NOVEL WEB Chapter 3 - Hometown Friends Only Talk About Money
✦ Chapter 3 – Hometown Friends Only Talk About Money ✦
「Translator – Creator」
“If you wish to express your gratitude, give me 100,000 gold.”
“Huh? 100,000 gold? We don’t have that kind of money…”
“That’s equivalent to the annual budget of a typical noble family!”
“Arnoying, I’m surprised you even know what a budget is.”
The handmaidens’ expressions shifted peculiarly, likely realizing they couldn’t procure the 100,000 gold I had requested as a token of gratitude. Observing their reactions, I added in a patronizing tone,
“Well then, Patricia, how about you simply smile for me?”
It was said that no one has ever seen Patricia smile. Surely, a beautiful woman’s smile would be a sight to behold. Patricia trembled slightly and fidgeted, seemingly flustered by my request for a smile that even the Emperor himself had never witnessed.
“If you’re disinclined to smile, you can always give me the 100,000 gold instead.”
From the start, this negotiation was tilted in my favor.
Patricia, apparently recognizing her predicament akin to a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, exhaled deeply before reverting to her usual expressionless demeanor.
“You said your name was Daniel of the Dantalian family, correct? Thank you for assisting us handmaidens. While I’m grateful…”
“Yes? While you’re grateful?”
“Thanks to you, we now have two extra hours of free time every day. How are you going to take responsibility for that?”
When I heard her ask me to take responsibility, I was about to retort when she, whose face was even redder than a radish, extended her index finger and spoke rapidly—
“As a special arrangement, you may accompany me on a walk through the gardens for an hour each day from now on. The Dantalian family is surely a noble house from the frontier, a place I’ve never heard of before.”
“We are indeed from the frontier.”
“Even though you’re a lower-ranking noble, you’ve been arrogant and disrespectful in the palace, and even touched the dagger of a noble lady without permission. I’ll teach you proper etiquette for one hour a day.”
Though her tone remained as composed as ever, she was now beaming like a white rose in full bloom.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Patricia smile! Daniel! It’s all thanks to you! And thank you for your help! You said your name was Daniel of Dantalian? Dantalian… where have I heard that before…?”
“I guess Patricia can smile too. I thought she didn’t know how to smile.”
As I pondered how even this handmaiden, who remained solemn before the emperor, could smile like this, I felt relieved. It seems my identity hasn’t been revealed.
At that moment, text floated up before my eyes.
Ding—
『You have acquired a buff.』
『White Rose’s Smile Lv.1 – 72H』
『The probability of spawning and capturing Hel is increased by 10%.』
『The higher the target’s affection, the longer the duration and effectiveness of the buff.』
This was a bonus that could be obtained through the affection reward system in the game 「Hel World」. I was surprised because I had never received a bonus like this before.
I guess I can consider this a successful debut for my second identity, my alt character. It was a worthwhile venture, as I also learned how the game’s bonuses function.
With that settled, I felt ready to proceed to the mission area.
“Miss Patricia, while I appreciate your offer, I’m afraid I must postpone our… date. I have to go to the north immediately. I’ll probably be leaving the palace today.”
“Huh…? Wait…! What I proposed wasn’t a date…!”
“Ah! I just remembered! The Dantalian family! Patricia! The Dantalians are known to be incredibly eccentric! I’ve only heard rumors about them, but there are actually real people!”
“Arnoying, what’s all the fuss about? What exactly do the Dantalians do?”
As the women chattered excitedly behind me, I swiftly made my exit from the imperial palace.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Many events transpired between my return to a 7-year-old body and my ascension to the throne at 25.
Before settling down in Pandemonium, I spent a considerable amount of time in a region called ‘Ardan’, which was close to the north. It would be no exaggeration to say that I spent my entire second childhood there.
In any case, ‘Ardan’ was like a hometown to me in this world, and I was returning after an incredibly long absence. Since the fastest way to get from the imperial capital to the north, which was ruled by the Paimon family, was to go through Ardan, I was also curious to see how my hometown had changed.
As I returned to the village of Ardan, some people standing at the entrance of the village seemed to recognize me and widened their eyes.
And then, as if they had seen a ghost, they started shouting wildly.
“Daniel of Dantalian has returned!”
“Daniel survived the war!”
“Daniel’s back! Inform the mistress!”
It was truly a fervent welcome.
Those who were quick-witted would have realized from the recent welcome that the name ‘Daniel of Dandelion’, which I had fooled the handmaidens with, was the name I was actually called before I became emperor.
Daniel, but also Bael.
That was me, and no one else in the world knew that.
Anyway, my hometown, which I had returned to after a long time, had changed a lot.
My childhood friends, whose faces I recognized, were all grown up and only talked about money.
“Daniel, pay back the money you borrowed.”
“You borrowed from me too! Money! Pay me back!”
“Return my money as well!”
“Alright, I’ll repay you all.”
All they talked about was money when I visited my hometown after a long time.
I guess the people of Ardan had become truly cold-hearted in the five years I had been away.
Anyway, after drinking at a cheap tavern in the village, my friends who were talking about money got drunk and started talking about what had happened since I left.
“Daniel! Everyone was looking for you when you suddenly disappeared from Ardan!”
“There was a large-scale conscription, right? You must have fled to avoid it. Cliff ran away too.”
“What have you been doing for five years? Were you really fooling around with a rich widow?”
