The Cost of Greed
Albert let the thought slip out. A wingless human could never fly through the sky. Gravity was to blame. As long as gravity existed, humans could never truly break free from it. Unless one was a bird with wings, anything that rose into the sky was destined to fall back to the ground. A thrown ball. A cursed stock that had been soaring vertically. An arrow shot high into the air—no matter how much force it carried, it would eventually plummet. Powerful gravity held humans firmly to the earth like an unbreakable shackle. To escape it, one needed a force of equal magnitude.
In the other world, humans had used the power of science to briefly defy gravity and take to the skies. But in this world, escaping gravity required a different method. Magic was the most obvious example, and next came…
‘An item, perhaps? If it could let someone leap high enough to reach a Rice Eater, it would be better than most items.’
The merchant, Breck, watched as Albert jumped high into the sky, plucked a feather from a Rice Eater, and descended. He assumed it was the power of an item. Without one, reaching such heights would be impossible by any normal means. Greed flickered in his eyes.
‘If we could get our hands on that item, we could harvest Rice Eater feathers without any trouble.’
He stroked his pig-like protruding belly and gave a sly smile. His body trembled, sending his jowls rippling like waves. An item that allowed such a high jump would fetch a hefty price at auction.
‘I came here to hunt Rice Eaters and hit the jackpot instead!!!’
Breck barked orders at his mercenaries.
“What are you standing around for! That bastard stole what was ours! Even if you have to kill him, get it back right now!”
The disgusting command revealed his true, ugly intentions. The mercenaries hesitated. Their job was only to capture Rice Eaters and pluck their feathers—there had been no mention of fighting anyone. While guarding was part of an escort contract, they had no justification to attack first unless provoked.
“We can’t do that.”
“What?”
“Even mercenaries who’ll do anything for money have principles. No matter how you look at it, attacking someone who hasn’t attacked us first is…”
“Double the commission.”
“Hah, you think you can buy our principles with money? No matter how much we love coin, a mercenary’s honor can’t be—”
“Triple.”
“……”
Apparently, a mercenary’s principles could be shaken by three times the commission. The mouths that had moments ago sworn to uphold their honor fell silent. Seeing the mercenaries still unmoving, Breck delivered the finishing blow.
“Five times. And six times for whoever contributes the most to capturing him!!”
“Attack!!”
“Five times the pay!”
“Six times!”
“Get him!!”
“We are the Caliburn Mercenary Corps!! Surrender quietly! No, don’t! I need to catch him myself for six times the pay!”
‘Are they telling him to surrender or not to?’
That’s what makes humans so entertaining.
In the end, even principles crumble before money.
‘That’s what mercenaries are.’
Five times the commission was simply too much money to refuse, even for the sake of a mercenary’s principles. In the first place, those principles were built on money. Principles made of coin could only collapse when faced with more coin. The mercenaries quickly changed their stance and launched a fierce assault on Albert. Among them, an archer’s arrow grazed Albert’s cheek.
Trickle.
Blood flowed from the thin wound. The archer grinned.
“Bwahahaha! I hit him! It’s over for you now! My arrows are coated with paralysis poison!! That six-times bonus is mine!!!”
The archer laughed triumphantly. He had coated his arrows with paralysis poison beforehand to capture Rice Eaters. The toxin was potent enough to affect a human with even the slightest graze.
“Paralysis poison, huh… Well, that doesn’t really matter.”
Albert wiped the blood from his cheek and smiled wickedly.
“You guys threw the first punch, so from now on, this is self-defense. You know that, right?”
Albert smirked as he looked at the weapons they carried.
“That weapon of yours looks pretty good.”
The farming had begun.
* * *
Paralysis poison intrusion confirmed.
A low-grade D-rank toxin.
It has no effect on Albert.
Activating Detoxification skill.
Neutralizing the poison.
Calling yourself mercenaries and using such a cheap poison. At the very least, it should have been Basilisk paralysis venom or an Imoogi’s…
Of course, Albert had deliberately let the arrow hit him. Arrows fired by these kinds of people couldn’t even graze his collar, no matter how many thousands or tens of thousands they shot. Yet he had allowed it for one reason only—to gain justification.
Albert was no thug who stole from others, no thief, no robber. Attacking someone without proper cause was something only villains did.
‘A good person like me, who could live without laws, can’t just attack people without justification.’
( •́ ̯•̀ )
‘What? What’s with that suspicious look?’
‘Did you perhaps drop something?’
‘What?’
‘Your conscience, perhaps……’
“……”
Albert cleanly ignored the System’s teasing. In any case, the enemy had attacked first and wounded him. Of course, such an injury would disappear in less than 0.1 seconds, but the fact that he had been attacked and hit first was what mattered. With this, Albert could enter self-defense without hesitation.
“Huh……?”
The archer who had fired the arrow tilted his head in confusion.
“That’s strange. Why isn’t he collapsing?”
“What? You said it was paralysis poison. Why isn’t he falling?”
“Did you forget to coat it?”
“No way…… That can’t be. I was careful……”
“You must’ve missed a spot. Otherwise there’s no way he wouldn’t collapse. That paralysis poison is vicious.”
“There’s no way……”
“Hey, don’t tell me you’ve already got dementia? Forgetting what you did this morning?”
The archer let out a gasp. Dementia?! Insisting it couldn’t be, he drew another arrow. He was certain he had coated it properly this morning…… As he thought this, he lightly pricked his own finger with the arrowhead.
“Kuhak!”
The moment the arrowhead pierced his finger, a tingling sensation spread from the fingertip throughout his entire body. Paralysis symptoms. His arms and legs refused to move, and breathing was gradually becoming difficult. With the only part of his mouth still functional, he barely managed to speak.
