637 – I need a lot of money now. (1)
Episode 637 I need a lot of money now. (1)
“Are you talking about the Forest of Demons?”
Zwalter looked slightly surprised.
The Forest of Demons was not a place to be easily destroyed. Putting aside the dangerous monsters living within, the size of the forest itself was extraordinary.
The forest of demons stretched out to the vast northern lands. Its size was comparable to that of a kingdom.
Jiselle nodded.
“Yes, it will take time, but we will definitely push it through.”
It could be a business that takes decades. The forest of demons is that big.
But Jiselle had no intention of starting that work right away. Her first goal was to quickly make her way to the center.
‘There’s definitely something there.’
In the previous life, the Duke of Delphine also proceeded in the same way. Even then, they called it pioneering, but except for some areas connected to the kingdom, they focused more on making roads to the center.
‘That black mark, is that the center of the demon realm? The corpse of the demon god is there… … .’
Jiselle suspected so. At that time, the center of the map made by the Delphine Dukes had a fairly large area marked black.
A place that was just roughly marked without any explanation. That’s where the Salvation Church was looking for.
Jiselle hid her feelings and continued speaking as if it was nothing.
“The war is over, but we can’t just disband the army. There will be a lot of unemployed people. It would be okay to use those people for various construction and development projects.”
“Hmm, I see. That sounds better.”
Although the kingdom was stabilizing quickly, it was not as good as before the war.
It was a situation where many jobs had to be created. The sudden increase in the number of discharged soldiers was not a good thing.
Zwalter nodded. If we explore the Forest of Demons further, we will be able to obtain many resources.
Food production was still overflowing, so it would be possible to maintain the army for the time being.
Zwalter laughed heartily.
“The territory has expanded tremendously, and if we develop the Demon Forest, it will expand even further.”
It was a good thing for the people of the kingdom, because with a large territory, they could obtain more resources and increase production.
The Forest of Demons was so large that it bordered other kingdoms.
However, most of them were blocked by mountain ranges or rough terrain. There were only one or two small kingdoms that bordered flat lands like Rutania.
Those kingdoms would not even dare to approach the Forest of Demons, so in reality, all of that territory would become Rutania’s.
‘Wow, I never thought something like this would happen in my generation.’
Zwalter was overcome with emotion. He had become king unexpectedly, but as soon as he became king, the territory and national power of the kingdom had grown beyond recognition.
It was a feat worthy of being recorded in history, but it was all thanks to his son.
While the two talked about the future, the others also enjoyed the banquet.
“No, shit, you know Marquis Rodrik? That bastard kept talking nonsense and I was mentally abused until I got really mad… … .”
Ascon constantly boasted about his accomplishments while swearing. The nobles, who had never heard such vulgar and vulgar language, were greatly shocked.
But that low-level speech actually piqued my interest, so I couldn’t leave the place. The number of people crowding around Ascon and listening to him gradually increased.
Advertisements
Elena was surrounded by a large crowd of friends, including Rachel.
Elena was also popular these days. She was the only princess in this kingdom. If you just married her, you could instantly rise to the top of the family.
That is why princes from prestigious and ancient families constantly approached her.
‘Dude, I was definitely hoping for something like this… … .’
It was the life Elena had dreamed of since she was a child. An elegant life where many handsome princes from prestigious families wooed them.
But now that her dream had come true, she felt extremely bored.
‘Why is it so petty?’
It wasn’t fun. Even when handsome and well-dressed princes came to me, I felt no emotion. Whatever they said didn’t seem sincere.
Rather, the soldiers who fought together on the battlefield looked more impressive. They risked their lives together with him and gave it their all.
For Elena, who had been through such a fierce battle, a banquet like this was out of the question.
‘Oh, no.’
I didn’t know a banquet could be this boring. My body was aching and I thought I was going crazy.
I started to understand a little bit why my brother wasn’t very interested in other things.
It’s a bad habit. You shouldn’t have participated in something like war in the first place.
‘Ugh… … . I just got a weird nickname.’
As her nickname, Princess of Destruction, suggests, she is already tired of palace life.
Elena, who was dealing with the noblemen in a calm manner, quietly approached Giselle and asked her.
“When are you going?”
