Lord of Rot

Leech gripped the slab-like sword with both hands.

It felt a little unwieldy. It wasn't that he couldn't lift it, but that the sword's balance was terrible.

The simply-welded Iron Ingots formed a very long sword, about the height of a man.

Yet the hilt in Leech's hands was very short.

He tried swinging it a few times.

"This works," Leech said. "Add another 50 pounds."

Chuina was already numb. She'd heard before that the Lord could fight a hundred men at once, and she hadn't believed it. Now, she truly did. 'If he weren't immensely strong, how could he possibly defeat a hundred men?'

Even with her Extraordinary power, she would be no match for a hundred Soldiers. She'd probably be defeated by just twenty or thirty of them.

A weight of 150 pounds finally satisfied Leech. However, the sword was now ridiculously long and completely unsuitable for combat, not even for a cavalry charge.

Leech said, "Focus on the weight. The blade can be wider, that's fine, but don't make it this long... Add another 50 pounds. Let's round it up to 200."

"Yes..."

It wasn't until Leech had walked into the alchemy workshop that Chuina let out a long sigh. She muttered, "Isn't that basically an iron door?"

She had never forged such a weapon before. Fulfilling the Lord's request would be a challenge, but also an opportunity.

Chuina was filled with motivation.

'This sword needs to be perfectly balanced, comfortable to wield, sturdy, and resistant to breaking.'

'It'll be difficult, but what a challenge!'

Leech walked into the workshop's interior and immediately smelled a familiar stench.

Kerosene!

Betty turned her head and said, "The things you wanted are over there."

Leech glanced at the jars and asked, "What about the rest?"

'Crude oil is great stuff. It can be fractionally distilled into not just kerosene, but also gasoline, diesel, lubricating oil, asphalt, and more. Practically every drop is valuable.'

But Leech had no knowledge of fractional distillation. The ability to produce "fire water" was purely thanks to Alchemy.

"I believe the remaining material has research value," Betty said. "And you didn't give me very much."

"I'll have people send more petroleum every month."

"Mmm-hmm."

Betty didn't even raise her head.

Leech leaned over to see what she was doing and was surprised to find Betty drawing up a design for a breech-loading rifle. The schematic was still quite crude, but he couldn't offer any constructive suggestions himself.

'A breech-loading rifle was the absolute limit of my own knowledge about firearms.'

Still, he was very pleased.

'As long as the talented people under my command work hard, my own overall power will grow along with them.'

He rode Rocket and flew back to the castle.

"Send someone to the alchemy workshop," Leech ordered. "Bring back the fire water."

Fire water, also known as kerosene, was quickly brought over.

Leech found a small cup, poured in a little kerosene, and had someone fetch a length of cotton thread. He placed the thread in the kerosene and lit it.

The simplest of kerosene lamps flickered to life.

"It's not as bright as a candle, but it burns much longer, and the brightness is adjustable."

He pulled the wick out a little, and the flame immediately grew larger.

'A bigger flame wastes fuel, while a smaller flame is too dim.'

"First, replace all the candles in the castle," Leech said to the butler, Simon. "From now on, the castle can be brightly lit at night. No need to skimp on light anymore."

The butler hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"Once production at the Petroleum Ore mine ramps up, we can install street lamps throughout the domain that stay lit all night."

With those matters settled, the next thing to prepare for was the birthday banquet.

Just then he saw Arkke returning. Leech asked, "What's the child's name?"

Arkke replied, "Akelim."

"Er... a fine name." Leech didn't actually see what was so fine about it. 'Is this a naming custom for the Insect Control Clan? Do all of the Old As name their children this way?'

'They just add a character to the name of the previous generation.'

'It certainly makes it easy to trace one's lineage and know how many generations have passed.'

"My Lord, it is your blessing that has given us the life we have now," Arkke said to Leech with great earnestness. "Your protection is what allowed Akelie to have her child. Otherwise, we would just be starving slaves."

The young male and female servants at the side also nodded one after another.

"I am the Lord," Leech said. "A lord's responsibility is to ensure the people of his domain live good lives."

Suddenly, Leech felt he understood the answer to a question that had been troubling him: why, despite not having any particularly strong desires, was he always so busy?

'It wasn't that I wanted nothing. It was that I wanted everything.'

'I want to save those I see crying for help. I want the money to realize any idea I come up with, like building armor for Rocket without a thought for the cost. I want the authority to protect my property and freedom. And I want the strength to ensure I can do whatever I please.'

'It's because I want everything that I can't stop. The slightest problem in any one area puts pressure on me, making it impossible to truly "do as I please." That's why I can only keep pushing forward.'

'Those who crave power sacrifice wealth; those who crave wealth sacrifice pleasure. But I'm the type who can't bear to part with anything.'

'I am a lord from another world, a lord with fantastic ideas, insatiably greedy, a lord who wants it all.'

'Refusing to give up anything, yet wanting everything... it's exhausting.'

"My Lord," a squire rushed over, interrupting Leech's thoughts. "The carriage from Green Forest Castle has arrived!"

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