The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

But there’s no guarantee that it will always succeed.

The Lord was brimming with confidence after his initial success in agriculture, but the chances of succeeding again were probably not that high.

That’s what I thought.

Rationally, I felt like we needed to place a bet and turn the tables, but since I had been burned by the same situation before, it left me with an uneasy feeling.

Claude, trying to avoid taking risks, pulled Alfoi into the conversation.

“How about we bet Alfoi as well?”

“You crazy bastard! Why are you betting me?”

“No, I mean we split it over ten years. If we succeed, we gain freedom, and even if we fail, it’s not twenty years but just an additional ten. I’m prepared, but what do you think, Sir Alfoi?”

“Shut up! I’m not gambling anymore!”

“Well, you regained your senses faster than I thought. Maybe it’s because you’re a mage? Surprisingly level-headed.”

Claude shook his head and raised his hand.

“I’m not following along this time. The stakes are a bit too high.”

Honestly, it’s not that I wasn’t considering it, but twenty years was a bit much for my nerves.

Then Ghislain slightly lowered the stakes.

“Then how about ten years? Consider it a generous offer.”

“No. This time, I’d rather just die.”

Claude mumbled the last part, but he didn’t insist on going through with it.

He had thought it was bravado, but he had recently lost a bet because of that mindset.

Ghislain clicked his tongue in disappointment and handed over a new set of documents.

“Prepare these as well.”

“Sigh, please stop giving me more work.”

Claude complained, even though he knew it was pointless.

The documents were filled with names he couldn’t identify.

On the back were blueprints for some bizarre facilities.

“What… is this?”

“What do you think it is? They’re herbs. Contact all the merchant guilds in the Northern region and gather them all. Then, pass the blueprints to the blacksmith to start making them.”

“What are you planning to do with so many herbs?”

“I told you before. I’m going to make a specialty product. Stop complaining and just get everything ready.”

Ghislain was planning to create a product that had been extremely popular in his previous life.

He didn’t know the production method perfectly, but he remembered the critical parts clearly.

When he thought about the money it would bring once it was completed, the development costs seemed like nothing.

Of course, if the goal was simply to make money, then selling food and Runestones, as Claude suggested, would be the easiest way.

However, even if he could sell Runestones, food needed to be stored for the future.

Nobles don’t even glance at common goods.

If you wanted to sell something to them, it had to be a bit more special than just food.

“Sigh, if you make some weird medicine and try to sell it, you’ll just end up getting called a quack.”

But Claude, who had no way of knowing Ghislain’s plan, could only sigh as he glanced through the documents.

Most of them were either plans to improve the estate that had been left out from the previous strategy or proposals that enhanced the existing ones.

‘…I want to run away.’

But I’m just a slave who can’t be free.

Claude hung his head low. Thinking about the hard work that awaited him, his vision darkened.

Ghislain looked around at Alfoi and the other mages and spoke.

“You all split into appropriate groups, and head to the areas where we’ll be digging canals, and setting up the water supply and reservoir facilities. Check if the old wells have dried up, and cast purification spells on those with poor water quality. We’re going to refurbish everything from scratch. The person in charge of the work will be… Alfoi.”

“Why… there?”

“What do you mean why? If the workers are going to do their jobs, someone has to use magic to break the rocks blocking the paths. Might as well dig up the ground while you’re at it.”

Civil engineering projects required a lot of manpower and took a long time to complete.

If the mages used their powers, they could drastically reduce the time needed for the construction.

Naturally, Alfoi protested.

“We are mages! We’re not laborers, so why should we do that? Just have the workers do it!”

They had been forced to use their powers for large-scale construction projects a few times before.

Even back then, it had been coercive, but at least there was an attempt to make it look like they were cooperating… Now, it was blatant exploitation.

In response to Alfoi’s complaint, Ghislain answered with an indifferent expression.

“So, what? Were you planning to just stand around watching? You agreed to work hard for ten years. From now on, you’ll be actively participating in the estate’s construction.”

“No way! I am a great mage! How dare some rural lord order me around—the heir to the Tower!”

“Should I just sell you off at the slave market? The contract is solid, so there’d be no legal issues… Mages as slaves are rare, so the slave traders would love it. Imagine the rumors: the heir to the Tower, being worked as a slave? Ah, that’s something I can’t pass up.”

“I’m sorry! I’ll work hard!”

Before Ghislain had even finished speaking, Alfoi bent at the waist at a perfect right angle. His change in attitude was astonishingly quick.

