"So the next one we're heading to is the largest mansion they have, right?"

"Yes, Master Derraacs."

The houses we’ve looked at so far didn't satisfy Master Derraacs, it's understandable, even the Cave is 100 times better than the ones they showed us so far.

"Iru, you buy the house."

"Huh?"

We must have both had question marks on our faces right now.

"It's around 2000 gold, right? Here I'll give you 3000 just in case."

He handed Iru a small pouch, a pocket dimension, no one would think it has 3000 gold.

"Take it and go buy the mansion, if it's the biggest then there shouldn't be a problem. While Simon and I will head to the slums."

"I see, you wish to go to the slums... Sure, I'll handle it."

"Greet, will you be fine if we drop you off here?"

"From here... Okay, no problem."

After Iru was left, master directed the coachman to the area in the slums we were yesterday.

The slums are to the northwestern corner of the Kingdom. It takes up about one-fourth of the countries area and houses one-third of the Kingdom’s people. Where we went to, is the southern tip of the slums. Perhaps the better part - if the word better could be used - compared to the far west or the far north.

"Now tell me, Simon, what do you think of the child we met yesterday?"

What do I think of him? The child might have been a bit avid. A bit of a victim of life, surely he has already faced tragedies. Such a young life, and to be in that state, but this could be said about all the kids there, I believe.

The only thing of notice is that he was the only one who approached Master Derraacs. He was the only one who took any action, the rest just stared while he saw an opportunity.

"I believe he was a bit daring, especially for a child, and his eyes showed a strong will."

Master smiled broadly, I've never seen this side of him before.

"None of the other children approached me but he did. It shows his willingness do anything, to get out of the slums."

I thought that as well, but anything; isn't that reading too much into it. Should I express my doubt? If Master says so it should be right, but why does it seem like he wants me to say something.

"I hear the nobles discriminate against the people of the slums, so it's understandable why the other children would not approach. And with the way we’re dressed Master they might have mistaken you for a noble." I don't know why I stuck up for them but I did. Did it displease him? "My apologies I have said too much."

"No, it’s good that you are expressing your opinion that is what I want. But it is also true that the nobles would never go down to the slums on their own volition." That is true, his insight is, of course, much deeper than mine. "It shows that the boy took a chance, a gambler. So you were right on point when you judged him."

I have been rude and yet he still praises me; I don't deserve it.

"Thank you. Master your insights are far too deep for someone like me to begin comprehending them."

"Ye-o-okay."

We went through the same path we took yesterday. There are many eyes watching us, same as yesterday, but today there was a strange glimmer in those eyes that weren’t there before.

Then just like yesterday, around the same area as yesterday, the boy came out. He had a little girl by her arm, he brought her in front of us. Then he went to work cleaning Master's shoes, the girl joined in as well, each taking a shoe. Master waited for them to finish as he had done yesterday, and when they finished, the little girl quickly hid behind the boy, revealing her shy nature.

The boy was at least 3 years older than the girl. They both had black messy hair, dark eyes, and white skin, though it seemed to be covered in dirt all over. The master took out another silver coin and handed it to the boy holding out his hands. The boy then urged the girl to the front, pushing her forward. She presented Master Derraacs with a single flower. White petals, yellow middle, it was a simple flower you could find anywhere...

A sudden impulse, a curiosity made me gaze across the cracked and blackened grounds in search of a similar flower.

While searching, Master's question returned my focus.

"Is this your sister?"

"Yes!"

The boy answered like a soldier giving an affirmative. Master returned a gentle smile, something I had never seen from him before. It is not right to think this but Master is quite an emotionless man in his daily life, I have only seen him angry once, and I’ve never seen him happy or laughing. It might bet that I haven’t had enough opportunities to be near him till now, having been a butler on the 3rd floor.

"You have a good brother. I'll give you one the shoe and one for this flower."

He handed out two silver coins to the girl and rubbed her hair. The siblings bowed to us in thanks, before running off.

I got the feeling, for his sister, this boy would do anything.

As I watched them run back into the crowd, I realized what the glimmer in their eyes meant. It worried me.

"Master Derraacs, will we be coming here tomorrow?"

"Yes, we will. But…" Then he said as if to calm my concerns. "… tomorrow will be the last. Tomorrow we'll know if he takes me for an idiot."

"Takes you for an idiot!? Who? ... The boy!?"

I wasn't sure what he was saying.

