The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 103 : Want to Make a Bet with Me? (3)

In front of the lord’s castle, countless tents were set up, and just as many people were passing by.

The faces of the people wandering around were familiar. They were all people who had once lived in the estate. It seemed that, as the rumors said, they had been rounded up from all directions.

However, despite having been captured, their expressions were bright. The slash-and-burn farmers were dragged along by Ghislain, looking bewildered, unsure of what was happening.

Claude, who had been moving around busily, spotted Ghislain and clicked his tongue in exasperation.

“You’ve rounded up a lot today. You’re unbelievably good at rounding them up. You’re not a fisherman, are you?”

“Pursuit, ambushes, and annihilation are my specialties. I’m also pretty good at setting traps.”

“Yes, yes. You have all the talents of a slave trader. If you’d started on that path earlier, you’d have made a name for yourself across the continent. Ouch!”

Claude, who had been teasing, quickly backed off after receiving a smack.

The way he always managed to provoke people at the wrong moment and earn a beating could be considered a talent in its own right.

“Enough nonsense. Hurry up and take care of this. I’m busy.”

“Understood!”

Claude quickly began recording the details of the slash-and-burn farmers and rattled off instructions in one breath.

“For now, you’ll stay here. If you want to return to where you originally lived, we’ll send you back. If not, we’ll provide you with a house in the newly established village. We’re also recruiting laborers for construction, so feel free to apply if you’re interested.”

The slash-and-burn farmers nodded for now.

After all, their homes had already been destroyed, and they hadn’t brought much with them. Now, they were being offered a house for free—this was more than enough to make them bow in gratitude.

“Food will also be distributed for the time being. This is being provided out of the lord’s personal funds, so be sure to express your gratitude.”

Claude, having rapidly delivered his speech, gestured to the soldiers.

Soon, the soldiers came carrying sacks filled with grain, meat, and vegetables.

The slash-and-burn farmers’ eyes widened in astonishment.

The food they had eaten while hiding in the mountains didn’t even compare to the abundance in front of them.

As the farmers swallowed hard, Claude continued.

“This is by the lord’s command. If you run out, we’ll give you more, so don’t try to ration it and eat properly. Don’t eat spoiled food just because you’re trying to save it. If you get sick, I’m the one who’ll have to deal with it.”

Claude pointed in one direction. The slash-and-burn farmers’ gazes followed his gesture.

In the direction he indicated, there were countless more sacks of food piled up.

And as if that wasn’t enough, new sacks continued to be brought in without rest.

The farmers, now completely stunned, looked back at Ghislain.

Were they really being given homes, jobs, and food?

“If you’d just come quietly in the first place, you wouldn’t have gotten beaten.”

Ghislain clicked his tongue and gestured with his hand.

As the soldiers untied the bound farmers, they prostrated themselves on the ground, repeatedly expressing their thanks.

“Thank you, thank you, my lord.”

“We’ll never do anything like that again.”

“We’ll work hard.”

The slash-and-burn farmers, who had been terrified, expecting to lose their heads, breathed sighs of relief.

Though they couldn’t fully trust him yet, they were beginning to think that he might be a little different from other nobles.

“Yes, you’ll soon be guided to the village where you’ll live. Until then, behave and stay out of trouble.”

One of the lower-ranking officials led the slash-and-burn farmers to the tents set up for temporary residence.

Amidst the group moving obediently, a child turned around. It was the same child who had been gritting his teeth to hold back tears in the mountains earlier.

When Ghislain met the child’s gaze, he made a playful expression and winked.

“See? I told you I’m kind of a good person, didn’t I?”

Claude, who was listening from the side, rubbed his ears as if he were hearing things. Ghislain snorted and ignored him.

The hesitant child bowed deeply. Ghislain tossed the apple he had been holding to the child and laughed.

“This is just for you. Don’t share it with anyone else.”

The child bowed again and ran off to catch up with the adults.

This scene repeated itself several times afterward.

They found the runaway villagers, provided them with houses, and continued to distribute food regularly.

Even the existing villagers’ homes were either repaired or rebuilt, so there were no complaints.

Rumors, mixed with hopeful expectations, began to spread that the new lord seemed to be a good person.

As if responding to those rumors, Ghislain busied himself.

Even as he wrestled with piles of paperwork, he didn’t skip a single day of training and continued to inspect the estate.

“Young Lord, take a break! You should have studied like this from the beginning!”

Belinda, alarmed at his relentless pace, tried to stop him.

She was worried about his health, but she had another concern as well.

“What about farming? You’re only focusing on other things! It’s already been a month!”

Although he was working hard, it felt like he was putting off the more important task—his wager.

After all, in the past month, all he had done was round up villagers, give them houses, and feed them, right?

“Oh, that? Don’t worry, we have plenty of time. Since we’ve gathered enough people, I was planning to start soon anyway.”

The villagers had regained their strength and were settled in their new homes, so it was time to begin the more important work.

“We’re going to cultivate the farmland.”

When the announcement that laborers were needed for the task spread, a large crowd of villagers gathered.

The news that those who helped build houses had received a hefty payment had reached everyone’s ears.

Even the elderly and children volunteered, and so many came forward that some had to be sent back.

Seeing the lively faces of the villagers, Ghislain smiled with satisfaction.

“Oh, everyone’s full of energy. This is a good sign. We’ll finish quickly.”

Claude had already taken care of everything—he had arranged the location of the new farmland and secured the farming tools needed for the job.

All Ghislain had to do was lead the villagers to the site.

As they followed Ghislain and began to till the land, the villagers couldn’t hide their curiosity.

“Why are we cultivating unusable land?”

