The Overlord of Blood and Iron

Chapter 23. Timothy鈥檚 loyalty, and Kimura鈥檚 disappearance

Kang Chul-In dove straight to post-war management. But鈥?as soon as he started, the vessels in Kang Chul-In鈥檚 forehead bulged. It had happened after he checked the amount of gold.

鈥樷€hat is this idiot?鈥?br>
Unfortunately, the gold that he had taken from Kimura was only 2 thousand gold.

Two thousand gold.

If you had estimated 1 gold to be about 400 dollars, two thousand gold would be about 800,000. It was a lot of money.

However, that was not enough. It was incomparable to the amount that Kang Chul-In had imagined previously.

鈥楥ontrol yourself, calm down鈥?Urg!鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In had to fight the urge to run to Kimura and grab him by the collar and mustered up all his patience to calm himself.

It was too little.

The price of the Burrow land would be at most 4,000 gold, but aside from the two thousand that he had acquired, where had the remaining four thousand gone?

鈥淪overeign.鈥?br>
Lucia, who was holding Laputa鈥檚 Soul Core gingerly, asked carefully when she noticed Kang Chul-In shaking in anger.

鈥淚s there something wrong?鈥?br>
鈥淭here is too little.鈥?br>
鈥淲hat? What do you mean鈥︹€?br>
鈥淭he gold that we took from him鈥?it鈥檚 too little. There is only 2 thousand gold.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
Lucia was also surprised at what Kang Chul-In said.

鈥淭wo thousand? There is no way! There needs to be at least four thousand!鈥?br>
鈥溾€?I think he spent a lot. He probably spent excessively seeing the money.鈥?br>
鈥淥h my god!鈥?br>
鈥淭here is nothing we can do. We can鈥檛 tell him to return gold he has already spent.鈥?br>
鈥淭hat is true.鈥?br>
鈥淟ucia.鈥?br>
鈥淵es, Sovereign.鈥?br>
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why鈥?鈥?br>
鈥淧lease speak.鈥?br>
鈥淐an you give me 500 gold from my private pocket?鈥?br>
鈥溾€︹€?br>
Kang Chul-In said, a little embarrassed.

Private pocket.

It was personal money only for a Sovereign. More simply put, it was an allowance of sorts for the Sovereign. It was usually decided after consulting the advisor, but Kang Chul-In was embarrassed because the financial state of Laputa was quite bad. They were very close to being in financial trouble, but as soon as some money came in, he had asked for personal money.

鈥淪igh鈥︹€?br>
Lucia sighed.

鈥溾€︹€?br>
Kang Chul-In, a bit embarrassed, pretended to do something else.

鈥淪overeign.鈥?br>
鈥溾€peak.鈥?br>
鈥淚 would have given you a thousand gold, if you have asked without hesitation.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淭here is a saying, a man is able to be proud if his wallet is full.鈥?br>
鈥淵es.鈥?br>
鈥淚f you were to maintain your dignity, you would need at least a thousand gold. I will give you a thousand.鈥?br>
Lucia had big hands.

鈥淭his Lucia, even if we have to save and go without, will give you enough allowance! Even if all the people have to eat boiled cattle feed instead of bread!鈥?br>
But she must also have known how to apply pressure.

鈥溾€ive me only 500 gold.鈥?br>
鈥淚s that enough?鈥?br>
鈥溾€t is more than enough.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In succeeded in getting 500 gold in allowance.

It was then.

From far away, Timothy ran with his short legs towards him and kneeled in front of Kang Chul-In.

鈥淪ov, Sovereign鈥?鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淭his Timothy, after much thought has decided to serve you, Sovereign! Although I am an unfaithful body that has changed Sovereigns, I will give all I have to serve you! Please take me鈥?鈥?br>
鈥淪tand, Timothy.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In smiled widely and stood Timothy up.

鈥淵ou are an important asset that will take care of my land鈥檚 administrative duties and distributions.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淚 will appoint you the land鈥檚 executive official. Also, I will also entrust you with the military distributions. Your title鈥︹€?br>
Kang Chul-In who was in thought for a moment turned his head and smirked widely.

