[Lord of Abundance] Chapter 4: The Gate of Abundance

 Chapter 4: The Gate of Abundance

“Dong, dong, dong—!”

A strange instrument cast from brass rang out thunderously as it was struck with a short wooden board.

It was early the next morning. Though the sun had risen, light snow still drifted down from the sky.

Under the pale morning light, the frontier village of Emerald Heart looked dilapidated and lifeless.

The local residents, long worn down by hunger and cold, opened their hollow, dazed eyes. With a trace of fear for the future, they watched the unfamiliar figures moving about outside.

A new lord had arrived.

But they no longer had the money to pay the ever-increasing taxes.

There was only one outcome waiting for them—failure to pay meant becoming the lord’s slaves.

Perhaps… that wouldn’t be so bad.

At least as slaves—private property of the lord—they might be guaranteed a meal, instead of starving to death.

Under the direction of Vittorio, the tax officer, two armored guards posted notices detailing the new policies in the most visible spots throughout the village.

Wrapped tightly in a fur coat made from magical beast hide—one of Kun’s gifts—Old Tate sat on a chair outside the castle, accompanied by two literate commoners.

They waited for the villagers of Emerald Heart to read the notices, come forward to register, and receive their assigned work.

Half would be registered as lumber workers, the other half as construction laborers. After all, Emerald Heart was in dire need of repairs.

Since Young Master Kun intended to build this place as his home, Old Tate resolved to take his duties seriously—especially keeping a close eye on those lazy types prone to shirking work.

Yet after waiting most of the day, only a handful of people came to register—and all of them were from the group that had traveled from the capital.

Old Tate’s face grew tense.

He had boasted confidently before his young master, and now this…

Growing impatient, he began tapping the table.

“Sir steward, have some tea.”

One of the assisting commoners quickly offered him a cup.

Strictly speaking, Tate wasn’t Kun’s steward—Kun didn’t even have one.

A proper steward required many skills: entertaining nobles, managing the castle, overseeing daily affairs, even knowing exactly what meals the lord preferred.

Such roles were usually filled by younger sons of minor noble families.

Tate, on the other hand, had once been nothing more than a stable hand in the marquis’s estate.

But judging by how Lord Kun treated him, even the most perceptive commoners knew exactly whom to curry favor with.

Old Tate gulped down the tea in one go. Still unsatisfied, he glanced at the pristine snow on the ground. If not for the others present, he might have scooped it up and eaten it.

But today, he represented his young master—he couldn’t disgrace him.

He turned to another helper. “You—go ask that fellow Vittorio what’s going on. It’s been half a day. Why hasn’t anyone come to register? If this delays the lord’s orders, can he take responsibility for it?”

Not long after, Vittorio appeared, panting and drenched in sweat.

Though their official ranks were equal, Tate was still just a servant, and his commanding tone might have seemed inappropriate.

But it was Tate who had discovered Vittorio in the talent market, even advancing him wages to clear his debts and save him from becoming a slave.

That counted as a favor.

Besides, Tate was no simpleton. Beneath his rough exterior lay a sharp mind.

He could size up a person at a glance. Most of those who had come to the territory were handpicked by him.

He even applied horse-training methods to managing people.

If not for this “fierce servant,” their group might have fallen into chaos before even reaching the Fengrao Domain.

Most importantly, Kun trusted him completely.

At present, only Dawn dared show him any displeasure.

“What’s the matter?” Tate demanded. “Isn’t your motto ‘time is gold’? Why are you dragging your feet today?”

Vittorio coughed, his voice hoarse.

“Our plan was sound. I posted the new policies and directed the villagers here to register and receive assignments based on their abilities.

But they won’t come out of their homes. No one is even reading the notices. Frankly, I doubt they can read them at all!”

“So you just waited?”

Vittorio pointed at his throat and gave a bitter smile.

“If they won’t come out and can’t read, I thought I’d read it aloud to them.

Look at my voice—completely hoarse. Still, no one came out. What else can I do?

I can’t have the guards drag them out of their houses one by one. The lord wouldn’t spare me for that.”

Old Tate stroked his stubbled chin.

“They’ve been burned too many times. They don’t trust us.

Where’s Dawn?”

“He said he was going to scout the forest. He went alone into the Everdark Forest.”

Tate snorted. “Ran off quickly enough.”

“You think he knew this would turn into a mess and left us to deal with it?” Vittorio asked, surprised.

“That upright-looking fellow doesn’t seem the type…”

“I grew up in the capital, you’re from a merchant family in the city. Of the three of us, only Dawn was raised in a rural village.

He knows exactly what this place is like. Running off like that? He’s probably waiting for us to make fools of ourselves in front of the young master.”

Probably just waiting for you to make a fool of yourself.

Vittorio kept that thought to himself.

