Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Construction of the Trade Port. (1)

Late at night, in the main conference room of the Daphne Viscounty Estate.

“E-everyone, please take one.”

Malion, who looked not only skin and bones but had even turned pale-blue.

“H-here you go.”

“Uuuuugh…”

His subordinate Engelmann, along with a few other retainers, walked around the room, handing out bundles of parchment to each attendee.

Frankly speaking, even if someone claimed these people had just crawled out of a grave, no one would have doubted it.

If you asked why they looked like that…

“Wow, you finished already? You sure worked fast.”

At that moment, Hardin, sitting with his legs crossed, tapped the parchment in front of him as he read through it.

Then—

“You’re the one who kept rushing usssss…”

Malion glared at Hardin with bloodshot eyes.

His brow was furrowed hard, and a dark mist seemed to be faintly rising from his body.

And understandably so…

 Hey, hurry up already.

 Please wait a little. There are so many conditions we need to consider…

 Oh, so when are you planning to finish? Are we going to start once we’re old and dead?

After the port construction plans began in earnest, and Malion was assigned overall responsibility—

Even while sleeping, eating, and even when he had to take care of certain... personal matters(?), Hardin would relentlessly pressure Malion and his retainers day after day, so it was no wonder they ended up like this.

But instead of backing off, Hardin continued to chide him.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m doing this for myself, is it? Huh? This is all for our own good. Just because you struggled a little doesn’t mean you get to brag… Right, Father?”

“...Ahem, yes. Think of it as a good deed, Malion.”

When Cobalt glanced over and nodded,

Malion ground his teeth.

‘There’s got to be a limit… a freaking limit…’

He felt like mixing horse piss into Hardin’s food.

But what could he do? This was Hardin, after all.

‘Endure it. I’m a man of character—I’ll endure it.’

Thump! Thump!

He pounded his chest with his fist, then collapsed into a chair.

“Enough. Let’s begin the meeting. Everyone, please look at the document you’ve received.”

“Ahem, right.”

Everyone nodded, and Malion hurriedly continued.

“I know everyone is busy, so I’ll get straight to the point. First, it’s estimated that constructing the port, from start to completion, will take at least three years.”

“Three years, huh… That’s longer than I expected.”

When Hardin asked, Malion straightened up and answered firmly.

“For a port of this scale, that timeframe is… rather standard.”

“Really? I could’ve sworn our family built an even bigger port than this in just a year back in the day.”

“When exactly are you talking about, Brother?”

“About 90 years ago?”

“……”

Yeah, that one’s not even worth replying to…

Malion glared silently at Hardin, then shook his head and continued speaking.

“As you can see, the construction can be broadly divided into foundation reinforcement, setting up the unloading dock, and building storage warehouses for shipments along with related facilities. The concerning aspects of each process are detailed in the documents, and if you want more specifics, the person in charge is listed, so you can…”

Malion continued his explanation smoothly without pause.

Watching him quietly, Hardin let out a faint chuckle.

‘The guy really worked hard.’

Although I’m not exactly an expert in this field, compared to the reports I read in my past life, it was clear where the shortcomings were.

However…

‘He’s captured the overall big picture well. You can see he’s trying to make the most of our family’s current traits and situation.’

Resource allocation, manpower reinforcement plans, how to manage these people until construction is completed, and so on.

Considering it was made with no prior experience, without any outside help, and practically by banging his head against the wall—honestly, it was of pretty high quality.

Well, if you’re a descendant of Daphne, this much is the bare minimum, really.

“I have a question about the food supply plan here.”

“Ah, that’s…”

Malion continued his presentation, and Cobalt or some of the retainers chimed in from time to time with comments or questions, helping to clarify things.

‘A trade port… a trade port…’

‘We must make it a success.’

Everyone was more serious than ever before.

A massive construction project requiring an absurd budget of ten million gold.

For everyone present, it was probably the largest undertaking they’d ever faced in their entire lives—no, more than that.

It would’ve been strange if they weren’t tense.

How much longer did the meeting continue?

“Phew… That concludes everything I have to report for today.”

Malion exhaled a long sigh, ending his report with a tired face.

Viscount Cobalt nodded and asked,

“So, what happens next?”

“First, I plan to start by hiring workers. As soon as the meeting ends, we’ll distribute flyers throughout the castle and also commission a request to nearby free city guilds.”

“I see. A total of 150 people, huh? Are you fully prepared to receive them?”

“We’ve dispatched carpenters to build lodgings, and we’ve also prepared tents to be used as temporary shelters just in case. It’s unlikely that many people will show up all at once, so this should be enough.”

“Good. You’re doing well. If there’s anything I can help with, just say the word.”

“Yes, sir.”

Just as Malion was catching his breath and nodding, Hardin added with a hearty laugh.

“If you need anything from me too, just say the word! Hahaha!”

“……”

“What’s with that face?”

“It’s nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing?”

Malion shook his head with an expression that clearly said he found this pathetic.

‘If that man steps in again, this time it might truly end in disaster.’

From the territorial war to securing the investment from the princess—

Everything his brother had touched so far had succeeded, but all of it had been little more than gambles that just happened to be backed by luck.

This time, however, the scale was far too large and massive to rely on such uncertain methods.

If it failed, the entire house wouldn’t just falter—it could vanish completely without even leaving behind dust.

That’s why, no matter what, the best course of action was to proceed in a way that minimized his brother’s involvement.

‘Yes, this is the right way.’

Nodding to himself, Malion forced a smile and said,

“I’ll focus on my task, so please concentrate on the Knight Order, Brother.”

“No, but I’m saying I’ll help?”

“No need.”

“I said I’ll help.”

“No, thank you.”

“I should help, though?”