鈥渋s administrative supply officer.鈥?br>
鈥淎dministrative supply officer!鈥?br>
鈥淵es.鈥?br>
鈥淓ntrusting such an important task to me鈥?I am grateful!鈥?br>
Timothy was crying as he thanked Kang Chul-In again and again. However, Kang Chul-In鈥檚 intentions were black and evil.

鈥楬eh, heh鈥?I will bury you in papers.鈥?br>
Timothy had the skill of being more and more effective the more and more he was overworked. In order to make him the most productive, night shifts were a must.

鈥淚 will go attend to post-war management, so you rest well for the time being.鈥?br>
鈥淵es, Sovereign!鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In, who had sent Timothy away, went immediately to his Royal Guard to reward them for their contributions.

鈥淗ooray! Hooray!鈥?br>
鈥淕lory to the Sovereign!鈥?br>
鈥淐ongratulations for the win!鈥?br>
Laputa鈥檚 soldiers congratulated Kang Chul-In and celebrated their victory.

鈥淭onight, I will send beer and sausages, so everyone eat and drink to your heart鈥檚 content!鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In suggested a meal to comfort the soldiers and reward them for their heard work.

鈥淲oah鈥?!!鈥?br>
鈥淭his is the best!鈥?br>
Like young, energetic men, the soldiers were extremely happy at the news of beer.

He met the people of the land as well.

A couple of the women of the land, gifted Kang Chul-In bouquets of flowers or necklaces made from flowers. Amongst them was Lana, Rustler鈥檚 daughter as well.

鈥淢y Lord鈥︹€?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
Lana who was not yet of age, blushed and looked embarrassed.

鈥榃hat the. What鈥檚 wrong with her?鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In was taken aback by Lana, who was twisting her body, but he did not show it.

鈥淪overeign鈥?Lana is鈥︹€?br>
Rustler鈥檚 only daughter spoke and lowered her eyes to the ground. Her ears were so red that it seemed like it would explode at any moment.

It was then.

Commander James ran to him quickly and yelled to Kang Chul-In, covering Lana鈥檚 voice.

鈥淪overeign! Sovereign!鈥?br>
鈥淲hat is it, James?鈥?br>
鈥淚 have gathered the surviving Ants and the fire toad in the drill grounds!鈥?br>
鈥淩ight. I will go now.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In turned towards the drill grounds right away. It was important to deal with the enemy troops.

鈥溾€︹€?br>
Lana, who could not finish her sentence, blew air in her cheeks and glared at James, but no one noticed.

Kang Chul-In, who arrived in the drill grounds, looked at the enemy troops from the reviewing stand. They looked horrible, all of them horribly burned.

鈥淟ucia!鈥?br>
鈥淵es, my Lord.鈥?br>
鈥淏ring all the honey from storage and feed it to them.鈥?br>
鈥淵es, Sovereign!鈥?br>
Honey for ants were the best health food, and the medicine that cures all. For them who were insects, sugar was the most nutritious.

鈥淛ames!鈥?br>
鈥淵es, my Lord.鈥?br>
鈥淕ive them potions. Take care of them so their wounds will heal well.鈥?br>
鈥淵es, my Lord!鈥?br>
After giving the orders, Kang Chul-In left the stand and headed towards the leader of the Ants.

鈥淵ou are probably hurting a lot, and also very sad.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
Verna, the leader of the Ants, opened her eyes wide at Kang Chul-In鈥檚 comforting words.

鈥淚 feel sorry.鈥?br>
鈥淣o鈥ts nothing鈥︹€?br>
鈥淏ut what can we do? War is all like this. If I did not want to die, I had to kill you instead.鈥?br>
鈥淚 know鈥︹€?br>
Verna lowered her head.

鈥淵ou must hate me and despise me鈥?but what can we do. The Burrows are under my leadership now.鈥?br>
鈥淵es, Sovereign.鈥?br>
鈥淚 wish to entrust you with the architecture of this land.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
In the surprising offer, Verna opened her eyes wide.