‘Ugh, just you wait. Do you think I’ll let this slide?’

Humiliation surged, tingling at the back of his neck. Alfoi clenched his teeth, eyes brimming with tears.

‘The Elder will be arriving soon. Once he hears how I’ve been treated, he won’t let you get away with this!’

The branch of the Tower was almost fully established.

Soon, more mages would arrive along with the Elder who would take charge of the branch. Alfoi planned to ask the Elder to annul the slave contract.

‘Just endure until then. Damn it!’

With their tasks assigned, Claude and the mages left the room, their shoulders drooping.

Before the door even closed, Alfoi jabbed a finger at Claude.

“This is all your fault! We ended up like this because you made that stupid bet and lost! Why did you even gamble when you didn’t know what you were doing? Saying you graduated top of your academy was a lie, wasn’t it? You useless gambling addict!”

Claude’s face was a mix of disbelief and sarcasm as he sneered.

“How is this my fault? Did I force you to place a bet? Did I threaten you, or beg you?”

“You were acting so confident that, of course, I trusted you and went along!”

“Who told you to trust me? Besides, that wasn’t even a normal farming method. We used magic, and I don’t know if it worked or not! Are you really mages?”

“What? Are you saying this is all our fault?”

“So it’s not? If you’re mages, you should have figured it out quickly. If you had caught on halfway, we could’ve at least turned it into a draw. Ugh, incompetent mages.”

“Incompetent? This bastard dares to talk down to a mage from the Tower!”

“Yeah, next up, the slave. But I’m still the Chief Overseer of this estate, you know?”

“Does that mean a Chief Overseer can’t die from magic?”

“Oh, look at this! Are you really trying to threaten me, you freeloaders? Go ahead, try it.”

“What? Freeloaders? This bastard!”

Alfoi trembled with anger, summoning his mana.

The mages behind him also glared at Claude, drawing their mana as well.

“Oh, wow, you’re actually going to use magic? Wendy, what are you doing! They’re bullying me!”

Wendy clicked her tongue and pulled out a dagger. Claude quickly darted behind her.

“Come on, then! Come on, you bastards!”

Both sides glared at each other, ready to find an opening—a tense, explosive standoff.

Ghislain, who had been leisurely coming out to inspect the estate, saw the scene and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, instead of doing your work, you’re all fighting like this. Real impressive. Resolve things with conversation, not violence. Don’t make me have to throw a punch. Help me stick to my peaceful, non-violent principles, will you?”

At Ghislain’s words, both sides scowled but stepped back.

Hearing such words from the Lord was enough to make them want to cry out of frustration.

“What are you doing? Do you have nothing better to do? Got time to spare? Must be short on work, huh?”

“We’re going, we’re going!”

Claude and the mages, fearing Ghislain might throw more work at them, hurriedly scattered.

Ghislain chuckled at their defeated figures and continued on his inspection of the estate.

* * *

Even after succeeding in wheat cultivation, Ghislain didn’t stop buying food supplies from other estates.

He hoarded so much food that even the vassals were stunned, as if they were haunted by a ghost that had starved to death.

By the time the wheat harvest was complete, there would be an enormous stockpile of food in Baron Fenris’s estate.

“We won’t have to worry about starving at all now. With the Lord going this far, let’s just push a little harder.”

“Isn’t it amazing how they’re still growing even in winter? Our Lord seems to know everything.”

“They say we can harvest in three months? To think we can gather this much four times a year.”

The residents of the estate praised Ghislain every day without fail and focused on their tasks.

With the Lord continuing to inject money, people looking for work kept flocking to the estate.

The estate was now more vibrant than it had ever been. Fenris’s estate was rapidly developing.

Thanks to the workers’ diligence, the branch of the Tower was completed quickly as well.

Soon, one of the five elders of the Crimson Flame Tower arrived at Baron Fenris’s estate, leading twenty mages.

The elder greeted Ghislain with a warm smile.

“Heh heh, how have you been? You look quite radiant.”

Although the elder had spoken informally when they first met, he was respectful on official occasions.

Since Ghislain was staying at the Fenris Estate, it was essential to observe basic etiquette towards the lord of the estate.

Ghislain also welcomed the elder from the tower warmly.

Mages were useful not only for defending the estate but also provided significant support during large-scale construction projects.

“I didn’t expect you to come in person, Elder.”

“Heh heh, someone has to lead the branch, don’t they? And there’s the matter of managing the Runestone trade.”

The elder’s expression darkened slightly.

In truth, this issue had stirred quite a bit of discussion within the tower. None of the elders wanted to go.

