Chapter 50
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Perfect Completion Ceremony (2)
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[Special rewards are being granted for your monumental achievement.]
‘Huh?’
Lloyd's eyes widened into circles.
The completion ceremony for the Marez Reclaimed Land.
It was right after he'd finished signing all the contracts with the territory residents planning to move there.
As he was in the middle of sorting through the contract documents, an unexpected message scrolled up in front of his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Haviel, who was helping him sort the documents from the side, asked.
He must have looked strange.
Staring off into empty space like that.
“Nothing. Hmm, my eyes are just a bit tired.”
“If you’re worn out, why don’t you rest a little? I’ll finish up the rest.”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
Lloyd handed the remaining documents over to Haviel.
He turned to the side and pretended to rub his eyes.
In the meantime, his eyes were scanning the messages popping up in front of him.
[You have acquired a large amount of skill experience as a reward.]
[The Survey skill has increased by 2 levels.]
[Intermediate Survey: Lv 3]
[Area that can be surveyed at once: 3,600㎡]
[Skill-exclusive options: ① Land price appraisal, ② Underground scanning]
[The Design skill has increased by 2 levels.]
[Intermediate Design: Lv 3]
[Area of structures that can be designed at once: 216,000㎥]
[Skill-exclusive options: ① Blueprint output, ② Floor plan display (2D), ③ Simulation mode]
‘Whoa, what’s this?’
He’d been thinking about investing some RP soon to level up his Survey and Design skills. Especially after developing the Marez Wetland this time, the idea had really taken hold.
Handling such a massive area had felt a bit lacking.
But then, right on cue, the skills had leveled up two stages on their own.
‘And it didn’t even cost any RP. Totally free.’
Free stuff makes you bald?
Lloyd didn’t buy into sayings like that.
If it was free, he’d jump out of bed even in his sleep to grab it.
That was Lloyd’s ironclad rule.
But the rewards didn’t end there.
The real jackpot was still to come.
Ding-dong.
[You have gained special experience from designing and constructing a large-scale area.]
[That special experience has greatly influenced the [Skill: Design].]
[The skill option ② Floor plan display (2D) will be enhanced.]
Tss-tss-tss!
The details of the Design skill option, Floor plan display (2D), appeared before his eyes.
The text displaying the option content erased itself in real time and rewrote itself. The content had changed.
The updated content was as follows.
[Skill-exclusive option ②: Floor plan display (3D) - Displays the designed result as a 3D hologram structure on the desired actual terrain. (Special: Visible only to me)]
“......”
Lloyd unconsciously clenched his fist.
This was insane.
A truly crazy option.
‘This means I can create a full bird’s-eye view of the terrain just by designing it.’
A hologram 3D bird’s-eye view almost identical to the real thing.
He could preview it ahead of time.
‘And I can tweak it anytime. Plus, combining this with simulation mode means I can check the structure’s stability in real time while constructing it.’
Jackpot.
No, jackpot didn’t even cover it.
It was an option with infinite possibilities depending on how he used it.
‘Still, better test it to be sure.’
Lloyd casually turned his head.
To the opposite side from where Haviel was sorting documents.
He quickly surveyed a section of the embankment slope.
He test-designed a simple hut shape in the surveyed space.
Then he applied the hut model to the embankment slope.
Ding-dong.
[Design skill-exclusive option ②: Floor plan display (3D) applied.]
Tss-tss-tss-tss......
Points and lines appeared in real time on the embankment slope surface.
They expanded and connected.
Soon, a 3D hologram hut stood there solidly.
“Hey. You.’
Lloyd reached out and tapped Haviel’s shoulder.
He pointed to the embankment slope where the hologram hut had appeared.
“Take a look over there?”
“Yes?”
“Over there, you don’t see anything?”
“There’s the embankment.”
“Anything else besides that?”
“Lord Lloyd, I can also see the tip of your finger in my view. I’m realizing it again, but your fingers really are ugly.”
“......Nothing else at all?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Good? What do you mean?”
“That you can’t see anything. That’s good.”
“......”
Haviel tilted his head.
His face said he had no clue what that meant.
Seeing that, Lloyd was convinced.
‘The Floor plan display option evolved to 3D, but it’s still only visible to me.’
There were other minor rewards too.
Maybe from all the daily shoveling while building the embankment.
Tool Proficiency: Shovel skill rose to Beginner Level 3.
Shovel use now consumed 20% less stamina.
Shovel movements were 10% faster and stronger.
The chance of dropping the shovel dropped by 30%.
And that wasn’t all.
