Hall Of Exchange (4)

The Empress repeatedly pondered what answer to give to the two nobles before her eyes. And the conclusion she reached was one.

“I was aware that medicines from Ingrad were being sent to the battlefield. We were merely providing aid, and I recall that we never promised to give them unconditionally. Is that correct?”

“They were not included with the regular and steady stream of supplies being sent. Furthermore, it is problematic that, at the very moment when a major operation was being prepared, and it was crucial, only the medicines did not arrive. We believe this must be taken into account.”

“You are holding us responsible for a single omission in an act that was not an obligation?”

The Empress slightly raised her voice, and she spoke to the two Dukes, who were carefully watching her reaction.

“Supporting the Hero was an act of goodwill. It was an action for the sake of humanity, and we have been providing aid only because we did not wish the war to reach our borders, as your nations are holding the line on the front. But are you attempting to blame others for your own excessive operation based on a single omission?”

“What we are trying to say is, wasn’t it omitted on purpose…”

“Nonsense! We recently had tens of thousands of gold coins worth of medicine stolen and seized by a group with unknown identities. When we went to search for it, the perpetrators had already burned the medicine and left, and some nobles involved were merely ‘cut off’ (sacrificed to cover tracks), leaving us to suffer a blow to our pride with no particular gain. Having said this much, you understand the meaning, don’t you?”

The two nobles wore expressions of disbelief. However, lying would only expose the truth quickly. It was clear that she had spoken the truth, and the two nobles realized that the current situation was turning quite unpleasant.

Frankly speaking, the two nobles had planned to shift some of the responsibility for the Hero’s death onto the Terakan Empire to cover up their own errors stemming from reckless troop deployment.

As the issue concerned a border nation, and it was also true that the Hero had actually died due to being unable to cope with an injury sustained during a reckless operation, precisely because the promised medicinal supplies had not arrived, their attempt to shift some of the blame was about to come to nothing, leaving the two nobles with complicated thoughts.

‘Damn it, I was so sure when I came here… If this happens, we won’t be assigned a Hero.’

‘That despicable worm from the kingdom, he was so confident he could shift the blame, yet he tucks tail at just a few words!’

The Ruler of Terakan, looking at the two Dukes sweating nervously, stood up and spoke.

“As was your wish, we originally provided aid out of goodwill. However, it seems you mistook goodwill for a right. We will cease all future aid sent to the two kingdoms. Hereafter, the Atoon Kingdom and the Mirkas Federation will have to seek assistance through diplomacy by following the appropriate procedures under a new format.”

A low, heavy voice flowed out.

“Your, Your Majesty! Anything but that…”

“W-Well, if you think carefully, some fault lies with us. This time, please…”

Duke Holleo stopped speaking, having been overwhelmed by the Empress’s gaze, leaving him no choice but to be silent.

The kings of the two kingdoms surely had no idea that a massive pillar of support was collapsing at that moment, all thanks to their foolish dukes.

“Carefree and complacent! Mission accomplished?”

After tremendous effort, I finally managed to produce all the medicines in just ten days. And I was able to distribute a month’s supply, 15 pills each, including reserves, to the many Beastkin in the Forest of the Demon Dragon and those who wished to be under my command, practically dumping them on the wayfaring merchants (referring to the Beastkin).

‘Tolerance can develop to medicines, and the effectiveness can vary from person to person, so a little extra should be fine…’

After seeing off the departing Beastkin, I used Construction to make a temporary stone chair and lay down. Just then, Demina, who was nearby, quietly asked.

“Are you not going to manufacture any more medicines now?”

“Ah, it seems I finished quite quickly, somehow…? Anyway, since all the medicinal ingredients have been used up, we’ll enter a period of accumulation for a while.”

“You truly are an amazing person. To be able to use that much mana and magic power and still be… perfectly fine…”

“The saying is to speak the truth even if your mouth is crooked, but do I look perfectly fine right now?”

By external appearances, one might believe I was a skeleton. Since I used magic power, if I was not careful about how humans perceive me, I might be called a ‘Lich’, a relatively impactful supporting character who often appears in stories. I sighed, but the peculiar thing was that although I was exhausted, I didn’t feel like I was going to die as I did before.

Had the control of power become quite natural, and had I adapted?

If not, was the area where I use power expanding or broadening, like in the martial arts novels I read long ago, allowing me to use power more freely?

I didn’t know the exact reason, but I simply thought I was developing. Just then, Beni, who was holding a basket next to Demina, took out a drink and a sandwich and offered them to me.

“I worry My Lord might be getting too thin because you don’t eat enough meat!”

“Beni, vegetables actually make you gain more weight. When consumed with carbohydrates, they quickly turn into fat and accumulate in the body. But meat has a high protein content, so when you eat it, your body only absorbs the protein it can handle in a day, and most of it is expelled. It turns into hair, or grows as fingernails and toenails. In the process where protein is consumed… Hmm, but have I only been eating vegetables lately?”

As I spoke, I realized there was a problem with my current eating habits. I had probably asked what kind of meat was used, and if it was monster meat, I hadn’t even looked at it.

But now, there was no reason to avoid meat to that extreme extent.

“What kind of meat is in here?”

“It’s meat from the ‘Black Cow’ that grows in the northern part of the Hameureun Barony. It’s not a monster, but it’s said to have a quite aggressive nature, making it difficult to hunt. However, because it’s so delicious and massive, a lot of meat can be obtained, and both the meat and the hide are considered high-grade food ingredients, so commoners generally can barely smell it.”

“Didn’t a large amount come in recently?”

A few days ago, Rubins, along with his older sister Tein, visited our domain. At the time, with the help of Hare, who had coincidentally returned to the domain, we were able to store the vast amount of meat stacked in the enormous carriage procession in a freezer.

