The journey continued for the whole day. We arrived at the capital of a small kingdom. This kingdom was insignificant—both in terms of size and political influence. Even in the novel, it wasn't mentioned.
We decided to rest in the capital. The mood wasn't great, but rest was necessary for the journey ahead. So, we booked an expensive inn with good security measures.
At midnight, I slipped out of my room.
We were still far from the duke's sphere of influence. And honestly, who in their right mind would think of walking around unprotected when their life was in danger? That exact thought was my protection. Besides, I just couldn't sleep, so I decided to explore the capital a little. It might also keep me calm.
Even at night, the capital was bustling. I saw many things, ate many things, and thought about many things. Everyone was busy doing whatever helped them stay alive . I was maybe also like them right now just in different sense. After two hours, I finally returned to the inn with a map I had bought.
The map wasn't detailed, but it showed the kingdom and surrounding areas. Some important terrains were also marked. I had also bought a few books, some potions, empty bottles, and one ingredient for a special detoxifying potion.
I think there is only one way for me to survive. But for now, it's still night. I'll talk to my uncle tomorrow. With that thought, I went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up to a knock on my door. When I opened it, I found the escort who had leaked the news about my father's death.
As soon as the door opened, he asked,
"Do you want to eat here, or with Master Belhart?"
I replied,
"Did my uncle ask this?"
He nodded.
I thought for a moment, then asked him to tell my uncle to come to my room instead.
He left quickly.
A few minutes later, my uncle arrived, followed by a few escorts carrying trays of food. The escorts silently laid out the meal and left without making a sound.
We began eating, with my uncle making small talk—nothing important.
Soon, his eyes fell on my arms. They had been covered by clothes until last night, and since I had changed clothes, he hadn't seen them yet. After observing them for a while, he said,
"You know, I was never in favor of you going to the academy. But your father wanted you to go. I was worried."
He continued,
"But now that I look at you, your arms have some muscle. Maybe brother was right after all - like he always is"
I replied,
"You mean I look less like a zombie now."
He hesitantly nodded, then said,
"This change in your body… and no longer needing the locket… it's already worth more than I could ask for. I'm happy. Truly, this is already more than I expected."
I glanced at my arms too. He was right—they looked different. But I knew it wasn't the academy that had changed them. The arms I remembered before coming to this world, and the arms I had on the first day, matched exactly. So it must be me who was altering this body, making it look less zombie-like.
Perhaps his soul had been the culprit for the frail body. Thinking so, I continued eating.
After we finished, the escorts returned, cleared the plates, and left.
Uncle then said, "Get ready. We are leaving soon," and started walking toward the door.
But I quickly stopped him. He looked at me, puzzled.
Finally, after making up my mind, I said,
"Uncle, I'm not completely sure, but at the academy I think I overheard the son of the Duke of the North talking about something. Maybe… maybe he is responsible for all this."
Uncle's face froze with shock, but he understood. If what I said was true, the situation was far more critical than he had imagined. He also realized that his assumption—that I would be safe inside the academy—was false, because the duke's twin sons were currently in their first year at the academy. And during exams, it would be easy to harm me.
I continued,
"I have an idea."
Uncle looked at me for a long moment, then said,
"Tell me."
I took a deep breath and said,
"Sell all our businesses for as high a price as possible. Try to complete it within one month. And give me all the money you can right now, leaving only enough so the plan isn't hindered."
Uncle was shocked again. Then he asked,
"You're thinking that targeting money will be more difficult? Or that they'll stop attacking once only money is left?"
I replied,
"They're targeting us because our businesses are well-established—low investment, high reward. It works because they must already have spies inside, slowly transferring ownership. But once converted to money, it's different. The total amount will still be huge, but it'll be a one-time thing. Of course, they can still kill us, but then the duke will get less, since liquidating money is harder and it will be diluted across many sources.
Besides… I'm planning something else. And I need a huge amount of money."
Uncle sighed, then said,
"He might attack you out of anger. That would defeat the whole purpose."
I answered,
"That's why I need such a huge amount of money. So, are you in?"
Uncle thought for a while, then replied,
"Well, I already asked you to become the head. If you say so, I'll naturally listen."
He added,
"But then you must officially become the head now."
I agreed.
I told him that from now on, I would go my separate way, and he should take all the escorts with him. But he refused.
Massaging my temples, I said,
"I'm not foolish enough to roam unprotected. I'll hire an A-rank party from the Adventurers' Guild."
A-rank isn't a small rank—above it, only S and SS remain. Even the duke wouldn't expect that. And just because he's a duke doesn't mean he'll send someone powerful after someone as useless as me. At least, not until he learns I've become the new head.
Now, only the money transfer remained. So, we both went to the Economic Guild. Think of it as the administrative authority for banks, with guild members acting as the banks themselves. It's necessary because transactions between banks must be regulated.
Small transactions could be done with gold coins. But right now, the sum was enormous. Carrying such funds would be suicide—it would be like announcing, "Come rob me."
As for how much money he would give me, I had no idea.
We went to a private counter for confidentiality. For verification, we both gave blood samples in front of the staff. Blood was sacred in this world, and using it for contracts was no small matter. With this, the transaction was confirmed possible.
Apparently, no cards were needed in this world.
Finally, my uncle wrote down a number. Then, for second verification, a mana strip was used. It was pressed against his thumb, just above the mana vessel. The strip detected the flow and unique signature of his mana. This confirmed two things: first, that the mana was truly his, and second, that he was alive. After all, what if someone had stolen his mana to fake a transaction?
At last, the money was transferred. When I saw the amount, I nearly fainted.
Twenty platinum.
For reference, the currency system was: copper, silver, gold, platinum, spirit stone. Each tier increased by a factor of 1,000. Except from platinum coin to spirit stone which only increase in order of 10 . That meant:
1 silver coin = 1,000 copper coins
1 gold coin = 1,000 silver coins
1 platinum coin = 1,000 gold coins
1 spirit stone = 10 platinum coins
If we assume 1 copper = 1 dollar, then I had just been given 20 billion dollars.
We were rich. And yet, this wasn't even half of what my uncle had. Most of our wealth was tied up in investments or other assets. So how did he have this much liquid money?
I looked at him.
He shrugged and said,
"I told you—I was close to the academy."
Oh, so that's how. But money is never really a problem. Sure, we were being targeted because of it, but I still stood firm in my plan.
Outside the Economic Guild, I said to my uncle,
"Now we should go our separate ways. Continue sending me money. I should receive at least 60% of whatever you get."
He nodded and entered the carriage.
I walked toward the Adventurers' Guild, which was nearby. Soon, I reached it.
Inside, the guild was noisy—parties talking among themselves, adventurers making deals. There were two separate receptions. One was marked, "For Adventurers' Use Only." That must have been where they accepted missions.
The other was marked, "For Clients." That was probably where I needed to go to post my request.