Chapter 1: Only I Can Know Talent.

“Ah, the noble master is elegantly drinking his beer again today!”

The bald tavern owner said sarcastically, slamming a beer mug down in front of me.

The stares were piercing.

I swallowed a bitter smile.
Just a month ago, everything was the complete opposite…

As the third son of the great Adelheit family, there was a time when I received 10 gold coins a day for an allowance.

When I felt like it, I would casually toss silver coins to the inn staff as tips.

If some commoner rabble had shown such an attitude, I would have cut them down on the spot and tossed a few coins to their bereaved family.

I, who was once so successful, now had a total fortune of just 12 silver coins and a single ring.

To be framed for having an affair with my sister-in-law…!

My insides boiled with rage.

My second brother Roderick’s wife, Vera.
I had never even exchanged a proper greeting with that woman.

Just then, a familiar face whisked past the inn’s entrance.

It was that bastard, Thomas, my former personal attendant.

When our eyes met directly, Thomas seemed startled, whipped his head away, and scurried off.

“Thomas…?”

I considered calling out to him, but bit my lip instead.

Am I not just a nuisance kicked out of the family now?

I opened the old leather pouch on the table and counted the silver coins once more.

Still 12 coins.

Dammit.

Even if I only spend one silver coin a day, I’ll be out on the streets in twelve days.

“Damn it, I learned swordsmanship, so should I become a mercenary or something…”

The problem was whether a noble-born like me, and a noble at that, even a fallen one, could obediently grovel under someone else.

I drank away my sorrows, using such pathetic complaints as a side dish, and then lost consciousness.

The next morning, I was soothing my aching stomach with thin soup in the inn’s dining hall.

My stomach was a mess from last night’s excessive drinking and this beggar-like reality.
With a sigh, I put down my spoon and stood up.

I thought it would be better to get some fresh air outside.

As I left the inn, dragging my horse, a carriage zipped past from an adjacent alley.

Drrrrrrr–

In that moment, the sound of the carriage wheels sounded strange somehow.

Like… yes, it was the sound of a motorcycle.

Wait, a motorcycle?

A brilliant flash struck my mind.
Memories exploded forth.

That night road, on my way to the convenience store.
I had just ordered a whole chicken and left the shop.

The monstrous roar of a motorcycle that seemed to tear through my eardrums.

What filled my vision as I hastily turned was only the blindingly bright light of a headlight.

There was no time to dodge.
A heavy impact my whole body took.
And a single, desperate thought.
“Ah, so this is how… I go.”

“Kuaaack!”

I staggered, clutching my head.

Two sets of memories collided.

The memories of living as Leon Adelheit for 27 years.

And the memories of living as Kim Minjun for 29 years before absurdly perishing in a traffic accident.

No matter how I tried to deny it, the memories of Kim Minjun were terribly vivid.

The sensation of growing cold from my fingertips.

‘I… really died?’

‘Then, what about my parents on Earth? My younger sibling, what happens to them?’

Something hot surged up my throat.

Anger, sorrow, and an unbearable sense of injustice.
Why did it have to be me?
Why such a meaningless death!

For a long while, I sat slumped on the roadside, only able to pant heavily.

Barely, just barely, I grasped onto my scattering consciousness.
What’s done is done.
It can’t be reversed.

Now, I have to live here as Leon.
I had to accept that.

I gritted my teeth.
The muscles in my jaw tensed up.

“Fine… then this time, I’ll live this life properly.”

I felt completely drained.
I barely managed to pull my tattered mind together.

With staggering steps, I crossed the inn’s threshold again.

I needed to sit down somewhere and sort out my bursting head.

I returned to the corner of the dining hall, to the table I had sat at earlier, and threw myself into the chair.

My mind still felt like a storm had passed through.

And just then…

Before my eyes, in mid-air, a translucent window slowly appeared.

[Mercenary Corps Management System]

[Talent Visualization Mode Activated]

[Calibrating Stats…]

“What is this?”

It was right after my memories as Kim Minjun had returned.

I had a vague idea of what kind of thing this message was.

‘It must be something I’ve only seen in games.’

But it was all too sudden.

I tried to jump up without thinking, and my chair fell backward.

Thud!

The loud noise shattered the silence in the dining hall.
All eyes turned to me.

“Are you alright, sir?”

