Chapter 18
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: High Risk Super Return!
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"Somehow it ended up like this. Haha..."
On the way back to the villa, Johann scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Sigh..."
Joanna let out a small sigh at the sight of him.
"What are you planning to do now? They've cut off support from the main house too."
"Hmm, maybe I should just farm in the backyard..."
"Do you even know how to farm?"
"Come on, do you doubt this body of mine?"
Joanna's eyes widened in surprise as Johann confidently lifted his chin. Lately, he'd been handling everything so effortlessly that she could almost believe he could farm too.
"You know how to farm too? Really?"
"Of course not! But planting potatoes? That's my specialty."
Johann shuddered as he recalled his days as a battle slave, toiling endlessly in the potato fields.
"I'm already shocked that you even know how to plant potatoes. But you don't plan on living off nothing but potatoes forever, right?"
"I'll have to think about it. Anyway, never mind me—what about you and Willard? I'm sorry you got dragged into my mess and lost your jobs."
Joanna tilted her head in confusion at his apology.
"I was fired by the main house, not by you, young master."
"You expect me to hire you?"
"Were you planning to plant potatoes all by yourself? And when would you clean that huge mansion? It'd turn into a haunted house in less than a week."
Johann chuckled as Joanna made a cute ghost face to scare him.
"Your salary would be potatoes, though. You okay with that?"
"Doesn't matter. My family loves potatoes anyway. And... thanks to some medicine from a tall stranger, my brother got his health back. My shoulders feel so much lighter now. I think I can keep serving you because of that."
"Is that so? Guess I owe that tall guy my thanks too."
Pfft.
Pfft!
Both Johann and Joanna burst into laughter they could no longer hold back as they looked at each other.
"Don't forget about me, young master! Now that things are like this, I'm in it till the end with you. Don't toss me aside when I get old!"
"Got it. Thanks, Willard! Looking forward to working with you from now on!"
Willard's urgent voice rang out from outside the carriage. Johann stuck his head out the window, shouted back, and savored the refreshing breeze blowing in.
This emptiness that money could never fill was being replaced by people, a feeling beyond words.
Back at the villa, Johann couldn't hide his mixed feelings as he surveyed the place, now empty except for the guards he'd kept on.
"They cleared out fast. Took every valuable item they could sell. What about the fired servants? Finding decent work won't be easy for them."
"Probably not, young master. Most of them had it tougher than Joanna here, and the work they learned was just housework. Earning enough to support their families on that alone... won't be easy."
"Can't be helped then. Joanna."
"Yes, young master."
Johann smiled awkwardly at Joanna, who was carrying potato seedlings from the storage shed.
"You know their home addresses, right?"
"Of course! But why? They like you, sure, but they can't make a living just digging potatoes..."
"Don't worry. I won't make them plant potatoes. Tell them I'll rehire them on the same terms as before. But switch to night shifts—day work might draw unwanted eyes."
Johann's decision to rehire the servants stemmed partly from pity for their plight, but more importantly, they knew about his changes.
'I warned them ahead of time, but if things get rough, who knows what they might say. Best to keep them close for now.'
"Really?! So we don't have to plant potatoes? But where's the money coming from...?"
Johann took the sack of seedlings from her and headed to the backyard as he replied.
"That's what I'll start figuring out right now."
A week after Johann returned to the villa, late one night.
In the lord's office at Viscount Domos's castle, Gellpin's eyes flashed as he reviewed headache-inducing documents. He stealthily reached for the side.
What he grasped was his sword. He'd sensed a subtle presence approaching nearby.
'Assassin? Spy? If so, who...? No, pointless speculation. Capture and interrogate!'
Shing!
In that instant, his sword shot from its sheath in a flash, slicing through the air toward the source of the presence.
But then.
Clack!
Crackle!
"Your instincts are sharper, and your skills have improved a lot."
"Phew! Sir Alpha!"
Gellpin's breath caught as the intruder casually stopped his blade with two fingers. Then he relaxed upon seeing the blue sparks and familiar night attire.
"You startled me."
"I was worried desk work had dulled your edge. Still no luck recruiting needed talent?"
Gellpin sheathed his sword and returned to his desk.
