Chapter 18: Provoking the Little Brother

As always with Molgahub, the opening scene delivered its signature impact.

Flames spread around Exitra, and the background changed.

The game resumed from where he had last logged out.

Under Knight Ray’s supervision, wild boars were being butchered.

Exitra checked on the village where the territory’s residents lived.

“Whoa, look at those buildings. How do they even live there?”

— [For real, those could collapse in their sleep, LOL]

— [That’s a whole life-reset trigger right there.]

— [So terrifying…]

The buildings were in a terrible state of decay.

There was no telling when they might collapse.

If a storm hit, they might just crumble to dust.

“We’ll need to gather some wood and do repair work, right?”

— [In winter, all the cold wind would just blow right in.]

— [If I had to live there, I’d go find the landlord and grab him by the collar.]

— [Yeah, definitely time for a full rebuild.]

To do that, they’d need to chop down some trees.

Exitra looked over the condition of the villagers.

They hadn’t eaten or drunk properly—just skin and bones.

“Can we even ask them to work?”

— [Hello? Labor Board? We’ve got a terrible employer over here…]

— [Can these people even lift an axe?]

— [Nope, nope, nope. Medical bills would cost more than the work is worth.]

“Right… That’s what I thought too.”

As expected from the lowest-difficulty territory, nothing ever came easy.

“Ray.”

“Ah! Yes!”

Ray, who had been butchering boars, came over at Exitra’s call.

“What is it?”

“I want to start repairing the buildings in the territory. Do we have any lumber left?”

“We used it all up as firewood to survive last winter.”

“Tch. So there’s nothing.”

Exitra clicked his tongue in frustration.

The harsh reality of the territory’s difficulty level hit him again.

There really was nothing.

—[Why are you disappointed? You already knew there was nothing.]

—[Exitra just imagined having wood for a second—but yeah, dream on, LOL]

“Check if there’s anyone among the villagers who’s still got some strength to work.”

“Hmm, got it.”

“Then I’ll head to the lord’s castle for a bit.”

“Huh? Why are you going there…?”

“Oh, you know. There’s a guy there who looks like he can get things done. We can’t just leave a capable worker sitting around, right?”

Ray was momentarily speechless.

Exitra didn’t bother explaining who the capable worker was.

But somehow, Ray could already picture who it was.

“Exitra… don’t tell me…”

“I’m going to get Alfredo. Anyway, go find someone to help.”

“Understood…”

“Damn it!!”

***

Back in his room, Alfredo punched the wall.

The anger wouldn’t subside.

‘I came back injured, and yet… how did he manage to kill an orc?’

He couldn’t make sense of it.

‘How could Exitra defeat such a powerful orc—without a scratch, even?’

“You’re telling me I lost to him? And by a huge margin at that?”

He couldn’t accept it.

No, he refused to accept it.

‘Father’s title… the lordship… all of it belongs to me.’

A strong greed flashed in Alfredo’s eyes.

He had no intention of giving up his rightful position as the official heir.

But he also realized it wouldn’t be easy to take it back right now.

‘I need to build up strength. Once I have enough… I’ll reclaim what’s mine.’

He was already planning to stab Exitra in the back someday.

That’s when—

“Hey, little brother. You in there?”

“Gah!”

The door burst open as Exitra entered.

Alfredo was startled—like a teenage boy getting caught watching something he shouldn’t.

His startled reaction was actually pretty entertaining.

“W-What do you think you’re doing! Barging into my room without knocking—how rude!”

“I’m your older brother. Why would I need manners to enter my little brother’s room?”

— [Alfredo’s face when he got caught—adorable]

— [He’s kinda cute when he’s like this]

— [This is exactly how real siblings act, LOL]

— [If I barged into my brother’s room like that, I’d get cussed out, LOL]

“Haaah…”

Alfredo took a deep breath to calm his startled heart.

“Fine. So what’s this about?”

“Oh, we’re heading out to chop some wood. Come with me.”

Alfredo gave him an utterly baffled look.

“I just came back from a hunt.”

“Oh, really?”

“You saw it yourself, didn’t you?”

“Oh. Right.”

— [Yeah, LOL]

— [It’s been a whole day for us, but in Molgahub it’s still the same day]

— [Not even half a day has passed in-game, and he’s already dragging him back out, LOL]

Exitra had forgotten.

In his case, he had logged off and returned the next day.

But in Molgahub, time only passed when Exitra was logged in.

So to him, a day had passed.

But for Alfredo, it was like Exitra had just left—and immediately returned.

***

There was a small time discrepancy.

“Still, come on. We need to get it done anyway.”

Alfredo sighed softly.

“Why should I go?”

“Because I need you.”

“What?”

“I said—I need your help.”

“No, seriously. Why should I go? I don’t do that kind of work.”

He turned his head away, clearly showing he didn’t want to engage.

‘What am I, stupid? You fooled me once, but not twice.’

No matter what Exitra said, Alfredo had no intention of falling for his tricks again.

Seeing him like that, Exitra suddenly had a look of realization.

“Oh~ I get it now. You don’t know how to chop wood, do you?”

“What?”

“Well, yeah. How could you chop down thick trees with that little dagger of yours? Now that I think about it, it was dumb of me to even ask. Sorry about that.”

[Taunt level: MAX]

— [That smug face, ugh, I hate how good he is at this LOL]

— [Seriously, this guy’s a max-level provocation player, LOL]

Alfredo knew exactly what was going on.

The scheme was obvious to him.

The problem was that it was impossible not to fall for the provocation.

If he backed down after hearing that kind of remark, it would be the same as admitting it was true.

“Are you looking down on me right now?”

