The morning sun rise above the horizon, Free was swinging sword and honing his skills along with Hinata while Sylvia and Lina were making breakfast. Beside Free's room, Hina had just woke up with a loud yawn escaping her mouth, and in the guest room Iris snored loudly still deep in sleep, and Elina was putting plates on the dining table.
"HYAAAAA!!!" Hinata yelled, swinging for the hundred time. While Free was meditating just like he always did when Philip was alive.
"I think it's enough for training for today" Free said, stretching and cracking his neck and knuckles.
"I'n starving" she replied, stopping and walking toward the house with quick steps, she ran straight to the kitchen. "is the breakfast ready yet?!" she asked.
"Just wait a little more okay" Sylvia replied giving Hinata a kiss on the forehead.
"Ye-yeah!" she replied, running away with a smile. While Free on the other hand was resting under the root tree, the birds chirped on it with a peaceful and happy voice, he closed his eye on for a while taking a nap even if it was morning.
"Big brother breakfast is ready!!" Elina called out from inside the house, Free's eye opened sliwly and he yawned, stands up and walk in slowly.
Inside everyone except Iris were in the dining room with breakfast on the table. Free pull the chair with a soft creak and sat down.
"Thank you for the food!" everyone prayed and ate, Iris inside her room was asleep while Free and his family ate in quiet peace, the family had been filled with chaos ever since Iris moved in.
After the breakfast, Free heads to the park construction and the workers there had already started working, he sat down for a while longer until the guy he send to spy on the manager yesterday came.
"Chief! He's here!" the guy said, turning toward the middle age looking manager who was yelling at some workers, he was just yelling and ordering the workers while doing nothing himself.
"Let start" Free said, standing up from the bench and approaching the manager from behind. "Hey" Free greeted, putting his hand on the manager's shoulder, startling him.
"A- Chief, you scared me!" the manager said, wiping a sweat from his neck.
"The worker's are doing quite the work" he complimented, the manager gave a evil grin.
"yeah, they are!" he replied, his hand fidgeting in his arms, but Free's tone and expression changed when he turn to the manager.
"Except..." he paused, making the manager anxious, now sweating and slightly trembling. "-You, who just yelled at them while doing nothing" Free said in a harsh tone with his eye clearly showing anger and pity.
"Wa-y-you- you misunderstoo-" before he could finish his words Free cut him off with a gesture, slowly the worker's start to sorround the manager and the guy who was spying on him was the one who called all the workers in the scene.
"Misunderstood, while you clearly used my money and gave them only a low income" Free said, he take out a scroll from his pocket and starts to read it which made the manager paler and paler. "As Daelon kingdom's law No.13, any scam or exploitation will be heavily taken action" he read inoy a few sentences but that was enough to make the manager fell into his knees and bowed for forgiveness.
"I-I'm sorry, p-p-p-please don-don't report this to-to t-t-the twelve lords" the manager begged for forgiveness, but Free wasn't soft like Sylvia who would forgive people easily.
"I won't" Free said, gasp erupted from the workers and they started to object against his decision.
"No! We should absolutely report him to the twelve lords!!" one of the workers yelled, slowly they all start to raise their voice, attracting a crowd of villagers and adventurers.
"Hey, what is happening?" one whispered.
"Lord Free refused to report to the twelve lord about that man who was exploiting the workers and scamming him" another replied.
"Whaaaaaa, why would he?" another asked.
Free sighed and clapped his hand together silencing everyone. "Listen, this is for your own advantage!" he said, some tilt their head in confusion. "Yesterday, i met a merchant at the hot spring....".
Yesterday at the hot spring.
A man and Free were bathing together in the hot spring. "New here?" Free asked, the man laugh and nodded.
"I took a paid leave 'cause i heard that this village has some delicious food and a bathing apartment" the man replied, Free gave a nod in understanding, the man then turn his gaze toward him. "And you?" the man asked.
"Oh me, i'm Free the village chief and the owner of this place" Free answered without looking, the man gasped and his eye sparkled.
"SO YOU'RE THE FAMOUS CHIEF!!!, I HEARD MANY PRAISE ABOUT YOU FROM MERLIN!!!" the man said, Free tilt his hearing hearing Merlin's name coming out of the man's mouth and he know Merlin.
"Are you a merchant by any chance?" Free asked, the man shook his head and show him a batch with a golden deer crest.
