Subscriber of the Gods

Ethan left the room.

The count and the steward remained silent for a while.

The steward stayed as the steward, and The count was lost in his thoughts.

The silence was eventually broken by the count after a long time.

“How long has it been?”

“It’s been quite a while, Count. We were both young back then.”

James Whiskers, Ethan’s father, made efforts in various ways to inherit the title.

At that time, Count’s rule still held some hope.

Though his influence had diminished compared to before, there were still opportunities to regain the past glory.

After intense competition with his brothers, James Whiskers succeeded in inheriting the title.

He had one goal.

To make Whiskers County glorious again, just like in the old days.

James met the present Steward during that time.

Steward, too, was ambitious back then. They shared dreams of a bright future.

However, they realized how futile that goal was in just five years.

Whiskers County had many shortcomings.

James himself was lacking to transform a count with so many deficiencies.

Even though he reduced his sleep, bowed his head, and even stooped his waist, all that remained was deteriorating health and wounded self-esteem.

Since then, he lived without dreams. No, new dreams emerged.

Ethan, the firstborn, and Nathan, these two children became the count’s new dream.

Since Nathan was born and shortly after losing his wife, the count couldn’t help but become even more attached to his dream.

“My dream is to make the name Whiskers the first to come to mind among the western territories. It’s about elevating the name of Whiskers to the highest level.”

These were the words spoken by Ethan.

It was a grand dream. It was a dream that Count Whiskers and the steward once seriously pursued.

At some point, they hadn’t mentioned those words for goodness knew how long.

The foremost territory in the west.

Elevating the name of Whiskers.

They had given up at some point.

That was why they hadn’t even mentioned it. But upon hearing the story from Ethan, their hearts began to beat again.

They felt that through Ethan, they could once again challenge that dream.

“Young Master said that when talking about goals, it’s as if they are not the ultimate goal.”

“To that child, it must be a natural thing. It’s just an intermediate goal.”

The count smiled.

“Then we can’t be holding him back. We must become the best support for Ethan!”

* * *

Count Whiskers acted swiftly.

Upon Ethan’s request, they restored the size of the market to its original scale. There were already people living within the boundaries of the market, but they were given greater compensation than before.

Afterward, all the vacant houses were included in the market and sold to the existing merchants and newly entering merchants.

As the size of the market grew larger, the number of people able to enter the market also increased.

Not only the existing merchants but also new merchants were introduced to the market, and these newcomers started new businesses.

Positive momentum began to build once again.

“Is this report true? It’s hard to believe.”

“Yes, it is. I was also surprised and double-checked multiple times, but it’s certain. Didn’t you invest in it? Young Master Ethan has achieved great success. The number of visitors seeking Whiskers’ territory is increasing every day.”

“Huh! I made a long-term investment. It hasn’t been long since I visited Whiskers’ territory.”

News about Ethan and Count Whiskers reached Count Huntar.

Count Huntar had previously provided financial support to Ethan.

Of course, he didn’t expect to receive a quick return on his investment. It was a support made with a distant future in mind.

Clearly, he saw potential in Ethan, and he believed that investing in that potential would undoubtedly bring benefits.

The potential that Count HUnTAR saw was Ethan’s swordsmanship skills.

Once hailed as a swordsmanship prodigy, Ethan had overcome his weaknesses and become much stronger. Naturally, Count Huntar believed that he would succeed in swordsmanship.

To succeed in swordsmanship, would eventually require going to the central region, and Count Huntar believed that it would take quite some time to succeed in entering the central region.

“I invested in Ethan’s swordsmanship skills. But to think he had a talent for business as well. If this report is accurate, isn’t it remarkable, Steward?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Summon the merchant guild leader. I need to hear it directly.”

“Well, the merchant guild leader has already left. I was about to inform you.”

“They left?”

“He insists that we must establish a contract with Young Master Ethan. At the very least, we should maintain a good relationship even if we cannot form a contract.”

“I see.”

The merchant guild of Count Huntar’s domain was a talent handpicked by the Count. He was knowledgeable in commerce and had a keen sense of money. He had led the merchant guild from scratch to its current position.

When it came to matters related to money, the Count trusted the merchant guild enough to discuss with them.

“Well, it seems certain. Is Ethan really trying to rewrite the history of Whiskers’ territory?”

Although he had made the investment, he couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.

In other words, it meant that Whiskers’ domain would grow as it used to be.

At the same time, in the neighboring domain of Yurahan, they were also hearing about Whiskers’ domain. Yurahan’s domain was the wealthiest and largest among the nearby territories, governed by the wealthy Yurahan Count.

