The inside of the pub was in shambles. Broken tables and chairs were scattered about, and the floor was littered with shattered dishes.
Gosh, I really did make a big mess.
He instinctively clicked his tongue, especially upon seeing the owner, who was trying to clean up the disaster that his pub had become.
“Uh, welcome…?”
The balding man looked around at the chaos with a bitter expression. As soon as the owner looked Lloyd's way, his face paled then flushed with anger. However, his anger diminished quickly and was replaced by an awkwardly forced smile. It was the smile a poor helplessly made in order to continue doing business at the manor.
Thinking about what happened last night surely curdles his blood.
It went without saying. seeing him that way made Lloyd lose his appetite since it reminded him of the past. Those memories flooded into his mind.
There were plenty of terrible customers when I worked at the Hope Pub.
He had many part-time jobs and working at the Hope Pub was one of them. Since it was a bar, there were all sorts of costumbers - the bad ones among them.
Actually, there were a lot of them. It was a given, once they were drunk, they'd verbally harass the part-timers. Some of them went so far as to break bottles and flip tables, complaining that the prices were too high, the snacks weren't to their liking, or the employees weren't polite enough. They'd shout, swinging their broken bottles, and demand to see the manager.
Sigh.
He sighed a lot during those times. Such was the plight of a part-timer, as he was back then. nothing could be said to the VIP customers so if some of them were rotten, he was forced to shove aside his boiling rage.
Let's stop thinking about that.
They were bitter memories. But because of them, Lloyd could fully empathize with the feelings of the pub owner. Although, it wasn't really his own doing but that of this body's previous inhabitant.
He faced the pub owner and gave him a heartfelt apology. “I came to apologize for what happened last night.”
“What…?”
“I've done you wrong. I should've drunk quietly and kept to myself instead of causing a big mess. It was my wrongdoing and I won't make excuses. It was entirely my fault”
He put his heart into his words; however, his sincerity must've not been conveyed very well.
“Uh, Young Master? What are you doing?”
“...”
The pallor of the owner's face turned a bluish hue as if he saw a ghost.
“Master, were you not satisfied with what happened last night? Then tell me, what did I do wrong?”
“No, I…”
“Why are you being so polite to me? That's even more frightening.”
“...”
The people of the manor truly loathed this guy, it seemed. Lloyd smacked his lips and responded, “Is talking casually like this much better?”
“O-of course, sir”
“So you accept my apology then?”
“...”
“I'm thinking of compensating you for the broken items”
“Do you really mean it, sir?”
The poor bloke must've been lied to his whole life. Lloyd clicked his tongue and said “Of course I meant it. how about a heated flooring system as compensation?”
“Huh?”
“A room with a warm, heated floor. Haven't you heard of it?”
“I've heard of heating a stone and sprinkling water on it, but…”
“That's a steam sauna. I'm talking about the floor itself being heated. A heated flooring system, you know?”
“...”
Of course, he didn't know. Just like Javier a moment ago, the pub owner was speechless. His plans, then, were indeed a possibility. Lloyd licked his lips.
“It's a shame you haven't heard of it. Your mother would really enjoy it.”
“Excuse me?”
“I've heard rumors that your mother is ill”
“Oh, yes. That is true”
“Then I recommend the heated flooring”
“...”
“It makes the floors warm. You won't even need a bed. Just lie on the heated floor, and it'll keep you warm all day. A sauna can't even compare.”
“...”
He was becoming convinced. Bit by bit, he was being won over. Lloyd could see him wavering, so he took it one step further.
“It's perfect for the elderly and their aching joints in mid-winter when their body feels chilled.”
“Elders like my mother?”
“Indeed.”
It has been true since the beginning of time that older people enjoy warmth.
“So, you're saying that you will give me one of these yourself, Young Master?”
“Mhm. I'll build a proper one for you.”
“You'll make it yourself?”
“Mhm.”
“...”
“You don't believe me?”
“Um, well…”
“Of course, you wouldn't. After all the ruckus I caused, now you think I'm pulling your leg. You're wondering who I think I am, offering to make some supposed heated floors for you. And you wonder if such a thing actually exists. Yet, as you listen, you can't help but think of your mom. It catches your ear and draws you in. Am I right?”
“...”
“Fine, then let's draw up a contract”
“A contract?”
“Yup. A construction contract.”
“But…”
“Bring me a pen and paper”
The owner's face flushed with confusion, but even so, he soon presented Lloyd a pen and paper. Swiftly and skillfully, Lloyd drew up a contract on the paper.
If it's a form I need, I can make it myself.
Order for the pub owner. The contractor goes here, and the construction location is the empty lot behind the pub.