“Not at all.”

The heated exchange between the two prideful men—no, humans—filled the entire conference room.

---

Screech! Screech!

The cries of seagulls mixed with the sound of waves in Mudside.

This small fishing village, home to only a few dozen residents, was now bustling with people.

“Is this the place where they’re hiring workers?”

“Ah, yes, yes. Please line up over here.”

“Good heavens, what’s with this ridiculously long line…”

A long line stretched out in front of the village hall in the center of Mudside.

From young, energetic men to older, middle-aged workers, and even sun-darkened housewives.

People of all ages and backgrounds had gathered, and inside the hall…

“Please read the contract carefully here and sign… What? You can’t read?”

“Sir, I really want to work. I’m begging you.”

“You haven’t committed any crimes, have you?”

“Crimes? No way! Absolutely not!”

The quartermaster Engelmann and several retainers were sweating buckets as they sat at desks, explaining the contract terms to the laborers across from them.

“You don’t look fit for physical work. Please head back.”

“No, I can do it! I really can!”

Many hopefuls turned away in disappointment.

“You look like you could be a good fit. Sign here.”

“Oh, thank you so much!”

Others shouted in joy upon being accepted.

Since they were selecting workers who would be with the house for a full three years, they were doing thorough background checks and only picking those who looked physically strong and capable.

Standing quietly behind the retainers, observing the situation, Malion gave a subtle nod.

‘It’s going much more smoothly than expected.’

To be honest, before starting, he hadn’t thought it would be easy to recruit as many as 150 workers.

Recently, vagrants and beggars had nearly vanished from both Daphne and Calpion estates, and there were likely plenty of other job opportunities in the nearby free cities.

But seeing people swarm in like clouds, it turned out all of that had been needless worry.

‘Are you watching, Brother Hardin?’

Even without your help… No, it’s actually going more smoothly without it.

“Third Young Master, here’s another set of contracts.”

“Ah, right.”

When Engelmann handed over another bundle of signed contracts, Malion reviewed them and placed them in his bag.

Taking a deep breath, Malion adjusted his glasses.

‘It’s almost done.’

According to the contracts and lists gathered so far, the number of hired workers had already surpassed 150.

Once they hired around ten more as reserves, the recruitment process would be completely wrapped up today.

‘To think it’s nearly finished in just a week.’

A smile appeared on Malion’s lips.

He had thought it would take at least a month, but they were finishing in less than a quarter of that time—how could he not feel good about it?

How long had they continued handling the flood of applicants?

As Engelmann continued his work up front, Malion tapped him on the shoulder.

“Let’s start wrapping up. I think we’ve recruited enough.”

“Phew… Is that so?”

Quartermaster Engelmann wiped the sweat beading on his forehead with the back of his hand.

Having been cooped up inside the hall for several days doing this, he was understandably exhausted.

Well, it was all finally coming to an end now.

“Yes. Just finish up with the people already inside. Send the rest outside away.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

With that, Engelmann got up and walked toward the outside of the hall to announce the closing.

But then—

“Aaaagh!”

“What the hell was that?!”

Crash! Bang!

A series of shattering sounds and screams erupted from outside.

In an instant, the retainers and Malion’s eyes flew wide open.

Then—

Thud!

“Eeeeek!”

The door burst open roughly, and Engelmann stumbled back into the building, practically shoved inside.

A deep bruise was forming under one of his eyes, and his clothes were torn to shreds like rags.

“Th-they’re going crazy, Third Young Master!”

“What on earth happened, Engelmann?!”

“O-outside… the people outside—!”

Confused, Malion rushed to the door and flung it open himself.

And then...

“Please, hire me too!”

“I stood in line for hours! And now you’re just telling us to leave?! That’s ridiculous!”

Crash!

In an instant, dozens of people surged into the village hall, filling the interior completely.

Startled, Malion stumbled backward and shouted,

“W-wait a minute! What do you all think you’re doing?! Guards! Contain them! Guards!”

“Th-Third Young Master! Run!”

He looked toward the direction of the voice and saw the guards reaching out desperately from within the crowd, calling out to him.

Their faces were pale, voices frantic, and they couldn’t even hold themselves upright.

The moment he heard them, Malion sensed it.

Something was slightly… no, seriously going wrong.

“E-everyone, through the back door!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Malion and the retainers quickly opened the hall’s back door and dashed out.

“W-wait! Please, let me work too!”

“Come onnnn! You said you were looking for workers!”

People with bloodshot eyes began chasing after them in that direction.

“Run, Third Young Master! I’ll hold them off!”

“Get out of my wayyyy!”

A nearby guard blocked the path, holding the line, and thanks to that, Malion barely managed to escape.

“Run to the hill in the back!”

“Yes, sir!”

Malion and his retainers ran frantically, fleeing the scene.

“Haaah… Hah… Huff… What the hell…?”

It was only when they reached the hill overlooking Mudside that everyone finally stopped to catch their breath and take in the scene below.

“…Oh my god.”

The area surrounding the village hall was completely blackened by the sheer number of people swarming it.

And to make matters worse—

“Get lost, bastard! I was here first!”

“You get lost!”

People were throwing punches and screaming at each other, completely tangled in chaos.

It was like watching a rampaging troop of monkeys—total disorder and madness.

And that wasn’t the only problem.

“Th-they’re coming from over there too.”

“Dear heavens.”

From the other side as well, waves of people were surging toward Mudside like a tidal wave.

Over the past week, the crowd had steadily grown, but this… this number rivaled the total of everyone who had come so far—combined.

“Third Young Master, what in the world is going on here?”

“I don’t know either.”

Damn it… What the hell is happening?

Malion’s face contorted into a miserable grimace.

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