The Leader Who Arrived on a White Horse (1)
Aiden, worried that his face might be recognized for no reason, didn't just cover his face with a towel—he even turned his body away slightly.
'They’ll go somewhere else in a little while.'
The other baths were designed to let the water circulate through a channel first, cooling it down before it reached the tubs, specifically to keep the temperatures manageable.
The hot bath, however, drew groundwater directly from the source. Unless you were a hardcore sauna enthusiast, it was a temperature almost impossible to endure.
Because of this, Aiden assumed this bathhouse novice would give up quickly and move to another tub.
But, as I said before, men have a tendency to become excessively obsessed with useless things.
"Ugh... ugh... UGH!"
The farmer was panting, yet he held on to the bitter end.
Glancing sideways, it was clear he was conscious of Aiden’s presence.
'Oh, for heaven's sake.'
Whether it’s Earth or this other world, it seems men will engage in a battle of wills over the most trivial things without anyone even asking them to.
Still, this was a battle he couldn't afford to lose.
Since the farmer, who was already deep into the competition of a lifetime, had started acknowledging him, the only way to avoid being exposed was to hope the man would retreat on his own.
If he messed up and this turned into a local legend—"Hey, when I was young, I even shared a sauna with the Lord (Deputy)! Yeah, really!"—that was the last thing he wanted spreading across the North.
"Hnnngh, huff! Huff!"
Judging by the increasingly ragged breathing, it seemed like the end was near, but for the sake of pride or whatever else, he was still hanging on.
'He’s going to collapse at this rate.'
The bathhouse had only just opened; hearing news of someone fainting wouldn't exactly help business. With no other choice, Aiden turned his body slightly and spoke up.
"Have you been outside yet?"
"Huff, huff! O-outside?"
Caught off guard by his opponent initiating conversation during their solitary struggle, the farmer wiped the sweat from his face and asked back.
"There’s an outdoor open-air bath outside. The view there is incredible. I’ve already gone back and forth a few times. If you catch the cold breeze and then step back into the hot bath, your body tingles, and it makes it much easier to stay in for a long time."
"Ah, is that so?"
The farmer thought to himself.
So, this wasn't a fair competition after all.
His opponent, who had been sitting there without much trouble despite the heat, was actually in a state where his body had cooled down from the outside air, allowing him to endure longer.
In other words, it was self-rationalization and a mental victory.
"There’s also a small wooden hut outside where you can sauna, and they sell boiled eggs and fruit tea next to it."
"Oh! Thanks for the tip. Hey, why don't we go check out the outdoor bath together?"
Only then did the man leave the hot bath and lead his friends outside. The two demi-humans had already vanished.
'Should I head out, too?'
Up he went.
Aiden stepped out quietly, thinking that he really needed to build a few more small, individual baths.
'Even if I charge a higher price, if I make them available for families or friends to use privately...'
As his adjutants said, the nobles probably wouldn't set foot here anyway just because they’d have to share the same water, but among the wealthy, there would be those willing to pay extra to enjoy a quiet bath.
'And I’d be able to bathe without being on edge, too.'
As he thought this and changed his clothes, Aiden’s face flushed slightly.
He felt guilty, wondering if a civil servant working for the state should be indulging in personal desires like this.
Throughout his many years of work, one thing he had always prided himself on was that he "never wielded his meager power for his own benefit," so he felt a bit ashamed.
'But, it really would be a good thing to have.'
He barely managed to convince himself that the heat in his face was just from the hot spring, and that he wasn't really using the budget for personal gain.
Aiden didn't return to the Lord's Castle immediately after finishing his bath.
There was still one more item on his schedule.
"Woo-hehehe! Let's go, Moo-moo! Hehehehe!"
It was a brand-new, freshly minted farm that had just been set up near the Empire’s first public bathhouse.
Even outside the ranch, he could hear that mischievous laughter.
It was the distinct laughter of a Groblin.
Aiden had assigned one official from the Technical Labor Department to each Groblin so they could find the land they liked best.
It had reached the point where he had to urgently request support from other departments, but the reason he pulled such a large workforce during the busy planting season was simple.
'They’re worth it.'
You can't put a price on a person (though, technically, they weren't human), but they say geniuses or specialists don't just improve the playing field—they break it and create a new one.
How surprised had he been just a while ago when he checked the report from the department managing the mines and the smithy?
'A young dwarf who had never held a hammer in his life created an alloy the moment he was given discretion and investment.'
The report stated that he had mixed something into soft iron to make it even softer, and then began using it to create all sorts of complex iron products.
That wasn't all.
The young dwarf, who instinctively realized that fire was crucial for working with iron, had spent his time roasting all sorts of ores and woods until he finally developed a way to raise the furnace temperature much higher than usual.
It wasn't for nothing that nobles drooled whenever they saw demi-humans.
Because of this, Aiden had promised the Groblins that he would provide any land they wanted within the North, and the Groblins had scattered in every direction like fish finding water.
They said they wanted to see the land with their own eyes before deciding.
"Ah-! Uh-! High Lord! Hehehehe! Did you come to see me? Let's go, Moo-moo! Over there!"
