episode_0168

After the tax collector left, Tia’s expression grew troubled.

She had grown anxious.

If they couldn’t gather 400 gold when the deadline approached, there was no knowing what punishment would be meted out. But it was obvious they would be kicked out of the new home they had barely managed to secure.

And that wasn’t all. The moment the label of ‘criminal’ was attached, the honor Tia had painstakingly built up would crumble in an instant.

She hated that more than anything. Tia had already been exiled from Breezedon once. In Gordburg, where she had settled down with new dreams, she absolutely had to survive.

Click.

That night, Fosao returned as well.

“Hee hee— I-I’m home.”

Unaware of Tia’s burning anxiety, seeing his grinning face, she finally made up her mind.

For ‘this family’. For the future of the three of them. She had to say what needed to be said.

“Mister.”

At her unusually low, serious voice, Fosao flinched.

“Huh?”

“Today… where did you go?”

He quickly caught on. It seemed he had glimpsed the memories lingering in the house in that short time.

The fact that the tax collector had been there, and that Tia already knew he had gone to the gambling house earlier that day.

“I-I went to the gambling house…”

Fosao had the ability to see the past, but he didn’t have the guts to brazenly make excuses in front of Tia.

And he knew that lying would only betray Tia’s trust.

The current Tia was.

No, the Tia who had become ‘a mother to a child’ was in a very sensitive state.

“Didn’t you tell me you were going to look for a job?”

“Th-That’s…”

“The truth. Tell me directly.”

“I-I was going to tell you later… F-For now, just look at this.”

Thud!

Fosao suddenly pulled out a money pouch and set it down in front of Tia.

As could be guessed from the sound, the pouch felt dull and heavy, as if filled with coins.

Indeed, the pouch was as big and large as Fosao’s hand.

Tia stared blankly, then slowly reached out and untied the money pouch.

Jingle—

Inside, it was filled with gold coins. If every single coin in it was a gold coin, it would be approximately 150 gold.

Where on earth, and how, had he gotten this money? Tia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The girl was so surprised she couldn’t say a word.

Fosao explained hesitantly, gauging her reaction.

“S-Sorry I couldn’t tell you…. Actually, I went to the gambling house with the money T-Tia earned, and I w-won a little.”

Tia wouldn’t have guessed at all, but I knew how he had earned this money.

This ability to see the past with a simple touch.

If he wanted to earn money with this… ‘gambling’ was the best.

There were many types of gambling, but it was a different story if it wasn’t a game that relied purely on luck, but one where he could know what his opponent held.

For example, if it was a card game where each player formed a hand, Fosao would be playing the game knowing full well what his opponent’s hand was.

…He probably won the money that way.

Fosao showed a hopeful gaze, as if expecting her to be impressed that he had earned so much money.

Ironically enough, Tia’s worries weren’t eased in the slightest.

“…This won’t do.”

“Huh?”

“This isn’t money you earned through effort, Mister.”

Tia bowed her head and spoke the cold reality.

“Look around you, Mister. Everyone is doing proper work.”

“…”

“The Lord of Gordburg said he is watching us. This isn’t Breezedon. This is the Lord’s land. So if we want to live peacefully here… we need to show effort in further developing this land. But if you do no work and just win a lot of money at the gambling house, what will everyone think?”

Fosao was merely cunning.

He hadn’t thought about the consequences that arose from gambling.

For the people here, gambling was merely a form of entertainment.

From the start, if they just worked well, they would have food, and their lives would be prosperous. What exactly would they lack to do something reckless like praying to the goddess of luck?

Playing games normally was boring, so they would spend time with a bottle of alcohol and a round of gambling to enjoy more thrills.

But Fosao came with the sole purpose of earning money, and he disrupted the gambling atmosphere where everyone was laughing and having fun. Greedily, he swept up a bagful of gold coins and put them in this money pouch.

Not a single person looked favorably upon such a sight. They would glare at Fosao with annoyance, then go home and complain about him at length to their wives.

All of this would come back as Fosao’s reputation.

Tia said.

“We have to pay 400 gold by five days from now.”

“F-Five days?”

Even if he kept gambling with the money he’d won, he couldn’t earn 400 gold in such a short time.

Even in Deseo, a city completely obsessed with money, they had to run around for nearly a week to earn 500 gold. How on earth could they gather 400 gold in this vast agricultural land where people traded with wheat and salt instead of coins?

It was an impossible task.

“C-Can’t they extend the d-deadline?”

“No.”

“Wh-What do we do….”

“…”

There was nothing to do.

There was nothing left but for Fosao to somehow find a job, regain his trust, reverse his reputation, and beg the Lord within five days.