“Let's do the full amount for payment like this. The construction project will cover the compensation costs for all the damage I inflicted to your property last night. What do you think?”
“Instead of paying for the broken items, you're installing this so-called heated floor as reimbursement?”
“That's right,” Lloyd nodded.
Because the baron was in debt, he was in no position to offer money as compensation anyways. However, were he to complete this project successfully from start to finish…
This way, I can take care of reimbursements nicely while also entirely avoiding going into the negative.
Not only would it fix the debt problem, but if all went well, he could make a great deal of money too. This would become the starting point for snowballing his wealth. That was the big picture Lloyd predicted.
This is what I do best.
He had a civil engineering degree that he studied quite hard for. Of course, he never had any big dreams. Just like everyone else, he'd selected his major based on test scores and assessments. He only did his best to get good grades so that he could snag a stable job in the future. But maybe, just maybe, all the knowledge he accumulated like that could be used here in this place.
Real estate always made the most money, with a part of it being construction work.
Whether it was building apartments, buildings, bridges, roads, dams, breakwaters, canals or ports, it was all profitable. Construction companies in particular meant big money, and the larger the project at hand, the more true that was. Lloyd entertained the possibilities of his plan.
“Now, let's sign the contract. What do you think?”
“Then you're serious?”
“I'm building this myself. You don't want it?”
“N-no, that's not it”
Despite his hesitation, the pub owner ended up signing the contract along with South Korea's Kim Suho, a civil engineering student, and Lloyd Frontera, the eldest son of a baron.
Within that strange world, he obtained his first ever purchase order. It was a small one; nonetheless, it was the first step of many. Thus began his first long-awaited construction.
♣
It hadn't been a minute since they left the pub when Javier, silent until then, suddenly spoke up. “He's a naive, desperate man”
“What do you mean by that?”
He looked back to see Javier's expression was the same as ever. Actually, it seemed colder and chillier than before.
“When a person is cornered, they become desperate. Their perspective narrows and their judgment is blurred. Those people become easy prey for those with snake like souls”
“Prey?”
“Yes sir”
“Ah, so you're saying the pub owner is the pitiable prey, and I'm the dastardly, snake-like villain?”
“Whether or not you're dastardly will rest upon your behavior from now on, sir”
“Hey, now”
He felt that the mood had become colder than before. Finally, Lloyd realized what Javier was thinking.
“Do you think I'm trying to scam the pub owner?”
“No sir”
“Then?”
“I think you're taking advantage of vulnerable people”
… that's the same thing. Lloyd let out a long sigh. After entering this body, everything he did seemed to cause a misunderstanding.
“Let's sum this up. You think I won't actually build a heated flooring system for him, right?”
“Yes sir”
“Why not?”
“Because you're not someone who has never once dirtied his hands”
“How would you know that?”
“I've heard things here and there”
“But you've never seen for yourself, have you?”
“That's true”
“You're more unreasonable than you appear, Javier”
“Excuse me?”
For the first time, Javier's picturesque brow frowned ever so slightly. Lloyd, a full five centimeters shorter than Javier, stared up at him.
“I'm disappointed Javier. Do you judge others solely based on rumors?”
“That's…”
“It's prejudice”
“...”
“Even now, didn't you see me draw up a purchase contract with the pub owner? What do you think I'm going to do with that contract?”
“Surely…”
“You thought I'd ball it up and toss it into a corner, right?”
“That's not true”
Not true? He'd hit the nail on the head. He already noticed from earlier that Javier was a terrible liar. Whenever he lied he avoided eye contact, like just now.
“You thought I was pulling a fast one on the pub owner, with the contract as a cover-up. That I'd endlessly push off building the heated floors and never compensate the owner for the damages.”
“I just…”
“That's called prejudice. Rashly judging people with only your own opinions. It causes conflicts to arise, racial discrimination to run rampant, homes to be shaken, and society to collapse”
Javier didn't seem to have anticipated such a counterattack. He shut his mouth. He probably thought it was all sophistry. But Lloyd didn't try to change his mind. Instead, he motioned to Javier with his chin.
“Anyway, since I have a general idea of what you're thinking, why don't you step aside”
“Excuse me?”
“Just two steps to the side. Yes, to that side. I'm trying to take a preliminary survey right now”
It was true even before Javier had opened his mouth. Regardless, this backyard was where he was going to build a heated flooring system. Before preparing the design and materials, it was most important to inspect the construction site.
I'm going to make it small, so I won't need precise measurements. But the land is slightly uneven. I'll have to raise one side just a bit.
One side of the site went up to the pub, and the opposite side was where the pub owner's house was located. He figured building the heated flooring between the two would be a good idea.
