Seeing the chest of gold, Bruk's eyes lit up, as if he had already forgotten all the anger and irritation from moments ago.
Especially when Alric said that the 1,000 gold coins inside were a meeting gift—it made Bruk even happier.
One had to know that even though this was a sale contract between him and Alric, he still had to report it and pay taxes to the Empire.
The taxes were very high—over 3,000 gold coins. On top of that, he had to send a little extra to the Empire's tax administration.
In the end, he might only actually keep about half the money for himself.
Therefore, the 1,000 gold coins Alric gifted Bruk meant a great deal—enough to make him smile in his sleep with satisfaction.
"Hahahaha… I hope you'll come to me whenever you need to do business in the future," Bruk said as he quickly grabbed the chest, as if afraid Alric would change his mind and back out of buying that town.
"I'll prepare a banquet; you can—"
Alric cut him off immediately. "No need! I want to go to that town right away."
Bruk wasn't offended. He laughed and said, "Very well! I hope we can share a drink together sometime."
"That opportunity will surely come soon." With that, Alric left with the mysterious woman.
As the door closed, the knight behind Bruk said irritably, "His attitude annoys me."
"So what if he's the Demon King's youngest son? He's still a useless castoff, forced to live among humans like a rat."
Bruk shook his head. "I don't care who he is. Whether he's the Demon King's son or the Demon King himself…"
"I'm a merchant. All that matters is profit. Who he is doesn't matter—the only thing that matters is how much benefit he brings me."
As Bruk spoke, he caressed the gold coins inside the chest, his face intoxicated, as if he were caressing a beauty.
"Did you really sell that town to him at that price?" the knight asked.
"Of course!" Bruk snapped. "What would I keep that broken town for?"
"Damn it! That place barely brings me any money and has no special resources. Even if I squeezed it dry, I'd make a little over ten gold coins a month."
"Yet every year I still have to pay a hundred gold coins in taxes. A hundred!"
"Luckily, a fool showed up to buy it; otherwise, I don't know how long I would've been stuck with it."
"Not only did I get 13,000 gold coins up front, but I'll also collect five thousand gold every year. Hahahaha… in this deal, I'm obviously the biggest winner."
The knight frowned. "What if he uses that town as a gathering point for monsters to attack the Empire?"
"Hahaha… what does that have to do with me?" Bruk replied at once. "He can do whatever he wants with the town—he's its owner now."
"Even if he slaughters all the townsfolk, it has nothing to do with me. As long as he pays the annual protection fee in full, that's all I care about."
With that, Bruk couldn't wait any longer and left with the chest of gold.
The knight watched Bruk's retreating back, frowning, his eyes reflecting some troubling thought that wouldn't let him rest easy.
…
After leaving Baron Bruk's castle, Alric and the woman immediately boarded a carriage and departed the city.
Inside the carriage, the woman sat across from Alric. Since leaving Bruk's castle, she hadn't said a single word.
Alric sighed and asked, "Are you upset?"
"Yes," the woman answered at once.
"Because he called you ugly and of mixed blood?"
"No. I'm used to being insulted. Whether in the Demon Realm or here, that's nothing new. I'm angry because they insulted you—spoke ill of you—and looked at you with scorn."
Her voice was utterly calm, making it impossible to tell what she truly felt.
Alric shook his head. "They're not wrong. I really am useless—banished by my father from the Demon Realm. Now all I want is a quiet place to live."
"But… that still doesn't give them the right to speak that way."
Alric smiled. "Ravenna, thank you."
"You don't feel angry?" Ravenna asked, puzzled.
Alric shook his head. "I don't have the habit of putting someone else's trash into my own pocket."
"All right, let's drop that topic." He leaned back slightly. "I want to ask you one more time—this journey will be difficult, the chances of failure are high. Do you still wish to follow me?"
"If you leave now, I'll give you all the gold coins we have left. It'll be enough for you to buy a house in a small town and live a peaceful life."
Ravenna shook her head. "I am your fiancée. I will stay by your side forever. If I'm married to a dog, then I am a dog. If I'm married to a pig, then I am a pig."
Alric: "..."
"Why do I feel like that sounded like an insult toward me?"
"You're overthinking it," Ravenna replied calmly. "But you were truly deceived by that fat man. Twelve thousand gold coins for a ruined town—and on top of that, you have to pay a five-thousand-gold tax every year. What you've done makes no sense to me. Are you a genius or an idiot?"
Alric chuckled. "Sometimes, we have to learn how to play the fool."
"Sure, I could've pushed the price down to ten or even eight thousand gold coins—but I believe twelve thousand was the best price, both for me and for him."
"Yes, the protection fee is ridiculously high, but if I had refused it and simultaneously lowered the town's price, do you think Bruk would've agreed to the deal?"
"I kept the tax rate as it was to reassure him—to make him feel secure enough to finalize the sale quickly. You saw how fast he had the contract prepared, didn't you?"
"In time, you'll realize that those five thousand gold coins are nothing but a trivial number."
Ravenna stared at Alric, as if trying to read the thoughts behind his calm expression.
But she couldn't. In the end, she could only sigh softly. "Fine. Do whatever you want. I'll make sure you stay safe."
"Thank you," Alric said with a faint smile.
Ravenna shook her head without replying, her gaze drifting toward the scenery outside through the small carriage window.
Alric didn't continue speaking either. His eyes shifted toward the glowing panel of the System interface before him.
He sighed, recalling his past life on Earth.
Back then, he had been a 35-year-old office worker. In his desperate effort to meet the company's KPI targets, he'd stayed up for three consecutive days.
After finally reaching the quota… he died at his desk from overwork. And then—he arrived in this world, reborn as the youngest son of the Demon King.
Though "isekai" sounded amazing in theory, Alric never once believed he was some kind of protagonist. He had no interest in saving the world, becoming a hero, or marrying a princess.
He had only one desire—to enjoy life.
That mindset came from his previous life.
In his past life, he'd been an orphan. He'd always believed that as long as he worked hard, he would eventually live a good life.
But he was wrong. Before he could enjoy any of it, he died from overworking.
Now things were different. He was the Demon King's son—a prince. He didn't need to work.
For the past twenty years, he had lived exactly as he once wished:
Eat, sleep, and enjoy life.
No studying magic, no physical training, no socializing.
His father, disappointed beyond words, eventually decided to marry him off to a princess from some great kingdom or ancient bloodline to solidify his standing.
But Alric chose instead the princess of the Dark Crow Tribe—a hybrid woman with a face uglier than most female Orcs.
His father was so enraged by that decision that he threw Alric out of the Demon Realm.
At the time, Alric thought that even outside the Demon Realm, he could still live comfortably. But then—the System appeared, and nearly scared him to death.
Yes, you heard that right—he was afraid of the System.
While others dreamed of awakening a System when they were isekai'd, Alric dreaded the idea.
Because to him, the System meant work. And for a man as lazy as he was, that was nothing short of torture.
When it first appeared, he wanted to reject it outright—but the System didn't give him that choice. Instead, it came bundled with a ticking time bomb.