Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 16. But isn't this child exploitation? (2)

A week later.

Patrick and his party finally arrived at their destination.

A city surrounded by a large outer wall, a week's journey by carriage from the Schneider fiefdom.

It was the fiefdom of Count Parmas.

He was a great noble who boasted the greatest power in this area, and he was also a noble who boasted a power large enough to be in the top three in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Atronia.

Naturally, his power was extensive, and his fiefdom was developed.

There were over dozens of trading companies that resided within that inner wall.

It was the place Patrick had come to in order to sell the byproducts of monsters.

And the party of Patrick that arrived there….

"Young Master. We have arrived."

"Oh oh…. we did? We arrived faster than I thought."

"Yes. Well…."

"Tsk, the side income on the way was pretty good, so I was thinking of taking a bit of a detour."

At Patrick's words, Chandler's body shuddered.

‘He's a real monster.’

He had heard rumors that Patrick was a genius of the sword, a vessel that comes once in a thousand years.

He had heard them, but like most things, he thought it was an exaggerated rumor filled with expectations for the young Young Master.

But the past week was enough to change the perception of Chandler and the laborers.

‘To think that trolls could be beaten to death with bare fists.’

‘Maybe the Young Master could really catch an ogre.’

They had been attacked by monsters three times over the past week.

Starting with three trolls, they were also attacked by a pack of dozens of wolves, and finally, a horde of goblins surrounded the party and ambushed them.

Each time, Patrick showed a god-like martial prowess and cleanly wiped out the monsters, but it was especially terrifying when he dealt with the goblins at the end.

[How dare you worthless bastards!]

In Patrick's mind, a monster that wasn't worth money was a sin just for being alive.

He swung his twin swords without rest, chopping them into pieces, and Chandler and the laborers, who were watching, realized for the first time in their lives that even goblins could be pitiful.

In any case, they had keenly realized Patrick's skill and personality.

Now, among the party, there was no one who saw the young boy lying languidly on the cargo wagon as just a ten-year-old child.

‘Let's not get on his bad side.’

‘If we go against him, we're dead.’

‘We have to stay sharp.’

The party moved forward, maintaining the mindset of a highly disciplined new recruit.

"Halt, state your identity and purpose of visit!"

A soldier guarding the gate, armed with full body armor and a halberd, greeted Patrick's party.

Patrick glanced at the soldier from the cargo wagon and thought.

‘Kuuuh…. as expected, a rich neighborhood has different armor for its soldiers. Look at how shiny those weapons are.’

Patrick had already grasped that this neighborhood was rich from the soldiers' armor.

And as the cargo wagon stopped, one of the servants stepped forward and said.

"I am Chandler, an apprentice butler of the Schneider fiefdom."

Chandler deliberately used the title of apprentice butler so as not to be looked down upon.

He was appealing to the soldiers that ‘there is a noble behind us,’ preventing them from being hazed for no reason.

"What is the purpose of your visit?"

But what can you do?

To the soldiers employed by a Count's family, an apprentice butler of a Baron's family carried no weight at all.

At the soldier's businesslike and stiff response, Chandler said with a gentle smile.

"I have come to conduct business under the orders of my lord."

"Hmm, are you the one in charge of this procession?"

"That is not the case. Our Young Master has come with us."

But please don't touch him if possible.

He bites.

Chandler couldn't bring himself to say those words.

And it wasn't just Chandler; the entire party that had come with him had ominous expressions.

They had already keenly realized Patrick's temper.

There was no guarantee that an accident wouldn't happen when that nameless soldier tried to question Patrick with a strict and stiff attitude.

‘Don't touch him, just let it go.’

‘Please, I'm saying this for your own good.’

But despite the soldiers' desperate wishes, this soldier was unnecessarily too diligent.

"If so, I must first confirm the face of the person in charge. Would you please step forward for a moment?"

‘Whyyyyy?’

‘Just let it go.’

‘That bastard who's unnecessarily faithful to the rules.’

Now that soldier would strictly ask the purpose of their visit and conduct a search, and Patrick would be displeased and act defiantly, and if that happened….

"Ah…. no."

"W-…. wait a minute."

Just as the laborers were hastily trying to stop it somehow.

"Wow! Mister, your armor is so cool!"

A bright and innocent voice came from somewhere.

The moment they confirmed the source of that voice, Chandler and the laborers' mouths dropped open, their jaws almost dislocating.

The sight before their eyes was truly unbelievable.

"Are you a knight, mister? Your armor is super cool."

"Ha…. hahaha. No, sir. I am just a guard of the fiefdom."

"Wow. But you're so strong? Your forearms are so thick. You're tall and your beard is cool too."

"Hahahahaha…."

A boy with sparkling eyes, looking at the soldier with innocent admiration, and the soldier, scratching his head awkwardly at the boy's compliment.

Right. Uh…. what should I say?

It's a truly heartwarming sight.

It's the kind of sight that should naturally bring a pleased smile to one's lips.

‘Wow. That's too much.’

‘This is really too much.’

‘So that's what hypocrisy is.’

The laborers, who knew Patrick's true nature, were all at a loss for words.

Whether they were or not, Patrick was melting the stiff soldier with the innocence unique to a child.

"My dad told me to come here and sell some things."

"Ah, I see."

"Can I go in?"

To Patrick, who asked while tilting his head, the soldier said with a fatherly smile.

"Yes. Of course. Please go inside."

