The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

His mana was always depleted, and there wasn’t even a moment to replenish it, leaving him with dark circles under his eyes from accumulated fatigue.

But no matter how exhausting it was, he couldn’t afford to stop.

If he got caught slacking off, there was no telling what kind of consequences he’d face.

“What the hell is this? You should assign work in moderation! Isn’t this way too much?”

“To think that you’d give such menial tasks to the proud wizards from the Crimson Flame Tower! We didn’t come here to do this kind of trivial work!”

The newly deployed wizards kept lashing out at Alfoi every day.

But no matter how much they complained, Alfoi, looking as if he was about to drop dead, just shook his head.

“The master… I mean, the Lord ordered it, so we have to do it…”

“That’s a cowardly excuse!”

The new wizards couldn’t understand it at all.

How had Alfoi, who was always brimming with confidence as the heir to the Tower Master, changed so drastically?

It wasn’t just Alfoi who seemed strange. The other wizards, too, kept their mouths tightly shut and focused solely on their work.

What on earth had happened?

“Please, explain! Why are you so obediently doing this kind of menial work?”

“Well… because it’s fun…”

“If it’s so fun, then why are you crying!”

“Because… it’s so much fun that it brings tears to my eyes…”

“Don’t say such nonsense!”

The new wizards, unable to take it any longer, began to rise up.

They’d been told by the Tower to follow the Lord’s orders and had seen the branch manager setting an example by diligently working, so they endured it for a few days… but they couldn’t continue to be exploited like this.

It wasn’t just a matter of pride.

The more they observed the wizards who had arrived before them, the more a sense of foreboding welled up inside them.

Every single one of them had dark circles under their eyes, and their disheveled appearance suggested they had been shuffling around the construction site for far too long.

They didn’t look like the always tidy and elegant wizards they were supposed to be.

“Let’s go together!”

“Where to?”

“To the Lord! We need to tell him we can’t do this kind of work! And if he still refuses, we’ll head back to the Tower! Branch Manager, you’re coming too, right? Let’s speak out strongly!”

“I don’t know… what are you talking about… it’s scary…”

“Argh!”

The wizards gritted their teeth as they saw Alfoi’s timid reaction.

At this rate, they felt embarrassed to even call him the Tower Master’s heir.

“How pathetic. We no longer recognize you as the successor to the Tower Master!”

“I’ll make sure to report this to the Tower Master!”

“Let’s go to the Lord, even if it’s just us!”

The wizards left, seething with anger.

They seemed determined to confront the Lord and force him to let them quit or leave the estate altogether.

Even as the wizards hurled severe insults at him, Alfoi merely stared at them with vacant eyes.

But once the wizards had completely left his sight, the expressions of Alfoi and the remaining wizards changed.

“Hehe, what a bunch of idiots.”

They stifled their laughter, just in case the others heard it and turned back.

They couldn’t afford to ruin all their effort acting up until now.

“There’s no way I’m going down alone.”

“Let’s see them get a taste of this.”

Driven by the thought that they couldn’t be the only ones enslaved, they had endured all the insults and kept quiet.

“Hehe, if only they knew how terrifying the Lord is. Those fools are in for it now.”

“You arrogant fools, do you even know where you are, raising your voices like that?”

“Phew, I was on edge. Once the contract is signed, let’s dump all the work on those guys.”

“Right, they need to understand why we’ve been suffering like this.”

“Seriously, they never learn until they get hit.”

Even their last hope, the Elder, had left.

Since they couldn’t escape anyway, having more people around was the better option. At least that way, they could get a little more sleep.

The wizards’ minds had only gotten quicker at scheming.

As they expected, Ghislain looked down at the protesting wizards with an indifferent expression.

“We refuse to do this work anymore!”

“Treat us properly! Otherwise, we’re going back to the Tower!”

Ghislain, who had been stroking his chin, narrowed his eyes and asked, “I distinctly told Alfoi to manage things well… Didn’t Alfoi try to stop you?”

