Money Is the Best Medicine
Money truly was the ultimate cure. The Pomeranian family mansion boasted two training grounds. One was the communal arena where the knights sworn to the house could hone their swordsmanship. The other was the private training ground reserved exclusively for the head of the family, Rodrian.
“Hoo……”
Rodrian stood with sword in hand, eyes closed, his concentration absolute. Judging by the sweat soaking his clothes, he had finished his drills and was now meditating. Most people meditated seated in lotus position, but Rodrian found it far more natural to focus while holding his blade.
“Still far from it.”
When he opened his eyes, a fierce light flashed within them. What remained was a deep, bitter regret and a heavy disappointment.
“I thought I would break through the wall by now.”
He had spared no effort to shatter that wall. He had consumed priceless elixirs. He had thrown himself into countless battlefields, risking his life against powerful monsters time and again. Yet despite the elixirs and the mountain of experience, the wall refused to budge.
‘As expected…… it’s solid.’
“Grand Master, huh……”
To reach Grand Master, one had to break through the wall blocking the path. No matter how desperately he pushed, however, there was no sign it would give.
“……Still lacking? What exactly?”
He possessed everything—power, wealth, talent—yet he remained stuck at the Master stage, making no progress.
Rodrian closed his eyes once more. In that moment, a single trajectory traced itself across his mind. It did not stop there; it continued, weaving a beautiful pattern. An exquisite work of art, so graceful it could steal the breath of any observer.
“……Rian Legrian.”
When Rodrian opened his eyes again, two emotions entirely unsuited to him lingered in his gaze: envy and jealousy. The man who had always been the object of others’ envy now found himself envying someone else.
‘You’re still standing in my way. Even after I removed the obstacle that was you, you remain.’
Rodrian ground his teeth and erased the line from his mind. Then, slowly, he opened his eyes.
“So, what is it?”
“Oh my, you noticed me?”
“……”
“Hahaha, my apologies~. Well, there’s no way a Master like my father would miss my presence.”
An intruder had entered the training ground. He had done his best to conceal his presence, yet escaping a Master’s senses was impossible. Especially when that Master stood on the very threshold of Grand Master. A ten-meter radius was his absolute domain.
“So, what is it?”
“Isn’t that a bit cold? Your loving son attended the social party on your orders and came back, and you can’t even say ‘good work’?”
“Your nonsense has increased. Get to the point.”
“How stiff. Fine~. The faster, the better for me anyway.”
Bahun shrugged, adding that he had no desire to linger here either, and let out a playful laugh.
“As you instructed, I met with the Legrian brats.”
“And? How were they?”
“Elena Legrian was quite pretty. I’ve met plenty of noble daughters, but she was something else. That dress she wore was stunning.”
“……”
Rodrian’s gaze sharpened. The look clearly demanded he skip the useless chatter and get to the main report. Bahun merely shrugged again.
“All right, all right. You’re so impatient. I met him—Albert Legrian.”
“How was he?”
At Rodrian’s curt question, Bahun dropped his playful demeanor entirely.
“He was strong.”
“How strong?”
“At the very least, stronger than me.”
“……”
“It was the first time I’ve ever felt this certain. No matter how many times I challenged him— even with every possible variable—he would win a hundred times out of a hundred.”
Rodrian was genuinely surprised. Bahun was his own blood, talented and fiercely proud of his strength. Even against opponents stronger than himself, he never lost his fighting spirit. He never admitted weakness in front of others. Hearing such words from him was unexpected.
“That strong?”
Bahun had reached the Expert rank at a young age, inheriting Rodrian’s bloodline, and now stood on the cusp of High Expert. If even he could not win……
‘At minimum High Expert, or perhaps Peak Expert?’
“……How unpleasant.”
It was the bloodline. Rian Legrian had already been an eyesore; now his son had inherited that same monstrous talent. It was infuriating.
“Enough. Leave.”
“……”
“What are you doing? Did you not hear me?”
