Chapter 32 - Otto’s Relentless Winter, Loyalty Forged in Training
Otto’s Relentless Winter, Loyalty Forged in Training
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Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Otto’s Relentless Winter, Loyalty Forged in Training
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Once Otto threw himself into physical training, rather disturbing rumors began making the rounds within the royal palace.
“Have you heard? They say His Highness and Head Maid Olive are more than just colleagues.”
“Really~?”
“Apparently it’s been absolute chaos every morning and evening.”
“Oh my!”
“You know, His Highness’s tastes are a bit unusual.”
“Well… he even got completely tangled up with that witch. It was a whole mess.”
That was not the maids’ fault.
“Aaah! Aaaaah! Aaaaah!”
“How is it! Do you like it!”
“I, I do! Aaaaargh!”
“Good! Here we go again!”
“Gguweeeeeek!”
Since suggestive, easily misinterpreted noises echoed from Otto’s bedroom every morning and evening, people could hardly be blamed for jumping to conclusions.
Otto, completely unaware that those rumors were spreading, showed up every morning for the physical training held on the parade ground.
“Huff! Huh! Huff!”
“Trainee! Are you going to give up!”
“Nooooo!”
“Then run! Now!”
“Aaagh!!!”
Even on days when the snow was pouring down.
Even in the brutal cold that dipped past minus 30 degrees.
Otto did not skip physical training even once.
Even when he was in poor condition, he dragged himself to the parade ground and collapsed.
As time went on, the cold winter passed, and spring arrived with flowers in bloom.
“Mm! Great weather! Today we’re going on a picnic! Everyone assemble at the parade ground in full gear in one hour!”
As one might expect, it was not an actual picnic.
“We’re running from here to the parade ground! Go!”
Instructor Spooner’s idea of a picnic was nothing short of hellish training, a fifteen kilometer run along mountain paths in full gear.
“Huff! Huh! Huff!”
“Uuughhh!”
Even for soldiers with excellent stamina, running fifteen kilometers of mountain trails in full gear was extremely demanding.
“I... I can’t keep going anymore. Huff, huh….”
“My legs… my legsss….”
Stragglers started appearing one after another.
“Uuueeek!”
“Ueek!”
Quite a few soldiers ended up vomiting mid-run.
That was how extreme the training intensity of the fifteen kilometer full gear mountain run truly was.
And Otto led the charge at the very front of that grueling, nightmarish course.
In this mountain run exercise, Otto claimed an overwhelmingly decisive first place.
“Your stamina is absolute trash! A disgrace! Do the dropouts have no shame!”
He even had enough spare energy to mock the soldiers trailing behind him.
Otto, who had once struggled to complete even a five kilometer run, was now physically overwhelming the soldiers with ease.
All of it was thanks to Olive.
By receiving treatment and massages from Olive every morning and evening, he was able to make absurdly rapid progress.
The fact that he had taken the [Lloyd Potion], effectively giving himself permanent doping, also played a part.
“Huff… huff… you’re really incredible. At first, even a five kilometer run was tough for you….”
“I just can’t keep up anymore. Huff, huh.”
Otto earned genuine recognition from the soldiers.
By setting aside his rank and status and training side by side with the soldiers every day, he managed to win them over.
Because of that, the soldiers’ loyalty toward Otto continued to deepen.
‘My stamina’s pretty much where it needs to be now. My strength is more than enough. I’m level 53 at the moment, so… if I level up just a bit more, I should head straight to the sanctuary.’
Otto checked his level and smiled.
After maintaining physical training throughout the winter, Otto’s level had risen to 53 before he even noticed.
The level up system in the game [Territory War] differed greatly from conventional games.
In [Territory War], players did not need to kill others in order to gain experience points.
Experience could be acquired through nearly every action a player carried out.
Whether it was physical training.
Studying.
Or swordsmanship.
As long as you devoted yourself and repeated it diligently, experience accumulated naturally and your level increased.
Up to level 200, leveling was entirely achievable through the development of the territory or nation under your rule, making it unnecessary to strain yourself hunting monsters.
Naturally, if one aspired to become a ruler renowned for overwhelming martial prowess, then from level 200 onward, battling formidable enemies or achieving great feats on the battlefield would be unavoidable.
* * *
Otto’s rise in level also meant that the Lota Kingdom itself had grown.
The Lota Kingdom was developing rapidly thanks to a massive investment of forty million Ber from the goblin merchant Ego, roughly forty billion won by modern standards.
In a properly established kingdom, attempting to drive national development with forty million Ber would be laughable, but because Lota was an extremely underdeveloped rural backwater, even such a modest sum enabled swift growth.
And there was more to it than that.
“Then just send me 500 cows.”
“L-Lord Archduke… 500 cows is a bit….”
“Damn it! I came all this way at my age, practically reduced to begging! Surely you are not planning to send me away empty handed?”
“O.. Of course not! How could I possibly let the Archduke leave with nothing!”
“Then stop quibbling and simply provide the 500 cows. Why are you being so stingy about it?”
“A-All right.”
“I am deeply grateful for your generosity.”
Archduke Wazir, an SSS grade hero, visited numerous rulers and successfully extracted a wide range of support from them.
Because the Lota Kingdom was desperately poor, he appealed to wealthier kingdoms, asking them to help on humanitarian grounds.
As a result, the Lota Kingdom was receiving free aid such as food, iron, timber, livestock, and money from various countries, allowing it to grow explosively in a short time.
“Damn it!”
Meanwhile, Wazir stormed off to find Otto, seething with anger.
*BAANG!*
Wazir kicked open the door to Otto’s office and barked out in anger.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Otto, who had been asleep with his head on the desk, sprang up in shock.
