Chapter 189
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: The Greedy Man's Good Deed (2)
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“Did it succeed?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Did she fall fast asleep?”
“More or less.”
“Are you satisfied?”
“Very.”
Lloyd snickered.
He quietly closed the lodging door and winked at Haviel with one eye.
The operation(?) had been a resounding success.
Serazad.
The Sultan’s daughter and a female swordsman of tremendous talent.
In the novel, she had remained stuck at the advanced Sword Expert level.
That matched exactly what he’d observed during their journey together all the way to this place, Kandara.
She could hardly get any sleep.
Not for a single moment could she rest without tossing and turning.
Even the slightest whisper of a breeze made her ears perk up.
Watching her every day, Lloyd had been convinced deep down.
‘It was Swordmaster syndrome. That’s what it was.’
No doubt about it.
It was just like the first time he’d seen Haviel.
The phenomenon where, upon reaching the advanced Sword Expert level in swordsmanship, all senses become overly acute.
But since she couldn’t become a Swordmaster, she couldn’t freely control or suppress those senses, leading to torment.
That was Swordmaster syndrome.
Serazad’s condition was textbook.
‘From leaving Ahinsha to arriving here, I never once saw her sleep for more than ten minutes.’
That’s why Serazad’s eyes were always slightly bloodshot.
It reminded him of himself back in South Korea, sacrificing sleep every day to juggle manual labor and assignments.
So he’d deployed his ultimate(?) lullaby weapon.
The results were beyond satisfactory.
“She’s out cold. This is probably the first time she’s slept so deeply. She’ll be catching up on all her backlog and won’t wake until tomorrow, just like you back then.”
Lloyd grinned wickedly.
He recalled the time he’d first put Haviel to sleep.
Was Haviel thinking of that moment too?
His expression grew even chillier as he replied.
“Is that so.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“And that makes you happy?”
“Hm?”
“Nothing. If things went as planned, let’s move on to the next task.”
With that, Haviel spun on his heel and marched off.
He headed down the corridor toward the outside of the lodging.
But something was off about his back.
His stride was a bit quicker than usual.
And his movements were just a touch rougher.
No one else would have noticed.
But Lloyd, who was almost always glued to Haviel’s side, caught the subtle difference.
‘Hm? No way.’
His instincts tingled.
Lloyd’s lips curled into a mischievous grin.
He hurried after Haviel, who was striding down the corridor.
Then he asked casually.
“Hey, are you sulking?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You seem sulky. Am I right? You’ve got some grudge against me, don’t you?”
“No. I have no such complaints.”
“Then why are you acting like this?”
“Acting like what, exactly?”
“You’re totally showing it. Full-on sulk mode.”
“...That’s an unpleasant assumption.”
“Not an assumption—a spot-on guess, right?”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Is that so.”
Lloyd’s lips curved even more slyly.
They left the lodging corridor completely and stepped outside the building, where Lloyd fell into step beside him.
He eyed Haviel’s profile with a knowing look.
“It’s about the lullaby, isn’t it?”
“...”
Haviel suddenly stopped and turned to face him.
Had he hit the nail on the head?
Finally, Haviel spoke.
“Was the lullaby service free?”
“Hm?”
“I taught you the Asrahan Heart Method in exchange for hearing that lullaby.”
“Ah.”
Lloyd’s smile deepened.
“So that’s why you’re sulking?”
“I said I’m not sulking.”
“But the Asrahan Heart Method is basically a joint creation we made together, isn’t it? You were struggling to perfect the core parts anyway, weren’t you?”
“But...”
“Relax. It wasn’t free. Do I strike you as the type to give stuff away for nothing?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Right?”
“Yes. I could never imagine someone as stingy, petty, and petty with grudges like you, Lord Lloyd, doing something as noble as giving away freebies.”
“...You get weirdly specific at times like this?”
“I’m just stating the honest facts.”
“Ahem, anyway. The lullaby wasn’t free. So relax. I’ll squeeze plenty out of that woman in exchange for it.”
“I see.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan.”
“As expected.”
“...”
Why was this guy snickering?
Why was he shrugging with relief?
Lloyd could only muster a wry smile.
Anyway, they’d successfully shaken off the Sultan’s daughter.
Now it was time to get to work.
“Shall we inspect the construction site right away?”
“Hm, first I need to get a read on the local vibe.”
“Vibe?”
“I need to see what kind of situation the people here are in.”
Lloyd answered briskly as he walked, responding to Haviel’s question.
They headed to the town area a short distance from the lodging.
The scenery of a desert small town unfolded.
It was desolate.
Under the scorching desert sun from morning onward.