It was that sarcastic innkeeper.
He approached and asked.

I hastily righted the chair and made up a random excuse.

“Ah, no. I just… thought I saw another bug, yes.”

I slumped back into my seat, but my heart was pounding as if it would break my ribs.

The words I had just seen floated vividly in my mind.

Mercenary Corps Management System.
Talent Visualization Mode.

It was a mod from a mercenary management game I played like crazy as Kim Minjun.

Called ‘Appearance Mode,’ it was a feature that adjusted appearances based on talent stats.

The higher the talent, the more attractive they looked, and the effect was doubled for women.

A faint smile touched my lips.

I tried to calm my excited heart and assess the situation.

The people of this world, unlike on Earth, were insensitive to facial beauty.

They avoided faces ruined by scars or injuries, but they had almost no delicate aesthetic sense for things like facial harmony or skin.

This means that only I can recognize true talent.

I left the inn and went straight out to the street.

Just then, a group of knights and their accompanying squires were passing in front of me.

Knights clad in gleaming armor, and their young-looking squires bustling about to serve them.

As a former noble, I was well aware of the harsh reality that less than 10% of those squires would ever become official knights.

It wasn’t a matter of family background or deadly effort.

It was a cruel result, decided purely in the realm of innate talent.

The knights generally had distinct and powerful impressions.

They were all either handsome men or beautiful women.

In contrast, most of the squires had a somewhat plain or generally indistinct impression.

Only a very small few possessed looks comparable to the knights.

‘Just as I thought…! The more talented they are, the more beautiful or handsome they look to my eyes.’

I gulped.

Only I can spot the real prospects, the talents like pearls buried in the dirt.

With this ability, there was no need to grovel under someone else and live the life of a mercenary.

Instead, I could create my own powerful mercenary corps, and what’s more, the strongest beautiful girl mercenary corps composed only of the best elites!

My heart felt like it was burning hot again.

But reality was still harsh.

‘Damn it, I need at least three or four people to start a mercenary corps…’

I was far too short on cash to hire proper mercenaries.

Hiring just one skilled swordsman would easily cost 10 gold coins.

And all I have is a mere 12 silver coins.

‘Buy a s*ave? It’s a good method, but would there be any talented individuals among the slaves?’

‘Even if there were, their price would be more than I could afford with just a few silver coins.’

However, there was one hope left.

I took out the ring engraved with the Adelheit family crest that I had been cherishing and looked at it.
The thing I thought might be my last thread of hope.

I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it because of a lingering attachment, a sliver of hope that I might be able to return to the family.

But now, things were different.

I pulled the family signet ring, which I had intended to keep until the very end, off my finger without hesitation.

“From now on, Leon of the Adelheit family is dead!”

Being able to grasp talent through appearance was an advantage beyond imagination.

‘This life, I will definitely live as a munchkin!’

In my past life, I was just an ordinary office worker, Kim Minjun, but this time is different.

‘With a cheat ability like this, I’ll become the best in this world. I’ll gather strong companions, earn a ton of money…’

If I invest the money from selling the ring…

It’ll be tight, but not impossible.

And most importantly, it was about mindset.

“I will build a harem too!”

---

The southern part of the capital, the entrance to the s*ave market.

In the air, thick with a nauseating stench and an aura of deep despair, I could see slaves with expressions of complete resignation behind iron bars.

I heard a familiar, annoying voice.

“Well, well, who do we have here? What brings the young master of the Adelheit family to such a shabby place?”

It was Victor, the second son of the Marquis family.

The guy who, until recently, had been anxiously watching my every move.

That bastard approached me with an ambiguous expression, making it unclear whether he was sneering or genuinely curious.

“What else would I be doing at a s*ave market but buying slaves.”

“I see. Hehe.”

Victor’s mocking laughter grated on my ears.

Behind him, a heavily armed guard and a servant holding a fat-looking money pouch followed like shadows.

It wasn’t just Victor.

I could see quite a few people who looked like they had some money.

‘Damn, the competition is going to be tougher than I thought…’

I thought that inwardly, but I had a secret weapon that they didn’t.

“Come on, come on, take a look at the fresh goods that came in today! Come and see what hidden gems you can find!”

With a confident smirk that only I understood, I stepped into the s*ave market without any further hesitation.