Chapter 80
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Making a Name (2)
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Two weeks had passed.
Lloyd's group's journey had gone smoothly.
It was chilly New Year's weather, but no snow fell.
Thanks to that, their steps were light.
Lloyd, the baron couple, Haviel, Sir Bayern, and even the soldiers who had come with them from Creemo. For once, they could enjoy a peaceful and serene trip without any incidents.
After fifteen days of travel, the group returned to the Frontera Barony.
At the same time, Lloyd's vacation ended.
'I'm home, so time to get to work!'
Joy and coziness at returning to the territory?
Lloyd had no such thing.
There was work to do.
A mountain of tasks that needed handling.
'Ondol distribution needs wrapping up. Gotta check if the water pipes are freezing and clogging in the winter cold. Plus, folks who've been firing up their ondols hard since early winter must be running low on stockpiled firewood by now, so prep to sell pitch briquettes.'
That's how you make money.
Make money to pay off the family's debt.
Pay off the debt to freely suck the sweet nectar from this territory.
Only then could he spend the rest of his life in moderate peace and comfort here.
It was all to turn those grand(?) ambitions into reality.
As soon as he unpacked, Lloyd summoned the baron's administrative officer.
"You called for me, Lord Lloyd?"
"Yeah. Need a favor."
"What might that be?"
"You can reach Shailo and Mitrov?"
Shailo and Mitrov.
Skinny and Fatso.
The two loan sharks who had lent a fortune to the baron's family and were playing usury games.
The administrative officer nodded.
"Yes, we can."
"Then contact them right away. Say I want to meet."
"Any other messages to relay?"
"Nah, that'll do."
"Understood."
The administrative officer withdrew.
As per Lloyd's orders, messengers were sent to Shailo and Mitrov.
Sure enough, that very afternoon, the two loan sharks visited the baron's residence.
But their attitudes were a bit different from before.
"Hahaha, how do you do?"
"Ahem! Hope all's been well?"
Shailo and Mitrov were unusually polite and courteous. They even came loaded with gift flower baskets and wine in both hands.
A sight unimaginable in the past.
No trace of the arrogant expressions they'd worn even before the baron.
The reason was simple.
'They don't wanna die.'
Lloyd smirked.
They had already faced Orc Warrior Aroshi's threat up close during their last visit. And they knew full well that the Frontera Baron and the Iron Sand Orc Tribe were blood allies.
To orcs, blood allies were precious friends.
A friend's enemy was their own.
Enemies were to be exterminated—that was the rule.
They were probably playing it safe to avoid becoming enemies of the baron's family.
Lloyd swallowed a wry smile and greeted them.
He cut straight to the point as soon as they sat down.
"Long time no see. Actually, I called you both because I have some good news to share."
"Good news?"
"I've come into a decent sum of money lately."
Shailo and Mitrov tilted their heads.
The Creemo incident hadn't spread to this area yet, it seemed.
Lloyd gave them a meaningful smile.
"Thanks to that, I can repay part of what we owe you two."
"Repay?"
"Yes."
"How much...?"
"About half the total debt."
"Huh?"
The two loan sharks' eyes went wide.
They were shocked. It was unbelievable.
The debt burdening the Frontera Baron's family.
It was no small sum.
'It was impossible to handle from the start. How?'
Shailo and Mitrov thought the same thing. They also recalled the situation when the baron had come to them for the loan.
'The baron was so confident back then.'
The baron who had sought them out.
Something about buying land this time.
But short on funds, so borrowing to cover it.
So Shailo had asked.
If it was okay.
The interest was high.
But the baron had nodded like it was no big deal.
The land he was buying would skyrocket in value soon. He'd pay back the loan with the profit, no problem.
And then the Frontera Baron went bust.
'The land broker turned out to be a con artist.'
They'd sent people to investigate: the scammer had embezzled all the investment funds and vanished. Worse, the land the baron invested in was fake—existed only on paper.
A perfect scam.
But Shailo and Mitrov weren't the type to show mercy to the baron for that.
'He borrowed on his own judgment and has to take responsibility.'
No mercy before money.
Strictly by contract.
That's the scary part of money.
The two loan sharks stuck to that principle more than anyone.
They enforced the contract to the letter.
The massive interest rate for the short-term loan—they added it to the principal every day without haggling an inch.
Interest piled on principal.
Principal grew, interest ballooned more.
Interest bred interest, principal swelled like a bubble.
While the baron groaned unable to even pay interest, the total debt had ballooned to an absurd amount incomparable to the original principal.
So Shailo and Mitrov secretly thought:
He'd never repay it in his lifetime.
The baron's abilities couldn't handle it.
So squeeze him dry with interest and seize the mansion and assets.
'That's our way. Even that would profit way more than the original loan.'
They waited.
Like a spider watching a fly struggle in its web. Like a viper eyeing a mouse gasping from spreading venom.
Waiting for the baron to wither away.
But no.
The family on the verge of drying up played an unexpected card. The wastrel eldest son suddenly started projects, bringing winds of change.
And now that wastrel, Lloyd Frontera, was declaring he could repay half the debt at once.
"Uh, is that true?"
Shailo asked, too incredulous.
Of course, Lloyd nodded as if it were the most natural thing.
"Yes."
It was truly natural—utterly factual.
An amount equal to half the total debt.
He'd prepared more than enough.
