Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 199: The Lord Returns

Chapter 199: The Lord Returns

Arma emphasized that there were a few things that were important for Yu Ji-ha to live as a noble named Leobold.

The easiest one was to act as if he had no brain.

He had always warned and showed some patience to individuals or factions that were clearly competent.

But the continent of Astera was a place where he didn’t need to do that.

“Except for the royal family, high nobles, priests, knights, mages, and so on, there is hardly anyone who can do anything to you, Master. You have been acting after warning them until now, but it would be very good if you omit the warning there.”

It seemed like there were many targets that he had to be patient with, but it didn’t matter much.

That list would shrink at a fast pace.

Anyway, Leobold faithfully carried out her advice.

He cut off the arm of Hus, who dared to babble at a noble.

He thought he would get a pouch of gold coins and stretched out his arm, but his expression became strange.

“Wha, what is this…”

The mercenaries and servants around him also had weird expressions on their faces.

He had swung his sword at the mercenary leader out of nowhere.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Blood spurted out from the cut surface and Hus’s face began to contort, when Leobold’s arm moved again.

Thud-

A strange sound was heard and his neck flew into the air.

The mercenaries who wore their leader’s blood on their faces had their eyes and expressions filled with horror.

“Wha, what…”

“This bastard killed the leader!”

Only then did Hus’s headless body fall to the ground with a thud.

The servants as well as Carson, the administrator, looked at Leobold with surprised eyes.

What happened to his head after a long mercenary life?

How did he intend to handle this apprenticeship?

“My, my lord…”

When everyone was hesitating, Leobold flicked the tip of his bloodstained sword.

“I’ll spare you guys. You can go back.”

“Thi…!”

“Crazy bastard…”

The mercenaries threw angry glances at him.

How would the reputation of the mercenary group be if they quietly backed off after their leader died?

There was something they had to do in this situation.

Even if the opponent was a noble.

“Yaaah!”

As if they had agreed, the mercenaries drew their swords and rushed at him.

Leobold walked towards them and swung his sword one by one.

Clang! Clang! Thud-

Carson, the administrator, swore that he had never seen anyone fight like this before.

Leobold easily broke their swords and cut off their arms and necks.

His sword movements had dignity and grace, and his opponents were powerless like children.

A few flashes of sword light flashed in the air and the mercenaries fell down at the same time.

There was not a single survivor.

“…”

Everyone lost their words at the carnage in front of them.

What was astonishing as much as his swordsmanship was that he had no hesitation in all his actions.

How on earth was he going to deal with this situation?

The servants couldn’t hide their fearful expressions.

Leobold looked at Carson and said,

“Trash came to my territory while I was gone, administrator.”

Carson smiled faintly.

He had left the territory a long time ago and now he was saying something like that.

Of course, Leobold was the second son of Baron Vandus and the rightful heir of this territory.

If he had come back a little earlier, maybe there would have been a way…

‘It’s too late. This territory is over.’

It was a big mistake to smash the Harpy Claw Gang.

The servants were spitting saliva and saying they died well, but they would soon change their minds.

The mercenaries were connected to each other.

There were many mercenaries who knew Hus well, and among them there were mercenary groups that had many Goliaths.

It was almost impossible to stop them with the weak power of Vandus territory.

Still, Carson couldn’t say cold words.

He had some affection for Leobold who had seen him since he was a brat, as an old bureaucrat of the territory rather than as an administrator.

“Congratulations on your achievements while you left the territory, my lord.”

As he said that, a document unfolded in front of his eyes.

It was a confirmation letter of succession with Prince Ruad’s seal on it.

As if to prove that the palace situation was not good, the handwriting was rough and there was no royal emblem on the sealing wax.

“I’m no longer a kid. So call me lord.”

The servants murmured when he said he would officially succeed the territory.

But when he raised his voice, they all bowed their heads.

“We greet you, lord.”

“Good, get rid of these ugly corpses. Administrator, follow me.”

The group followed him somewhere.

Carson glanced at the unfamiliar people and quickly said.

“My lord, I’m sorry and embarrassed to say this, but…”

“You mean the territory is a mess? I know.”

“Actually, there are several other problems…”

“Besides the huge debt, the people are suffering from poverty, and the mercenaries I killed won’t sit still, is there anything else?”

The administrator closed his mouth awkwardly.

