Debuff Master

Chapter 625

“H-Hello! My name is Siegfried van Proa,” Siegfried greeted the dwarf with utmost courtesy.

The dwarf raised a brow and said, “Van Proa? Isn’t that a name only for royalty? Proa... That’s the name used by the olden kings of Proatine...”

Shockingly, he mentioned Proatine after only hearing the surname Proa. It seemed that this dwarf was either in academia or was well educated.

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Then are you royalty?”

“I am the king.”

“The king?”

“I am the King of the Proatine Kingdom, Siegfried van Proa.”

The dwarf rubbed his chin and asked, “Hmm... Is your kingdom newly established?

“Yes, that is correct.”

“I see. Congratulations, then. Proatine must be a kingdom the size of a booger, but a king is still a king.”

“Haha...”

“But what brings you here? This is a slash-and-burn farming village, and a king shouldn't be here. Also, these lands belong to the Marchioni Empire.”

“No,” Siegfried shook his head. Then, he continued, “These are my lands. To be exact, the entire Espadrille Province belongs to me now.”

“Huh?”

“I became the owner of these lands yesterday, so the entire province belongs to the Proatine Kingdom now.”

“Did the Marchioni Empire fall?”

“Eh?”

“If that’s not the case, then how come the Espadrille Province belongs to you? I don’t think you could have wrestled it away from the empire...”

“Ah, that is...” Siegfried proceeded to tell the story of how he became a king and how the Espadrille Province was granted to him by the emperor.

“I see...”

“But what race might you be? I do not think you are a dwarf, so... Are you a Hobbit by any chance?”

The Hobbits were a race of small people, and they were extremely rare. They were so rare that Siegfried had only seen them once in his entire career of playing BNW.

“No, human.”

“Pardon me?”

“I suffer from dwarfism, but I’m not a Hobbit.”

“Ah, I apologize,” Siegfried immediately apologized with a bow after realizing that he made a mistake. He expected the middle-aged man to be of another race, as this was in-game, so the possibility of the man suffering from an illness didn't even cross his mind.

“I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me if I have offended you.”

“Don’t mind it. I get that a lot, so I’m used to it. I’m actually surprised by how quickly you apologized.”

“It is only right for a person to apologize upon offending someone else.”

“Yes, you’re right. Anyway, would you like to at least come in? I would love to serve you a cup of tea.”

“Thank you.”

“Please, come on in.”

Siegfried accepted the invitation of the middle-aged man suffering from dwarfism and entered the shabby shack.

***

Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight at the middle-aged man the moment he stepped into the shack.

[Schmidt de Dinklage]

[A man that once used to be a vassal of the noble Fourclops Dukedom.]

[He was fired after getting caught embezzling the duke’s funds and is now living with a huge debt under his name.]

[He's suffering from dwarfism, but he was once recognized as a genius among geniuses after graduating at the top of his class in the Great Academy of the Marchioni Empire.]

[He specializes in economics and accounting.]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 20]

[Class: Mini Snowballer]

[Specialty: Accounting (SSS) / Economics (SSS)]

[Affiliation: N/A]

[Titles: Extremely Profit Driven, Electronic Brain, Money Snowballer, God of Longs, God of Stop Losses, I Never Suffer A Loss]

‘Ooooh!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly after reading the middle-aged man’s details.

The Proatine Kingdom was suffering from a lack of talented individuals in the field of economy. Well, there was the Minister of State, Michele, but he wasn't enough. No man was an island, after all.

Michele didn't major in economics or accounting, so he was just as good as the finance ministers of most nations.

However, Schmidt was on a whole new level. He was SSS-rank in both accounting and economics, so he could definitely give a massive boost to the already prosperous Proatine Kingdom.

“May I speak bluntly with you?” Siegfried asked.

“Sure, go ahead,” Schmidt replied.

“I would like to hire you, Mr. Schmidt.”

“Hmm? You want to hire me?”

“Yes.”

“Sure.”

“Eh?”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing...” Siegfried replied while sweating profusely. Then, he added, “I just thought you accepted too easily...”

“Hmm? Is there a problem?”

“No, not at all, but...”

“I was swept up in the succession fight within the dukedom and was framed for something I did not do. I ended up getting chased away, and I also have a massive debt on my name. To make matters worse, I cannot get a job in the empire anymore because of the entire ordeal.

"Do you really think I’m living in this village foraging plants just to survive because I wanted to?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess that makes perfect sense.”

“I sent numerous letters to other kingdoms, asking if they would like to hire me, but the dukedom’s influence reaches far and wide.”

“Oh?”

“That’s why I have no other choice than to accept your offer. You claimed that Emperor Stuttgart favors you, no?”

“Yes, he does sort of adore me.”

“Then even the dukedom won’t be able to pressure you, so it’s perfect for my new job.”

“Oh?”

“But I have a condition.”

“What is it?”

“Buy me for a high price.”

Ding!

A message suddenly popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You have received the Quest – Loyalty? Don’t Make Me Laugh! Buy Me With Money! How Much Can You Give Me? How Much You Got?!]

The details of the quest popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Loyalty? Don’t Make Me Laugh! Buy Me With Money! How Much Can You Give Me? How Much You Got?!]

