Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 936



936 – Can You Lend Me Some Land? – 1

These days, we feel a strong need for warehouse expansion or new construction.

It is a basic social practice to send gifts and congratulate someone on their special day. That is why I have been receiving all kinds of birthday gifts since Pedi was born, but they were nothing more than a formality to the real power of the empire. My personal network is not very wide, so I rarely have close enough acquaintances to send sincere gifts. Thanks to that, I was able to handle the gifts with my existing storage.

But when I became a living adult, the story changed.

‘He went beyond being a real power in the empire and became a legend in the religious world.’

I feel embarrassed to be praising myself, but that is the reality. Not only the imperial nobility, but also the priests and faithful believers from all over the continent have become the objects of admiration.

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In that situation, the gift to commemorate the birth of Florence, who was born right after my canonization, was blocked by pilgrims in front of the mansion and could not reach me. And the gift that could not reach me was not completely lost, but was maturing somewhere in the imperial warehouse.

That is, the enthusiasm of the pilgrims to the Holy Land has died down, and now that Leon has been born one after another, gifts have come pouring in like crazy, far beyond my expectations. The mansion servants have been reduced to SCVs that constantly carry minerals.

‘I guess I should take a vacation soon.’

No matter how dedicated they are to the mansion, this insane wave of gifts is deplorable even to me.

At the same time, I’m also scared. Will it be the employees who collapse from overwork or the gifts that stop coming? Looking at the current situation, it seems like it will be the former.

‘It’s a birthday present, so I can’t give it away.’

He sighed softly and frowned.

Ordinary treasures or assets can be distributed at will by the owner. Close friends, neighbors, fellow government officials, etc. Just make up a suitable excuse and sneak them into your pocket.

However, this is only possible when it is literally an ‘ordinary’ object. Throwing away a gift that you received from someone rather than an asset that you acquired with your own strength? That is like smearing shit on the face of the person who gave you the gift. It is an atrocity that will only make both parties feel awkward if the truth is revealed.

There is no one who would transfer the royal seal they received from the emperor to another noble or sell it on the market. That’s kind of it.

‘I guess I’ll have to build a new warehouse eventually.’

Anyway, my head is in a mess. Not only my mansion, but also the warehouse of Count Tilglehen is saturated due to the gift wave that has been going on for years. Even if I miraculously overcome this wave, the same situation will just repeat itself over time.

So, to solve the fundamental problem, we need to burn the gifts─no, we need to build a large warehouse. Come to think of it, there isn’t enough space to expand.

And unfortunately, the noble’s warehouse is not a building that can be built simply by deciding, “Let’s build it!”

‘Because we have to be careful about location, route, and security.’

If the warehouse is too far from your residence, it is inconvenient to manage. However, if there is a site close to your residence where you can build the warehouse, there is no need to build a new warehouse in the first place. It is a truly bizarre dilemma.

Also, since it is a building where valuables received from others are stored, special care must be taken with security. So that no crazy thief dares to infiltrate it.

If, just in case, the warehouse gets robbed by thieves, there’s no greater humiliation. Probably for at least ten years, a placard saying ‘Congrats, Count Tilglehen, robbed by the King of Thieves’ will hang on the mansion’s front gate.

“Master.”

While I was racking my brain to think of a suitable warehouse site, I turned my head at the butler’s voice.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

I felt pity for the butler’s somewhat haggard appearance, but I was also anxious.

An SCV that was busy transporting minerals came to the captain. Could it be that they came to declare a strike?

“His Excellency Jeon Seung-gong has arrived. He said he has something to discuss with you, so I have invited you to the reception room first.”

‘What.’

It was a stronger word than a strike, so I flinched.

It’s not strange for Jeon Seung-gong to come. Jeon Seung-gong is a very busy person, so he occasionally comes to our mansion to play with the kids when he has time. At some point, it seemed like he was aiming for the title of Grandfather.

However, he said that there was something important to discuss. That was what made me more anxious than anything else. It was something so important that even the commander of the imperial army, Jeon Seung-gong, would personally attend.

“I’ll be right there, so prepare some refreshments. The tea should be a little lukewarm.”

“Yes, master.”

I sighed inwardly and walked away.

Regardless of the anxiety and fear, I cannot avoid visiting the Jeon Seung-gong. If the Jeon Seung-gong needs my help and cooperation, I must gladly lend a helping hand.

But if possible, I hope it’s less difficult.

It seems Enen has listened to my wishes.

“Kun Carl. Could you lend me some land?”

Surprisingly, Jeon Seung-gong’s business was not difficult or complicated.

It was just an unexpected surprise.

“The land… you mean?”

I blinked blankly because it was something I couldn’t understand.

