The Loser Lord Who Kept Getting Sweet Revenge and Somehow Rose to the Top - Chapter 07: The Trash Was So Weak, I Almost Cried

Chapter 07: The Trash Was So Weak, I Almost Cried

The harassment campaign against the count’s territory kept snowballing over time. Before long, the land had turned into a battlefield where monsters attacked day and night.

…The problem was, the count’s knights could drive the monsters away, sure—but they didn’t have the strength to actually kill them. Honestly, that was nothing more than a lack of daily training.

And apparently, even the monsters were starting to catch on. They realized that if they left the count’s land, they’d just run into me and Comet and get wiped out. Which meant… even if the knights chased them, the smarter choice was to stay inside the count’s territory, where at least there was a tiny chance of survival.

As a result, the cornered monsters grew more violent. Some even mutated into special variants. The knights—already weak—started suffering real damage. I mean, come on. Knights who never trained seriously versus monsters fighting tooth and claw just to survive? No contest.

Meanwhile, the count tried pulling strings to call for reinforcements, but nothing worked. His territory was on the verge of collapse.

Kiriko handed me a report on the state of the count’s land. After I skimmed it, she nodded with satisfaction and said:

“—See? This is where crushing Retenable Trading Company paid off. If they were still around, they could’ve bailed the count out with their money and supply routes. But now? Nothing.”

…Oh! She was totally right. If Talia’s family business was still alive, they probably could’ve funneled cash and resources straight into the count’s hands.

“Ahh, this is so much fun~! How many years has it been since I felt this thrilled? Wiping them out was totally worth it—serves them right!”

Linna practically bounced with excitement, grinning ear to ear as she shouted.

Sure, I wanted the count himself to suffer—but the ordinary people in his territory weren’t guilty of anything. That made things tricky.

Honestly though, the knights were even weaker than I’d imagined. I knew they’d be trash, but not this trash. Every time they clashed with monsters head-on, they just got steamrolled and ran away. That level of weakness went past pathetic—straight into slug-tier.

As for the knights getting eaten or torn apart? Whatever. That was karma for their past behavior. But the villagers? Even if they lived under the count, they were just regular people. Letting them get slaughtered by monsters was out of the question. So I secretly hunted down any that attacked villages—let’s call it “humanitarian aid.” After all, the only ones who deserved to die were the count’s family.

And those trying to escape the count’s land? I shadowed them from the sky, making sure they got out safely. If monsters tried to attack, I swooped in and scattered them. Right now, the count’s territory was basically collapsing into a poverty-stricken warzone…

—And so, Count Shakara’s inability to protect his own lands turned him into a laughingstock among the nobility. One by one, people stopped associating with him.

In the royal capital, they mocked him too—“the pitiful weakling count whose peasants fled and whose knights couldn’t beat a single monster.”

As for the villagers who fled with nowhere else to go, I decided to take them in—even though the road to my lands was pretty far. But hey, thanks to the spice trade, the Tourmaline territory had money flowing like water…!! What started as a simple “screw you” move against Retenable had now turned into profits on par with the great nobles.

And it wasn’t just them. Folks from remote villages and backwater regions—the ones I saved while pretending to “cover up” my harassment of the count’s land—also came asking if they could migrate to my domain.

Well, fine by me! Bring it on! I’ll take care of every last one of you!

I set them up with houses and asked them to clear new farmland. They threw themselves into the work with surprising energy, and before long, my agricultural land expanded like crazy.

Sure, this meant future tax revenue would skyrocket—but since trade (especially spices) was already flooding me with more wealth than I knew what to do with, I kept taxes nice and low. The priority was to make sure the new settlers had a stable foundation and could improve their quality of life.

Since they were still citizens of the same kingdom, their lifestyle and culture didn’t change much, so the migration went smoothly. More than that, the newcomers were motivated—burning with gratitude for the help they’d received. They worked hard, full of spirit.

Sometimes, when I rode through the territory to check on things, some of the new settlers would come to greet me. Among them were the siblings I’d once saved from monsters. The younger brother—if I remembered right, his name was Alexander—spotted me on horseback and called out.

“Hello, Lord! These are Doburoku fruits we harvested from the fields!”

“Oh, Alexander! How are you doing? These grew big—look at that. I bet they’re packed full of sweet Doburoku juice inside. I’ll gladly take them.”

The siblings probably didn’t know I was the one who had saved their lives back then. But they were good kids—hardworking and cheerful—so I remembered their faces and names. When I patted Alexander’s head in thanks, he grinned happily, waved, and ran back to the fields.

Yep. As long as the kids were growing up healthy like that, I really had no complaints.

…Though apparently, the new settlers had been praising me nonstop. Stuff like: “Our lord saved us,” “We must repay his kindness,” “He’s the true hero!” and so on. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing.

Still, thanks to their gratitude—and maybe a touch of awe—they followed the local rules without a hitch. No crime, no trouble. Honestly, that part helped me a lot.

“The ones who moved here are either deeply grateful to you, Lord Sean, or already charmed by your charisma. They’d never do anything to trouble you. All that monster-hunting you did ended up circling back in the best way possible.”

—Or at least, that’s what Kiriko said. Well, as long as the territory was running smoothly, I didn’t really care.

Population went up, farmland expanded, and for some reason the settlers even started holding festivals to praise me. (Apparently, that whole idea was kicked off by the newcomers themselves.)

Before long, I got summoned to the royal castle again—this time to receive yet another shiny medal from His Majesty.

Word in the capital was that I’d been “taking in poor villagers who lost their homes to monsters and giving them shelter in my domain.”

…Like, huh? How did it even turn into that story? I don’t know anymore.