The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Those who heard the details shook their heads and clicked their tongues.

“Tsk, tsk, the lord has overdone it this time.”

“The Chief Overseer sure is something. Still, it’s the lord we’re talking about. He could’ve at least pretended to give in. The lord’s close aides are really holding a grudge over this.”

“But since the lord told them not to meddle, even his aides can’t do anything now. If something happens to the Chief Overseer, it’ll only tarnish the lord’s reputation even more. Who would trust the lord and work for him after that?”

Just as people had said, Belinda couldn’t bring herself to touch Claude, and spent the entire day venting her frustration by hitting a pillow.

“Ugh! Why did the Young Lord make such a bet? He knows nothing about farming, so what was the point? When will he ever fix that stubborn attitude of his?”

As Claude had mentioned, it was a problem that no one had been able to solve for hundreds of years.

There was no way someone like Ghislain, who knew nothing, could solve it.

They could ask a mage or priest to temporarily boost his intelligence, but that effect wouldn’t last long.

It would be cheaper to use that money to buy food instead.

“Aaagh! This is infuriating! And that gambling bastard too—when the lord goes overboard, he should’ve at least backed down a little! But no, he took it without hesitation! And to top it off, he even requested protection for himself. That insufferable brat!”

Belinda slammed the innocent pillow once more.

As Belinda, the head of the household, ground her teeth at the Chief Overseer, the atmosphere within the castle became tense.

Vanessa, meanwhile, grew increasingly anxious, watching the situation unfold.

‘The lord needs to win. Should I use magic to temporarily boost his intelligence? Managing that vast land by myself would be impossible. To keep it going, I’d have to pour in an enormous amount of mana… but I don’t have any mana left… and no Runestone either…’

With Vanessa’s mana, she couldn’t even handle a small patch of land, let alone the entire reclamation project Ghislain had planned.

‘Should I try to steal mana from Sir Alfoi and the other mages?’

She briefly considered ambushing them while they slept, but knew it was impossible to subdue them alone.

‘Lord, I’m so sorry. I’m nothing but a useless person…’

Vanessa, growing thinner by the day from worry, began to draw concern from those around her.

In contrast, Kaor was getting more and more gleeful by the day.

With Belinda shut away, he had taken the opportunity to drink heavily with the members of the Cerberus Mercenary Corps.

“Kuh, it’ll be funny if the lord loses… but even more hilarious if the Chief Overseer does. Not that it’s likely to happen.”

“Yeah, I’m really curious to see what face that monstrous lord will make if he loses.”

One of the mercenaries chimed in, causing Kaor to snicker.

“This time, the lord has made a mistake. There’s no way to win this bet. That stubbornness of his was bound to become a problem sooner or later.”

Ghislain had always taken on challenges that everyone else deemed impossible.

And every time, he succeeded.

With his remarkable instincts and overwhelming strength, he had forced the impossible to become possible.

Because he always succeeded, people around him had learned to follow his lead in most cases, but this time was different.

“This time, it requires specialized knowledge, not just strength.”

Kaor, who had been laughing, suddenly stiffened.

From a distance, Gillian was approaching.

“Uh-oh, the old geezer is coming. Hey, everyone scatter! Move quickly, you brats!”

Ever since Ghislain had started the bet with Claude, Gillian had been wandering around with a constant frown.

He believed that Claude had deliberately brought up the gambling hall to provoke Ghislain.

Seeing him in such a foul mood, Kaor knew that if Gillian found out about their drinking, he’d have to endure a barrage of scolding.

Kaor and the mercenaries hurriedly cleaned up the area and, keeping an eye on Gillian, discreetly made their exit.

* * *

As the tension in the castle grew, Claude worked with even more enthusiasm.

Strangely enough, he felt energized, even without sleep.

“Hahaha, soon, I’ll be free.”

There was still an absurd amount of work to do, but the thought of having only three more months to endure suddenly made it all seem manageable.

Tasks that have an end in sight feel entirely different from those that seem never-ending.

“I have to leave everything in order before I go. Can’t give anyone an excuse to hold it against me.”

It wasn’t at all because he was afraid of Wendy, who was behind him, fiddling with a dagger.

“You wouldn’t suddenly stab me from behind, would you? Or poison my food or something?”

Startled by his sudden words, Wendy quickly tucked the dagger back into her clothes.

“I don’t do that kind of thing.”

“If I die, it’ll be an even bigger embarrassment for the lord. You know that, right?”

“…Yes, I’m aware.”

“Good. So make sure to watch my back carefully. I think some people have been targeting me lately.”

Feeling relieved after giving his twenty-third warning, Claude got back to work with a satisfied expression.

It didn’t take long before Wendy drew her dagger again, and Claude asked the same question for the twenty-fourth time.

* * *

Ghislain reviewed the tasks that Claude had completed and summoned the mercenaries. Finding and bringing in the slash-and-burn farmers was faster if he handled it himself.

“Gillian, get the cooperation of the nearby estates and track down the peasants who’ve fled. Kaor, you search the northern area. Round up all the hiding slash-and-burn farmers. I’ll head south.”

Thanks to Claude searching here and there, the peasants were already anxious.

With armed soldiers scouring the land, they feared that something big was about to happen.

And now, the lord himself was personally leading troops to hunt them down.

The peasants were terrified. Public sentiment had hit rock bottom, and Ghislain’s popularity was plunging endlessly.