"Wow. Thank you, soldier mister."

Thus, Patrick melted the strict soldier, and the party was able to enter.

As they smoothly passed the outer wall, Patrick grinned and thought.

‘It doesn't cost money to pretend to be innocent.’

Except for not being able to drink alcohol, he thought that the life of a child wasn't so bad.

After entering the city, Chandler said to Patrick.

"Young Master. I heard that you intend to open a trade relationship with a new merchant guild on this occasion."

"That's right."

"Do you have a merchant guild in mind?"

"No, I don't."

When Patrick said he didn't have one so confidently, Chandler made a dumbfounded expression.

Then Patrick shrugged and said.

"What do I know? I'm only ten years old."

“…….”

He's only ten when it's convenient for him.

But with the situation like this, Chandler was in a predicament.

"Young Master, if you don't have a merchant guild in mind beforehand, it will take a long time to sell the goods. The time it takes to show the goods to various merchant guilds and negotiate the price will be at least a few months."

"Well, I guess so."

"Are you saying it doesn't matter if it takes that long?"

"Of course not, I'm busy as hell, when do I have the time to wait around for ages."

What? What is he trying to do?

Chandler made a sullen expression, and Patrick snickered and said.

"First of all, where is the place in this city where merchants frequent the most?"

"It would be the entrance to the city's market."

"Right. Then let's drive the wagons there."

"Surely you're not thinking of setting up a spot and selling goods there? Young Master. If you engage in commercial activities within the city walls without a permit, you will have to pay a fine. In severe cases, you could even be punished."

"I know that much."

And Patrick smiled at Chandler and said.

"Let's just go. I have a plan."

Chandler couldn't figure out what Patrick was thinking. But he had to do as he was told for now.

After all, Patrick was the one in charge of this matter.

"Ooh, the scale is quite impressive."

Patrick admired the market located in the inner city of Parmas.

Groceries, clothing, daily necessities, and various other miscellaneous goods….

There was truly nothing that wasn't there.

‘The fact that there are plenty of goods means there's also a lot of money. I was right to come here.’

To make money, you first had to go where a lot of money was moving.

And after arriving at a place with a lot of money, the thing to do was….

‘To stand out.’

Patrick stealthily took out a small stone from his hand and flicked it with his thumbnail without anyone noticing.

Then….

Kwajik!

"Huh? Uh uh uh!?"

"Waaah! Stop it!"

The laborers driving the cargo wagon were greatly flustered.

Suddenly, the axle of one of the wagon's wheels broke, and the wagon toppled over to the side.

The wagon was already heavily loaded with goods, and as it fell, the tightly packed monster byproducts came tumbling down.

Troll hides and owlbear hides.

And even the most expensive full-body hide of a Saber Tiger was revealed.

Then….

"Hey, what are you all doing? Can't you do it properly?"

Patrick shouted and flew into a rage.

Then Chandler said in a fluster.

"I'm sorry, Young Master. The wagon's wheel suddenly broke."

"What? Why did a perfectly fine wheel break?"

"Well, I'm not sure…."

"Damn it, we have to carry this all the way to the capital, what are we going to do if the wagon breaks already?"

"Yes. Th-… yes?"

For a moment, Chandler was flustered.

The capital? He hadn't heard anything about that.

Wasn't their goal to dispose of all the monster byproducts in this Count Parmas' fiefdom?

But leaving the flustered Chandler aside, Patrick frowned and said.

"Damn it, of all things, the wagon carrying the most expensive full-body hide of a Saber Tiger had to fall? What are we going to do about this?"

"Yes. Well, that's…."

"This was a special order. Where else are we going to find a full-body hide of a Saber Tiger with not a single scratch on it? It's hard to find even if you try to buy it with money."

"Uh…. yes. Uh…. well…. yes."

Somehow, there was a sense of dissonance in what Patrick was saying.

He seemed to be angry, but the content of his anger was, what should one say?

Like….

‘Product promotion?’

In front of the dumbfounded Chandler, Patrick scrunched his face alone, scratched his head, and said.

"Damn it, what are we going to do if this gets a hole in it?"

"It's a st-… sturdy hide, so that won't happen."

"Hurry up and pick it up and clean up. And what's the condition of the wagon?"

"The axle of the wheel is completely broken."

"Then this is useless. We'll have to get a new wagon."

"Yes. Then I will get one as soon as possible."

"What if we just get any random wagon and it topples over again?"

"Yes. Well, that's…."

"It can't be helped. We have some time in our schedule, so take your time and find a sturdy and good wagon. Got it?"

"Yes. Yes. I understand, Young Master."

"Looks like we'll have to stay in this city for a while. Tsk, it's troublesome to be held up like this."

“…….”

Patrick threw a money pouch to Chandler and said.

"Find an inn where the party can stay. Got it?"

"Yes. I understand, Young Master."

Thus, Patrick and his party got an inn in the inner city of Count Parmas' fiefdom and stayed there.

Just as originally planned.

After settling down at the inn, Chandler said.

"Did you do that on purpose?"

"I guess so."

"Did you perhaps break the wagon yourself, Young Master?"

"I guess so."

"Don't tell me, your plan is that if word gets out that we have valuable goods in a place with so many people, merchants will come to buy them on their own. Is that it?"

"I guess so."

Seeing Patrick, who was lying on the bed, yawning, and answering indifferently, Chandler shook his head.