Reincarnated as the Baron's son: My Infinite Card Upgrade System-Chapter 67: Cash back rebating

(Montclair Barony.)

People were already standing at the entrance of the Barony, including Rashin and Kika Montclair.

News of their son returning that very day had reached them, and they knew to welcome him with open arms.

Some of the citizens who took refuge from the Neuk Barony were also indebted to Alaric and decided to join the welcoming party.

As the carriage rolled in, everyone’s faces lit up with joy.

Opening the door, Hina was the first to walk out, followed by Ava.

And then he came out.

Alaric, his hands spread apart, yelled -

"I’m homeeeee!!!"

Immediately, a huge, happy cheer followed.

Every angle Alaric looked at, there were people cheering for his return to the Barony.

’Hahah, praise me, praise me!’ Alaric laughed innocently, enjoying every bit of the moment.

Suddenly everyone went quiet.

’Eh? Why did they....?’

Before Alaric could say anything, the people began to charge forward, sprinting towards him.

To his surprise, they were not coming for him.

Their eyes were fixed on Erica, who stepped out of the carriage last.

One by one, they began to hug her, especially the old women in the village.

"Are you okay? Please tell me you’re not hurt."

"Oh my lady, you’ve gotten leaner. What would you like to eat?"

"Even still, you’re still so beautiful."

They whispered as they dragged Erica away, along with all the people who Alaric had initially thought came to greet him.

’My... crowd...’ Alaric stood still like a rock, his eyes almost tearing up.

[Hahah, did you really think you have gained everyone’s support that easily? Have you forgotten you haven’t paid them their salary?]

’Oh, shut up.’

"Alaric... my son. Are you alright? How did things go with the Count? I see you brought your sister back like you promised. I’m grateful. If anything else happened, please let me know. As your father, I’m more than willing to help you with anything."

Alaric turned his gaze to his parents. Apparently, they were the only ones that didn’t leave.

With a small smile on his face, Alaric replied,

"What’s with the sad faces, you two? Come on, I just single-handedly secured a good future for our Barony. You should be smiling."

Kika moved forward. "Son, you’ve done enough. Please just rest, even if it’s for today."

Something about the way his mother said that made Alaric feel guilty.

The look on her face was one of concern and sadness.

’Did I make her worry too much?’ he thought to himself. ’Well, that wouldn’t be too far off the mark. Perhaps she felt she lost both of her children.’

Alaric slammed his palms together, one eye closed and his head slightly bowed.

"Sorry for making you worry, Ma," he spoke. "I’ll be careful next time. If you want me to rest, then I shall do as you wish. Is that alright?"

Kika nodded.

"Okay then... I’ll head to my room." Alaric walked away, leaving Ava standing in front of Rashin and Kika.

"Ava?" Rashin called out to her.

He wondered why she stood by herself and hadn’t said a word. Normally, she would have interrupted Alaric along the way.

"Are you alright?" Kika was also concerned.

"Yes, sire. I am. Is there an issue?" Ava asked, carrying the same stern expression. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"No, you just seem..."

Kika grabbed Rashin’s hand before he could complete his words.

"It’s fine. We understand. Please go and rest up," Kika said to Ava.

And Ava, without giving it a second thought, bowed her head and also walked away.

---

Not even two days after Alaric had arrived at the Barony, he had gathered the 120 workers who were operating the mining ground.

They all gathered in front of the Montclair Barony, their faces hitched with a bit of happiness and a sprinkle of doubt.

For some reason, Alaric had summoned them so early in the morning—something he only ever did when he needed something.

In this case, they felt it had something to do with their missing salaries. No one wanted to miss the opportunity.

Alaric stood at the platform, his eyes scanning the massive crowd.

"Good morning, people of the Montclair Barony," he began.

Murmurs that had been echoing for minutes suddenly died down.

