Chapter 9: The Young Lord’s Street Lesson

“Ugh. This isn’t some kind of terrifying endless merry-go-round!”

Since then, my older brother and sister came rushing to my training ground one after another.

Using up all my lifetime supply of Magic Missiles on my family felt like I had exhausted everything!

“I guess I need to research this more. Rotation, huh… Now I see what Father meant.”

“Hmm… Is there no easier way to block it?”

If neither of them had found any insight from my Magic Missiles, they would have pestered me again and again.

Both my brother and sister got drenched in a shower of Magic Missiles, then said they wanted to apply what they learned and dove deep into their own training again.

“Ugh. I never imagined that adding just one rotation would lead to this.”

Thanks to that, I also gained a certain insight.

“It definitely had a satisfying feel to it. Hmm… though it’s a bit odd to call it ‘satisfying’ after shooting Magic Missiles.”

The fun was in controlling the mana more intricately with each added rotation.

Moreover, the method of controlling mana became gradually more detailed. I wasn’t without some realizations.

“But still, this method is a no-go.”

We weren’t building camaraderie through fierce battles or anything, so attacking each other with offensive magic as a family was definitely out of the question.

Still, while helping each other train and practicing myself, quite a bit of time passed.

“This should be enough soon.”

My last patrol of the territory had ended unsatisfactorily.

Since knights were accompanying me, it was hard to say I had seen the territory properly.

So the plan was a solo patrol of the territory!

No one ordered me to do it. Still, being confined to the manor was no fun.

“Training is good, but sometimes you have to get some fresh air, right!”

Leaving the manor, I breathed in the fresh air—not the fine dust-filled air of Korea where Kim Seonggeon lives.

“Of course, this is the place.”

The spot I had scouted beforehand was behind the family-only training ground.

“Hah!”

Avoiding my sister who was deep in training, I reached the far end of the training ground.

This place was the closest to the outermost edge of the manor.

“Surprisingly, the security here is the loosest.”

A place famous for being a knight family for generations, and since there hadn’t been any intruders for a long time, security naturally became lax.

“I’ll make good use of that.”

Wuuuuuuuung~

I moved my mana stealthily. And then—

“Jump!”

I jumped high enough to clear the wall in a single bound!

My own escape act, taking place from early morning.

“Outside really is better.”

Since I had prepared a way to get back in, entering again wouldn’t be a problem.

Going out for the first time with memories was thrilling in itself.

“Let’s head straight for the Outer City.”

The Inner City was where the wealthy lived. I had seen it during patrols, so it held no interest.

Instead—

“…Hmm…”

Though I wasn’t interested, people were watching me.

I could even hear their whispers.

“I can hear everything.”

The topic was clear: who exactly was I, wearing clothes far more luxurious than expected?

“Ah… I didn’t think about this part.”

I had only thought about going out, not about what to wear.

“This is way too fancy. Maybe I should start elsewhere.”

I turned around. My destination changed from the Outer City to a clothing store.

“Let’s see… this should be fine. It’s better to go cheap than fancy. Should I head to the Commercial District? They should have one there.”

The Commercial District was in a different direction.

Since wasting time meant less time for territory patrols, I wanted to move quickly.

“Hey! Hey!”

“Hm?”

A voice reached me.

That presence had been bugging me from earlier.

While whispering, someone was following me.

“They’re actually going to talk to me.”

I half-expected it, but of course, that was the case.

“Well, it’s only natural.”

A kid wearing fancy clothes moving without attendants.

If they were looking for a clothing store, it was inevitable that flies would swarm.

“Security isn’t that great here, unlike in Korea where Kim Seonggeon lives.”

I turned my head to look behind me.

“Hehe. Little one, are you lost?”

“If so, we can help you out, right?”

“Exactly!”

There were three of them.

They seemed well practiced at this, working smoothly as a team.

Trying to avoid them in this narrow alley seemed impossible.

“Lost? No way.”

“Why not? We’ll help, little one.”

“I hear the same lines everywhere, makes me wonder if I’m in the wrong world, man.”

“Wh-what!?”

“Honestly, these guys lack originality. No originality.”

Shooing away flies was the solution. Ideally, making sure they never stick around again would be best.

“I should tell someone to beef up security. Or maybe I’ll fix it myself. Anyway… the faster, the better.”

Fwaaak—

Closing the distance, I threw a punch.

Pah—

For this kind of thing, a punch is better than magic where controlling power is tricky.

“Ugh…”

Even though my body was small, my fist was packed with inner strength.

“Over five years’ worth.”

The inner strength I had accumulated over time showed its true power!

Another punch!

Pah! Whack!

“Whoa, are you okay?”

I had walked right into a place I really shouldn’t have.

Meanwhile—

“Diiie!”

The last one, eyes blazing, raised a knife.

“Oh? A Parakho brat.”

