Chapter 12. 6. Gentleman's Funds are Plentiful
"Hey there."
"Hmm?"
"Let's start by you taking a beating."
"Pfft, puhahaha!"
When the guy in the black robe called out to him, the thug had merely scoffed.
Because it was ridiculous.
A guy who wasn't even that big was picking a fight with four grown men.
After exchanging glances with his companions, he checked the surroundings.
An alleyway out of people's sight.
A perfect place to beat the guy up and check his face.
But after a brief moment, the thug had no choice but to regret his decision.
Thud!
"Guh..."
Thwack!
"Heugh!"
THUD!
"Guhhh..."
"..."
One punch, one man down.
Watching his companions fall with just three punches total, the thug felt his life was in danger.
Sweat trickled down his entire body.
The man in the robe approached him and spoke.
"You guys have a hideout, right?"
"Huh? Yes!"
"Lead the way."
"Uh..."
"If you don't talk, I'll kill you and wake these guys up to ask them."
The thug nodded vigorously.
And he obediently began guiding the way as the robed man wanted.
'Idiot, you're dead!'
It was truly fortunate.
He couldn't handle this guy alone, but things would be different at the hideout.
At least twenty companions would be guarding the place, and the boss would be there too.
'Our boss is a veteran mercenary!'
He was on a completely different level from someone who had scraped by in back alleys.
He heard the boss could even use an incomplete Aura Sword.
Sure, he'd get scolded for bringing some strange guy, but at least it meant this guy had no chance of winning.
Having finished his calculations, the thug headed to his hideout with quick steps, and the robed man silently followed behind.
Finally, when they arrived at the building's entrance.
"Here it is."
THUD!
"Kuheuh..."
The robed man, Lumian, knocked out the thug who had been guiding him.
The large man at the entrance was surprised to see this.
"Paren! What the hell, you were supposed to go inside and get the people..."
"That won't be necessary."
"Huh!"
Thud, thwack!
Lumian, having instantly knocked down the two guards at the entrance, looked at the thugs.
Actually, just picking the pockets of the guys he'd taken down so far would have gathered a decent amount of money, but Lumian couldn't be satisfied with just that.
Thinking about it, he would need a lot of money in the future too.
'Taking care of myself probably costs quite a bit.'
He wanted to be popular, so why hadn't he thought about dressing up until now?
Probably because of habits from his past life where he only swung a sword.
'Let's get some money first.'
Lumian stopped his thoughts and walked past the fallen thugs.
He kicked the door strongly.
BANG!
"What the hell? Fuck!"
"What's going on! Huh?"
"Who the hell is that guy!"
"Where did the gatekeepers go, and why's some weird guy coming in?"
Despite the dozens of tough-looking men gathered there—enough to make anyone's shoulders shrink—Lumian didn't even blink.
Instead, he made his demand to them in a confident voice.
"I'm short on money, so I'll be collecting some funds."
It was a brazen tone.
The people of the capital who only knew him as gentle and quiet would never have imagined this side of him, but this too was Lumian's personality. Lumian wasn't such a gentleman that he would show manners even to thugs.
Of course, the thugs were the same.
Several of them scoffed and pulled out daggers and clubs, rushing at Lumian.
He dodged their attacks with leisurely movements.
Whoosh!
Swish!
When over ten men attack, anyone would be flustered, but Lumian was an exception. He quickly changed positions, adjusting the distance to face them one at a time.
And he aimed only for their jaws, throwing punches.
Thwack!
Thwack! Thud!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
It was just like when he encountered four thugs. One punch, one guy. The building's floor was instantly filled with unconscious thugs.
The boss, who had been watching his subordinates fight with a smiling face, could no longer smile.
He threw the wine bottle he had been drinking behind him.
Crash!
The bottle shattered, and red liquid soaked the wall.
The boss stood up and spoke.
"Stop! Everyone fall back!"
"B-boss!"
"He's not someone you can handle! I'll deal with him."
The boss approached Lumian in a straight line.
He didn't seem drunk. Unlike his subordinates, he held a long sword in his hand.
That wasn't all.
Wooooong!
As he concentrated his mind, the sword began to sparkle.
He drew out the aura from his body to reinforce the sword.
Seeing this, the thugs shouted in surprised voices.
"It's an Aura Sword!"
"You're dead!"
"Our boss is at that level! I'll cut off your arms and legs and feed them to the dogs!"
"Oh my."
Lumian made a bored expression.
That wasn't an Aura Sword. It was barely at the level of勉强 managing to infuse some energy into the sword.
Seeing how excited the thugs were, it seemed the boss usually bragged about being able to use an Aura Sword, but he couldn't fool Lumian's eyes.
"I'll crush your head just like that wine bottle you threw!"
Just as he was making that assessment of the thug boss, the guy charged at him with a confident expression. The bloodthirsty dialogue was a bonus.
Of course, it was the thug boss who got crushed.
Lumian rotated his body magnificently, circled behind the boss, and struck the back of the boss's head with his interlocked hands.
THUD!
"Guhhh..."
Thump
"..."
Silence flowed.
Both the thugs wriggling on the floor and those still in one condition all lost their words.