“Are we the ones who’ll be blamed later if nothing grows here?”

The villagers, who had spent their entire lives farming, knew better than anyone what the land of the Fenris estate was like.

Did the previous lords never consider clearing new farmland? Of course, they had.

However, the soil was too poor, and the yield wasn’t worth the effort, so they had given up on clearing the land.

“Let’s just do what we’re told for now.”

“Seems like no one around here knows anything about farming. Tsk tsk… Can’t really say no, though.”

“We’re only doing it because they’re giving us money and food… but honestly, I’m scared. What if we get blamed later?”

“Did you hear the rumors? Apparently, this is all part of a bet between the lord and the Chief Overseer. They’re betting on whether crops will grow here or not.”

“Oh dear, our lord is in big trouble. This land won’t grow anything—didn’t he know that?”

The laborers whispered among themselves with uneasy expressions.

They were worried that if the lord lost the bet, they might suffer as a result.

Still, no one had the courage to step forward and advise the lord.

For now, they simply began to dig up the land as ordered.

For people who had been starving, it was only natural to work hard when promised money and food.

Since the villagers were working in fierce competition, the land-clearing work was finished in just a few days.

Soon, when the seasons changed and the seeds were sown, it would become apparent that the lord’s efforts had been in vain.

The villagers, anticipating the near future, wore dark expressions, but Ghislain never stopped smiling as he surveyed the cleared land.

“These once useless lands will finally become useful.”

Even as they watched him smile, the villagers couldn’t shake their unease.

Why was the lord so happy about overturning worthless land?

Wouldn’t he be furious once he realized his mistake?

Unable to share in his laughter, they merely stared off into the distance, worried.

But their anxiety was short-lived. After the work was done, Ghislain gathered the people, and they exchanged glances filled with a mix of anticipation and curiosity.

“You all worked hard. It’s great to see you becoming more and more diligent.”

Pleased with the faster-than-expected progress, Ghislain patted the workers on their shoulders and smiled.

The villagers huddled together, whispering.

“Is it happening again today?”

“Seems like it. He looks to be in a good mood.”

For ordinary folk, working alongside the lord was quite a burden.

Yet despite that, the villagers volunteered to work in Ghislain’s area before anywhere else.

There was a good reason for this.

Claude, for instance, was the supervisor everyone dreaded most. He never stopped nagging, constantly hovering and criticizing.

He insisted that all the work must be completed before leaving the site.

His fussy and grumbling attitude was so exhausting that people felt like they were going to die of annoyance.

Belinda, on the other hand, sat sullenly, watching the workers in a daze, only to suddenly lose her temper out of nowhere.

Her unpredictable mood swings made the laborers near her try to avoid her as much as possible, focusing solely on their work.

Some people overheard her muttering about killing someone, and rumors began circulating that it might be the Chief Overseer who had earned her ire.

Then there were Gillian and Kaor, whose very presence was intimidating.

Just being near Gillian or Kaor made it hard to breathe due to their overwhelming presence, so the villagers subtly avoided them whenever possible.

It was ironic that, although the lord was supposed to be the scariest figure on the estate, he was actually the easiest to work with.

Of course, there was a more decisive reason why the villagers preferred to work with Ghislain.

“Take this and have a drink, then get some proper rest. Keep working hard like you did today.”

Ghislain rewarded those who worked hard with generous bonuses.

Pleased with how quickly the work had been completed, he handed each worker several extra silver coins on top of their usual wages.

The villagers beamed as they received their pay.

“Thank you, my lord.”

“I’ll make good use of this!”

“Call on us anytime, my lord!”

There was an established wage, but Ghislain had a clear reason for giving out these extra bonuses to those who went the extra mile.

He knew that proper rewards were the best way to motivate people.

As a result, those who worked with Ghislain were more enthusiastic than others.

Watching the delighted villagers, Ghislain frowned slightly.

‘Why are they all so stingy? I keep telling them to spend more. Time is of the essence, after all. Tsk tsk…’

He had even allocated a budget for other supervisors to give bonuses to the diligent workers, but none of them seemed to use it much.

It seemed poverty had become so ingrained in them that they couldn’t think about spending money to save time.

They were too focused on conserving the estate’s funds to realize that speeding up the work was more important.

‘This isn’t going smoothly at all.’

He couldn’t go around nagging them all the time, either.

Sure, if he kept harping on about it, they’d eventually change, but that wasn’t the best approach.

If you assign work to someone, you have to trust them.

Besides, Ghislain wasn’t the type to gently guide his subordinates step by step.

All he could do was emphasize things occasionally to remind them.

It was almost as if Ghislain was making up for the lack of spending from his subordinates by spending the estate’s money himself, without hesitation.

“Alright, everyone, get moving. There’s plenty of work to do.”

The estate was never short on tasks.

There were so many neglected and dilapidated facilities that needed repair.

As they continued fixing the facilities and expanding the farmland, the once anxious atmosphere in the estate began to turn lively.

For the villagers, who had struggled to make ends meet, even these improvements were enough to make them feel grateful.

“Our lord may not know much about farming, but it seems like he’s trying to do something for this place.”

“I heard rumors he used to be a troublemaker. They say he was quite the handful.”

“Come on, that was probably when he was younger. Now he’s pouring money into the estate and giving us work. If he was still a troublemaker, he’d just be drinking and fooling around instead of doing all this, right?”

It’s said that when people are well-fed, their hearts grow kinder.

At first, the villagers had feared Ghislain, but now they were rapidly warming up to their new lord.

Just as the villagers began to speak highly of their new lord in unison, Ghislain summoned the mages.