Chapter 224. Childhood Friend – Initial Funds
“Come on in! Come on in!”
The merchants’ calls echoed back and forth.
Various vegetables and fruits were displayed on the stalls lining the street, and the bustling market was filled with the pungent smell of very cheap spices.
Passersby picked up products, smelled them, and squeezed them to check their quality. The merchants reassured them with lighthearted chatter.
The market was a colorful scene.
There were sellers and buyers, people simply enjoying the sights, children playing, beggars asking for alms, and residents wandering aimlessly.
This was the market of Torito Village, where pickpockets sometimes caused commotion. People of all kinds were entangled for various reasons, and among them was a wandering young man.
In truth, he was a bit too young to be called a young man. Though tall, he was a boy in his mid-teens, trudging across the market with drooping shoulders.
– “Please, can’t you make an exception?”
– “No. I’m not going to take an inexperienced rookie along. If you really want to come, pay the proper membership fee. Then you can join the guild.”
The boy clutched a pouch with eight silver coins and five copper coins. It seemed like a decent amount of money, but it was far from enough to follow the traders. He stomped his feet in frustration.
– “What if I work as a laborer? Would that work?”
– “You’re not from our village.”
– “But I’ve been…”
Despite pleading, the merchant turned his head away, his stiff face saying, ‘I’m not listening.’
Other merchants were the same.
From those he thought he had a bit of a relationship with to those he approached as a last resort, none would take him along.
Frustrated, the boy quickened his steps in despair.
Leah had left.
To the Holy Kingdom of Jerome.
The Holy Kingdom was far away. Although the money he had was a significant amount for a boy his age, it was nowhere near enough to get there. Moreover, it was also the capital for the business he hoped to start someday.
But now, what use was business? Leah was gone.
In his anguish, he began to resent Leah. It was absurd that he had to suffer like this just because of a girl. He despised his own indecision.
‘A priestess, my foot. What kind of priestess is a girl? She was just saying that to leave this backwater village.’
He began to belittle her. Then he was once again engulfed in a deep sense of emptiness.
He wandered, and his steps eventually led him to a dark corner of Torito Village.
“Welcome!”
Startled, the boy looked up. A man greeted him from an alleyway.
“You came alone? Ah, you’re quite young. Is this your first time here?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“Good to see you. Come on in.”
The man was a rough-looking thug.
Although similar in height, the boy’s frail arms failed to cover his shoulders. Tapping his pocket to confirm the presence of money, the thug led him to a dilapidated wooden building.
Terrified, the boy looked around. The place was dimly lit by a red lantern, and the long hallway led to an unknown destination.
The boy considered fleeing but was frozen as the thug said, “Have a good time!” and opened the door.
A half-naked woman was right in front of him. She pulled him in with a “Come on in,” and her hand boldly reached into his groin.
“Quite well-endowed, huh? What are you waiting for? Get undressed.”
Mesmerized, the boy took off his clothes. Embarrassed for a moment, he then embraced the courtesan and threw her onto the worn-out bed.
“Oh, my. I need to take off my clothes too…”
“Wh-what’s your name?”
The boy clutched his chest and asked desperately. The courtesan laughed softly and revealed her name, which was probably a fake, but the boy muttered it to himself.
“What’s your name?”
The boy replied to the courtesan who resembled Leah in some way.
“W-well, I’m Hans.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Alright. You’re heading to the Visaen Highlands, right? I hear it’s quite far, so be careful on your way and don’t trust people too easily.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful. Take care of yourselves.”
Lev bowed deeply to the village elders.
After Leah left, Lev spent several days saying goodbye to the villagers.
There were many people he had to see before he left. In the past, he had just left without a word, but now that he remembered the past, he couldn’t do that.
Also, the past had changed a lot.
Whether it was because his mother was still alive or because his father, who had lived in isolation from the village, had changed, or maybe both, there were many people Lev had to say goodbye to.
Last year, he had received pickled vegetables from Dino’s wife. Hugo from the neighboring house had given him fresh milk every morning, and Ruben, though an outsider, had quickly settled into the village and willingly shared compost for the vegetable garden.
So he presented well-dried leather as a gift to these people and even brought fox fur specifically for the village chief.
He also made sure not to forget the village elders.
Lev brought a large amount of soft bread and the old folks looked at him with regret as he turned to leave.
