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Chapter 33 - The Great Earth Spirit (1)

"Father, the debt collectors are here! They’re asking if we can repay the investment and why we haven’t paid the interest yet...!"

"Tell them I\'m not here! Damn it, how can I pay if I don’t have the money!"

Count Arient clutched his bare head with both hands, hair falling out in clumps.

Where was he supposed to find the money?

His plan was to finish the construction, get financial support from the royal family, pay the interest with that money, and gradually repay the investors with toll fees.

But with completion nowhere in sight, he was at his wits\' end.

Currently, 20 billion larks were tied up in that damned road project.

When you added overdue wages, broken equipment, and interest, they needed almost 30 billion larks.

With the family on the brink of collapse, no one would lend them that much money.

"Damn it. Should I just declare it finished as it is, even if it\'s just a dirt road?"

"His Majesty the Emperor plans to be the first to use the road once it\'s finished..."

"Aargh!!!"

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

As Count Arient’s hair piled up on his desk, he heard a commotion.

"Count! Aslan Vermont is here!"

"Damn it, is it another debt collector? Tell him off! Vermont’s investment has no interest and the deadline isn’t up yet!"

"No, he says he has a beneficial proposal."

"What? Bring him here... No, wait! This place is too messy. Take him to the reception room!"

Count Arient sprang up, eyes wide.

"First, you need to declare the project abandoned."

"..."

That was Aslan Vermont’s first sentence.

What is this lunatic talking about?

Even if there’s a powerful Great Spirit that scared off the Spirit Master, does the construction right still matter?

"Declaring abandonment won’t solve the problem..."

"If you declare it abandoned, I’ll make a new contract. I’ll extend the deposit period for the investment indefinitely."

"I-Indefinitely!?"

Count Arient\'s jaw dropped.

Vermont had invested 10 billion larks.

That was more than enough to cover the interest owed to the other investors and start paying back the principal within ten years without selling off assets.

"The condition is, the interest rate will be 70 percent."

"What?"

"Don\'t you clean your ears? I said 70 percent."

"Seventy percent is an interest rate even loan sharks would balk at..."

"Where in the world do you find a loan shark willing to lend 10 billion larks? If you don\'t like it, forget it. You could always sell your lands and title to pay off the debt."

"P-Please! Cut it down to 50 percent!"

Aslan stood up, annoyed.

Count Arient quickly ran over and grabbed Aslan’s collar.

A 70 percent interest rate was absurd, but 10 billion larks was a lot of money, making a high interest rate inevitable.

"Let\'s not be hasty. Can I offer something else in return? How about my daughter? My youngest is twenty-five, just the right age."

Right age at twenty-five? More like past her prime.

Aslan’s face twisted in disgust.

"Sorry! That was a slip of the tongue! Anything else! Just tell me what you want!"

"You said anything."

A chill ran down Count Arient\'s spine, freezing him in place.

"I’ll take a portion of your land."

"Where?"

"The barren land to the north of the city. I’ll take all of it. The condition is, no matter what happens there, you can’t object."

"Fine! Take it!"

It was useless land anyway.

If it meant securing the contract, he could give it away.

"So, the investment period is indefinite, and the monthly interest rate is four percent. Additionally, we’ll formalize the sale of the northern wasteland to Vermont."

"Where’s my seal!?"

Aslan handed over the contract with a sly smile.

Count Arient hurriedly stamped it before Aslan could change his mind.

Satisfied, Aslan left, and Count Arient breathed a sigh of relief, laughing.

"Hahaha! We did it!"

He had saved his family!

Using Vermont’s investment, he could pay off the other investors\' debts first.

Then, by paying monthly interest of 50 percent...

Wait.

That meant 5 billion larks annually just for interest.

With each construction project bringing in about 500 million larks, he needed to complete over ten projects a year just to cover the interest.

When would he repay the principal?

"Aaaargh!!!"

Even with the interest reduced to 50 percent, it was still a slave contract.

Realizing this, Count Arient screamed in despair.

***

The 10 billion larks gained from Leon’s defeat were well spent.

A monthly interest rate of four percent.

That meant 4.8 billion larks would come in annually, doubling the principal in just two years.

The principal would be repaid in one lump sum, so Arient couldn’t pay it back gradually.

Arient could only repay it if they found a gold mine in their territory, making it practically impossible.

So, the deposit period was extended indefinitely.

This way, Arient wouldn’t go bankrupt and would pay the interest regularly.

A parasite doesn’t want its host to die early.

Not that I’m a parasite. Just an analogy.

[The evil god \'Kali\' is very pleased with your actions.]

Fool.

I’m just rescuing Arient and getting a fair return.

Seeing Kali pleased made me feel content too.

"It’s your turn, Julia!"

"Haah. Haah. I’m so nervous! It’s a Great Spirit and it’s huge. Even a renowned Spirit Master fled..."

Julia babbled nervously, pacing around.

She was usually calm, but the pressure of facing a Great Spirit was getting to her.

"Don’t worry. If you fail, only the project connecting the capital and Vermont will go up in smoke."

"That’s a huge deal! Now I’m even more stressed!"

"Want me to give you some encouragement?"

"No! I don’t need your encouragement..."

"Since both Charlotte and Julia contributed to this project, I’ll give you each 0.1 percent of the annual toll revenue."

"Wha...!"

Julia’s eyes widened, and her enthusiasm surged.

This road project was only possible thanks to Charlotte and Julia.

Charlotte had opened the mountain, making construction possible.

Now Julia needed to persuade the Great Spirit, allowing the road paving to be completed and the road to be operational.

They deserved a reward to keep them motivated.

Their dream was to save up 1 billion larks and get away from me. This reward was perfect.

\'Even if the toll revenue hits a jackpot, they’ll only make 10 million larks annually...\'

Even if the road was highly profitable, it would take them a century to save 1 billion larks.

No need to tell them that.

"I’ll do it! I can do it! I’ve helped ghosts find peace, a Great Spirit won’t be a problem..."

"Come here for a moment."

Julia’s newfound enthusiasm made me call her back.

Today was her debut as a Spirit Master in front of people.

I had told the maids to make sure she was well-groomed, but they had messed up her knee socks.

"Who wears knee socks like that?"

"Huh? They’re too long, so I wore them like this..."

"Didn’t the maids say anything?"

"I didn’t hear anything."

"I heard! The maids were giggling, saying Mister would love it if they dressed you like that!"

"..."

Alright. All maids would get their pay docked.

I sighed and tapped the desk.

Julia, not understanding, looked confused.

"Sit on the desk."

"Here? Why? Ah...!"

We didn’t have much time.

I picked Julia up and set her on the desk, then took off her wrinkled knee socks.

They were even inside out.

I couldn’t tolerate such poor fashion in front of me.

Knee socks should be smooth and fully cover the legs, enhancing the contours of the legs even more.

I sighed again.

"Stay still."

"But it tickles too much...! Kyah?!"

I flipped the socks right side out, grabbed Julia’s ankle, and pulled them back on.

As my hand touched her, she hiccuped and covered her mouth.

"Mmmph?!"

Sliding the heel in place, smoothing out the wrinkles, Julia’s legs trembled.

Stay still.

"There. That’s how you wear them. Fix the other side yourself and come out."

"Eek...!"

With a flushed face, Julia glared at me with intense hostility.

I quickly left the room, feeling like I’d be killed if I corrected her fashion again.

Kids these days…