‘Even RP.’
A hefty amount rolled in.
Favorability with the baron couple each went up by 5.
Haviel’s by 3, Sir Bayern’s by 2.
Relations with all territory residents rose by 3 too.
Thanks to that, he netted a whopping 206 RP.
[Current RP held: 1337]
‘At this rate, my stomach’s gonna burst.’
Messages announcing rewards kept scrolling endlessly.
On the way back to the mansion, he was busy reading the messages popping up before his eyes.
With all sorts of rewards and special bonuses, his mind was a whirlwind.
Even after returning to the mansion, it was the same.
No, more than the vague numerical rewards in message form, a far more vivid emotional fulfillment—felt deep in his bones—was waiting for him there.
“Young Master, you’re back.”
“Welcome home, Young Master.”
“If there’s anything you need, just let us know anytime, Young Master.”
The administrative officer acting as butler.
The servants working as laborers.
Even the various maids handling the household.
They all rushed out to greet him warmly.
‘Back then, even bumping into them in the hallway would turn their faces pale.’
Raw fear and anxiety.
Even genuine disgust.
They’d shown all sorts of negative emotions.
But now, everything was so different.
Their attitudes had completely changed.
Everyone smiled just at the sight of him.
Not just the polite smile for the territory’s young master.
It was the genuine, warm smile that naturally comes when meeting someone you truly admire.
Honestly, it felt a bit surreal.
“Uh, ahem! I do have a certain charm, don’t I? Ah, hahaha.”
He had to keep giving awkward laughs all the way back to his bedroom.
And why not? He’d never received treatment like this before.
‘Not here, of course, but even in Korea.’
He’d always been a total loser.
Just a poor college student.
Especially after his family fell apart, he was really nothing to look at.
After his debt-ridden parents passed away, he’d lived like the absolute dregs of society.
He couldn’t even dream of buying new clothes, always looking shabby.
He survived on the basic rice and kimchi provided at the goshiwon.
His complexion was terrible as a result.
His face always looked sallow.
Confidence? Gone.
His expressions were dark.
Taking care of himself was a pipe dream.
Naturally, he wasn’t welcome anywhere.
Even at club meetings, he got subtly ostracized.
No money meant he couldn’t even attend events.
Group projects were the worst.
When they all went to a cafe for a meeting, even the cost of an Americano—several thousand won—made his fingers tremble.
He’d get snide remarks from groupmates about being a beggar.
It was the same outside school.
At convenience stores, he’d get suspicious stares like he was a thief.
The goshiwon manager would glare at him every time they met, nagging about not being late on next month’s rent.
The peak was that vitality test gig he took out of desperation for quick cash.
Vitality test gig.
Biological equivalence experiment.
A part-time job testing the physiological clinical trials for a new drug pre-launch.
Locked in a hospital for days, taking prescribed meds, sitting blankly, getting blood drawn every hour.
He felt like livestock for experiments.
‘Back then, the only one who welcomed me was... uh, the kimbap heaven lady on the first floor of the goshiwon.’
The kimbap heaven where he’d occasionally buy a basic kimbap roll as a regular.
Her plain “Welcome, young man” when he walked in was the warmest greeting he got in the world.
That was really it.
He never really felt sorry for himself.
He accepted he was the doormat at the very bottom of society.
Surprisingly, that made it easier to bear.
Instead, he worked that much harder.
Struggled to earn living expenses.
Fought not to fall behind in studies.
So he’d nosebleed seven times a week.
Still, he clung to a sliver of hope—that things would get better someday, that he’d graduate safely, get certifications, and his situation would improve—and lived with all his might.
He rolled through the world wrapped in that cramped goshiwon room like a silkworm cocoon.
‘Well, thanks to that, adapting when I first got here was easy.’
A life where he was never welcomed anywhere.
He was used to hateful or dismissive glances.
Even if those looks dripped with contempt, it was fine.
Even if they called him a wastrel young master behind his back.
Even if they gossiped he was a total scumbag.
It didn’t faze him at all.
Compared to the constant rejection in Korea, it almost tickled.
No, even just not worrying about three meals a day while getting chewed out was already great.
But now...
‘Is this what it feels like to be a proper insider?’
No more hate or dismissive stares.
No more contempt or gossip.
Instead, gazes filled with respect and goodwill, and warm welcomes greeted him.
It was the same at dinner with the baron couple.
“Here, have some more. Eat up.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Want to try this too?”
“Uh, yeah. Nom nom.”
“Why aren’t you eating more meat?”
“Nom nom, gulp, I am eating it right now?”
