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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 28: How Will You Lead Your Life?
Time passed after the Liberation of Dreihart.
In the meantime, I was utterly swamped with the endless aftermath.
Restoring Dreihart, ravaged by war, took all my attention.
I explained to the Platinum Council that freeing the slaves was my method of governance, bribing influential council members to secure their support.
I sent gifts to the Raion family (even though I really didn’t want to) and the Silla family just to keep up appearances. It felt like my head was going to explode.
Though I mostly just reviewed and stamped approvals, the heavy lifting was done by Hart and Nova—and even then, my head ached.
Once again, I realized those two were geniuses.
But as I pushed through the mountain of work, the biggest problem loomed ahead.
The most pressing question was—What jobs would the freed citizens be given?
This was a huge issue.
Even looking back at history books from my past life, I knew countless revolts ended bloodily because no proper plan existed after slaves were freed without a way to earn a living.
Many freed slaves starved or, tragically, sold themselves back into slavery.
To avoid repeating those mistakes, we had to provide work and income for the new free people of Dreihart.
I offered to use my own fortune to help, but Nova and Hart shot down the idea.
Honestly, I was willing to spend it…
Putting my disappointment aside, Nova seemed already prepared with a solution and led me to a flower garden on the outskirts of Dreihart.
There bloomed slender, small white flowers with an amazing fragrance.
That scent—it was oddly familiar. Where had I smelled it before?
“Nova, what kind of flowers are these?”
“These are cumin flowers. When the seeds are processed, they become the spice cumin.”
“Ah!”
Hearing Nova’s words, I remembered where I’d encountered that scent.
That aroma was exactly the one I smelled when eating Indian curry.
Nova explained that rare spices like this grew all around Dreihart, and by using them, the region could generate major profits.
She said that, although spice production using slaves had already started somewhat, it had been overshadowed by other slave industries and neglected by the lord of Dreihart who failed to see its value.
Nova proposed developing this industry, which could sustain the people of Dreihart. Her suggestion sounded pretty good to me.
In my past life, the Age of Exploration was kicked off largely by the demand for pepper.
I don’t know what this world’s future holds, but there’s definitely a market for spices—and it seemed Dreihart’s people could make a living from it.
I entrusted Nova with the task of advancing this business.
＊ ＊ ＊
Besides that, Nova prepared various other job opportunities.
Among the freed slave soldiers, those who wanted to continue serving as soldiers were recruited as regular troops of Dreihart, and some were assigned to the Cron Knights to strengthen the defense of the Cron territory.
She also reformed the existing mercenary business in Dreihart.
The old mercenary business was basically just a dispatch service.
If someone requested under the name of the Lord of Dreihart, slaves were sent to handle the job—but this led to problems.
Skilled monster hunters died in battle, while inexperienced rookies sent to hunt monsters ended up as slime fodder.
Nova reorganized the system into a guild-style setup, where mercenaries could view requests and choose missions themselves.
This allowed former slave mercenaries to select tasks within their ability and receive fair pay directly for their work.
While discussing this, as we passed through Dreihart, Lana asked—
“So does that mean the Slave Fighting Tournament is going away?”
The『Slave Fighting Tournament』—the symbol of Dreihart, represented by the Colosseum (the slave arena), and the root of all tragedy there—was now completely shut down.
“Probably. There aren’t enough slaves left to fight, and even if slaves were brought in from elsewhere to fight, the locals wouldn’t accept it.”
Now free citizens would no longer tolerate seeing slaves risk their lives fighting right before their eyes.
Lana showed a blank, disappointed expression.
“Is that so? That’s a shame. I really wanted to see it at least once…”
It seemed Lana had a secret curiosity about the Slave Fighting Tournament.
Sure, the tournament was morally wrong, but it was undeniably a thrilling spectacle.
Even I, in my past life, had gripped my hands in suspense watching gladiator movies during the fight scenes.
Recalling those experiences sparked an idea in my mind.
Hmm… this might actually work.
“The Slave Fighting Tournament should definitely be banned. But what if we replace it with something else?”
“Something else?”
When we got to the Dreihart office, I explained my idea to everyone.
Everyone looked surprised, especially Nova, who couldn’t hide her admiration.
“If it’s your idea, my lord, I think we could definitely put that Colosseum to good use.”
“But will it be okay? It might be less exciting than before.”
Lana raised a question mark over her head, expressing her doubts.
I understood her point.
What I proposed was basically a toned-down version of the current slave fighting tournament.