I assumed it was a dagger carried for self-defense.

Weeaaak!

The speed of the incoming strike suggested quite a bit of practice.

“But it’s just a straight line.”

I dodged the straight stab and swung toward the arm reaching out.

Ek!!

I poured all my inner strength into the swing.

Whack—

The arm bent in a way it shouldn’t have.

“Aaaargh!”

They screamed in pain.

Their eyes were so bloodshot they were tearing up.

I felt no pity.

You get what you give.

Even when you don’t, if the intention is foul, it must be repaid.

“If you’re ready to kill someone, you should be ready to die too. Isn’t that right?”

“Grrr…!”

I leaned close to the Parakho who was clutching their injured arm and sitting down.

“Don’t scream anymore. You’ll attract a crowd and make a racket. Should I break the other arm too?”

“…Grrr… ggr…”

“Good. That’s the spirit. You all planning to run? Magic Missile!”

Wuuuuuuung—

Magical arrows formed in an instant.

“Eeek. Magic!”

“D-damn… if you don’t let us go…”

Their calculation was quick.

While one had their arm broken and was caught by me, the other’s attempt to escape was foiled.

“Shut up and come here.”

Despair for them, reckoning time for me.

“Khuhuh!”

Leaving the one writhing in pain, I asked with a crooked smile.

“Just answer a few questions. Just a few.”

“…Eeek… wh-what is it?”

Faced with Magic Missiles threatening their face, they had become docile.

This was useful.

When I had gone out on patrol, I hadn’t gotten a good grasp of the prices around here.

Since the salary of a high-ranking Administrative Officer was 5 gold, I knew gold itself wasn’t insignificant.

But I had no way to know exactly how much that money was worth.

Gold, Silver, and Copper—the order was obvious.

100 Silver made 1 Gold; 100 Copper made 1 Silver.

“Life is pretty much the same everywhere. That’s probably why they divided it into hundreds.”

What mattered here wasn’t the unit but the value.

From what I heard, a hard loaf of multigrain bread cost about 10 Copper.

It weighed around 700 grams.

Add a bowl of soup costing about 10 Copper in ingredients, and that made a meal.

“That’s 20 Copper.”

It was said to be the staple food for commoners, though the diet was meager.

Also, a sack of flour cost about 80 Silver, and since flour was ground powder, it was generally twice as expensive as other grains.

“I’m getting the picture.”

One Silver was roughly equivalent to about 10,000 won.

Thinking like that, the Administrative Officer’s monthly salary of 5 Gold was quite a lot of money.

Not enough to live lavishly, but enough to avoid poverty.

“In this era, just being literate is a skill.”

The problem was that the monthly living expenses of commoners were much lower, and most were grateful just to avoid starvation.

Because of that, many energetic young men took mercenary jobs.

“Trying to get Magic Stones dropped by monsters, but often ending up dead by monsters instead.”

The success rate was naturally low.

So unless you were born talented, you either inherited your parents’ job or, if lucky, lived by earning wages at a shop.

The highest achievement was becoming an Administrative Officer!

“Wizards and such rely on talent, so that’s another matter.”

Given this situation, making a fortune the normal way was impossible, let alone escaping poverty.

The territory my father ruled was better off, but other places could be even poorer.

“Still, this kind of behavior is just not right, is it?”

“Eeek… I’m sorry!”

So some hot-headed guys chose this kind of path.

“At best, they’re just hooligans. No different from the Parakho in the Central Plains.”

Back-alley gangs. Those with some power gathered, forming groups that extorted protection money from shops.

Though they called it protection money, did the knights or soldiers really provide protection?

No. Not at all.

They formed territories among themselves and leeched off commoners, like leeches.

Praising themselves as if they were great.

“The inside story is a total mess.”

The problem was, such gangs were quite common even inside the Earl’s Territory.

Since the Direct Dominion was comparatively livable, they gathered here.

It was similar to how gangsters gathered in Seoul, where Kim Seonggeon’s district was, thinking it’s better to play in big waters.

“They stick around hoping for scraps.”

The scale was surprisingly large.

For a gang to be this big, there had to be a key figure.

And—

“There must be someone who’s feeding off the leeches too.”

A king leech, so to speak. Possibly holding a title.

To cover up the dirty things happening here, there was definitely power involved.

“I’ll have to deal with this somehow… and take care of myself while I’m at it. The rest I can leave to Father.”

Good. Perfect.

For a hastily made plan, it was pretty good.

This was a place my parents governed.

Even if my older brother would inherit it, it was still family to me.

Leeches gathering there were unacceptable. It was better for me to clean it up neatly.

And also to look out for myself.

But before that—

“Do you guys have enough money to buy clothes?”

“Y-yes!”

“Good. Then lead the way. Let’s dress you flies in a way that keeps other flies away.”

“Understood!”

I had to take care of business.