Even after Alex’s declaration, wealth continued pouring out of Gilbert’s storehouse.
Endless sacks of wheat, chunks of gold, and Alex’s promise to distribute all of it.
As the residents understood what was happening, conflicting emotions began to stir in their lifeless eyes.
“R-really…? He’s just going to give all of that away…?”
“That son of a bitch… All this time… just how long has he been deceiving us?!”
“Gilbert…! You fucking traitorous bastard!”
With anger toward Gilbert and their feelings toward Alex boiling over, the people were soon throwing stones at Gilbert where he lay sprawled on the ground and spitting on him.
“Guh… Cough, no, no! If… If it weren’t for me, you bastards would’ve starved to death long ago, urgh!”
“Die, you fucking fraud!”
“Kah, ptooey! To think a filthy cultist bastard was hiding among us!”
In contrast, some were moved by Alex’s decision to share the wealth and began chanting his name.
“Lord Alex came to save us!”
“Long live Lord Alex!”
A faint spark of hope had appeared in the hollow eyes of the people.
Even though it was not his real name, it was quite a strange experience for Alex.
[Epithet Evolved!]
[Outsider Lord -> Savior of the Domain]
[The lord’s actions have caused a major psychological shift among the residents.]
[The residents now regard the lord not as a strange outsider, but as a savior who will resolve this situation.]
[Domain Production increased by 20%, Loyalty increased by 20%]
Alex almost cheered when the system window suddenly appeared.
This game had many elements determined by luck.
Various events occurred based on probability, and among them were extremely, extremely rare beneficial ones like this.
Even with an effect like this, the situation only improved by a tiny amount, but right now, that tiny difference could mean life or death.
“All of this belongs to our residents. Hamilton! Don’t half-ass it. Tear up the floorboards too!”
While enthusiastically putting the butler to work, Alex briefly checked the Domain Funds.
[Domain Funds : 989G]
Gilbert’s wealth was being transferred into the Domain Funds in real time, causing the amount to rise.
There was still plenty more wealth to dig out, so this would make for a fairly solid pool of starting capital.
With even this much of a foundation, Alex had more than enough plans to normalize the situation in a short amount of time.
“My daughter starved to death because of you!”
“Why did you do it?! Why did you do this to us?!”
“Ptooey! Filthy cultist bastard! May divine punishment strike you down!”
As wealth continued pouring from his merchant company like water from a spring, the residents grew more and more agitated.
Gilbert was already crawling across the ground, blood streaming from all over his body after being pelted with stones.
‘…There’s no real need to stop them.’
Watching a crowd pour all its fury onto one person made Alex uncomfortable.
But there was nothing he could do.
If he failed to solve the Loyalty problem, the one in Gilbert’s place might have been him instead.
Besides, it would be best if Gilbert died right here.
‘So please, just stay down and die quietly….’
As Alex watched Gilbert, his heart pounded anxiously every time another stone flew at him.
A special event that had occurred only once across hundreds, perhaps even more than a thousand playthroughs.
If that absolute worst-case scenario happened now of all times… Alex was not sure whether he could handle it.
“….”
Gilbert was curled up to protect his head and vital points from the stones flying at him.
At some point, he stopped even groaning and simply remained curled up, allowing Alex to relax slightly.
Frankly, an event he had barely seen once in hundreds of playthroughs could not possibly happen right now….
“Guegh…!”
A grotesque cry from Gilbert shattered Alex’s complacency.
Gilbert’s entire body began trembling violently, so unnaturally that it looked like he was having a seizure.
It was a bizarre sight, almost as though something were reconstructing the human body.
It was the worst-case scenario Alex had feared.
“…Damn it, everybody move! Get out of the way!”
Alex shouted urgently as he rushed forward, but the excited residents did not move aside easily.
[Hidden Enemy Appeared!]
[Betrayal that has lain dormant for many years begins to sprout.]
By the time a crimson warning window appeared before Alex’s eyes, the surrounding residents seemed to have noticed the change in Gilbert as well and hesitantly backed away.
The wounds left by the divine power, which had remained red on Gilbert’s body like burn marks, began swelling and bulging.
“Gah… Aaaaaaargh!”
Along with his scream came the sounds of Gilbert’s bones and muscles tearing apart, twisting, and joining together again.
By then, the residents were screaming on their own and retreating farther away.