“what?”
“Isn’t there anything else to do? Maybe war… or maybe… . Or maybe I should join the pursuit party?”
“Phuhu!”
Giselle held back a laugh at Elena’s question. She had said she didn’t want to fight, but now her body seemed to be trembling.
I can understand. I was like that at first too.
It’ll take a little more time to balance daily life and combat.
Instead, Zwalter, who was standing next to him, stopped him.
“No, where are you going now, princess? Stop now and stay in the palace. You’ve been away for so long, so shouldn’t you be studying?”
Elena said, clenching her fists.
“Father, I participated in this war and learned many things.”
“What, what did you realize?”
“With great power comes great responsibility! As a member of the royal family, I must lead the way!”
“Your brother is doing that. He’s not just doing it because he wants to fight, is he?”
“No!”
“Is that because you don’t want to study?”
“Oh, I said no!”
Zwalter put his hand to his forehead. His son and daughter were both fighting madly. Neither of them knew how to stay still.
Advertisements
‘Honey, I think I’ve been away from home too much.’
It felt like I was being punished for the karma of always being out there protecting the North since I was young.
Jiselle said with a sly smile.
“Don’t worry, just wait a moment. I’ll just take care of a few urgent matters and then we’ll be on our way.”
“Where are you going?”
“The Forest of Demons. This time, I’m going to push it all the way to the center.”
“Okay, I heard so many rumors about the forest, so I was curious about what it was like. I’ll be up front.”
“Then, Princess Destruction should stand at the front.”
“joy.”
With those words, Elena stormed out of the banquet. Conversations with these seemingly innocent princes were now boring.
It would have been better to attend a soldiers’ dinner and have an arm wrestling competition.
After the banquet ended, Jiselle and her entourage immediately began preparing for the next step.
* * *
The Kingdom of Rutania developed rapidly. It was now practically the center of the continent.
While other kingdoms were still struggling to deal with the aftermath of the war, Rutania began a variety of businesses based on its abundant production.
Many people still lost their homes due to the recent disasters. The royal family carried out large-scale construction projects in various places in the name of development.
People who had no work there flocked in, and they took away plenty of food and money.
In particular, road projects have expanded to other countries and helped revitalize the economies of both countries.
The entire Kingdom of Rutania was bustling with activity. This was something that other kingdoms could only dream of.
And recently, there was a place that became the center of that economic revitalization.
Trading city of Limhal.
Although Giselle made most of the western territories his crown lands, he left several lands closer to the north as part of the Dukedom of Fenris.
Among them, the westernmost city, Rimhal, became a trading city visited by all kingdoms.
The only place that could properly purchase the continent’s numerous special products and resources was the Kingdom of Rutania. Many merchants flocked to this place.
“This is a work of art from the old kingdom of Byron!”
“If we are to speak of this silk… … .”
“This spice is really good… … I don’t know how to express it.”
Rimhal was always bustling with people from all over the place. Naturally, a huge amount of money was circulating around Rimhal.
Fenris gave good prices to other kingdoms for their trade goods, and gave them food and herbs at relatively cheap prices.
The more this happened, the more the upper class flocked to Rimhal. It seemed as if all the wealth of the continent was being concentrated here.
Jisel had a firm grip on Rimhalman as his direct territory, even if he didn’t know about other places. This was because he collected a huge amount of taxes.
This place was constantly providing funds for Giselle’s personal business, independent of royal funds.
Lowell, who was in charge of Penrith as acting governor, was also on an inspection tour of Rimhal.
“Hmm, really good.”
Lowell sat in his splendid official residence, sipping tea. He was not directly involved in the war, but he was very busy.
Advertisements
The Kingdom of Rutania was in shambles due to Berhem’s tyranny. Naturally, the royal treasury was also at rock bottom.
The supply of the Lutanian army that went on a large-scale expedition had to be handled by the territory of Fenris, and the person in charge of Fenris was none other than Lowell.
When the kingdom became somewhat stable and the war ended, I was finally able to let my worries go. I also had the time to visit Rimhal, which was currently developing rapidly.
“The best part, of course, is that I don’t have to see the General.”
It was nice that the war was over and the workload was reduced, but Claude would soon return to Fenris. Then it was obvious that he would be captured and harassed again.
