I Became an Officer in Another World in Just 5 Minutes - Chapter 205

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 205

The moment the Emperor mentioned rewards.

A heavy silence fell over Aladictol.

‘Shit, that’s not good. Is it?’

Belzium Castle.

Wasn’t that the place I had just turned into a complete mess?

If I were to take charge of it now, it would cost an insane amount of money.

But fortunately, the Emperor wasn’t that much of a madman.

“Of course, I don’t mean to give it to you as a domain right now. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

“Yes.”

The current Western Front.

Naturally, it wouldn’t make sense for our merchant-based family to take charge of this fortress.

“As the Lieutenant Colonel knows, granting a domain is an extremely significant reward. Especially Belzium Castle, being well-developed, has tremendous value.”

‘Value. Right, it’s valuable.’

I did damage the fortress a bit, but if we’re talking about a domain, we’d have to consider the surrounding areas too.

‘There’s the grain belt, and iron mines… were there any?’

I’d have to look into it in detail, but I know there’s at least one mine there.

“Therefore, I’ll set a condition. When the Empire’s territory expands and Belzium Castle no longer needs to serve as the front line, I will grant Belzium Castle and its surrounding area as a domain to the Oclo Family.”

The Emperor’s reward reminded me of the term stock options.

My head started to ache considerably.

‘So he’s saying he’ll give it to me if I conquer Salt Castle now.’

This is also somewhat ambiguous.

Even if we conquer Salt Castle, Belzium Castle right behind it would still be militarily crucial.

‘This is difficult.’

Various calculations ran through my head, but for now, the important thing was to bow.

“I’m overwhelmed by such an excessive reward and don’t know what to do with myself. Thank you!”

“I’ll continue to have expectations, so show me good results.”

“Yes, I will do my absolute best.”

Eyes that truly seemed to expect something.

It was quite unpleasant, but still, my mood lifted slightly because:

[Your great achievement has been recognized as an Achievement.]

[+800p]

[Excellent tactics are what change the tide of war.]

As always, the point teachers arrived without fail.

The achievement itself was exactly 100 points higher compared to the Battle of Yalc Island.

‘I did well last time too, but this time I really struggled.’

From supply carriages to city walls, there wasn’t a part I wasn’t involved in.

Anyway, the System Messages didn’t end there.

[Congratulations! You have been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.]

[+600p]

[Your rapid promotion achievements have been recognized.]

[+400p]

.

.

Messages rising frantically along with accumulating points.

Even though I hadn’t eaten, I felt as full as if I had.

‘More than that, I was going to say I needed rest because I was mentally exhausted, but the timing doesn’t seem right.’

And the variable is that there are way too many watching eyes right now.

‘Damn it, let’s retreat for now.’

When the mind becomes impatient, it tends to ruin things, so I need to be careful.

Anyway, the merit discussions continued afterward.

Honestly, since it wasn’t content I was interested in, I listened with one ear and let it out the other while finishing my calculations of the gains and losses from the reward I just received.

‘If I can obtain it, it’s almost a reward worthy of a marquis.’

Even if Belzium Castle is a mess, a domain is still a domain.

‘Initial investment costs will be required, but ultimately it has to turn a profit.’

Of course, there are cases of failure, but those are for idiots.

Isn’t our family among the top experts when it comes to money?

Honestly, the possibility of failure could be considered 0 percent.

‘The problem is if Belzium Castle continues to be the front line or gets recaptured.’

If that happens, the reward would end with just the Lieutenant Colonel promotion.

‘He’s saying he’ll give a big reward, so work hard if you want to receive it.’

If only I could remove these rank insignia, I’d like to smack him upside the head for his wicked scheme.

“The journey here couldn’t have been comfortable, so rest well and reorganize.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

I thought he’d prepare some strange banquet and tell me to participate, but fortunately there was no such talk.

I was able to leave Aladictol earlier than expected.

‘Let’s quickly escape to the manor.’

From what I can see right now, if I stay here just a little longer, someone will definitely come to grab me.

‘If even one noble starts talking to me, it just never ends.’

Didn’t I see the crowd inside earlier?

One wrong move and it’s at least two hours.

“Lieutenant Han-na, or rather Lieutenant Colonel now. Are you going straight home?”

Unlike me who has a manor in the capital, Lieutenant Colonel Han-na’s home is about four days away from here, as I understand.

“His Majesty said he’d lend me a manor in the capital, so I’ll stay there for a few days. It’s a luxury I don’t know when I’ll be able to enjoy again.”

“Haha, please do. That’s a good idea.”

Living in a manor in the capital, and in the central district at that?

It’s a life that commoners could never experience even if they worked their entire lives.

‘Even nobles are the same.’

Land prices in the capital are really beyond imagination.

Properties rarely come on the market too.

“I’ll see you again later.”

“Yes, and you must call me when the ambulance carriage comes out.”

A voice that even conveyed some desperation.

Come to think of it, there was the ambulance carriage.

‘I completely forgot about it.’

Haven’t I been busy recently?

I almost let it slip by too naturally.

“Haha, understood. I’ll contact you as soon as it’s ready. And if you need anything while you’re in the capital, please let me know anytime. I’ll help you as much as I can.”

“Thank you.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, I naturally boarded the carriage.

“Where shall I take you?”

“To the Oclo Count’s Mansion. As fast as possible.”

“Yes… understood.”

The coachman nodded with a determined expression, and I leaned my face against the carriage wall.

‘Ahh, this is comfortable.’

People should definitely travel by carriage; horseback riding is not fit for humans.

‘First I’ll go wash up, then sleep until dinner time.’

My body is fine, but too much mental fatigue has accumulated over these two weeks.

“Now the important thing is how to extend my leave period.”

Just wait and see.

