The Doomed Fief’s Dying Lord (7)

At that moment the old man grabbed Izack’s arm and yanked him back.

“That’s enough. Let the young master go, Izack.”

“I won’t let go. You heard the garbage this brat was spouting!”

“Hearing it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let go!”

Startled by the old man’s shout, Izack stared at him wide-eyed. The old man said,

“Are you really going to make your daughter the child of a murderer?”

“…”

Only then did Izack’s grip slowly loosen.

‘Ahhh, I almost died…!’

I drew a sharp breath.

I genuinely thought he might strangle me to death.

What kind of arm strength is that!

Is he really some kind of moonshiner?!

I rubbed my sore neck and bowed an apology.

“…Please forgive my rudeness.”

I was the one who nearly died, and I’m the one apologizing?

Of course I am.

Business is like that by nature.

‘He was pretty abusive anyway…’

The old man answered.

“That’s enough. This should make my son-in-law understand. Since Ronari brought the young master here, we either trust him or accept ruin.”

This old man communicates better than his son-in-law.

Even so, his eyes were razor-sharp.

Ronari’s gaze had also shifted… cooler, more measuring than before.

Serves me right.

She must be shocked.

’…I’m sorry this is how I repay the trust you gave me. But you have to face reality.’

Ronari asked in a firmer voice than before,

“So what should we do now?”

But why are you asking me that?

“That’s something you have to teach me.”

“Wha…?”

Ronari looked at me strangely.

‘You really meet all sorts. Is she sulking…?’

Her expression seemed to say exactly that.

No, I’m not sulking; I’m serious.

“What do I know about brewing? I’ve already laid out my plan. Now it’s your turn to teach me. Tell me what I need to prepare.”

“So I’m going to take some money out of the treasury and use it!”

“Wha…?”

The steward gave me a familiar look at my sudden declaration.

‘Are you in your right mind?!’

Yes, I am.

But my actions proved I was mad… like a chronic troublemaker at a bank or local office.

Even I could see I was nothing more or less than that.

“No, it’s money I found, and I’m saying I’ll spend it… what’s the problem?!”

“What money are you talking about?”

“The 1.8 billion I protected! Didn’t I stop an embezzlement attempt?”

“No… even so, that’s Denabi’s treasury and can only be used under budget policies set by the council…”

“Aah! I don’t care about that! Give me my money!”

“Young master…!”

Now, you might be wondering why I’m throwing a tantrum at the steward.

There’s only one reason.

‘Give me the money!’

After roughly finishing the persuasion (and threats) with Ronari’s family, it was time for a meeting.

The task was simple:

How do we produce a lot of alcohol quickly and distribute it widely?

“I see. You mean it’s faster to make fermented drinks than to use stills and produce complicated spirits?”

“Only if we have enough ingredients and space. We’ll need large fermentation vats, too.”

“Understood. We’ll find space somehow.”

“…Do as you wish.”

I carefully took notes as Izack spoke.

Until a moment ago, I’d been spitting harsh words.

Now I sat quietly and listened.

Ronari’s family looked bewildered.

Their faces basically said,

‘What is this guy doing?’

What am I doing? Business, obviously.

This is the explanation I demanded. What, were they expecting me not to listen carefully?

Listen when needed; curse when needed.

If I’m harsh, it’s out of necessity, not emotion.

‘I don’t particularly expect them to appreciate it.’

I only care about getting the business running.

Survival matters more than looking good.

I handed my notes to Izack and the old man… Pietro.

“What do you think? At this level, can you say I properly understand the production process?”

“…Well, more or less.”

“‘More or less’ won’t do. Point out what needs fixing.”

“I didn’t explain this. You’re missing the soaking needed for mashing. Here…”

I’ve never been much of a drinker.

I’m clueless about brewing.

But if the CEO doesn’t understand the core of the business, how does anything move?

‘They’ll brew, but I have to raise capital. If I don’t grasp the business, we’re stuck.’

Even after we organized the process, I stayed at their table a long time.

“By the way, aren’t you going home?”

“Would you let me go if I said I was leaving?”

“You’d better leave before I change my mind about sending you away.”

“Yes, I’ll leave… after I finish demand forecasting and capital estimates.”

I answered Izack without looking up.

Across from me, Ronari had her head in her hands.

“…The adult population in Denabi Castle who can consume alcohol is about 26,000, so the daily consumption of alcohol would be…”

A sea of numbers I’d produced.

Ronari swam through them diligently.

“…”

Pietro and Izack watched us, astonished.

What’s so astonishing?

I said to the two stern men,

“Once Ronari finishes, you need to help me. To meet demand, we have to decide facility size and required raw materials.”

“If this is just empty boasting…”

I cut Izack off.

“Who said it’s boasting? I’ll finish before dawn even if I have to stay up all night.”

“You… are you serious?”

What a ridiculous question.

I glared.

