Become A Profiteer In Isekai

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Best of Times

”Damn it! When I find him, I’m going to teach him a lesson!”

”It doesn’t matter how old he is, crime is unacceptable!”

”Didn’t his parents ever teach him right from wrong?!”

Ten minutes later, Lu Wei and Furen walked out of the tavern.

Staring at the scene of the crime, the latter was grumbling through clenched teeth, seemingly furious.

After all, being robbed by an ”eleven or twelve-year-old kid with a limp” wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.

Especially for someone who aspired to become the ”greatest Warrior on the Falanis Continent,” it was a blatant humiliation.

But who was there to blame?

”I’ll ask around tomorrow and have people keep an eye out for him.”

Lu Wei glanced at him helplessly. ”It’s getting late. Let’s go back and get some rest for now.”

”Huh? Tomorrow? Aren’t we going to do anything tonight?”

Furen was taken aback and said urgently, ”Now that we know what the thief looks like, shouldn’t we immediately search the likely spots?”

”Like the inns, bathhouses, brothels, and so on.”

’Wow, that actually sounds really reasonable!’

’Since you’re so smart, you should go look for him yourself!’

’I’ll pass on everywhere but the brothel!’

’I’m sure you can handle it on your own!’

Seeing that Furen was completely serious and not joking, Lu Wei took a deep breath, suppressed the urge to retort, and explained,

”We’re not the town guard. What gives us the right to search those places?”

”Besides, Heitai Town has over a dozen inns alone. How long would it take us to find him?”

”So the best course of action is to wait patiently. When he thinks it’s safe, he’ll show himself.”

”The town is only so big, and he has a limp—that’s a major distinguishing feature. As long as he doesn’t run away, we’ll catch him eventually...”

”But if we just wait, what if he spends all the money?”

Hearing that Lu Wei’s Tactic was to just lie in wait, Furen grew anxious. ”Even if we catch him then, what’s the point?”

’The point is that we get a slave.’

”Don’t worry. That was five Gold Coins, not five Copper Coins.”

Lu Wei shook his head. ”From Clara’s description, he’s clearly poor. There’s no way he could spend that much money in a short time.”

”Hmm...”

After a moment of thought, Furen nodded, seeing that Lu Wei’s analysis did make sense.

”You’re right. I was being too hasty.”

”Thinking about it now, it seems I’ve always had this flaw.”

”It was the same with yesterday’s adventure. I wasn’t prepared at all, but I rushed into the forest anyway...”

’Stop! Hold it right there!’

’Why is he suddenly starting to self-reflect?’

’Who wants to hear this?’

”Ahem. There’s nothing wrong with being impulsive.”

Coughing, Lu Wei quickly cut him off. ”Anyway, let’s go back and rest for now. By the way, which inn are you staying at?”

”Well...”

An awkward silence fell. Furen scratched his head in embarrassment.

”I was staying at the Wooden Fence Inn next to the Central Plaza, but now...”

”...”

’Oh, right. I almost forgot about that.’

’You don’t have any money to stay at an inn now.’

”Alright, then. You can stay at my place until we get the money pouch back.”

Once he realized the situation, Lu Wei didn’t hesitate for long and quickly decided to take Furen in for the time being.

He didn’t even mention rent.

Such a warm-hearted gesture was certainly not out of some ”brotherly bond.”

And it was even less likely to be a crisis of conscience.

It was for the sake of that [Jump Slash] that could split a goblin in two with a single slash of a Sword.

Although he felt he should focus his development more toward Remote Strike, having too many skills was never a bad thing. Faced with a Combat Skill that had fallen right into his lap, Lu Wei was willing to give it a try.

In any case, his ”A Little of Everything” Talent had already destined his Skills to be ”many, but unspecialized.” So, learning a few hand-to-hand moves was perfectly reasonable.

’A Close-Combat Mage, what’s so strange about that?’

...

...

”TAP... tap... TAP... tap...”

The night was black as ink. A cold wind whimpered as it shuttled through the narrow alleys, where the lonely, hurried sounds of a light and heavy footstep echoed.

A small, thin boy walked quickly, hugging the wall. He clutched a coarse burlap bag to his chest, from which the faint aroma of food wafted, making him swallow unconsciously.

But the boy didn’t stop. He continued on through the darkness, enduring his hunger, until he reached a long-abandoned mill on the edge of town.

”CREAAAK~”

The crooked wooden structure groaned in the wind. The dilapidated waterwheel was frozen in the dried-up riverbed, covered in wormholes and cobwebs.

Ever since the town hall had dug a new irrigation ditch outside the city two years ago, this mill had been abandoned, becoming a shelter for stray cats and dogs, as well as the homeless.

And for the past few days, its owners were a group of children with an average age of no more than thirteen.

”Huuu...”