"Quite the opposite. More usable talent than expected—many ready for the field after minimal training. The real issue is how badly this mad Viscount Domos mismanaged the territory."
"Trouble everywhere, as expected from our lord."
"Yes. It's a miracle the place hasn't collapsed yet. He squeezed the people dry and shipped 200,000 gold to Marquis Lumel."
"Marquis Lumel? The noble faction bigwig?"
Gellpin nodded.
"Bribes didn't work on House Crimford, so he switched to Marquis Lumel. If the earl found out..."
"The viscounty would've burned. Domos and his family would've watched it all with wide eyes before getting torn limb from limb."
In noble clans, betrayal—not failure—was unforgivable.
Failure meant the house head's life as the ultimate punishment. Betrayal? Total annihilation of the house and territory.
Forced to witness the cursing faces and screams of the territory's people before the end.
"Is he brave or just stupid...? Anyway, stay vigilant. Marquis Lumel might exploit this."
"Understood. But the biggest problem now is operating funds. The treasury's empty, and taxes won't cover much."
"Last and this year's harvests were rough."
House Domos's territory thrived on agriculture. Good years meant prosperity; bad ones required belt-tightening.
"This land's so fertile, one or two bad years shouldn't hurt much, but that bastard Domos..."
"Sigh... Frankly, I hold back daily from smashing his head in right now."
He'd sold off all surplus food from good years as bribes, so even their belts were sold for funds.
"We're scraping by on the proceeds from your donated loot and Domos's secret funds, but that'll run out in three months. Heavy taxes now could lead to..."
"Riots?"
Gellpin nodded gravely.
Even assuming next harvest was bountiful, it was a year away. Another bad year? Nightmare.
'Borrow money now or make some. Borrowing from other territories means explaining—pass. So make money from nothing. But this land's only good for farming.'
Johann approached the territory map on the wall, stroking his chin in deep thought.
Then.
'Hm?'
His eyes sharpened at something beyond the viscounty.
'Wait, this is...'
"Vice Captain. Right here."
Gellpin glanced at the spot Johann pointed to on the map.
"Ah, the Gurkan Mountains? Infamous around here. Plenty of rare herbs and fine timber, but monsters everywhere—and it's Gurkan Orc territory. Best not to eye it. Even miserly merchants pay big to avoid it."
Gellpin pointed to the Gurkan Gorge between the mountains and territory.
"Even if worth it, the gorge's rapids are too fierce and deep—no bridge means no crossing. Though that keeps the orcs and monsters out too."
'Gurkan Mountains... Gurkan Mountains...'
Johann barely registered the gorge explanation as faint memories tickled his mind.
This felt like the key to their problem. He desperately dredged up the memory.
Flash!
A spark ignited in his mind, like finding a pearl in mud.
"Ah, you idiot! How did I forget something that important?!"
"Pardon? What just came to mind...?"
"The Gurkan Mountains! That's the key—no, depending on things, it could be a ridiculous treasure trove!"
"What?! Treasure trove? I have no idea what you mean, Sir Alpha. Could you explain more clearly?"
To the bewildered Gellpin, Johann replied excitedly, like a kid eyeing a birthday gift.
"Vice Captain Gellpin. Listen well. In one month, I'm heading to the Gurkan Mountains. So you..."
After hearing the plan, Gellpin was too stunned for even a hollow laugh.
"Y-You're serious?"
"We're not in a position to joke with tens of thousands of lives at stake."
"But it's too dangerous!"
"That's why we're going. High risk means high reward. I'll explain details later. Trust me and prepare."
Gellpin decided to trust the resolute Johann. Without him, they couldn't even ponder such issues.
'Gurkan Mountains and Gurkan Orcs...'
Before regressing, as the empire's hero, Johann had once entered the Gurkan Mountains.
Subduing them and building a highway would slash supply and troop movement times.
The monsters there were tougher than average. But even they avoided the Gurkan Orcs.
It wasn't surprising he hadn't recalled it immediately.
Back then, as the imperial subjugation force commander, he'd classified the orcs as enemies he never wanted to remember.
'The empire's orders rejected non-humans, forcing the purge...'
A strange smile crept across Johann's lips as he thought of the Gurkan Orcs.