“If I’m not serious, does this look like a joke?”

“Whether it’s a joke or whatever, it’s none of my business…”

I slammed my fist on the table.

“!”

Ronari, mid-mutter, looked up, startled.

All eyes pinned me.

Maybe I shouldn’t have slammed the table.

Awkward.

But I’d started; I had to finish.

They needed to understand how serious this was.

“Do you think I came here to play games? I’m doing this to survive. Tomorrow? You think we can wait for tomorrow? Do you think the damned Mana Plague will wait for tomorrow?”

I’m being honest.

It’s absurd that I even have to explain this.

I arrived in this world only recently.

You’re the natives here… not me.

You should be more serious about survival than I am.

So why am I the only one treating it like life and death?

‘You can’t…!’

“I’ll dominate the market. I’ll sell tons of alcohol, collect loads of taxes, make you filthy rich, and with that money I’ll smash the orchard dungeon. That’s how I’ll survive. I will never die and become a mana crystal. Understand? I’m damn serious.”

Then I turned to Ronari.

“Are the calculations finished?”

“Huh? Uh…? Yes?”

“I asked if the calculations are finished.”

“Ah… soon, almost…!”

“Understood.”

I said earlier: I don’t expect appreciation.

That hasn’t changed.

To them, I’m the lord’s son. We’ve just met.

Asking for trust would be unreasonable.

But they need to grasp the situation…

‘So they can survive.’

Please don’t make me angry.

This is so awkward…

“…Sorry for shouting.”

No one accepted the apology with joy.

Business is grueling.

On the way back up from the lower floor, Ronari asked,

“I understand why you rushed the estimates. But how do you plan to raise that much cash?”

Her voice trembled with worry.

Of course she’d worry.

Real estate to build the brewery,

the facilities themselves,

capital, labor, raw materials…

‘Money, money, money, money… it’s all money!’

To make money, you need money.

That’s the axiom of business.

Terribly unfair, but reality.

And we don’t have a single coin.

‘What to do!’

I’d thought about it until my head throbbed.

In the end, nothing beat this:

‘Fight unfairness with unfairness!’

“So give me my money!”

“Hey, guards! Stop the young master!”

“Lay a fingertip on me and I’ll tell my brothers and father about this!”

“Young master…!?”

The day after we finished the estimates…

After catching up on sleep… I started making a scene at noon.

‘I didn’t want to use such a petty method, but I had no choice!’

I flopped down in front of Denabi Castle’s treasury and threw a full-on tantrum.

The steward and guards were helpless.

Of course they were! Who am I?

What can you even do to me?

“Young master…! Keep your dignity!”

“Dignity, my foot! If you don’t give me the money right now, the fief will collapse!”

“What on earth…”

When the steward asked that, I abruptly stopped.

“Young master…?”

“If I explain properly, will you open the treasury and hand over the money?”

“Still, there are fief regulations…”

“Argh! Then I won’t stop! I can do this all day!”

My stubborn tantrum went on for nearly an hour.

By then I was exhausted…

‘My stamina sucks.’

Normally I should’ve been sprawled out for about three hours.

‘Even if this looks stupid, it’s a time-honored strategy.’

Some people think business is a pristine field of procedures and contracts.

It’s not.

Not at all.

What if your demands aren’t met, and failing to act immediately means ruin?

‘Then you throw a tantrum!’

I’ve lain down in front of partner factories a few times myself.

In short, I’m a professional tantrum-thrower.

Right now, not even Shin-chan’s mom could stop me.

“Graaah! If you don’t want to see me die, open the door and give me the money!”

“No, young master, you have to at least explain so we can do something, right?”

“You said you wouldn’t listen even if I explained!”

“We’ll listen! We’ll listen, so please get up…!”

Finally, got them.

I sprang up at once, smoothed my rumpled clothes and hair, and spoke crisply.

“Then I’ll start the business presentation. …Ronari!”

At my call, Ronari… who’d been hiding and watching (for about an hour)… appeared.

At her gesture, the administrators brought a table and chairs.

She laid out what she’d prepared:

The materials she’d made overnight, and the business plan based on them.

“What on earth is this…?”

A negotiation table, conjured in front of the treasury.

The steward looked utterly bewildered.

He wasn’t the only one.

’…Is he insane?’

Even the administrators who’d come at my request were staring like that.

Yeah. I’m crazy.

But this is life and death.

If you want to live, you do crazy things.

I sat, crossed my legs.

“Please sit, Steward. I’m ready to explain.”

He sat opposite me, still dazed.

Is this really happening?

I get it.

Shane is supposed to be the quiet youngest son of a lordly house. It’s hard to believe he’d cause such a ruckus.

But there’s a phrase I like at times like these:

‘What if you don’t believe me?!’

You’ll end up believing…

Because in this wretched fief, there’s no other choice.

“Now, I’ll begin the business presentation.”