“Looking down on you? Of course not. I just understand your level now. You said you took down an orc, so I figured that much was within your ability… But seeing you back off like this, maybe you can’t actually do it.”

“That kind of menial task? It’s not that I can’t do it. I just won’t. That sort of thing is for underlings. Someone of noble birth like me shouldn’t be doing such labor!”

He was trying to fight back in his own way.

But it was a meaningless rebuttal.

Maybe in the past, it would’ve had an effect.

But now that Exitra had returned through regression, Alfredo was no match for his way with words.

The difference in level was simply too vast.

“Hm? Ah, well, sure. I’ll believe you.”

He said he believed him, but his expression told a different story.

His facial acting was on another level.

Though his words said “I believe you,” his face said otherwise.

Ding~

[Did I ever give you a skill called ‘Facial Acting’? That performance was insane.]

‘Shut up…’

“Eeeek! You don’t believe me, do you?!”

“I do, I said I believe you. If you say so, then sure.”

— [He’s not just attacking with words anymore—he’s slapping people with his expressions too, LOL.]

— [Look at that face acting, it’s insane! Seriously, what a jerk, hahaha.]

“It’s not shameful to admit there’s something you can’t do. I understand.”

Alfredo’s face turned red and then pale.

How could anyone listen to those words and just walk away?

He couldn’t take it anymore.

Crack!!

“Fine! If you insist, then I’ll show you! My dagger can cut through thick wood just fine!”

He declared it with eyes full of anger.

Exitra gave a sly grin.

“Go ahead. Show me what you’ve got.”

“Hmph! I don’t need to say it—I’ll just prove it!”

Still fuming, Alfredo stomped out of the room.

“Oh, and when you get to the territory, find Ray and have him guide you to the logging site, alright?”

“Hmph!”

“What a brat. But he’s kind of cute.”

— [LMAO]

— [That was wild.]

— [God-tier little brother control right there.]

— [This man isn’t just smart—he’s physically outplaying Alfredo too.]

— [This one’s the real deal.]

“It’s simple. The little brother’s character is designed to feel inferior to the protagonist. If you nudge that insecurity just a bit, he’ll move on his own like this.”

Exitra also left the estate to find Ray.

The boar disassembly was nearly complete, and the townspeople were gathered, sorting the meat.

“This goes over there…”

“Pile the legs on this side!”

“Let’s eat a little and turn the rest into jerky. Easier to store that way.”

“Got it.”

Maybe it was because they hadn’t seen meat in so long—everyone was moving busily.

“Ray.”

“Ah! Exitra! You’re here!”

“Yeah. What about Alfredo?”

“Oh, he already left. Said he didn’t need anyone’s help and went off on his own.”

“Sigh… What an idiot.”

Exitra shook his head.

‘What did he think he could accomplish alone?’

Sure, cutting trees could be done solo, but hauling them was another matter entirely.

“Did you gather the people?”

“I got five. The rest are either women, children, or elderly…”

Five reasonably fit young men stood behind Ray.

They looked a bit thin, but still better off than the others.

“Alright. From now on, we’re going logging.”

“Logging?”

“Yeah. We’ll use the wood for firewood and rebuild or repair the old, crumbling buildings.”

Hearing that, the townspeople’s expressions brightened.

They had been anxious.

Buildings that could collapse at any moment.

The fear of living inside them was hard to describe.

‘Just imagine it collapsing while you’re sleeping. How terrifying would that be?’

Every night before sleeping, the townspeople prayed.

That they could wake up safely the next morning.

That’s how dangerous their lives had become, day by day.

“Exitra… We’ll give it our all to help!”

[Quest ‘Lack of Timber’ has been generated. Would you like to accept it? (Y/N)]

[Lack of Timber]

[Description: The buildings in the territory are so old they could collapse at any moment. However, there isn’t enough lumber for proper repairs. Let’s harvest trees to gather timber.]

[Success Condition: Chop down 0/50 trees]

[Reward on Success: Satisfaction +5, Discontent -5, 5 Points]

[Penalty on Failure: Discontent +10]

A new quest had appeared.

Exitra accepted it.

He was going to do it anyway, and quests gave points, so it was best to complete them whenever possible.

“Alright. Ray, the estate has a cart, right?”

“Ah, yes, it does.”

“Good. We’ll need it to transport the logs. So bring the cart and meet us at the logging site. Location is…”

“If you head a little north from the territory, there’s a good spot.”

“Alright. Then bring the cart and meet us there.”

“Understood.”

Ray bowed once and ran toward the estate.

Just then, one of the townspeople raised his hand.

“Exitra, sir, I have a question.”

“Hm? If you’re going to bite, bite gently.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Ah—never mind.”

— [Ugh, please stop with the weird dad jokes.]

— [Who even says that anymore…]

— [Did he just say ‘bite gently’? Is that supposed to mean it’s okay to ask?]

— [Total mood killer.]

— [I’m clipping this and exporting it—wow, there’s so much gold today.]

He had tried to crack a joke, but it completely flopped.

Thankfully, the townspeople didn’t really get the meaning, so there was no awkward reaction.

But the thought of where that clip might end up being shared was terrifying.

“What did you want to ask?”

“Ah, yes. If we’re going to chop trees, we’ll need axes… but, um…”

“Oh, that?”

“Yes.”

“No need.”

“Sorry? But for logging…”

“Don’t worry about it. Even barehanded, you’ll be fine.”

“…?”

The townspeople tilted their heads, confused.

They still didn’t understand what Exitra meant.

But they would find out soon enough.

Why Exitra had said they didn’t need axes for logging.

“Just trust me and follow my lead.”