Departure

A character from the original game, huh?

Meeting her wouldn't lead to anything good. I was sure of that. Moreover, for reasons I didn't yet understand, she was already searching for me. There’s no way this results in a positive outcome, I thought.

"I see. Thanks for telling me."

I patted the boy’s head. He tried to squirm away from my hand, looking embarrassed.

"S-stop it. If you’re really that grateful, just give me some more meat."

"You're right. This might be the last time I can, anyway."

"Eh?" The boy froze, his expression turning to one of utter bewilderment. "W-why? Did I do something wrong? If I did, I’ll say I’m sorry!"

"No, it’s nothing like that. I just always planned to head for my territory in the frontier."

"Feh? Is that true?" For some reason, Fee looked just as shocked as the boy.

"I explained this to you, didn't I?" I asked her. "I told you I received my own land and that we’d be going there eventually."

"I heard you, but I thought it would be much later!"

"It’s a fairly dilapidated place. I need to get there early to start fixing things. That’s why I was buying all those weapons and supplies, remember?"

"I mean, when you put it that way..."

"Meat Brother!" the boy interrupted. "In that case, take me with you! I might not look like much, but when it comes to being quick on my feet, I won't lose to anyone in this neighborhood!"

I glanced at him. Looking at his stats through Appraisal, the boy actually had decent overall potential. Though we had only met a few times, he didn't show any signs of being a puppet for someone else. Since he was the one who had tried to warn me about the Saint—one of the heroines destined to expose the game's ultimate mastermind—I could safely rule him out as an enemy.

But—

"No. I can’t."

"Why not!?"

"Unlike this girl, you have companions who would worry about you, don't you?"

As soon as I spoke, several other boys who had been hiding anxiously in the shadows of the nearby buildings stepped into view. They seemed to think they had been perfectly concealed, but to anyone capable of sensing presence, they might as well have been standing in the middle of the street.

The boy hadn't noticed them; he spun around, gasping in surprise. "You guys..."

"Big brother, we'll be lonely if you leave."

"Big brother, don't go!"

The younger children crowded around him, hugging him tight.

"I can't exactly tear you away from them," I said.

"Fine. I get it," the boy sighed. "I'll stay in the city."

"However, since I’ve already gotten involved with you, I’ll at least make sure you don't starve. The rest is up to you—train yourselves so you don't get tricked by the wrong people."

I reached into our supplies and pulled out three Daggers from the batch I had purchased. I handed them over to the kids.

"I'll teach you where the efficient hunting grounds are, too. With these, you should be able to earn enough to eat while you train."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Of course. Besides, a guy like you won't abandon the other street kids, right? Kids like Fee."

"O-Of course not. I... I'm really sorry about bullying you back then, Fee."

Fee shook her head. "It’s okay. Because of what happened then, Fee was able to meet Master Yuri. So, I’m actually thankful."

It seemed the old grudge between them had finally been settled.

"Now then, I’m going to go talk to the old man at the food stall and buy up a bunch of meat. You guys go gather the rest of the children."

"Got it! We'll go call them right now!"

The boys sprinted off in a frantic hurry.

Well, that was that. I didn't think I had anything left to do in the capital. By lending a hand to these children, I had inadvertently prevented the Great Orphan Riot that was supposed to occur in the original game's timeline, but that was a butterfly effect I remained blissfully unaware of.

---

The following day, as soon as the carriage was ready, I fled the estate.

Let sleeping heroines lie, I figured. If she was looking for me, my only choice was to vanish before she caught my scent.

Because of the rush, we carried less luggage than originally planned; the cargo consisted mainly of food. I had selected items that were resistant to spoilage and suitable for long-term storage, but I was still paranoid about rot. I used Water Magic to create ice by suppressing the vibration of water particles to their absolute limit, then packed it into the storage crates.

Maintaining the ice constantly drained my Magic Power, but I viewed it as a way to grind my magic levels while on the road, so it wasn't all bad. Simultaneously, I tried using Earth Magic to manipulate iron into a crude, insulated box—essentially a refrigerator—but that experiment wasn't going as well.

"Creating iron consumes a massive amount of mana all at once," I muttered.

"What are you doing?" Fee asked curiously from the seat beside me.

"Trying to make a tool to keep our food fresh. I’m failing, though."

As I suspected, my Magic Power was still too low for complex crafting. Fortunately, this body possessed incredible potential. If I kept pushing myself, I would eventually hit the necessary thresholds.

"Maybe Fee should practice magic too?"

"No. That would be a waste of time. Don't bother."

"Uu..."

Fee gave me a resentful look, but I couldn't change the facts of her aptitudes. That said, it was difficult to practice Swordsmanship or Dagger skills inside a moving carriage.

"Let’s see... how about this? Try throwing these at targets outside."

In my spare time, I used Earth Magic to fashion several Daggers out of compressed soil. They couldn't cut anything and would shatter upon impact, but I figured it was good for throwing practice.

"I understand! I'll do my best to hunt for food!"

"They don't have any lethal power, Fee..."

Still, if she hit a target squarely, she might at least knock it unconscious. Seeing how motivated she was, I didn't say anything more. I simply kept manufacturing dirt daggers for her while I went back to the trial and error of my refrigerator project.

After several days of this routine, I noticed that my level had jumped significantly.

