Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Thud.
The wagon train passing through the town's entrance moved heavily along the main road with a dull rumble.
Though there were only a few carts, the horses pulling them moved with a sluggish yet dynamic gait, as if betraying the weight of their cargo.
The merchant leading the small procession, unfamiliar with MacLaine Town, kept turning his head left and right, too busy taking in the sights.
The locals passing by chuckled as they watched the merchant's reaction.
MacLaine Town, newly constructed and only just beginning to thrive with its markets and commercial districts, was now attracting merchants who had heard rumors of its growth. Their reactions were all more or less the same.
For the locals, who could tangibly feel the town's rapid development, the outsiders' astonishment gave them a strange sense of pride.
"If you keep going straight, you'll reach the Lord's Manor. That's where your goods will be received."
"Ah, yes. I know."
The merchant, Jensen, bowed repeatedly at the soldier's polite directions as he slowly guided his horse forward.
"Hoh. So even this backwater finally has a proper commercial district."
Even with the same number of people, the quality and quantity of goods consumed differed drastically between scattered villages and centralized towns.
Farmers who used to make most things themselves would start buying cheap necessities once they moved to a town. As commerce flourished, luxury goods would eventually follow.
In other words, from a merchant's perspective, MacLaine Town was ripe for investment.
Moreover—
"With this many people gathered, the fact that weapon purchases are this low must mean public order is excellent and peace reigns. Good. Very good."
As a traveling merchant, Jensen couldn't ask for more. After delivering his goods, he planned to stay in town for a while to gauge the demand.
He hadn't yet realized that merchants like him, delivering arms, were already coming and going daily.
"Again?! More shipments?!"
"Yes. At this rate, we'll need to build another lumber warehouse."
"But why do we keep producing more? We've already exceeded the soldiers' supply needs long ago!"
"Curious?"
Hammar, in the middle of venting his frustration, froze at the chilling voice of the devil behind him before slowly turning around.
"Ah, no—I was just wondering if there's a reason to stockpile weapons to this extent. Isn't it a waste of manpower and materials...? Haha."
"The day will come when we'll use them all. Just keep making them."
"Of course. We'll make them. Alright, everyone, hurry up! Let's keep producing until every last citizen of the territory can pick up a crossbow and fire one!"
Hammar had tried to mask his small act of rebellion as a joke, but—
"Right. Even if not everyone..."
Even if not immediately, someday, it would have to be done.
Logan, watching the repeating crossbows and magazines being produced one by one and piled in the warehouse, wore a hardened expression.
"The stockpiles are coming along well."
Goods arriving in town under different names, little by little.
Even merchants delivering weapons, lumber, and horses in small quantities remembered their trading partners under entirely different identities.
He didn't know how long this trick could last, but for now, it was working efficiently.
"Philip is doing well."
The praise slipped from Logan's lips unconsciously as he nodded.
Not long after, the subject of that praise arrived in MacLaine Town.
"Oho. It's even more impressive than I imagined."
"What were you imagining? If you're already amazed at the entrance, you'll be even more shocked inside."
Henderson shrugged at Philip's admiration.
In just a few months, Philip had grown remarkably close to the escort knights.
The grueling schedule of traveling across the country in such a short time, along with several encounters with bandit groups along the way, had strengthened their bond.
Which was why Henderson couldn't help but feel a little concerned.
"But are you sure it's alright to return already? You said you hadn't spent all the money."
"No matter how many aliases we used, we've already bought too much. The middlemen have caught on, and prices have skyrocketed—buying now would make us fools."
"But the Young Master..."
"Ah, he's not so foolish that he wouldn't understand."
Despite the knights' worries, Philip answered with confidence.
In high spirits after touring the town, they finally arrived at the Lord's Manor and soon met Logan.
"Why are you back so soon...? Ah, I see. Well, if that's the case, then it can't be helped. Good work."
"I knew you'd understand!"
"What's so surprising about that? For now, this much is enough."
"Haha. As expected of the Young Master! Then, about the performance bonus..."
"Of course. As promised."
"Thank you!"
Philip couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
The surface reason for his early return—the skyrocketing prices—was by no means a lie.
But beneath that...
"No need to waste money buying at inflated prices and risk reducing my bonus."
...lay a hefty dose of greed.
But then—
"Since you only spent 70% of the promised funds, we'll add the remaining 30% to the total purchase amount..."
"Wha—?! Young Master Logan, wait a moment...!"
"I told you to buy up to the maximum amount. I never said anything about maximizing efficiency."
"But—that's—!"
"Let's see... adding 30% to calculate the difference... Oh, that's still quite a bit? The performance bonus comes out to twelve thousand... Ah, whatever. I'll just give you fifteen thousand gold. Good work."
Thud.
Fifteen thousand gold was undoubtedly a significant sum.
But Philip slumped to the ground with a hollow expression, his bonus reduced to nearly 1/20th of what he had expected.
Perhaps pitying that look, Logan spoke to him.
"Let's keep our dealings simple. It's not about maximum efficiency—it's about whether you delivered results or not. Understood?"
"Ugh..."
Did Philip even hear him?
His gray eyes stared blankly into empty space.