“Stop us? He wouldn’t even come along when we asked! That guy’s completely lost it. He just sits there drooling, staring off into space! It’s because all he does is work on the construction; it’s turned him into a pathetic mess!”

At that, Ghislain clutched his forehead and chuckled.

“Hah, would you look at this guy, scheming like a true wizard; what a funny fellow.”

“Hey! Lord! Don’t you take our words seriously?”

Not understanding why Ghislain was laughing, the wizards felt even more insulted, thinking he was mocking them.

“Oh, calm down. So, you’re saying that if you’re going to keep being assigned to construction, you’d rather leave, right?”

“That’s right!”

“Didn’t the Tower Master tell you? You were supposed to cooperate fully with our estate’s matters. I’m sure he mentioned the construction as well.”

“For heaven’s sake, who in their right mind would actually push wizards into construction work? No noble would dare to do such a thing!”

“And yet, it was something the Tower Master and I thoroughly discussed before signing the contract. If you don’t cooperate, it’s a breach of contract. I’ve been supplying plenty of Runestones, and you’ve been enjoying those benefits.”

“We understand that! But even so, this is too much! You can’t force us to work like this, Lord! From now on, we’ll only focus on defense and research for the estate.”

With twenty wizards standing stiffly with their heads held high before him, Ghislain paused to think.

It seemed they didn’t understand the significance of the contract.

If he simply let them go, they’d be severely punished by the Tower Master anyway. It would be a breach of contract, after all.

“Sigh, I guess the Tower Master didn’t explain things properly. The pride of wizards sure is difficult to handle.”

If he sent them back to the Tower for re-education, they’d get their heads straight, but it would be a huge waste of time.

There was already so much to do, and losing even one wizard would only delay the plan further.

“Hmm, what should I do?”

Ghislain could clearly see Alfoi’s intentions in sending the wizards to him, but he wasn’t keen on forcing them into slavery.

That wouldn’t be the way of a non-violent pacifist like him.

Yet, he didn’t have the time to make a bet or wager with them like before.

“Phew. It pains me, but I have no other choice given the time constraints.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Oh, just wait a moment.”

Ghislain gestured for the wizards to calm down, then called out toward the door.

“Hey, someone out there, bring me a club if you have one.”

Soon, the door opened, and a soldier entered, carrying a finely carved club. Each grain of the wood exuded the craftsmanship of an artisan.

As Ghislain twirled the club around, inspecting it from various angles, the wizards’ faces contorted in outrage.

“What are you doing? This is highly disrespectful!”

“Disrespectful? I wonder who’s really being rude here. Anyway, that’s not the point. Let’s make a bet, shall we?”

“A bet?”

“Attack me all at once. If you manage to inflict even a single wound on me, I’ll do whatever you want. But if you lose, you’ll have to sign a contract.”

“What kind of contract?”

“Ah, I’m not in the mood for a long explanation, so let’s get to it. If you can even scratch me, I’ll make sure you can live comfortably from now on. I’ll give you as many Runestones as you want, and anyone who wishes to can return to the Tower immediately.”

Hearing this, the wizards’ eyes lit up.

They were each at most 3rd-circle wizards, but there were twenty of them.

Even if their circles were low, this many could easily crush most knights in an instant.

“You’ll regret those words.”

The wizards all began to channel their mana at once.

They had already been holding a lot of resentment toward Ghislain lately, and they wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

As twenty wizards gathered their mana, the objects around them began to tremble.

Yet Ghislain only smiled brightly at the sight.

“Ah, I didn’t want to add any more slaves. I really do want to live kindly, but the world just won’t let me.”

As he moved through the flow of mana emitted by the wizards, Ghislain’s club swung with elegance.

That day, the estate gained twenty more slaves.

* * *

It had been several days since a total of twenty-six wizards had been working tirelessly on construction, tears streaming down their faces.

Claude came to deliver his report to Ghislain.

“All the medicinal ingredients you requested have arrived. The tools are also ready.”

“Good, let’s get started right away.”

“What exactly are you making? Is this special product some kind of mana-infused herb, like the wheat over there?”

Claude asked, genuinely curious.