Rumors spread like wildfire that the new lord was even more ruthless and frightening than the previous one.

The officials, concerned, suggested that they proceed more slowly, but Ghislain didn’t bat an eye.

“It doesn’t matter. We don’t have the luxury of time to go slowly. Even if it’s harsh, move as quickly as possible.”

In no time, Ghislain tracked down the slash-and-burn farmers who had been hiding in the mountains.

Of course, the people he found weren’t about to follow him willingly.

“Please, Lord, let us stay here. Or at least give us a few days to gather our things.”

“We’ll find a way to pay the taxes, somehow.”

“When we go down, there will be no land for us. We have no food to survive.”

Despite the pleas of the people, Ghislain coldly shook his head.

If he gave them time, they would undoubtedly flee to another place again.

“I’ll provide food and work, so don’t worry. There’s no time—everyone, head down immediately.”

The taxes that would come from these people were meager at best. He wasn’t here to extract a few coins. He had come because there was a lack of people to work.

Seeing Ghislain’s firm attitude, the slash-and-burn farmers exchanged glances. Their attempts to buy time were in vain. It was clear the lord had come fully prepared.

The forces that had come with the lord numbered only ten, including the lord himself. It didn’t seem like an overwhelming number.

One middle-aged man raised a club and shouted.

“Damn it! You’ll just exploit us again once we go down!”

“I’m not that kind of person. How kind-hearted I am! The people around me always say there’s no one in the world as nonviolent and peace-loving as me.”

Anyone who heard him would have tilted their head in confusion.

Even the mercenaries who had come with Ghislain were grimacing, as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

Unsurprisingly, the slash-and-burn farmers didn’t believe a word.

“We’re not going! Just leave us alone!”

Some of the farmers, riled up, began to incite the others.

“Everyone, let’s fight! It’s hell if we go down there anyway!”

“Yes! Give us freedom!”

“We’ll live here on our own!”

Despite the intense reaction from the farmers, Ghislain simply laughed heartily.

He wasn’t the type to waste words or attempt persuasion.

With a slight nod to the mercenaries, he gave the order.

“Just arrest them all.”

The mercenaries charged at the farmers, their expressions showing they had expected this outcome.

“I knew it! What nonviolent pacifist?!”

“Everyone, grab your weapons!”

“Waaah! We won’t be exploited anymore!”

The slash-and-burn farmers fought back fiercely.

These were people who had fled to escape exploitation. There was no way they would follow oppressive orders without a fight.

“Give us liberty or give us death!”

The farmers were ready to kill their captors and escape.

Whether they were slowly starved to death after being captured by the lord or died fighting now, they saw no difference. Since their numbers were more than double those of the mercenaries, they thought they had a chance.

However, their hope was shattered in a matter of moments.

“Aaagh!”

As the mercenaries casually struck them, the farmers fell to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

“Ugh…”

Groaning in pain, the farmers lay on the ground. One of the mercenaries turned to Ghislain and asked,

“What should we do with them?”

It was customary to execute those who attacked their lord, charging them with treason.

However, knowing why Ghislain had come for the slash-and-burn farmers, the mercenaries hesitated to act immediately.

Ghislain slowly looked around.

Children, women, and elderly—likely the families of the fallen men—sat trembling in fear.

“This really makes me look like a wicked lord, doesn’t it?”

Ghislain let out a hearty laugh and gestured toward the people.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to kill anyone. Didn’t I say I’m a pacifist? We’ll be heading down to the estate now, so just pack only the essentials.”

Having lost the will to resist, the farmers sluggishly rose and began gathering their belongings.

Once the people had roughly packed up and gathered together, Ghislain gave a new order to the mercenaries.

“Destroy all the houses. Criminals or spies might try to hide here.”

The mercenaries immediately grabbed their axes and got to work.

The shabby shacks, hastily built by the slash-and-burn farmers, couldn’t withstand the force, and were quickly torn apart.

The farmers watched in dismay as their village was destroyed before their eyes.

It dawned on them that they would never be able to return here.

As a child sobbed softly, Ghislain spoke to him gently.

“Don’t worry. There isn’t a kinder, more gentle lord in the world than me. Look, even though you all attacked me, no one died, right?”

Of course, his words fell on deaf ears.

To the child, Ghislain was nothing more than a cruel lord who had beaten his father, destroyed their home, and was forcibly dragging them away.

The child didn’t say anything, but his eyes turned red as he gritted his teeth.

Seeing the expression on the boy’s face, Ghislain shrugged.

There was no point in explaining himself to people filled with distrust. The only thing that would convince them was action.

“Well, if you’re all packed, let’s head down. It gets cold at night.”

Ghislain, having demolished yet another village, turned away with a satisfied smile.

Those who had attacked him were bound together like fish on a string and dragged away.

Their heads hung low in despair, while the rest of their families followed closely behind.

The farmers cried quietly the entire way down the mountain, worrying about their future lives.

If they had known it would come to this, they would have fled even farther away.

They hadn’t expected that anyone would search so thoroughly, even in the rough and deep mountains.

“We’ve found quite a few today. I didn’t think we’d gather more than forty of them,” Ghislain said excitedly.

The farmers gritted their teeth, but there was nothing they could do.

A short while later, when they arrived at the castle, Ghislain whistled at the sight before him.

“Oh, the number’s grown quite a bit.”

The farmers were shocked by what they saw.