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Chapter 31 - Road Construction (2)

"Hahaha! With such fine weather, it feels like fortune is coming our way!"

In the Arient territory, Count Arient laughed heartily as he gazed at the neatly split mountain range.

When he saw the wave of darkness slicing through the mountains that day, he was shocked.

At first, he thought someone was attacking Arient with malicious intent.

But the black wave halted after splitting the mountains.

Anyone else would have merely been relieved to survive such a sudden accident.

Count Arient, however, was different.

He was a man who could spot a money-making opportunity in any situation.

"Heijik! Get yourself to Vermont immediately!"

"Father, it’s a journey of at least ten days. Shouldn\'t I prepare a bit first...?"

"The path is open there!"

"But we don’t even know if it’s safe. How can I just go?"

"That’s what you need to find out! Depart immediately! At once!!!"

After pushing his eldest son, Heijik, to leave, Count Arient could finally feel at ease.

Vermont territory lay beyond the mountain range, a remote borderland.

But now, with the mountains breached, if they could just lay a road between Vermont and the capital, Vermont would be transformed into a central hub.

Traffic on that road would skyrocket.

The toll revenue alone would be immense.

Securing the construction rights for this project would guarantee Arient a fortune.

That’s why he hurriedly sent Heijik with the contract to Vermont territory.

"Aslan Vermont doesn’t have much of a choice."

The reconnaissance report indicated that the fifth-floor exterior wall of the Vermont mansion was severely damaged.

Moreover, the damage was in the direction of the split mountain.

This alone gave a pretty good idea of what had happened.

‘They must have had an accident during a dark magic experiment.’

As usual, they must have been researching dark magic, which went out of control.

The black light that emanated from the building must have covered the mountain range.

Count Arient, who remembered that nauseating and unpleasant black light, could only conclude this.

If asked about that black light, Vermont would either have to admit to dark magic experiments or relinquish their claim to the new mountain pass.

It was a classic case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Unless Vermont wanted to be destroyed for practicing dark magic, they’d have to quietly agree to Arient taking the road construction rights.

At least they weren\'t extorting extra money, showing some leniency.

As Count Arient chuckled and stroked his beard, he saw the returning cavalry in the distance.

Heijik Arient, his eldest son, was waving a scroll as he approached.

His expression suggested that he had secured the deal.

Count Arient’s face lit up, and he rushed outside.

"Father!"

"My son! Did you succeed?"

"Yes! I caught the fool! I secured the road construction rights for free!"

"Hahaha! Well done, my son!"

"I did add one minor condition..."

"Get down and assume the position, Heijik."

"...What?"

Count Arient\'s expression turned sour.

This brat.

How dare he amend the contract without my permission?

"Ugh... F-Father..."

"If you fall, it’ll be ten more. Stay still."

"M-My head is pounding..."

"Stay still! I’m reading the contract!"

While Heijik trembled with his head against the ground, Count Arient struggled to suppress his anger as he read through the contract Heijik had brought.

He had explicitly told him to seal the deal without any changes.

And this brat, not even the head of the family, dared to alter the contract and seal it?

If he had known, he wouldn\'t have sent the seal with him.

Count Arient\'s grip tightened, crumpling the contract slightly.

‘There’s no change in the pre-written part.’

None of the pre-written sections were altered.

So, the issue must be the ‘additional conditions’...

Count Arient anxiously checked the section with the additional conditions, his face becoming puzzled.

"What is this? These conditions are meaningless."

"Right? Right, Father? If I had come back to ask if I could add these, you would have been furious for making such a fuss over nothing!"

"Silence."

The additional conditions were as follows:

First, the investment from Vermont would be fully refunded on the day the construction ends. This condition must be upheld under any circumstances.

Second, if Arient abandons the project, the construction rights will transfer to Vermont.

‘Aslan Vermont is as stupid as the rumors say.’

The conditions were absurd.

Refunding the investment without interest?

The second condition was even more laughable.

"At the end of the construction, they probably plan to hire thugs to disrupt us and force us out, taking over the project."

It was a plan only a third-rate villain would come up with.

They intended to disrupt the construction to the point where Arient had to give up, then take over the half-completed project.

"But too bad for them, we’re well-prepared for such low tactics, with mercenaries ready to guard the site."

In their various construction contracts, Arient had encountered all kinds of characters.

Clients who refused to pay.

Competitors claiming territory.

From these experiences, Arient had accumulated significant know-how.

Thus, deploying mercenaries to protect the construction site was standard practice.

Even if Vermont brought their army, Arient’s forces could handle it.

"Hahaha! Well done, Heijik! Well done!"

"Haha."

Count Arient patted his son’s back, laughing.

This road project would yield unprecedented profits.

The toll revenue alone made him grin.

***

"Young master! Why did you sign such a ridiculous contract?!"

"What’s the problem?"

"The mountain is in Vermont, so the construction rights should naturally belong to Vermont! How could you just give them away for free? Am I missing something? Please tell me I am!"

"Isn’t it convenient? They’re building the road for us without us lifting a finger."

"Aaah!"

Sylvia clutched her head, screaming.

She looked like she’d encountered someone dumber than herself.

"Don’t worry. The construction rights will come back to us anyway."

"If you plan to disrupt their work and force them to abandon the project, it won’t work. Arient has their own security force guarding the site."

"Do I look like a thug? I won’t interfere with people doing legitimate work."

"Then what is it...?!"

Sylvia’s expression was one of sheer frustration.

I could only offer the same explanation: Arient would eventually abandon the project.

‘It’s information you couldn’t know unless you came from the future.’

Explaining further would be pointless. She’d just think I was crazy.

Arient, eager to start earning tolls, rushed the construction.

First, they leveled the ground.

Then, they expanded the slope to increase the width.

When I visited the site once, a group of mercenaries rushed over, creating a tense atmosphere.

They probably thought I was there to cause trouble.

But I was only there to check the progress.

I did nothing else.

A week passed.

Charlotte and Julia showed remarkable progress.

Charlotte, wielding her Super Strong Sword, could now control the mana and prevent it from releasing aura automatically.

"I did it! Look, Mister! A little flame!"

"That’s called aura."

"It’s hard to pronounce! I’ll call it little flame!"

"..."

Thus, she managed to maintain a normal-sized aura, rather than the gigantic one that could split mountains.

Julia, on the other hand...

"What have you done to these kids? The spirits hate you."

"..."

"..."

She could now communicate with spirits as well as ghosts.

Recently, she seemed to avoid me after talking to the spirits.

Damn it. Julia was better off when she couldn’t understand them.

"Julia, how much of the spirits\' words do you understand?"

"Um. As long as they’re not talking all at once, I understand everything. ...Okay."

"Good. Then we’re ready."

Julia communicating with spirits was also part of the plan.

It was an essential condition.

By now, we should be hearing some news...

"Young master! At the construction site...!"

"Calm down. Catch your breath and speak."

"There’s been an accident at the construction site!"

Finally, the awaited bad news arrived.

There were continuous earthquakes at the construction site.

"The Great Earth Spirit is angry."

"What...?"

Our Great Spirit was greatly displeased.