Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Little Young Master (1)
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Pomwell House.
A baronial family located in the southern region of the vast continent. Truth be told, Pomwell House hadn't started out as some storied noble lineage. About a century ago, an ancestor who ran a trading company had sold stockpiled grain to the kingdom during a great famine and earned the title. Back then, quite a few merchant families had climbed into nobility the same way.
Even so, now that a hundred years had passed since becoming nobles, Pomwell House was eager to rub shoulders with the established aristocratic powers. But those circles were notoriously cliquish, and they hadn't even crossed the threshold yet. As a result, they were treated like an awkward, jagged stone—neither truly old blood nor fresh upstarts.
Jihoo had awakened as the youngest son of that very Pomwell House: Allen Dwight Pomwell.
...Holy shit, is this for real?
Jihoo naturally absorbed all of Allen's memories, as if they'd been one and the same from the start. Fortunately, there was no sense of alienation or rejection. It was just that, from Jihoo's perspective, this sudden situation was hard to swallow easily.
Still, thanks to fully integrating Allen's memories, Jihoo blended into this life in an instant. Luckily, the family noticed nothing amiss about the changes within Allen. ...No, more accurately, they didn't even care in the first place.
A father whose head was filled only with thoughts of making money, a mother who found her joy in gossiping with other noble wives over tea, an older brother desperate to break into the capital, a sister who wanted to flaunt her beauty at every party under the sun... At least it beat a gritty, blood-soaked life scraping by at the bottom—with food, clothing, and shelter guaranteed as a noble. Small mercies, right?
And before he could even wrap his head around how this had happened, just one day later, he realized what kind of world this was.
[Guild Master], the world inside the game—.
All the memories swirling in his head screamed that it was true. Of course, he couldn't just take that at face value.
Come on, a game world? That doesn't make any sense. Does that mean a status window will pop up too...?
...And then he saw it.
The unmistakable proof that this was that world he knew.
His own translucent status window, floating right in front of his eyes.
"Little Young Master."
Allen, lost in thought while lounging in a comfortable chair overlooking the garden, snapped out of it at the voice calling him. It was the old butler.
"Ah, yeah."
"The master is summoning you."
"...Got it. I'll head over soon."
Once the butler left, he let out a light sigh. Here it comes, right on schedule—he thought.
Apparently, a grown man holing up in his room like a sulking child for two days straight had been a thorn in his father's side.
If this were the first time, it might've been different. But this body already had a reputation for womanizing, and getting shot down after sniffing around some girl wasn't exactly new. He'd locked himself away in despair plenty of times before. And this time, it was a married woman, no less. ...Honestly, even from Jihoo's view now that it was his body, Allen had been pathetically lame about it.
No, fuck, what's so great about a married woman anyway—?
Jihoo inwardly cursed the original owner's idiotic past as he rose from the chair and headed to his father's study.
A father utterly indifferent to his family. Truth be told, the reason the baron had summoned his son wasn't for moping in his room—it was for botching the trading company duties assigned to him. He should've been out collecting payments from the city days ago.
Whew—.
Allen sighed softly and knocked lightly on the study door. A gruff "Come in" came from inside—the baron's voice.
As he entered, he saw Pomwell Baron seated at his desk, sifting through a mountain of papers without pause. The man worked like a machine, a flawless workaholic without a single flaw.
A middle-aged man with graying slicked-back hair. The way his eyes sharply scanned the documents, tolerating no mistakes, made him look colder than a ruthless killer.
The baron continued reviewing papers for a good while even after his son entered, before slowly lifting his head.
"Allen."
"Yes, Father."
"I don't care what nonsense you get up to. But you have duties assigned to you—shouldn't you handle them diligently?"
His heavy voice landed like a blow. A chill pierced straight to the bone, sending shivers down his son's spine.
"...Understood, Father. I'll go right now."
"Good. Out."
That was it. The son quietly withdrew from the study after enduring his father's icy reprimand.
The moment he closed the door, Allen exhaled in relief—whoosh—and hurried off to prepare for going out.
Truth be told, from Jihoo's perspective, this was a monumental first outing in this world. Even though it was just a tedious debt collection he'd been dreading, a thrill he couldn't hide bubbled up in his chest.
He mounted a horse with two escorts and clip-clopped out of the estate.
This mid-sized city, Verher, in the southern continent region, was fairly peaceful and pleasant to live in. The city lord, Count Eberheim, was old but still wise and benevolent, maintaining good relations with neighboring cities.