“……See…… I did coat it……”
Even as his body was being paralyzed, he seemed relieved that it wasn’t dementia. He collapsed backward with a strange smile on his face.
“……He did coat it.”
“He sure did.”
“Then why isn’t that guy collapsing?”
“Maybe he has a detox item?”
“That could be.”
The mercenaries gripped their weapons tighter, now wary of Albert. He might possess other items—some with bizarre effects. Caution was necessary.
“Being cautious is good and all.”
Albert took a step forward. In that instant, his figure stretched like taffy. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and spoke with the corner of his mouth raised.
“Just because you’re being careful doesn’t mean you can actually avoid what’s coming.”
Albert raised his hand in a flicking position, aiming at the forehead of the mercenary right in front of him. The mercenary laughed inwardly at the sight.
‘Foolish bastard. Your movements are decent, but what can a mere forehead flick do?’
“I’m Charles the Stonehead, known for having the hardest head in the Caliburn Mercenary Corps! A forehead flick from you? Your finger will break!!”
He confidently accepted the attack. Albert, lips curled upward, flicked his finger.
Crack!
“Kuhak!!”
A loud sound of something breaking echoed. Charles collapsed backward. His forehead was severely swollen, and he had passed out from the tremendous impact, eyes rolled back.
“What broke was your stone head.”
The stone had cracked. The mercenaries’ eyes widened at the absurd sight of one man being knocked out by a single forehead flick. And by the time they realized something was wrong—
Crack!
It was already too late. Moving like the wind, Albert weaved between the mercenaries, delivering forehead flicks. One flick, one knockout. There was no need for two or three. One was enough.
“Huk!”
Breck couldn’t close his mouth at the unbelievable scene unfolding before him. The mercenaries he had paid good money to hire were falling without even putting up a proper fight. And all by a single person.
‘Just who the hell is that guy?’
“Well, only you’re left now.”
“Huuuk!!”
Albert appeared before Breck in an instant. Startled by the sudden approach, Breck quickly backed away, mindful of maintaining distance—both physical and mental.
“Here.”
Albert handed Breck a piece of paper. A receipt. Breck’s eyes trembled wildly as he accepted it with shaking hands.
“M-mental damage compensation…… 50,000 gold, physical injury 100,000 gold……? What is this……?”
“Compensation for damages I’m owed.”
“Compensation?! I have to pay you?!”
He trembled with indignation.
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen jowls ripple like that.
They’re really jiggling……
“……”
Those jowls had a strangely captivating quality.
“W-why should I pay you compensation?! You’re not even hurt!”
“I am hurt. Can’t you see the blood?”
“It’s just a graze!”
“Kuhk! That mercenary bastard coated his arrow with paralysis poison…… My hand is tingling, my tongue is numb, it’s hard to even speak.”
“……”
Breck stared at him in disbelief. Albert scratched the back of his head in annoyance and spoke firmly.
“Hand over the compensation. Otherwise, you die.”
Breck’s jowls trembled at the threat. It wasn’t from fear—it was from rage.
“You bastard…… Do you think you’ll get away with this?! I’m a merchant affiliated with the Merchant Guild! If you do this to me, you’ll be making an enemy of the entire Merchant Guild!!”
He spat as he ranted. Albert dug at his ear, looking annoyed.
“These people always bring up their guilds. Grandel tried to sell out the Mage Guild, and now this guy’s doing the same.”
Same script every time.
“You damn bandit! I’ll report this to the guild right now and make you taste the terror of this world!! No, you’re the one who should be paying compensation!!”
“Calling me a bandit is a bit much. You guys attacked first, remember? I only acted in self-defense.”
“You weren’t even hurt!! You turned my hired mercenaries into that state! You even stole the Rice Eater I was going to catch! Do you have any idea how much damage your interference has caused me?!”
“The only reason I wasn’t hurt is because I was stronger.”
Albert grabbed Breck by the neck. The unpleasant sensation of his hand sinking into the flesh was there, but he ignored it.
“If I had been weaker, I’d be the one lying over there, wouldn’t I?”
“That’s……!!”
“And calling me a bandit is going too far. I only acted in self-defense.”
“……I’m reporting this to the guild……”
“It won’t do you any good even if you do.”
“……?”
“Albert Legrian.”
Breck looked confused at the sudden name drop, but being a merchant with a quick mind, he immediately understood Albert’s intention in revealing his full name.
‘A noble?! Th-then……!’
From the look in his eyes, he had grasped the situation. Albert grinned.
“You do know that those who attempt to harm a noble can be summarily executed for the crime of insulting nobility, right?”
He had attacked the noble Albert, which meant Albert could invoke the crime of nobility insult. Summary execution. In short, Breck’s life and death were now in Albert’s hands. The justification was clearly on Albert’s side.
“I wonder whose side the Merchant Guild will take. A merchant like you, or a noble? Someone as quick to calculate profit and loss as you should know the answer.”
“……Now that you mention it……”
‘Damn it…… Who would’ve known he was a noble?’
Breck broke out in a cold sweat. It was unfair. Who in their right mind would expect a young noble to be wandering around a place like this without any guards? He had known the man’s appearance was unusual, but greed had blinded him and he had failed to analyze the situation properly. But what could he do? The deed was already done. Spilled water could be licked up, but it couldn’t be put back in the cup. To survive, he had no choice but to appease Albert.
“I was mistaken about my complaint. 50,000 gold for mental damage is too little—I’ll pay 100,000 gold. I’ll also pay 200,000 gold for physical injury compensation.”
Having assessed the situation, Breck quickly changed his attitude, flipping it like the palm of his hand.
For a pig, he sure catches on quick.
‘That’s why I like quick-witted pigs.’