NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31-2
Raising Otto’s level meant that the Lota Kingdom had also grown.
Thanks to the Goblin merchant Ego, who invested 40 million Ber – roughly 400 billion won – in the Lota Kingdom, it was rapidly growing.
It may seem like an outrageous story that a country could develop with only 40 million Ber, but since it was such a backward rural village, rapid growth was possible with such a small amount.
Not only that.
“Please send me 500 cattle.”
“Grand Duke, 500 cattle is a bit…”
“What the hell! I came here to make a fortune at my age! Are you telling me you’ll send me away empty-handed?”
“That’s not it! How can I send off Grand Duke empty-handed?”
“Then stop talking and give me 500 cattle. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“Ah, I understand.”
Wazir, an SSS-rank hero, went around visiting various lords and drew various supports.
Since the Lota Kingdom was a poor country on the verge of falling apart, they asked for help in an altruistic way from prosperous countries.
Thanks to this, the Lota Kingdom was receiving free support from various countries in terms of food, iron, wood, livestock, money, etc., and was growing rapidly in a short period.
On the other hand, Wazir went to find Otto, swearing under his breath.
Bang!
Wazir kicked Otto’s office door with all his might and shouted, “What the hell!”
Otto, who had fallen asleep on his desk, jumped up in surprise.
“Oh, what’s this? You assigned me work and then lazed around, didn’t you?”
“Yes…?”
“Why did you reject the documents I submitted?”
Wazir asked Otto with a sinister smile.
“I asked you to approve them quickly because it was urgent, right? You didn’t have to read them; JUST STAMP THEM.”
“Oh, that.”
Otto finally understood why Wazir was angry and smiled.
“There was no reason to approve them.”
“What? There was no reason to approve them? Did you even read the documents?”
“Of course, I did.”
“But there was no reason to approve them? You’re supposed to approve them so we can build infrastructure in this backward village…”
“We’re not going to build it.”
“What? You’re not going to build it? You, who are preparing for the upcoming world war, won’t build the country’s infrastructure?”
“It’s inefficient.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“It’s a waste of money.”
Otto shrugged and replied, “It’s not like we’re going to be stuck here for a thousand years.”
“……?”
“As we expand our territory, new capitals will emerge. Do we really need to spend money here? We can just use the infrastructure in the occupied territories.”
Even when playing the game “Territory War,” Otto never invested heavily in this region. Instead, he invested in military and technological power in preparation for continental expansion.
Otto was an extreme profit-seeker, so he always valued efficiency in any action he took.
“Hahaha! Great! Very good!”
“What?”
“You have a long-term vision?”
“Of course. You need to choose and focus well to save time, money, and effort.”
“Good. Then, instead of building infrastructure, we will invest in military power.”
“Now we’re talking.”
At that moment…
“Your Majesty, a diplomat has arrived from the Seoden Territory,” reported Camille to Otto.
“Oh? Already?” Otto responded.
“Yes…?”
“It’s a bit too early…”
“Did you know about this?”
“I expected it, but it’s still quite fast. Alright, I’ll go see them for now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Also,” Otto instructed Camille, “the other party might be very impolite, so don’t intervene and just observe. I’ll handle it myself.”
With those words, Otto set off to meet the diplomat from the Seoden Territory.
* * *
Seoden territory was a fairly large place located about 50 kilometers east of the Iota Kingdom, and boasted a considerable size.
Could it be considered one of the stable and well-functioning territories with some recognition on the western outskirts of the continent?
“I am Yonggeu from the Seoden territory.”
Yonggeu did not give courtesy to Otto.
“I am Otto de Scuderia. Thank you for coming a long way.”
“Yes, it was quite a journey.”
Yonggeu gave a cold smile.
“Who would have thought I would be setting my foot in such a rural area?”
“Eh?”
“I will be straightforward. Our lord Venturra felt very offended with your actions.”
Just then.
– Flinch!
Camille’s shoulder twitched slightly.
He was angry at Yong’s attitude towards Otto.
“Ventura, the Lord of our territory, expressed great dissatisfaction toward your arrogant behavior, claiming yourself as a king.”
“I am deeply sorry.”
“Furthermore, you did not even greet our Lord before coming here. Shouldn’t you have come to see him first before he sent you?”
“I have made a great mistake. There was no excuse. Please convey my apologies to Lord Ventura.”
“Hmph!”
“I will do better in the future. Please trust me.”
“Do you think that you can be forgiven for such rudeness? That’s nonsense. Our Lord Ventura is very angry. He might even raise an army and turn this remote village into ashes right away.”
“Oh no, Please!”
Otto fell flat on the ground and pleaded for mercy.
“Please, please speak kindly to Lord Ventura! I beg of you!”
“Hmm. If you put it that way, there might be a way to appease our Lord Ventura’s anger because he is a person with generous heart.”
“Anything! Please forgive me! I will do anything!”
“If you promise to show regular sincerity, our Lord Ventura may overlook your rude behavior.”
‘I knew it. These little rascals.’
Otto confirmed that his expectations were spot-on and inwardly smirked with coldness.
What Yonggeu said about “Regular demonstrations of loyalty” was nothing more than “Groveling.”
The current Lord Ventura is trying to insert a straw into the kingdom of Iota and suck out the “Juice” with crude words.
It was a plan to turn it into a colony in advance, seeing some signs of growth in the Iota Kingdom.
‘But you came too quickly. Were you attracted by the speed of development that was too fast and drew attention?’
Thanks to the SSS-class hero, Wazir, the development of the Iota Kingdom was progressing about 30% faster than Otto’s expectations.
It was thanks to Wazir’s support from various lords -, or as Wazir put it, his “Sugar daddy” – that growth gained momentum.
‘It’s natural for the surrounding powers to react sensitively as I grow. Sigh. I need to solve this problem before going to the ‘Sanctuary’.’
Since the situation was still lacking in levels to go to the ‘Sanctuary’ anyway, Otto decided to take care of this problem first.
Wouldn’t it be difficult if something happened while he was away for a moment?
“Very well.”
Otto smiled at Yong.
“I will devote myself in the future.”
At that moment.
Chills!
Watching from the side, Camille flinched as Otto’s smiling face seemed like a devil.
‘He’s lying.’
Camille didn’t believe Otto’s words because, over the past six months, he had seen that he wasn’t a pushover who would simply grovel.