Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Lingering Filth
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“Filthy…….”
No matter how many times I washed, that lingering sensation of bugs crawling over my skin wouldn’t fade.
A sibling born by devouring our mother. And a father who protected that sibling just because he was a boy.
Gadia’s gaze slowly drifted downward.
Instead of her toes, she saw her milky-white bosom.
This burdensome feature of her body, which only got in the way when drawing a bowstring or moving, always drew the eyes of men at the academy.
‘Filthy.’
Unlike now, when she was a ranker, the lecherous stares from her early academy days and the sticky whispers trailing behind her had poured in relentlessly.
In the end, for Gadia, who had grown utterly sick of such things, today’s events seared into her brain more intensely than a lightning strike.
Adelian stumbling out red in the face, and the two silhouettes she glimpsed in the heap of bedding when she entered the room.
And that jet-black hair that especially caught her eye.
Crunch!
‘This doesn’t make sense.’
Even if he’d stormed out like that, he was still the little brother who ultimately feared her.
A tyrant only before the weak, a fool who couldn’t even properly look his father or her in the eye.
Yet he’d answered her point-blank and even taken control of the conversation?
‘Something’s off. It doesn’t sit right.’
Her father’s letter had clearly stated that Adelian’s Trait was nothing special, but could a complete good-for-nothing, fully confirmed as incompetent, suddenly act so brazen?
‘No way…….’
Had she been fooled?
‘What if he actually awakened a special Trait?’
And he was acting so bold in front of her because he trusted in that?
Gadia’s eyes narrowed.
“I need to look into it.”
To confirm if what she knew was true.
Before returning to the academy, Gadia quickened her steps to meet the priest who had appraised Adelian’s Trait.
* * *
“Listen up. The important thing is recovering your body.”
I scooped up a bite of pudding, waggled the spoon, and pointed at Cain.
“You need to eat at least five meals a day from now on.”
“A new form of torture, huh.”
“No no, don’t talk back to your gracious employer. Anyway, you’ve got a long way to grow. More precisely, you need to build up your body.”
In the original story and game, he’d been dragged off to an assassin group for training, keeping his body lean and agile, but I had different plans.
What good was a scrawny beanpole? It’s not cool. Men need muscle, Cain.
You’ll thank me for it later.
He’d hit 188 cm in his official profile despite barely eating until the late game, so his growth potential was plenty.
“For the time being, focus solely on eating and resting to build your base stamina. Then I plan to slot you into the knight order. Not officially knighted, of course.”
The sweet pudding slid down smoothly.
“I’ll provide you with the best elixirs and potions. But I can’t teach you myself. I’m not physically strong. And hiring an outside instructor to train you would be tough. You know why.”
“There aren’t any high-class tutors willing to teach a noble’s bastard. Unless it’s some street mercenary or eccentric.”
“Right, this damn Kruger family has such a grand name that anyone ‘beneath our level’ can’t set foot here. Even as acting family head, I can’t keep outsiders in the main estate for days on end. Not unless they’re coming under my direct command like you.”
I felt a twinge of guilt looking at Cain, now registered as my servant, but I swallowed it without showing.
I could say with my own mouth that I was just acting head, that the family held no real power, that I was a wastrel and incompetent—but I absolutely couldn’t show weakness.
No matter what they said about me being weak or whatever, I had to act like I had something up my sleeve.
That guy was a beast, a predator that would rip apart anything weak.
I had to keep the upper hand, dragging him along—I couldn’t let him drag me.
So I had to shamelessly drive Cain into harsh lands and corner him.
“Your only way to learn training methods or swordsmanship is via parachute drop. And of course, they won’t take kindly to you. They hate me already, and now a greenhorn dropped in on my orders?”
“Sounds about right. But if I can’t endure even that, better to die now.”
Spoken like a guy who once had the ‘Unyielding’ Trait……
They say once paper is folded, no matter how you unfold it, the crease remains and renders it unusable.
But even after bending the knee to me once, Cain was still Cain.
Even if I dragged him through all the original hardships, he probably wouldn’t bend again.
“Don’t die. It’d be a loss for me.”
I said it lightly for no reason and propped my chin, grinning.
“Still, they’re knights of a prestigious house, so they won’t actually kill you. They’ll just grind you till you wish for death.”
“Same old daily grind.”
Cheeky bastard……
Knowing it was true, I averted my gaze and stood up.
“I’ve registered you as my exclusive servant for now. So your room’s next to mine. Right side’s Luna, left’s you.”
If I call out thirsty at night, one of you better come running.
* * *
Cain would do well no matter what I tasked him with.
The problem was me.
What good was knowing where those ancient-grade relic items were scattered or how to get them?
Looking at me now, it was obvious I couldn’t make those journeys.
Considering the original Adelian’s stamina, tagging along after Cain would be a straight path to an early grave.
After sending Cain to his room, I flopped face-down on the bed, grabbed some paper and a quill pen, and pondered.
“What can I snag with money right now?”
The Fairy’s Shoes still had an owner in fairyland, too soon to even glimpse them… The Wind Scale Cloak was too far away.
I drew X’s over the two entries, tapped the paper, and sank back into thought.
‘Rice or poison, it has to start with me, Cain, and Luna.’
Places Cain and I would roam—mazes and human sacrifice sites—too many to hire civilians, and mercenaries were dicey.
With my abilities lacking elsewhere, I had no choice but to kit myself out with artifacts to compensate……
A low-level wallet warrior strutting with pay-to-win gear, PK enabled to boot. Party members clueless about the world or communication-impaired.
Even I’d grab the loot and bolt, sell it off, or land a fat PK.
