Outside Baron Chetak’s former mansion.
"Commander!!" Bob and a few knights who were sent here beforehand came to greet them.
"How goes the reconstruction?" Reinhardt questioned, walking inside the mansion.
"We managed to construct some basic buildings for the knight order and their families. However, the situation here is even worse than I thought. It’s like living in a den of thieves."
"Did they charge overrated prices?" Ryley who was listening in by the side, couldn’t help but ask.
"Overrated does not even begin it. Everything and everyone here is trying to rip you off".
"Don’t tell me you used our funds to fill the pockets of those filthy pigs".
"Do I look like I was born yesterday? Naturally, I refused those contractors. Me and the knights here managed to build something out of nothing ourselves".
"Hoh, you did? Good job. This will lessen the strain on our pockets."
The two while bickering, entered the mansion when suddenly they saw their Commander come to a stop after a moment.
"Is there something wrong?" Bob asked.
Reinahrdt locked his brows and pointed at an empty room.
"This place is... ?"
"Ah, that place used he be the personal office of Baron Chetak. Well, that guy was a loafer; it would be more accurate to say that it was the place where his butler worked. Is the commander looking for a space for his room? Then you should take the big room at the opposite end of the hall. It has enough space and is similar to your previous office in some way".
The Holy Knight suggested. However, Reinhardt walked inside the room and started inspecting it.
"You said you threw away all the vile and abominable stuff that Baron used to keep inside his mansion?"
"That’s right."
The things that Baron Chetak collected and kept as his hobbies were so disgusting that he had to throw almost eighty percent of the stuff that was in the mansion.
"Hmm," the Divine Paladin’s eyes glowed. He walked towards a wall lamp by the fireplace that looked just like any ordinary ornament in this room. However, when pulled, the lamp shifted down just like a lever, causing the fireplace to shift and reveal a secret passage.
"Heh," Reinhardt grinned. A secret passage huh, how very noble like.
"What? There was such a place here? When we were shifting things here, we did not even realise it."
Bob was shocked. To be able to go unnoticed from even the senses of a level 8 high ranking knight, whoever built this place did a splendid job.
The hidden passage was camouflaged splendidly. Even a level 9 would not notice it at a glance, much less ordinary folks.
"Let’s go see what else did Baron Chetak hid inside his mansion," Reinhardt spoke as he took the lead to descend the stairs. He was expecting a sex dungeon or items that reflected abhorrent hobbies to be stored inside, given the other party’s character.
However, when he arrived at the secret room, he was stunned after seeing the things stored inside.
"T-This... is this real? Someone punch me."
BANG... At those words, Ryley punched Bob.
"Ow... you did not have to hit me that hard." The latter massaged his stomach.
"You asked for it. Anyways, if you are feeling pain, then that means it’s not a dream. We have struck rich!!"
That’s right, the things stored inside were not S&M things, but gold and jewelry, loads and loads of it. There was so much here that it could instantly solve all of their budget problem.
"To think that there would be so much treasure hidden here... Hahaha. With this, we won’t have to worry even in this city of swindlers".
It was as Bob said, there was so much treasure and riches here that they could build the headquarters of their order here anew and still have enough to create a couple more.
That said, looking at the riches here, a pained expression appeared on Reinahrdt’s face. How much did Baron Chetak steal and oppress from his populace to collect this much? It was like seeing all the resources collected from the poor and the destitutes inside a single room.
"No, we won’t use them for our order, not a single penny".
"Eh?" The two subordinates of his were shocked. However, the one who was the most affected was Ryley after all. He knew about the exact financial condition of their order and how far the funds they got from the queen would get them.
"You can’t be serious, Commander. With this much, sustaining the order and governing the city won’t be a problem".
"These riches, they were collected after piling a mountain of corpses. They carry the blood and the anguish of the poor who were exploited and stolen from. It is the riches squeezed from the ones who don’t even have anything to eat. Clean water to drink or any intact clothes to wear. Every single dime here belongs to the poor people of the Snowpoint City. It is only natural that they be used for the betterment of the people."
If they used all the riches here, they would be able to uplift the lives of most of the people here.
The two nodded their heads, understanding the weight behind these treasures.
"Huff... Although I really hate Commander for piling more work on me. This time, it can’t be helped. I was born into a peasant family, so I know the pain and effort it takes behind collecting each penny."
Ryley spoke, sighing exaggeratedly.
"Hehe, I’m with you there. My family was once a merchant. However, in an incident, all of our money and savings were looted by the bandits. We fell into poverty. Thankfully, I showed talent from an early age and was able to join the Temple of Light knight order to restore our financial condition."
Bob added, putting his arm around Ryley and giving the other a good shake for punching him in the guts earlier.
One was a former peasant and the other the son of a fallen merchant family. They understood very well what starvation meant. As for reinahrdt, he understood how the oppressed felt.