Chapter 171 171 Rewards And Prices



…

[The Windsor family will trust you unconditionally in situations that do not involve any harm to their family.]

[After toiling for a long time, you have finally found a piece of land that you can call your own. This piece of land will act as the safe haven you wish to build for your followers. But the land has to be reclaimed from the wilderness before human society can be developed there.]

[New items have been unlocked as a reward for this achievement. They might help you reclaim the wild land speedily. Details can be viewed in the Weapons Arsenal at any time.]

[…has been unlocked.]

[…has been unlocked.]

[…has been unlocked.]

…

Zach couldn't help but be excited at the list of rewards he had just received in order to help him reclaim his new territory. He couldn't wait to go through their details but he had to wait until he was out of the Windsor family's eyes. Most of these items were the things he might need in order to transform his territory into livable land. 

For the first time ever, Zach was glad that he hadn't received some powerful weapon as a reward this time because these tools were what he needed the most at this time because they would help him build a foundation for his followers sooner.

Although, Zach had become the leader of the group, he wasn't exactly an expert when it came to the common sense or the business strategies of this world. Therefore, he handed the lease contract to Bruce who was an expert in the field of business matters.

Bruce didn't take long to scrutinize the whole document as Zach waited for him to reach a conclusion. The expression on his face soon revealed his excitement as he whispered into Zach's ear in a low voice that would be inaudible to anyone else in the room.

"Zach, this is too good. The conditions stated here and the price is exceptionally low compared to the market rate. This price isn't normal at all. The Windsor family must have pulled a lot of strings to get the government to agree to such an abnormally low price. This will benefit us greatly during the time when we are clearing the land on that island and would turn into a good source of revenue once we have established ourselves on Greenland later."

Although Zach knew that the conditions were in his favor, he didn't want to take advantage of the Windsor family. He was unable to ignore the anomaly no matter how much the Windsor family favored him after he saved the lives of the father and daughter duo. The fact that they were already willing to negotiate on his behalf had been a stroke of luck on his part. Therefore, Zach didn't want them to suffer any kind of hardship because of him.

Zach took the lease contract from Bruce's hands. He had to practically pry it out of his grasp because Bruce was unwilling to let go of such a good opportunity.

"I am sorry but I cannot accept this contract." said Zach with a righteous air around him.

"Is there some problem with the contract? Don't hesitate to tell us what the problem is. We will make sure to satisfy you if that's the case." Violet replied with sincerity.

Zach didn't doubt their sincerity at all. It was just that he hated taking advantage of others. He wasn't willing to receive things that he had not earned by himself.

"No, there is no problem with the contract. Instead it is just too good. I believe that even your family must have suffered quite a bit to get a one-sided contract like this one. I can't let you suffer such a big loss for my sake. I can't possibly take advantage of your kindness to fulfill my ends alone."

Neither Violet nor the old master of Windsor family could get understand the reason why Zach was insisting on not accepting the price of the lease of the contract especially when it had been designed to be in his favor. 

"So, you think that this is much more of a return than the favor you have done for my family?" the old man asked Zach in return as he returned the contract to him as it was.

Zach could only nod in response as this was the basis of why he was adamant on returning the contract to Violet.

The old man flared up slightly after he received Zach's answer. His voice rose a few degrees as anger took over his countenance.

"Then do you think my life; the life of the Windsor family leader is this cheap? Let alone my life, just my daughter's life is enough for me to return the favor several times over. The price difference is nothing in comparison to what you have given the Windsor family. Can you put a price tag on the continued survival of my entire family and my life?"

Zach was unable to say anything when Marico put it like that. After all, there really wasn't any price for the life of the family head of a prominent family like the Windsor family.

He bowed his head slightly and took what was being given to him with gratitude. 

Marico finally seemed to be satisfied as a smile bloomed on his face and even Violet looked slightly happier than her stern self.

Bruce had been in this political world his whole life. He had spent many years in the midst of political turmoil while being sandwiched between various powerful families of Elizabeth city. He knew how the world worked and what the Windsor family must have done in order to secure so many benefits for Zach through this deal.

Bruce believed that Windsor family despite being a powerful family wasn't the absolute top of the city. They couldn't get the government to strike such a deal with them without offering them something in return. There had to be some kind of dark deal that Zach was being kept from.

Zach wasn't too far from this truth either. It was due to this very reason that Zach wasn't inclined to receive the lease documents that too much in his favor. He believed that he didn't have the right to let the Windsor family suffer on his behalf just so Zach could get an easy and cheap land contract. Although he had done some favors for the family, they weren't heavy enough to demand such a price. He wasn't so shameless yet.

Although Zach knew that the leader of the Windsor family must have put his family at a disadvantage to get this deal for him, he didn't shirk from it. Instead he was confident in making his business prosper in the shortest duration of time. With his technological advantage and his technical and business expertise from the previous world, Zach was bound to be a success. He was confident in himself which meant that the investment of the Windsor family might still benefit from making this deal despite seeming like they were at a disadvantage.

After suffering at the hands of the Prince Kolt in Elizabeth city, Zach couldn't help but be cautious. He was getting increasingly worried because of the risk of his identity getting revealed in front of the world.

Zach had become quite the celebrity after attacking the royalty. Even though he had raised his hands against one of the royal family, the Norman Royal family didn't bother about it and ignored all his previous actions once they found out how brilliant he was and what his continued existence meant for the society as a whole.

Therefore, there were many sketches of his true face being displayed in various places. He was worried that even here, someone would end up recognizing him and his true identity would be revealed. He had made so many plans after putting in a lot of effort but at the end he still couldn't be sure of anything.

Instead of being ashamed later on, Zach thought it right to voice out his concerns right now so that the Windsor family leader won't think that Zach was looking down on him.

"From what I have seen, you must be aware of my true identity."

The old master of Windsor family nodded in acceptance because there was no use in hiding it any longer. The cat was long out of the box anyway since the doctor had used that card to save Marico's life.

"Then it is easier for me to help you understand my point of view. The thing is that I am quite confident in reaching the top of the business world in this city as well. My mind is brimming with ideas that can help the civilization advance without the help of magic. But I can't do that with the great families around me opposing me at every step of the way. The more they try to dig out the dirt on me to keep me in check, the more likely it will be for my identity to be revealed. If you can find it, I am sure that there must be others who might be thinking along the same lines as you. Therefore, it would be quite easy for the people to throw a wrench in all my carefully developed plans. I am afraid, at that time I might have to make a run for it. My people can't afford another battle of similar scale. I don't mind accepting this land, but I am afraid that I might not be able to live up to your expectations of me."