Chapter 96
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Bounty of the Spirit's Wrath
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Natural disasters are calamities, yet they also bring opportunities. They deliver both gains and losses at once.
They claim countless lives and vast amounts of property, but in return, they shower us with the gift of abundance. How could anyone see them as purely bad?
That was why Ian didn't view the "Spirit's Wrath" negatively. In fact, it had a clear advantage over ordinary natural disasters.
Abundance.
The natural disasters triggered by the Spirit's Wrath came with tremendous bounty. The highly concentrated spirit power infused the earth with immense vitality.
That was exactly why Ian had high expectations despite the landslides and flooding in his territory.
He'd dared to hope that the soil would become so fertile that crop yields would skyrocket.
And sure enough, he was right. The soil had transformed into something incomparably richer than before.
"This is beyond belief. It's practically a miracle!"
Those were the words of the elf Randel. He was an herbalist and farmer from Eltea Forest, specializing in cultivating and harvesting spirit grass. With his deep knowledge of agriculture, he'd been stationed in the territory since the Eltea delegation's arrival, providing invaluable assistance.
Having been granted full authority by Edelin, he was now in charge of spirit grass cultivation in Landert County. He grabbed Ian's arm and led him along.
The spot he pointed to with his finger was the newly established spirit grass field in the territory. They'd barely finished a rough cleanup after the landslides and floods before planting, and it had only been a day since.
"Leader, take a look at this. And this was only planted yesterday."
"Pardon?"
"Isn't it astonishing? This kind of growth is only possible in the heart of Eltea Forest!"
Ian could only nod dumbly. Even to his untrained eyes, it was impressive. Planted just yesterday, and already reaching knee height? That defied logic.
"Spirit grass normally requires meticulous care from us elves to grow. For it to thrive like this without any... it means the soil is brimming with mana. Enough that it can grow on its own!"
"Hmm, I see."
"At this rate, we could grow other spirit herbs too! I need to head to the sacred site and fetch some seeds!"
"Pardon? Spirit herbs?"
"Yes! They normally won't grow outside Eltea, but with soil like this, we can cultivate them easily!"
He launched into an explanation using specialized terms about just how fertile the soil had become. Of course, Ian didn't follow most of it. He just grasped that it was definitely fertile now.
But hey, knowing the conclusion was enough. Anything planted would thrive, even roughly. That was all that mattered.
The benefits from the Spirit's Wrath didn't end there.
"You were right, benefactor! There was another vein!"
They'd discovered yet another mana stone vein.
Hwanggu had found it. But Ian knew full well it was thanks to the spirit kings, not Hwanggu.
The landslide had unearthed another vein buried deep within.
Gazing at the glittering vein now exposed on the surface, Ian couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.
'Oh man, thank you, Spirit Kings. How much profit have you handed me on a platter?'
He'd have to bring them a gift next time they met.
"Benefactor. What should we do?"
"Develop it, obviously. Can't let it go to waste."
"Great! Let's get started right away!"
"First, let's clear the debris. There's a mess down below."
"Ah, right."
Before fussing over veins or soil quality, reconstruction came first. The damage wasn't severe, but the territory was still a mess overall.
"Aindelph. Pause the roadwork for now and deploy the worker golems."
"Got it."
They redirected the worker golems from construction sites to debris removal. The massive constructs moved without rest, swiftly clearing rocks and dirt piles in no time.
Watching the debris vanish so quickly, Ian couldn't help but marvel.
"Golems really are the best. They handle work like this flawlessly. Right, steward?"
"Indeed. I can't help but admire them every time."
Golems were veritable money pits. Unlike Ddol Ddoli, which ran indefinitely without energy input, they required periodic mana stone refills.
But their performance justified the cost. Five golems accomplished what would take hundreds of burly laborers, offering insane convenience and efficiency.
'Maybe I should sell golems to other territories? There'd be demand for sure.'
He considered it but didn't act on it.
He wasn't desperate for cash right now.
Rumor had it nearby lords were catching on to the golems and eyeing them covetously...
But what could they do? Steal them? Those massive things?
'Even if they did, they couldn't control them anyway.'
The golems brought another unexpected boon: no need to conscript territory folk for massive labor projects.
With golems handling the heavy lifting, residents could focus purely on their livelihoods.
The benefits weren't huge yet, but Ian expected the gap with other territories to widen over time.
Landert County was calming down quickly. The damage hadn't been extensive to begin with, so there wasn't much to fix.
Human casualties had been almost nil.
What occurred was property damage, and how much property did rural bumpkin farmers even have? A pittance at best.
Sure, houses collapsed and farmlands were ravaged by floods and landslides, but Ian planned to cover that.