"Well, you did well enough, so I thought about giving you a separate bonus aside from the promised amount... but you don't look too happy. Should I not?"
"Who—who said I wasn't happy?!"
Those words alone brought life back to Philip's face.
It was a stark reminder of how fickle human desires could be.
Though genuinely delighted by the additional ten thousand gold, Philip couldn't help but feel pathetic about himself.
"How pitiful..."
And then, the devil's whisper reached his ears.
"Next time, I'm planning to send you on a much larger procurement trip. I'm also considering raising the performance bonus to around 5%. Something to look forward to, no?"
"Yes! Absolutely!"
With a vigor that startled the knights nearby, Philip answered louder than ever before.
Pathetic? Who cared!
The opportunity wasn't over yet!
"I love money!"
Philip Claude, age 27. The moment the "Golden Bug" of his past life truly awakened to his primal desires.
"Ah, Philip! This is the first time we're meeting face to face."
"Indeed, Dwain. It's good to see you."
"No need for introductions—that's convenient. Dwain, I'm leaving some administrative work to him for a while. You said you were short-handed, right?"
Dwain's face lit up as he nodded.
With two additional castles added to the existing MacLaine territory and the new MacLaine Town, the number of administrative tasks had exploded—but the number of administrators hadn't kept pace.
Many of the former administrators from Tesron and Silvan had worked under tyrannical rulers, aiding in the exploitation of the people, making them unfit for employment.
Naturally, additional manpower was more than welcome.
"Of course! Though commerce and administration are slightly different fields..."
"If it involves handling money, I'm confident in anything!"
"...Well, enthusiasm is good, but..."
Why is he like this?
Dwain narrowed his eyes at Philip.
But there was no way he could know about the agreement between Philip and Logan: "Once administrative tasks are done, you'll be sent on another procurement trip."
Baffled but accepting, Dwain took Philip under his wing.
"Rugel. This concludes the food supplies, right? Storing them this way will reduce costs and keep them from spoiling longer."
"...Ah, really? Haha. Thanks."
"Dwain. There seems to be a slight error in the town maintenance costs and employee payroll here."
"I see. Hmm..."
"Pellan. All the weapons are in good condition. But if you order weapon maintenance oil from Calria instead of Kyle, you can get it for half the current price..."
"Ah, as expected of a merchant—you know your stuff. Thanks for the advice."
Philip tackled the piled-up work with overflowing enthusiasm.
And in every money-related field, he made slight improvements and found ways to optimize.
Everyone was busy praising him in admiration, but even then, Philip was feverishly searching for more tasks.
His mind was occupied by a single thought:
"The more I save, the more my money grows!"
Logan's promise of a performance bonus wasn't limited to procurement trips alone.
"Thanks to him, work is progressing much faster. He's quite an impressive fellow."
"Is that so? Good."
"But, Young Master."
"Hm?"
After praising Philip for a while, Dwain asked in a serious tone:
"The war you mentioned before... Is it absolutely necessary? Even as things stand, our territory is..."
"Enough."
"Young Master..."
"I can't explain everything, but remember this: steady growth won't be an option anymore."
"Huh?"
"Soar or stagnate and fall. Those are the only two paths. If the choice is between the two, wouldn't you pick the riskier path that leads to flight?"
There was no hesitation in Logan's voice, and his gaze was solemn.
"...You won't be persuaded otherwise, will you?"
"No."
"Then I'll support you with all my strength."
"...Isn't your attitude changing a bit too fast?"
"If I don't believe in you, who will?"
"Plenty."
"..."
As Dwain fell speechless, Logan smirked.
"Just kidding. Thanks for believing in me."
MacLaine Town was in a festive mood, having just reaped its first harvest.
With merchants and visitors from outside steadily increasing, the townsfolk could tangibly feel the territory's revival.
But as the winter winds grew colder, an inexplicable tension began to spread—centered around the soldiers, knights, and their families.
The increasingly intense training was starting to show visible results.
Despite no official announcement from Logan or MacLaine's leadership...
Rumors spread among the locals, carrying a vague unease: Something might happen in the territory soon.
And then, in the office, all the administrators from various fields had gathered.
"The knight order has fully adapted to the new training."
"Unit-specific training is also nearing completion. They can be deployed in actual combat without major issues now."
"Financial reorganization is complete. At the very least, we won't have money-related problems until this time next year."
Having heard that all preparations were complete, Logan went to see his father.
Knock knock.
"It's Logan."
"Come in."
Creak.
"What is it?"
"I have something to discuss."
"Hm? Go ahead."
"We must prepare for war."
"..."
"..."
The overly blunt statement froze the air in the room instantly.
"You're not saying Vifros is invading, are you? You mean we should start a war?"
"Yes."
"So the knight order's training, your recent pressure on Heinkel and Kai... It wasn't just to strengthen the territory's forces, but..."
"That's correct."
"Hah..."
Patrick fell silent, lost in deep thought for a long while.
Then, after a pause, he finally spoke.
"Why?"
"If we stay like this, the territory will fall."
A MacLaine that developed by the day.
A perspective entirely different from what outsiders saw.
Patrick's face hardened.