They’ll obviously just send me to the Western Front again to capture Salt Castle.

“Isn’t there some suitable justification or something?”

Various thoughts came to mind.

Fortunately, perhaps because my brain was still young, it didn’t take long to come up with something.

‘Ambulance carriage. This is it.’

Research and production of ambulance carriages for soldiers’ lives.

Isn’t it perfect?

If I get even a little recognition for its value, I should be able to stay holed up in the capital for a while.

“This is exactly why people need to be smart.”

You might think I’m being too irresponsible and just trying to have fun.

But let me rest a bit, seriously.

‘No, after more than a year, shouldn’t I rotate with those bastards who haven’t been to the military?’

This damn society just forces eternal sacrifice on the same people once they’re chosen.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Having felt comfortable for the first time in a while, I took out 1 gold from my pocket and handed it to the coachman.

“You can keep the change.”

“Thank you!”

The coachman replied with a voice that sounded absolutely delighted.

Indeed, you should live by being generous with money.

“How long has it been since I’ve been to the manor?”

How should I put it.

It felt like my hardened heart was gently melting away.

“Young master, you must have had a hard journey from so far away.”

As soon as I entered the manor, Havel and the servants who had been waiting after hearing the news in advance came out to greet me.

“It wasn’t easy. Have you been well?”

“Yes, I heard you achieved tremendously great merit this time as well. Congratulations.”

“I was lucky. By the way, didn’t Father come?”

“Yes, he went out to the Imperial Palace and hasn’t returned yet. Didn’t you come together?”

“No, we took different routes and missed each other.”

Since he’s someone who works hard at social life, he’s probably having various conversations with the nobles.

‘And he definitely looked for me.’

Thinking about it again, escaping like lightning was a near-perfect decision.

“I’ll sleep a bit after washing and before dinner. I’m so sleepy.”

“Yes, please do. I’ll prepare the finest dinner.”

I wonder if it’s necessary to go that far, but if it’s delicious, that’s good, isn’t it?

It’s not like I can eat it often.

“Since you said you’ll be sleeping, I’ll prepare sleepwear.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

When I went up to my room, Aurora, who had been waiting, moved with great sense.

I was able to immerse my body in hot water almost immediately.

And then… what else would it be?

Sleep, as I said.

* * *

“It’s such a great blessing for the family. So many people were asking me to let them meet my son just once.”

Dinner time, which started a bit late.

The atmosphere was, needless to say, couldn’t be better than this.

“So I looked for you, but they said you’d already left for the manor, and you can’t imagine how flustered I was.”

“Ah, I was a bit tired so I moved hastily.”

“Right, condition is important. What’s the point of meeting those people who aren’t even helpful?”

At this point, it seems like whatever I say, he’ll praise and agree with me.

“By the way, Father, what do you think about Belzium Castle that I received as a reward?”

Although I received it for the merit I achieved, the one who really needs to rack his brains is Father, the head of the family.

From the money for investment to domain management, it’s all the family head’s responsibility.

“Indeed, there’s no reward that better reveals His Majesty’s personality. I’d say it’s ambiguous.”

The atmosphere that had been just cheerful settled down a bit and he spoke in a serious voice.

“What do you mean by ambiguous?”

“Doesn’t its value change depending on the war situation? If there’s a ceasefire right now, it becomes worthless paper.”

“That’s right.”

Really, if the merit I achieved becomes worthless paper, I think it would be hard to maintain my sanity.

“Still, I think it’s right to believe we can receive it, and the problem is when to receive it.”

“Wouldn’t it be best to receive it after the war ends?”

Even if it takes some time, nothing is more important than safe delivery.

‘If I can just receive it, there’s no reason to be in a hurry at all.’

1 year, 5 years, 10 years.

Honestly, I thought it would be fine even if it took longer than this, but Father disagreed.

“That would be best, but in a situation where the war is prolonging, the timing of receiving it shouldn’t go all the way to the end of the war.”

“Why is that?”

Honestly, I personally didn’t understand it well.

“Son, what do you think is the biggest element that constitutes a domain?”

“Hmm.”

An ideal leader would say the domain’s people.

But aren’t we also businessmen?

“Wouldn’t it be resources and infrastructure?”

“No. It’s the domain’s people.”

Did he suddenly become an ideal lord or something?

Words I never expected came from Father’s mouth.

“Is… is that so?”

“No matter how much infrastructure and resources you have, if the domain’s people can’t support it, there’s nothing you can do.”

It’s almost like what presidential candidates would come out and say during election campaigns.

But he was sincere.

“Everything from the infrastructure in the castle has to be maintained with taxes. But think about it – if the number of domain residents is only a few thousand people, do you think it’s possible to turn a profit?”

“Uh… it seems impossible.”

“That’s why we need to receive the domain as soon as possible. Before the scattered domain residents settle down and establish themselves, or before they get tired of Belzium Castle’s ominous atmosphere and leave.”

It was a perspective I never thought of, but listening to it, everything he said was right.

‘So if things continue like this, I’ll just receive empty land with no people.’

Looking at it again, it was a kind of time bomb with gold bars inside.

“It must be His Majesty’s intention to quickly make the war a victory. It means he evaluates you that highly.”

“Ah… yes.”

Honestly, it’s not that he evaluates me highly, but rather he seems to have lost his mind.

‘I’m not even a supreme commander, so why is he giving me this kind of reward?’

Whether he’s telling me to set out water and pray, I couldn’t understand it at all.

“It would have been really nice if I had just been promoted to marquis. It’s regrettable.”

“That’s not particularly regrettable. I didn’t even expect it.”

“Yes…?”

‘What, was I the only one who expected it?’

I thought he would be hoping for it more desperately than anyone else in this world.

This is betrayal.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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