Chapter 16 – Put to the Test (2)

“Whew… I was so nervous I almost died.”

Only after I turned the corner several times and the boy had completely vanished from my sight was I finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

‘How can a mere kid be so suspicious?’

I thought my heart was going to burst. The way the boy stepped forward resolutely was mature beyond his years, making it hard even for me to persuade him.

But even so.

‘That is not the eloquence or wariness a fifteen-year-old should possess. Something must have happened in his past.’

The boy was only fifteen years old.

Although it was an age clearly classified as adulthood, that was merely the standard of this world to increase labor power by designating them as adults early to expand their scope of work.

Considering that they were not classified as adults due to being mentally or physically mature, the boy was highly likely to become a greater figure in the future.

Like Demian Vale, Jeremy Scott, and Odin Arcadius…

‘He was a talent that I absolutely could not afford to lose. He was well worth taking out the compass for.’

Therefore, I had to hold onto the boy no matter what. Not only because of his magic engineering talent, but also because his past, which must have been a series of hardships and adversities, had tempered him into a solid human being.

Even in the brief conversation we just had, I could feel that the boy was already complete as a human being.

For me, who had to become a leader and command numerous talents, a boy who already belonged to the category of a ‘completed human being’ was practically like a gold coin lying on the ground.

‘The important thing is how I use that gold coin. The value of the gold coin lies not in the coin itself, but in me.’

Since the boy would take over that much of my role, the scope of my movement would change significantly. Based on the time saved, I could invest it in other matters, immensely accelerating the pace of the city’s development.

Thus, the recruitment and proper utilization of talent.

This was the most important principle that a leader must not overlook.

However, the gain obtained by acquiring talent was not the only thing of importance. A true leader must know how to consider losses, not gains, as the top priority.

‘If the recruitment fails, it is ultimately the same as him becoming an enemy. The boy will become a major risk factor to me, to our embers, in one way or another.’

Loss beyond gain. In this barbaric world where those who did not become allies ultimately became enemies, a failed recruitment resolved to the emergence of an enemy.

Especially if the boy was embraced by another; that was to say, if he threw himself into the Immortal Embers as he said…

‘It would be overwhelming to keep up with the growth rate of the Immortal Embers. That is the worst of the worst.’

The Immortal Embers already possessed a giant of the era named Herman Melville. If the boy joined as well, the synergy generated between the two would be at a level that even Demian and I would find difficult to keep up with.

‘Seriously… it would almost be better to eliminate him instead.’

It was a cruel thing to say, but it was truly the case.

No matter which embers it was, the boy possessed the talent to make the city prosper by his mere existence, so for me, it would develop into a tremendous loss of time and a practical threat.

However, all of this was merely assuming the worst-case scenario, and such a situation would never come. For I was certain that the boy would follow me.

Even if my prediction was wrong, I had the confidence to make it happen somehow.

‘By the way, where have I ended up?’

Pushing my thoughts about the boy to one side, I looked around.

I had strayed quite far from the plaza because I had walked aimlessly while deep in thought, but even while dragging my exhausted body, I was able to recall a certain memory.

“Ah… whiskey!”

Whiskey, the specialty of the First Embers. It was the very thing Jeremy Scott had demanded in exchange for letting me go.

He probably had not let me go just for some whiskey, but the favor I received from him was great. The magic gun was one thing, but since he had paved the way for me to seize the ‘opportunity’ to change my life, he could be called a benefactor.

A human being should naturally repay what they owe.

Whether it was a grudge or a debt of gratitude.

‘Repaying or not, I have to buy it first if I want to avoid being beaten to death.’

To think I had to worry about being beaten to death. It was a moment where my grand ambitions regarding the Immortal Embers and whatnot became embarrassing… but what could I do.

Even the great heroes of myth who were looked up to by everyone were bound to have their own wretched days.

“I should stop by a liquor store first before going to the lodging.”

Since I did not know how much the whiskey cost, I could not spend my money elsewhere, so I set out to find a liquor store.

I make it clear that it was absolutely not because I was afraid of Jeremy Scott.

Absolutely…

* * *

The liquor store was closer than I thought… or rather, there were quite a lot of them here and there. Since it was a giant city with a population of as many as two million, it was only natural that there were that many shops.

However.

“Welco—… Tsk, what bad luck to have a yellow-banded bastard walk in on such a fine day. Get the hell out of here!”

“I do have money, though.”

“Get lost! Even if you bring millions, we don’t sell to reactionary bastards who disrupt the city’s public order!”

Every time I entered a shop, I was discriminated against because of my origin and turned away at the entrance, so I often ended up leaving empty-handed.

“Sigh… I think I’ve looked around almost everywhere.”

The place I had just been kicked out of was already the sixth shop. No matter how many shops there were, it meant there was nowhere left to go.

‘Still, as a decent human being, I can’t return without buying it… Let’s look around a bit more.’

While wandering aimlessly through the alleys like that.

“Jack… Daniel’s?”