“Still, you need to eat more.”
“......”
The Baroness sat right next to him throughout the meal.
Whenever his plate looked empty, she’d call a maid.
Loading it up with meat, bread, fruit, cookies.
If he took salad twice in a row, she’d inevitably nag him to eat some meat.
‘This is gonna give me indigestion.’
His stomach was already sending warning signals nonstop.
It felt like it might burst.
But the Baroness’s meal coaching showed no signs of stopping.
Even the baron across the table watched with a pleased face, in on it(?).
“You must’ve suffered so much leading that big project all out. Your face looks so gaunt.”
“Mm, I haven’t really lost weight.”
“No, your face is half what it was.”
“Baron, that’s......”
“Eat more heartily. A man stabbing at his food so stingily—what good is that?”
“Ugh. I’m good now......”
“You wanted smoked duck? Here it is.”
“......”
Just kill me.
Lloyd wanted to cry.
But he smiled instead.
His stomach hurt, but his heart felt warm.
Especially thinking of the fate the baron family suffered at this point in the novel Iron-Blooded Knight.
‘Normally, right now... yeah, the Baroness would be bedridden.’
In the novel at this stage.
The baron couple couldn’t stay in the mansion.
They were chased out and ended up as hangers-on at an acquaintance’s place.
Too embarrassed just to stay, the Baroness rolled up her sleeves.
She cleaned house, did all the dishes, tried to earn her keep.
But the Baroness had never done rough work in her life.
At first, the acquaintance appreciated her efforts, but soon took them for granted.
They piled on more chores.
From midsummer into autumn.
Overwhelmed by unfamiliar housework and stress, the Baroness fell ill.
Tuberculosis.
Blood in her coughs every night.
Tears soaking the musty blanket.
She survived death, but the suffering was immense.
Eventually, even the baron nursing her caught tuberculosis.
Plunged into despair, the couple sneaks back to the mansion.
And takes their own lives there.
In this very spot where they were all eating together.
‘Good thing that didn’t happen.’
Lloyd thought.
It had been just over half a year since he arrived here.
He was glad he’d spent that time diligently.
Relieved that the misfortunes from the novel hadn’t befallen this family.
So he could look at the baron couple and smile with a light heart.
“Me eating like this nonstop feels kinda weird. You two eat some too.”
“No, we’ve had plenty.”
“Is the food not to your taste?”
“No, it’s not that......”
“Hohoho. So it was pork you craved after all. That’s the spirit of a man. Here, dig in.”
“Hohoho. How about some freshly grilled steak too?”
“......”
Light heart? Cancel that.
That night, Lloyd clutched his bloated stomach from overeating and spent the whole night in and out of the bathroom.
♣
The next morning dawned.
“......Ugh.”
Lloyd grabbed his throbbing head and got out of bed.
His body felt heavy as lead.
‘Didn’t sleep right, huh.’
He’d had terrible stomach trouble all night.
Had to run to the bathroom multiple times.
Of course he hadn’t slept properly, tossing and turning.
‘But that doesn’t mean I can just laze around. Up we go!’
The Marez Reclaimed Land had only just taken its first steps.
Before the farmers moved in, he needed to hurry with parceling and allocation.
The traffic routes to the mainland territory needed fixing too.
In short, mountains of work left.
“Hey, get up.”
Lloyd, who’d gotten up first and dressed, tapped Haviel’s shoulder.
Ever since starting the lullaby service, it felt like the morning wake-up role had somehow switched to him. He gave a wry smile.
“Ugh......”
Haviel grimaced and opened his eyes.
Lloyd’s wry smile deepened.
“Now you won’t even get up until I wake you?”
“Mmph, sorry.”
“Whatever. Get up. Lots to do today too.”
“Got it.”
Haviel got up groggily.
But his expression looked off somehow.
Lloyd tilted his head.
“Hey?”
“Yes, Lord Lloyd.”
“Something up with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why the constant frown?”
“Ah, sorry. My head’s just throbbing so bad, I didn’t realize.”
“What? You too?”
“Yes. You too, Lord Lloyd?”
“Yeah. Headache’s bugging me since morning.”
“......Let’s eat first, at least.”
At the strange coincidence, the two shared wry smiles.
But moments later, when the maid brought breakfast into the bedroom.
They could no longer smile wryly.
“Hey? Why’s your face like that?”
“Sorry, Young Master. For some reason, my headache’s been awful since this morning, so I......”
“......”
The maid’s startled reply as she grimaced.
At that ominous response, Lloyd and Haviel’s faces hardened.