"As you all know, this month, you all should have received your salaries—1,000 eres per person. Quite unfortunate that we had to face a few minor, simple, unexpected, unrelenting, and out-of-my-control problems. Ohhhh~ how it haunts me..."

Alaric grabbed his chest.

"Every day that went by with me not paying your salaries was another day where I died inside. My humanity, shattering into tiny pieces. Do you guys have any idea how that felt? Betraying your expectations and trust?"

He pointed at a random man.

The man, confused, simply nodded his head frantically.

Ava, standing at the side, could easily tell Alaric was trying to play with their emotions. In which case, she could smell he would soon scam them.

"I thought so!" Alaric raised a paper. "But can you really call it my fault?"

The crowd leaned forward, as if trying to read what was written on the paper from such a far distance.

"According to the contract you all signed, I can pay your salaries any time of the month, as long as it’s not shifted to the next working month. The contract says so, not me..."

He then flipped the page.

"And I don’t understand. Why would you all do this to me? Did you guys really try to dupe me? After all I’ve done for you?"

They were all confused.

Alaric sighed, reaching for the table to grab a magnifier.

He then placed it on the contract, towards the bottom right, to zoom out the only overly-shrunk word.

"As you can see here, it says, while still in work for the following month. If anyone stops working until the salaries have been paid, there will be no right to take the salary anymore, as it automatically means resignation from the job."

Hina’s jaw dropped.

She also immediately picked up a contract and flipped through the pages. But she couldn’t see anything.

Alaric, feeling gracious, walked over to her and placed the magnifying glass there, zooming out the clause for her to see.

"Y-you... reduced the word size?" Hina blurted out.

"Did I? Must have been a mistake..." Alaric smiled innocently, his hand on Hina’s shoulder. "Quite unfortunate, right? It was a mistake?"

Hina, shocked at how a man who had made so much progress would still willingly try to scam his own people.

The workers were in shock, neither one of them able to defend themselves.

Alaric had already ordered some of the soldiers to hand the contract to them so they could read it themselves.

Pure devastation—that was the best way to describe how everyone was feeling.

"But!" Alaric suddenly said. "I am willing to make a compromise."

They all looked up at him.

"I have a project coming up. It’s soon, and very close. I will pay you all your salaries, only if you agree to keep working for me during the following months to come. If you agree to work for me, then I shall pay your salaries, right away. So, what do you say?!"

At first, they all hesitated. Did they really want to trust Alaric of all people? They contemplated, weighing their options.

But then, one female raised her hand.

"I would like to join the project."

Another, "Me too."

"Please add me."

"Yeah, same."

"I’ll be joining too."

Before Alaric knew it, everyone had joined in on the project—all 120 of them.

A huge grin formed on his face as he watched them murmur amongst themselves.

’Hahah, this is what I’m talking about. Give them diamonds and then exchange them for silver! Typical human behavior. Ahh~ God bless Alaric.’

[Your workers are motivated to work for you.]

[You have gained 500 Cp.]

The notification popped up in front of him.

’Okay then. Now it’s time to recruit some more.’

Alaric began.

At first, he made sure to pay every single one of the workers their salaries in cash after signing yet another contract.

He spent a total of 120,000 eres, leaving him with nothing in his account balance.

Until...

[Rebate has been activated.]

[You spent 120,000 eres and have been rewarded 240,000 eres in return.]

[Account balance: 240,000 eres.]

[Notice: Cash can be summoned any time.]

The joy he felt was immense. He felt he could spend as much as he wanted and never lose a single dime. Unless he decided to spend it all for himself.

Once he was done paying them all their salaries, he offered them a reward. Using strategies from his former world, he told them...

"For every individual you recruit into my project, you get 1,000 eres extra."

Just as he expected, people hopped on the trend, everyone bringing in their brothers, friends, some even their wives.

A thousand eres was enough to last an average man for a month or more.

At the end of the day, an additional 50 people joined in on the project, making him spend 50,000 eres more.

Leaving him with 290,000 eres in return.