“Oh? So you sent this old man off to do all the work while you sat around slacking, is that how it is?”
“Uh…?”
“What is the reason you rejected the documents I submitted.”
Wazir asked Otto with an unsettling smile.
“I told you it was urgent and asked you to approve it quickly, didn’t I? I even said you didn’t need to read it and could just stamp it.”
“Oh, that?”
Otto finally realized why Wazir was upset and smiled.
“There was no reason to approve them.”
“What did you say? No reason? Did you even read the documents?”
“Of course I read them.”
“And after reading them you still say there’s no reason? If you don’t approve it, we can’t even build infrastructure in this rural backwater….”
“We’re not building it.”
Otto said bluntly.
“What did you say? You won’t build it? You’re preparing for a coming world war and yet you refuse to construct national infrastructure?”
“Because it’s inefficient.”
“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?”
“It’s a waste of money.”
Otto replied with a casual shrug.
“We’re not going to be stuck here forever.”
".....?"
“As our territory expands, a new capital will inevitably be established. Is there really any reason to spend money here? We can simply make use of the infrastructure already present in conquered lands.”
Even during his time playing [Territory War], Otto had never made significant investments in this region.
Instead, he focused his resources on military strength and technological development, preparing for continental expansion.
Because Otto is the type who obsessively pursues gains, he considers efficiency very important in everything he does.
“Kuhahahahahaha!”
Wazir let out a thunderous laugh.
“Excellent. I like it very much.”
“Yes?”
“So you’re thinking long term?”
“Of course. Proper prioritization is how you save time, money, and effort.”
“Good. Then we’ll invest in military strength instead of infrastructure.”
“Now we’re finally on the same page.”
At that moment.
“Your Highness. A diplomat from the Seoden Territory has come to see you.”
Camille reported to Otto.
“Huh? Already?”
“Excuse me…?”
“That’s really fast….”
“You were aware they would come?”
“I knew they would, but this is far sooner than anticipated. Very well. I’ll go meet them for now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Oh, and.”
Otto gave Camille a word of caution.
“They’re going to be extremely rude, so don’t step in. Just observe quietly. I’ll handle it myself.”
Having said that, Otto set off to meet the diplomat sent from the Seoden Territory.
* * *
The Seoden Territory lay about fifty kilometers east of the Lota Kingdom and was fairly sizable, known for its scale.
On the western edge of the continent, it was one of the more recognizable territories and was considered relatively stable.
“I am Yong, from the Seoden Territory.”
Yong made no effort to show Otto the courtesy due to him.
“I am Otto de Scuderia. Thank you for taking the trouble to come such a long way.”
“Yes, it was quite the effort.”
Yong smiled coolly.
“Who could have imagined I’d be forced to step into a rural backwater like this?”
“Huh?”
“I’ll get straight to the point.”
“Go ahead.”
“Our Lord of Ventura has taken grave offense at what you have done.”
At that very moment.
*Flinch!*
Camille’s shoulder shifted slightly.
Yong’s disrespectful attitude toward Otto had clearly angered him.
“At your brazen conduct in daring to proclaim yourself a king, Lord Ventura has expressed profound displeasure.”
“I.. I sincerely apologize.”
“On top of that, you never came to pay your respects to our lord first. Shouldn’t you have come and bowed your head before our lord had to send me?”
“I committed a grave discourtesy and showed a lack of proper decorum. I ask that you convey my apologies to Lord Ventura.”
“Hmph!”
“I’ll do better from here on out. Please believe me.”
“You think that’s enough to be forgiven for your disrespect? Don’t be absurd. Our Lord Ventura is furious. He might mobilize his army at any moment and reduce this countryside backwater to ashes.”
“Oh dear!”
Otto threw himself flat on the floor and begged.
“Sir! Please, put in a good word with Lord Ventura for me! I’m begging you!”
“Keheheh. If you’re willing to grovel like that, it’s not as though there’s no solution. There is one way to soothe Lord Ventura’s anger, but….”
“W-What is it! That way! If I may be forgiven, I will do anything! Absolutely anything!”
“Our Lord Ventura is a man whose magnanimity is as vast as the sea.”
“Of course! I believe you!”
“If you promise to show your sincerity on a regular basis, Lord Ventura will be generous enough to let this go.”
At that moment.
‘I knew it would come to this. These punk like bastards.’
Having confirmed that his prediction was spot on, Otto allowed a cold smile to form inwardly.
The so called [regular displays of sincerity] Yong mentioned were nothing more than [tribute].
Lord Ventura was trying to latch onto the Lota Kingdom and extort it outright.
Seeing early signs of the kingdom’s growth, he intended to secure it as a colony before it could develop further.
‘Still, they showed up way too quickly. Did our rapid growth attract attention?’
Thanks to Wazir, an SSS rank hero, the Lota Kingdom was developing roughly 30 percent faster than Otto had anticipated.
Because Wazir had secured support from numerous lords, or in his own words, done some begging, the kingdom’s growth had accelerated.
‘It’s only natural that nearby powers get jumpy as I grow stronger. Tch. I’ll need to take care of this problem before going to the sanctuary.’
Since his level was still slightly insufficient to go to the sanctuary anyway, Otto decided to deal with this problem first.
Wouldn’t it be troublesome if something were to happen while he was away for a short time?
“Very well.”
Otto smiled toward Yong.
“I’ll pay tribute from here on out.”
At that moment.
*Shiver!*
Watching from the side, Camille shuddered, because Otto’s smile looked almost demonic.
‘It’s a lie.’
Camille did not believe Otto’s words.
The Otto he had watched for the past half year was far from the kind of man who would quietly submit and pay tribute.