Patrick was devastated.
He clutched his head in genuine agony, his body writhing in deep distress.
"Dammit, you mean those were all piles of cash? How many trolls have I hunted so far? My money! My moooooney!"
As Patrick wailed, a soldier cautiously spoke up.
"You've hunted more than just those..."
"Hey, you little shit!"
Before the soldier could even finish, Patrick lunged at Brian—who still had his head pressed against the ground—and delivered a sharp kick.
He began to trample him mercilessly again. Brian cried out as if the world were unfair.
"Why... ugh... why are you doing this... Gaaah!"
"You bastard, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you say those things were worth money?! Why?!"
"I thought you knew... Aaaagh!"
"How is a ten-year-old supposed to know that?!"
"..."
Then why is a ten-year-old hunting trolls in the first place?
Brian wanted to scream the question, but he didn't dare.
"Die! Just die! I'll tell my father you died a glorious death in battle, so just die!"
"Aaaagh! I'm sorry! Gaaah!"
Watching Brian get brutally stomped, the soldiers looked on with grim expressions.
'To think the day would come when I actually feel sorry for that guy.'
'I thought I wouldn't feel a shred of pity even if he were chewed alive by a monster.'
'He's amazing. Truly amazing.'
In the past, Brian had constantly found petty excuses to dock the soldiers' wages and pocket the difference. He had even embezzled the condolence money meant for the families of the fallen.
The soldiers who had suffered under Brian were certain they would clap and cheer if they saw him being crunched to death by an ogre while begging for his life.
And yet...
"You're weak. Your personality is trash. You have zero common sense. Why do you even live? Why?!"
"Aaaagh! Save m—"
"Don't live! Die. Just die already!"
Even as he told him to die, Patrick was careful not to hit any vital spots, focusing entirely on inflicting maximum pain as he methodically ground his heel into him.
To fall from a 2-Star Knight to a slave, to be treated as the "Youngest Brother" within the very army he used to lead, and now to be beaten like a dog by Patrick...
How could they not feel a little pity?
'It would be better to just die cleanly.'
'So this is what it means for life to be a living hell.'
'Tsk, tsk. This is why you have to live a good life.'
* * *
What had Patrick been doing while the soldiers were training and working?
Others might not have known, but Patrick was never just slacking off.
He had been taking Brian around the outskirts of the territory to clear out monsters. He did this diligently, without a single day of rest.
Monsters or whatever, they're just harmful pests in the end, right? Then I should kill them all.
Having reached that conclusion, Patrick had been scouring the forests around the estate with Brian, slaughtering every monster they found.
Of course, Brian, a 2-Star Knight, was being worked to the bone in the process, but Patrick didn't care.
Anyway, that was the situation, but...
"You're saying all of that was money? Then goblins, kobolds, and giant wolves were all worth something too?"
"You even caught a giant wolf? Their pelts fetch a very high price..."
"Ugh..."
Patrick groaned in pain as if he had taken a powerful blow to the heart.
He had caught them. He definitely had.
The problem was that he had caught them by dicing them into dozens of tiny pieces.
Come to think of it, Brian was looking at that giant wolf's corpse with a bit of regret back then. Ah... what a waste. Such a waste. My money.
It wasn't unreasonable for Patrick to be this stingy.
In truth, while the Schneider family were nobles, they were quite poor.
It wasn't that Baron Schneider was extravagant; rather, maintaining the military force required to protect the residents was expensive, and the territory's only sources of income were a bit of grain and medicinal herbs from the forest.
On top of that, Baron Schneider collected the lowest taxes among all the nearby nobles.
In fact, if the Baron hadn't lived such a frugal life and had instead lived like a typical noble, he would have had to raise the taxes on his people several times over.
"This was my mistake. How many years has it been since I made such a fatal error?"
'Young Master, you're only ten years old.'
The soldier wanted to say something to the lamenting Patrick but decided to just keep watching.
Then, Patrick spoke.
"It can't be helped. Hey, Youngest."
"Yes... cough... did you call?"
Brian, who had been sprawled on the ground, staggered to his feet.
"To make up for the losses we've incurred, we need to move more diligently."
"Does that mean..."
"From now on, we're doubling the hunting time and going deeper into the forest. Guide us properly. Got it?"
"Just the two of us, Young Master?"
"Of course. I can't take my precious soldiers into such a dangerous place, can I?"
The soldiers listening to Patrick were momentarily moved. Brian, however, was devastated.
Brian spoke urgently.
"It's dangerous, Young Master. If we go deeper into the estate's forest, we might encounter monsters that even 4-Star Knights would find difficult to handle."
"It's fine, it's fine. Even if a truly dangerous moment comes, trust me. I can at least get myself out."
"If you get yourself out, what happens to me?"
"Huh? Why are you asking me that?"
"..."
"I'm sure the great Sir Brian Erickson, a 2-Star Knight, will handle himself just fine, right?"
"..."
"Wow... you have no conscience. Are you telling me a man who has reached the 2-Star realm expects a ten-year-old kid to protect him? Aren't you ashamed?"
As Patrick continued, Brian's face turned beet red. And then...
"Cough!"
Brian suddenly collapsed, blood spraying from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
"Whoa!"
"What the—?"
"I've never seen someone collapse like that. Erick—no, Youngest! Hey, Youngest!"