Occasionally, when a human within this domain fell into extreme despair, they would transform into a Magical Beast like this.
They lost their reason and intellect, leaving only instinct behind—a form of immortality suited to otherworldly fanaticism.
[Apostle of Greed ‘Follower of Fanaticism’]
Gilbert finally mutated into a Magical Beast, his limbs grotesquely swollen until it was difficult to recognize his original form.
The skill Alex had just used would be useless in the current situation.
If he carelessly prodded it with half-baked divine power and caused it to rampage and attack the residents, that would only make things worse.
‘If there are casualties… it might cause problems with the Epithet I just got….’
Alex swallowed dryly and drew the sword hanging decoratively at his waist.
In theory, he was Alex, a Paladin who could use skills.
A creature that had only just become a Magical Beast would be confused by its own transformation, so its offensive power would not be particularly strong yet.
Which meant his body might know how to fight on its own.
‘Ah, fuck it. I don’t know…!’
If things were already this bad, he had no choice but to leave it to chance.
Alex stepped in front of the Magical Beast.
Huge and reeking…. The Magical Beast flailed bodily organs that anyone could tell were anything but normal.
Gilbert’s once scrawny, unimpressive body had now become a massive frame well over two meters tall.
“Graaaaaaagh!”
With a howl that sounded somewhere between a scream and a monstrous roar, Gilbert swung his enormous body and charged at Alex.
I can do this, I can do this, I can do this…. Probably…!
[Holy Sword Lv.1]
[The sword of a knight sworn to God gains a 200% increase in attack power against wicked beings.]
The mutated Magical Beast’s weakness was its legs.
Alex gripped the mysteriously glowing sword with all his strength.
Dropping onto one knee, Alex lowered himself and dodged Gilbert’s grasp as the creature charged toward him.
“Ugh….”
Alex’s body was lighter and more agile than he had expected.
He had crouched faster and harder than intended, sending pain through his knee, but Alex gritted his teeth.
Just like that, precisely.
With all his strength behind it, the sword cut through the charging Magical Beast’s ankle.
“Graaaaaah!”
But the almost miraculous bravado Alex had managed with this unfamiliar body ended there.
Even as Gilbert lost his balance with a roar and toppled over, he violently reached toward Alex.
Dodge.
Block.
Alex did not even have time to think that far.
Faced with an overwhelming killing intent unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life, Alex instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
-CRASH—!
Alex expected the impact of Gilbert’s body slamming into him.
But instead of pain, all he heard was an incomprehensible crash, so Alex cautiously opened his eyes.
[Military Strength Unlocked.]
Along with the unfamiliar system window that abruptly appeared, a cheerful voice reached him first.
“My lord! I heard you got money?!”
Alex had no idea where she had heard the rumor or how far she had run from, but a woman in light armor was standing in front of him, having taken his place.
Gilbert, meanwhile, was sprawled roughly off to the side.
This knight, who had come running at the mere mention of money and was utterly obsessed with it, was the only combat retainer left in the domain.
Name : Elizabeth Holton
Class : Knight
Special Notes : Gold Maniac
Skills : Berserk, Iron Wall
“Dame… Elizabeth…?”
She was Carcosa’s only knight and its Knight Commander, Dame Elizabeth Holton.
The seasoned female knight looked three or four years older than him and answered his bewildered call with a sly smile, her red hair fluttering.
“Yes, that’s me. Ah! If I want to get paid, I suppose I should take care of my liege’s enemy first, right?”
Elizabeth swung a sword nearly as large as her own body in one smooth, swift motion.
Her blade pierced straight through the abdomen of the fallen Gilbert.
[Hidden Enemy : ‘Follower of Fanaticism’ Defeated]
[Hidden Reward : 50 Coins Awarded]
The moment Alex confirmed the system windows filling his vision, he collapsed onto the ground.
Normally, Elizabeth only became friendly after the financial problems were resolved.
Apparently, making such a spectacular scene out of everything had spread the rumor far enough to draw Elizabeth here as well.
“But what is this thing? Since when did a Magical Beast get this far inside? What? What’s going on? Why does everyone look like that?”
When did everyone even run away?
The residents had vanished with remarkable speed and were now hiding behind buildings, peeking out with only their blinking eyes visible.
Only Elizabeth’s chatty voice continued through the chilly silence.
