Chapter 94
Belois stood in front of the enormous wall covered with a white cloth, nervously wiping the sweat from his brow.
It seemed the hundreds of eyes directed at him were a heavy burden.
But today, he had an important mission.
Perhaps to steady his resolve, Belois took a deep breath and called out to the people.
“Thank you to everyone who has attended the unveiling ceremony. The work we are about to reveal is a piece I have poured three years of effort into; it is my first mural.”
“Three years.”
Yes, three years had passed.
Three years that I could never have imagined.
By calendar years, it was already the fourth.
I was now seventeen years old, and after my birthday this year, I would finally become an adult at eighteen.
But something even more important was at stake.
“Did my efforts to fail spectacularly finally bear fruit?”
“Hahaha…”
I laughed to myself, looking at Belois introducing the significance of the unveiling to the crowd.
Thinking back over the last three years, this laugh came out naturally.
“What a tumultuous three years it has been…”
In my first year, I had bought up land indiscriminately.
I had studied the cases of fallen leaders who had overextended themselves, and used them as a reference.
I didn’t even look at fertile land; in the first place, no one was trying to sell such land.
What I bought were the wastelands no one cared about.
“Wonderful land.”
“Pardon? This?”
“Yes, it’s very fine.”
The land I had praised was so barren that it had been left abandoned for hundreds of years because nothing could grow there.
I had tried diligently to revitalize it with fertilizers, but it was said to have been of no use.
The problem was that even such wastelands were taxed.
Owning land that produced nothing while still paying taxes every year was a loss.
From the owner’s perspective, it was better to sell it and save on taxes, but who would buy such land?
“But I bought it! And at a high price!”
When a young noble appeared and praised the wasteland, Duke Jitter, the owner, beamed with delight.
Seeing an opportunity, the duke eagerly rubbed his hands together and bowed repeatedly to someone far younger than himself.
Officially, I was a baron and he was a duke, so technically I was his subordinate.
“Oh my, of course. Explaining how remarkable this land is could take an entire night. But someone as distinguished as Your Grace surely doesn’t have time to hear such details. Absolutely, yes.”
“Yes, I don’t need the explanation. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. It’s certainly wonderful land. I’ll take it all. Every last bit.”
“E-eh, all of it?”
“Yes. From here to there, I’ll buy it all.”
“All of it…”
From that moment, the duke’s attitude changed completely.
He must have thought he had found an easy mark to exploit.
“Ahem! Well, this is quite valuable land, so the price is a bit high. At least—”
“Ten billion gold, right?”
“One hundred million gold… pardon?”
I deliberately quoted an absurdly high amount. The duke, who was trying to figure out the situation, quickly adjusted his stance.
“Oh, ten billion gold! Yes! You must pay ten billion gold for this land!”
“Of course. I expected nothing less. Here is a check for exactly ten billion gold. It was issued from the Devon territory of Ashinov, so the credit is reliable. This will be the payment.”
“Y-yes! I’ll bring the contract immediately!”
Worried that I might change my mind, the duke rushed to his mansion.
Seeing him run off, I smiled with satisfaction.
Ha. Excellent.
I had wasted money splendidly! This was the perfect road to a beautiful bankruptcy!
—Or so I thought.
Until the gold mine was discovered on that land.
And it wasn’t an ordinary gold mine.
Because the wasteland had been untouched for so long, the gold mined there was purer than that from other mines.
High-purity gold didn’t need additional processing, so it was highly sought after.
With many buyers, it traded at nearly twice the price of normal gold.
I then went on to buy more “useless” lands to recoup the profits, but similar events repeated.
Some lands yielded hot springs, others diamond mines.
Eventually, those willing to sell land to me disappeared entirely.
Whenever I offered a large sum, owners would change their attitude, claiming they’d develop the land themselves.
Of course, I never got the same luck with land developed by the owners themselves.
Anyway, the first-year territory ended with tremendous financial gains.
“Everyone else celebrated the New Year, while I looked like death warmed over.”
In my second year, I sought even more foolproof ways to waste money.
If overextending territory had failed, the next cause of rulers’ downfall was excessive civil engineering projects.
Because I had bought land recklessly, the Devon territory had grown much larger than before.
Most of it was uninhabited wasteland, with nothing but dust blowing over.
I laid roads, built bridges, and erected buildings.
Construction projects occurred simultaneously across the territory, sometimes dozens of approvals in a single day.
My construction principle was simple: use the highest-quality materials and pay workers well.
Following this principle, money drained away quickly.
Even the profits from ancient kingdom ruins, gold, and diamond mines were barely enough to cover the costs.
Despite the unstable finances, Lucas and the three administrators trusted me.
They believed in the many achievements I had inadvertently accomplished while trying to fail.
Yet, contrary to their expectations, the more luxurious the city became, the more Devon’s finances dried up.
I smiled at the impending downfall.
It was probably around then that an unexpected phenomenon began.
Rumor spread that working in Devon brought high income, drawing people from across the empire.
In territorial management, population is most important.
More people meant more taxes and economic activity, reviving the region.
Devon became a prime example.
Construction engineers came first, lured by high wages, and their families naturally followed.
Merchants set up shop, and news of a livable city attracted a surge of free citizens.
With the city’s revival, taxes increased, and the territory’s revenue rose again.
No matter how many buildings or roads I built, the explosive population growth outpaced them.
It was a year that truly made me understand why economists value population.
“Indeed, our lord…”
“A person who can see the big picture…”
“Forgive me for ever doubting you!”
The three administrators looked at the bustling city in awe, unaware that I was choking back tears behind them.
In just two years, Devon had transformed into a massive, dazzling city.
To overturn such an absurd result required absurd measures.
So, in my third year, I chose military expansion—a truly ridiculous move.
Even Lucas and the three administrators, who usually trusted all my opinions, tried to stop me.
The continent was enjoying a peaceful era under the unified empire.
War? Armies?
Those were relics of the past.
In such a situation, expanding military forces was like building ships in a mountain village—throwing money into thin air.
Yet I stubbornly poured money into it.
This was only possible because of Ashinov.
“If another house gathered mercenaries like this, they’d be suspected of rebellion immediately.”
But no one dared suspect Ashinov.
I don’t know the emperor’s thoughts, but he at least didn’t openly obstruct me.
I organized the army, trained them, recruited scholars for new weapons, and… did nothing.
“I just let them be.”
The cost of maintaining such a large organization was immense.
Even doing nothing, money flowed out, draining Devon’s finances.
Welcoming the new year in that state, my third-year overspending was a success.
“But…”
Based on past patterns, I never knew when the situation might reverse.
“I must not let my guard down.”
Resolving this and clenching my fist, Belois finally finished his long explanation.
“Now, I will unveil the mural.”
With the tired applause of the audience, the white cloth was pulled away.
As the cloth fell to the floor, the mural covering the massive wall was revealed.
“My goodness…!”
Exclamations erupted from the crowd. Even I, who had been clapping halfheartedly, widened my eyes in surprise.
“No way… this guy…!”
I had assigned him to waste money on a mural, and yet he had produced a masterpiece.
