■■■■■■■■■■
086 Lilith and
Sodon
■■■■■■■■■■
Translator : PolterGlast
Upon returning to the
mansion, I immediately told Gandarvan and the others about the children.
"Master should do
as you wish. Fortunately, funds are abundant," Gandarvan replied, looking
somewhat displeased but giving his permission.
He's a tsundere! A
muscle-bound bear tsundere has no demand, you know! I thought to myself.
"Tomorrow
morning, everyone will go out. We'll split into two groups and work."
"So, it's not
just about giving food to the children, is it? What else should we do besides
helping the children?" Gandarvan pressed. He likes children, doesn't he?
Even with that fierce face, I can tell.
"I plan to
establish a base in the royal capital. Jojok, take Colon and Karon and look for
a property at Golteo Trading Company. I want a property that can be purchased
for under 100,000,000 Grill, and it should have a large garden." I hadn't
been to Golteo Trading Company since Sharniini-san greeted me, so I decided to
spend some money there.
"Understood,"
Jojok replied. I had earned 700,000,000 Grill on the 8th floor, so spending
100,000,000 Grill wouldn't cause a financial shortage. A Baron's annual stipend
was 12,000,000 Grill, so I was earning far more than just being a noble.
"Are we moving
out of the duke's mansion?" Gandarvan asked.
"Not right away,
but I can't do as I please in the Duke's mansion, can I?" I replied.
"I don't know
what you'll be doing, but please be moderate," Gandarvan said.
"What are you
saying? I'm a reserved person!" I retorted.
" " "
" " ... " " " " "
Why do they all look
at me like that!?
"Ah, I'll go with
Jojok-san. I was aiming to be an architect, you know," Yamato interjected.
"Yamato wanted to
be an architect, huh? I didn't know that," I replied, surprised.
"Not to brag, but
I didn't have any friends, so I never told anyone," Yamato admitted.
That's nothing to brag about, really. Well, I was pretty much the same.
"I'll go with
Toi-kun. I can't leave the children alone," Itsukushima-san said.
"That's fine, but
you can't save every child. I think it's more likely things won't go as you
expect, so be prepared for that," I warned her.
"Okay," she
replied. There must be many such children in this royal capital alone. I
couldn't possibly save all of them. What an individual can do is limited.
***
In the morning, we
headed out into town. The market stalls were already bustling, and I asked Bath
to do some more shopping. As we entered a narrow alleyway behind the main
street, we couldn't believe our eyes.
"This is a
lot..." Gandarvan murmured. There must have been twice as many as
yesterday, around 60 children. Furthermore, children without bags were
clutching garbage, not caring if they got dirty. They were already dirty,
anyway...
"Those with bags,
leave them to Anneliese and Itsukushima-san. I'll take care of the rest of the
children. Rosalina, give food to the children I've finished with. Gandarvan and
the others, line up the children," I instructed. Everyone got to work,
eager to help. The children also followed the instructions, lining up without
fighting.
I asked Anneliese to
have Lilith wait aside. I brought out a large wooden box and had the children
put their garbage in it. It was a wooden box large enough to fit 4 or 5 people.
This way, I could store the garbage without pressing too much on my Item Box
slots.
I asked each child's
name, used Detailed Appraisal, and gave them food.
"Phew, finally
finished," I sighed. It wasn't particularly hard labor, but confirming the
results of Detailed Appraisal took some time.
"Hello, Lilith.
Did you get some food?" I asked.
"Yes. It was
delicious," Lilith replied.
"That's
good," I said. There was one more child waiting besides Lilith.
"You're Sodon,
right?" I asked.
"That's
right," he replied. Sodon was a Wombat beastman, also a small 12-year-old
boy. His dirty, round face had a charming quality. I never thought Wombats
existed in this world too. Even Sodon had an available job.
Sodon was also 12
years old, but like Lilith, he looked only about 9. He must have been suffering
from malnutrition and poor physical development. What, me too? I can't hear
you! This body was arbitrarily prepared by that god (temporary name), so it
doesn't count.
