Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 118



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 118

23-Collaboration

“I heard that you have been raising a hunting dog for a long time.”

“Hounds? I don’t raise anything like that. I don’t even have any interest in hunting.”

“Don’t you know the name Johnson Cordelli?”

“… … .”

The curiosity in Count Stan’s gaze disappeared at the name Arthur brought out. The emotionless nobleman’s gaze was oppressive, but Arthur continued calmly.

“I came to see you in such a hurry because I thought it would be better to first explain the situation to the dog’s owner before beating the dog. Do you think I was rude?”

At those words, Count Stan’s expression disappeared and he smiled.

“Explain what’s going on.”

In those words, Arthur talked about his meeting and conflict with Johnson.

Count Stan, who had heard the whole story, clicked his tongue and said.

“I have repeatedly advised you to change your actions as your status changes, but it seems that habits do not change easily.”

The relationship between Count Stan and Johnson began as employer and employee.

Count Stan realized early on that he had neither the talent nor the interest in running a business himself, but he loved money, so he sought out promising entrepreneurs to invest in to make money.

But most of these businessmen were braggarts, half of them were con artists, and the other half were just thugs who didn’t know the gratitude of their investments.

What can we do to show these kids the bitterness of the world? We have no choice but to show our power.

So the person I got to know was Johnson Cordelli. While many back-alley punks disappointed Count Stan, Johnson Cordelli built up his trust by satisfying him with satisfactory work.

He played a major role in suppressing a large-scale strike that occurred in a small factory area south of St. Scala by capturing its instigators and putting an early end to it.

Since the investment made by Count Stan there was not a small amount of money, it could be said that Count Stan played a big role in helping Johnson buy the single-win piece.

No, to be honest, it was like saving Count Stan. It wasn’t just Count Stan who invested alone, but the nobles who received his proposal all invested together.

If the large-scale strike had been prolonged, it would have been a crisis so great that Count Stan’s political standing would have collapsed. After that incident, Count Stan never made any risky investments or encouraged others to invest.

“So is that what you want, retribution for it?”

Arthur shook his head in response to Count Stan’s question.

“I think it would be better for me and everyone else to put the leash back on before the hunting dog turns into a wild dog. If the hunting dog turns into a wild dog and causes trouble, wouldn’t people talk about its former owner?”

“Hmm. Are you talking about me?”

“It’s just an exaggerated concern. It’s not something that will actually happen. Isn’t Jason Cordelli a nobleman who must take responsibility for his actions?”

When Arthur emphasized that he had no intention of blackmailing Count Stan, Count Stan responded:

“Then there was no need to come to me? If you want to hold him responsible.”

“I thought there was a better solution for everyone, so why bother taking the unproductive route?”

“Is this a bad road for the Earl of Cordelia?”

“No. It is a plan that is beneficial to Johnson Cordelli as well. However, I think it is an irrational decision that was created by his personal greed of not wanting to suffer any losses, his baseless confidence that he could do something about me as a new semi-noble, and his sense of entitlement that he could not lose to me as a child. I did not take the time and effort to take you to a teahouse to make you make such a foolish decision.”

Count Stan chuckled at Arthur’s joking remark.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Even a hunting dog can’t show its teeth in front of its owner, right? I hope you realize that you are a hunting dog, not a wild dog.”

“Specifically.”

Count Stan was not a practical man. His job was to listen to business proposals and, if they sounded good, invest in them. Arthur suggested a method.

“Call him here.”

“To this seat?”

“I wonder if his wild side will come out in front of Count Stan.”

“……good.”

Count Stan thought for a moment and nodded. Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Johnson Cordelia.

But with bare hands?

“What do I get?”

“Hmm. I will leave a certain amount of the disk music box exports to the company you instructed.”

“Oh. Wouldn’t His Majesty the King be displeased?”

Count Stan’s question was both a subtle hint that Arthur was a loyalist and a subtle question as to whether Arthur was thinking of leaving the loyalist group.

Arthur answered, holding up his index and middle fingers.

“The first answer is this: Who is producing all the copycat products on the market today? And the second answer is this: Are you, the count before me, an aristocrat? Whichever answer you choose, it is your freedom.”

“Hoo hoo hoo. This is fun.”

Count Stan laughed softly at Arthur’s words. His first response was that he did not completely trust the royalists.

If Arthur was really considered a royalist, there would have been a crackdown on illegal copy products.

On the other hand, the second answer could be interpreted as the king’s assistance to the nobles’ illegal copying as a kind of gesture of reconciliation, meaning that Arthur’s visit was an extension of a hand from the royalists to the neutralists.

These seemingly conflicting answers are understandable if you look at them separately from Arthur’s personal position and his position as a member of the faction.

How could a person be loyal without any understanding of the gains and losses?

However, pursuing one’s own greed was also foolish and undignified, not befitting of a noble. So, it was an answer that perfectly suited the tastes of Stan, a truly neutral noble.

