My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 197

197. Transcendent Spending (1)

For a while, Xian stood there, frozen in place.

To be honest, he had considered subjugating Count Crowe’s territory.

Count Crowe’s territory held the Empire’s largest granary.

Swallowing that territory would mean gaining 100 million gold, or even more.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

He was already struggling to manage just Ruben.

How could he manage such a vast land?

And no matter how much it was the Empire’s largest granary.

Frankly, it was inferior to Ruben’s farmland.

Count Crowe’s territory might be much larger, but it couldn’t match the productivity.

Land couldn’t yield crops every year.

It needed a period to replenish and restore the depleted soil.

That period could be as short as one or two years.

During that time, farming was impossible.

Therefore, not all the land in the granary could be harvested.

But Ruben was different.

Ruben’s farmland, enhanced with cash and the ‘Blessed Farmland Lv.7’ buff, was different.

As soon as seeds were planted, sprouts would grow.

The soil was overflowing with fertility.

The blessing of the World Tree, Instiz, was like pouring divine power every moment.

Thanks to that, Ruben was harvesting crops almost every month, not just every year.

It was truly ‘Blessed Farmland Lv.7’.

Of course, it would be a different story if he could upgrade all of Crowe’s granary.

But the Mobile Lord’s power only extended to Ruben.

Specifically, only to the space related to the Dark Forest.

Well, anyway.

There was no reason to make things bigger than they needed to be.

It was more efficient to just suck out the essence.

So, the amount currently displayed in the inventory.

[Current Gold Holdings] – 157,669,840 G

100 million gold in war reparations from the Territory War.

50 million gold for Reminton’s ransom.

A total of 150 million gold from the two combined.

He heard that Count Crowe was running around to merchants all over the Empire, incurring debt.

It was an enormous amount of gold, but…

If everyone chipped in, it wasn’t an impossible amount to gather.

Of course, whether they would lend it was another matter…

Count Crowe’s territory had the ability to repay it.

If they mortgaged Crowe’s future for decades.

Thanks to that, there was a gold shortage phenomenon in the Empire right now, but.

The miners in the gold mines were working in three shifts without rest, but.

Well, anyway.

What did he care about such processes?

He wasn’t curious or interested in such things.

There was only one thing Xian was curious and interested in.

[Current Gold Holdings] – 157,669,840 G

150 million.

…and also 7,669,840 gold.

“……”

Xian stared blankly at the smartphone screen.

He had no thoughts, really no thoughts at all.

“Is this a dream?”

《Is this a dream?》

That was the only thought that came to mind.

Xian rubbed his eyes, once.

Not enough, twice, three times.

He rubbed and rubbed countless times.

And then he looked up at the smartphone screen again.

[Current Gold Holdings] – 157,669,840 G

Yet the number hadn’t changed.

150 million gold.

…and the number with 7,669,840 gold added hadn’t changed.

This indicated one thing.

“Then this is reality!!!”

《Then this is reality!!!》

This was reality.

Undeniable, a reality that no one could deny.

“Ah…! Aaaah…!!!!”

This was a clear reality unfolding before his eyes!!

Xian trembled without realizing it.

His mind went blank for a moment from the overwhelming joy.

《Kkweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!》

In the meantime, the Mobile Lord’s fit burst out.

“Hoo…! Hoo…!”

That’s how he regained his mind.

“C, calm down. C, I have to calm down…!”

Xian forcibly calmed his pounding heart.

Excessive excitement was not good.

There was no point in losing his mind from excitement.

The more he tried to calm down, the more…

“Aaaah…!!!”

How could he possibly calm down after seeing this amount!

This was not a matter of introducing the concept of calmness and composure.

150 million gold.

This was close to all the gold Xian had spent on cash purchases so far.

The amount of cash Xian had poured into Ruben so far.

The gold he had extorted from the Imperial Family as compensation.

And the gold he had embezzled from Elan Dur’s assets.

Adding all that gold together was similar to the current amount.

How could he talk about calmness and composure in the face of this transcendent amount!

“Aaaah…!!”

Xian’s trembling continued.

A writhing that went beyond being electrocuted to being possessed.

《Kkeueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!》

The Mobile Lord’s screams that erupted were also filled with despair.

“Uwaaaaaaaa…!!”

Tring! Tring!

Thus, the office of Xian’s Lord’s Castle Lv.3 was filled with the echoes of two beings.

And how much time had passed?

Xian was finally able to regain his mind.

“Ah ah…!”

Of course, he was still dizzy.

His memories of what he had done before were fragmented.

It seemed like his mind had flown away for a moment.

Nevertheless, he was able to regain some reason.

The smartphone he was holding was vibrating, Woo Woong!!

But Xian didn’t care.

“It’s probably nonsense anyway.”

Because it was obvious.

Xian didn’t even read the notification window that popped up and pressed the X button.

Now was not the time to worry about such things.

It was time to think about how to spend the gold piled up in the current inventory.

Very carefully.

“Hmm…”

Xian was lost in thought.

His head was tangled and complicated.

Too many things to spend cash on.

Xian calmly organized his thoughts and prioritized.

First of all.

“We need to build educational facilities.”

None other than educational facilities.

And that was a medical education facility.

Currently, Ruben’s only healer was Ellie.

Ellie was in charge of Ruben’s injured alone.

Fortunately, she was barely holding on thanks to countless cash purchases and the effects of the World Tree, Instiz.

But that was not the case for the injured who would be generated in the future, in the all-out war with Elan Dur.

Ellie alone could not handle so many injured.

“There need to be more healers.”

It was necessary to train healers other than Ellie.

Of course, medicine was a specialized field and could not be easily learned.

It might be wiser to hire healers who could be used as immediate combat power.

But.

“Don’t just look at the short-sighted future.”

He wasn’t just making decisions based on what was immediately ahead.

Therefore, it wasn’t just a matter of medicine.

Xian wasn’t just looking at the field of medicine.

So, the reason Xian was building educational facilities was not limited to medicine.

“Amelia would also be good to train new members of the trading company.”

Not only Ellie, but Amelia could also train members of the trading company.

And not only that.

The dwarf chieftain, Semir, could teach metallurgy [the science and technology of metals].

The former forest keeper of the Dark Elves, Asrandiz, could also teach magic.

Although he had lost his power, the knowledge he had reached in the 8th Circle had not disappeared.

In addition, there were administrators who could also be trained to assist Hans, who was currently in charge of administrative work alone.

Engineering, agronomy [the science of soil management and crop production], military science, administration, geography, law, business administration, etc.

Education could be conducted in all disciplines.

In fact, Xian had been focusing on military aspects along with Ruben’s defenses.

And he had been focusing on the parts related to productivity.

Thanks to that, he was able to make a lot of progress.

But it was only external growth.

Internally, it had not been developed much.

Should he say that there was a lack of a systematic system?

Almost all of the territory’s affairs were being handled by Xian alone.

It was still not enough, even with the help of Hans and other talents.

He was barely managing to get by now.

But the bigger Ruben got, the bigger the problem would be.

Problems were already starting to arise after the Dark Elves joined.

So now was the time to strengthen the internal aspects as well.

So, Xian was thinking of taking this opportunity to strengthen the internal affairs.

《We teach you everything! Academy Lv.1》 (3,500,000 G)

『▶ Nurturing talent is the foundation and cornerstone of social development!

Education that nurtures such talent has been considered important!

Education does not mean academic knowledge!

The process of turning a child who cannot distinguish between heaven and earth into a mature adult!

Teaching what is bad and what is right!

And interacting with peers to develop social skills!

Above all, it can be said to be a guideline that tells you the path you will take through various experiences!

In this sense, education has been called a hundred-year plan since ancient times!

A great plan that looks ahead a hundred years, even if there are no immediate results!

But even so, a hundred years is a bit… too much.

If it takes a hundred years to nurture talent, will all the people in the meantime die?

We need manpower right now!

That’s why education is a field that cannot be easily touched!

That’s why Mobile Lord has prepared ‘We teach you everything! Academy Lv.1’

Here at the academy, one year is enough!

In just one year, you too can become an expert in your field!

Of course, it is still important for the educator to be excellent.

But still, can you reduce 100 years to 1 year?

Hundred-year plan?

