Chapter 31: Bandit Loot & Brotherly Bribes

“First of all, reacting to subscriptions during gameplay disrupts the flow, so from now on, I’ll only do reactions when I’m not in the middle of the game.”

“Yeah, it really breaks immersion when the game’s going great and suddenly there’s a reaction.”

“Alright. Let’s begin.”

Exitra unpaused the game and resumed his next task.

“Alright, then.”

The people who had narrowly escaped death gathered around Exitra to thank him.

“Th-thank you so much!”

“We really thought it was over for us…”

“Truly, thank you!”

They all expressed their gratitude while looking at Exitra.

When they were first captured by the bandits, they had thought they were done for.

The bandits not only robbed them but also had a tendency to sell people as slaves or kill them outright.

In fact, just before Exitra and Alfredo arrived, the bandit leader had been contemplating how to dispose of the captives—not whether to spare them, but how best to kill and discard them.

If Exitra had been even a little late, these people would’ve become nothing more than a wolf’s dinner.

“You were attacked on your way to my territory. Of course I had to help.”

“Ah, are you Lord Exitra of the Raiders?”

“Yes.”

Exitra nodded lightly in confirmation.

At his words, the people’s eyes widened in shock.

They had never imagined a noble would personally come to their rescue.

“But… how did you know where we were?”

“One of your group came to my territory, badly injured. I heard the situation from him.”

“Oh! I see. Is he alright? He’s a friend of mine.”

The merchant asked cautiously, clearly worried upon hearing his friend was injured.

Exitra reassured him.

“He’s resting comfortably in bed now, so there’s no need to worry.”

“In bed… resting?”

“Yeah.”

“That bastard…”

Crack!

“Hm?”

Something felt off.

Normally, when someone hears their friend is safe, they breathe a sigh of relief.

But not these people.

Instead… there was something else—rage.

“You bastard!! He ran away and left us when the bandits came!!”

“That damn coward!!”

“I saw him. The moment someone shouted ‘Bandits!’ he bolted!”

“Alive, huh? Resting comfortably in bed, huh? The next time I see him, he’s dead meat!”

— [Whoa…]

— [Plot twist no one expected!! DU-DUN!!!]

— [Turns out he was a runaway merchant all along LOLLLLL]

— [You know why Itachi is strong? Because he RAN!! Swish!]

— [I’ve never felt this kind of rage before!!!!]

‘Wait… that merchant was a deserter?’

“He said he got wounded while fighting off the bandits and barely managed to escape to inform us.”

Upon hearing that, the merchant—who had claimed that man was his friend—shouted.

“That’s a lie!”

“Yeah! That guy ran faster than light!”

“And that wound? Probably from trying to dodge a knife the bandits threw at him while he was fleeing.”

“He looked like he was about to die…”

“He probably tripped on the way. It’d be totally like him.”

“Hah…”

Exitra was dumbfounded.

Honestly, he’d felt a little moved seeing the guy struggle through his injuries just to bring help.

“I want my emotions back.”

— [I can’t believe that guy…]

— [Even I thought he was a decent person…]

— [That guy… totally tricked us.]

— [Ugh, his mouth opens and lies just fall out!! A liar!!]

Even the viewers were furious.

The chat exploded.

“First, let’s recover the cargo and head back.”

“Ah! Right!”

“Understood!”

“I know where the cargo is. This way…”

The merchants and members of the Architect Guild moved to retrieve the cargo.

Thankfully, the bandit camp still held all of it, untouched.

“Is it over now, brother?” Alfredo came up and asked.

Exitra shook his head.

“Not even close.”

He grabbed a rope from a merchant and handed it to Alfredo.

“Tie them up.”

“Huh?”

“I said, tie them up.”

“Tie who?”

“Who else? The ones lying over there. What, you were just going to leave them? They’re bandits. If we leave them like this, who knows what they’ll do next. Don’t tell me you didn’t even consider that?”

Exitra gave Alfredo a disapproving look, and Alfredo gritted his teeth.

“O-of course I knew that! I was just about to suggest it myself!”

He snatched the rope with a flourish.

His face was visibly red.

— [Little brother is mad~]

— [Big bro, say sorry~~ 😭]

— [Aww, look how red his face got!]

— [Why do I love it when the younger brother gets angry…]

— [BEEP! That’s because you’re a pervert.]

— [Because you’re a true degenerate, lol. Haaaak~]

— [Actually, I like it too! LMAO]

‘These perverts…’

“You know how to tie them up, right?”

“Of course I do!”

Alfredo began securing the unconscious bandits.

Meanwhile, Exitra turned to the merchants and asked for their help.

There were too many to tie up with just two people.

Before long, all the bandits had been restrained.

“Now if we report them, we can claim the bounty.”

Catching and reporting criminals like bandits and thieves earned you a reward.

It was a surprisingly decent source of income.

Later on, taking down a major criminal could net you more than 10 million gold in one go.

Bounty hunting was like a blessing during the financially tight early stages.

It was something you should never forget to do.

“And also…”

Exitra didn’t stop there—he raided their storage room.

It wasn’t a huge stash, but it held a decent amount of gold and equipment.

Seeing it, a smile crept across Exitra’s face.

“These things don’t have an owner, so I can take them, right?”

— [Whoa…]

— [You’re even looting the bandits’ warehouse now…]

— [Bandit boss crying in the distance 😭]

— [Got knocked out for 10 minutes and lost his entire stash LOL]

“I mean, if we just leave it, the Hunter Guild’s going to gobble it up anyway. I’d rather take it myself.”

