Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: A New Target
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After easily luring in Dokgo with Wik's help.
Lee Shin immediately went to see Kaka.
“You can put those adventurers to work.”
“Gasp! So many of them...!”
“But they can't know what this construction is for. Will that be okay?”
“It's fine. We'll be handling the design and important tasks anyway, so they won't know the purpose of the construction.”
“Is that so?”
[The total cost for the territorial fortification project is 1,000,000,000 gold.]
[If the payment is not made on time, the construction period may be subject to change.]
[Would you like to begin construction?]
A total of one billion gold!
It was an enormous cost, as the entire territory needed to be overhauled.
But surprisingly, they just barely had enough to cover it.
Edgar's territory was already wealthy thanks to its gold mine, Count Aaron was frugal and had saved a lot of funds, and when combined with the assets Kaka had brought, they managed to gather that amount.
It was a substantial sum, but Lee Shin thought of the future and invested boldly.
‘I'll do it.’
[1,000,000,000 gold will be deducted from the territory's budget.]
[Construction will now begin.]
“I can leave the rest to you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then handle it as you see fit. If you need anything else, just ask any of the territory's administrators, and they'll sort it out for you.”
“Understood.”
* * *
After things were more or less settled, Lee Shin went to see Count Aaron again.
It was to continue their interrupted discussion on how to divert the king's attention elsewhere.
But when the Count met Lee Shin, he asked with a panicked expression.
“My lord Arthur!”
“What is it?”
“What is this payment authorization!? Why has several years' worth of the territory's budget vanished all at once!?”
“Hm? Ah...”
He seemed to be talking about the construction payment.
Considering Lee Shin had proceeded without any explanation to him, it was understandable that he would be surprised.
“Construction…?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of construction?”
Lee Shin explained everything from the beginning.
From rescuing Kaka and his tribe because they would be helpful to the territory, to having them start the fortification work.
After hearing the full explanation, the Count's eyes widened.
“So that's what happened outside... You've worked hard. Bringing the Red Thorn tribe here will certainly be a great help.”
“They're already being helpful. They're the cornerstone of the construction.”
“...About that construction, I understand the necessity, but it costs too much. When the war begins, we'll need an even larger budget. Wouldn't it be better to save some for then?”
“Hmm.”
Lee Shin nodded.
The Count had a point.
Even Lee Shin couldn't accurately estimate how much money would be needed once a full-scale war broke out.
There was no harm in stockpiling a lot of funds.
But he couldn't accept that as a reason to reduce the construction budget.
He wondered if it was necessary when there was an easier and faster way.
If we need more money, can't we just raise the taxes?
“Pardon?”
“Let's collect more taxes. Aren't they quite low compared to other territories anyway? How about raising them a bit while we're at it.”
The residents of Edgar's territory weren't living so poorly that a small tax increase would leave them struggling, so a slight change in the tax rate should be fine.
However, at Lee Shin's suggestion, the Count looked troubled.
“The residents' discontent will rise.”
“A little bit should be fine, no? If we increase the number of patrolling soldiers, even the disgruntled residents will know to keep quiet.”
“Th-that's a bit... More importantly, if the tax rate suddenly increases, the royal court might become even more suspicious, thinking we're raising an army.”
“...Ah, right.”
Lee Shin nodded in understanding.
Already on the purge list, Lee Shin couldn't predict how things would unfold if they started doing things they hadn't done before.
‘Still, I don't want to cut the budget.’
This was, in a way, like an insurance policy.
It would be better to cut costs elsewhere or think of a way to gain additional income.
“I will reduce unnecessary expenditures. But as for additional income?”
“We'll take it.”
“!?”
He might be in a party and managing a territory now, but that wasn't Lee Shin's original nature.
At his core, Lee Shin was a plunderer player.
A plunderer player so infamous that there wasn't a ranker who didn't know of him.
As such, Lee Shin was more familiar and comfortable with plundering the wealth others had painstakingly gathered than with managing a territory soundly.
“I have to steal some art pieces anyway. I can just clean out their vaults at the same time.”
“What do you mean by art pieces?”
“It's a thing. Anyway, I'll earn it myself, so don't worry about it.”
“...I understand.”
Count Aaron looked like he still had much to say, but he didn't voice it.
It was because he believed that although Lee Shin's methods were somewhat drastic, they were ultimately for the greater good.
In fact, he himself had overcome one crisis of being purged thanks to Lee Shin's quick thinking.
Without Lee Shin, it wouldn't have been strange if he had been killed without being able to do a thing.
“About that, you know you're not completely safe yet, right?”
“I am aware. Isn't that why you said you would divert the king's attention elsewhere?”
A person the king couldn't help but be concerned about.
By spreading rumors about the 8th Prince.
“That's right.”
“Have you thought of a method?”
“I was originally planning to just grab anyone and frame them as the prince, but I've had a change of heart.”
Since he was going to cause trouble anyway, he figured he might as well solve other problems at the same time.
He had to earn money and steal art pieces to raise the territory's art rating.
“Are there any nobles who are a nuisance, by any chance?”
“Are you planning to target a noble?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, there are many who are a nuisance... but will it work?”
Not much was known about the prince's personal details.
The prince's existence was top secret, and since he was abandoned almost immediately after birth, there was very little information.
Other than his approximate age and the fact that he possessed a royal heirloom, nothing else was really known.
That was why Gillaim had fallen for Lee Shin's lie.
He didn't know much either.
Since Lee Shin had it, he just assumed ‘it must be him’ and didn't doubt it much.
That's why Lee Shin had thought of framing just anyone as the prince.
He thought that since no one knew the details about the prince, all he had to do was instigate well.