But remembering countless matches from my past life, I said—
“Lana, want to bet? I’ll put 10 gold on it for fun.”
Confident, I challenged Lana to a bet.
She paused with a blank face, then said—
“I’ll bet my kiss that it won’t be fun.”
“What!?”
“You don’t mind, right?”
A grown woman betting her first kiss on a wager? That’s just not allowed!
Feeling my inner Confucian dragon rising, I tried to protest, but Lana continued.
“It’s my first kiss. It’s definitely worth 10 gold.”
“No, I didn’t mean that…”
“Me! I want to bet too!”
“Nova?”
Trying to calm the situation, Nova, blushing, suddenly jumped in wanting to join the bet as well.
Nova! You too!?
With Nova joining, things got harder to manage, so I finally accepted the bet.
Is it really okay to be making bets like this… my inner Confucian dragon was thrown into chaos.
Anyway, following my idea, the Colosseum’s renovation began.
The bloodstained arena was completely cleaned, and the shabby waiting rooms for slave fighters were torn down and remodeled into clean, comfortable locker rooms—like those used by professional soccer players.
At the center of the Colosseum, an octagonal fighting ring was created using magically treated soft sheepskin, steel, and ropes made from Scylla spider silk.
This was my idea—
A safe, rule-based fighting tournament called the『UFC (Ultra Fighting Championship)』 !
The rules were basically the same as those from my past life’s UFC—
No weapons, no attacks to vital points, no killing, gloves worn, punches allowed, kicks allowed, ground fighting allowed, and so on.
Every rule I could remember, I adopted exactly.
While preparing the arena, we recruited fighters, mainly the freed slaves who had previously fought as slave gladiators.
At first, they freaked out, thinking I was organizing life-or-death battles, but when they heard the rules, they were amazed and asked—
“You mean we get paid to play this kind of game?”
Apparently, hand-to-hand combat was a kind of warm-up game they enjoyed among themselves before slave fights.
Hearing that this ‘game’ would pay a lot, several of them eagerly joined, and thus the first UFC in this world was born.
The reaction was explosive.
[ “Wooooaaaaah!!!” ]
Two warriors fought inside the octagonal ring.
Warrior Kasha threw a single punch aimed at the male opponent’s thigh.
His original weapon had been a mace, but that didn’t matter.
His fists, honed through long training, were as powerful as a mace, and he swung them mercilessly at his friend.
Uron dodged lightly and struck with his specialty—the heart stab, or rather, a straight right punch.
“Uaaaah!!!”
Thwack—!
“Grhh!!”
Uron’s right straight punch slammed into Kasha’s abdomen.
The impact was so great that the muscular giant flew backward, unable to regain consciousness.
Without mercy, Uron charged with his heavy body, tackling Kasha.
Thud—!
“Kaaaah!!!”
Kasha crashed into the ring and fell unconscious. The referee checked his condition and immediately declared Uron the winner.
“Ah!! The first-ever UFC champion is born! The Black Gorilla of Gaiu, Uron Gaiu!!!”
“Wooohhh!!!”
Uron climbed into the ring, pounding his chest like a gorilla in victory, as the crowd went wild.
No blood spilled, but the sweat flying from fist to fist brought a new excitement to the audience.
I watched the match from the VIP seats, eating popcorn with everyone.
No one could take their eyes off the fights, and I was already confident of my victory before the final.
“Yeah, I’m winning this bet…”
I looked at them.
Suddenly, Lana was standing right in front of me.
With her usual expressionless face, she looked at me and grabbed my cheek.
Then…
Peck!
“I lost, my lord.”
She stepped closer and kissed me.
My first-ever kiss tasted like the popcorn Lana had eaten.
My brain froze from the sudden kiss attack, when Nova hurried over.
“I! I want to join too!”
Nova hugged me with a very frustrated expression.
Her eyes glistened, and she moved closer.
And then… she kissed me too.
Smooch!
Nova’s hydrangea scent tickled my nose.
Ah, I could die happy today.
Just as I was thinking that, another unexpected attack came!
Peck!
Sharon appeared in front of me with a cute smile and kissed me.
Sharon smelled like a pleasant rose.
Her sudden kiss finally snapped me back to reality.
Wait! Lana and Nova were part of the bet, fine—but Sharon?
I looked at Sharon with surprise.
She smiled like an older sister watching a cute little brother and spoke.
“Everyone else was doing it. Or, my lord, did you not want my kiss?”
I couldn’t answer, just shook my head left and right.
And so passed a wild night in Dreihart, where I couldn’t quite get my head straight.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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