He'd rebuild homes for free and restore the ruined fields. And while he was at it, why not add private outhouses?
Wilson had fretted, asking why go to such lengths, but Ian couldn't fathom the question.
"Isn't it obvious? My people became disaster victims. Of course I have to help. You want to let them starve?"
"N-no, it's not that, but... the territory's finances will bottom out. It's not pocket change."
Wilson looked exasperated. Fair enough—no lord did things like Ian.
If lords covered all disaster damage, how could they fund operations?
Tax relief for a while, maybe, but full support? Absurd. Relief efforts were typically the churches' domain.
But such common sense didn't apply to Ian.
He had no clue how other lords handled things. A commoner born and bred mostly in the capital.
So, Ian thought simply.
Does it cost a lot?
Enough to strain the coffers?
No.
End of story.
"It is a lot, though?"
"Pardon?"
"It's fine. I've got plenty of money anyway."
"B-but even so..."
He'd crunched the numbers himself—barely a dent.
Kez was raking it in, one mana stone mine already...
Scratch that—now two mana stone mines!
"You know what?"
"What?"
"Running five golems costs way more than relief funds."
"......"
Wilson went silent for a moment, but Ian had no intention of stopping.
"Milord, think long-term. This could set a bad precedent."
"Precedent?"
"Yes. Who knows what disasters await? If you cover them every time, the people will expect even more. Neighboring lords will take notice too. It'll put you in a tough spot."
Wilson pleaded desperately. Ian chuckled midway.
A tough spot? If he cared about that, he never would've overhauled infrastructure.
Golems? Never built. Worried about glares? He'd have lounged as a landlord, collecting passive income while living it up in the capital.
"You're saying this because you don't know, steward, but we're already under scrutiny. I'm turning this place into Fantastic Alchemy Land."
"Pardon?"
Their mindsets differed from the start.
To Ian, Landert County was a massive alchemy lab.
Ignorance of that caused their perspective gap.
Not that he planned to explain.
"Drop it. I'll do things my way."
"Yes, milord."
"By the way, I want to lower the tax rate."
"Pardon? The tax rate?"
"Yeah. It's too high right now."
Ian hadn't paid taxes much mind.
Then he learned by chance. Good grief.
Fifty percent?!
Produce ten, hand over five. Insane.
And that wasn't all.
Adding church tithes and miscellaneous fees pushed it near sixty percent.
Madness. How did people survive?
Suddenly, memories of his past life surfaced.
Scraping by on peanuts at "Goodso Corp," getting refunds on year-end settlements...
'Ugh, what a pathetically stingy life.'
Anyway, time to adjust. Hmm, to what?
"Half of what it is now?"
"Pardon?"
"Fifty percent now, so straight cut to twenty-five. Nice and clean, right?"
"M-milord! That's impossible!"
Wilson jumped up in vehement protest.
But Ian was immovable. He wasn't in this for profit, and future income would come mainly from the mines.
"Nothing's impossible. Just announce it. Lord's word is law—no arguments."
"Y-yes, understood..."
In truth, Ian wondered if even this was too high.
Slashing it in half felt half-hearted, decided purely on vibes without crunching stats—a quintessential liberal arts mindset. If Wilson knew, he'd probably faint.
A little time passed. Ian had been quite busy. Nationwide disasters had suddenly piled on work.
Disaster response wasn't court mages' usual duty, but they also served the imperial family—meaning they got thrown into everything like mid-level corporate drones.
Especially favorites like Ian.
Trust meant assignments. You don't task the untrusted.
This time was no different.
"Hey, left arm. Do me a favor."
"Pardon?"
"Not too tough."
Asteon tasked Ian after ages. Repairing disaster-damaged magic facilities nationwide.
Magic Management Division's job normally, but he singled out Ian due to the national crisis scale.
In such widespread floods and landslides, higher-ups seized full control.
"Take the Magic Management crew and handle it. Got it?"
"Yes."
Thus, Ian reunited with old colleagues for a field mission.
As overall commander, no less.
Bren scratched his head in bewilderment at taking orders from his former subordinate.
"This feels weird. Giving orders to the guy I used to boss around..."
"What's weird about it? You recommended me, Deputy Director. Without you, I wouldn't be here."
"Did I? Memory's fuzzy."
"Fuzzy my foot. Anyway, let's do this."
While catching up with old comrades...
Your faction members' loyalty is surging dramatically!
Your fame spreads across all of Landert County!
Achievement 'Benevolent Lord' unlocked!
Suddenly, the people began praising Count Ian Landert en masse.
But Ian, away on duty with notifications off, remained oblivious.