"Yes. Well, if he does then we'll just have to start over at some other part of the slums. This one just fell into our lap, but I could try some other methods." I realized at some point his words weren't addressed to me. "I wonder if my acting was okay." His words were a whisper, and they were probably never meant to be heard.

♦♦♦

"Look at those swine, disgusting. The demi-humans and the like, I can understand, they must have celebrated our king's death, but how can these commoners just walk around. As if nothing has changed, have they abandoned their humanity? Traitors, they’re all beasts in the mind, wearing human skin. They're not human where it counts."

"Danial how about you stop peeking through the curtains and have some of this nice tea that your maids were kind enough to make."

Don’t give me that glare. You know, I more than anyone can understand your pain. I can sympathize more than I would like to, but even I'm growing tired of hearing it.

"I would be angry at those words if it was coming from anyone else Lagose Makotie! But from you, who was the most affected by the fall..."

"Hey! Hey. No need to pity me." It's true I lost all my assets and even lost my home under the new laws of equality, but don't give me those eyes. "Forget about the past, the future is what matters."

"I don't trust him. Hmm…"

Zejimal, that again. Did the word ‘future’ trigger him, or are there no need for triggers to begin with.

"And, what don't you trust about him?"

"Hmm… There is a lot not to trust."

"What is that supposed to mean!?"

"Alright, alright both of you calm down."

"I am plenty calm!"

"I am… calm."

"Okay, okay. I understand a random stranger coming to help us is a bit-"

"I was the one that asked for help."

"Okay that might be true, but let me get to my point. When opportunity knocks, you don't turn it down Zejimal."

Did that get through to them, or are neither of them paying attention?

"Hmm… I wonder what he means by favor."

Now that's a good question Zejimal.

"I've been wondering that as well."

"Does that matter, if we can get rid of that red bastard!?"

Don’t let your hatred cloud your mind, Danial. More than that, I want to know.

"Can this Golem he's bringing do what he says it can do?"

That seems to have calmed you down. I see, it was worrying you as well Danial.

"Hmm… I wouldn't… bet on it."

I wasn't asking you, we already know you don't.

"He said it would arrive in 3 weeks. So we'll have 1 week; plenty of time to test it out. Zejimal, bring enough adventures, the strongest ones. If it can't beat them, then it'll be useless against the Red King."

That man single handily took out the entire army when he took over this city. If it can't even do that much then it really is hopeless.

"Don't worry… I plan on fighting it… myself.”

Aren't you a bit too old for that?

"I don't care if you fight or not, but make sure you bring enough people to test it out."

I see I was worrying over nothing; angry but logical, that's why I can leave it to you, Danial. I don't trust William either if I'm honest, but I trust you. I know at the end of the day you aren’t someone who would be clouded by emotions; I know you pull through.

That brings back some bad memories.

♦♦♦

"The City of Tengai has stolen the property of The Omron Church. The City must now accept reimbursements and return the products to its rightful owner. If the City of Tengai does not comply with this demand, the Kingdom of Nolybab will aid the Omron Church in reclaiming the Church's property."

'Property', that's what we stole, was it?

"Emali let’s take a little break, you’ve been reading all day."

To just read for the king, this job must suck for her.

"Yes your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, shouldn't you learn to read on your own? That’ll greatly help you in the future."

As soon as she leaves that's what you have to say, Grayson. It's not like I'm not trying, it's just hard to learn a new language. Thank god for this ring, my precious.

"Majesty maybe if you were to remove that ring you can get a better grasp of the language."

I just glanced at it! He notices the smallest things. More importantly.

"Forget that for now. How should we deal with this declaration of war?"

"Do you plan to give them back, your majesty?"

"Of course not, they made it this far on their own so I'll protect them."

"So war it will be, your Majesty."

After becoming king I had to deal with a lot of bullshit, but this will be the first time my country goes to war.

"Then… How do the forces compare?"

What's with that look, I can handle some bad news. That's all I been handling since I came to this world.

"If we gather all the guards, and knights we can get it close to 50,000. But that would leave the city defenseless against any other attack."

We could hire mercenaries but that would run the country dry. Should I try conscription? No that should be left as a last resort and only if it’s absolutely necessary. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Grayson, what do you think about conscription?"

That bad; I think I turned his face 10 years older. It suits your white hair, really you look too young for a 120 year old. I know Foxman live longer but still, you should look your age.

"Can I speak frankly your majesty?"

"Sure, go head." In what other way were you speaking to me till now?

"You would split even the slaves. Your Majesty, right now you are very popular with the former slaves, some even revere you a god. The commoners just don't care either way, they couldn't afford slaves before and now it’s illegal, their lives are the same."

