Chapter 19: Fining (1)

Chapter 19: Fining (1)

A sunny morning at the mansion.

When I went out after preparing breakfast, there were letters in the mailbox. Letters in the mailbox that only gathered dust—two of them, no less.

"Oh..."

With excitement, I pulled out the letters, half-expecting love letters.

A pink envelope and a golden one were in my hands. As expected, they were not love letters.

"From Miss Hanna and... a letter from the royal household?"

A letter from the royal household.

Not exactly a welcome one.

Setting aside my disappointment for the absence of love letters, I went upstairs and first tore open the letter from Miss Hanna. Neatly written script. A noble handwriting, as if to prove her noble lineage.

Of course, not as remarkable as our lady's.

But she certainly wrote better than I did.

[It seems the academy matter will be tough. The seniors might be able to handle it, but there's strong backlash from the professors...]

Her letter ended with apologies and a sentence saying she'd try to speak again.

‘I'm already grateful, how much more gratitude should I amass?'

Later on, I'd have to secure a masterstroke to gift to Hanna. A sword should suffice... Maybe I should divert one from Michail.

After all, in the novel, Michail uses a holy sword. Diverting one or two swords probably wouldn't be an issue. And if a problem arises, well, Michail can just take a tumble—it wasn't my concern.

Kill two birds with one stone—Michail gets stronger, and how great that would be.

After composing a letter full of gratitude to Hanna and sealing it with beeswax,

"Bad handwriting."

"What's wrong with my writing?"

"It squiggles so much; it's hard to make out."

"It's not visible from there, is it?"

"It's not visible, but your chicken scratches are pretty obvious."

The lady sitting on the bed peered at me and complained about the handwriting on the letter.

If the lady had poor handwriting, I would have retorted with ‘Pff. Look who's talking,' but in terms of handwriting, our lady was unbeatable in this world.

No computer was needed.

When the lady picked up a pen, it became a keyboard and the stationery turned into A4 paper, so I couldn't argue whatever she said.

I wanted to ask the lady to write instead of me, but due to privacy, I couldn't get her to ghostwrite.

I put in a lot of effort, but was it really so illegible?

With doubt in my tone, I questioned the lady, and she scrunched her brow, yelling at me, claiming it was the first time she was nauseated by writing.

"It's not my fault. It's the handwriting of this world that's wrong. Why does it have to be so curly and..."

"I can write fine."

"You're the strange one, lady. My hand is blameless."

Today, more than ever, I missed Hangul. I longed to see angular letters.

Ignoring the lady's nitpicking, I organized the letter and began to open the other one lying aside.

A golden envelope

And a letter sealed with the royal red wax.

Olivia's eyes went wide.

"A letter from the royal household?"

"It seems so. But we shouldn't be receiving anything from them."

"Isn't it an invitation to a ball?"

The lady snorted.

If she had a tail like a beastman, it would be wagging rapidly at this point as she reached for me.

"Give it to me!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You'll just tear it up if it's something upsetting."

The lady had no retort.

Apparently, she had been planning to rip it up if it was content she disliked. The lady politely folded her extended hands and waited her turn.

Surely, she could be mistaken.

Until about a year ago, invitations to balls from the royal household were common. They arrived for the empire's founding day, the Crown Prince's birthday, and even for the third princess's birthday—it's no wonder I feel nervous given those memories are still fresh.

What if it were an invitation?

Pondering in my mind,

I offered the lady a wry smile and put in earplugs.

If she has complaints, then don't end up in debt in the first place.

-Swish... Whisk.

Realistically, making 700,000 gold solely through adventurer work in just three months is an impossible task.

Especially while taking care of the lady, earning money itself is a difficult job.

Most adventurers set a 1-2 day period for lucrative quests, but that’s impossible for me.

I had to focus on quantity over quality.

With Hanna, a B-ranked adventurer, away at the academy, it was also impossible to take on higher-ranked quests.

That's why I came up with this alternative.

[Wanted: Work for the Swordsman who Captured the Infamous ‘Adventurer Hunter.' ★Anonymity Guaranteed★]

1. I will do any job.

2. I will take any sum of money.

3. I will even find your lost puppy.

4. I am open to bounty hunting requests.

-Please write your request below.

If there weren't jobs with guaranteed high income, then it was just about creating them.

It was the best job prospect I could think of.

The only option I saw for a quick cash influx.

Our mansion is located behind the bustling town area.

The guard patrols pass by our mansion, so do the town's merchants.

While the normal route to the bustling area takes 30 minutes, cutting through the alleys beside our mansion gets you there in just 10 minutes.

Many people pass by the mansion.

Perhaps that's why it has become a favorite date spot for couples and unwittingly transformed into a community space for the townspeople.

-Let's love forever. Lia♥Gorf

└She cheated on me.

└What are you saying? You cheated first.

└Pfft. Sweet!

└Where do you live?

└Are you mad? Annoyed? Can't stand it because you're so angry, huh? But you don't know where I live, do you?

In this medieval world without cellphones, Olivia’s wall had become a space for communication.

It functioned like a bulletin board.

Maybe this could turn a decent profit, especially with my impressive résumé.

So I decided to seek work through the wall. I'd earn livelihood money through adventurer work, and take on big jobs through requests posted on the wall.

Wouldn't that quickly settle the debt?

Feeling a sense of fulfillment while looking at the wall, I realized something was missing.

"Ah..."

I forgot to write the minimum fee for the requests.

Even delivery services have a minimum order amount, and I couldn’t neglect to set one for myself.

[Minimum request fee.]

Hmm...

[10,000 gold.]

Perfect.

***

Day passed.

When I stood before the wall again,

"What's this?"

I couldn't help but be startled.

Someone had taken seriously what I started as a half-joke.

-Request submitted.

●I commission you to track down a criminal who escaped during transport.

Request fee: 300,000 gold.

#If captured alive, an additional 300,000 gold will be paid. If the task is completed within a week, an extra bonus of 400,000 gold will be granted.

For a fleeting moment, the image of a philanthropist resembling an insect flashed through my mind.