"Haha. Take it slow, uh... slow! Slow!"
The Groblin, who had become a happy rancher after building his farm, started charging toward him riding a bull that was 1.5 times the size of any other.
Usually, Koreans tend to think of cows as having gentle, innocent eyes, but the cattle of the North were not the kind of creatures that made you feel sorry or heartbroken just by looking at them.
Perhaps it was the climate, or perhaps there was something special about this land—the people were strong, so why would the beasts be any different?
"Whoa!"
Hiiing-! Huff!
The bull, snorting and exhaling rough breaths like a racehorse that had just finished a race, had an appearance that made one wonder, 'Wait, can a full-grown bull just stomp a wolf to death?'
"It's a Moo-moo I caught myself. What do you think?"
"Ah... yes..."
"He’s not just well-endowed with horns, so the female Moo-moos love him."
...The atmosphere suddenly turned R-rated.
"Woo-hehehe! Now I can make tons of milk, tons of cheese, and tons of butter! See over there? I’m going to plant strawberries and apricots all along that side. And if you cook them well and make fruit jam mixed with butter, do you know how delicious that is? High Lord, when it’s finished, I’ll give you this much butter fruit jam as a gift!"
Then, he climbed down from the bull, twisted his body, and poked Aiden’s calf.
"A gift for the land!"
It was a bit awkward for a conversation or action between adults, but Aiden couldn't help but smile, feeling the pure, unadulterated sincerity behind it.
"So, you’re not just running a ranch."
"Of course! Obviously! I’m good at everything, aren't I?"
He claimed to be good at raising animals, making butter, and farming, too.
"Fruit farming will do well around here thanks to the hot water. I was thinking of trying to grow grapes, too. High Lord, do you like grapes?"
"I do. I like grapes, and I like wine, too. But won't they freeze to death in the winter? Even if the ground is warm, a lot of snow will pile up on top."
"As long as the roots don't die, it’s fine. I’ll just work hard to clear the snow that piles up. Hehe."
"If you need help from others, you can hire them."
"Hire? Humans? Me?"
At Aiden’s casual response, the dwarf opened his round eyes wide, as if he had heard something he’d never heard in his entire life.
"I can really put humans to work?"
"Employment."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"...Well, I suppose so."
The word choice was a bit bizarre, but it wasn't technically wrong, so it was hard to correct him.
"Actually, I wanted to raise Hiiings, too, but I gave up because I couldn't handle it alone."
"Hiiings?"
"You don't know what a Hiiing is? High Lord, you don't?"
The Groblin’s lips started to curl up again.
He clearly looked like he was dying to tease him.
"Goats?"
"Woo-hehehehehe!"
"Horses?"
"...How can you guess it on the second try? You’re supposed to go back and forth until the third time. High Lord, you’re not very good at jokes, are you?"
"......"
He hadn't expected to be teased by a dwarf for not being funny.
Aiden scratched his temple slightly and asked again.
"But do you raise horses, too?"
"Woo-heng-heng, obviously. Horses are livestock, too. We’re good at raising all livestock."
"Ah..."
That’s right. Horses are livestock, too, aren't they.
Aiden nodded with a blank expression.
Dairy farms, sheep ranches.
He was used to those.
The same went for the chickens, ducks, rabbits, and goats that were booming among the Northern residents these days.
But a horse ranch?
'As far as I know, there aren't any.'
Horses are like that.
It’s hard to tame wild horses, and it’s even harder to raise them properly.
And is the meat even tasty?
'Well...'
If the horse meat sold on Jeju Island tasted similar to the horse meat here, Aiden didn't think he’d go out of his way to pay a high price for it. With sheep, pigs, and cows available, he didn't see the need to eat expensive horse meat.
"I saw a herd of wild horses nearby when I went to catch Moo-moo. They’re a bit small, but seeing how they use their strength, I think they could become quite impressive. But are you really sure I can catch humans and put them to work? If so, a Hiiing ranch might be worth a try."
"Don't talk like a slave hunter."
"Ehehehehe!"
"If you hire them by paying a fair price, you’re welcome to it."
"Price?"
"Money."
"Where would I get money? I don't have any money!"
Then, he started to tear up.
"Humans have never given me money! They didn't give me land, and they didn't give me money!"
"......"
"Waaaaaah."
His words were jumping all over the place, from one topic to another, and it seemed his emotions were jumping right along with them.
One moment he was full of dreams, his eyes sparkling as he poured out words like, 'A Hiiing ranch needs to have huge land! But land is all you have plenty of here, right? So I’m going to make a real one,' and the next, he was wailing at the mention of money.
"So, give me a loan. High Lord."
...Where on earth did he learn a phrase like that?
Aiden was so flustered for a moment that he couldn't say anything and just blinked.
"Or, investment is fine, too. Ah, but equity is capped at 20 percent."
The Groblin uttered such dry, business-like terms with a completely innocent face.
Aiden thought about it seriously.
In fact, he wondered if capitalism wasn't a system meant for demi-humans rather than humans.