“Leah, what’s with that priestess business? She should have just married that guy and stayed…”
The villagers all pitied Lev, as if they knew he was planning to leave forever. One young woman asked him,
“Lev, you’re going for your coming-of-age ceremony, right? You… will come back, won’t you?”
Lev honestly said, “I don’t think I will come back,” shattering her futile hope. Thus, Lev continued to tie up his loose ends.
Their premonitions were correct. He no longer intended to return to this place, by any means.
The next morning, Lev loaded a sack of dried meat onto a cart. He pushed the cart with the village youths toward the large town and said farewell to them at the edge of the village as the sunset painted the sky.
Finally alone, Lev was free to do anything.
However, there were still connections to resolve. Following the direction indicated by {Tracking}, Lev encountered Hans in the market.
“Hey, Lev. Just in time. Come over here for a moment.”
Lev knew where Hans wanted to take him. But he hadn’t understood why Hans, who wasn’t particularly close to him and had no real connection, was calling him.
Of course, now… he understood.
Lev, carrying dried meat, followed Hans without a word. When they entered an alleyway leading to a brothel, Hans spoke up.
“Stop. I’m not going.”
“Huh? Oh, you’ve been there too? I see.”
Hans sneered.
“Hey, when did you go? I just went the day before yesterday, and there was a girl just like Leah. Small, even her chest was so small it could fit in one hand…”
“So, was it good?”
“Huh?”
“Are you happy?”
Lev stared at Hans, and Hans’s face flushed under the calm gaze.
“W-What’s with the meddling?”
“You said you wanted to be a merchant, but you spent all your money, didn’t you?”
“…What’s the use of earning money when Leah is gone? And you, pretending to be friendly with Leah. Hmph! Didn’t you see? She left happily waving goodbye. Leah had no interest in someone like you or me.”
Lev took a deep breath. He and Hans were entangled in many ways.
When they were very young, the two of them fought over Leah as if competing for her.
Lev, who was always with Leah, didn’t like Hans trying to come between them. Hans also disliked Lev blocking him.
So the two little kids fought, and Lev was the winner. With a bloody nose, Hans ran to his mother, crying.
“You two should get along. How can you fight when you’re both from the same family?”
Lev got scolded by both his mother and Hans’s aunt. It was inevitable because… Hans was his cousin.
The only bakery in the village of Demos. The eldest daughter of that family was Hans’s aunt, and the second daughter was Lev’s mother.
The diligent aunt had learned to knead dough from a young age, and the lively mother gathered herbs for baking. Then they met a wild boy and fell in love.
This was why Hans kept approaching Lev, even though they weren’t very close.
When Lev’s mother was gone and he was somewhat cut off from the villagers, Hans acted similarly to how he did now. Unlike his mother.
Without knowing that… Lev had beaten up Hans. It was lucky that it was just a beating; he had nearly killed him twice. Although Hans was certainly pitiful, Lev himself was no better in terms of pettiness.
“She’ll never come back to this backwater village again. And what kind of study does Leah have to do? I hear there are many fancy fellows in the city; she’ll probably get swept up and find a match. Hmph!”
Lev declared to the complaining Hans.
“I’m going to see Leah.”
“What? Are you out of your mind? Leah is going to the capital church to become a priestess…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…Well, then I guess I’ll go with you…”
“You?”
Lev ruthlessly cut off Hans’s words. Hans looked back at the alleyway leading to the brothel, his face reddening. With a hint of conscience, he said no more.
“I came to give you a chance. I owe you an apology too. Take it.”
– Clink.
“What’s this…”
Eight silver coins and five copper coins.
It was the same amount of money Hans had squandered in two days of debauchery. Lev, who had thrown the {Initial Funds} to him, gestured with his chin.
“You said you wanted to be a merchant, right? To leave this backwater village and live grandly. Take it. Use it as your starting capital to chase your dream again, or go there and embrace a prostitute who looks like Leah. Do whatever you want. It’s your choice.”
Then he turned and walked away.
Hans stood there as if nailed to the spot. Though it seemed like he might cry, Lev did not look back.
After all, that guy had sold us out to the guild leader. Lev thought this was enough compensation for killing him and beating him up.
Lev, who had sold the dried beef, left Torito Village. He headed to the Bizan Tribe, the hometown of his father, who had not been massacred.
