Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Declining Mazia Fruit Harvest
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[Chapter 108]
“Why is the Mazia fruit production so abysmal?”
Count Altoid scowled deeply as he stared at the document listing the Mazia fruit yield.
His agent, Gesen, watched the count’s expression nervously, mumbling under his breath.
“……Lately, the fruits just aren’t growing well, they say.”
“Didn’t you give me the same excuse last time? I don’t want excuses. I want results, and nothing else.”
Count Altoid roughly flipped through the pages before tossing the document aside.
He had recently hosted a lavish banquet for the nobles and the emperor, which had drained his coffers.
It was a showcase for his finest slaves, so he had renovated his villa from top to bottom.
With the imperial court showing signs of bolstering their mage corps and security lately, he had planned to offset the expenses by selling off a hefty stock of Mazia fruit.
But these idiots had ruined that.
“Why. Why haven’t you met the production quota?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What I want isn’t an apology!!! If the fruits won’t grow, find out why, eliminate the problem, and bring me the results!!!”
Unable to contain his rage, Count Altoid grabbed the pen holder and hurled it at Gesen.
A few strands of his silver-gray hair, slicked back with gel, fell forward from the recoil.
His yellow eyes burned with fury.
“You think I let that greasy mug of yours get all oiled up just for show? You’d better earn your keep. You’re nothing but a useless pig parasite, leeching off my generosity.”
“……I’m sorry.”
Having vented his anger with harsh words, Count Altoid panted heavily as he pulled out his old pipe, wiped it roughly with a handkerchief, and stuck it in his mouth.
As soon as the count produced his pipe, Gesen fumbled for a match and lit it for him in a panic.
Count Altoid inhaled the smoke and blew it straight into Gesen’s face, gazing down at him intently.
“With the Mazia fruit output this pathetic, you’d better have secured some prime new slaves.”
“Y-yes! Of course. We hit the jackpot this time.”
Gesen hurriedly pulled another document from his breast pocket.
It detailed the height, appearance, abilities, personality, and proclivities of the newly acquired slaves.
“Oh…… An elf? From Lowliarin, by the looks of it. Why isn’t she in an elf village and here instead?”
“From what I heard, she hated her elf village and ran away. They were living in secret in a little village they made for themselves.”
“Five Grade 1s, no less. That should cover the deficit.”
Count Altoid eyed the elves’ profiles, took a drag from his pipe, and exhaled the smoke over the papers.
“Get the Mazia fruit harvest on track, and I’ll overlook your incompetence. Hustle those fat legs of yours before I replace you with someone competent.”
“……Yes, understood.”
Altoid rose and strode to the mirror on his long legs. He picked up the gel from the desk and neatly slicked back his disheveled hair.
It grated on him that incompetents were buzzing around him like flies.
* * *
Thoroughly chewed out by Count Altoid, Gesen made his way to the Mazia fruit farm.
“I’ve heard the Mazia fruit crops aren’t faring well. Per the count’s orders to aid our poor territory folk, I’ve come down personally to resolve the issue. Please explain the situation.”
“Y-yeah…….”
The villager replied half-heartedly.
Gesen tilted his head at the response.
Until recently, these same villagers had been groveling with lines like, “Oh, merciful Gesen, sir, Count, we’re so sorry and grateful!”
“What, you asked when this started? When did it start again?”
“Oh, who knows~ The fruits just ain’t growing right~”
Another villager, basket piled high with fruit, answered perfunctorily.
Truth be told, the farming had started thriving again lately.
The reason Mazia fruit hadn’t been yielding well was that Dungeon had kept slaying the boss of the Brianeuk habitat.
Without mana seeping into the soil, the mana-clustered fruits wouldn’t form properly.
But recently, Dungeon had asked Tiaryn to channel the mana from Brianeuk’s heart into the ground, and now Mazia fruits were bursting forth like before.
However, the villagers no longer handed over the harvested Mazia fruits to Gesen or the count.
They sold them all to the adventurers’ village, getting ample food and coin in return.
“Done working? Come grab a snack~”
“Woo! Just what I needed, I was starving!”
The hardworking villagers swarmed toward stacks of steaming fresh bread, washing it down with cool water.
“Man, this is the life~”
“Sweet as honey!”
Where’d they get that food?
On closer inspection, the villagers’ clothes were far nicer than before.
They feigned crop failure, yet they looked more prosperous and carefree than ever.
Gesen stared at them in disbelief.
The villagers met the gaze of the dumbstruck Gesen and began murmuring among themselves.
“Why’s that guy staring holes through us? Gonna choke on his food or what.”
“Oh yeah, didn’t they say not to show the agent our big harvest?”
“Gasp, we’re screwed?”
“Melena said it’s fine. Just be kinda careful~”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Careful, she says.”
“Ah, whatever~ Let’s eat bread~”
Overhearing them, Gesen’s rage boiled over. He charged at the villagers and flipped over their snack pile.
