Chapter 6: Deliver the Item

Frana Bella looked at Pizza… no, at the boy called William.

A seventeen-year-old boy. Handsome features.

His reputation was not great. The general opinion was that he was lazy.

She happened to need someone to entrust with a task, and since he was leaving, she sought out the boy.

However, after speaking with him briefly, her attitude toward the smart-looking boy began to change.

‘A clever and bright child. If he’s like this, he could help me with my work…’

Managing the Communal Living Area was the first Main Quest her father had been given upon being appointed to the Ashford Territory.

A Care Home gathering War Orphans.

It required a lot of Welfare Subsidy to maintain. No matter how much the Order commanded it, it wasn’t easy to sustain.

But her father, who had just been granted the territory, could not oppose the Order.

Fortunately, in exchange for supporting the Welfare Subsidy, the Order offered many Seals of Approval.

Even during the war with our country and the neighboring Jovia Principality, benefits like tax reductions remained, and the War Supplies produced in the territory were bought at high prices.

Despite the ongoing war, many Nobles visited and sometimes took children from the Communal Living Area as servants or soldiers.

If she only thought about the Welfare Subsidy, the territory was always at a loss, but even so, there were benefits to maintaining the Communal Living Area.

At least until the war ended.

The world changed. Three years after the war between humans ended… The Tutun Kingdom and the Jovia Principality ultimately agreed to an armistice, with neither side achieving victory.

Afterward, maintaining the Communal Living Area became increasingly difficult.

The state and high-ranking Nobles lost interest in the Communal Living Area.

Moreover, when the war ended, the main line for producing War Supplies shut down. The visits from high-ranking Nobles dwindled.

As a result, for the past three years since the war ended, the losses due to Welfare Subsidy were extremely severe.

On top of that, the territory entered an age of poverty. Many residents of Ashford Territory suffered from hunger, and some even starved to death.

Among the people, there were those who worked hard but still died of starvation. Meanwhile, the Communal Living Area provided food and essentials for survival even to those who did not work.

‘If I just closed the Communal Living Area, I could cut a lot of the Welfare Subsidy…’

When she did the math, if the Communal Living Area alone was not maintained, far fewer people in the territory would starve.

***

“You’re going to close the Communal Living Area?”

“Yes. That last question earlier. If it were me, I’d save the five civilians.”

Frana Bella bit her lip hard.

“A Noble would sacrifice a Knight to save civilians? Are you out of your mind?”

“Some might say that life is precious. But if you experience it yourself, you’ll find that a person’s abilities are extremely limited. It’s rare in reality to save both. If you try to save both, you’ll end up losing all five civilians. Wouldn’t it be better to save five rather than just one?”

‘Isn’t this closer to a saint than a villainess?’

“May I ask how that choice relates to closing the Communal Living Area? In three years, it would close on its own anyway.”

Frana Bella gazed into William’s eyes.

Just moments ago, he’d behaved like a servile, groveling underling, but his answer now was bold, and his eyes showed resolve.

“It’s because the maintenance costs are excessive. Simply put, closing the Communal Living Area now could save hundreds of the territory’s residents. Furthermore, this isn’t even a life-or-death, urgent situation… We could continue support for three more years. But by then, the Welfare Subsidy will have piled up to an unmanageable level. At that point, we’ll have to close the Communal Living Area after suffering huge losses. That’s why I think now is the right time.”

“Now is the right time?”

“Yes. Choosing now is the best option.”

“What about the 200 companions?”

“Well, with you gone, it’s 199 now…”

“Honestly… I imagine they would choose as you did. Many children have already left, and the rest have probably been preparing themselves mentally.

They’re my people as well. I’ll help them settle down somewhere new.”

“Do you really think everyone feels that way? Leaving on your own is different from being kicked out. And they’re still boys who aren’t ready.”

William’s bold words irked Frana Bella.

‘He’s a boy himself, so what makes him different?’

Then William quietly added,

“Please give me a chance.”

“A chance for what?”

“Earlier, you clearly said you were ‘thinking of’ closing the Communal Living Area. That means your feelings may have changed a bit, doesn’t it?”

Miss Frana Bella smiled at William’s bold words.

“You’re not wrong. Your approach was a fresh perspective.”

“I’ll try to save both the Knight and the civilians.”

“You’ve never even left the Village, you know?”

“Yes! I won’t let you down.”

Frana Bella herself was deeply troubled by the idea of closing the Communal Living Area.

But with no other options, she had considered closure.

“Then what do you propose? Do you have a better plan?”

But William had not yet come up with an alternative.

“If you leave it to me, I’ll find a way. I’ll transform the Communal Living Area to increase the territory’s tax revenue and create benefits for the people. Give me time, and I’ll find a solution.”