“What’s going on all of a sudden? Whiskers’ domain has nothing. It’s already a dead land.”

The Yurahan Count, with ash-colored hair, spoke with a disapproving expression.

“That dead land was revived by Ethan Whiskers, the eldest son of Whiskers Count. Everyone in this vicinity is now gathering in Whiskers’ domain. The word is spreading continuously.”

Originally, the central hub in this region was the Dren Marquis territory which was the territory of Marquis Dren, who was one of the Twelve Stars.

Marquis Dren’s territory was a vast territory, comparable to the central region, as people and resources converged there.

However, now Count Whiskers’ domain had attracted as many people as the floating population of Marquis Dren’s domain.

Though the exact numbers were unknown, the decrease in people seeking Marquis Dren’s domain was noticeable, indicating that they had been absorbed by Whiskers’ domain.

“How did this happen? What did that Ethan Whiskers do to attract people?”

The Yurahan Count asked, and the steward replied.

“He started a business, and it has been remarkably successful.”

“A business? Are you telling me that the Ethan Whiskers you just mentioned started a business and made it successful? That frail young man? That can’t be true. That can’t be true. I distinctly remember seeing that child. He couldn’t even hold a sword properly. He would cough up blood every time he walked. He was a walking corpse.”

Ethan Whiskers was so frail that his existence itself was a miracle. Moreover, he was not known for his intelligence he was known just for his martial prowess when he was young.

It was unbelievable that Ethan had achieved success in business.

“What on earth happened?”

The Yurahan Count muttered in disbelief.

“Could it be that Count Whiskers cured him? His incurable disease?”

“He doesn’t seem to have been completely cured. His condition doesn’t seem significantly different from his frail days.”

“So, he was only treated enough to be able to move around. And he achieved business success in that state… What kind of business did he do?”

“It’s called the Weight Reduction Workshop business.”

“Weight Reduction Workshop? Just by hearing the name, I can’t quite understand.”

“Please read this.”

The steward handed a document to the Yurahan Count, who began reading the details of the business.

After reading it to the end, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“This… can only turn into money.”

The Count’s heart raced.

This was not just something good, it was an incredible business opportunity.

“I’m going to Whiskers County immediately! Bring the merchant guild! We’re going together!”

The Count, along with the Yurahan merchant guild responsible for the finances, immediately set off for Whiskers County.

* * *

Since visiting the temple, Ethan had accumulated 14 likes.

“I should unlock a new video and see if there are any gods worth subscribing to.”

He also planned to leave a subscription review for Hong Gil-dong.

‘He’s a better god than I thought. Just the ability to use the portal without any conditions makes it worth subscribing.’

Upon entering the [New World], Ethan was greeted by the sparkling mailbox, just like before.

“Maybe I should tidy things up this time.”

After dealing with urgent matters, it seemed wise to organize everything first.

“First, I’ll subscribe, and then check the mailbox one last time.”

Opening the [New World], Ethan discovered something interesting.

“Huh? Subscriber-exclusive videos?”

Among Heo Jun’s videos, there was a new one labeled as a subscriber-exclusive video.

“Can only subscribers watch it?”

Currently, Heo Jun had gained a significant number of subscribers.

“But why aren’t there any likes required?”

The subscriber-exclusive video had no likes at all.

“Am I the first one?”

Curiously, Ethan checked to see how many likes it had.

“Do you not need likes for this?”

When he pressed the video, an alert appeared for Ethan.

-[Subscriber Exclusive]: Acupuncture Enhancement.

-This is a subscriber-exclusive video.

-Only [Premium Subscribers] can watch this video.

-You are a [Premium Subscriber]. You can watch the video.

“I’m a premium subscriber?”

Ethan couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

He had never done anything like this before.

When he pressed the confirmation button, the video started playing immediately. In the video, Heo Jun smiled at Ethan.

-Have you been well? I believe your health has somewhat recovered. Thanks to the subscription review you wrote, the number of subscribers and likes I have has increased significantly. Thank you so much for the great subscription review video.

Heo Jun lowered his head with a benevolent smile.

‘The increase in subscribers was because of the subscription review I wrote?’

Ethan had no idea about this fact.

Meanwhile, Heo Jun continued speaking.

-That’s why I have decided to select you as a premium subscriber. This video will be exclusively for you. Among those who have subscribed to me, only you will have access to this ability.

“A video only I can watch.”

It meant that Heo Jun regarded Ethan as someone special.

“Did my subscription review really help that much?”

-I will dedicate this video to you. I’m truly grateful. When you open the video, you will not only receive my skills but also other gifts I have given. And…

Heo Jun smiled.

-Now, you have become…