"Are you
full?" I asked.
"I-I'm... still
not full," Sodon replied.
"I see. Still
hungry then," I mused, holding out a skewer of grilled meat to the two
children. Their hands reached out, but I pulled the skewer back. I knew I was
being mean, but it was part of the act.
" " Ah...
" "
The two looked sadly
at the skewer and me.
"If you become my
retainer, you will never starve," I promised. Showing food to starving
children and asking them to become retainers, I thought I was being quite a
scoundrel myself.
"I am a noble. If
you become my retainer, I will not let you starve, and you will receive wages,"
I explained. The two looked at each other, hesitating.
"Master is very
kind-nanodesu. It's alright-nanodesu," Rosalina said, smiling very gently.
"That's right.
Our Toi-sama would not make you do anything you dislike. Serve him with peace
of mind," Anneliese whispered, gazing at them with benevolent eyes. If she
looked and whispered like that, anyone would say "Yes" to anything.
"What is a
retainer?" Sodon asked, not understanding the word.
"A retainer,
simply put, means working under me," I explained.
"You'll hire
me?" Sodon asked.
"That's
right," I confirmed.
"What will I do?
Pull weeds? Pick up garbage?" he asked.
"First, you'll
study. Since you're becoming my retainer, you need to be able to read, write,
and do simple calculations. Also, you'll take a bath and clean yourself. And
you'll wear clean, laundered clothes."
"I can wear clean
clothes?"
"Yes. If you work
diligently, you'll wear clean clothes, eat delicious food, and sleep in a warm
bed," I promised.
"A bed... I, I
can sleep in a bed? Won't it be cold?"
"No, it'll be a
soft bed, and it'll be warm," I assured him.
"I want to be a
retainer," Sodon declared.
"Alright, Sodon,
from now on you are my retainer. Listen to the big man over there and work
diligently," I instructed. Since Sodon was a boy, I'd leave him to
Gandarvan for a while.
I handed Sodon a meat
skewer and turned to Lilith.
"What about you,
Lilith?" I asked.
"I... I have my
mother..." Lilith replied. Detailed Appraisal had told me that Lilith had
a mother.
"It's alright.
Your mother can come too," I offered.
"Eh? Is it really
okay for my mother to come too?" Lilith asked, surprised.
"If Lilith
becomes my retainer, just like Sodon, I'll take care of your mother. She's
sick, right? I can't guarantee she'll be cured, but I'll treat her," I
promised.
"!? Wh-why do you
know my mother is sick...?" Lilith stammered.
"I have many
eyes. So I know your mother is sick," I replied. Anyone would probably be
scared hearing that. Now, how would Lilith react?
"Will you really
treat my mother?" she asked, ignoring my explanation about my eyes.
"I promise to
treat her. But I can't guarantee a full recovery," I affirmed.
"That's fine. I
will become Master Toi's retainer, so please treat my mother," Lilith
said. Alright, Lilith's provisional contract was also established.
"Alright, let's
go to Lilith's mother!" I announced.
"Yes!"
We all headed to
Lilith's mother's place.
We entered the slum,
but no one bothered us. It was probably because we had armed escorts like
Gandarvan and Lin. Gandarvan's appearance, in particular, was perfect for
intimidating others.
Lilith's house was a
shack, with no windows, that couldn't be called a proper home. I entered the
shack, which was only partitioned by rags at the entrance. I expected it to be
dark inside, but light filtered through the gaps in the boards, so I could see
fairly well. Lilith's mother lay directly on the wooden planks, with no bed,
covered by rags.
"You are..."
she murmured, her voice was weak.
"Mother. I'm
going to work for Master Toi here. And Master Toi will treat your
illness," Lilith explained.
"Lilith,
you..." her mother began. She didn't sell her body. Please don't sound so
tragic.
"Excuse me for a
moment," I said. Detailed Appraisal, it's your time to shine! ...Good,
this should be fine. It's not perfectly fine, but I can at least alleviate the
symptoms.