“Fooling around with a widow? What are you talking about?”
“Your face is so pretty, you look like a girl! You haven’t even grown a beard!”
“Seeing that you don’t have a single scar, you must have been hiding somewhere during the war, right?”
“Why is your hair so long? Is it your lady’s taste?”
“The entire continent is in mourning due to the war. That’s why I haven’t cut my hair. More importantly, how have you all been? How’s the village of Ardan?”
“It’s been a war, just like you said. It was the same here.”
“Soldiers came, fought, and got injured. Some died. Phoebe had a lot of trouble dealing with the aftermath.”
“Speaking of which, Daniel, shouldn’t you be seeing your sister Phoebe instead of being here?”
Phoebe. As I thought about the face of my sister, whom I hadn’t seen in about five years, the drunks started talking about her recklessly.
“That crybaby little girl is now the mistress of the Dantalian family.”
“She’s become so formidable that even men can’t stand up to her!”
“At this hour, she’s probably at the graveyard right now.. You should go see her quickly.”
It was still light outside the tavern. I headed towards the graveyard where my sister might be.
Since there hadn’t been such a place before I left my hometown, it took me some time to find my way.
“It used to be a garden with flowers planted, but it has become a graveyard in the meantime.”
I could see tombstones rising tall in the garden where I used to play as a child. As I looked at the tombstones that someone had dug up with clumsy hands, I was able to find a familiar name.
「Nimrod Dantalian. Swordmaster, Mercenary Captain, and Father of Someone. Rests Here.」
“……………”
“Father passed away peacefully, as if he had simply fallen asleep in his bed.”
A voice, both familiar and strange, reached my ears. When I turned my head, I saw a woman with brown hair that shimmered black approaching the tombstone, holding flowers in her hand. They were wildflowers.
“Phoebe, those are the flowers Father liked.”
“Yes. I place these flowers on his grave every day.”
My sister Phoebe had grown into a graceful young woman. She was dressed like a skilled adventurer or mercenary, with a wolf-skin cloak draped over her attire, giving her the appearance of a young female mafia boss.
I guess it wasn’t wrong to say that she was actually playing a similar role as the head of the Dantalian family.
“Phoebe, I hear you’ve become the head of the Dantalian family?”
“Well, that’s what happened after Father passed away and you weren’t here. A lot has happened in the past few years since you left your hometown without a word.”
She spoke as if she was calm, but Phoebe’s eyebrows were narrowed. It was a habit she had since childhood when she was upset about something.
“Are you angry? Because I left without saying anything?”
“Angry? No, I’m not angry. We’re not even blood-related, after all. The orphan Father arbitrarily took in left our ailing Father behind to become some widow’s kept man or whatever.”
“Who spread that rumor about me being a widow’s kept man? That’s a misunderstanding. That’s nonsense. I had my own circumstances and I was busy.”
“Busy enough that you couldn’t even be there on the day Father passed away? Father loved you more like his own child than me, his own daughter.”
With those words, my sister Phoebe Dantalian briskly entered a small mansion. As I stared blankly at her retreating figure, I shifted my gaze to the cold tombstone.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
In my previous life, I used to be a young man in college in the 21st century, the son of a single mother. Until my mother fell ill, I had been a promising boxing prospect with a fair amount of expectations placed upon me.
Acquired muscular dystrophy syndrome.
That was the name of the disease my mother had.
From one day on, the muscles in her body began to gradually decrease, and eventually even the functions of her organs, including her heart, weakened.
It was a rare disease that had only been discovered in modern times, so the doctors had no experience with it and it was impossible to cure completely. All they could do was slow down the progression of the disease with medication.
“I’ve lived long enough, son. What is the point of taking all the money my son earns to prolong my life? I’m just a burden to you. Don’t worry about me and live your life.”
“Mother, how can you say that? I’m only taking care of it because I can do it.”
People can endure hardships because they have hope. I had hope too.
“Mom, just wait. Dr. Song says there’s a drug that’s completed clinical trials in America. If it can be successfully brought to Korea, you might be able to resume normal daily activities.”
“……”
Rustle, rustle—
My mother, who had been looking at me silently, rummaged under the covers of the hospital bed with trembling hands. Soon, she took something out from under the covers. It was a red plastic case that looked like a game chip.
A game chip? It resembled a cartridge for an old game console. It took me a moment to recognize it, as it had been so long since I’d seen such an item.
“Remember that game you wanted when you went to the supermarket with me? You wanted it, but I remember you getting mad at me because I said I didn’t have the money.”
“How many years ago was that?”
“When you were seven. Even as I was scolding you, my heart ached. That memory has always stayed with me, so I asked the nurse to help me get this while peeling fruits. Your birthday is coming up soon, right?”
“Is my birthday coming up?”
I awkwardly scratched my head as I accepted the game chip from my mother. The chip case bore a rather classic illustration along with the words「For Nymptendo DS」 and 「Hel World」 prominently displayed. Judging by its worn appearance, it seemed to be a secondhand item.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen one of these.”
I couldn’t quite remember if I had actually wanted this game or not. The idea of me as a seven-year-old child seemed so distant that it was almost comical.
“Mom wants to go back to that time. If I had only gone to the hospital a little sooner, you wouldn’t be suffering like this now. Anyway, happy birthday, son. It’s still two days away, but.”
— End of Chapter —
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