As Allen rode down the main street, clop-clop, taking in the sights, the townsfolk didn't exactly welcome him with open arms. ...No, precisely, it wasn't the youngest son they disliked—it was fear of Pomwell Baron trailing in his shadow. The man had a notorious reputation as a cold-blooded tyrant who showed not a shred of mercy to the common folk.
Of course, Allen couldn't care less what they thought. He'd do his job and leave—that was that.
Let's see here—.
He quickly scanned the payment ledger in his hand. Not a single coin missing—meticulous accounting. No doubt his father's handiwork.
He stopped near the first shop, dismounted, and went inside. The elderly shopkeeper forced a grin—"Aigo!"—and fussed over him exaggeratedly.
"Here for the payment. Supposed to come two days ago, but something came up—sorry for the delay."
"Aigo, no, no."
Allen reflexively pulled up the status window first. It was a habit from his countless hours playing [Guild Master].
Truth be told, as a non-warrior civilian, the man's stats were irrelevant. What Allen quickly eyed were just the traits.
[Mediocre][Chatterbox][Miser][Greed][Weakling]
(My head throbs from money worries. My back aches. My knees ache. ...)
Dozens of lines detailing bodily ailments stretched on. True to the [Weakling] trait, not a single part of him was pain-free. ...Not that you'd expect much from a random old man's traits, anyway.
Allen grabbed the payment and slipped out before the old man's pointless chatter could start. A granddaughter, hoping to trade favors for better terms, peeked out late and eyed him seductively, but he pretended not to notice.
After hitting several spots and finishing one district, the sun was already high in the sky. Before moving to the next area, he ducked into a tavern with his escorts for a cool beer.
The patrons inside naturally recognized Allen. In a city like this, how could anyone miss the youngest son of the most prominent trading house?
He nodded toward a rowdy group boozing it up noisily in the corner and asked an escort.
"They look like out-of-towners. Who are they?"
"Probably mercenaries who sniffed out the money. Didn't something happen at the copper mine recently?"
"...Really? What kind of problem?"
"Monsters rampaged out of the nearby demon realm, hurting some miners."
...Had that happened?
Jihoo inwardly clicked his tongue at Allen's obliviousness. No matter how disinterested, how could he miss this? Especially since the copper mine was a significant stake for his father, Pomwell Baron.
But he said no more, drained the last of his beer, and left the tavern.
He resumed his rounds collecting payments. After knocking out about half the list, he returned to the estate.
But there, parked boldly inside, was a carriage bearing the count's insignia.
Someone from the count's family...?
Without more details, he couldn't tell who. Visits from the count's house weren't rare, so he brushed it off and headed to report the collections to his father.
On the way to the study, he bumped right into someone coming from the opposite hall.
Ah—.
A golden-haired beauty radiating a sharp aura like a honed blade. He knew who she was the instant he saw her. ...Impossible not to.
Count Eberheim's cherished granddaughter, Charlotte Louisfont Eberheim—.
Seeing her made his chest tighten like he'd choked. He felt like a mouse before a cat.
At the same time, old memories flooded his mind. Nightmarish recollections of cowering before her, the girl who'd nearly become his fiancée, too timid to even stand tall... It hit Jihoo just how weak-willed and pathetic the original Allen had been.
No matter how much of a gaming addict Jihoo had been on Earth, he'd never been this spineless. He'd dated a few times, even held down a proper job once. ...Though it all went to shit eventually.
This pathetic bastard... I should've realized from the start, when he shut himself in for two days after getting rejected by a married woman—.
They soon stood face-to-face. Allen's inherently cowardly body instinctively shrank before Charlotte, but Jihoo fought it back. Fortunately, the flesh didn't betray his will entirely.
"Long time... no see, Lady."
"It has been, hasn't it."
Her gaze upon him was laced with contempt, as expected. She utterly despised such timid, feeble men. And for a coward, he had that filthy reputation of swinging his dick around recklessly... She even loathed herself for once being swayed by his pretty-boy looks.
"What brings you here...?"
Charlotte wanted to snap, Like you need to know, you creep—, but she held back. Nobles had to keep up appearances, after all.
"Here on mine business."
"Ah, I see."
Allen smiled. Charlotte did not.
"Well then."
She had no desire to linger. This was mere courtesy. Nothing more.
He watched her brisk, cold departure for a moment.
[Prodigy][Efficiency][Coldness][Narcissism][Ambition][Masochism]
(Despises cowards. On her period.)
...Fucking ice queen. ...Must be that time of the month.
He turned on his heel and headed back to the study.
Back then, maybe he'd have cowered under that look. But not now.
He brimmed with confidence—far more than during his Earth days.
...Maybe because this was the world of [Guild Master].