---Healing.
A faint light emanated
from the mother's body.
---Detailed Appraisal.
She wasn't completely
cured, but her symptoms were alleviated.
My Healing skill's
proficiency was (Minor), so its effect wasn't significant. The mother's
symptoms were malnutrition, a cold, and also asthma and pneumonia. Quite
severe. Malnutrition could be handled with nutritious meals and continuous
treatment, and the cold was cured by the current Healing. The problems were
asthma and pneumonia. This Healing only alleviated the symptoms; a full
recovery was impossible. Pneumonia would probably heal with continued
treatment, but asthma was the issue. I couldn't cure asthma. I thought I could
fully cure asthma if the Healing skill's proficiency increased, but raising its
proficiency that much was too much trouble. In my mind, the Holy Forgiver job
was only meant to be good enough for job change.
"My body feels...
lighter," the mother murmured.
"Master Toi. How
is my mother?" Lilith asked.
"My skill can
only alleviate symptoms, but a full recovery is possible," I explained.
"Really!? Thank
you!" Lilith exclaimed, tears in her eyes, bowing repeatedly. She's not
fully recovered yet, though.
"You can't get
proper treatment here. I'll take you back to the mansion," I offered.
"Someone like
me..." the mother began to refuse, but I instructed Gandarvan to put her
in the carriage.
"Lilith. If you
have anything to take, collect it. You won't be coming back here again," I
said.
"We don't have
anything, so it's fine," Lilith replied.
"...I see,"
I murmured. Lilith sat beside her mother, supporting her.
"Alright, let's
go!" I declared. Just then, three men appeared.
"Where are you taking
Laura and Lilith?" one demanded. Laura was the mother's name.
"It's none of
your business. Get out of here," Gandarvan replied, releasing his
intimidation.
"Ugh..." The
men recoiled but persisted against Gandarvan.
"We lent money to
Laura. We'd be troubled if you did whatever you pleased, Sir," one man
said. Debt collectors, huh? I motioned for Gandarvan to step back and I stepped
forward myself.
"How much is the
debt?" I asked.
"1,000,000 Grill,
young lady," the man replied. Who are you calling young lady? Who? I'll
send you flying, you bastard.
"It's not that
much debt. My mother only borrowed 10,000 Grill," Lilith cried out in a
pained voice.
"That's what she
says?" I asked the debt collector.
"Interest is
naturally added to debt, young lady," he retorted. He called me young lady
again, that bastard.
"But 10,000 Grill
becoming 1,000,000 Grill, that's a pretty high interest rate, isn't it?" I
commented. I understood interest, but this was too high.
"Hehehe. Even if
you say that, it's business, you see," he chuckled.
I released my
intimidation.
" " "
Ugh... " " " The three men sat down on the ground.
"If you get too
cocky, you'll suffer," I warned, then tapped the man's neck. The three men
turned pale. That should be enough intimidation.
I changed my sub-job
to Base Magnate.
"I'll pay that
debt for you," I stated.
"Y-yes. Thank
you. It's 900,000 Grill," he replied.
My Discount (Minor)
skill took 10% off (laughs).
While I felt reluctant
to use Discount at stalls, I had no qualms using it on these scoundrels. It was
impossible for 10,000 Grill to become 1,000,000 Grill, seriously.
I handed the debt
collector nine 100,000 black gold coins.
"Hehehe. Thank
you. I look forward to your next patronage," he said.
"Hey, hand over
the promissory note," I demanded.
"Here it
is," he replied, handing it over. I tore up the promissory note.
"Alright, let's
go home!" I said, getting into the carriage.
"Understood!
Depart!" Gandarvan shouted, and the carriage moved.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
Geral Aponso
MaxKne
[Gold]
B random
DavidA
Nepheos
ShitaiNoKootoRyuu
[Silver]
1EYED_SLOTH
Creris
Fred A.
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Matthew Fraser
Anton Lim
Crushingon
Ctdela
Curious Panda
Joe Smith
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