At least low-tier mercs might fight back if we got backstabbed.
But high-grade mercs with tight lips and solid rep are that strong precisely because of it—unfinished growth for Cain and Luna, and one greedy backstab spells party wipe.
Even hiring under the family name, the spots we’re hitting are rough. “Died to traps or monsters”—who’d know? My corpse’ll have plenty to loot anyway.
God’s contract’s rare too; can’t waste it.
“Guess I’ll check the auction house first…….”
And practice riding. Original Adelian could manage as cultured training, but I had zero experience.
Have Luna teach horse care? Only available unit right now is her, no choice.
Berserker tree scrapped; raising her as an all-rounder it is.
I scribbled on the paper with the quill: ‘Transport: Horse? All-rounder utility.’ Drew Luna beside it, then circled stick figures for me too, slashing lines.
Time for some objective self-assessment.
I’m a player, but effectively an NPC. In game terms, a guide/commentator who never gets picked for combat.
‘And yet I’m indispensable.’
How nice it’d be to just hand over cash and munch popcorn safely.
‘Nah.’
I’m the bus driver, and Cain’s the bus.
I’ll ram through every threat with that bus.
Beside the paper with a bunny-eared stick figure and a plain one, I drew a big bus.
Gadia’s spike bumper, Raychelle’s modded engine. Luna as mechanic, other heroines stealth, high beams, etc……
‘This is an all-purpose bus.’
Robust enough to survive a zombie apocalypse……
“Man, this is insane.”
Having sorted my thoughts roughly, I stretched out limbs freely, tracing the ceiling mural with my eyes before muttering low.
Clink—
In the quiet room, the ring’s spin rang out clearly.
I spun the ring repeatedly with my fingertips, reading the info on the sub-spaces forcibly entering and exiting my mind.
“Six of them.”
Of the 12 sigils engraved on the Kruger ring, 6 brimmed with gold.
The rest each held different items, save for one empty sigil.
Even to my eyes, each sigil’s assigned sub-space was no small size—hard to gauge, but that much gold?
How many years of continent-sucked coin was this?
And they left all this cash and rare goodies for me to touch freely, but left one sub-space empty?
‘How valuable must that thing be to hold it back?’
“Young master. Alkaido here.”
As I pondered, Alkaido’s voice drifted from beyond the door.
‘Meeting Alkaido always spells trouble.’
I frowned reflexively, sighed, cleared my throat, and opened my mouth.
“Come in.”
Sitting up on the bed, I irritably swept back my hair and glared at Alkaido’s gray head bowed in greeting.
“What is it?”
“If I may be so bold, were you the one who ordered the handling of House Halon’s affairs?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Or did you think Halon was sneaking documents and stamping them himself?”
My words laced with a soft chuckle made veins bulge on Alkaido’s forehead, or so it felt.
“Young master, the documents that come up from across the continent to the main estate aren’t toys. Among the countless matters under the Kruger family, those reaching here are the most urgent or important.”
“Short version, Alkaido.”
“Please read and approve the documents yourself, young master. And I implore you to reject the recent continent-wide notice.”
Good, Alkaido. I was planning to chew you out anyway.
“Why should I?”
“Running the merchant guilds on credits instead of gold coins fosters loyalty among our affiliates and stabilizes the continent’s commerce and…….”
“Ah, I get the gist. It’s just another tool for our family either way, right? Same amount in gold, dole it out more or less to rank loyalties, squeeze ideas or labor with intangible credit bounties, yeah?”
I cut Alkaido off mid-sentence, smirking sarcastically as I continued.
“Gold value fluctuates by empire or minor kingdom coinage, but credits are more stable than that—safer, etc. That’s what you’re gonna say, right, Alkaido? But it’s too rigid.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
I slowly opened Alkaido’s Trait window and checked his Traits.
[Alkaido Heyman—Iron-Blooded Butler]
Main Traits: [Loyalty(A)] [Composed(C)]
Hidden Traits: [Haggling(C)] [Mysophobia(A)]
‘He’s a bit rattled by my words. Composed dropped a rank.’
Not the important part. I double-checked the top Trait, Loyalty, and smiled.
“The previous family head’s idea to make credits the key currency was brilliant. It’s flowed our way till now. But Alkaido, what if war breaks out? A massive one?”
“Impossible. The continent’s closer to stability than ever.”
“Maybe on the surface. But if war really hit? Seas and roads no longer safe, merchants can’t cross borders, imperial or royal houses restrict goods flow and requisition them?”
“That’s…….”
Alkaido wasn’t slow. Grasping my point, he looked at me with alarmed eyes.
“The Kruger merchants aren’t one monolith, Alkaido. Just scattered dots that look unified. And if those dots lose connection…….”
Pour water on sand grains to clump them; once the water evaporates, a mere breeze scatters them.
“The main body might survive, but the fingertips—the small guilds—would crumble en masse. Credits only convert to gold at the main estate, and if they can’t reach it, stuck without coin in hand…….”
“…That’s only if a continent-spanning war somehow erupts.”
“No absolutes, Alkaido. Anyway, I’m not insisting blindly—just loosen up a bit. Not 10 or 20 years. Trial for exactly one year—how’s that?”
If Alkaido’s Loyalty was to Kaiman, he’d never yield. But his Loyalty Trait belonged elsewhere.
“…Very well, young master. How could I, your servant, oppose your will? If it’s just one year, I’ll accept.”
Me, the Kruger family itself, pushing so hard—he must’ve thought I knew something he didn’t, stepping back.
The ‘one year’ limit was key too.
“Good. Now get out.”
Savoring victory, I grinned triumphantly.