Repeat Vice - The Villainous Noble Doesn't Want to Die, So He Swore to Not Die As One of The Four Heavenly Kings - Chapter 54: Left Arm

Chapter 54: Left Arm

The Lightless Family, Secondary Residence.

Rofus was in the guest room, entertaining Mild, the director of the Commercial Guild.

Rofus’s left arm was equipped with a magical prosthetic.

It looked almost indistinguishable from a real hand.

The color was the dark black that Rofus favored.

To an observer, it looked like a hand wearing a black glove.

The artificial nerves connected to it allowed the fingers to move with precision, and it even conveyed the sensation of touch.

It felt almost identical to moving his original hand.

“Is there any discomfort?” Mild asked.

Rofus casually dipped the prosthetic fingers into his coffee.

Steam rose from the coffee, but he felt no excessive heat.

“It’s warm, but it doesn’t feel hot. It’s a strange sensation.”

“It’s designed so that you don’t feel pain, excessive heat, or cold,” Mild explained.

“Is such a thing possible? Though I suppose it would be odd if a prosthetic could get burned.”

“If the sensation is too strong, it could impair its functionality. This is a necessary measure.”

“Interesting.”

As Mild lectured, Rofus flexed the prosthetic hand, opening and closing it with interest.

“It also has an automatic repair function for minor injuries. Most damages will heal over time. However, since it’s as strong as dragon scales, it’s unlikely to get damaged easily.”

“An automatic repair function. How extensive is it?”

“Well… as long as the magical stone embedded in the back isn’t destroyed, it can regenerate even if the fingers are blown off or the joints are broken. Since the power comes from your magic, it can be used semi-permanently as long as the stone remains intact.”

“Impressive.”

Rofus raised his voice in admiration.

“What about adjustments?”

“Maintenance for the artificial nerves is needed about once a year. Of course, if you feel any discomfort, please contact me anytime. I will come personally, even if it’s late at night or during the New Year.”

“Why you? Send a technician.”

Rofus muttered in exasperation while sipping the freshly brewed coffee brought by Yurika.

“It also has a storage space for a potion, a magic power storage function, and a simple magic control function, but none of these are necessary for someone with your immense magic power.”

The magic power storage function stores the magic power usually unconsciously emitted and supplies it when the user’s magic power is low.

The magic control function serves as a substitute for a staff, acting as a catalyst for magic.

Lesser magicians often use catalysts like staffs to compensate for their lack of control over magic power.

Rofus, with his excellent magic control, doesn’t need such catalysts.

“Storing potions could be useful.”

Rofus recalled a time in Steria territory when he ran out of potions while dealing with a Redcap.

“This exceeds my expectations, Mild.”

“I’m honored.”

Mild bowed deeply in response to Rofus’s praise.

“How’s business?”

“Thanks to you, it’s doing well. The train that began operation last month is remarkable. The speed of logistics has dramatically increased.”

With the train in operation, the logistics in the Lightless territory had accelerated significantly compared to before.

Currently, the train consists mostly of freight cars, with a small portion for passenger seats, mainly transporting cargo and merchants.

There is only one train, running a few times a day through the station.

Even so, the speed and volume of logistics have increased explosively.

In the Lightless territory, where horse-drawn carriages are the primary mode of transport between towns, the train was a revolutionary development.

Currently, the train is limited to Lightless family VIPs and their designated merchants, but as more trains are added, it will become available for general use.

The era of transporting people was coming to the Lightless territory.

“The train’s free use period is two years. After that, we will charge usage fees. Make sure to earn as much as possible by then.”

“Certainly. According to my estimates, we can recover our investment in less than a year.”

Mild answered with a pleased expression.

The Commercial Guild had funded the entire project of laying the tracks and all the materials and construction needed for the train’s operation.

This was part of a deal between Rofus and Mild.

The Commercial Guild bore all the costs and efforts for the train’s installation and operation.

In return, they were granted the right to use the train for free for exactly two years from the start of its operation.

Essentially, for two years, the Commercial Guild could transport some goods without operational costs and at a faster pace.

Rofus’s shadow familiars had also helped with part of the labor in constructing the tracks, making it a favorable deal for the Commercial Guild.

“Thanks to the train, we merchants have been able to earn a lot. Is it really alright for the Lightless family to not be receiving much of the revenue?”