He had tried to examine the blueprint Ghislain had handed over, but all he could see was a series of instructions to boil, decompose, mix, and melt things… It looked like something only an alchemist would concoct when making strange, experimental mixtures.

“It’s something the nobles will like. It won’t be as fun if I tell you now, so just wait and see.”

‘Ugh… should I even trust this?’

Claude felt an itch to make a sarcastic remark, but he held back.

It hadn’t been long since he was thoroughly trounced by Ghislain. Now was the time to lay low and observe his patterns.

‘Logically, a person can’t succeed every time. I’ll watch how this goes and wait for a chance to make another bet.’

This was a common misconception among gambling addicts.

Having succeeded last time, they believed the odds were higher for failure this time.

Even for a top graduate of the academy, Claude was no exception to falling into this kind of error.

He grinned to himself, already fantasizing about betting again and freeing himself from the slave contract.

Ghislain, who watched him with a look of disdain, clicked his tongue and moved on.

The area named the ‘Herb Development Room’ sounded impressive, but in reality, it was quite simple.

One side was piled high with herbs, while the opposite side was arranged with tools designed by Ghislain.

“This really does look like an alchemist’s workshop,” Ghislain remarked, admiring the room.

In fact, what he was trying to create was a product that, in the future, would be developed through the collaboration of wizards and alchemists. So, calling it an alchemist’s workshop wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Bring the wizards.”

The wizards, who were abruptly summoned, began inscribing magic circles onto the tools as per Ghislain’s orders.

Alfoi, with his sallow complexion, clamped his lips shut as he drew the magic circles.

He could tell that some of the circles were designed to extract the effects of the herbs or to remove impurities, but beyond that, he had no clue.

‘Even if I ask, he’ll just come up with some nonsensical answer again.’

He was curious about how the devices with the magic circles would be used, but he suppressed his curiosity.

‘I’m not going to ask. No way. Just watch, I won’t ask a single thing. Asking would be a loss for me.’

The magic circles were relatively simple, so the work was completed in a single day.

Curiosity is the instinct of a wizard.

Just as he was about to head back, exhausted from expending a considerable amount of mana, Alfoi couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out.

“What is this? What are you making?”

“A product that’ll make a ton of money. Want to guess? If you guess right, you’re free. If you’re wrong, ten more years…”

“No, thank you! I’m not doing that!”

Alfoi huffed, muttering curses under his breath as he stormed off.

“He must’ve been really shaken after losing that first bet. To reject it so firmly.”

With a mix of admiration and regret, Ghislain clicked his tongue and called the workers over to get started.

Some of them sorted the herbs, others boiled water, and some managed the fire.

The workers had no idea what they were doing; they just repeated their tasks mindlessly.

“What’s the Lord making this time?”

“Looks like he’s trying to make some kind of medicine.”

“What do we know? We just do as we’re told. It must be something good for the body, right?”

After a few days, a thick black liquid finally began to flow out from the tool at the very end.

Ghislain dipped his finger in the liquid, sniffed it, and frowned.

“This isn’t the right color. Something must be off. And the smell isn’t good either.”

He didn’t get the desired result on the first try.

Relying solely on the knowledge he’d picked up in his previous life to reproduce such a complex process meant there were bound to be mistakes.

However, Ghislain wasn’t particularly worried.

After all, this was much easier than creating something entirely from scratch.

Since he had a solid understanding of the overall structure, adjusting the finer details wouldn’t be too difficult.

Over the next few days, he fine-tuned the ratios of the herb mixtures, adjusted the reaction times, and recalibrated the magic circles, relying on his memory.

After several experiments, he finally achieved the result he wanted.

“Oh, perfect. Yes, this is it.”

Seeing the pure white extract, Ghislain smiled with satisfaction.

He was pleased that the product was completed, but there was something else that made him even happier.

In his past life, this product had been the biggest cash cow of the Delfine Duchy.

As he thought of those who were probably working hard to develop it somewhere right now, Ghislain scoffed.

“Let’s see how well you do, you bastards. Not that it matters, since you’re already too late.”