I was able to find a liquor store with a very familiar name. I immediately made my way toward the shop, which would be my seventh visit.

Ring~

“Hello. I would like to buy a bottle of whiskey, which is said to be a specialty of the First Embers.”

“……”

Should I call this good luck… The shopkeeper this time remained silent, which was the most favorable reaction out of all my seven visits.

Since the owners of the other shops usually picked up clubs as soon as they saw the armband, or pulled out guns hidden under the counter to aim them at me, this could be considered favorable.

Anyhow, it was only a relatively better response, and it was just as awkward to receive no reaction, so I was just about to leave the shop.

“Do you have the money to buy it?”

“Excuse me?”

“I asked if a yellow-bander like you has the money to buy it.”

The owner spoke as if I were utterly pathetic.

I realized that his attitude stemmed from this yellow armband, but since he was the only person who would even converse with me, I was not shaken.

“I have money.”

“Hmph, do you even know how much ‘Eternal Thirst’ is?”

“’Eternal Thirst’…?”

“Ha! You said you wanted to buy it without even knowing the name of the item you’re looking for? What a ridiculous fellow.”

The owner scoffed in disbelief.

But I only needed to know the price, so what did the name of the whiskey matter.

“So how much is it? I don’t think I’ll be short on money to buy a bottle of whiskey.”

My physical condition was on the verge of collapsing. Not wanting to waste time with a fruitless argument, I asked in a businesslike manner.

The reply that returned was shocking.

“Two years’ worth of salary.”

“……?”

“An amount equivalent to two years’ worth of salary for ordinary workers. In other words, two gold coins.”

“……!”

“What, are you short on money?”

In an instant, I froze stiffly.

Although it was shocking that a single gold coin corresponded to a worker’s annual salary and that the price of a mere bottle of whiskey was as much as two years’ worth of salary,

‘Ah, no! Two gold coins…!’

the fact that I lacked the money to buy the whiskey was the most shocking to me. My body already trembled at the future of being beaten to death by Jeremy Scott.

‘No wonder there were less than five gold coins in the cashbox.’

I should have realized it when I opened the cashbox of the tavern run by Jeremy Scott and saw only four gold coins. The value of a gold coin and the approximate price of the whiskey, that was.

However, although I knew it was a luxury item, my mistake was that I did not expect a mere bottle of whiskey to be this expensive.

‘If you store gold coins in such a careless manner, how am I supposed to know how valuable they are…?’

To make an excuse, because the gold coins were stored so carelessly, there had been an error in my judgment of the currency’s value.

While thinking that Jeremy was a remarkable man in many ways—whether it was bold or careless—

‘It was my mistake. Considering the scale of the embers, there was nothing to worry about no matter how it was stored.’

Our embers had only a thousand people, meaning all resources and financial management were integrated and controlled by the leadership. Since the source of each currency was clear, making money laundering impossible, and individual income and expenditure were all under the management of the leadership, it was structurally impossible to steal such a large sum.

Even if one stole it, it would all be exposed once it was spent.

‘I must find a way to obtain one gold coin by any means. But where can I get money equivalent to a year’s salary…’

It was just as I was about to turn back, unable to do anything for the moment due to the price exceeding my budget.

“Yellow-banders like you shouldn’t spend money on things like this even if you have it.”

“……?”

“You’d be better off buying a textbook and learning a skill. That is wise spending.”

The owner began to nag in a much softer voice.

“I’m saying this because you still look young and healthy. No matter how much they clamor about a heavenly taste or whatever, it’s just a bottle of liquor. It’s not worth throwing away your life. Dying after drinking something like this is only miserable.”

“Pardon? Dying? What do you mean by that…?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Do you think I’ve only seen one or two people like you? I’ve seen countless bastards who wanted to try drinking this once before they died.”

This middle-aged man, I thought he was a bad guy who discriminated against origins because he kept calling me a yellow bastard, but as it turned out, was he actually a kind man?

I expressed my gratitude for his goodwill.

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Yes. If you understand, go to the ‘Namiya Bookstore’ across the street. If you tell them you came on Jack’s recommendation, they’ll take care of it.”

“……”

The owner of a shop selling life-ruining items acting as a guide for those going astray. Feeling a sense of irony, I replied to clear up the misunderstanding.

“I appreciate your kindness, but I’m not trying to die. And the whiskey is not for me to drink, either.”

“…It isn’t?”

“It was a request from my benefactor. A request expressing his desire to taste a bottle of whiskey, the specialty of the Immortal Embers.”

Embarrassed, the tavern owner began to shout.

“If that was the case, you should have said so earlier! Making a person feel embarrassed like this.”

“I’m sorry. You didn’t give me any room to chip in.”

“Ahem… well, anyway! That’s too bad. It was already a hot-selling item, but because it’s the examination week, the number of visitors has doubled, making this the last in stock.”

“The last one?”

Two gold coins or whatever, the last one. Did he mean the end of my life?

‘How does the immigration process work? I should find out quickly.’

It was a moment when the thought that settling down here might not be so bad suddenly crossed my mind.