鈥淚 will not send you to battle. Building, I will only ask you to build. Would you help me and build grand buildings in this land?鈥?br>
鈥淒o you mean that, Sovereign?鈥?br>
鈥淚 know that your happiness is work, and only work. I do not need anything else. I want only work, and not fighting power from you.鈥?br>
鈥淭hen鈥?鈥?br>
鈥淲ill you do it?鈥?br>
鈥淵es, Sovereign! No, my Lord! I will serve you!鈥?br>
Verna bent her six legs as best as she could and bowed as best as she could.

鈥淚 will serve you to the best of my ability!鈥?br>
鈥淚 will serve you to the best of my ability!鈥?br>
鈥淚 will serve you to the best of my ability!鈥?br>
All the ants all vowed their loyalty to Kang Chul-In.

鈥楽impletons.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In smiled in the inside.

Honestly, this kind of show was not needed, for he was able to control them, but there was a big difference in doing it and not. There was a difference in loyalty.

[Gained +30 Favorability from the Ants]

[Loyalty of the Ants from 60 to 75]

It was effective, as expected.

鈥楢nts are great manpower.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In wanted the ants vigorously.

There were dwarves who specialized in architecture, but dwarves were more useful in craftsmanship or as blacksmiths. For simply building architecture, ants were the best in construction sites. They were manual laborers down to the bone鈥?and were a great labor force, so they would be extremely helpful in internal affairs.

Also, they enjoyed doing manual labor, so he did not need to feel guilty in putting them to work. They would not complain no matter how hard he worked them.

鈥淛ames.鈥?br>
鈥淵es, Sovereign.鈥?br>
鈥淔ollow me with the flame toad.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In, who had left the drill grounds, finally went to the place where the land鈥檚 blacksmith worked.

鈥淥h, welcome, my Lord!鈥?br>
The old man who worked as the blacksmith of the land was called Vulkanos.

鈥淭his guy, can you raise him well?鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In handed the flame toad鈥檚 leash to the old man.

鈥淭his guy!鈥?br>
鈥淭his place is the foundation that determines our land鈥檚 military force. The blacksmith鈥檚 workshop needs to be well stocked so good weapons can be made.鈥?br>
鈥淭hank, thank you my Lord! Gifting me with such a good monster!鈥?br>
The old man Vulkanos kneeled and bowed.

For a blacksmith who worked with metal, a fire toad would be extremely helpful. A flame toad would be a great asset and friend.

鈥淚 will support you well from now on.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In was a conquest Sovereign. There was no way he would be cheap with his support in a place where weapons were made.

鈥淭his old man, will pay back with twice, no ten times more than what you have supported me with!鈥?br>
With that, post-war administration was finished. Night had fallen and torches were hung all over the land.

鈥業鈥檒l finally go home.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In was planning to return to Earth as soon as the sun rose tomorrow. He would visit his mother and also check on the status of finding Kwak Jung.

The next morning, Kang Chul-In stood in the magic square that lied in the center of the Sovereign Hall. However鈥?he could not see the person that he was supposed to see.

鈥淭his idiot, where did he go?鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In asked, and James鈥?face hardened.

鈥淚t鈥檚鈥?that鈥︹€?br>
鈥淪peak.鈥?br>
鈥淚t seems, like he hid somewhere.鈥?br>
鈥淲hat?鈥?br>
The person that Kang Chul-In was looking for was no other than Kimura. He was going to take him along when he was returning to earth.

鈥淚t鈥檚 that鈥?there were a couple people who heard him whining that he did not want to go home.鈥?br>
鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 want to go home?鈥?br>
鈥淭hat he is scared of his house鈥?he said he would much rather stay here.鈥?br>
鈥溾€hat is he?鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In put his face in his hands, as if he was annoyed. He had spared Kimura鈥檚 life, yet he didn鈥檛 want to go home. He could not understand what kind of a messed up situation this was.

鈥淔ind him, before I get back.鈥?br>
Kang Chul-In ordered. Then, a man who seemed like he would be handy with a pair of handcuffs answered.

鈥淵es, my Lord.鈥?br>
Podorski smiled widely and answered. On his waist were a pair of silver handcuffs, gleaming in the light.

鈥淟eave it to me, my Lord!鈥?br>
Was it just him that felt assured that it would get done when Podorski answered?

Kang Chul-In shook his head and activated the magic square. Returning to Earth was priority.