Glancing left and right and seeing that all was quiet, the boy breathed a small sigh of relief. He then circled around to the back of the mill, gently pushed open a loose wooden plank with his elbow, and ducked inside.

”Zovir, is that you?”

A tiny voice came from behind a pile of scattered sacks, sounding somewhat timid.

”It’s me.”

The boy responded in a low voice, a smile finally appearing on his face. ”You can all come out. I got food.”

”Really?!”

Joyful voices rang out from all over, and several small, dark figures immediately scurried out from different places, like a pack of rats shunning the light.

There were boys and girls among them. The oldest was about thirteen or fourteen, the youngest only seven or eight. Their clothes were all tattered, and they were all uniformly thin.

”Oh gods, Zovir, how did you get so much food!”

”Did you meet a kind lord?”

”Bread, cheese... there’s even sausage!”

”And it’s still warm!”

Seeing the food in the burlap bag, the children’s eyes lit up. The sounds of their gasps and swallowing were exceptionally clear in the silence.

”Go on, eat.”

The boy smiled, his voice holding a trace of unconcealable exhaustion, as well as a hint of pride.

After getting permission, the children immediately swarmed forward, eagerly grabbing food and stuffing it into their mouths, swallowing so hastily they didn’t even have time to taste it.

For a moment, the sound of swallowing rose and fell. Moonlight streamed in through holes in the roof and cracks in the walls, serving as candlelight for this grand feast.

”Anna, what’s wrong?”

Picking up a piece of bread and a link of sausage, the boy walked over to the only girl who hadn’t taken any food and asked in confusion, ”Why aren’t you eating?”

”I...”

The girl looked at the bread and sausage, bit her lip, and asked, worried and uneasy, ”Zovir, be honest. Where did you get all this food?”

”A kind man bought it for me.”

The boy gave a warm smile and answered without any hesitation or pause, ”A blond-haired gentleman.”

”Is that so? That’s good. May the gods bless him.”

The girl let out a small sigh of relief, then looked down at the boy’s left leg and asked with quiet concern, ”Right, is your leg okay?”

”It’s fine. The wound healed a long time ago.”

”But when you walk, it still looks like...”

”Okay, it does still hurt a little, but it’s fine. It’ll be all better after a few more days of rest.”

The boy shrugged, pushed the food into the girl’s hands, and then ended the conversation.

”Hurry up and eat. I’m going to get some rest.”

”Ah, aren’t you eating?”

”I’ll eat later.”

”Okay, I’ll save some bread and cheese for you.”

”Mm.”

Nodding, the boy walked over to a pile of hay in the corner of the mill under the girl’s gentle gaze and sat down, subconsciously touching the money pouch hidden in his chest.

He had only spent a few spare Copper Coins on the food.

The five Gold Coins and six Silver Coins still lay quietly inside.

Silently closing his eyes, the boy recalled the feeling from an hour ago, when he opened the money pouch on the alley corner and saw those gold and silver coins—

that complex emotion of both shock and Fear.

The shock, of course, came from the powerful visual impact.

After all, it was the first time he had ever seen these two types of coins with his own eyes.

He had never even seen Silver Coins with their eagle engravings before, let alone Gold Coins.

And the Fear...

’If I get caught, I’ll definitely be hanged.’

’It’s so much money, after all.’

’What’s more, I’m a runaway slave...’

A flash of despair crossed his eyes. In reality, the boy didn’t know if these two crimes were enough to send him to the gallows.

But in his simple understanding of the world, he assumed they were.

But that was all something to worry about later.

For now, at least, he didn’t regret what he had done.

”...”

Opening his eyes, he watched his companions sitting in a circle on the ground not far away, ravenously devouring their food by the dim moonlight, and smiled with a measure of relief.

Then, he quietly took out the money pouch, untied the opening, and pulled out one Silver Coin.

After a moment’s hesitation, he took out another.

He clutched the two silver coins tightly in his palm, hid the pouch back in his chest, then raised his head. His gaze passed through a hole in the roof to the small patch of deep night sky above.

A few stars twinkled in the distant canopy, cold and remote.

The Slave Master always said this was the best of times, because before the ’Slave Protection Technique’ was decreed, it didn’t matter if a slave was beaten to death.

But now, they could even get a half-day of rest on weekends, so they should be grateful.

But the boy had still risked the gallows and run away.

He hadn’t actually wanted to run away... not if they could have had a little more rest, food, and dignity.

’First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the tavern and return the money pouch.’

’If that gentleman is kind, maybe he’ll forgive me.’

’If not, at least I won’t drag down Anna and the others.’

’No matter what, we’ve survived tonight.’

With the thought of returning the money pouch on his mind, the boy slowly curled up, adjusted his injured leg to a slightly more comfortable position, and closed his eyes again, falling into a deep sleep under the heavy sky of freedom.