“And the Welfare Subsidy?”

“If you give me a chance, I’ll try to take responsibility for it myself.”

“You’ll take on the Welfare Subsidy? Why?”

“Because that is my Home. If you give me a chance, you won’t suffer any losses, Miss.”

Frana Bella hesitated for a moment. After all, the reason she sought out the boy was to assign him a Main Quest.

“Then I’ll give you a chance. I promise not to close the Communal Living Area until you let me down.”

“Thank you, Miss.”

Frana Bella liked William’s boldness.

***

I tried to calm my pounding heart.

“I almost died just now, didn’t I?”

Worked up at the idea of the Communal Living Area closing, I had confronted the Miss head-on.

Do you really think everyone feels that way? What the heck was I thinking…

Fortunately, it seemed she liked me, and I’d gained an opportunity.

A mysterious smile played on the Miss’s lips.

She seemed quite taken with me.

‘Maybe it’s all down to my looks after all…’

“You asked for a chance, right? Are you prepared to do anything?”

“Of course, Miss. I will carry out any command without the slightest error.”

“You have a strange way of speaking, but you’re clever. I like that.”

Miss Frana Bella glanced at the Leather Pouch in my hand.

“Aren’t you curious about what’s in that Leather Pouch?”

I am curious. The way she asked made me even more curious.

As I hesitated, her voice became softer.

“Go ahead and open it.”

At her words, I carefully opened the Leather Pouch. Inside were ten coins.

And the coins were Silver. Ten Silver (one million won).

Gasp!

My body involuntarily bowed.

“To receive such a large sum… Thank you for your grace!”

For being hit by a Knight, this was a rather generous amount.

Of course, according to my Earth memories, I’d earned much more, but money is relative.

When you don’t have a single coin, ten Silver is more precious than gold.

“Are you satisfied?”

“Yes! I’ve never held so much money in my life.”

Pizza, you bastard. You’ve never even touched ten Silver before?

“What were you planning to do after leaving the Communal Living Area?”

“It’s my first time outside the Village… so I thought I’d visit Grunvalt.”

“Grunvalt… That’s the same place I’m headed.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”

I asked directly.

“Wait a moment…”

After a brief thought, the Miss went back into the carriage.

A short wait followed. The carriage door closed, and time passed.

‘Hmm, it’s taking a while.’

Click!

The one who emerged wasn’t the Miss, but Dalton.

To deliver an item entrusted by Wind Heaven.

If I hurried, I could reach Wind Heaven by late evening.

Thunk!

Dalton handed me a Messenger Bag he’d prepared in advance. It was fairly heavy.

‘Is this a genuine Messenger Bag…’

“There’s a wooden box inside the Messenger Bag. Take this item to Sir Richard of Wind Heaven. But, do not open it under any circumstances. Remember that. Ah, by the way, can you read?”

Tsk. What does he take me for? Fortunately, Pizza wasn’t illiterate; in fact, reading and writing posed no problem for me.

“Of course. There’s no character I don’t know.”

“I’ve been noticing for a while, but your way of speaking is quite unique. ‘There’s no character I don’t know’—is that how people speak in your Village? It sounds humble, which I rather like.”

Dalton seemed to approve of my consistently deferential manner.

‘What is this? Did this world’s patch not finish loading? My speech is starting to mix with old Korean historical drama…’

I’d better pay more attention to how I speak.

“But I do have a concern…”

“Speak.”

“What if I run into bandits on the way? This must be something valuable.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. There’s a reason we chose you for this. You’re the perfect smokescreen. You know the saying, even a dog chooses who to bark at. No one will pay any attention to you while you travel, so don’t worry.”

‘Why does that kind of annoy me…’

“Understood. In that case, Sir Knight, I will deliver the entrusted item properly. Should I do anything besides deliver it?”

Fortunately, Wind Heaven isn’t far from the Village. I can deliver the item, then move on to Grunvalt.

“Where can I find Sir Richard of Wind Heaven?”

At my simple question, Dalton reacted strangely. He hesitated a few times, then pursed his lips.

“That… He said you’d have to solve a riddle using this.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Dalton handed me a Note. As soon as I received it, I read it right away.

‘What the heck does this mean?’

I’m not illiterate, but I couldn’t make any sense of it.

I read it several times, then finally read it aloud in front of Dalton.

“The wings of the wind will lead you to the one who wields the sword. You shall drink a glass of rum at the Shelter. Justice will turn into the horn of a dead stag?”

“Huh?”

When I looked at Dalton with a baffled expression, he quickly turned his head as if to tell me to get going.

‘So, I have to solve this riddle to deliver the item?’