Several large warehouses had been converted for refrigeration or freezing to store perishable ingredients.

Thanks to this, although I had used up all the top-grade magic stones received from the princess, in just one place—a single warehouse I desired—I was able to apply a Time Acceleration of 100 times, and the emotion I felt then was incredible…

“Alright, first, let’s eat this and then go check how the liquor is maturing…?”

Beni had a look that said, ‘You can’t be helped,’ at my words.

Thanks to Beni’s thoughtfulness in even preparing water, I happily took a bite of the sandwich, and the quality of the meat was phenomenal.

It had a wonderful flavor and taste comparable to the Hanwoo (Korean Beef) I ate in my previous life. Riin’s good grilling was probably part of it, but the harmony of various vegetables, medicinal herbs, and the meat created such a wonderful harmony in my mouth that it was a truly pleasant taste experience.

“Wai’t so goooooood!”

After hearing my exclamations with bread flying out, Beni handed me water, telling me to eat slowly, allowing me to enjoy a pleasant ‘saecham’ (mid-day meal/snack). Feeling satisfied, I stood up and headed to the liquor warehouse.

Currently, there were 11 liquor aging rooms in our domain.

One of them was a brewing warehouse solely for my own use, and one of the other 10 was specifically for aging ‘Rum’. The rest specialized in medicinal herb liquor, with two types of liquor aging in each warehouse.

Moreover, with the magic stones Hare had brought back this time, I was able to increase the Time Acceleration to 30x, performing the amazing feat of achieving one year of aging in 12 days.

‘What would happen if I aged it for several more years?’

Honestly, I thought it would be a miracle if the liquor didn’t spoil, but I still thought it wouldn’t be bad to release it to the market after it had aged for at least 30 years.

Frankly, recalling the horrified expressions of the Hameureun siblings when they drank the medicinal herb liquor, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to release small quantities in advance to generate word-of-mouth.

When I entered my exclusive liquor warehouse, the warehouse recognized the presence of a person and stopped the Time Acceleration. The mist quickly lifted, and the faint scent of maturing liquor that followed was nothing short of fantastic.

“This warehouse smells so wonderful; I’m amazed every time I come here. What kind of liquor did you make, exactly?”

“It’s Rum, but its aroma and taste are much richer than the one sent to the Imperial Family. I meticulously selected the quality and content of the raw ingredients and brewed this one separately. In fact, this is the liquor that was kept hidden in the back when I let you taste the Rum before.”

“Ah… So that liquor is now filling the warehouse?”

“That’s right. I plan to take out one barrel every four days, based on a roughly 17-year vintage, and store them separately. I also plan to make beautiful bottles of different types and display them.”

“Where will you display them?”

“The manor’s inner Keep banquet hall, of course.”

I planned to cover the entire banquet hall with this liquor. And if possible, I also wanted to make a 100-year-old aged liquor.

What kind of taste would it have?

I was very curious, but it would require several barrel changes (decanting), so I still had a long way to go.

“Ugh, when will I be able to taste it…”

I felt satisfied, but also a sense of regret. However, I didn’t want to prematurely tap into the liquor and waste what was currently aging. Since it would need a barrel change in a few days, I decided to wait until then. As I left the liquor warehouse, I saw that Beni and Demina were also disappointed. So, I took a “better than nothing” approach, sneaking into another liquor warehouse. I had Demina carry one of the barrels aging for trade with the merchants, and then we secretly dashed to the lord’s manor.

Even if I didn’t go to these lengths, no one would stop me if I wanted a drink, but wasn’t this also a kind of fun?

Having entered the inner Keep, I headed to the ‘Bar’, placed the barrel down, and opened it. The aroma of the liquor that wafted out was incredibly sweet…

After that, I think I drank until my reason was almost paralyzed.

In the midst of it all, Demina seemed to have a very strong tolerance for liquor, as I saw her guiding the nearly-passed-out Beni and me to the bedroom before heading outside alone. Honestly, after that, I think Beni and I had a fiery relationship.

Anyway, I let go of the thread of consciousness with the final thought, ‘Demina, someday…’ but the next day, it was the first time in a long time I thought I might die from a hangover.

“The situation is urgent.”

At Vincent’s words, the maids, Riin, Aenia, and the commoners in the domain gathered.

“Could it be a health problem that My Lord is getting thinner by the day?”

“I don’t know, but it is certain that he has been overworking himself lately.”

“I heard he’s also dedicated to his night work…”

Everyone present already knew the situation: that their Lord was extremely fond of women. Because of this, some maids even thought, ‘What if we try to seduce him?’

But the current issue was a meeting called out of concern that the thinning Lord might be sick.

“The Demon God’s Month is in two weeks. We don’t know what will become of our lives, but at least I want to believe in the performance of the Magic-Power Suppression Medicine that My Lord created. No, we have no choice but to believe it. It’s already too late to issue an evacuation order.”

“But how do you plan to make him gain weight?”

“Hmm, I heard the news that a large quantity of Black Cow was brought in this time. I plan to encourage him to consistently consume a meat-focused diet, along with cheese and milk.”

“Will he eat it well?”

To Riin’s apprehension, Allena raised her hand and spoke.

“My Lord has a strong aversion to monster meat. So, as long as it’s not monster meat, it might work well, just as the Butler said.”

The glares of some of the maids directed at Allena were fierce. She felt inexplicably embarrassed by those looks, as they seemed to be saying, ‘You are one of the reasons he is getting thinner.’

However, regardless of the looks, the conversation continued, and it was the moment they confirmed their Lord entering the dining hall looking like he hadn’t had a drop of thin soup, and they resolved to definitely put the brief discussion they just had into action.