He was quite well-informed about the situation for someone who had been away from the territory for a long time.

Did he hear a detailed explanation from the palace?

While he was pondering, Leobold walked somewhere without hesitation.

His destination was not the mansion, but the cemetery behind it.

Where his father, mother, and brother were buried.

He knelt down at the grave that was simple but well taken care of.

“I’m here. Please rest in peace.”

A short silence followed and everyone lowered their heads as if they had agreed.

Carson finally realized that the second young lord had returned.

‘So what if the territory situation is a little bad.’

He was definitely the heir of the territory and no one could deny that truth.

They might have to tighten their belts and endure a painful winter for a while, but when spring comes, maybe the territory situation will be solved like flowers blooming…

He opened his eyes and was startled.

The lord had finished his silence and was entering the mansion!

“Lord, lord, my lord!”

He hurriedly chased after her and the servants whispered among themselves.

“Was he always like that?”

“I don’t know, it’s been too long since I saw him…”

One thing was certain.

The lord had finally come to the territory that had been empty and ownerless.

It seemed like it would be quite noisy from now on.

Someone rolled up their sleeves.

“It seems like the lord has an unusual personality, but let’s clean up the corpses first.”

The people brought carts and muttered.

“Did you see the lord’s swordsmanship? How satisfying it must have been to see these bastards smashed without a fight!”

“They deserved it for acting so arrogantly.”

“By the way, why did the lord come back? The territory is in such a… bad shape.”

“He must have some way to come back.”

The servants didn’t understand.

It seemed hopeless to them.

In no time, the corpses and bloodstains in front of the mansion were neatly cleared away.

But the spark of conflict was not gone.

***

“…”

The administrator stood on one side of the study and watched the documents being passed.

The new lord said he wanted to check the situation of the territory and ordered him to bring out all the documents.

An hour had passed, but there was only silence in the study.

‘I didn’t know the lord had such patience…’

When he was young, Leobold was not a patient child.

He often fought with his elder brother over toys and was scolded by his parents for that problem.

In the noble society of Bagran, the position of the first child was unshakable.

Even if it was a cheap wooden toy.

‘But what about that maid and fairy…’

They had attracted many people’s attention since they appeared with the lord.

They were a combination of a maid with an appearance that didn’t suit this barren territory and a rare fairy.

They were perfect for causing trouble in many ways.

‘I hope the lord knows what he’s doing…’

The administrator was afraid from his position as a bureaucrat.

What if other lords coveted their shining appearance and made unreasonable demands?

What if mercenaries came to catch that fairy?

No, killing all the Harpy mercenaries was a problem in itself.

‘They won’t let their deaths go unpunished, even if they were scum…’

Goliaths were essential for war these days.

From their main material, living metal, to rare materials that were hard to obtain, plus magic circles engraved on each joint and rare metal, they cost a fortune.

More importantly, most of the people who made and controlled Goliaths were nobles.

They put their titles and pride into Goliaths, which made their prices skyrocket.

Even an old Goliath had a value that could not be thrown away easily.

Except for a few wealthy countries like Elvrande, that is.

‘Someone will surely come to reclaim them…’

He doubted that this territory could stop them.

Rather, they might get into big trouble.

As Carson’s worries deepened, the document passing finally ended.

Leobold closed the last document and lifted his head.

“What a mess.”

“I have no face to see you, my lord.”

“I’m not blaming you, administrator. I don’t want to blame anyone either. Who else will take care of my territory if I don’t?”

He was right, but there seemed to be no realistic solution.

At best, they could resume the work of the dark flame mine and spend some money to bring in food and supplies, but that didn’t solve the fundamental problem.

The problem of Vandus territory was no different from that of Bagran kingdom as a whole.

Unless they did something about Elvrande, the source of the problem, they would continue to block their way.

But the new lord seemed surprisingly confident.

“The problems facing the territory are not one or two, but if we work hard to solve them, the situation will improve. Administrator.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“How many people in the territory have caught fish before? Not amateurs, but people who paid taxes with it.”

“…”

The administrator was confused by the unexpected question, but he managed to come up with an answer after racking his brains.

“About 100 people or so.”

Leobold would have scolded him for saying such vague numbers in normal times.

But he understood the situation of this territory and the administrator’s troubles.

“Separate them and have them repair boats and make nets. I’ll provide you with the necessary materials.”

