V53C7P1 – Tormented Weed

Seoyoon constructed defensive fortifications against monsters all across the continent and launched the reconstruction of all the deprived cities.

The person in charge of all government activity and spending was Weed.

She was just making investments as a representative of Weed.

The citizens of the Arpen empire, the people residing in the north and central continent began chattering.

“Have you heard that the benevolent emperor Weed has untied his golden pouch for us? They say he has endless fortune and thus, he spends it for our well being!”

“Of course… His majesty is the most honorable in all of the continent. There were false rumors about his manipulative evil powers… I don’t believe that.”

“I can understand why our empire is growing. A nation that emphasizes in technology is meant to grow significantly.”

“You’re an architecture major? You have to move hastily. This entire continent is a construction zone!”

“You should be grateful that you’re living in the Arpen empire.”

“Sewer maintenance! That never happened how many times we put in a request. The last time there was a major flood muddy water flooded into the streets. This time, his majesty has committed to it. I didn’t think he’d grant the request from such a small outskirt village…”

“Do you all know of Han’s child living in a hut deep in the forest? He needed surgery on his eyes… His majesty provided for his surgery fees. What a miracle. The citizens of Ritten will all obey his majesty. We are thinking of partic.i.p.ating in the fort construction.”

The citizens of the central continent had a change in att.i.tude and were now praising the Arpen empire. Normally, a small release of money into domestic affairs usually did not make citizens too satisfied.

An enormous amount of money was spent, enough to get rid of all anxiety, nervousness and fear all at once!

Even the thugs living in back-alleys with almost no security spoke.

“The Arpen empire is the boss.”

“Yeah. We gon’ live on for Weed, his majesty.”

“Unconditional obedience is an honorable thing.”

“I can’t trust my own father, but I can trust Emperor Weed.”

Users of the northern and central continent were thrown off by what the citizens were talkingabout.

“What? Just how much did he invest?”

“Seems to be a bigger fuss than when Weed-nim completed an S-rank quest.”

“I heard from my friends in another region, and there has been investments in practically all the cities and villages. Apparently, things have changed in my homeland as well.”

“For the great landmarks to be constructed, that is amazing. Great landmarks… When they were constructed in Morata, people went crazy for them.”

“It’s not just here. My friends tell me that there is a great landmark being constructed in all major cities of the continent.”

“At every major city?”

“Yeah. Investment has begun all across the Arpen empire’s territory.”

The northern users were cheering madly. However, the large-scale investment this time around was shocking news to many users. This was only a few days after the battle of the Garnav plains had ended.

For such a ma.s.sive investment to happen while the Arpen empire’s territory was still expanding out in the central continent and while Kaybern was wreaking havoc!

“To be honest… This is now at a point where we can’t say anything about Weed-nim making some profit of his own.”

“So, this lord recruitment was his grand scheme for an upright Arpen empire. I fought for no meaningful cause. I just fought because I hated the Hermes guild. I had no idea that things would turn out this way.”

“So, the northerners praising Weed-nim wasn’t for nothing. I mocked the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult for taking his side even after people were buying out their lord seats. Turns out the dumb one was me.”

“At this scale, couldn’t he have used up all the money gained from recruiting lords?”

“No way… He should have reserved some.”

“I think the guy is right. There isn’t a place that’s unchanged. A man needs to go on a loan for this much investment.”

The central continent users were deeply touched.

Now that they were a.s.sociated not under the Haven empire, but instead the Arpen empire, the official tax rate had been reduced to a tenth of what it used to be.

“Everything is perfect.”

“Ever since the Arpen empire conquered the central continent, it turned into a livable place.”

“The difference is like the earth and the sky. It’s that much.”

Kaybern’s existence was a concerning threat, but the investment from the Arpen empire wiped out all worries.

< The Arpen empire is making a leap into the golden age.

Emperor Weed’s investment has brought out the empire’s potential in production.

Construction has reached a level never seen before with renovation everywhere from the damp sewers to the scout towers on tall forts.

New architectural styles and construction methods can be researched.

The loyalty of all citizens of the empire is increased by 79.

National reputation is increased by 32.

10% bonus effect on the production of goods.

Architectural technology advancement is improved. Taller, larger buildings can be constructed.

Culture will expand more rapidly.

The political relations with other nations are improved.

Other kingdoms may offer gifts on occasion.

Reputation of aristocrats and knights is increased and elegance is permanently increased by 2.

The effects of legislative buildings are now added 50%.

The production rate of goods by artisans is increased and additionally contribute to the regional reputation.

Chances of bandits sp.a.w.ning due to the unstable security is reduced.>

< The blessings of friendly G.o.ds are applied.

Freya, Lugh, Batali, and Minne bestow the G.o.d’s blessing over the Arpen empire. >

A golden age in the history of the Arpen empire!

Message alerts kept popping up on screen for Weed who had continued to roam the hunting grounds with the undead.

< Your name is spreading all across the Arpen empire as the respected emperor.

Reputation is increased by 132,500.

Charisma, elegance and charm are increased permanently by 18.

Your t.i.tle changed to

‘A generous king who gives his all’

.

The loyalty of knights acc.u.mulate quicker. >

< Citizens of the Malzain village wish for the well being of the Emperor.

Reputation is increased by 861.

Honor is increased by 2. >

< The free knight Tartaros swears his loyalty.

He is eager to teach you the sword technique pa.s.sed down in his family. >

< The Pugel village wishes for the Emperor’s health… >

< The trades city of Zenota hosts a party for the Emperor… >

< The Maltan village is hosting a celebration party for the Emperor… >

“What is this?”

The message alerts were endless even though he was in the hunting grounds.

“Is this some kind of error?”

