Chapter 116: The World Only Remembers First Place
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 116: The World Only Remembers First Place
It was exasperating to watch the older sisters PR all the various benefits Im Su-yeon would receive if she became their disciple. I decided to forgive them for today, having already taken my revenge by stealthily snatching and eating the rabbit-shaped apple slices from her lunchbox.
"How much is the prize money for this competition?"
Alicia asked me, her innocent eyes blinking. It was strange for a kids' sports festival to have prize money, but since she was a sheltered young lady from the Empire, I could cut her some slack.
"If you get 1st place, you get five notebooks! 2nd place gets three, 3rd place gets two! Anyone below that gets one."
"Huh? Is that all? No wonder everyone seems so half-hearted... how boring."
It seemed Alicia hadn't been spanked enough yet. For the record, the school record for notebooks was held by the Degrain family—my sister, with thirty-three notebooks.
"Ah, then I should make a proposal so Yong-hwan works hard. I'll give you one gold coin for every notebook."
"...A gold coin?"
"Yeah. The value has gone up a lot because of those colony folks, so it'll be quite a bit when you exchange it."
Alicia waved her hand in the air, and gold coins came tumbling out. I looked at Mom first.
"You want me to kick you out? If you're going to give him an allowance, keep it within the realm of common sense."
"It's not even that much... So, how much does Yong-hwan get for an allowance?"
"I don't get one."
Alicia blinked.
"Mom gave me a card to use if I need it, Morian Noona gave me a card, and Seoha Noona gave me a card too!"
"...Does this kid even have a proper grasp of economics?"
"I'm not sure, since he's never actually used the cards," Mom answered honestly to Alicia's question.
"You little~! How do you survive without an allowance?"
The stupid loser vampire started tugging and stretching my cheeks.
"Whenever I'm just standing around, everyone buys me stuff anyway."
"Who?"
"Marika and the pets!"
"...Pets? And who's Marika?"
It seemed it was time to explain about Marika and the pets enslaved to me.
First, when I mentioned Marika was my 'concubine,' Alicia's face turned stone-cold. And when I talked about the Pet Trio and the Horse Sister—who was the most fun to ride while spanking—she couldn't even close her mouth.
"Hindel! From what I'm hearing, she sounds like your subordinate. What's this about a concubine?"
"Isn't a concubine or two fine?"
"Fine, my foot! Has that Commie Dragon gone senile?"
"It is a matter Yong-hwan decided. It is none of your business, Alicia de la Vega."
It felt like only yesterday that the white-haired, tanned, muscular, tall delinquent was raging that it was unacceptable. But after being educated(?) with a few swats to the rear and told not to talk back to Papa's decisions, Hindel didn't seem to have any complaints.
"Ame! Ame! This brat is already talking about taking concubines...?"
"It's okay, it's okay. As long as I'm number one."
"Ugh!!!! I feel like I'm losing my mind."
Alicia looked like she was about to die. I often felt like I was losing my mind at Mom's comments too. If she continued this irresponsible behavior even after I hit puberty, I might be forced to commit an act of filial impiety.
Future me will just have to work hard.
I didn't really have anything to spend money on at the elementary school, and if I needed something, I'd just swipe Mom's or my sisters' cards. But since that was mostly for snacks or school supplies, I didn't really have a concept of an allowance.
The food in this neighborhood wasn't even that good, to be honest. There was a reason I was obsessed with pork cutlets. Anything tastes good if you fry it.
Anyway, this was my first chance to actually earn money.
"I think it would be best if you paid me an hourly wage based on the minimum wage."
"Eh? What's that?"
The low-IQ vampire didn't even seem to know what minimum wage was. The sight of this third-generation chaebol vampire sister looking at Morian for help was so stupid I didn't even know how I should hit her.
"It's a concept from the colonies. It means paying at least a certain amount when someone works. It usually applies to simple labor, interns, or those learning a trade."
"Simple errands are one thing, but people learning a trade get paid to learn?"
"I don't get it either, but that's how they do it over there."
I felt like I was going to lose my sanity listening to this madness. It meant the people here were living in the 'wild,' where even the concept of a minimum wage didn't exist.
They say it's not always good for it to be high or low, but the mere concept of it not existing at all was terrifying.
"Hmm... how much should I give? Morian, how much do your regular employees get?"
"I don't know. Just tell him you'll give him a gift."
"Tsk... fine. Then if you win everything this time, I'll give you the airship we use for trips! You said you wanted it, right?"
"Oh...!"
It was a world without the concept of minimum wage, but if it treated me this favorably, it seemed like a pretty good world after all.
On top of that, Im Su-yeon was on our team this time. She was a total bitch, but as a teammate, she was like a broken cheat character for elementary schoolers. Today was the day to put the hatred aside.
I felt like I needed to be 'a little' serious.
"Why is that freshman so fast?!"
"Is he using mana?!"
"Hahahaha, you seniors are losers~!"
Whether it was the lower-grade sprints that ignored weight classes...
"Hmm? Son, what is it?"
"I drew Hindel for the scavenger hunt! Hurry up and carry me! Don't just stand there dazed, you stupid dragon!"