[Type: Normal Quest]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: Hire Schmidt de Dinklage for the rest of his life]

“How much?” Siegfried asked.

“I need money. I need... a lot of money. But how much can you give me? How much can you pay to buy me?”

“I will repay all of your debt.”

“...!”

“And give you a salary that’s more than enough along with insurance, retirement pension, and the other benefits enjoyed by high-ranking government officials.”

“A-Are you serious?”

“How much debt do you have?”

“That is...” Schmidt shared the total amount of debt he had.

“I'm sure you can repay your debt with this. This must be more than enough, so you will have quite a lot of funds to use afterward. You can use the remaining money to buy a house in our capital city,” Siegfried said with a smile, extending a check.

“T-This is?!” Schmidt exclaimed upon seeing the amount written on the check. The amount was more than enough to clear all of his debt, and he'd even have a substantial amount to use afterward.

Ding!

A string of messages appeared in front of Siegfried, informing him that he had cleared the quest.

[Alert: You have cleared the Quest – Loyalty? Don’t Make Me Laugh! Buy Me With Money! How Much Can You Give Me? How Much You Got?!]

[Alert: You have successfully recruited Schmidt de Dinklage!]

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: Schmidt de Dinklage’s affinity toward you has reached the maximum level!]

[Alert: Schmidt de Dinklage now has absolute loyalty towards you!]

Siegfried could not help but be surprised upon reading the messages that popped up in front of his eyes.

‘W-Whoa! I can really buy loyalty with money? Is this loyalty through capitalism? This is too materialistic!’

He was shocked that money could buy loyalty, but he was half right and half wrong. He didn't buy Schmidt’s loyalty with money. It just so happened that Schmidt desperately needed money right now, so it made it easier for him to earn his trust and loyalty with money.

In other words, Siegfried hadn't simply given some money away to Schmidt; he had also ended up helping Schmidt at his lowest point in life.

“I, Schmidt de Dinklage, swear loyalty to the Proatine Kingdom and Your Majesty, Siegfried van Proa, for the rest of my life.”

“Schmidt...”

“I will do my best for Your Majesty and the kingdom!”

Siegfried managed to obtain a talented economist thanks to Great King’s Blessed Land.

‘My skills and titles are working hard today,’ Siegfried thought after profiting a ton from Treasure Hunter and Great King’s Blessed Land.

As expected, there was no such thing as too many titles or skills.

***

Once Siegfried was done recruiting Schmidt de Dinklage, he gathered the people in the slash-and-burn village to make an announcement.

“This village is closed from now on. Pack your belongings and valuables!” Siegfried announced.

The villagers became rowdy in response to his announcement.

“What did he say?”

“Is he kicking us out?”

“Kyak! Ptooey! Can he do this just because he’s a noble?! We have nowhere else to go, so we’re living in this forest, but he’s kicking us out of here, too? Fuck!”

The villagers were enraged by the announcement, but their rage lasted only for a while.

“I am the King of the Proatine Kingdom, Siegfried van Proa. His Imperial Majesty has granted ownership of the Espadrille Province to me, effectively putting the entire province under my kingdom’s rule. Also, in my kingdom... nobody lives in these kinds of slash-and-burn villages.

“The kingdom will temporarily provide you with housing and provide you with a job based on your skill sets. You can stop relying on the forest to barely make ends meet. You can live in the city to make an honest living.

"I will see to it that all of you can live with dignity from now on.”

Most people would think that Siegfried was being an idealist, but the Proatine Kingdom could achieve his promises. The kingdom was flushed with gold these days, and they were planning to invest heavily in the Espadrille Province as well.

In other words, there was bound to be a lot of work, but the kingdom’s current population was nowhere near enough to provide the demand for laborers. The kingdom stood to profit greatly just by having these slash-and-burn farmers put to work, even if the kingdom had to provide them with temporary housing.

There was no reason for the kingdom to bring in more foreign laborers and have an outflow of cash through remittances when they could kill two birds with one stone by providing a means of livelihood for the slash-and-burn farmers while keeping the money circulating within the kingdom.

“I-Is that for real?!”

“Oh!”

“T-Thank you, Your Majesty!”

The villagers got on their knees and worshiped Siegfried.

Their lives could only be described as pathetic, but their king suddenly appeared in front of them, giving them the opportunity to live with dignity as "proper" humans. He was no different from their savior, and they'd bow at his feet one hundred times more if they had to do so.

“I will give you thirty minutes. Please pack up and get ready to leave this place with me,” Siegfried said.

And that was how he recruited Schmidt and took the villagers with him back to the Cabochon Territory.

***

Siegfried received surprising news the moment he returned to the Cabochon Territory.

“Count Arial seeks an audience with Your Majesty.”

The count that was training in isolation had returned and was seeking an audience with him.

“Huh? His training is over?”

“It seems so, Your Majesty.”

“Well, there’s no reason for me not to meet him when he came all the way here. Send him in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Siegfried planned to meet Count Arial and call it a day after that.

It was after around five minutes of waiting that Count Arial finally entered.

“Count Arial is entering, Your Majesty.”

“Send him in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The count that was training in isolation finally entered the hall.

He walked along the red carpet and knelt in front of Siegfried.

It was then...

Ding!

A message suddenly popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: The Quest – Master’s Regret has been activated!]