“I accept your offer.”

So word reached Count Johnson Cordelli that Count Stan was summoning him.

It was late in the afternoon that Johnson arrived at Count Stan’s mansion. Arthur had not yet returned, but was still chatting with Count Stan.

For Arthur, it was a chance to eavesdrop on sensitive political trends, and for Count Stan, it was a time to get a detailed explanation of the Tsuraz Craft Guild as a good investment and to make a judgment about Arthur as an individual.

As the conversation went on, Count Stan could feel his heart’s scales tilting towards Arthur. Young and capable, yet humble, with a noble air of dignity and a gentlemanly loyalty that would not abandon his wife.

No matter how much I thought about it, Arthur seemed better than Johnson Cordelli, to the point that if Arthur were single and had a daughter of his own, I would have wanted to take him in as my son-in-law.

Even if he is a semi-noble, he is still a noble. As a noble, shouldn’t he display the same dignity and conduct as Arthur?

And that was unfortunate for Johnson Cordelli. Well, if even Count Stan’s favor was part of Arthur’s calculations, then was it a trap that Johnson Cordelli could not have imagined at all?

So he couldn’t help but freeze at the unexpected sight he saw when he entered Count Stan’s study. Arthur Hutton? Why was that bastard here?

Count Stan beckoned to him.

“Why are you here? Come and sit down.”

At those words, Jason Cordelli came to his senses, bowed to Count Stan, and sat down.

Count Stan clicked his tongue inwardly, not showing his reaction as he received the greeting of Viscount Johnson.

How can manners look so vulgar when you’ve only been a baron since? Count Stan recalled Arthur’s greeting from the morning and compared the two.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes, Count. How have you been?”

“Yeah. What about you?”

There was a brief exchange of greetings, but in the end, Johnson had no choice but to ask Count Stan about Arthur, who was sitting silently watching him. His intuition, having lived a rough life, was telling him that the current situation was very unfavorable for him.

“Why on earth is the author here?”

“The Count Hurt has come to see you. He wants you to mediate.”

“Arbitration?”

“The negotiations broke down, huh?”

Johnson Cordelli’s expression hardened. It seemed as if Count Stan would not take his side.

“I won’t argue about whose fault it is. Let’s renegotiate.”

“but…….”

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

The words he had heard before sounded like an auditory hallucination to Johnson Cordelli’s ears.

‘The dignity of a nobleman? Is that more important than profit?’

‘Those who are not equal value honor and dignity. But for the powerless, it is a luxury.’

‘Don’t die to protect your pride.’

Johnson Cordelli glanced at Arthur with a stern expression. When did he ever cook Count Stan this much?

He appealed to Count Stan.

“But the author intentionally ruined my business.”

“Let me be clear. I wasn’t trying to ruin your business. I was just caught up in a scheme to punish the pirates. I had no malicious intent to attack you personally. As proof, I offered you a way out.”

“It wasn’t an escape, it was an insult!”

Johnson’s voice rose slightly without his knowledge. Just thinking about the teahouse where Arthur had threatened him made his blood pressure soar. The humiliation of being threatened by a brat who was barely his nephew was something he could not understand unless he had experienced it.

Of course, Count Stan did not understand.

“You didn’t take it as an insult because of your twisted mind?”

“Count!”

“Tsk tsk.”

Looking at such a Jackson, the Count clicked his tongue and said.

“Have I not told you many times? It is an insult to demand damage from me. I do not consider what Lord Hurt has proposed to you an insult.”

“That’s because the Count isn’t there.”

“Hmm. I guess Lord Hurt spoke a bit harshly. Is that right, Arthur?”

When Count Stan’s gaze fell on him, Arthur bowed his head politely and said.

“Yes. That part. Yes. It was my fault. Since Lord Cordelli was so intimidating, I didn’t want to be pushed around, so I unknowingly used harsh language. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize, Lord Cordelli.”

When Arthur came out like this, Count Jason Cordelli was at a loss as to what to do.

The pretense of being insulted by Arthur had just been completely destroyed by the bastard’s apology. It was also a situation where he was practically pushed back on how he had boiled Count Stan.

Johnson studied Arthur’s face. Arthur was not meeting his eyes, but was looking down politely. He had an expression on his face that made it impossible to tell what was going on in his mind.

I wondered if the apology just now was sincere. My thoughts became complicated.

“Jackson. How far are you planning to go?”

Count Stan’s question rang in Johnson’s silent ears. Johnson ground his teeth inwardly. He realized that it didn’t matter whether Arthur’s apology was sincere or not.

If I kicked him out of here, there was nothing left to do. It was impossible to punish that bastard.

No, to be precise, in order to retaliate, one had to be prepared to give up everything. It might have been different back in the old days when there was nothing in the back alleys, but now, Johnson Cordelli had too much.

“Are we going to negotiate again?”

“……yes.”

At Count Stan’s words, Johnson answered with difficulty, his throat tightly clenched.