Mild questioned, and Rofus tilted his head.

“…? The Lightless family doesn’t need to earn directly. If the economy thrives, tax revenue will increase as a result. It’s more efficient than trying to do business ourselves and failing.”

“Haha, I see. As expected, you’re a remarkable person.”

“Of course. Don’t measure me by commoners’ standards. Nobles are raised on fine food and top-tier education from a young age. It’s only natural that we’re superior and produce results. From birth, the responsibilities we bear are heavier than those of commoners.”

“I wish I could have let the late Mr. Clinton hear that.”

“Clinton, huh…”

Remembering the incompetent noble, Rofus frowned in displeasure.

“Even if one has noble blood, there are those worse than commoners. It’s truly lamentable.”

Recalling the disgrace of Clinton, Rofus spoke with contempt.

“Oh, that reminds me of Mr. Clinton. On my way here, I saw a head displayed in the city.”

Mild mentioned as if remembering, and Rofus snorted.

“That was the inspector connected to Clinton. It’s foolish for someone in a supervisory position to be bribed.”

The inspector, who had been bribed and turned a blind eye to Clinton’s misrule, was executed recently and his head was displayed in the capital.

Capturing the bribed inspector led to uncovering several other corrupt officials linked to Clinton’s misrule.

One of them was personally executed by Rudens.

As a warning, he was killed brutally, and the news was spread throughout the territory.

Other officials had been warned and had surveillance placed on them after their families were made to pay reparations, continuing their governance under watch until replacements could be found.

Once successors were secured, they were planned to be gradually “accidentally” removed.

If all corrupt officials were executed at once, it would leave multiple regions without governance, leading to economic chaos and decline.

This was Rudens’s strategy to prevent that.

“In the port town of Viperport and its surroundings, many citizens see you as a hero. They believe you judged the corrupt Clinton and revived the economy.”

“Oh… that story.”

The large-scale vineyard project Rofus was advancing was progressing well, hiring many impoverished citizens as workers, which helped curb poverty. In fact, the average income of the citizens was gradually increasing.

Though the vineyard had not yet yielded harvests and direct profits, the outlook was promising.

Publicly, these economic recovery measures were credited to the puppet governor who replaced Clinton, following Rudens’s plan.

However, when the corrupt officials were executed by Rudens, the new governor announced, “All these economic recovery measures were led by Rofus. It was also Rofus who judged Clinton.”

As a result, Rofus garnered substantial support from the citizens.

Additionally, a certain romance novel gained further popularity, leading to plans for a stage adaptation, although Rofus was unaware of this.

The new governor of Viperport, named Crime, followed Rudens’s orders. Originally a loyal servant of Rudens, Crime was complicit in Rofus’s manipulations with Rudens’s consent.

The policies Rofus secretly implemented were all known to Rudens, who allowed Rofus to believe he was acting independently.

Rofus realized this only after Crime, supposedly a puppet, made an announcement without instruction.

Reflecting back, despite being coerced, Crime had too easily complied with Rofus’s demands.

If Rudens had anticipated Rofus’s actions and instructed Crime accordingly, it made sense.

Crime had been excessively obedient to Rofus.

“Father, using me for such trivial image strategy…”

In the face of the officials’ misconduct, Lightless family’s reputation would inevitably suffer.

Rudens mitigated this by personally executing the offenders and bolstering Rofus’s heroic image, thus enhancing the family’s reputation rather than diminishing it.

Rofus, though begrudgingly, acknowledged that this ultimately benefited the Lightless family.

“A good image is always beneficial. In this case, it will work in our favor. Grapes grown by a hero who corrected misrule… it’s excellent publicity.”

“Well, if it helps with sales, feel free to advertise. But can anything be done about the citizens’ warm gazes every time I walk through town?”

“Warm gazes, you say. Well, perhaps…”

Mild recalled a popular romance novel but decided against mentioning it, thinking Rofus must be aware, given his close aide Carlos had published it.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

Mild coughed to cover his hesitation.

Given Rofus’s temperament, he wouldn’t appreciate being the subject of a romance novel.

Thus, another opportunity for Rofus to discover the existence of the romance novel “The Dark Noble and the Sailor Girl” was missed.

Rofus didn’t frequent bookstores or city centers, so it would take a while before he learned about it.