— [He’s right though.]

— [That’s true.]

— [No one knows who owns it. If you leave it, someone else will take it.]

— [Yo, this warehouse is tasty. 10/10 loot spot!]

Even the viewers agreed.

With that informal “permission,” Exitra began looting the bandits’ warehouse.

While he was doing that, Alfredo approached.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

“What do you mean? I’m looting the warehouse.”

“Why… are you looting it? Isn’t this a bandit’s warehouse? Are you seriously robbing it?”

“Hah…”

Alfredo was too stunned to speak.

‘A noble, robbing a bandit warehouse?’

‘What kind of absurdity was this?’

“Come on, help me out over here.”

“No thanks. Why would I do something like that?”

Alfredo turned his head away.

He had his noble pride.

There was no way he would stoop to looting a bandit’s warehouse.

“And I’m going to report this to Father. He’ll love hearing that his heir robbed a bandit’s storage room.”

— [He’s gonna tattle to Dad!!]

— [Showdown incoming! Let’s goooo!]

— [Ughhh, stop with the noble act, it’s getting annoying.]

Alfredo was preparing to unleash his ultimate move—telling Dad.

Exitra paused with a bewildered expression.

Then a sly smile spread across his lips.

He subtly showed off the dagger he’d found in the bandit warehouse.

“By the way, look what I found—this fine dagger.”

***

Alfredo’s eyes went wide the moment he saw it.

‘Was the dagger once owned by a high-ranking noble?’

Its exterior was incredibly ornate.

“Oh, even the blade looks solid.”

It was forged with high-quality steel, likely by a master blacksmith—razor-sharp and gleaming.

It was the kind of dagger you couldn’t easily find anywhere else.

“Well? Doesn’t it look good?”

Exitra’s smile deepened.

— [Wow……]

— [That smile’s evil.]

“The dagger you’ve been using is pretty worn down, right? The blade’s chipped a lot…”

“T-That’s unavoidable! I did my best to maintain it!”

“Of course you did.”

Given the poor state of the territory, even maintaining a dagger must have been tough.

If possible, Alfredo would’ve wanted a new one.

But without enough money to buy good iron, he had no choice but to hold back.

“So, what do you think? Tempted?”

Exitra waggled the dagger slightly.

And with each sway, Alfredo’s eyes visibly trembled.

— [Aaaaaaah!! He’s too cute!]

— [Look at him hesitate!!]

— [That expression! He’s suffering LOL]

— [It’s a battle between reason and instinct! Popcorn time LOL]

The chat exploded at Alfredo’s cuteness.

“But hey. If you really don’t want it, that’s fine.”

Exitra knew how to push and pull.

Just pressing forward didn’t always work.

He had to pull back at the right moment for the best effect.

Exitra casually returned the dagger to its place.

“If we leave it there, someone from the Hunter Guild will probably take it… I mean, I’m sure there’s a dagger user over there. Maybe it’ll end up with him?”

— [I can see it… his resolve is shaking…]

— [His rational and primal instincts are in an all-out war…]

— [I can see it… an angel and a devil whispering on each side of his head…]

That wavering gaze.

That torn expression.

Just one more push would do it.

One final nudge, and Alfredo would give in.

“Sigh. Well, if you really don’t want it, that’s that. Let’s just go. We’ll have the knights deal with the bandits and collect the bounty.”

Exitra stood up with no hesitation and began walking out.

“W-Wait a moment!”

“Hm?”

“Ahem… On second thought, since we’re the ones who caught the bandits, claiming their loot as a reward… well, I don’t think it’d be a problem…!”

— [He gave in.]

— [Flop! Whoa! That’s a big catch~!]

— [Aww, little brother gave in~]

— [Aww~ Such a greedy little brother~]

— [‘Why are humans so adorable?! Gahh~ He’s too cute…’]

“What do you mean?”

“I-I mean, ahem… those bandits probably stole that dagger anyway, and we don’t even know who the original owner was, so… there’s no harm in us taking it. Ahem. Our family needs money for restoration and… you know…”

Hook, line, and sinker.

That dagger was just too tempting for him.

Sliiiide—

Exitra’s smile turned wicked.

“Is that so?”

“Y-Yes…”

Alfredo turned his head away.

He remembered what he’d said earlier.

Exitra casually picked the dagger back up and tossed it to him.

“That means we’re accomplices now. You can’t tell anyone.”

“I-I know that!”

Alfredo’s expression when he caught the dagger was priceless.

Look at that sparkle in his eyes.

He looked exactly like a child who just got the toy he wanted.

— [Gasp gasp… What the heck… Why is he so cute…]

— [What is this? My little brother was always hostile to me!!!]

— [He’s too precious~!!]

— [Little brother, I love you!!!]

[DongSaMo has donated ₩10,000.]

— [We’ve created a fan club for the little brother. Please join! Address: https://…… Show your love and support!]

Alfredo’s cuteness had taken the internet by storm, enough to spark the creation of a fan club.

People were falling in love with this new, previously unseen side of him.

“Thank you, DongSaMo, for the ₩10,000. And… wow, a fan club. Even I don’t have one, but my little brother does now.”

— [AH! AHHH!!]

— [Huh? Who cares about that now? He’s so cute right this second!!]

— [Jealous? Then try acting cute~!]

“Tch.”

Exitra clicked his tongue lightly.

Then he looked at Alfredo and said, “Pack it up. Let’s go.”