I think I already get it, but revering me as a god… I don't know what to say.

"Now, your Majesty, the commoners’ neutral emotions will surely become negative, but that isn't surprising since a lot of them are racist, to begin with. Then there are the ex-slaves; people like me, well I'm a bit too old for that now, but I would be thrilled at the chance of fighting these basta- Cough*Hm* Excuse me, fighting your Majesty's enemies. Then there are the ones who would detest you for giving them a taste of freedom before sending them to their deaths. I don't approve of their thinking, but I can understand them."

"I see, no conscription then." Why’re you still making that face? "What's with that face? Okay, first of all, don't worry, I was trying to be lazy. If I wanted to, I can take on the entire Kingdom of Nolybab by myself."

"Huhuhuhuhu"

"Wha~ don’t laugh at me. You’re the butler, you’re not supposed to laugh at the king."

"Sorry, my apologies your Majesty. Forgive me for I am still inexperienced as a butler. I am confident in your Majesty's power as well but I think we should try to get as many volunteers as possible. I like to think there are more ex-slaves willing to join the fight, than not."

This is the kind of mood I like.

"Now how are the enemy forces?"

That fucken face again, god dammit.

"Around 600,000 your majesty."

"I see.” Fuck. Our military doesn't have a chance. “Try to get the word out, that we need volunteers, as fast as you can. We'll decide everything else at a later date." The sooner we do this the better, can’t procrastinate. But that’s easier said than done. "Grayson, I'm going to take the day off, tell Emali."

"You-"

"Also tell the maids to bring me some sweets, to the bedroom."

Don't facepalm in front of the person.

It's not like I'm trying to avoid work, it's just a lot to take in. I'm tired, I have to go to war with an army 10 times my own. If it was a normal world you would surrender before the war even started, no before it was even mentioned. An entire army…

I should have played this game more, should have raised my level to one of those top players. I wish I was transported into Forgotten World I had a maxed out character in that, instead of this stupid game without even a max level. Fuck.

It's been a year since I came here I still can't get used to it. A year… time goes by fast. At least I improved since then, back then I was so... Well...

At first, I was just confused, a part of me was thrilled at the new adventure, but it wasn't like that game was my entire life. Half being driven around by my survival instincts, half just dazed about what to do. I think it's that same survival instinct that kind of makes you see the positive side every day, no matter what you always try to look for the better. You kind of just put the other stuff at the back of your mind. Consciously or unconsciously you just push it back.

I won't say I didn’t want to cry at times, and I would be lying if I said I didn't have a few manly tears, and maybe a little bit of that helped me hold it together.

The first few days were the toughest, wandering around in the forest having not a clue. Being level 302, it wasn't that hard, physically. It would have been harder if I didn't have food stored in my Slots.

Then eventually I met some humans. I ran into a coach being attacked by some bandits. Of course, I saved them, and the person in the carriage even turned out to be the princess of this country. I learned later everyone calls this a City because of its history. I was invited as a guest and even had dinner with the king, her family. At first, I didn't realize it... No, I didn't want to realize it, I didn't want to know that the princess who laughed at my stupid jokes, and was so nice to me could do all of that. Could…

The fantasy world didn't even last a month, I couldn't just watch anymore. It started off as just arguments with the king, just arguments. Then... it just escalated I guess. Before I knew it... "Haa~" I was Moses, except they weren't even my people.

♦♦♦♦

Elizabeth wiped away the sweat on her forehead. She’s trying to help at the bakery where her mother works. She watched her mother chop up fruits in seconds, like a machine. Chopped it all up into little square pieces of rainbow-colored sweets.

Elizabeth’s trying to peel the ognam, but it just doesn't peel the way it should. She's watched her mother peel these before, the skin just slides off, smoothly over the knife. For some reason, with her, it keeps breaking into small pieces, and it's not smooth at all. She reckons it has something to do with the way she holds the ognam, but the way it needs to be held felt too unsafe. It only left the thin skin of an ognam between the knife and her, and no matter how much she tried to copy her mother, fear won, and she would move her hand. So she was much slower and the fruit looked all weird when she cut it, compared to her mother. Her mother would never scold, though, instead, her mother would do all the other things she needed to make Numnum. Then when Elizabeth was done, she would say thank you, and even a 'job well done', but Elizabeth felt she needed to improve, get faster and help out her mother more.

