Report
Chapter 1: Father gets mad and orders my banishment
"There’s no reason I should have to work!"
I was only ten years old at the time, but as the chosen study mate of the count’s heir, Lord Filori, I attended lessons with him, learning the managerial skills necessary to run a territory.
One day, Lord Filori boldly declared this opinion to our tutor.
He then called over his favorite maid—a stunning beauty with a ridiculously huge rack—and disappeared into a room with her, casually groping her butt as they left.
Looking back, he was the very picture of a spoiled noble brat.
It was unbelievably embarrassing behavior for someone of noble status.
But back then, all I could think was:
I’m so jealous!
I want to live a life where I don’t have to work and can just flirt with a beautiful maid, too!
I worked nonstop with all I had in pursuit of that simple dream.
As the third son of a count, I was expected to serve as a lord.
To avoid that responsibility, I turned my attention to golem technology.
Golems were mostly used as disposable soldiers on the battlefield, but I enhanced their simple logic circuits, making them more complex, and even incorporated elements of ancient technology to improve them.
Once they were capable of autonomously handling simple tasks, I established an organization to put them to full use.
After ten years of research and development, I successfully automated nearly all of the work in the town of Alphard which my father had entrusted to me.
It was my desire to avoid work that fueled my relentless efforts.
I spent countless nights conducting research and even endured a frugal lifestyle—quite unfitting for a noble—to afford the expensive books needed to further my studies.
In short, I worked incredibly hard to make my life easier.
Despite being a member of the count’s family, I survived on little more than a single loaf of black bread a day and often fell asleep slumped over my desk.
And yet, despite all this effort, my father greeted me one day with the words:
"I never thought you would turn out to be such a lazy fool. I must have failed in raising you."
I was summoned to my father’s office for the first time in ages, and these were the first words he spoke to me.
Shocked, I hurriedly asked what he meant, and my father, frowning deeply, replied,
"The servants have accused you of neglecting your duties recently. I had spies investigate, and they confirmed it. What is this nonsense?! You haven’t left your room for anything other than meals and baths for the past ten days!"
He handed me a report prepared by the spies.
It was a detailed account of my actions over the past month.
Hmm, I knew it myself, but even I was surprised to realize just how much of a recluse I had been.
In an entire month, I’d only done two hours of work as a lord, and that was just signing off on a backlog of documents.
The rest of my time had been spent in my room, researching new golem designs.
"It’s alright, though. I’ve automated the town of Alphard, so it runs smoothly on its own now."
"What do you mean, automated? What nonsense! A true lord sweats and toils for his people! Look at me! I’m the head of this family, and I barely sleep to keep things running!"
"Well, isn’t it inefficient for you to be working so mu—"
"Silence! You dare talk back while you’re being reprimanded?"
It was like trying to argue with a brick wall.
My father slammed his fist on the desk and his whole body shook with rage as he said, "It seems I must teach you a lesson."
"Does that mean you want me to return home?"
"That would be too easy! I’m ordering you to develop the Sariel Great Forest!"
The Sariel Great Forest was an enormous woodland located to the northwest of the kingdom.
It was so large that it could hold two or three kingdoms like our Embans Kingdom within its borders.
It was the largest undeveloped area on the continent, and it was said that if a country could develop it, they could conquer the world.
However, the forest was infested with powerful monsters and demihumans that had long resisted the kingdom’s attempts to claim the land.
Many developmental projects had been launched over the years, but all had ended in failure.
Currently, it has been completely untouched by human hands for the last century, making it a true wilderness.
"This is ridiculous! If I leave, Alphard will fall apart! The golems that run the town can only be maintained by me!"
"It’s not a problem. If the golems stop working, we’ll just hire people again. Things ran fine before your golems."
"That’s not true! If I hadn’t replaced most of the officials with golems and lowered taxes, Alphard would’ve collapsed long ago!"
Alphard had once thrived due to its forestry industry, but by the time I arrived, overharvesting had caused the industry to decline.
To save the town, I replaced most of the workers with golems and used the saved wages to lower taxes.
By promoting commerce, I managed to stabilize the town’s economy, even without relying on forestry.
If the golems were removed and human workers hired in their place, taxes would rise, and the town would surely collapse this time.
But my father only frowned and said, "I’ve never heard of such a thing. Alphard’s tax revenue has been stable."
"That’s because I acted before it went under!"
"Nonsense. Regardless, you will develop the Sariel Great Forest. That’s final. Now, pack your things and leave immediately!"
With those final words, my father dismissed me.
And so, I was forced to embark on a journey to develop the wilderness.