“Did you forget to ask one thing?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You should ask this as well.”
Bahun mimicked Rodrian’s deep voice.
“Compared to me, who is stronger? Why won’t you ask that?”
“……”
Rodrian’s brow twitched in displeasure. The pressure radiating from him grew heavy and razor-sharp. The crushing aura crashed over Bahun like an enraged horde of orcs.
“Kuh……”
Bahun felt goosebumps rise across his entire body. That overwhelming, undeniable strength made it painfully clear why Rodrian was a Master.
“Hahaha…… My, you seem quite displeased. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Bahun quickly retreated from the training ground.
“Hoo……”
Once outside, he steadied his breathing. Leaning against the wall, he curled his lips into a smirk and chuckled to himself.
“For Father to react like that…… How interesting. And yet……”
Rodrian was strong. As one of the continent’s few Masters, his power was in a league of its own. Standing at the threshold of Grand Master, that was only natural. So why……?
‘Why does Albert Legrian feel stronger?’
An inexplicable doubt. No matter how much he thought about it, it was a question he could never answer alone.
* * *
Whydra’s rampage had left the territory in ruins.
“Aah……”
“My home……”
“How could this……”
The residents were drowning in despair. Calamity often struck without warning, but this had been far too sudden—like a car swerving into traffic without signaling and causing a massive accident.
“Hoo……”
“This is a mess. Completely wrecked.”
Everyone wore grim expressions. Their homes had been destroyed overnight, leaving them homeless in an instant. Their hollow eyes and listless faces painted a picture of utter gloom. The atmosphere felt like a shipwrecked vessel adrift in a sea of melancholy, ready to sink at any moment.
“Everyone.”
Elena raised her voice gently amid the despair. Her clear, ringing tone reached every ear and drew their attention. With a determined expression, she spoke.
“I know how difficult this is for all of you. But we cannot remain like this. We may have lost the houses we lived in, but we have not lost our home.”
Her voice carried both warmth and a commanding charisma. Through countless trials and the recent social gathering, she had grown tremendously as both head of the family and lord of the territory.
[She seems to have largely overcome her trauma.]
The shadows had vanished from her face, leaving her looking brighter—radiating light like the sun driving away darkness.
‘That’s right.’
“Young master.”
“Nanny, are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
The nanny who had evacuated had returned safely. She watched Elena encouraging the people with a warm, motherly smile.
“I’m glad. It seems the young lady isn’t too shaken by this incident.”
She was genuinely relieved. When monsters had attacked the territory in the past, Elena had been deeply wounded. The nanny had worried the same might happen again.
“I was so anxious she might collapse from the strain, but it seems my worry was unnecessary.”
“Indeed. Even if she did collapse, it wouldn’t matter much.”
Albert’s gaze toward Elena was filled with unwavering confidence.
“Because if she falls, I’ll just pick her back up.”
“Hoho, how reassuring~.”
“If you’re struggling too, Nanny, just say the word. We’re family. I’ll support you.”
“Oh my~ Young master, thank you for saying that. But I’m quite all right. My condition has been excellent lately.”
The nanny beamed, clearly in high spirits.
“So, everyone, isn’t it time we rebuilt our home together? Let’s give it our all!”
“Yes, understood.”
“Yeees……”
“We have to.”
Elena’s passionate speech ended. While the people’s expressions had brightened slightly, their motivation remained low. The sense of loss was overwhelming. No matter how charismatic Elena was, words alone could not fill the void.
She returned looking somewhat dejected.
“Hng…… It doesn’t seem to have worked.”
“Of course it wouldn’t with just that.”
“But……”
Albert offered a slightly mischievous smile and gently patted her head.
“Watch how I do it.”
He approached the crowd and said something to them. The response was immediate—an earth-shaking roar.
“Uwooooo!”
“Let’s get to work right now!”
“Shovels! Bring the shovels!”
“I’ll fix my own house!!”