“But my lord…”

Carson tried to say that this wouldn’t work when he saw it.

A sharp gaze pierced his eyes.

It was a gaze that made his heart stop for a moment.

“Administrator. I’ll tell you once. There will be times when I ask for your opinion. You can give me advice then.”

It was a common attitude of nobles who only wanted to hear what they wanted.

The administrator sighed inwardly and bowed his head.

“I’ll do as you say.”

There was no hope for the territory to recover.

No matter how much he flipped through the documents, only someone who had experienced the field could give him some advice.

He ignored that person and never solved the problem properly.

Leobold wrote something on a cheap paper.

“Looking at the current of the sea, the bluefish will be coming soon. It’s spawning season, so they’ll catch a lot.”

“Bluefish, you mean…”

“The small blue-backed fish that are caught a lot in winter. Don’t you know, administrator?”

The bluefish of Astera had almost nothing in common with the fish of the same name on Earth, but they were both raw fish species and swarmed in huge numbers.

Their population was so huge that the sea turned white during spawning season.

They tasted pretty good compared to the bluefish on Earth, but because many countries had abandoned their coastlines, the supply was scarce.

Who would go out to sea when the shadow elves would row and attack?

And it wasn’t certain that bluefish would come every winter.

Carson knew that reality well, but he just bowed his head.

Leobold gave many more orders.

“Is there any money left to pay the mercenaries? Where is it, 112 gold. Use this to pay compensation to the injured and bring in food and supplies.”

“And I’ll take care of the Goliath in the dark flame mine, so resume the work. Is there a merchant group that trades with the territory?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this, but since the previous lord died, the trade has been cut off.”

There was no merchant group that would willingly come to this declining territory in this corner.

He had to beg and pay a lot of money to get them to come, but Leobold said something strange.

“Just ask them once and if they refuse, cut off the trade completely. And deliver this letter to Prince Ruad.”

Leobold handed over a letter with his family’s seal to Carson.

“You can use the horned bird I rode, so it’s better to deliver it as soon as possible. The lives of the people in the territory depend on it.”

He seemed to be aware of the fact that the people in the territory would starve to death if food was not supplied.

The administrator was satisfied with that.

It was not a passing grade as a lord, but he thought he could change him little by little.

‘No one is good at first.’

He just hoped that the territory would not collapse completely while he came to his senses.

***

Ruad Bagran realized that a new lord had taken over Vandus territory after reading the letter.

And that his name was Leobold.

“He left the territory when he was young and returned as a lord… It would be troublesome if I asked him for anything.”

The situation of Bagran kingdom was not very good these days, so he couldn’t afford to grant any requests.

He had some guilt towards Vandus barony and wanted to end it by sending some troops, but he sent a letter like this.

He gestured to the palace clerk and checked the contents.

“…What does this mean?”

The content of the letter was very simple.

It asked him to send a merchant group and lend him a flying ship owned by the royal family.

He understood the former.

The territory was in a mess and he wanted to revive the trade at least.

He doubted if it was possible, but he could understand his intention.

“But why a flying ship…”

Why did he need something that even the royal family couldn’t find a use for and left in a corner?

It cost a lot of money to operate it.

The letter said he would bear all the costs, including the rent and maintenance.

‘He must be crazy to ask for something like this.’

He knew how much money it took to move a flying ship.

‘What does he need it for…’

He didn’t care much, but a strange curiosity drew him in.

If he succeeded as promised, he might expect a huge profit.

But what if he failed?

‘I can cover the minimum cost by taking the dark flame mine as collateral.’

Salt was valuable then and now.

The dark flame mine in Vandus barony was the only blessing given by the creator god Rasa.

?If you accept this condition, I will seriously consider your request from Vandus baron.

He didn’t expect this condition to be accepted when he wrote the letter.

The dark flame mine was the only source of income for Vandus barony.

That meant giving up the whole territory.

But a letter came back soon.

Ruad prince frowned as he checked the contents.

‘He really needs a flying ship.’

What was he going to do in the floating continent that he would stake his entire territory?

He tried to find out something that Elvrande or Zaium didn’t know, but he only got insignificant information.

The prince decided to agree after some hesitation.

He accepted his condition generously and lost his chance to bargain.

Now he had to lend a flying ship owned by the royal family to a noble who had just inherited his title.

He didn’t expect anything and just hoped that it would come back safely.