“Father, the debt collectors are here causing a commotion! They’re asking if we can pay back the investment, and why we haven’t paid the interest…!”
“Tell them I’m not here! Damn it, we need money to pay them back!”
Count Ariente clutched his hair in frustration, strands falling out in clumps.
Where would he find the money to repay them?
The plan was to finish the construction, receive subsidies from the imperial family, use that to pay the interest first, and then gradually repay the investment by collecting tolls.
But the completion had become uncertain, driving him to the brink of madness.
Currently, a staggering 20 billion Lark was tied up in that damned road project.
Including overdue wages for workers, damaged equipment, and the interest, nearly 30 billion Lark was needed.
With the family on the verge of ruin, there was no one to lend them such a large sum.
“Damn it. Should I just declare it finished as it is? Just leave it as a dirt road…?”
“Her Majesty plans to be the first to use the road once it’s completed….”
“Argh!!!”
It was a dilemma.
Was there no way to come up with a large sum of money?
As Count Ariente’s hair piled up on his desk, a thought struck him.
“My lord! Aslan Vermont is here to see you!”
“Damn it, is it another debt collection? Just get rid of him! The Vermont investment has no interest and the due date isn’t up yet!”
“No, he says he has a beneficial proposal.”
“What? Bring him here then. No, wait! This place is too messy. Show him to the parlor!”
Count Ariente stood up abruptly, eyes wide open.
“First, you should declare the construction abandoned.”
“…”
That was Aslan Vermont’s first statement.
What was this crazy guy saying?
Even the Great Spirit of Earth, strong enough to scare off a Spirit Master, was holding out.
What’s the big deal about a construction project?
“Abandoning the project won’t solve the problem…”
“If you declare the project abandoned, we’ll make a new contract. We’ll extend the investment deposit period indefinitely.”
“Indefinitely!?”
Count Ariente’s jaw dropped.
The amount Vermont had invested was a staggering 10 billion Lark.
This would be more than enough to cover the interest for other investors, and he would have the ability to repay the principal within ten years without having to liquidate his assets.
“The condition is an interest rate of 70 percent.”
“What?”
“Do you not clean your ears often? I said 70 percent.”
“70% is an interest rate that even loan sharks would balk at…”
“Where in the world would you find a loan shark willing to lend you 10 billion Lark? If you don’t like it, forget it. You could sell your lands and your title to roughly cover it.”
“Don’t do this, cut it down to 50 percent!”
Aslan stood up, annoyed.
Count Ariente hurriedly grabbed Aslan’s collar.
A 10 billion Lark loan deserved a high interest rate, but 70 percent was outrageous.
“If you’re going to be this unreasonable, let’s just forget it. Is money a joke to you? Can I start serious collection efforts now?”
“You can take something else in addition. How about my daughter? My youngest daughter is twenty-five this year, just the right age, isn’t she?”
Twenty-five? She was past her prime.
Aslan’s face twisted in disgust.
“I’m sorry! I misspoke! Anything! Tell me anything you want!”
“Did you just say anything?”
The Count froze, a chill running down his spine.
“Then I’ll take part of your territory.”
“Where?”
“There’s a wasteland to the north of the city, isn’t there? I’ll take all of that. On the condition that you won’t raise any objections no matter what happens there.”
“Fine! Take it!”
It was useless land anyway, unsuitable for farming.
He could easily give it away.
Would this make the contract possible?
“Then the investment deposit period will be indefinite, the monthly interest rate will be changed to 4 percent, and we’ll draw up a contract to sell the northern wasteland of Ariente to Vermont.”
“Seal! Where’s my seal!”
Aslan handed over the contract with a grin.
Count Ariente hastily stamped it, afraid Aslan might change his mind.
Aslan left, satisfied, while Count Ariente, left alone in the parlor, sighed in relief and laughed.
“I did it! I did it!!!”
Saved! I’ve saved the family!
First, I’ll use Vermont’s investment to pay off the other investors’ debts.
Then, if I pay 50 percent interest monthly…
Wait.
Does this mean that 5 billion Lark will be going out just for interest each year?
Since we earn just under 500 million per construction project, we’d need to complete over ten projects a year just to cover the interest.