That’s NoNo!

One-year plan!

Do you not have talent in your territory?

Do you want to make a great plan for your territory in the future?

Then build this ‘We teach you everything! Academy Lv.1’!』

.

.

An academy where you can educate the people of the territory.

And education could not be carried out simply by having a building called an academy.

《Man Sang Library Library Lv.1》 (5,000,000 G)

A library was needed to store and retrieve knowledge at any time.

《We don’t hurt you! Medical Laboratory Lv.1》 (950,000 G)

《Practice like the real thing! Practice Room Lv.1》 (850,000 G)

《Try it! Practice Room Lv.1》 (700,000 G)

.

.

Various facilities where students can experiment and practice directly.

《I learned this! Academic Society Lv.1》 (6,000,000 G)

Even a space where you can freely discuss what you have learned.

In addition, it required numerous ancillary facilities.

And internal affairs were not simply focused on the field of education.

《I’ll see through you! Intelligence Agency Lv.1》 (3,500,000 G)

He also had to pay attention to the information warfare that had been lagging behind due to the geographical disadvantage of the Dark Forest.

《Sewer System Lv.1》 (10,000G per 100m)

《Waste Disposal Plant Lv.1》 (950,000 G)

《Anabada Recycling Center Lv.1》 (800,000 G)

Even waste-related facilities that had been roughly buried or discarded on the ground.

He had to strengthen the trivial things that he had been roughly passing over.

These were the things that Xian had always kept in mind.

However, they were also things that he had not been able to easily touch.

That’s because it required an enormous amount of gold to improve them.

It required an astronomical amount of gold.

At least tens of millions.

It was something that might cost hundreds of millions.

That’s why he couldn’t touch it.

But not anymore.

It didn’t matter now.

[Current Gold Holdings] – 157,669,840 G

Because there was unbelievable gold in the inventory!

Should I put it bluntly?

After roughly calculating in his head.

“There’s gold left…?”

Even with all this, there was gold left.

Even after thoroughly reinforcing the infrastructure, there was still plenty of gold left!

It was truly a sum that slightly transcended the concept of money.

150 million gold was *that* kind of money!

“Aaaah…!!!”

Xian couldn’t contain his rising joy.

Of course, there was a construction period for the buildings to be completed. It wasn’t like all the buildings would be finished immediately just by throwing money at them.

But whatever…

Xian stared at his smartphone with gleaming eyes.

At that moment.

Ding!

《D-Do you think I’ll be scared just because of this?!》

As if sensing Xian’s thoughts, a notification window from Mobile Lord popped up, filling the screen.

《I’m not the same as before! An e-e-evolved King Mobile Lord!》

《Strengthened through countless maintenances! Strengthened! And strengthened again, K-King Mobile Lord!》

Mobile Lord shouted bravely.

However, every time the notification window popped up, there was a vibrating sound, wuuung.

Why did it feel like the voice was trembling?

Xian ignored Mobile Lord’s notification window and added the facilities he would invest in to the shopping cart.

“Then, shall we lightly spend about 30 million gold?”

《The strengthened King Mobile Lord is not afraid of any causality─.》

Click.

《-aaaaaaack!!!!》

#

Amelia hurried her steps.

Her long, flowing red hair fluttered as Amelia stopped at a certain place.

It was none other than the center of Ruben and the location of the World Tree, Instiz.

Amelia, having stopped, narrowed her eyes.

And carefully examined the surroundings of Instiz.

“Sera. You were here after all.”

She could see Sera lying on top of Instiz.

Sera, the daughter of Asrandiz, the former forest keeper of the Dark Elves.

It was rare to see Sera in Ruben.

But when she *was* found, she was almost always found on top of Instiz.

To be exact, she was *only* found on top of Instiz.

At this point, it seemed like she spent almost all her time with Instiz.

Well, loving forests and trees was a core tenet of the Elven race.

It’s not that she didn’t understand that, but Sera seemed particularly unique among them.

It was truly an incomprehensible Dark Elf lifestyle.

It was fortunate that Xian had built a house that suited such a Dark Elf lifestyle.

If not, there would have been a huge problem already.

Well, anyway.

“Huh? Who is it?”