Lumian also said nothing.
He went to the building's exit, locked the door, and only then opened his mouth.
"Line up over there and kneel. Move."
***
After a brief time, the thug boss obediently brought money as Lumian instructed.
Originally, he had intended to hold out. It was money he had gathered through all kinds of hardships. He didn't want to hand over such precious money to a stranger whose face he didn't even know.
But at the guy's continued words, he had no choice but to bring the money.
"If you don't bring the money, I'll break one arm and one leg each from you and your subordinates here. What would happen then?"
"Ugh..."
"Your organization isn't the only one in this neighborhood, right? They'll probably hear the news and come looking. A golden opportunity to expand their influence against a bunch of cripples? If that happens, it's not just a few coins—it's your entire lives that are finished."
"Kuuugh..."
"Think carefully before that happens."
It didn't sound like empty words.
This guy was definitely capable of it. Once he thought that, even a miser like him couldn't hold out any longer.
With a tearful expression, the boss went into his room and came out carrying a pouch.
Lumian looked inside the pouch. Brilliant jewels were contained within.
He struck the boss's head.
Smack!
"Ack! W-why would you do that?"
"Bring gold coins, not jewels."
"H-huh?"
"I said bring gold coins that are easy to use. Don't try any tricks."
The thug made a crying face.
He had been thinking that if the guy revealed his identity during the process of converting the jewels to cash, he would send an assassin.
But the guy was thorough. He thought.
'This isn't his first time doing this.'
He seemed to have run into a vicious one.
He stopped trying to be clever, brought a secure gold coin pouch, and Lumian nodded with a satisfied expression.
"You didn't mark the gold coins or anything, right?"
"O-of course not."
"It doesn't look like it even when I check, but I asked just in case."
"I-is that so..."
"Well, I'll be satisfied with this much. You guys need to make a living too."
"T-thank you."
'You bastard!'
"Then I'm going. Carry on with what you were doing."
With those final words, Lumian actually left the thug den.
It would have been easy to cripple all of them, but he didn't particularly want to.
'Even if I clean these guys out, new trash will probably come in.'
And the chaos that would occur in that process would have to be fully borne by the local residents.
Unless he was going to keep looking after the city dwellers, doing it moderately was right.
That was the conclusion he had reached while on external missions in his past life.
"Hah, damn it."
Watching Lumian leave the building, the thug boss cursed.
He put a cigarette in his mouth and said to his subordinate.
"Today's luck is incredibly shitty. Light."
"Are, are you alright, boss?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Bring some alcohol too."
"Here it is!"
A quick-witted subordinate brought alcohol as if he had been waiting.
The boss chopped off the neck of the bottle with his hand and put it to his mouth.
It was an amazing feat.
But even more amazing was the mysterious man who had knocked out such a boss with a single blow.
"Hey, boss..."
"What."
"Shouldn't we follow that guy..."
Thud!
"Kuuugh!"
"You stupid bastard, does your brain not work? That guy is on a different level from us, a different level!"
He scolded a subordinate who had made a tactless comment, then drank alcohol again.
After emptying a bottle in an instant, he leaned back on the sofa and sighed.
It was a sigh of relief rather than anger.
He continued speaking.
"He's like a natural disaster. Don't think about facing him, just avoid him. Looking at him, this isn't his first time doing this. He might be some knight with a nasty hobby."
"A k-knight?"
"Yeah. And not some half-assed one, a real veteran knight. Alcohol."
"Here it is."
"Damn, I hope he doesn't come again."
He emptied another bottle of alcohol and thought.
Who could it be? What idle knight would come all the way here to cause trouble?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out.
The thug boss never in his wildest dreams imagined that the mysterious man was an academy student, and a boy only 15 years old at that.
***
"Good."
Lumian, who had secretly returned to the academy dormitory, grinned broadly. In front of him lay a pile of gold coins showing off their brilliant appearance.
In his past life, he hadn't particularly had material desires, but now it was different.
Thinking that this money would upgrade his appearance by a level, he couldn't feel more reassured.
'With this much, I should be able to buy several decent outfits.'
There would be plenty left over.
He wouldn't need to rely on the free student cafeteria anymore either.
"Hehe."
With a happy expression, he tucked himself under the blankets.
The day he promised to go to the ball with Teoro was 3 days from now. There was still plenty of time.
But he was already looking forward to it.
He imagined his appearance at the ball.
Himself, changed into stylish clothes, approaching a beautiful lady. Naturally exchanging greetings, setting the mood with light conversation, then asking for a dance.
The lady smiles shyly. She takes his hand with a happy expression and surrenders her body, and the dance begins along with beautiful music...
Stop!
"..."
Even though he only had wholesome thoughts, his other self had reacted.
Sighing, he struggled to calm his excitement. Thanks to his efforts, his other self returned to normal after a while.
He thought.
'I shouldn't be like this at the ball either.'
It was proof that he was healthy, so it wasn't entirely bad, but having this happen outside was problematic.
Thinking he needed to take some measures before going to the ball, he fell asleep.
And morning came.
'Damn it.'
With a sad expression, he had to change into uncomfortable underwear.