So, he left his territory under the pretext of inspecting the important city of Rimhal.
“Ahem, shall we take a look around again today?”
As many tops gather, we must be careful not to let criminal organizations or shady merchants run rampant.
And I had to check whether the administrators of each embassy were doing their job well and whether the tax payments were being made properly.
Lowell led his knights and soldiers out.
The streets were bustling with people. The territory was also implementing various policies and promotions to attract them.
[Support for building exclusive accommodations for the top!] [Free escort for the top in commercial special zones!] [Tax reduction benefits provided! No tax for the first month! Half price for the first year!] [The lord is cheap and the goods are kind!]
… … There were some mistakes in the promotional copy, but since they were so busy, it was understandable and I could overlook it.
Lowell spent several days inspecting, correcting minor administrative errors and looking for problems.
As it was the city that collected the most taxes in the kingdom, it had to be given a lot of attention.
While we were examining things so meticulously, a group of soldiers entered the city without warning.
“What, what is it? What is going on?”
Lowell was taken aback. This was a place where he could not dare bring troops. Even if he had, he would have been stopped by Fenris’ elite soldiers guarding the area.
But Lowell soon discovered why his elite men had failed to stop the army. The man at the very front of the army was Claude.
Claude, who had suffered so much that he looked like a complete beggar, said as soon as he saw Lowell.
“Lowell! What! Why are you here?”
“Hey, General? Why are you here, General?”
Why would someone who was clearly out exploring newly acquired territory come here?
Claude grabbed Lowell and immediately burst into tears.
“You, do you have some money?”
“Where is my money?”
“Right? You’re not there either? Yeah, there’s no way you’re there.”
“But, why did you come here?”
“To get some money.”
“yes???”
“This is the most cash in the kingdom. I think I should use just a little bit of it. I need some money right now.”
Claude was ultimately unable to replenish the missing military funds.
The nobles and military that ruled the place had already taken all the valuables and fled. Even the thieves were starving because they had nothing to eat.
As the expedition progressed, the surrounding security improved, but Claude actually had nothing to eat.
Claude, who was racking his brain, came up with a very progressive and groundbreaking idea.
“Why don’t you just turn it around?”
Advertisements
Pay off the urgent debt first by withdrawing from other public funds. Then, before the public funds are withdrawn, they are filled by withdrawing from other places.
This was the magic of creating something from nothing.
And he had another groundbreaking plan in store.
“I’ll just take a little bit here. Since I’m making so much money, I won’t even notice if I lose a little. I can just refill it later.”
Lowell stuttered.
“Me, me, me, me, are you crazy? You’re touching public funds?”
“You’re going to pretend not to know? Between us! I told you I’d fill it up again in no time.”
“What is our relationship!”
“Oh, why on earth is this kid here! You go back quickly! Go back quickly! Before I arrest you!”
Claude was annoyed. No matter how much he did, he couldn’t just take the money in front of Lowell. Lowell was a quick-witted and talkative guy.
“Oh, I can’t go! I’m on an inspection tour right now! Don’t touch me!”
As Lowell resisted, Claude began to persuade him.
“Listen carefully. There is a way. I have been thinking about it and I can handle it without any problem. Because I will soon create a new currency.”
“Th, what is that… … .”
“You can exchange it for gold and make a portable certificate of guarantee. Once you have that, you can print it and use it to make up for the missing money!”
The clever Lowell quickly figured out the problem. He asked in amazement. Now, even courtesy was thrown out the window.
“Hey, you crazy bastard. If you print more than that to match your debt, you won’t have enough gold to exchange it for! What are you going to do about that! Hey!”
Claude said as if nothing was wrong with that.
“You don’t have to change it.”
“what?”
“If you run out of gold, you can just give them food instead and appease them. Later on, you won’t even have to exchange it. Since the Kingdom of Rutania guarantees it, everyone will naturally use it.”
“Well, if we can’t exchange it for food later, the value of the currency will fall… … and prices will continue to rise… … .”
“Then just print more money and put it into circulation! What’s the problem?”
Lowell looked blank.
This crazy guy… …was trying to create a whole new economic system just to pay off his gambling debts.