So when will we ever repay the principal?
“Argh!!!”
Even with the interest rate reduced from 70 percent to 50 percent, it was still a sl*ve contract.
Realizing this too late, Count Ariente cried out in despair.
***
The 10 billion Lark obtained from subduing Leon’s group was put to good use.
A monthly interest rate of 4%.
This meant that 4.8 billion Lark would come in annually, doubling the principal in two years.
The condition was that the principal must be repaid in a lump sum.
There was no option to repay it bit by bit.
Practically speaking, Ariente repaying the principal was impossible unless they found a gold mine on their territory.
That’s why the deposit period was extended indefinitely.
This way, Ariente wouldn’t go bankrupt and would continue to pay the tribute, or rather, the interest.
Parasites typically don’t want their hosts to die early.
Of course, I’m not saying I’m a parasite. It’s just a way of speaking.
[The Evil God, ‘Kali,’ is very pleased with your actions.]
Stupid fool.
I’m just rescuing the troubled Ariente and getting a fair return.
Seeing Kali pleased makes me oddly satisfied as well.
“It’s almost your turn, Julia!”
“Haah, haah. I’m so nervous! They say the Great Spirit is enormous, and even a powerful Spirit Master ran away…!”
Julia was babbling nervously, clearly anxious about facing the Great Spirit.
Unlike her usual calm self, she was stomping her feet in fear.
“Don’t worry. If you fail, the dream project of connecting the capital and Vermont’s territory will just go down the drain.”
“That’s a huge deal! That’s even more pressure!”
“Would you like some encouragement?”
“I don’t need your encouragement…”
“Since both Charlotte and Julia have contributed greatly to this road construction, I’ll give each of you 0.1 percent of the tolls collected annually.”
“What…!”
Julia’s eyes widened, and her enthusiasm quickly returned.
This road construction would have been impossible without Charlotte and Julia.
Thanks to Charlotte breaking through the mountains, the construction could begin.
Now, if Julia could convince the Great Spirit, the road could be paved and become operational.
A reward was necessary to keep them motivated.
For those whose dream was to gather 1 billion Lark and escape from me, this would be an exceptionally sweet reward.
‘Even though 0.1 percent is only about 10 million Lark…’
Even if the road operations went extremely well, it would take them 100 years to gather 1 billion Lark. Of course, there was no need to inform them of that.
“I’ll do it! I’ll definitely do it! I’ve even helped restless spirits find peace, so what’s so scary about a Great Spirit…!”
“Come here for a moment.”
I called Julia back, who was already brimming with enthusiasm.
Today was the day Julia would debut in front of everyone as a Necromancer, no, a Spirit Master.
I had firmly instructed the maids to dress her properly.
But now I noticed her knee socks were a mess.
“Who the heck wears knee socks all crumpled like that?”
“Huh? Knee socks? They were too long, so I wore them like this…”
“Didn’t the maids say anything?”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“I did! The maids said that dressing her like that would please the Master, and they giggled among themselves!”
“…”
Alright.
All the maids will get a pay cut.
I sighed deeply and tapped the desk.
Julia, not understanding the meaning, looked puzzled.
“Sit up here.”
“Here? Why? Ah…!?”
We didn’t have much time.
As she hesitated, I lifted Julia and sat her on the desk.
Then, I pulled off the crumpled socks.
They were even inside out.
I can’t tolerate such low fashion standards in my presence.
Knee socks must cover the legs smoothly without any wrinkles.
Even though they cover the skin, they should accentuate the shape of the legs.
That’s the strength of knee socks.
Another sigh escaped me.
“Stay still.”
“But it tickles too much…! Kyah!”
I turned the socks right-side out and pulled them up over Julia’s ankles.
As soon as my hands touched her, Julia hiccuped and quickly covered her mouth.
“Huh…!?”
Ssshh.
As I adjusted the heel properly and smoothed out any wrinkles, Julia’s leg trembled slightly.
Just stay still.
“There. That’s how you wear them. Fix the other side yourself and come out.”
“Y-you…!”
Her face red with anger, Julia glared at me with eyes full of hostility.
I hurriedly left the room, almost fleeing.
If I pointed out her fashion one more time, I might get killed.
Kids these days…
