Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Incomprehensible Flows
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The flow of goods carries more information than one might think.
In a place where medicinal herbs and fodder sell well, they must be raising livestock on a massive scale.
Conversely, a place where livestock and foodstuffs are in high demand likely means the terrain can't support enough food for the people.
Or, if ores and mana stones are selling briskly, it's a hub of manufacturing.
A city flourishing in luxuries like artwork or spices would be one focused on consumption.
'How strange.'
In that sense, the ledgers scattered messily across the table had plunged Alkaido into deep thought.
"About the last ten years or so."
It wasn't entirely uniform. Droughts some years, floods others.
Economics meant sales fluctuated with food consumption or yearly trends, but the indicators in the documents before Alkaido's eyes felt oddly discordant.
"But these are incomprehensible patterns."
If imports of food and weapons were rising in a neighboring territory, it signaled war on the horizon.
If the entire nation was frantically stockpiling goods and quietly amassing ores and arms, one could predict civil war.
But these were neither adjacent territories nor sporadic stockpiling across the country—patterns without clear connections.
And alongside the gradual rise in slave hunting, the shrinking of slash-and-burn villages.
Alkaido stroked his Kaiser mustache as he pinpointed several troubling trends.
"It wasn't just empty talk, then."
Alkaido knew of Adelian's traits as well.
He was the one who had secretly passed the temple priest's note to Kaiman, so tampering in transit made no sense.
Traits weren't absolute measures, but as a universal gauge for spotting basic talents, it was implausible for Adelian—who lacked even a single positive one—to grasp the continent's situation from his seat.
'Two main possibilities.'
Someone was manipulating Adelian from the shadows.
'Or perhaps the young master was fooling everyone all along.'
Alkaido's gaze turned icy.
* * *
"Please, young master—no, master! Spare me!"
"What kind of weak nonsense is that?"
After a brutal upper-body workout with Mark and a refreshing juice break with Luna, what was this scene?
As Luna shyly hid behind me, Halon clung to my pant leg with a tear-streaked face.
I shook him off like a trembling leg and looked down at Halon sprawled on the floor in a tragic heroine pose.
"No more... I can't do it anymore. Just tell me to patrol the training grounds, and I will. Tell me to swing my sword until I collapse from exhaustion, and I will."
"No, Halon. You're better suited for this, trust me."
"But it doesn't feel right! No way! I'm destined to live by the blade, even if I die and come back!"
[Halon Deblyn—Adelian's Chief Secretary]
Representative Traits: [Keen Eyes(S)] [Dexterity(B)]
Hidden Traits: [Document Processing(S)] [Intelligence(A)] [Business Acumen(B)]
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Even your title's updated to my chief secretary—doesn't the system agree?
And your Business Acumen trait even leveled up in the process.
I smiled warmly, patted the pleading Halon as he sat there begging, tried to haul him up but gave up from lack of strength, and just flicked my hand for him to get up.
"Remember our contract, Halon?"
As I led in like reminiscing fond memories, Halon's teary eyes flicked sideways.
"But... but young master..."
"The subordinate obeys the superior and works diligently without complaint. Right?"
"Then... at least assign more assistants. Doing it all alone feels like it'll kill me from overwork..."
I shook off Halon as he grabbed my pant leg again and wailed, and he smartly rolled backward without resisting, tumbling away.
He sure knows how to navigate office politics...
"Yeah, I'll think about it."
As I finished my juice and responded like a sleazy boss to his plea for more help, Halon latched on again.
"Please, really assign some. Young master—no, family head! I beg you!"
Fair enough. With all the core tasks Kaiman used to handle now on him, he couldn't entrust document sorting to just anyone due to the importance.
It had to be tough solo.
Kaiman would handle the truly classified docs himself, but general work wasn't light.
Borrowing the power of traits, I spoke arrogantly yet oh-so-generously.
"Fine. If I spot a good one later, I'll send them over."
"Really? Thank you! Then I'll get back to work. Youn—no, family head."
Scared I'd change my mind on a whim? He bolted the second I said okay.
I chuckled at the back of Halon's head as he flung the door open and fled, then drained the last of the juice on the floor—no, the table.
I could just snag some prospects with trait potential while wandering with Cain and send them over.
No need to waste a divine contract; one decent talent should hold things together.
"This is delicious, young master."
With Halon gone, Luna peeked out from behind me. I stroked her ears and propped my chin.
"Luna, when has anything tasted bad to you?"
"Green juice."
"Oh..."
Right?
I'd asked the most obvious question.
I cleared the empty cup, watched Luna fetch cookies from somewhere, and beckoned toward the balcony.
"Nothing beats munching snacks while watching something fun."
"...Pardon?"
"Let's watch Cain get wrecked and eat cookies."
"Eek..."
From the balcony seat, voices didn't carry well, but the distant training grounds were visible.
I popped a cookie from the plate Luna set on the outdoor table into my mouth and gazed at Cain, who was getting pummeled under the guise of sparring today as usual.
"I told him just do basic training."
At first, some regular knights overdid it on Cain out of resentment for the parachute drop, but even now, after time passed, he was rolling like that due to his own ambition.
Too busy learning basic swordsmanship day by day, yet he insists on sparring to learn a move or two—how could he match them?
He'd say he learned well after a bit, but nope.
He kept charging until he passed out or was too exhausted to stand, so eventually the fed-up knights pushed harder to wear him out faster.
Hence the beatdowns.
"Oof, that looks painful."
"Ugh, even watching makes me... hurt..."
The thrust to the solar plexus with the wooden sword was clear even from here.
Curled up, was he coughing or gasping for air?
Yet his eyes had tracked the opponent's sword amid it all, rolling aside to create distance before raising his wooden blade again.