The loaves rolled across the dirt.
“Hey, you lunatic! What the hell!!!”
“Oh no, all that good bread wasted on the ground!!!”
Gesen grimaced at the villagers, who showed no fear of his outburst.
They used to address him with utmost respect, but now it was this infuriating mix of casual and deferential speech.
They’d grown brazen, looking down on him.
Pathetic nobodies.
“Where’d you get the food?”
“Hmm? Beats me.”
“Where did you get the food you’re eating!!! ”
The villagers brushed the dirt off the fallen bread and kept chowing down.
“This stuff?”
“Yeah!”
“No clue. Sara, you know?”
“Nope~ Tastes great~”
“How can you not know! It’s obvious the crops are doing fine now, but you claim harvest is tough. You’re scarfing food, but pretend you don’t know where it came from!!!!”
It frustrated him that they wouldn’t explain the situation properly. His chest tightened.
They were blatantly deceiving him, but dodging the core issue, which only made him more irritated.
Gesen gathered up the fallen bread and flipped their snacks over again.
The villagers looked at Gesen, stifling laughs.
Having received updates from Melena, they were executing ‘Minu’s’ plan to troll Gesen.
The villagers obeyed anyone called ‘Minu’ without question.
He was strikingly handsome, fed them, and exposed the truth, doubling their gratitude.
He’d even taught them this ‘deny the obvious’ trolling tactic against Gesen, so they adored Minu.
This was kinda thrilling.
“Hey, what the hell, you lunatic.”
“Did you just call me a lunatic?”
“Nope~”
What was this? The villagers had all gone mad.
What had happened? What was in the water? Their attitudes were a total mess.
Unable to make sense of it, Gesen swallowed his humiliation and tried to piece together the situation when, out of nowhere, an adventurer approached from afar.
He was hauling a cart loaded with food sacks, waving to the villagers.
The villagers handed over all their hard-earned Mazia fruits to the adventurer.
“W-what are you doing!!! ”
“Dunno?”
“How dare you! Betraying the count by selling Mazia fruit to some shady middleman! Do you know how hard the count works for the territory’s prosperity!! Handing it to those black-hearted adventurers?? You traitors!! And this is the count’s land! This is illegal!! Stealing his property for backroom deals, you vile wretches!! Repaying good with evil!!!”
Suddenly, memories flashed of all the times he’d overlooked shortfalls, coaxing the villagers gently.
Indignation and fury surged; he forgot how he’d mocked and manipulated them behind their backs all this time.
These scum were pure evil!
They’d face divine punishment!
After all he and the count had done for lowly peasants!
Tears welled in Gesen’s eyes from the injustice and resentment.
“Oh, sure~ Anyway, adventurer sir, how much for this haul?”
Ignoring Gesen’s tirade, the villagers handed off the Mazia fruit.
The adventurer generously paid them in coin and food.
“You get food and money like this! Why didn’t you answer when I asked!!”
In case Gesen blew up like this, Minu had told them what to say.
“Maybe Gesen knows, the one who pawned off rotten food on us with bug excuses~ A fellow commoner, strutting around on the count’s coattails.”
“W-what??”
“Nope~”
He wanted to rush back to the count, explain, and bring imperial troops to crush them, but first he needed to grasp the situation.
Judging the villagers beyond reasoning with, Gesen approached the adventurer who had taken the fruit and confronted him.
“What do you think you’re doing! All crops grown in Altoid County belong to the count! You can’t just buy them on the sly like this! Maybe as an adventurer you don’t know the procedure—hand over the fruit now.”
“Oh, uh, sorry. But I’m just following orders from above.”
The adventurer brushed off Gesen and went on his way.
“Hey, what the—! This is the count’s territory! This doesn’t make sense! You can’t just buy crops willy-nilly!!”
“Dunno. I just do what I’m told.”
“You said it was orders from above? Fine. You’ve got superiors too. Take me to whoever assigned you this.”
Still ignoring Gesen, the adventurer headed toward the village.
“You’re taking me properly, right?”
“…….”
“You don’t want to cross our Count Altoid. He’s close to the emperor, you know.”
“…….”
“If the count finds out you’re siphoning Mazia fruit, he won’t let it slide!!”
“…….”
“Where are you even going? That’s monster territory.”
Gesen trailed behind the adventurer, nagging nonstop.
Repeating the same grievances over and over. Exhausted from the nonstop chatter, Gesen pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his sweat.
They’d been walking endlessly; he had no idea where they were headed.
After some time, a massive wall came into view in the distance. Beyond its sturdy barriers loomed a gigantic dome-shaped shield.
The adventurers’ village was coming into sight.
“Wh-what the??? Why’s there a village here!!! ”
Gesen’s eyes bulged at the village that had sprouted up out of nowhere in the territory.
Just weeks ago, it had been a monster dungeon. Why a village all of a sudden…….
What the hell was going on!