“No, my lord, say something. What happened? Where did the money come from? You’re paying all my overdue wages too, right?”
…Anyway, the immediate crisis was over.
Only then could Alex finally let out a sigh of relief.
***
It was not until late at night that Alex finally managed to return to the lord’s castle.
It was easy enough to say, “Distribute it among yourselves!” but who in the lord’s castle was actually available to handle the distribution?
Alex and Hamilton had no choice but to take care of it themselves.
As for Elizabeth, who kept grinning at the sight of the gold, she was most helpful in situations like this when she simply kept her mouth shut and stayed still.
“First, the list of appointments for the new guards and other administrative personnel. And here are the ledgers for the assets settled today.”
Hamilton set down the documents, his face visibly gaunter after only half a day.
Alex nodded while flexing his fingers, which had gone stiff from writing for so long.
“Yeah…. Leave them there. Good work.”
Gilbert had been exchanging crops produced within the domain for daily necessities brought in from outside at outrageous prices.
Most of the various foods that had been rotting inside Gilbert’s storehouse were distributed to the residents that day.
As for the food, they had truly left not a single grain behind.
No, they had even taken out the food stored in the lord’s castle and handed all of that out as well.
“Hehehehe, how much is all this worth? At this rate, our domain’s going to be rich in no time!”
Meanwhile, the gold and other valuables Gilbert possessed could be collected as taxes he had failed to pay until now.
Elizabeth was grinning suspiciously as she stared at the gold filling the safe in the inner part of the office.
Unlike Elizabeth, who was simply thrilled, Hamilton looked even more exhausted as he asked,
“Are you certain… this is truly all right?”
The residents’ hunger had been resolved, but Hamilton was even more troubled.
“To be frank… there is now… less than three days’ worth of food left in the lord’s castle for you, my lord.”
Alex had quite literally distributed all the food among the residents.
Of course, in exchange, he had brought all the gold, silver, and valuables discovered in Gilbert’s possession back to the lord’s castle.
But no matter how much they had, people could not survive by chewing on gold.
A hint of awkward concern appeared on Hamilton’s usually stony face.
Seeing that Hamilton seemed to trust him more than he had that morning made Alex grin.
“Then can’t we use that gold to buy the food we’re short on at the market?”
To restore the broken self-sufficient market within the domain, someone needed to rebuild the cycle of consumption and production.
And naturally, that was the lord’s job.
“Hire people to work at the castle as quickly as possible too, and pay them weekly wages in gold. For now, let’s get that gold circulating as currency.”
Hamilton fell silent at Alex’s words, as though something had surprised him.
With the domain’s condition finally returning to something resembling a reasonable track, Alex felt a little proud.
The problem was that all of this had consumed the entire day.
[Coins : 50]
[The location of the next Hidden Shop will be revealed once enough Coins have been accumulated.]
On top of that, he needed to think about how to make use of this mysterious currency as well.
Alex spread out a map of the domain and pulled over a fresh stack of blank paper.
Elizabeth looked startled when she saw Alex preparing to start working again.
“Huh? We’re not getting off work?!”
“My lord. You should retire for the night now.”
Only after Hamilton added his own remark did Alex properly look at the clock.
It was nearly midnight.
For Alex, who was accustomed to all-night gaming sessions, midnight was not particularly late.
If anything, did it not feel like the night was only beginning?
“You two can go ahead.”
Alex gestured for them to leave.
“Then I’m heading out?”
“Yeah, yeah. Bye. See you tomorrow. Good work.”
Without even looking at Elizabeth, Alex answered absentmindedly and picked up his pen and paper.
Even from what he had experienced today, this world contained elements that ultimately depended on luck, whether for good or ill.
‘But I know under what conditions that luck occurs, and with what probability.’
If this were a game, he could simply pause the situation and think things through.
But now that it had become reality, he could no longer do that.
That was what Alex had learned from today’s experience.
‘So I need to go back over all those possibilities in advance.’
If he waited until a situation occurred before trying to respond, there would inevitably be factors that even he might forget or overlook.
He intended to write every last one of them down so he could respond without panicking.
“I can do this.”
Alex set out a pile of blank paper and began writing down every strategy he could remember.
As Hamilton was leaving the office, his gaze lingered strangely on Alex for a moment before he slowly closed the door.