Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 89



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 89

19-The Age of Discord

“Don’t you think this will only cause more misunderstandings?”

“So what kind of misunderstandings are there?”

Mark intervened and stopped Joran from threatening Arthur.

“I looked into all of my client’s tax records yesterday. My client is a rare and honest taxpayer. If His Majesty the King knew about it, he would reward him. But what is the basis for suspecting such a taxpayer?”

“Do you think you can pay all that much in taxes with that job?! Other craftsmen can’t even pay that much!”

“Huh. Is that all you can offer as evidence? What on earth do you know about your client?”

“If we investigate, we’ll find out.”

“Really? Then I guess I should investigate Count Tzak and Mato Trading Company as well.”

“……what?”

Mark told Joran with a sour expression that Arthur had established the Lydis Club with an investment from Count Tzaq and that he was in partnership with Mato Trading Company.

Joran didn’t believe Mark.

“No, there’s no way a mere craftsman would do that.”

He thought that Arthur was being paid a lot of money because of his skills as a craftsman, but he never imagined that he would be the mainstay of such a large-scale business.

“Tsk tsk. How can a small construction company pay that much in taxes?”

“… … .”

“Anyway, don’t be hasty.”

Mark turned his head to his client, facing the tax collector who couldn’t open his mouth.

“Mr. Arthur, let’s go now.”

“Can we continue like this?”

“If that guy ever invades my house under the pretext of investigating, let me know. Then that guy won’t be able to do his job as a tax collector anymore.”

“ah.”

Arthur nodded. Then he bowed to Joran.

“Your Highness the Baron Joran Haneson. I hope you have a peaceful afternoon.”

If someone who didn’t know the context saw this, it would have seemed like a polite greeting.

But the fact that the person who brought in his enemy and ruined his reputation was so polite was teabagging.

Joran’s face turned red and he trembled, and Mark held back his laughter and pushed Arthur’s back. Then he came out and burst into laughter.

“Poohahahaha! How could you greet me so politely in that situation!”

Arthur pretended not to know English and shrugged.

“They say that if you have a bright personality, you will do well in social life.”

“Kekekeke! Yeah, that’s right.”

Mark repeatedly patted Arthur on the shoulder, as if he had developed a great liking for him because of this incident. Then he continued speaking.

“Oh, but I wonder if I was really needed.”

“No. Thanks to you, lawyer, I think we can end it cleanly.”

If Arthur had said what Mark had said to Joran, would the potion have worked? Arthur thought it would not. Even if it had worked, it would only be temporary, and Joran, who held a grudge, could have done something about it later.

Besides, didn’t he mention the Count Tzak family? That was a double-edged sword that Arthur could have easily said out loud. It could have been interpreted as an attempt to gain the prestige of a noble family when he wasn’t even a vassal.

Since it was a third party lawyer Mark, could it be said that it was a sword that could be safely wielded?

He said, looking at Arthur.

“If you have any other issues, feel free to come by anytime.”

“I should be thankful.”

Arthur quickly nodded in agreement with Mark’s gesture.

Finally, I gained a legal connection in the capital. I met him through the salon’s connections, and since we both have a common bad relationship called Jo-Ran, I should be able to secure at least a minimum of trust.

Things ended more blandly than expected, but considering all the effort Arthur had put in, it was obvious that there shouldn’t have been any dramatic situations. If the problem was resolved dramatically, it would only end up with more wounds. After all, wild beasts don’t hunt while getting wounded.

With this incident, Arthur has gotten rid of the annoying leeches and built a reputation that makes it difficult for rascals to stray. However, he has lost the comfortable life of not attracting attention.

Fame is like a double-edged sword, and if not used properly, it will only create hostility, so it must be managed carefully in the future.

After stopping Joran from latching on to him like a leech, Arthur stopped by the salon to thank the man who introduced him to Mark and gave him a Tsuraz Craft Guild pocket watch as a token of his appreciation. He also did some promotion of the Tsuraz Craft Guild and bought a drink for those who were kind to him before gradually reducing his visits to the salon.

Then Cho-reng whined.

“You’re not going today either?”

“I’m busy.”

“Ah! Did you come up with a new melody?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Oh, why!”

“It’s a bit much to leave a bride who is still in her prime… … .”

To be honest, it wasn’t a lie. Whenever Arthur went out at night, Viana pretended not to be, but she felt anxious and uneasy.

Although Arthur didn’t think she would betray him, she seemed to be uneasy when she imagined the kinds of bitches who would flirt with her handsome and successful husband.

Cho-reng replied.

“You were doing fine until now, weren’t you?”

“It’s just a brief diversion.”

Arthur couldn’t tell Cho-Reng that he was just leveling up and gaining experience points to deal with Jo-Ran. From the person’s perspective, he might have responded, “Are you using me all this time?”

“Now I need to take care of my wife.”

“Hey~. I really don’t understand why people get married.”

It was a reason that Cho-reng, who had been living freely as a single person until now, could not understand.

“You’ll know once you get married.”

At those words, Cho-reng shook his head. Arthur continued speaking to him.

“And save some money too.”

“You make a lot of money, don’t you?”

“I’m using that much.”