But ‘that answer’ which was so obvious to Tia ultimately depended on that man’s resolve.

***

From the next day, Tia decided to temporarily quit her teaching job.

She apologized profusely to the villagers, saying she was sorry for the inconvenience, and alone, she traveled around the market and the outskirts, visiting various places.

“Hello— Do you happen to need any help?”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I have experience in business for a long time, so I can be of help! I’ve even run a small merchant group in Deseo!”

A blacksmith’s, a general store, a warehouse, a livestock farm, a stable. She visited any place without discrimination, asking if there were job openings.

“Oh— we do need help right now. But it’s not a job for a lady. It’s rough and tough.”

“Actually, it’s not for me, but there’s a man who will do the work.”

“Huh? What’s his name?”

But most people asked for the name first.

This was because the people here had settled and lived for so long that they were wary of strangers and preferred the names of trustworthy residents.

“His name is… Fosao.”

“Oh— That pig?”

And cruelly enough, everyone in the market knew his name.

Using the contemptuous term ‘pig’, they twisted their faces with expressions that showed they didn’t even want to think about it the moment they heard his name.

“Since he consistently won money every day, he won’t have money worries now. Has he suddenly grown tired of gambling, or why is he looking for a job?”

“That’s…”

Sure enough, his reputation here was plummeting to its worst.

Everyone unanimously viewed him negatively, firmly stating that they would rather give a job to a passing beggar than to Fosao.

“But what’s your relationship with that pig, miss?”

“Ah…”

“There’s a rumor that he has a proper wife. Is that really you?”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll be going now.”

“Hey, what’s wrong! Answer me! What a waste for such a pretty lady to live with that pig! Huh? Is his thing as big as a horseradish?”

“Hahahaha!”

The people nearby burst into laughter.

Tia ran out of the market as if fleeing. She went into a shaded alley, dry heaved a few times, and caught her breath.

“…”

A little calmer, Tia looked utterly exhausted.

Trudge, trudge.

In the end, she had no choice but to return to the East Gate village without any results. It was the first time her steps looked so heavy and difficult since she came to Gordburg.

What could she be thinking?

The thought that it was all over?

If she spent another day like this, the deadline would be in four days. The relentlessly flowing time was constantly tightening around Tia’s neck.

She was walking down the road with a blank gaze, about to enter her house, when it happened.

“Move! Move!”

It wasn’t even time for work to end yet, but suddenly people rushed across the village.

A child was carried on the man’s back.

“Again?”

“No, why is this suddenly happening… it’s scary…”

The women who were doing housework poked their heads out the door. Their eyes showed they realized something unusual was happening.

Tia asked.

“What’s going on?”

“Well— I don’t know. The children must have eaten something bad this morning, they suddenly collapsed with a raging fever—. It doesn’t seem like it’s just one or two right now…”

“What?”

“It’s chaos right now. They keep being carried to the castle like that. Oh dear—.”

Tia’s red eyes turned towards Gordburg Castle.

They said there was a ‘treatment room’ that functioned similarly to a ‘pharmacy’ there, so the villagers would go to the Lord’s castle if they were seriously injured or sick.

But the situation seemed quite serious this time. All the children were being carried through the castle gate.

“…”

Tia immediately turned her steps and headed for the Lord’s castle.

A neighbor asked.

“Oh my? Where are you going?”

“I have a favor to ask. If Mister Fosao returns, please tell him I went into the castle.”

“Huh? Oh, alright. I’ll tell him that.”

Tia, who immediately ran to the castle, declared to the soldier guarding the castle gate that she had come to care for the sick children.

After some struggle, she barely managed to get permission and entered the treatment room.

An even more horrific scene was before her eyes.

Children lay on the cold stone floor, groaning in pain.

“Ah…”

The place called ‘treatment room’, unlike Tia’s expectations, was a very narrow and cold room.

It was a place made by remodeling old knights’ dormitories, and it was a truly poor place, lacking equipment for making medicine, medical books, warm heaters, or soft beds.

Moreover, even the doctor who was supposed to be there was temporarily absent, so the Lord’s servants were frantically attending to the children.

It was utter pandemonium.

“Attention! Pay attention!”

Silencing all the commotion, when the Lord’s servants turned to look at the red-haired girl.

She, too, seemed to realize what she had to do now.

Tia, who had received pharmaceutical knowledge under me, read countless books to revive me when I collapsed, tried making new medicines, and researched on her own—

Her skills were already… comparable to those of a renowned doctor in Deseo.

Like that court physician who suddenly came to the shabby mountain village of Breezedon and gave strict orders.

Tia commanded gravely.

“From now on, follow my instructions.”