Chapter 197: Triumphant Return (3)
A few days later, the Reclamation Army departed from the Zestrad Barony. With their injuries healed, Erantel and Theoderic returned to the capital, Drunta, while Alius and the priests made their way to Derath City.
Alius, in particular, had to hurry. A major incident had unfolded while he was away, and cleaning up the aftermath was proving to be quite a headache.
Karnak remained behind. As lord, it was his duty to restore order to his domain. There were villages to rebuild, citizens to care for, and countless tasks that needed his attention.
It wasn't particularly difficult, but not necessarily because of his experience running an empire. In truth, the Empire of the Dead had more or less run itself. As the Monarch of Death, Karnak hadn't had to concern himself with trivial matters.
After all, his philosophy at the time had been simple: Most of the world's problems disappear when people die. The real reason it was easy was far more straightforward.
"Money. As long as you have money, all the problems magically disappear."
He was generous with financial support, so much so that Tafel nearly had a heart attack.
"My lord, isn't this a bit excessive? At this rate, the domain's finances..."
"We're fine. We still have plenty left."
"Ho-How?! Where did all this money even come from?!"
It was only then that Tafel learned that Altas merchant guild was under Karnak's control. Through Altas, he ordered the necessary supplies, and he reinstated the management of the copper mine to the Tecas merchant guild.
Altas's company head, Edia, had voiced her disappointment, asking why Karnak didn't just entrust it to them instead. But Karnak had his reasons. Tecas was too suspicious, and if he wanted to investigate them thoroughly, it was best to keep them close. With Altas handling large-scale resource distribution, the territory's reconstruction progressed swiftly.