Weed observed the stats like honor, elegance, charisma and charm increasing consistently though they were not related to combat.

< Boron village hosts an art exhibition for the emperor.

Art is increased by 1. >

Even the art stat!

Weed felt like he was struck on the back of his head.

“So this is what it’s like to be emperor.”

An empire’s leader was such a pleasant position. He could stand idle and his honor would increase and infamy would decrease all on their own. Stats were improved in the same way.

“Authority is really something. Bard Ray had all this to himself until now.”

Many important tips were released due to the growth of the users, but some extremely great tips will be kept away intentionally. These were positive elements that could only be discovered by becoming the emperor or the king.

“I wonder how many stats Bard Ray gained from this.”

Weed felt very envious, but in truth Bard Ray was not privileged with any significant benefits.

Despite ruling the central continent, his reputation was too low and he gained little honor or stats.

Instead, whenever a Hermes guild member caused trouble, his infamy stacked up. The effects of his job cla.s.s as the dark knight resulted in more complaints and discontentment from the knights and citizens.

Bard Ray on individual terms had suffered a loss in a way.

“Anyway… How much gold did you invest?”

Weed intentionally did not ask after he left Seoyoon in charge of affairs, until now.

He didn’t want to seem like a cheapskate.

“Should I ask? Or should I let it go? Hmm… I am really curious though.”

While the undead were clearing the dungeon, the thought did not leave his mind.

“Van Hawk. Don’t slack and run! Torido, your wings seem to be slower in bat form. Seville and Gernika. You both need to be more aggressive!”

He scolds them badly but still couldn’t relieve his curiosity.

When he truly wanted to know about something, he would often spend sleepless nights.

Especially when it involves a huge fortune of money!

Weed was hesitant in his whisper to Seoyoon.

“Did you finish with the affairs?”

– Seoyoon : Yes. The basics anyway.

“Good job. You went through all the trouble. I think the response is great.”

– Seoyoon : I am glad.

“How much did you invest anyway?”

Weed hoped that the spending would estimate around 500 to 600 million gold. He would have been able to dream about spending so much in the past.

‘I’ve grown some guts over the years.’

In the times of Arpen kingdom, he reinvested all the income from the north. Although he constructed many things like the great landmark, he repaired living s.p.a.ces with shanty town and did not construct any castle walls nor forts.

He reduced the production costs of city construction to a tenth and only expanded in areas absolutely necessary.

‘Money slips away when you use it. It remains if you don’t.”

He had invested diligently until this moment and was thinking about collecting soon.

– Seoyoon : All of it.

“All, all of it?”

– Seoyoon : Yes. I used it all up.

Weed felt a shudder travel through his entire body.

‘The tremendous fortune in my pocket has been sprinkled all over the world?’

The feeling of loss and emptiness was greater than the pride from a righteous deed. He thought rationally, that he had misunderstood her.

“Ah… You mean that you used up all the income from the Puhol waterpark cottages. I misunderstood you because you missed out on the details.

– Seoyoon : We used that all up last time, and all of the lord duty fees this time.

“R, really?”

– Seoyoon : You collected duty fees in order to invest in the development.

“……”

Of course he did say such things.

‘A good thing is good for the other… I just said that as an excuse to exploit for some money. Every merchant on average uses these lies.’

He wasn’t as devastated even when Kaybern appeared. Not even when he had to stop the immortal legion, nor the time the volcano erupted at Jigolath. At this very moment though, he could not move a finger due to the shock.

“All that money…”

– Seoyoon : I think the essential and important investments are taken care of. The people are really satisfied.

Weed lost all motivation as if suffering from a bad cold. His arms and legs trembled and his fingers did not fold properly.

“Yes. Of course… The people would love it for sure. They will run around screaming.”

His mind would not be this clouded even after hunting all day 30 hours straight.

– Seoyoon : I constructed forts as well. It would defend against the army of monsters before any significant damage can occur.

“Yeah… Of course you built forts too. You used all that money. For sure.”

– Seoyoon : I also took care of the old forgotten projects of the cities in the central continent. I could not cover all of them, but I prioritized on the ones that would result in the highest return. You’ll be able to see triple the results after a month.

“Yeah I would. Maybe…”

Weed was drenched deep in a sense of loss. A loss in the battle against Bard Ray would not have felt this tragic. A streak of failures on S-rank quests will not feel like such.

Money, money, money.

Money, the source of all temptations had left him without him even witnessing its existence.

The industrialized cities displayed impressive production capabilities. The northern region as a whole was concentrated on crop and agricultural production, but the exceptional artisans were mostly in the central continent. If the investment results in remarkable improvement to the Arpen empire, the revenue will once again flow back to Weed.

Rationally, it could be taken as a good investment, but in the spur of the moment he felt overwhelmed by thoughts of dejection.

“Yes. I got it. I am busy now, so let’s talk later.

– Seoyoon: Okay. I will look after the affairs a bit more.

“Is there any money left after spending it all?”

– Seoyoon : Someone sent 84,000 gold from Morata just now.

Gulp.

The big fortune had left, but a small fish came in.

It was pocket change compared to 9 billion gold, but it brought a bit of warmth to the corner of his heart!

– Seoyoon : I will also invest this money into the regional development.

“Even that precious, honest gold…”

– Seoyoon : You seem to be discontent. Did I do something wrong?”

“No. I am really grateful… I mean it. I really, really appreciate it.I’m busy hunting, so I will contact you later.”

– Seoyoon : Call me anytime.

Weed ended the whisper with Seoyoon and a.s.sembled his subordinates.

“…..”

“…..”

“…..”

A long silence.

Yellowy cowered in antic.i.p.ation.

He knew that it was time for his foul master to begin his scolding!

(To be continued…)