Let's take a look at the ground.
Lloyd knelt down and looked at the solid of the building site. He felt it, then squeezed it.
Ah, reminds me of college.
As he touched the dirt, memories of the soil mechanics class he took naturally resurfaced in his mind. They studied the volume of earth particles and characteristics of soil such as gapping. Because of that class, he'd dug up all kinds of different souls. But that wasn't all. He had to roll up the dirt like eraser bits. He rolled and rolled it until the dirt in ovens to bake, roast or steam it. Of course, now those experiences were a lot of help to Lloyd.
This dirt will do.
The soil quality wasn't merely okay. Under the darkened surface, a few centimeters down were reddish soil. It was red clay.
Amazing!
Lloyd brushed off his hands as he stood up, then met Javier's curious gaze.
“What?”
“...”
“You've never seen anyone touch dirt before?”
“I've never seen you, sir, do this before”
“Then get used to it. You'll see it often from now on”
Javier's eyes filled with more curiosity, but Lloyd ignored it and walked away. He left the site and wandered about the manor. Although he walked along leisurely, Lloyd's gaze was busy surveying the land. In the center was a crisscrossing river, which caught his attention in particular. It seemed like a good place to collect red clay in larger quantities.
“Alright, let's head home”
Even when he returned home, his work didn't cease. This was his monumental first construction project.
They say it's the first step that counts the most.
It took one wrong move to get a bad reputation. Afterward, it would be even harder to find his next customer. He would be doomed from the start. To avoid that, it was imperative that he did his best to create high-quality end products.
A customer's happiness is my wealth.
He stayed up all night. His part-time jobs and schoolwork had trained him for this moment. From sundown till dawn, he filled the entire blank sheet of paper with a floor plan. As soon as it was daylight, he set off to find the manor administrator.
“How much timber do we have in storage?”
“Excuse me?”
It was very early in the morning. The administrator, not yet having eaten breakfast or washed up, tilted his head to the side. He was probably wondering if Lloyd was drunk so early in the day.
“What do you intend to use this timber for, sir?”
“What do you think? I'm using it to build a structure. See, here”
“This?”
“Transport the amount of timber I've noted down here. Send it to the back of the pub. Send it to the back of the pub. Understood?”
If you're going to do a job, might as well get it done swiftly and boldly like a bulldozer. That was Lloyd's approach to the project. The administrator nodded absent-mindedly. Thanks to that, the order of timber was completed in a pile behind the pub before lunchtime.
“With the materials here, I should get started”
He removed his cumbersome coat and wore only a light shirt and workman's gloves. He even felt comfortable when he held the shovel.
I tirelessly did this kind of work every vacation.
It was the same even while he was in the army. Because he majored in civil engineering, jobs both big and small were always assigned to him. By the time he was discharged, he was treated as their personal work machine.
It's a man's plight to shovel, after all.
He began by hardening the ground beside the garden and moved the scooped earth to where the heated floor would go. Carefully yet firmly, he continued to stomp the dirt.
If you move the dirt all at once and build the foundation, there will be a big problem later.
It was a common mistake when hardening the soil. The upper part of the soil easily made firm, but the underneath not so much. So if you moved and hardened a lot of dirt all at once? To the naked eye, the surface would look solid, but the inside would still be left too soft. Then if you built something atop of it? Before a few years passed, the building would lean and cause a disaster.
Knowing all this, Lloyd scooped up the dirt and hardened it over and over again. As he worked, he suddenly glanced at Javier. The punk had been standing off to the side for some time. Probably he was just faithfully fulfilling his duty as a guard.
“Hey, you”
“You called for me, Sir Lloyd?”
“Yes, I did”
“Do you have orders for me?”
“Mmh, I do. Come shovel with me”
“...”
Javier made no reply.
“You don't want to? Is that it?”
“...”
“If you help me, the job will get done twice as quickly”
“...”
“Ah, I bet the pub owner's mother is suffering from chills right now. If she could rest in a room with heated floors, her aches would probably disappear in an instant. But for now, that's impossible. Why? Because the holier-than-thou Sir Javier refuses to shovel”
“...”
“Oh, if only she could supplement her body with a heated room, her joint pain would subside, and a huge smile would spread across her face. But for now, she can't. Why? Because the holier-than-thou Sir Javier refuses to shovel”
“...”
“Ah, for the simple final wish of someone who doesn't have long to live……”
“Please give me a shovel.”
In the end Javier couldn't take it anymore and grabbed a shovel. A devilish grin burst across Lloyd's face. With that, the baron's brute and the unrecognized knight worked together, and the site for the heated flooring was well on its way. News of his work spread instantly to every corner of the manor”
