Chapter 96.1

Growth and Redistribution (2)

Even if he was the son of one of Renslet’s three greatest masters, Even if he was a high-ranking minister of the High Tower,

What couldn’t be done, simply couldn’t be done.

If anything, it was precisely because they were at the top of the hierarchy that they needed to be held to stricter standards.

“The matter of the factory to be established in Cardia will be discussed at the upcoming royal court meeting.”

“Ohhh… Then…?”

“However, the problematic land in question will be completely excluded from consideration.”

Arad adhered strictly to principles, even in this situation.

Still, since the Minister of Logistics held a position comparable to his own (and more importantly, was tied to military supplies), Arad treated him with utmost respect.

“Why is that?!”

“Because making exceptions could lead to similar crimes being exploited in the future. His Highness the Grand Duke has also agreed to this.”

In that moment, Sun’s gaze, standing next to Rok, shifted to Mary.

Mary deliberately avoided his gaze.

Yet Sun, rather than disapproving, looked at his lord with satisfied eyes, silently cheering him on.

“Instead, we’ll thoroughly investigate the accused and their family to recover as much of the damages as possible.”

Unaware of the exchanged glances between Sun and Mary, Arad maintained a polite demeanor, upholding the lines of responsibility and principles.

“Ahhh…!”

When everything went utterly awry, The one most harmed among those present, Rok, let out a desperate cry.

“Those… those bastards!”

His murderous gaze turned toward the employees who had committed the fraud.

Even if they wrung those people dry, it wouldn’t be enough to compensate Rok and his family, the Kadans, for their losses.

This was because they had taken out loans from multiple merchant guilds to purchase the land.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Considering the interest on those loans, it was clear that even with maximum compensation, their financial struggles would persist for some time.

“Ughhhhhh!!”

Rok Kadan could only scream in frustration, unable to do anything else.

He felt an urge to draw his sword on the swindlers, but doing so would risk losing any chance of recovering his money.

“What right do you have to shout so loudly?!”

“F-Father!”

Sun, unable to bear it any longer, finally voiced his disapproval.

“I apologize for the trouble caused by my foolish son.”

“No, it’s my failure to properly manage my staff that is more shameful.”

Sun slightly bowed his head to Arad, and Arad, in turn, lowered his head even deeper toward Sun.

“So, what will happen to those scoundrels? By the looks of it, some of them seem to be from noble families.”

“There will be no exceptions. Most of them are second or third sons anyway. Their families have already started distancing themselves.”

The fraudsters were mostly white-collar employees.

Of course, there were a few lower-level production workers among them, but their offenses paled in scale and severity compared to the white-collar crimes.

The workers’ infractions were limited to minor acts, such as using their employment to get free meals or drinks or buying a few boxes of scarce factory goods to resell at inflated prices.

The large-scale scams involving land speculation and supply contracts were orchestrated by those with education and knowledge of calculations.

“Honestly, I’m curious… Did they really think they wouldn’t get caught?”

There was a lingering question—what on earth were they thinking when they committed such crimes? Some had even continued to brazenly show up at work until the day they were exposed.

“Ughhh…”

“W-We’re sorry…”

Arad’s question left them unable to provide a coherent answer.

The now-dismissed employees, no longer part of Arad’s workforce, had been subjected to the public punishments typical of the era, leaving them half-beaten to a pulp.

“Based on the statements collected, it seems they thought they could get away with it using wordplay.”

At that moment, Chief Teo read from a bloodstained document as he answered Arad’s query.

“Wordplay?”

“When it came to hiring or contracts, they avoided giving direct guarantees, instead saying things like, ‘I’ll try to make it happen.’ If it worked, great. If not, they’d simply try again later.”

“And the land?”

“They assumed the rumors would be dismissed as baseless gossip.”

“Idiots. They bought the land in their own names, sold it at a higher price, and thought it could be passed off as a rumor?”

Having lived in a fraud-riddled republic before coming to this world, Arad found it hard to believe such a sloppy scam had even been attempted.

Of course, from the fraudsters’ perspective, they had their own reasoning.

In the northern region, this kind of fraud was still unfamiliar. People barely even recognized it as a crime.

‘The side effects of rapid growth are starting to show already.’

Though dumbfounded, Arad acknowledged his own negligence in the matter.

“I had a bad feeling about those guys even during their interviews. My instincts were right.”

“Ah, sure~ If you say so.”

Hearing Arad muttering to himself, Mary responded with a tone of utter disbelief.

“…Just hurry up and go home. Don’t forget the task I assigned you.”

Feeling awkward at Mary’s reaction, Arad urged her to leave for the day.

That evening, The lights at the Arad Industrial Complex office stayed on until dawn.

Except for Mary, who had left early to deliver messages, all the executives gathered with Arad to brainstorm.

“Taking this opportunity, I’ll establish the Public Relations Office, Security Office, Audit Office, and Intelligence Office. These will take over the tasks the management team has been handling roughly until now. I’ve already arranged with the High Tower to recruit a large number of retired Frost Knights.”

In practice, it was more of a session where everyone took notes on Arad’s proposals.

“While a Public Relations Office to communicate the company’s position to the public is necessary, the Security, Audit, and Intelligence Offices seem to have overlapping functions. Why separate them?”

However, the executives didn’t just take notes without question. Chief Teo, for instance, raised concerns about the potential redundancy.

“Chief Teo is right. Their functions will overlap. That’s intentional.”

“May I ask why?”

“So that none of them can run unchecked.”

Whenever such concerns arose, Arad seemed rather pleased, eagerly explaining the reasons behind his decisions to the executives.

“And… the company will undergo a restructuring.”

“Restructuring? Do you mean something similar to what the High Tower is currently implementing?”

“Something like that. But it’ll be tailored to the needs of a corporation. We’ll move toward a subsidiary model.”

“A subsidiary model?”

“We’ll establish separate companies for different industries and group them together under a single umbrella.”