But there were some opponents for whom that wouldn't work.
“The target is a noble. Everyone already knows that. Even if you try to frame them as the prince, no one will believe it.”
“You're right.”
“Then…”
“We'll have to use a different method.”
Instead of targeting him directly, he could change his approach and spread a rumor in his territory. That the lord is protecting the prince.
Most people who didn't know about the 8th Prince wouldn't understand what this meant, but the king would likely be different.
He knew of the illegitimate child's existence.
“…Ah!”
“That would cause an uproar, wouldn't it?”
“It would.”
The Count exclaimed and nodded.
Then, perhaps feeling that Lee Shin's plan was better than he thought, he asked in a serious tone.
“Indeed... if you suddenly spread a rumor like that, they'd have no choice but to be flustered.”
“Right?”
“Yes. So, what are you planning to do after that?”
“Who knows. But something will work out.”
“...I-Is that so?”
Lee Shin didn't overthink it.
First, cause chaos!
Lee Shin knew from countless experiences that once you rattled your opponent, things would somehow work themselves out.
…Anyway.
The rough plan was set, so it was time to move.
Lee Shin asked the Count.
“Now we need a suitable target. Who do you think would be good, Count?”
“Hmm…”
Count Aaron thought for a long while before answering.
“Duke Martinez.”
“...!”
“He is one of the king's close associates and one of the nobles who views me unfavorably. If you eliminate him now, it will be helpful later on.”
Duke Martinez.
A key figure in the corrupt current regime, and also related to the king by marriage.
He was a figure certain to become an obstacle later, so much so that even Gillaim had once said he needed to be eliminated.
“Will you be able to do it?”
“...Hmm.”
Lee Shin hummed thoughtfully.
A duke would be a formidable opponent.
At that level, it would be possible to crush most rumors or chaos with power.
‘But…’
But, on the other hand, that was also a point to exploit.
Isn't there a saying to be wary of those closest to you?
In any case, since he shared a portion of power with the king, as long as the rumors and chaos weren't quelled, it could make the king wary of him.
“I'll have to try.”
After a brief moment of thought, Lee Shin nodded.
The Count replied.
“Are you leaving right away?”
“I have to.”
“...Please be careful. Or should I assign you an escort knight?”
“No, it's fine. Gillaim is enough.”
* * *
“Let's go.”
“Yes.”
Lee Shin departed immediately.
It was quite a distance to Duke Martinez's domain.
Traveling by carriage, Lee Shin checked his YouTube channel during his spare time.
Arthur handled most of the management, but Lee Shin would occasionally check in to see the reactions.
A new video had just been uploaded.
Jeong Yu-ra's introduction video.
Reflecting the channel's growing popularity, the view count was high again, and there were more donation messages than he expected.
Lee Shin slowly scrolled down, checking the donation list.
['I'm a Psycho' has donated 10,000 won.]
['Arthur's Footstool' has donated 5,000 won.]
['Arthur's 9,999th Male Slave' has...]
‘...’
['Kim Hyeon-seong TV, Kim Tube' has donated 444,444 won.]
Do you have any plans for a fan meeting? I'd really like to meet you in person ㅎㅎ It would be great if you could hold one later ^^
“...Huh?”
Lee Shin's eyes widened as he scrolled through the donation messages.
Surprisingly, Kim Hyeon-seong himself had appeared!
The comment reactions weren't much different from Lee Shin's.
ㄴWhy is it the real one...?
ㄴBro, why are you here?
ㄴLMAO just upvote it!
While surprised, most reactions were amused!
Although they had a bad history, having a streamer of Kim Hyeon-seong's caliber visit his channel was a good sign for Lee Shin.
It meant his channel was starting to get noticed even by streamers of that level.
“...”
The only thing that bothered him was that the person named Zia, who always left a donation message, hadn't shown up this time.
Why?
I thought they were a pretty core fan...
Was I mistaken?
‘...Or were they just someone who likes PK content?’
Not a fan of Lee Shin the ‘person.’
But a fan of Lee Shin's ‘merciless and refreshing PK.’
If it was the latter, this video, which had no PK at all, might not have been to their liking.
‘I guess that was it.’
…The actual reason was a little different, but anyway.
Lee Shin just assumed that was the case and moved on.
If it was the latter case, they would come back for the next video anyway, so it wasn't really a concern.
[You have arrived at the Martinez Territory.]
[This is your first time entering this area!]
[All stats will permanently increase by 1.]
Before he knew it, they had arrived at Duke Martinez's domain.
Lee Shin got out of the carriage and looked around.
‘It's quite...’
As befitting a duchy, the territory was in excellent condition.
It seemed to be on par with or even better than Edgar's territory.
Even Gillaim seemed quite surprised by this.
“...I'd heard it was a wealthy territory, but this is beyond my expectations.”
“Is this your first time in a duchy?”
“Yes. I never really had the opportunity.”
“Really? I heard you were a wandering knight after your family fell. You should have had plenty of time to travel around.”
“I had plenty of time, but I was always searching for you, Lord Arthur.”
“Hm? ...Ah, right.”
That's how we met.
Lee Shin nodded.
“...Anyway, we've arrived at the territory. Will you be making a move right away?”
“No. That's too risky. Let's check out the atmosphere of the territory first before we make a move.”
“Understood.”
Lee Shin headed to the plaza first.
A huge number of users were gathered in the plaza.
‘Is something going on?’
No matter how populated the territory was, he could only assume something was happening for so many people to be gathered like this.
Lee Shin called out to a random person nearby and asked.
“Yes?”
“Excuse me, what is everyone gathered here for?”
“...And why should I tell you that?”