Sand-laden winds blew relentlessly without respite.
In the wind-swept plaza stood a line of residents.
It was the queue to receive the food Lloyd had brought from Ahinsha.
“They must all be pretty starved.”
Haviel frowned.
And indeed, the residents didn’t look good.
Most were gaunt.
Their skin was dry and flaky.
Lloyd clicked his tongue at the sight and replied.
“They’ve probably had to endure a long drought. Water’s scarce, crops don’t grow as they should. This place is one of the more fertile spots in the desert region, or they’d all have starved already.”
It was the truth.
He recalled the contents of the novel *Iron-Blooded Knight*.
This city of Kandara.
One of the places Haviel passed through in the story.
A city that endured years of drought until nearly all its residents died or scattered, ultimately vanishing.
‘But the Sultan took no action. No relief supplies for the people. He even forbade free migration. To prevent loss of public support. So they were all stuck here and died.’
That became the spark for the rebellion.
Resentment and animosity toward the Sultan.
That fierce flame would pierce the heavens.
Ultimately toppling the Sultan from his throne.
In other words, this was the province that served as the trigger and symbol of the Sultanate’s rebellion and civil war in the novel.
“Anyway, it’s a good thing the Sultan gave us that Padashar. That food? Turns out it’s from the great and almighty Sultan himself?”
“So you’re taking credit for someone else’s money.”
“Well, something like that.”
Lloyd shrugged.
He watched the residents receiving food from the attendants with a bittersweet gaze.
“Even with the food, they don’t seem to think we’re all that great.”
“Well, that’s the impression.”
And indeed, they cast sidelong glances.
The residents’ looks toward the attendants—or them—weren’t kind.
No, correction.
Far from unkind—they were hostile.
Even as they took the food, they eyed them warily.
Some showed cold disdain laced with subtle enmity.
But Lloyd wasn’t offended in the least.
He knew why the residents were acting that way.
‘Because I’m here on the Sultan’s orders.’
He’d signed the construction contract with the Sultan.
He’d come here under his command.
With the Sultan’s bodyguard warriors attached.
And attendants to boot.
Leading a flashy entourage.
So how would he look in the eyes of the locals?
‘A Sultan’s lackey. Or a hated foreman. Something like that.’
Lloyd’s wry smile deepened.
This province had suffered drought for years.
In stark contrast to the prosperous capital, Ahinsha.
Ahinsha was always abundant.
A city untouched by drought.
The reason was simple.
Because the Sultan was there.
‘The Sultan always spends a fortune. Hiring mages with massive funds, mobilizing thousands of wagons and merchant ships, hauling water to Ahinsha by every means.’
Thanks to that, Ahinsha never lacked water.
Meanwhile, the other provinces denied the Sultan’s grace?
They suffered whenever drought struck.
Parched earth withering away.
Crops twisting and dying atop it.
Despair at the sight, clutching starved children in tears.
But they couldn’t abandon such a barren, cruel land.
Migration to prosperous Ahinsha was a pipe dream.
Because of their status.
‘The Sultanate divides its people into clear classes by region. Citizens of the capital Ahinsha are the uppermost class. Those in the surrounding capital region next. Then lower classes in the provinces.’
The closer to Ahinsha, the higher the status.
For those of low status?
They were only permitted to reside in provinces matching their class.
In other words, once born into a lower class, they could never set foot in Ahinsha their whole lives.
‘Dirty. Petty. And upward mobility? Fat chance. Might as well say your odds of winning the lottery jackpot are higher.’
Thus, the Sultanate’s lowborn were doomed to scrape by through droughts their entire lives.
‘That’s why resentment against the Sultan built up across the provinces.’
If life had been prosperous, no issue.
Indeed, it had been for 200 years.
But with droughts growing frequent lately?
Public discontent surged.
The same in this Kandahar province, and in its central city of Kandara.
To them, the Sultan was no different from an enemy.
They simply lacked the power to speak out.
Naturally, someone arriving on the Sultan’s orders wouldn’t look good either.
Even if distributing food.
‘Of course. They’re not idiots. Tying them to a life of suffering, then tossing them scraps now and then? No way they’re grateful. Feels more like being managed like livestock. I’d feel the same.’
That understanding made their hostile glares fully comprehensible.
But it was frustrating all the same.
“Whew. I need their cooperation.”
“Yes?”
A murmur like a soliloquy.
Haviel tilted his head, having overheard.
Lloyd snickered and shrugged.
“Nah. Forget it. I’ve got the vibe now, so let’s move.”
He led Haviel to a less populated area.
He pulled Kkoming out from his pocket.
“Kkoming?”
“Kkoming!”