The people who had been listless moments ago were now brimming with enthusiasm. Elena stared in shock.
“O-Oppa, what on earth did you say? How did you make them…… What exactly did you tell them!?”
Seeing her astonished face, Albert grinned.
The void left by losing one’s home could not be filled with kind words or comfort.
“If the work finishes quickly, I promised a base monthly wage of 300 gold plus a 500% performance bonus, with an additional 10 gold per completed house.”
“……”
What filled the void was, as always, money.
“Physical wounds are best treated with potions. Wounds of the heart are best treated with money.”
As he always thought, financial therapy was the greatest medicine of all.
* * *
“Hey, hey, move faster!”
“……”
Gasto and Whydra were both busy. Gasto had received orders from Albert: go to the Architects’ Guild and purchase a large quantity of building materials. Normally Albert would have gone himself, but he had deliberately sent Gasto on the errand. Naturally, Whydra accompanied him.
“Taxi Number Two, departing.”
“Ugh……”
“Aren’t you leaving? Huh? How long are you going to stand there? Hurry up and prepare the spell!”
“……”
“Whoa, you’re fast. Back in my day, we had the magic ready before we even left!”
Whydra ground his teeth and cast the teleportation spell, heading for the Architects’ Guild in Landolf Territory. Gasto purchased the materials with practiced ease. Though the quantity was considerable, he stored everything in his extradimensional space like a true dragon.
“All right~ Time to head back~? Hurry up and prepare, will you?”
“You damned bastard…… Do you have no pride as a dragon?! Taking orders from a human like that!!”
“I guess I don’t have much pride since I’m a half-breed. But are you sure you should be saying that? What if I go back and repeat it word for word?”
“You would tattle as a dragon!?”
“Why not? You’re always calling me a half-breed and a half-wit anyway.”
“……”
“So, what’ll it be? You know what’ll happen if I tell Albert what you said, right? He doesn’t hold back.”
Whydra clenched his fists in frustration.
“……S-Sorry……”
Gasto’s lips curved upward in triumph. Of course it felt good. The very Whydra who had tormented him for so long—the infamous ill-tempered Black Dragon—was now lowering his tail at a single word from him.
“Let’s do our best~ Do our best~.”
Whydra could only tremble with humiliation.
‘That damned bastard…… Damn it! Me, beneath him!’
He wanted nothing more than to punch that smug grin off Gasto’s face. But he couldn’t. The contract bound him, leaving no room for refusal.
At first, he had rebelled proudly.
‘Beneath that guy!? Taxi Number Two? What nonsense! I am the great Black Dragon, Lernaia Whydra! I will not be beneath some half-wit who has only just reached independence!’
Albert had merely smiled.
‘Is that so? Well, I’m an open-minded person. I always welcome feedback.’
A murderous aura and overwhelming pressure had erupted from Albert’s body. Power gathered in his clenched fist, warping the very space around it.
‘Speak up. I love a good conversation.’
His words, tone, expression, and actions all conveyed the same message: the “conversation” Albert spoke of was a physical one.
After that, Whydra had been beaten for over an hour.
‘Damn it, how did I end up suffering this humiliation…… and at the hands of that half-wit, no less!!’
The irony was almost poetic. It was like the school delinquent who used to bully someone suddenly meeting that same person as his superior after enlisting in the army.
“Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“I said close them!”
“……Fine.”
“What do you see?”
“Nothing.”
“Exactly. That’s your future from now on. Not very bright, is it?”
“What are you saying!?”
“Black Dragons like darkness, don’t they? I’ll make your future dark for you. Don’t worry—I’ll put in the effort.”
All that remained for Whydra was endless harassment and abuse. The loser he had once bullied had become his personal tormentor.
“The future’s looking bright, isn’t it?”
A happy smile—the first Gasto had ever worn—spread across his face. It was the moment Whydra’s once-smooth draconic life took a sharp, irreversible turn.