Survival Strategies of a Struggling Aristocrat

Dennis returned to Beneshof from the royal capital. Along the way, he parted ways with Egmont, who said he was going to visit the squire Carlos, acting as the lord’s representative.

When he reached a point where he could see the familiar mansion, Dennis noticed a small figure running out from the house.

“Welcome back, big brother Dennis.” 

Amelia rushed over and hugged Dennis. Evidently, she had missed him dearly, as she clung to him for quite some time. Dennis tenderly caressed her head.

With Amelia safely in his arms, they made their way into the mansion together.

“I bought you souvenirs,” 

“Really… show me, show me,” 

Dennis retrieved a second-hand garment he had purchased in the royal capital from the bag on his back and handed it to Amelia.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.” 

“We can remake it and make a dress for Amelia.”

“Thank you. I’ll go show it to Elma.”

Amelia said as she held the second-hand garment and made her way to Elma, the head maid. Meanwhile, Dennis sat in the dining room chair, letting all the tension leave his body.

“The successor, huh? Things have gotten complicated.”

Dennis was unaware of the current situation in Beneshof territory. He didn’t know the extent of the debts or the amount of tax revenue. He knew he would have to investigate these matters soon.

However, he wasn’t going to become the lord immediately. Egmont, the current lord, seemed healthy and likely to live for a long time, so Dennis knew it would be several more years before he took over.

During their journey back, Dennis and Egmont had a discussion. Egmont had advised Dennis to start learning about managing the territory right away.

But Dennis requested a year or so of leeway. He wanted to study about the labyrinth and the territory. Egmont, who was feeling guilty, agreed without much hesitation.

 Amelia returned to the dining room, bringing Elma with her.

“Sir Dennis, this fabric is wonderful. How would you like it to be tailored?” Elma asked.

“My elder brother is going to get married. Amelia will also attend the wedding, so please tailor a dress for her to wear for that occasion.

“Understood. However, from these two second-hand garments, I can make one more dress,” Elma replied.

“That is right. Can you make a casual outfit from the remaining fabric?” Dennis inquired.

“A casual outfit made of silk fabric?” 

“By ‘casual outfit,’ I mean something to wear for a small outing.” 

“Understood.”

Amelia’s eyes sparkled as she alternated her gaze between the second-hand garments and Dennis’s face.

“I wonder what kind of dress it will be. I’m excited,” Amelia exclaimed.

Seeing Amelia’s joyful expression, Dennis felt that his journey to the royal capital was worthwhile. In this world, having a new outfit tailored was a special event.

People might wonder why nobles like them would think this way. However, for lower-ranking nobles like a Baronet, having a dress tailored only occurred once every few years.

“But these second-hand garments were quite expensive. Perhaps the high cost of clothing is due to everything being done by hand. From spinning the yarn to weaving the fabric, to tailoring, many people are involved.” 

Dennis, who had no interest in fabric or clothing, possessed knowledge from Masaya’s world. In Japan, there were abundant amounts of fabric and clothing, with many of them being cheap.

After a while, Egmont returned. Dennis and Egmont had a bland dinner, and they listened to Amelia talk about what kind of clothes to make.

Amelia, who had been excited, fell asleep while still clutching the second-hand garments. Elma took her and left, leaving Dennis alone with Egmont.

The sun had completely set, and darkness enveloped the surroundings. Egmont lit a lamp.

“We must also save lamp oil. If only that fire hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t have to go through such hardships,” Egmont remarked.

“There’s no use complaining about it.”

“That may be so, but these nine years of hardship have been no small matter. Besides, it’s you who will face hardships in the future,” Egmont said.

“How much debt do we have?” Dennis asked.

“To Marquis Clifbard, it’s 2,000 gold coins, and to Baronet Victor, it’s also 2,000 gold coins. We’re barely managing to repay the interest.”

Dennis was surprised to find that the debt was actually smaller than he had anticipated. However, upon reflection, he realized that repaying it would still be a challenging task. The majority of their territory’s income came from taxes, and those tax revenues had drastically dwindled.

The cause of this decline could be traced back to a catastrophic fire that occurred nine years ago, which resulted in the destruction of the seed storehouse and the loss of vital wheat seeds. Those seeds had been meticulously cultivated over many years to suit the climate of the area.

While they managed to acquire seeds from other towns, the harvest was not as bountiful as before. Naturally, this had a significant impact on tax revenues. The decrease amounted to over thirty percent.

Egmont explained the situation and presented his proposed solution. In an attempt to restore the tax revenues, he had made the decision to expand the farmland.

“It didn’t work out as planned,” Dennis remarked.

“No, although we increased the farmland slightly, the tax revenues didn’t see a significant rise.” 

Egmont had described it as a small increase, but the farmland had actually expanded by nearly ten percent.

“If that’s the case, perhaps we should stop expanding the farmland.” Dennis suggested.

“But how will we repay the debts then?” 