"I'm not a merchant, i'm a analyst from a investment company" he said, Free nodded as he also recall himself investing in a company in his previous life, though it was different.
"I see, that means Merlin is your client then?" the man nodded, and relaxed in the hot spring when he remembered something.
"Also, i got a very rich client a week ago who invested 70 gold coin in some stocksl and i also saw him this afternoon when i was wandering around the village" he said and Free's eye flash in curiosity, he tilt his head to the man and asked.
"What is his name?" he asked, the man thought for a moment.
"I don't know his name because of some rules, we can't ask the client's name until the client himself approve" he said, Free sighed and place a hand on his chin.
'Damn rules' he thougut, then he remembered that nobody in this village except him and Hemire can have that much money except if he is a outsider toyrist or adventurer. "What kind of work that guy do to invest that much?" he asked.
"That guy said he was a manager who was currently incharge of making a park that you asked him to" the man answered, Free gave a nod and then a thin smile ran through his face.
Present...
"And that is how i came to discover that the manager was actually gaining a huge profit through his investment" Free said, everyone gasped and turn their head to the manager who was sweating heavily with his face down and body trembling intensly. "If we report him to the twelve lords, under law No. 21, any profit gained through scam or exploitation will be given to the kingdom, so i'm not reporting this so we can have that money and i can raise your salary by two silvers" the workers nodded and calculated their salary after the raise.
"We get four silver a day so that means it's now six silver a day, with our monthly salary it'll be.... EIGHTEEN GOLD COIN AND SIX SILVER!!!!" they yelled in shock while the villagers around gasped while some were now slightly jealous of them.
"PRAISE OUR CHIEF!!!!!" one guy yelled and everyone starts to cheer for Free, some with tears in their eye.
"yeah yeah, now then, about the manager..." Free said, turning his eye to the manager who was still trembling, the other stared at the manager in anger while some with disgust.
"What should we do with him?" one asked.
"Should we beat him up?" another suggested.
"No no he deserve to be enslaved" another added.
"About him, he will be demoted and his salary a day will be only three silver as a punishment" he suggested, bending his knees to the manager's level. "Or would you rather be beaten or enslaved" he gave him three options, the man trembled in horror staring at Free's ruthless smile.
"I-i'll work...." the former manager said in defeat while the workers cheered in excitement as their salary reach higher surpassing even royal knights.
As the matter was settled, Free returned home tiredly cracking his knuckles as his rings in hos arm shined, as he reached home the scene of Iris sparring with Hinata was now a normal thing, he reached his room and saw the scrolls and documents on his bed .
"I forgot i had paperworks to do too" he said, placing a hand on his face and sat down on the bed. But then a cup of tea was place on the desk, Free turn behind and Sylvia was standing behind him with her cheerful smile like always. "Ahh, Sylvia".
"Tired already" she asked, Free chuckled and takes a sip of the tea.
"Yup, had some trouble at the park" he sid, Sylvia chuckled and sat on top of him.
"Lina told me everything, she was there too"(Note:Lina purposely followed Free from home only to see the sight of him bullying someone and...she watched it....with stisfaction). Sylvia said, resting her head on Free's shoulder.
"Really? She didn't called out?" he said, but Sylvia just cut t him off as she stand up and walk out of the room.
"Complete your work quickly and after this we're gonna have a mix....b-bath" she said, walking out with a faint blush.
Free stared at the door for a minute linger and sighed, turned to the paoerwork and sipped his tea. "Quite the motivation she gave" he said, and starts to fill the documents and scroll but his eye lands on the scroll from the royal family, they were coming here in a week. "Royal family? Quite a joke" he said.
As days passed into weeks, the park was now completed, Free was standing infront of the park's gate with his newly sewed coat
and Sylvia beside him, this day everyone in the village were staring with anticipation and excitement staring at the slide and other things in the park, Utto and Zelda too were present but Okoto wasn't (because he was on his journey as always), to see the opening ceremony of the park.
"Today the park is gonna be opened" Free muttered, his hand moved to the scrissor Lina was holding on a tray, as he was about to cut the ribbon together with Sylvia, suddenly a carriage arrived, not just one but four of them each bearing the crest of the royal family.
"T-T-That's-" Utto said, staring at the crest as knights start to bowed infront of the carriages and the carriage's door opened.
To be continued.....