At Amelia’s voice, Sera jumped up from her spot.

And after confirming Amelia’s face.

“It’s Amelia.”

Sera smiled brightly and greeted Amelia.

That appearance looked truly pure and beautiful.

Amelia also smiled and slowly approached Sera.

“What brings you here, Amelia?”

“It’s nothing much. I just have something to ask.”

“Ask? What? Me? Why? No. Don’t bite.”

Then Sera’s pupils shook as if there was an earthquake.

It seemed she had misunderstood Amelia’s words.

Amelia waved her hand slightly and said.

“No. I don’t mean it in that biting way… No, more than that, there’s no way I would bite Sera, right?”

“Really?”

“Of course. What do you think of me?”

Amelia made an absurd expression.

But Sera only flinched.

Amelia eventually shook her head.

“Sigh, never mind. More than that, Sera. You said you were a black magician, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right. I can use black magic.”

Sera answered energetically.

But that was only for a moment.

“Why suddenly that? Are you interested in magic, Amelia?”

Sera tilted her head and asked back.

“No. It’s not that… No, that’s right. I have something to ask about magic.”

Amelia shook her head slightly and continued.

“Sera. As far as I know, magic is a supernatural phenomenon that cannot occur in everyday life. Is that correct?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Huh? It’s not?”

“Yeah. Not at all.”

“Then… what is it?”

“Um… So… How should I explain this?”

Sera tilted her head several times.

Then, as if she suddenly had an idea, she nodded.

“Ah! Right! Look closely, Amelia.”

Soon, Sera spread out her hand.

At the same time, the air around her vibrated slightly, and soon a fist-sized ball of water floated above Sera’s hand.

“Wow!”

Amelia exclaimed at the sight.

A clear and transparent ball of water that appeared out of nowhere.

This could only be described as a supernatural phenomenon.

Sera denied it, but it only felt like a supernatural phenomenon to Amelia.

Soon, Sera spread out her other hand.

Then, once again, the air around her vibrated slightly.

This time, a fist-sized ball of fire floated above Sera’s hand.

Leaving aside the surprise.

Sera brought the ball of fire to the ball of water.

Then, the ball of water, absorbing the heat, began to bubble instantly.

“Amelia. What do you think is the reason why this water is boiling right now?”

And Sera’s question.

Amelia answered as if it were obvious.

“Because Sera is boiling the water with fire, right?”

“That’s right. Because heat was transferred by fire, this water is boiling. This isn’t particularly surprising, right?”

Amelia nodded.

As Sera said, it was a natural phenomenon.

Sera nodded in agreement and said.

“Okay, then. How about this?”

At the same time, the ball of fire that Sera was holding disappeared without a trace.

Accordingly, the boiling water should have cooled down.

But for some reason, the water continued to heat up and bubble.

“What do you think is the reason why this water is boiling right now?”

“Uh…”

Amelia couldn’t answer.

That’s because she really didn’t know the reason.

It was truly a supernatural phenomenon.

As she couldn’t answer, Sera smiled brightly and said.

“The answer is because I’m boiling the water with fire!”

Amelia tilted her head without realizing it.

“Huh? Boiling the water with fire? There’s nothing right now…”

“Look.”

Sera brought her hand close to Amelia’s face.

Then, a hot heat was felt from Sera’s hand.

At the same time, a transparent haze was visible.

“Oh my. You were still creating fire?”

“I hid the fire with transparency magic. How is it? It’s seamless, right?”

Amelia nodded slowly.

Only then did Sera scatter the summoned ball of fire and ball of water.

“Magic is the same as this. If you know it, it’s a naturally occurring phenomenon, but if you don’t recognize the reason, it just looks like a supernatural phenomenon.”

And Sera’s words continued.

“Just now, Amelia didn’t ‘recognize’ the fire, which was the reason why the water was boiling. So you couldn’t explain the phenomenon. Likewise, ordinary people who don’t know much about magic can only understand magic as ‘suddenly’.”

“Ah…”

Amelia could nod.

“Then, what about Sera summoning water and fire just now?”

“It’s just that Amelia didn’t recognize it. There was a good reason for everything.”

