Greneviere lifted Larisa in her arms and said, “You want to borrow? Do you know what a loan is?”

“Borrowing money by entrusting the mansion, right?”

Greneviere was surprised that Larisa, like a child, knew the concept of a loan.

“I’ve been to the pawnshop with Mom a lot. I haven’t retrieved any items, though.”

“I see.”

Wondering how difficult it must have been, Greneviere hugged Larisa tightly. Larisa giggled and patted Greneviere’s shoulder.

Siod spoke to William, “Certainly, borrowing money with the mansion as collateral is possible. But if you don’t repay within the deadline, you know the mansion will be transferred, right?”

William hesitated and said, “That… What if we slowly repay it with Mother’s income?”

Siod reprimanded William’s casual attitude, “William, I understand that you want to help those people right away, but taking responsibility for people is not something you can rush into.”

William bowed his head.

“It’s impossible with Greneviere’s income alone.”

‘But it seems possible?’

However, Greneviere remained silent for now. Siod probably had his own thoughts, considering he once said that rather than catching fish for someone, it would be better to teach them how to fish.

“If we don’t create jobs for the residents and provide a stable income to pay taxes, the territory won’t be sustainable. In the end, if we can’t pay taxes, we’ll only see more people fleeing.”
“If we cultivate the farmland and exempt the lease fees for a few years, we could at least handle the taxes…”

“If you don’t even charge lease fees, how do you plan to repay the loan? A territory that can achieve self-sufficiency while generating income is like a small country. You need to pave roads, establish trade with other territories. Do you think you can do it alone? You can’t rush into it. It will take a long time to properly develop the territory, and before that happens, the mansion will be handed over to the bank.”

Greneviere looked at her deceased son, pondering.

‘Then isn’t the solution to earn money first?’

While Greneviere, as a noble, receives money from the country without working, William needs to earn money in a different way.

“How do nobles usually make money?”

Nonchalantly, Siod answered Greneviere’s question, “Through investments.”

“Investments!”

William suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

“I should invest too. Mother!”

Taking a step back from William’s enthusiastic attitude, Greneviere hesitated, “Well…”

“You know about the future, Mother!”

“Huh?”

It was an enthusiastic gaze filled with burning passion.

“Where should I invest?”

“I don’t do those things, so I don’t know…”

“But you know about the future! You know what will go well, right?”

“I don’t know.” Greneviere lived confined to her research lab. Greneviere Lontaine, the master of magic outside the norm, sweated in distress, driven into a corner.
“Huh? Mother, please tell me quickly. You must know at least one investment option, right?”

I don’t know. However, she somehow managed to think it over. Has her son William ever made such a desperate request before?

Greneviere sincerely wanted to grant her son’s request. She desperately searched through her memories. Then, a fragment of the past came to her suddenly.

“Come to think of it, I once invested in someone who was immersed in science, wanting to invent something called a steam engine.”

“A steam engine?”

“Yeah. I don’t know the details, but…”

“So what happened?”

It failed. Greneviere hesitated to answer. Judging by William’s disappointed expression, she could anticipate the outcome.

“It failed?”

“Yeah. I heard it didn’t generate enough power using firewood. You tried to enhance the power using alchemy, but the cost didn’t match for mass production, so it ended up becoming a toy.”

It was a memory that stuck because she had scolded him to study instead of playing with such things. Greneviere quietly reflected on herself.

Siod, who had been silently listening to the conversation, interjected.

“Have you tried coal?”

“Coal?”

“Haven’t you tried it? I mean, why… there’s even an open-pit coal mine in this territory, isn’t there?”

William asked, “What’s that?”
“Here, it’s the black stones that the serfs used to burn. Since there are no trees in this wasteland, everyone gathers coal to make fires.”

“Oh, that…!”

Only now did William recall the identity of coal and asked with a reflection, “Could that become money?”

“It probably could.”

“We need to develop the mine. Right now!”

William exclaimed with excitement.

Developing the mine was far beyond William’s entire fortune of one million rinars.

Firstly, he had to hire a territory manager, a mine manager, and miners. Then, there needed to be accommodations, a dining area for them, and houses for their families.

Considering each requirement one by one, it eventually felt like establishing a small village. Thus, using the mansion as collateral for a loan was the only option.

After obtaining a loan from the bank, William said to Larisa, “Uh… sorry. Lala.”

“What is it?”