Right now the bakery’s quite, there is just her and her mother. There is one customer in the bakery, and he’s sitting in the corner reading something. It was a bakery at the back but at the front it was a bit of a cafe as well.

The customer was quietly reading, and enjoying tea. He was an old man with gray hair wrinkled face and dark eyes. Eyes that looked a bit scary sometimes when she had to serve him, but he never talked other than to order and to give thanks. He's been coming around a few days now, and everyone who saw him agreed he’s probably rich. He didn't wear any fancy jewelry like the nobles, or merchants, and you couldn't really tell with the white gloves he always wore. The clothes he’s wearing looked a bit too expensive to be a commoner's, he also gave some big tips, and above all was the book. Books are a luxury only the rich could enjoy. He was kind of a sore thumb, because most people who came here were former slaves, and sometimes the commoners. The rich people would never step into this den of ex-slaves, so he was a bit of an oddity. People got used to his presence now, though, having kind of become a regular customer.

It's just, no one is sure why he would come here when there are fancier cafes' than this little bakery run by ex-slaves.

Usually, there are kids running around everywhere in this bakery, but today Ms. Camelia took the day off and left Elizabeth’s mother in charge of the store. Ms. Camelia had a lot of children, they weren't her own but ex-slaves that didn't have parents. Her house felt like an orphanage, with the number of kids there. Whenever she came to work she would bring a bunch of them, some of the older ones would help around but the little ones just ran around and caused mischief.

Ding* Ding*.

"Elizabeth, can you take the order?"

"Ya, sure."

It’s old lady Konoha, she's a commoner from before, and very nice to the new citizens. She doesn't discriminate like some of the other commoners.

"What would you like today grandma?" Elizabeth said climbing up on the stool beside the counter that her mother and Ms. Camelia used to sit, but she used to stand.

"Oh, honey. You helping your mother today?"

"Ya."

"You're such a good girl."

She started patting her head, this was normal she always did that when she saw Elizabeth.

"Thank you."

"No need to be so stiff." She said, sighing. Elizabeth didn't change her attitude, she stood stiff waiting for her order.

"I came to buy a birthday cake, it's my grandson's eighth birthday."

"Okay, 1 cake, what flavor would you like?"

Elizabeth was jotting it down.

"What's that honey? I'll have 4 of those too, 1 of each color please."

She was pointing at the Jum cubes, they felt like soft spongy brownies when you bit into them, but tasted of the kind of fruit flavor you added.

"Ya, sure."

She wrote that down and waited for the grandma to return, she was walking down the little counter looking at all the different baked goods. Leisurely examining the goods she returned to where she began, in front of Elizabeth.

"Flavor? I'm not sure which flavor my grandson likes... Hmmm... But everyone loves ognam right?"

"Ya."

"Alright, I'll have ognam flavored."

"Alright, let me get you the Jum cubes first then I'll go tell mom."

Elizabeth put 4 Jum cubes in the disposable wooden box, and closed it, and handed it to her.

"That'll be 10 bronze."

She rummaged through her purse and handed her the small coins.

"I'll go ask mom when you can pick up the cake."

Elizabeth jumped down the stool and ran back to her mother.

After a moment Elizabeth came running back.

"Mom said it'll be ready by 2."

"That's great honey. I'll come back in a few hours then."

"Ya."

With that, the old women left the bakery. Just as the door closed and Elizabeth was about to go back to help her mother, the old man stood up. She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. He put his book in his underarm and came to the counter to return the cup he was using.

"Hey, can I have 4 of those... Jum cubes."

She picked up the cup, and then put it back down.

"Ya, sure."

She did the same thing she did for the grandma and gave the box to the old man.

The old man put down a single copper coin, took the box and left.

"Thanks." She said to his back.

That was another thing about this old man, he never paid in bronze, it's like he didn't even own a bronze coin, and the lowest coin he has is copper.

Name: Tinkula

Human: 10

Poison Blood:10

Sword: 10

Immortal: 10

Crank:10

Spear: 10

Craftsman: 10

Ouroboros: 10

Nunchaku: 10

Master Craftsman: 10

Berserker: 10

Archery: 10

Ghost Catcher: 10

Spell Caster: 10

Sharp Shooter: 10

Blacksmith: 10

Cooking: 10

Moon Knight: 10

Engineer: 10

Healer: 8

Mountain Man: 10

Mechanical Engineer: 10

Divine Magic: 10

Split: 10

Qi: 10

Guardian: 10

Creator: 2

Karate: 10

Farmer: 2

Samurai: 10

Judo: 10

Echo: 10

Total : 302