"I-I see..."
Or the scavenger hunt race with the stupid idiot Papakatsu dragon, whom I'd fetched because my slip of paper said 'someone you want to protect.'
To me, who now had the chance to own a massive airship that was basically a luxury cruiser, all my enemies were nothing but pathetic weaklings.
—Next is the Three-Legged Race with mothers. All mothers and athletes, please come to the designated area.
I was cooling off my sweat when someone grabbed my hand and pulled me up. It seemed Mom had been looking forward to the Three-Legged Race a lot. Wait, the hand felt too soft to be my mom's. I could feel slight calluses on the fingertips, but these weren't the hands of a delinquent who swung a sword.
"...Seoha Noona?"
Yuseoha was holding my hand and stealthily pulling me away. It seemed she wanted to take me to the Three-Legged Race instead of Mom.
"Hey, Yuseoha! Don't steal my son! I even used my annual leave for today!"
"...!"
"You! You! I let you off because you're cute, and now you're acting like a thieving cat?"
Mom started tugging and pinching Yuseoha's cheeks. Yuseoha reached out her hands randomly with the expression of a scolded kitten.
Yuseoha's little trick failed because she couldn't escape the eyes of Ame Cal Degrain—who might be a member of a low-IQ, inferior elf race dreaming of making a baby with her son, but was still a powerhouse.
With Yuseoha's kidnapping(?) attempt thwarted, I stood at the starting line while holding onto Mom's hip.
"Run! Run! Run! Mom! You loser! I said run! Loser!"
"No, Yo-Yong-hwan! If you just dash like that...! We have to stay in sync...!"
"You call yourself a Swordmaster! Do it right! Sync up with me! Don't be useless!"
Winning the Three-Legged Race with Mom wasn't difficult either. No matter how wildly I ran, whether she was a Swordmaster or just a swordsman, she synced up with me so perfectly it felt like I was running alone. The enemies were just too pathetic.
—We will now begin the Musical Chairs competition!
Always confident, I stepped onto the battlefield and scanned my surroundings. It was full of girls who looked at least 1.2 times bigger than me. However, they were no match for me, a mana user trained in various sub-missions and killing techniques.
There were 32 chairs at first. Out of the massive crowd of 50, there were only about two boys besides me, but they were pushed over by the girls and eliminated in the first round, crying as they went.
The next round had 24 chairs. A match where 8 out of 32 would be eliminated. Three-quarters would survive. I could see the group of cowards still remaining. I had to be careful because of the strange rules stating that actions like eye-gouging or liver-punching were fouls.
—Oh~ a boy has survived. What is that friend's name~?
—Yes! That is 'Jeong Yong-hwan,' who took second place in the International Junior Science Olympiad. He's the class president, ranks 2nd in the whole school, and has great leadership. He's a wonderful child!
My homeroom teacher, Lee Ji-yeon, was busy bragging about me. I wish she'd stop with the 'runner-up' and '2nd place' talk. For the crime of getting on my nerves, I felt like I should drag her to the men's room and punish her with a 'pet urination' session.
There were quite a few seniors, but they were too busy worrying about each other. Sensing that they didn't view a boy as a competitor, I followed behind a sister who looked reasonably weak, circled the chair, and quickly slid onto it.
An unnamed senior ended up sitting on top of me, resulting in her immediate elimination.
With 16 chairs left, the seniors finally seemed to recognize my strength and began to keep an eye on me. However, using my diligence and high intelligence, I managed to secure a spot through 'righteous' plays—like invisible rib-punches or poking fingers into armpits.
—Amazing! It seems no one is wary of him because he's a boy, but actually, at a young age, there's no real difference in strength between boys and girls! While girls tend to grow a bit faster, they're still in a similar age bracket!
An unnamed teacher chattered away excitedly.
When 12 chairs were left, I survived. When 8 were left, I survived. 6, 4, 3... I survived them all.
There wasn't a single girl who could beat me in a children's game. I knew how to use mana, was learning professional killing techniques, and was a monster-in-the-making who constantly built up combat sense thanks to my crazy pets.
Therefore, that luxury cruising airship was mine.
I glared at my final remaining opponent. Looking at the expressionless face staring back at me, the rage inside me began to burn. No, 'burn' is too weak; let's say it was 'blazing.'
Because I always came in 2nd, people seemed to have the wrong idea. I could get things done when I put my mind to it. I had already planned out what to do once I got that luxury airship.
I'd let Morian massage her tits while renting it out as a party venue for celebrities and entertainment industry people, ensuring a steady stream of income.
And if I spanked Alicia's butt, she'd probably pay the gift taxes for me too.
If there were no people, it would be good to let Hindel use it as a banquet hall for high-ranking officials.
—No one expected the lower-grade friends to be the last ones standing! I'm so curious to see who will win!
Life is all about the big score. Right now, it was no different from betting my life, even if I had to sell my soul to a devil.
My resolve was ironclad, and the title of 'Luxury Airship Owner' was right in front of me. No, it was already mine.
If only Im Su-yeon wasn't there.