If it had been said by another noble, I would understand, but I never thought that the words asking for land would come from a duke of all people. Aren’t the five dukes the second most powerful real estate owners in this empire, next to the imperial family?

But one of the dukes, Jeon Seung-gong, wants the land. It’s like the owner of a huge gold mine coveting a child’s tiny gold tooth.

“I’m sorry. I know you’ll be embarrassed if I ask you this without any explanation.”

However, Jeon Seung-gong also seemed to know that this was a bizarre situation, so he coughed slightly and continued speaking.

“I’m talking about the military academy site. There’s talk of securing part of the Wiridia County territory.”

“yes?”

What does this mean?

“Wasn’t the military academy supposed to be built near the academy? That’s definitely the case, from the last I heard.”

“What you heard from the Carl Army is true. We even did a survey a few weeks ago. But you know.”

This time, Jeon Seung-gong smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly.

“The spirits acted as an ambush.”

“What the…”

“People I had never seen before came rushing in, digging up the ground with all sorts of tools and trying to build something, so I guess they were interested. Hundreds and thousands of spirits were attached to me, so I was out of my mind. If I push ahead with the construction in this situation, something will definitely go wrong.”

I was left dazed by the unimaginable variables.

Certainly, Constantina’s flower garden was created near the Academy, and that flower garden became the home of spirits like the World Tree. Thanks to this, the flower garden became a major tourist attraction for not only Academy students, but also imperial nobles and wealthy commoners.

But who would have thought that the flower garden, which is actively being used as a tourist attraction, would be held back like this? The spirits are so curious that they fly all the way to the construction site.

‘Aren’t you a bit shy around humans…?’

As far as I know, spirits are shy by nature. I can confirm this not just from what I heard, but from my own experience.

In fact, the spirits that inhabit our mansion have a history of running away from humans, and even now, after many years, there are still some that sneak around.

‘Is this the difference between a wild spirit and a tourist attraction spirit?’

If you think about it that way, it seems like it’s understandable. The deer roaming the mountains avoid people, but I think the deer in the deer park don’t avoid people, but rather rush at them when they see food.

“So I quickly looked for other candidates, and Wiridia emerged as a strong candidate, so I came to see Carl.”

“okay.”

Anyway, I nodded my head at Jeon Seung-gong’s kind explanation.

The fact that the candidate site that was practically confirmed collapsed due to a spirit attack, and that the candidate site that was hastily found was the territory of an acquaintance, is completely understandable.

“This is the path for the unrivaled imperial army, so why should we ruin the cause by being obsessed with a small piece of land? I can give you as much land as you want.”

Yeah, I can understand the results.

“But is Wiridia okay? Excluding the North, it is the northernmost part of the Empire, and isn’t it a place that is relatively underdeveloped? Isn’t it a bit lacking in containing the future of the Imperial Army?”

I can’t understand the process. How on earth did Wiridia get chosen over so many other candidates?

As the master of Wiridia, I have nothing to say, but even though Wiridia is advantageous for trade with the North, it is not a very prestigious territory within the Empire. There are many lands with better locations than Wiridia…

ah.

‘So that’s why you chose it.’

I was a bit stupid for a moment. The lands with good locations are probably already developed or are worth a lot of money. Securing a large piece of land to build a military academy in such a territory is a problem that is difficult to solve even with money.

On the other hand, there is enough land in Wiridia to build three military academies. If that is not enough, you can just convert some of the land that is being used as pasture land into construction sites.

“I guess the vastness of Wiridia is a charm that other territories cannot offer. In addition, since it has easy connections with the north, it is capable of carrying out training related to cavalry.”

Jeon Seung-gong’s answer was not far off from my prediction. It was just that there was an additional factor of connection with the north, not just the area.

“Oh, of course I don’t plan on renting it out for free, so don’t worry. I plan on paying a reasonable rent every year, or even purchasing the land as a direct imperial fief. This is something His Majesty the Emperor has approved, so do as you wish, Karl.”

‘oh.’

I am satisfied with the statement that he will pay the price cleanly.

If it’s land that you won’t be using anyway, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to lease it out and collect rent, or even sell it. Surely the Emperor and Jeon Seung-gong won’t lower the price.

“Your Majesty, before you decide, why don’t you go to Wiridia first and check if there is a suitable site?”

“Haha, I’d be happy if I could check with the owner.”

Jeon Seung-gong laughed at my suggestion.

It was a wonderful sight to see Jeon Seung-gong, the commander of the General Staff, readily agree to the outing. This shows that Jeon Seung-gong is serious about building the military academy.

‘Let’s give it to them cheaply.’

When I saw that sight, my heart became weak.

If Jeon Seung-gong wants it so badly, what if he gets paid a little less? Money is fleeting, but fate is eternal.