Since arriving, he'd gained some weight and nutrition, growing taller too, but compared to the burly knights, he was still stick-thin.
"Ah, should I feed him more chicken breast?"
"If you make him eat more than now... won't he puke?"
"Make him lift more weights too—he's got real muscle potential, I tell you."
"What kind of monster are you trying to create..."
With Cain's talent, he could bulk up like Governor Arnold!
As I got fired up about manly ideals, Cain was still showing the raw skill gap after a few exchanges.
Even lucky blocks just pushed him back with sheer power—what was the point?
'Overconfidence.'
No genius can skip time.
These were men who'd trained their bodies for over a decade and learned to kill.
Talent beats effort, but not time.
I clicked my tongue, pondering how many potions he'd need, when Cain's form suddenly vanished.
"What."
"Wow..."
Not vanished—my eyes just couldn't track anymore.
"Can't let your guard down, huh..."
He grabbed the incoming wooden sword's blade, yanked the knight close, and instead of swinging from the blind spot, slapped the face with his sword hand?
That was like Halon's Dexterity trait move.
As I pieced it together, Cain was headbutted while grabbed by the collar, then dangled limply in midair.
"Knocked out?"
"Yeah, looks like it, young master."
Sheesh. After all that stubborn charging, he at least landed one graze today.
A sigh-mixed-with-admiration escaped me, appetite gone as I set the cookie back on the plate and stood.
"Bring him over for a potion."
"Yeah... strawberry flavor today...?"
Killing two birds, we strolled to the training grounds. Cain was already stirring, wiping blood from his face and chatting.
"Thanks as always today."
"You were sharper this time, but still a ways off. You know that, right?"
Warmer vibe than expected.
Makes sense—initial parachute resentment faded with his hard work; they weren't bad guys, so his passion won them over.
"Lost pathetically again?"
Having a common enemy unites people too.
I smirked and approached Cain.
"Can't do anything right. Get up. When are you gonna earn your keep?"
"...Young master, may I say something?"
He opened his mouth like he wanted to defend himself, but I was the villain now.
"Nope, don't. Cain, let's go."
"See you tomorrow."
Seeing Cain bow as politely as ever to them stirred mixed feelings.
Who'd think that was the future man-hating butcher?
Erasing his Indomitable was divine indeed.
In a warm mood, I impulsively pulled up the trait window of the knight eyeing Cain and me with a stiff face.
[Dave—Regular Knight of the Gold-Beaked Raven Knights]
Representative Traits: [Stamina(A)] [Durability(A)]
Hidden Traits: [Mental Fortitude(B)] [Wind Spirit(D)]
Unexpected.
I'd just checked on a whim, but something caught my eye.
'Wind Spirit... that's a spirit affinity, right?'
I gestured for Cain—clothes a bloody mess from rough wiping—to wash up, then sat in a chair.
"Luna, grab some green juice."
"Just one glass... right?"
"While you're at it, two—yours too."
"Eek..."
After watching Luna trudge off, ears drooped in gloom, I pulled from my subspace the notes I'd jotted right after waking here, sorting traits.
'Right, spirits.'
Interesting—physical traits like Stamina and Durability alongside spirit affinity?
Hidden traits weren't visible in the original game scenarios anyway.
Mercs or random road-event recruits usually had job-fitting traits.
"Well, rigid talents are rarer anyway."
"What's that mean?"
"Gah, you startled me. Make some noise when you walk."
Heart skipped.
Face washed, blood gone, but swelling bruises spreading—not a pretty sight, even for Cain.
"You're here—drink your potion."
I nodded at the strawberry potion Luna set on the table. Cain eyed it suspiciously but took it.
"Strawberry flavor—Pro Nin Alchemy Tower product."
"Now you can tell the tower by flavor. Which one's best?"
"Young master, I'm back... And I like the mint choco from Pashian Tower..."
"For real...?"
Mint choco? Nah.
I shook my head at Luna returning with two green juices and raised my hand—drink up, both of you.
"Ughhh..."
"Not used to the taste, huh."
"Don't you know bitter stuff's good for you?"
They both grimaced; I shrugged with a grin and propped my chin.
"You seem pretty chummy with the knights now."
"They pity me thanks to someone. Feels intentional—tone it down."
As he added, 'Gaining their hearts late will be tough,' I tilted my head.
I wasn't the real Adelian anyway.
No plans to expand influence or seize the family—Cane and I would head out, so this position suited us.
A boss worse than none.
A headache.
'Plus, if we really need their strength, the continent's probably five minutes from chaos.'
Rich as we are, needing the family seat's knights over mercs?
That'd mean tangled in the continent-spanning main plot—then, like it or not, the knights would move.
"Why bother? I told you—they're not on our boat. You are."
Grow strong enough to outmatch the knights—no pressure.
Cain sighed.
"I... want to help too, young master."
"Luna'd be jealous—you're coming with me, obviously."
Truth is, Luna and I boarded Cain's bus.
As I said, I'm the driver; Cain's the bus.
Strengthen the bus or it'll smash against main-stream plot like a goat headbutting the hull.
Luna in shotgun? Anti-drowsy charm duty.
"So train hard till your birthday."
"Luck strikes, you might snag a swordsmanship trait."
[Cain Reyners—Survivor with a Flickering Spark]
Representative Traits: [???] [Genius(S)] [Appearance(A)] [Physique(S)]—Unsealed
Hidden Traits: [Misfortune(F)] [Tenacity(A)]—Unsealed
That '???' trait.
'Temple check will reveal it.'
For Cain's scheduled lottery scratch soon, I couldn't hide my excitement, lips curling up.