“Think you can carry us around today? It’s hot— you okay with that?”
“Kko-mming!”
“Good, thanks.”
Kkoming nodded vigorously, as if no problem at all.
Lloyd patted its round head.
He asked the others in his inner pocket too.
“You guys aren’t too hot?”
“Ppong!”
“Bangul!”
“Hamang!”
“Bored or hungry?”
“Pp! Bang! Ha!”
The kids always replied cheerfully that they were fine.
Lloyd felt grateful and proud.
“Good, glad to hear it. Let’s head out then.”
He fed Kkoming some red sunflower seeds.
He and Haviel mounted its back.
With wings spread, they took flight.
“Westward!”
“Kkoming!”
In an instant, they gained altitude and left Kandara City behind.
They flew straight west.
Countless sand dunes passed below.
Meanwhile, Lloyd activated his Surveying skill.
Precisely, the ‘Subsurface Scanning’ option of the Surveying skill.
‘Let’s see.’
His gaze swept underground.
Down to five meters below the surface.
He moved his eyes meticulously, missing nothing.
But Lloyd couldn’t find what he wanted.
“Nothing. No way it’s deeper than five meters.”
“...Pardon?”
“Nah, nothing.”
“...”
Nothing?
Then why the troubled look, Lord Lloyd?
Haviel, riding with him on Kkoming’s back, felt puzzled.
‘He’s scouting the construction area. Surveying, was it? But Lord Lloyd seems a bit off from usual.’
Different from his normal surveying demeanor.
Not just scanning the terrain.
He was clearly searching for something specific.
And failing to find it easily.
‘What’s he looking for?’
Haviel wondered.
But before he could figure it out, the landscape below changed.
Kkoming had flown diligently west.
The desert vanished beneath its wings.
Sparse grasslands appeared, then mountain foothills unfolded.
Streams flowing from the mountains dotted the area.
“Higher up.”
“Kkoming!”
Kkoming’s wingbeats climbed the foothills.
The wind grew cooler. Colder.
Finally, pristine eternal snow spread below the wings.
Lloyd landed Kkoming on the snowfield.
He inspected the snow.
“Hm. Good. No contaminants. No bacteria. Naturally low salinity. Perfect.”
Satisfaction lit Lloyd’s eyes.
This was where the water for the qanat would come from.
The eternal snow here would melt into the streams at the foothills.
Build intake points along those streams.
Then transport the collected water underground.
“Right, Hamang?”
“Hamang!”
“Time to work today.”
“Hama-mang!”
Lloyd pulled Hamang out from his pocket.
He pointed at the snowfield and asked kindly.
“Hey, you like ice treats?”
“Hamang!”
“Anything with water in it?”
“Then how about that?”
“Hama-mang!”
Hamang nodded eagerly, of course.
A satisfied smile bloomed on Lloyd’s lips.
“Perfect. Let’s soak up as much as you can and turn it into water. Remember Kandara City earlier? The people there are super thirsty.”
“Hamang!”
That’s when it started.
Hamang dashed into the snowfield like it had found paradise.
It stuffed its mouth full of pristine eternal snow.
Swallowed.
The snow melted in its belly.
Hamang’s happiness meter skyrocketed.
“Hama-mang! Hamang! Hama-ma-mang!”
It devoured snow nonstop. Its body swelled. Hamang’s belly ballooned rapidly. Finally, it puffed up like a 70-meter-diameter water balloon.
“Feeling good with a full tummy?”
“Hmum-mung! Hmung!”
Hamang replied blissfully, utterly content.
Lloyd’s face broke into a grin too.
“Great. Let’s head back.”
“Hmung!”
They took off again.
Eastward on Kkoming, soaring high.
Hamang rolled eastward, tumbling along.
Down the foothills, across the desert.
By the time they returned to Kandara City, night had fallen deep.
“What now, Lord Lloyd? It looks like you brought water that Sir Hamang soaked up to distribute to the locals.”
“Yeah, exactly. For handing out.”
“Then you’ll wait until morning?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because everyone will be asleep...”
“That’s why we wake them all up.”
“Pardon?”
Haviel doubted his ears.
Lloyd beamed.
“You saw how far the intake point at the foothills is on the way back, right?”
“Yes.”
“Almost 40 kilometers.”
“Yes, it was.”
“So.”
Lloyd stated matter-of-factly.
“The construction site’s too far. We can’t handle this alone. We absolutely need the locals’ help. So we wake them all now and share the water.”
“But acts of charity and good deeds are...”
“Gotta make a big show of it. Duh, obviously.”
Lloyd grinned with wicked satisfaction.
“That’s how you rack up all the points, right?”