Although his body was in the capital, he had been consistently donating money to the orphanage and cathedral in Tsuraz.

It wasn’t that he was sending so much that it was burdensome, but it was definitely more than others, and in addition, he was constantly spending money because he asked Logan to buy farmland. It was like he was increasing his farmland whenever he had spare money?

He also advised us to stock up on food in case something happens in the future.

“Please prepare yourself, Cho-reng.”

“Preparation?”

“Isn’t the news about the war vague these days?”

“Isn’t no news good news?”

“That may be true, but I’m not sure if it applies in war.”

Arthur whispered quietly in Cho-reng’s ear.

“Don’t you ever feel like someone is controlling the information?”

“… … Are things not going well?”

“I think that might happen. That’s why I’m preparing for it.”

“Hmm.”

Cho-reng looked troubled at Arthur’s words.

He had also sensed the suspicious atmosphere that had been circulating in the salon lately, and thinking about that, he felt at a loss to refute Arthur’s words.

And as Arthur had expected, the war that began in late fall and early winter ended with an armistice after two years and two months of blood and bullets strewing the land.

* * *

19-The Age of Discord

Fortunately, the war did not end in defeat. However, it was by no means a good result, as the initial investment was greatly lost.

They had acquired a little land, but it was only enough to farm a little, and the army that had gone to war had been torn in half, so it was difficult to say how many years it would take to get back to where they were before.

And the enormous amount of electricity used over two years and two months eventually led to an increase in taxes.

But the greatest change of all was the dent in absolute monarchy. The change this brought about was hard for ordinary people to perceive, but not for Arthur.

“The dresses worn by social gathering leaders have become more diverse.”

Mrs. Zeltney said as she drank tea with Arthur. It was a tea time that Arthur often had whenever he came to draw ornament designs. There is affection between people, so you can’t just work and leave, right?

Arthur knew that this kind of small talk had a greater impact on his social life and work than he thought, so he couldn’t refuse every time.

And there was no reason to refuse. The information that came out during the conversation with Madame Zeltney was of extremely high quality.

Her comment that dress codes in high society have diversified was telling in a very important way.

“It’s positive in that each noble wears the clothes they want.”

“Yes. As long as there are no political interests involved.”

Mrs. Zeltney laughed bitterly at Arthur’s words.

The situation in which the army was destroyed without securing the Traba Basin, which was the goal of the war, could invite an invasion, so the army had to be restored quickly. This meant that tax increases were inevitable.

The problem was that the tax was intended to include the nobility. The nobles who protested wore dresses that had been popular before the Lydis era.

This was a point of regret for Mrs. Zeltney.

Of course, she had more free time than before and barely managed to keep up with work-life balance, but from her perspective, she should want to wear a dress because it’s pretty, and she didn’t like the idea of ​​it going back to political logic.

“It seems like life is tough these days.”

Mrs. Zeltney nodded to Arthur’s words, which could be said to be related to this.

In fact, although the two felt the symptoms, they did not feel the impact of rising prices that much because the Engel coefficient was so low. The customers they dealt with were also from the wealthy class, and it was the law of the world that luxury goods were steadily consumed even during a recession.

“So I’m thinking of raising the workers’ wages.”

“Don’t do that.”

Arthur advised Mrs. Zeltney.

“why?”

“It’s easy to raise it, but difficult to lower it.”

That’s the nature of humanity. Being grateful for a raise doesn’t last long.

If you raise salaries when business is going well and then lower them when business is not going well, there will inevitably be dissatisfaction. There are certainly people with big hearts who understand the situation, but such fools are already an endangered species that is hard to find because they are being preyed on everywhere.

Mrs. Zeltney furrowed her brows.

“Then what should we do? If things continue like this, it’s a bit weird.”

“If the workers’ lives are tough, the atmosphere at the workplace will definitely not be good.”

Arthur did not like spiritualism, but he did not think it was completely useless. The morale of an organization was a much more important factor in the organization’s work efficiency than one might think.

“How about doing it this way?”

Arthur recommended buying flour in bulk and distributing it to the workers in addition to their wages.

“It’s important to give irregularly so that favors don’t feel like rights. And you have to show off a lot. It’s hard for me, but I worked hard to get it for you.”

“Ah. That’s a bit.”

Mrs. Zeltney was disgusted. It was humiliating to her to pretend to be tired when it wasn’t.

Arthur changed his words.

“Then how about this? I didn’t buy it specifically for you, but I bought too much and gave it away before it spoiled?”

“That would be better.”

Arthur nodded at her affirmative response. As expected, Mrs. Zeltney had a tsundere side to her.

“Let’s do that. Have you met Countess Tzak?”

“Um. Should we meet?”

There is a possibility that Countess Tzaq is the King’s lover, and the Count Tzaq family is perceived as a royalist. Furthermore, political chaos is expected to break out over responsibility for the defeat, so is there really a need to visit Count Tzaq’s family now and risk getting stuck in the mud?

Arthur has already fulfilled his role sufficiently. What further use can he have as a tool?

Madame Zeltny frowned at Arthur’s attitude of trying to distance himself from Count Tzak and asked.

“What’s going on?”

“You know the war ended with an armistice, right?”

“huh.”