No, he'd prepared so much that even after settling half, he'd have some spare.
'The Creemo Count's help was huge.'
Lloyd smiled warmly with his eyes.
The trading city of Creemo.
The grateful place that gave him massive gains.
He'd sold the used treasures from the orcs to the count.
That netted a hefty sum first.
Then he took the count's commission.
Offshore artificial land construction.
He got paid way more than originally promised.
Thanks to the deal(?) sealed with the count the night before leaving Creemo.
'You're heading back to the barony tomorrow?'
'Yes.'
'What a shame. I couldn't properly reward you for stopping the Gigatitan.'
'Then reward me now?'
'Anything specific you want as compensation?'
'Yes. Money.'
'......'
'Double the artificial land construction fee.'
'Sigh. 1.5 times.'
'You said you'd reward my service?'
'1.6 times.'
'Sigh. I busted my ass fighting the Gigatitan.'
'Whew. 1.7 times. No more.'
'Thank you.'
...After that series of constructive and harmonious negotiations.
"All in cash, of course. You'll want to verify. Let's go."
Lloyd stood.
He led the still-dazed loan sharks downstairs.
There, with the waiting Frontera Baron and administrative officer, they opened the vault.
Gold coins and bars gleamed inside.
The two loan sharks' jaws dropped to their ears.
Thus, half the massive debt weighing on the baron's family was cleared.
Future interest halved, naturally.
'That means half the water tax from the viscounty will now stack as pure profit.'
Lloyd, calculations done, looked up satisfied.
The vault was empty again from repayments.
But he had full confidence to refill it.
No slacking allowed.
From that day, Lloyd lived busily again.
"Here! Grab it!"
"Yes, sir!"
He buckled on his tool belt himself.
First time in a while grabbing tools at a construction site.
The ondol houses steadily supplied to the barony.
He oversaw the site for the final ondol.
Thus, from the first ondol contract to all subsequent ones, every contract complete, construction finished.
Ding-dong.
[Ondol housing distribution in Frontera Territory has been completed.]
[You have successfully introduced and distributed a new heating method to a region. Residents will quickly adapt to this new, convenient heating and feel great satisfaction.]
[Ondol heating settles as a unique residential culture in the Frontera region.]
[Ondol heating adorns a page in Lorasia continent's construction history under the name [Frontera-Style Heating (Frontera floor heating system)].]
[Bonus: Massive RP awarded for this significant construction achievement.]
[Acquired 400 RP.]
[Current RP: 1,946]
'Wow.'
A pleasant message lit up before his eyes.
Unexpected achievement reward.
Plus minor construction payments.
Welcome gains rolling in.
But Lloyd didn't stop.
No grinning over short-term wins or lounging in complacency.
He doubled down on backlog.
'I was away from the territory too long thanks to that unexpected Gigatitan.'
Much to do.
He headed to the pitch briquette mine.
Spent days in and out, obsessed with safety checks.
Then checked the rental housing construction at Marez Reclaimed Land.
Houses where contracted settlers would move in come spring.
'Gotta build 'em right.'
The contracted settlers.
Mostly tenant farmers living modestly but stably. They decided on a big adventure.
Rather than stably tilling others' land, they'd take the risk for their own, even if burdensome.
'Grateful folks. Took big risks.'
For the poor, risk is like that.
Moving from a rental, quitting a job for a new one, canceling insurance despite immediate living expense shortfalls.
Each small choice a tightrope over abyss. No savings means one failure, no recovery.
Stable livers probably don't get that feeling.
But Lloyd had felt it firsthand.
In Korea, scraping by in a goshiwon daily, feeling that every moment. Even minor choices needed agonizing resolve.
No backup.
Every instant's opportunity cost straight to survival.
He knew exactly the determination these settlers brought to the reclaimed land.
'First, ease their worries. So they can focus on work.'
At least make home time restful.
Then settlers would push harder to develop the land. Make the whole reclaimed area prosperous.
A cozy house for rest.
That's the start of settlement, Lloyd thought. So he meticulously checked the rental housing.
Work continued after.
Inspected water systems for freezing.
Checked stockpiled coal status.
Thus, nearly twenty days of frantic dashing around.
Finally handled most backlog.
But Lloyd couldn't rest.
"L-Lord Lloyd!"
Lloyd exiting the warehouse after coal check.
The administrative officer came rushing, trembling voice shouting urgently.
"Th-there, a guest—a guest has arrived!"
"A guest?"
"Yes!"
"Why so panicked?"
Lloyd tilted his head.
Odd.
The officer was seasoned. Yet freaking out over a mere guest, stammering.
Maybe some incredibly important guest.
Lloyd frowned.
"Who the hell came to make such a fuss? If important, shouldn't you tell the baron first, not me?"
Lloyd snapped irritably.
He'd just finished everything, hoping for some rest. But bothering him, not even the lord—annoying, honestly.
At his sharp question, the officer stammered.
"Th-that's, well......"
"That's?"
"The imperial envoy has arrived."
"Imperial envoy? What?"
"The envoy dispatched from the capital by Her Majesty the Queen."
"Her Majesty the Queen's?"
"Yes."
The officer nodded vigorously.
Then, looking dazed as if he couldn't believe it himself:
"So, uh, Her Majesty the Queen's envoy is looking for you, Lord Lloyd."
"What?"
The queen's envoy here for him?
Lloyd's eyes finally went wide.