Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start - Chapter 41 - 40: Considerable Expenses
Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Considerable Expenses
Mages with the Light Attribute truly had a unique advantage when it came to winning people’s hearts, as a single Healing Skill could produce an immediate effect on the injured.
When their pain was relieved and their wounds treated, who wouldn’t feel grateful toward their healer?
Of course, the person Elron had just treated was a plant, arranged in advance by Ronin. It was a Guard who had been injured in yesterday’s battle and hadn’t fully recovered.
This meeting, following the script Ronin had arranged, was a complete success. His positive image as a Lord had been preliminarily established.
Next, Ronin planned to have Elron act as a “Village Doctor” for a while, visiting every household in Mountain Forest Town to treat those with external injuries.
Although Elron would undoubtedly be adored by the townspeople for this, the Mage would also use the healing process to loudly proclaim Ronin’s benevolence, transforming this goodwill campaign into official policy from the Lord.
Amid the cheers of the crowd, Ronin left the field.
He left the area in the hands of Elron and Chahar. The newly appointed steward’s initial plan was to recruit 20 servants.
These 20 servants would include: 1 personal valet, 1 personal maid, 4 kitchen staff, 5 general laborers, and 9 to manage the livestock.
When Ronin heard Chahar present this list in the morning, he was shocked. ’How can one castle need so many people?’
But after an explanation from the steward, he realized this was just how castles operated, and that this number of servants was actually on the low side.
In the end, he approved the plan.
After this round of recruitment, Ronin did a quick calculation. For the servants alone, he would need to pay 21 Gold Coins a year.
On top of that, his Guards and the Transcendents by his side also needed to be paid.
Even Macken and Elron, though he had summoned them, had their own lives. ’They can’t be expected to borrow money from their Lord just to buy a loaf of bread, can they?’
Moreover, as Ronin’s right and left-hand men, giving Macken and Elron a reasonable salary would also help them establish their own prestige.
Using the salary standards provided by Holwart, Ronin set the daily pay for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Level Knights at 30, 60, and 100 Copper Coins, respectively.
(Tom was still in his probationary period, so Ronin was only paying him 20 Copper Coins per day, with the promise that his pay would be raised to David’s level as soon as he passed.)
As for Mages, a rare and special Extraordinary profession, the salary standards were much higher than for Knights of the same Level. Ronin set the pay for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Level Mages at 50, 100, and 500 Copper Coins per day, respectively.
After running all the numbers, the annual expense for his Guards and the Transcendents under his command came to 103 Gold Coins.
Ronin’s current assets, including the confiscated wealth of the three Knights from Sain Territory, totaled 626 Gold Coins. If he went ahead with the “first deposit,” his savings would drop to just over a hundred.
Barely enough to cover one year of personnel expenses.
As for how to cut costs…
It wasn’t hard to see that the biggest expenses were the Transcendents and the Guards. The latter earned Two Copper Coins a day, leaving no room to cut, while the former were difficult to short-change.
’Just imagine,’ he thought, ’if an Advanced Level Knight from the outside wanted to pledge his allegiance to me, but then found out I was only paying Macken 10 Copper Coins a day, would that Advanced Level Knight still join?’
Therefore, Ronin needed to focus on how to make money.
He tapped his forehead. What a headache.
’First, I need to get a comprehensive understanding of the territory’s resources. I’ll have to make a full inspection tour.’
’But before that, I need to recruit a Civil Servant.’
The thought of a Civil Servant made Ronin think of Princest.
If he hadn’t killed the man yesterday, he might have been able to extract some useful information from him.
“Damn you, Princest! Damn the Sain Territory!”
CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP…
A fast horse galloped over from the distance, attracting Ronin’s attention.
When he got a clear look at the rider’s face, he was surprised. ’Bob? Didn’t I send him and Marseille to deliver a letter? Why is he back?’
His heart skipped a beat. ’Did something happen on the road?’
Macken shouted, “Bob, why are you back?”
Bob reached Ronin and quickly dismounted.
“My Lord, that Knight Philton from the Sain Territory is here with his followers!”
Ronin was inwardly shaken, and his expression changed slightly. “Explain. What’s going on?”
Bob then explained how he had encountered Philton on the road and how the knight had persuaded him and Marseille to turn back.
“My Lord, Marseille is with Philton outside the castle right now.”
Ronin glanced behind him. David and Tom were over there maintaining order, leaving only Macken by his side.
’However, Philton only brought one Attendant Knight. He’s probably not here to cause trouble.’
’If I call for more men, it will just make me look scared.’
“Come on, let’s go see what this Philton is up to.”
Ronin beckoned for Macken to go with him, while also instructing Bob, “When you get back, you and Marseille are to hold off on delivering the letter. Wait for my orders. Also, don’t mention this to the other Guards. Keep it confidential.”
“Yes, my Lord!” Bob responded earnestly.
For this letter delivery, he and Marseille had been handpicked by Macken. Though they were past eighteen and unlikely to awaken Extraordinary powers, they could still be entrusted with important tasks thanks to their quick wits and strong bodies.
Having been given a chance to prove themselves before the Lord, they naturally had to seize it.
Before long, Ronin was back outside the castle.
From a distance, he could see Philton and his followers standing outside, accompanied by Marseille and two Guards from the castle gate.
“Haha, Sir Philton, I didn’t expect we’d meet again so soon!”
Ronin walked over with a smile, his tone perfectly natural.
Philton formally saluted Ronin. “Good day, Lord Baron. I apologize for the presumption of disturbing you again.”
He didn’t beat around the bush, stating his purpose directly. “I’ve come today with a letter from Lord Reisen. I wish to discuss a deal with you, the Lord of Mountain Forest Town.”
’A deal?’
’What kind of deal could there be between Mountain Forest Town and the Sain Territory?’
Ronin’s expression remained unchanged as he said with a smile, “In that case, please join me inside the castle, Sir, and we can talk there.”
“I would be delighted.”
Philton’s speech was calm and unhurried. “But before that, I must ask for your forgiveness, my Lord, for stopping your messenger. I felt it might have affected our potential cooperation.”
’Oh?’
Ronin’s expression flickered. ’Could this deal be about the Sain Territory embezzling Mountain Forest Town’s tax revenue?’
“It’s a trivial matter.”
Ronin acted as if he didn’t mind in the slightest, but he knew this meant there was a risk of the roads out of Mountain Forest Town being cut off by the Sain Territory.
“Come, Sir. Welcome to my castle.”
Philton followed, a smile on his face, but he was inwardly dismissive.
’What does he mean, “my castle”?’ he thought. ’Many of this castle’s structures were built and repaired by Princest. Before yesterday, I, Philton, could enter this castle without waiting or being announced.’
In less than a day, it had changed masters.
’Still, I have faith in Reisen. Once the Baron returns from Black Python City, he’ll surely start planning how to deal with Ronin.’
’I’m sure that sooner or later, Mountain Forest Town will fall into the hands of the Sain Territory.’
’And when that happens, I, Philton, will likely have a large manor of my own here.’
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