No matter how important it was to oversee a branch, who in their right mind would want to be stationed in such a wretched place?

In the end, it was decided by drawing lots, and the elder who got picked was even showing early symptoms of depression.

Noticing his discomfort, Ghislain soothed him with a gentle voice.

“Is it really necessary for you to do this? This place is….”

At that moment, someone interrupted, screaming as they ran over.

“Ahhh! Elder! Elder! It’s me, Alfoi!”

“Hmm? Alfoi?”

The elder tilted his head in confusion.

He hadn’t imagined that the arrogant and insolent heir to the tower master would greet him so eagerly.

Alfoi, who had hurried over, quickly shouted to the bewildered elder.

“Elder! Please save me! This lord is trying to make me a slave…!”

Belinda, who was standing next to Ghislain, swiftly approached and grabbed Alfoi by the head, twisting his neck.

Crack!

The shock of his neck being twisted caused Alfoi to lose consciousness mid-sentence.

“W-What is going on here…!”

At that moment, Ghislain gently placed his arm around the elder’s back, naturally blocking his view of Alfoi.

“Haha, it seems he’s been overworking himself lately and got a bit tired.”

“No, that’s not it. His neck just….”

“It’s fine. He’s been conducting various experiments lately, and something might have gone wrong, causing him to behave strangely. He even asked me to knock him out whenever it happened. Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and take him away.”

Belinda quickly carried Alfoi off.

The elder blinked, not fully understanding the situation, as Ghislain leaned in and spoke softly.

“Isn’t it a bit much for someone like you to be living out here in the countryside, Elder? This estate still lacks a lot.”

“That’s true, but….”

“Why not appoint Alfoi as the branch head, and you can just visit occasionally to check on things?”

“…Would that be alright?”

“Of course. With twenty mages now added, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”

Having a 5th-circle mage would certainly help defend the estate. But that was about it.

Vanessa’s knowledge level was far superior anyway, so rather than pampering an elder who lacked motivation, it was better to make Alfoi the one in charge and work him to the bone.

“The estate has been a bit chaotic lately. In this condition, it feels inadequate to properly host you, Elder. It troubles me. Please, don’t worry and just return.”

“Hmm, but this was decided by the tower….”

“I can speak directly to the tower master later and explain everything properly. Leave the rest to me and just head back. Right now.”

The elder felt a chill run down his spine.

The words were polite, but the atmosphere felt almost threatening.

Ghislain’s seemingly kind yet strangely glistening eyes seemed to be saying,

“If you don’t leave, things will get quite troublesome.”

“Y-Yes, perhaps I should? I’ll just head back then. I’m not sure if this is really okay, though….”

“Yes, we’ll be selling part of the Runestones mined this time, so you can take those back with you. As promised, we’ll only charge the standard rate. Though, you’re aware the prices have gone up a bit lately, right?”

Due to the Scarlet Tower’s hoarding, the price of Runestones had been steadily rising.

Thanks to Ghislain, the Crimson Flame Tower could barely manage to catch its breath.

Until they could source Runestones from elsewhere, they had no choice but to follow Ghislain’s lead.

The elder, who had been wondering how to broach the subject of Runestones, brightened up.

“Very well. I’ll report this to the tower master. Under my authority, I’ll pass the branch head position to Alfoi.”

Not that he had a veto.

The elder accepted the terms and hurriedly departed.

He knew well from experience that trying to converse for long with the unreasonable Ghislain would only be a loss.

He didn’t want to be here in the first place, so being pushed to leave was a welcome outcome for him.

“Phew, now the numbers are about right.”

Ghislain smiled after seeing the elder off.

A total of twenty-six mages were now staying at the estate under the pretext of the branch. It was a number that even most grand lords would struggle to match.

Though their skills weren’t particularly high, that made them easier to utilize for various tasks.

The newly arrived mages were slightly bewildered by the elder’s sudden departure but didn’t worry too much.

They were confident, after all, being mages from the most prestigious tower in the North.

Seeing their blatant arrogance, Ghislain couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

But he hid his thoughts and greeted them warmly with a friendly smile, opening his arms wide in welcome.

“You’ve come a long way. Welcome. I look forward to your help in supporting the estate.”

The mages smiled pleasantly, feeling honored to be welcomed so warmly, even by the lord himself.

They had likely come expecting a peaceful retreat in the quiet countryside, but Ghislain had other plans.

‘Looks like the construction will finish faster.’

These mages would become a valuable labor force for the estate.