Dennis recalled various products that existed in Masaya’s world but were absent in this world. He thought that creating new products wouldn’t be difficult. However, he soon realized that his thinking was superficial.

“Couldn’t we harvest products from the sea and sell them inland?” 

“Are you talking about seafood? To sell them inland, we would have to preserve them with salt. That would require a large amount of salt,” Egmont explained.

In the coastal territories where they had obtained permission for salt fields from the king, they acquired salt at a low cost and preserved seafood for sale in the inland regions. Egmont believed that it would be impossible to compete with those territories in that business.

Dennis agreed with Egmont’s view regarding the preservation of seafood with salt. However, he remembered that there were abundant fish in the seas of the other world as well. In particular, there were large populations of fish similar to sardines and herrings in the nearby waters of the Beneshof territory.

He recalled thinking that with just a net, they would have a guaranteed abundance of catch. Incidentally, fish similar to sardines were referred to as “lower fish” in Beneshof, and they were not commonly consumed.

“There might be something that can be processed without salt,” 

After saying that, Dennis abruptly ended the conversation before he returned to his room. He didn’t have any specific ideas himself. He simply let slip his feelings to Egmont; he had a hunch that if Masaya could investigate, they might find something.

The next morning, Dennis resumed his training in martial arts and swordsmanship, which he had taken a break from. It was clear that his muscles had dulled, making the practice more challenging. After the training, he returned to the mansion to have breakfast.

Amelia, with an excited expression, was sitting in her chair, eagerly awaiting the meal.

“Good morning.” 

“Good morning, Big Brother Dennis.”

The rye bread for breakfast was as dry and tough as usual, with an unpleasant texture. Dennis couldn’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with the way it was being made.

After breakfast, he pulled the cart and headed towards the labyrinth. The rock mountain labyrinth stood there unchanged, just as it always had. He set up the cart near the entrance and stepped inside.

“Well, it’s been a while since I explored the labyrinth.”

Dennis’s usual weapon was a staff. He carried the Vajra Staff he had obtained in the royal capital as a backup, strapped to his back. He relied on his regular staff because he hadn’t grown accustomed to the weight of the Vajra Staff.

Ignoring the slimes on the first floor, he went to the second floor. He swiftly defeated only the attacking poisonous bats. He continued in a similar manner through the third floor and arrived at the fourth floor.

“Alright, this is where it gets serious,” 

Dennis focused on gathering magic essence. The speed at which the magic essence gathered far surpassed his previous attempts before going to the capital. During his journey, he couldn’t practice martial arts or swordsmanship but had been intensively trained in controlling magic essence.

At about half the usual speed, the Quaking Blade was complete. Dennis began to advance. After about five minutes, he encountered an Armored Lizard. The monster roared loudly and lunged at him. Being prepared, Dennis unleashed a diagonal slash from overhead with the Quaking Blade, targeting the lizard’s shoulder and chest.

He felt a solid impact and took a step back. The Armored Lizard collapsed at his feet. In the next moment, it disintegrated into fine particles, disappearing like dust.

“It seems my skills haven’t dulled.”

He continued deeper into the labyrinth, defeating the Armored Lizards he encountered one after another. By the time he reached that small dome-like space with the iron ore deposit, he had defeated five Armored Lizards.

In the small dome-like space, about ten Armored Lizards gathered.

“This is bad. There are too many,” 

He was torn between retreating and fighting. That hesitation proved to be a mistake, as the Armored Lizards noticed him and launched an attack.

If that was the case, there was no choice but to fight. Although the Armored Lizards weren’t as fast as Red-eyed Wolves, they were swift as well. Taking his usual position near the entrance, Dennis prepared to confront the Armored Lizards.

He defeated the first one with a diagonal slash and swiftly followed up with a horizontal strike against the next. He severed the foreleg of an Armored Lizard attempting to scratch him with its sharp claws and thrust his weapon into the throat of another trying to bite him.

With no time to catch his breath, Dennis realized he had to keep up the pace, parrying the enemy’s attacks and launching counterattacks. He counted up to the fifth lizard, but beyond that, he fought instinctively.

Exhaustion built up, and Dennis felt his mind growing hazy. At that moment, the final Armored Lizard leaped at him from above, attempting a head-on collision. It was the first time one of these monsters used this kind of attack. Unable to counter in time, Dennis had no choice but to defend.

He gripped the staff with both hands and thrust it forward to block the charge. It was only when the lizard collided with him that he realized the strength it possessed. In terms of sheer muscle power, it seemed to exceed Dennis’s own by more than double.

Dennis was sent flying, crashing into the wall of the corridor before expelling air from his lungs. As he suffered the impact, the Armored Lizard, with its mouth wide open, lunged at him. Rolling sideways to evade the attack, he quickly got back on his feet.

His legs trembled unsteadily.

“Haa!” 

Dennis shouted, summoning his resolve and steadying himself. He raised the staff to a high stance, but the quaking blade had been deactivated, as expected.