Name: Yuri Lousouth
Gender: Male | Age: 10 | Race: Human
Occupation: Third Son of a Duke
Level: 3
HP: 42/42 (A)
MP: 42/60 (S)
Attack: 5 (A)
Defense: 4 (C)
Agility: 4 (C)
Magic Power: 25 (S)

[Skills]
Swordsmanship: 1 (B) | Disguise: 5 (A) | Appraisal: 10 (EX) | Chantless Casting: 3 (S) | Arithmetic Processing: 1 (A)

[Magic]
Fire: 1 (B) | Water: 2 (C) | Earth: 4 (A) | Wind: 1 (B) | Dark: 1 (S)

I hadn't defeated a single enemy, yet it seemed my levels rose quite easily just through magic training. I wondered why more people didn't do this. Then again, overextending one's Magic Power caused splitting headaches and a total loss of motivation. Unless someone was a masochist or desperate to improve, it wasn't a pleasant way to spend a day.

A new skill appeared, too. I guess they can be acquired through repetition.

In the game, you would select a skill you wanted and eventually learn it after accumulating enough hidden experience.

"Is Fee getting stronger too?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with hope.

Unfortunately, she hadn't progressed at all. It was to be expected, really; she hadn't hit a single thing yet, mostly just littering the roadside with dirt. Still, she was gaining experience in the motion of throwing, so perhaps it was simply a matter of her base aptitude being lower than mine.

"Not yet, Fee. It might just be that physical levels are harder to raise than magic."

"I-I'll try even harder!"

Fired up, Fee went back to hurling soil daggers out the window. Sometimes she aimed at a tree, sometimes at a Horned Rabbit in the brush, and sometimes at nothing in particular.

The peaceful atmosphere continued for a few more days. We were roughly halfway through our journey when we encountered a commotion on the road ahead.

"Gyahaha! Kill all the men! Don't touch the women—they’ll fetch a high price at the market!"

"S-Someone, please help us!"

It looked like a merchant group. A man was on the verge of being butchered by bandits, while his wife and a young girl—likely his daughter—huddled behind him, trembling. Their carriage had been overturned, and the soldiers acting as their guards were already lying dead in the dirt.

"You there! Please! Help us!" the merchant screamed as he spotted our carriage.

"Master Yuri, what should we do?" Fee asked.

"How annoying. We'll just push straight through."

If I played the hero here, it would trigger some tedious gratitude event. It would only delay our arrival at the territory. It was a nuisance, plain and simple.

"B-But they’re already blocking the road in front of the carriage!"

"Fine. How troublesome. We'll just have to kick them aside."

"Understood!"

Apparently, this was a forced event. I let out a heavy sigh and shifted into a combat stance. Fee, on the other hand, gave a cheerful nod, looking strangely happy that we were finally going to do something.

---

"How is the boy faring?"

In his private study, Baran questioned his butler.

"It appears he did not purchase any slaves. Instead, he is traveling with a beast."

"Hmm. I didn't know he had such tastes. Perhaps he wanted that territory specifically to build a paradise for those creatures."

"If he attempts such a thing in that region, won't it lead to an immediate war with the Beast Kingdom?"

"I don't care if the place is wiped off the map. If anything, I’d prefer someone took that cursed land off my hands as soon as possible," Baran said, his laughter cold and amused.

He had assumed any normal noble would buy slaves before heading to the frontier, so he had already placed his own plants among the most "useful" slaves on the market. That plan had been a swing and a miss, but those slaves could still be used to spy on other houses. If they proved truly useless, he could just dispose of them.

Still, the fact that Yuri had taken a Beastman as a companion was something even Baran hadn't predicted. In the Kingdom of Inraku, beastmen were considered lower than human—mere livestock. While a few eccentrics collected them, they were generally viewed with loathing. He hadn't expected his own son to be one of those deviants.

"However, well... the other servants have complained that his room still smells of the beast..."

"Ignore them. It’s only for a few days. Until he is gone, minimize anything that might make him suspicious."

"As you wish. I shall see to it." The butler bowed deeply.

"Though, it is quite bothersome that he organized those orphans. We were intending to incite them into a riot."

"Perhaps the boy is simply gathering his own pawns so he can trigger a riot whenever it suits him," Baran mused. He truly is a Lousouth, after all. Perhaps he is trying to show off his mettle to me, even as a child. "If he hadn't defied me, he might have made a fine tool. What a waste."

"Indeed, my lord. On that note, there is one more matter to discuss."

"...The matter of the Church?"

"As expected, you have already heard."

"That 'Saint' is nothing but a figurehead, yet she insists on making more work for me. I have no intention of antagonizing the Church... yet. Just increase our donation amount and keep them satisfied."

"Understood. I shall arrange it."

Baran felt a flicker of irritation. Why did he, the man who should be the true King, have to resort to such petty maneuvering? However, the Church’s influence was a necessary evil for the stability of his future reign. For now, he would let them play their games.

"Also, give the Saint a nudge. She’s interested in this 'Savior of the Orphans,' isn't she? In that case, it might be beneficial to have her follow him to the frontier."

"I understand. I will ensure that information reaches her ears through our charitable channels."

"And about that beast... when the time comes to attack, tell the men not to kill the creature. I want it alive so it can bear the blame for everything later."

"Understood. A mere pet with no combat ability should be easy enough to capture."

Baran let out a low, dark laugh.

He was entirely unaware that Yuri had already left the capital. Consequently, his schemes would only result in the Saint arriving to find an empty house, incurring her wrath and drawing the suspicious gaze of the Church onto the Lousouth estate.

But that was a story for another time.