“Is that… adjusting the laws of the world?”

“It’s a bit more complicated, but… if you understand it simply, that’s right.”

At Sera’s answer, Amelia could finally roughly understand what magic was.

“More than that, you’re amazing, Amelia? To understand that all at once. You have a talent for magic?”

“R-Really?”

“Of course. It took me half a day to understand this…”

Then Sera made a sullen expression.

Amelia awkwardly laughed.

And even if she said that, Sera was still a high-level black magician.

You could tell just by the fact that she made Amelia, who didn’t know anything about magic right now, understand.

Explaining complex things simply.

That was proof that she perfectly understood the knowledge.

And had reached a considerable level in the field.

Perhaps Sera learned the concept in a complicated way when she learned it.

Well, anyway.

“Then, you know, Sera.”

Amelia called out to Sera and slowly turned her gaze.

Then, the surrounding scenery was reflected in Amelia’s gaze.

None other than the scenery of Ruben.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!! [Sound of explosions]

Ttuk ttak ttuk ttak! [Sound of hammering]

Kugu gugugung…! [Sound of rumbling]

“What am I not recognizing that’s making Ruben like that?”

Amelia couldn’t understand the scenery of Ruben at all right now!

The scenery of buildings and materials being constructed throughout Ruben.

Roads being paved automatically.

Buildings being built automatically.

The majestic scenery of new spaces being expanded and refined.

To be honest, it was a scenery she had already seen several times.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!!

Ttuk ttak ttuk ttak!

Kugu gugugung…!

But it was a scenery that she couldn’t get used to at all!

When would she ever get used to it?

No, could she even adapt to it?

A scenery that was perfect for the word magic.

And according to Sera’s explanation, that magic wasn’t happening suddenly.

So it wasn’t like Ruben was just turning upside down on its own.

There must be some ‘reason’ why it was acting like that.

Just like there was a fire that was the reason why the water was boiling.

There must be some reason why Ruben was acting like that.

It’s just that Amelia wasn’t recognizing it.

“What could it be?”

But what on earth could it be!

Amelia couldn’t understand what that reason was at all!

So she came to find Sera.

She thought that Sera, a high-level magician, would know the reason for that phenomenon.

Amelia looked at Sera with eyes full of anticipation.

But why was it?

Sera was slowly avoiding Amelia’s eyes.

“I-I don’t know…”

And Sera’s mumbling was heard quietly.

Sera was trembling slightly.

It felt like she was facing an unexplainable supernatural phenomenon.

Like a being facing the truth beyond a dimension that should not be seen.

“I, I don’t know either…”

Sera’s eyes were shaking severely as if there was an earthquake.

Amelia slowly turned her gaze away from Sera.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!!

Ttuk ttak ttuk ttak!

Kugu gugugung…!

The scenery of Ruben was truly going wild.

As expected.

It seemed that even Sera couldn’t explain that madness.

“Is that real magic…?”

“I guess so, right?”

Amelia and Sera.

The two women of Ruben were blankly watching Ruben going crazy… No, going berserk… No, acting up…

“……”

“……”

Anyway, they were watching that.

#

“N-No way…”

Xian couldn’t understand the reality unfolding before his eyes right now.

[Current Gold Holdings] – 431,430 G

Approximately 430,000 gold remaining in the inventory.

The gold consumed by spending was 157,240,410.

150 million and 7.2 million gold had disappeared.

An absurd amount of money had evaporated before his eyes.

That’s why Xian wasn’t in his right mind right now.

However, what really took Xian’s mind away wasn’t that fact.

It was true that an unbelievable amount of money had evaporated, but he had already made up his mind.

From the beginning, there was no reason to save money, and he had no intention of saving money.

That’s why even if the current reality was confusing, dizzying, disordered, unsettling, and at the same time turbid.

Even if the reality was dizzying and complicated, making his head spin.

He could understand it.

He could somehow understand and accept it.

But right now.

《Kk, kkeueuk…!!》

The notification window that popped up on the smartphone screen.

《S-Strengthened… King Mobile… Lord…!!》

《Any… causality… cough…! Not afraid…!!》

He couldn’t understand the state of the Mobile Lord, who hadn’t fainted!