“So what do we do? Without their cooperation, our plan can’t proceed. Should we consult the lord?”

“No!”

Tate rejected the idea immediately.

“Today is the young master’s meditation day. No one is to disturb him. You know how important meditation is for a mage.

As for this… since the villagers won’t cooperate, we’ll start with our own people. The young master said it himself—take it slow.”

Vittorio fell silent.

So your problem is solved… and mine becomes mine alone?

Meanwhile, inside his room, Kun wasn’t meditating at all.

He was lying on the floor, carefully inscribing a complex formation.

Countless runes intertwined—ancient dragon tongue, Moon Elf script, and Aetheric language—the three tongues closest to the essence of magic.

But this was not a magic array.

It was a divine ritual array.

Its sole purpose was to allow believers to communicate with their chosen deity.

Of course, communication didn’t guarantee a response.

To mages, such arrays did not connect to “gods,” but to primal spirits—the embodiments of magical principles.

Whether one called them gods or not was a matter of debate.

In truth, though faith in gods existed across the continent, no one had ever seen a true deity.

Kun didn’t care.

Whether gods existed or not had nothing to do with him.

He didn’t believe largely because faith was expensive. The donations his family gave to the church each year could have bought several territories larger than the Fengrao Domain.

If believing brought him gold, he might consider it.

But it didn’t.

As the final rune was completed, the array flared with brilliant light.

Kun placed a preserved sheaf of ripe grain at its center.

At the same time, the six-pointed star on his palm appeared, resonating with the array.

Legend said the Chosen could use such arrays to enter the divine realm and meet their god.

But the Chosen themselves were ancient myths.

In the past three hundred years, none had appeared.

Kun himself didn’t know if it was true.

He had opened a mysterious door—but no god awaited him.

The sheaf of grain rose into the air. Each kernel fell away, then sprouted, grew, flowered, and bore fruit at a visible speed.

At last, a mysterious golden gate—formed entirely from ripened grain—appeared before him.

Kun called it—

The Gate of Abundance.

Without hesitation, he stepped through.

Stars streaked past his vision.

Countless motes gathered, spun, and condensed into tiny, spherical “seeds,” suspended in the void.

Most of them were lifeless.

Only a rare few pulsed with vitality.

These living seeds felt… familiar.

Some, especially vibrant ones, even gave him the sense that he could descend into them.

But he didn’t.

Invading another world was dangerous.

The more vibrant a world, the stronger its defenses.

Some seeds radiated terrifying presences—just a glance invited overwhelming pressure.

So far, Kun had only entered one.

A small, beautiful, blue seed.

Like a precious sapphire.

It had seemed harmless—its world-will weak, unable to resist him.

Of course, that had been an illusion.

That world possessed weapons powerful enough to destroy itself.

Everyone lived atop a powder keg.

Only the mutual certainty of destruction kept them in check.

Dangerous, yet undeniably prosperous.

A world without magic or aura—yet astonishingly advanced.

From it, Kun had gained knowledge… and inspiration.

Like his improved three-dimensional magic map.

He had come to realize that such a world was a treasure beyond wealth itself.

As the starlight faded, his vision cleared.

A bright, square bedroom appeared before him.

Simple, warm, and filled with sunlight.

Curtains swayed gently in the breeze. Light streamed through crystal-clear windows onto a desk covered with drawings and tools.

The room’s owner was absent.

Kun moved familiarly, opening the wardrobe and selecting casual clothes.

He changed out of his conspicuous mage robe.

Even if he wore it outside, no one would call the guards—but the stares would be unbearable.

Like being a rare beast in a cage.

Some were even… overly enthusiastic.

His friend had warned him: in this country, boys had to be careful.

He still didn’t understand how “tofu” fit into that advice.

Strange culture.

Jeans. White shirt. Straw hat. Sneakers.

Perfect.

Looking in the mirror, Kun nodded in satisfaction.

From a lord of another world… to a local.

Probably.

Finding no one inside, he stepped outside.

A wide, smooth asphalt road stretched before him.

Cleaner and flatter than even the capital’s grand avenue.

And his own territory’s roads? Muddy, filthy paths.

Not even comparable.

Here, such roads covered the entire nation.

Behind him stood a two-story house—red brick, white walls—glowing under sunlight.

Rows of identical homes stretched into the distance.

Kun compared it to his cold, drafty castle.

The difference…

Was indescribable.

And this was just where ordinary farmers lived.

In his world, this would be considered luxury.

Was that reasonable?

He didn’t know.

He only knew—

He liked it here.

He wanted to stay.

But he couldn’t.

When his magic ran out, this world would reject him.

“If I can’t stay here forever…”

“Then I’ll bring this place to my own land.”

For the first time in his life—

The boy who had always been indifferent…

Felt something called ambition.