well. He expanded the storage annexed to the estate.
The storage was for stockpiling the coal. Lloyd had to spend a whole month making a proper excavation system.
Meanwhile, the orc miners went all out and boasted their strengths with their entire hearts.
They impeccably satisfied the expectations Lloyd had for them. Truly, they were the best miners there were. The daily labor was nothing but helpful exercise for them. They were never tired and their hearts brimmed with zeal. They wielded pickaxes with impressive strength and they could even push the extremely weighty wheelbarrows. Thanks to them, the coal excavation took off lightning-fast. Wheelbarrows fully loaded with coal were wheeled out of the mine every hour and driven along the paved roads to be stacked up in the estate storage.
Each time it happened, Lloyd found himself growing more content. Good. Very good.
The bituminous coal would be translated to money when the winter came. The thought of it brought a satisfied smile all over his face and there was something else that pleased him.
Ding Dong.
[The heroic story about you is being spread throughout the fiefdom.]
[You have set an example to the others by boldly risking your life to save the soldiers kidnapped by the dark sorcerer.]
[The rescued civil engineer soldiers have been praising you nonstop to their families, relatives, and acquaintances all through the month.]
[Now, everyone in the fiefdom has heard about your feat.]
[Everyone in the fiefdom sends their praises to your noble valiance.]
[For that achievement, you have been awarded a large amount of bonus RP.]
[You have acquired 300 RP.]
[Current RP: 911]
Great.
This was another achievement he hoped to obtain since he got back to the fiefdom and at last, his hope materialized when he earned three hundred RP. RP is an asset I can save up and use whenever I need to. It was an intangible asset and weapon that only he could access.
However, despite the flood of accomplishments, he didn't idle around and lose focus. There was still a long way to go and that long way wouldn't be a walk in the park. It would instead be rife with small and big obstacles throughout the way. So, the obstacles that he could predict in advance had to be cleared or prepared for.
"For instance, one of the potential problems would be the awe-inspiring appetite the orcs have."
"Appetite, Young Master?" Javier asked when Lloyd spoke to him that night.
Javier lifted his gaze to look at the young master. His question brought Lloyd to smile while sitting on the desk in the bedroom.
"It's just as I said. They have amazing appetites. They eat like a madman."
It was true. The orcs' appetites were incredible. If one of them were to debut as a mukbang streamer in South Korea, he would draw a massive audience.
"But if you think about it, it's pretty obvious. They are huge. Moreover, their huge body is mostly composed of muscles. Plus, they use a lot of energy from working half a day in the mine."
"Right. I was a bit surprised earlier by how much they eat."
"Right? We're holding up pretty well because we have stored a huge volume of food, but give it a year or two. We'll run out of food, and all hell will break loose."
That was true as well. Right now, Lloyd could feed them with the food that had been previously amassed, but one or two years later, the food storage would become empty.
"And that means we'd have to buy rice from the neighboring fiefdom at a high price. If we don't have a plan, that is."
"You sound like you have a plan in mind."
"Do I?"
"Yes."
"Ding! You are right."
Lloyd smiled in satisfaction.
"My dear Javier, it looks like sticking around your wise, older friend is paying off. You've gotten smarter."
"I was smart in the first place," Javier rebutted.
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yes, and besides…"
Javier replied impassively.
"I am not your friend, Master Lloyd."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yes."
"Don't you sometimes have this growing impulse in your heart to call me 'friend'?"
"I mean this in the most assured and certain way. I never, ever want to call you such."
"You hate the idea that much?"
"Yes."
"Hmm…I was going to teach you something extraordinary if you call me your 'friend' just once."
"Are you curious what the secret is?" Lloyd allured.
"No, never," Javier said flatly.
"Tsk, you are a brat."
"Thank you, Young Master. Although I am a bit curious what solution you have in mind."
"You mean the solution to solve the food shortage because of the orcs?"
"Yes." Javier nodded.
This young master he served…Sometimes, the man flustered him. Right now was one of those times. I can never make out what he is. The young master spoke nonsense all day.
Even more, he was petty. There was also a side of him that was sly and evil. To be completely honest with his feelings, Javier slightly hated him and found him difficult. At times, Lloyd was unpredictable, enigmatic, and mysterious in the most extraordinary way.
The present conversation was one of those moments Javier felt that way about him. How he scoffs casually and explains the plan that Javier had never even fathomed in his head.
"It's simple. I am going to turn the wasteland on the south side of the fiefdom into farmland. Well, if you're asking how I will do it, I'm thinking of mixing the vertical drain (VD) technique."
"How's that?" Lloyd smiled at Javier, the latter feeling overwhelmed for some reason.
***
Translator: https://bettertranslation9.wordpress.com