The soldiers rushed over to check on Brian's condition, while Patrick scratched his head and muttered.
"Bleeding from seven orifices. Haven't seen that in a while. Brings back memories."
It was something he used to see often back in the Martial World.
It was a phenomenon frequently displayed by those who spoke, traded, or negotiated with Jincheon.
I wonder if those people are doing well? Actually, they shouldn't be. They should all be dead.
It was a top-tier personality that hadn't changed even after being reborn in another world.
* * *
Who doesn't like money?
Naturally, most people love it.
But in Patrick's case, his obsession with money had been exceptional since his previous life.
No, he had no choice but to be obsessed.
First of all, the Twin Dragon Sect was a dirt-poor martial sect.
They didn't run businesses like the giant sects, nor did they receive sponsorships. The entrance fees from a few students were all they had, and that was barely enough to maintain the sect.
In the midst of that, his Master was the incarnation of a pushover. He didn't know the value of money, and as soon as he got any, he would give it all away to help people in need.
Under such dire conditions, Jincheon had done his absolute best to keep the sect's finances afloat.
If there was a rumor of treasure, he ran there; if there was news of spiritual medicine, he ran there too...
While other masters of the Martial World wore silk, drank expensive liquor, and laughed together in scenic spots, the great hero of the Orthodox Faction, the Radiant Dragon Hero, was busy trying to make a buck.
Even when he did earn money, there were more problems.
Sasuk, I'm hungry.
Sahyeong, my uniform is all torn.
Disciple, isn't the plight of the poor pitiful?
It was enough to drive him insane.
The Radiant Dragon Hero, worshipped by other sects as a dragon from a small stream and a great hero of the Orthodox Faction, was merely a breadwinner within the Twin Dragon Sect, working tirelessly to feed the baby birds chirping for food.
Ugh, just thinking about those days brings tears to my eyes...
Yeah, thinking about it again, it really was sorrowful.
Anyway, being that kind of person, Patrick couldn't help but be sensitive to money.
The Schneider family, the household he was reborn into, were nobles, but they weren't incredibly wealthy. If anything, they were classified as poor nobles.
He hadn't cared much before because there were so many confusing things happening, but now that he was seriously stepping up for the family, the inconveniences caused by the lack of money began to catch his eye one by one.
The soldiers' rusted equipment.
The butler and maids wearing mended clothes.
Even the mansion, if looked at closely, had many places where broken parts hadn't been properly repaired and were instead patched up with wooden planks.
No. I can't live as a penniless beggar again.
He was born a noble this time; shouldn't he live well and eat well?
The moment he realized monsters were worth money, Patrick's mind was filled with greed.
"Giant wolves, trolls, ogres, dragons—I don't care what it is, find something. Fast."
"Young Master, I am not a demonic beast hunter. I am a 2-Star..."
"Find something today. If you don't?"
"..."
"You die. You're dead."
His eyes were filled with absolute sincerity.
"I will find something, no matter what!"
Brian scoured the forest floor and trees, desperately tracking any sign of a monster.
He, too, was a man who had served as a knight of the Schneider territory for a long time. He was quite skilled at identifying monster tracks.
However...
Dammit, why can't I see anything? I have to find something fast.
That's how it always goes. Even things that are usually everywhere seem to vanish when you're actually looking for them. It's called the Law of Dog Crap...
"I found it! Young Master! I found something!"
"Oh? Really?"
Surprisingly, Brian showed quite a bit of competence in this specific field.
However, there was a problem.
He had found a trail, but...
"Young Master. This is... a Saber Tiger."
Brian's voice trembled.
He had found something, but he had found something far too big.
The Saber Tiger.
It was one of the most dangerous creatures among the beast-type monsters known as the "Terror of the Forest."
Brian trembled at the discovery of the Saber Tiger's tracks, but Patrick...
"Is it expensive?"
That was his only question.
Brian hesitated for a moment but soon regained his senses and spoke.
"Young Master, this is a monster. It's a tiger so massive it hunts and eats trolls."
"Oh? A tiger? The pelt must be expensive then. It is, right? It's expensive, isn't it?"
"Yes. The pelt is expensive, and the fangs are expensive too. They are, but... please listen to me first..."
"Track it down. If we lose it, you're dead."
"Young Master, I'm telling you again, a Saber Tiger is truly dangerous. It's better to give up on this one and find something else."
"Give up?"
"Yes. This is truly dangerous. I know you're strong, but if something goes wrong, you could die. Please, for the sake of my loyalty..."
"Youngest. Youngest. Our dear Youngest."
Crack. Crack.
Patrick cracked his neck from side to side, placed his hands on Brian's shoulders, and said with a pleasant expression.
"Youngest, think carefully."
"...About what?"
"Honestly, what you're worried about right now isn't my life, it's yours, isn't it?"
"No, I..."
"It's okay, it's okay. It's only natural for a person to value their own life most. I don't get angry over things like that."
"..."
He had hit the nail on the head.
If Patrick had said he was going to hunt the Saber Tiger alone, Brian would have cheered him on, thinking, Go ahead and die fighting.
But since he had to go along, he had to stop him at all costs.
Patrick gave Brian a bright, innocent smile and said.
"But Youngest?"
"..."
"Is it the Saber Tiger that's threatening your life right now? Or is it me?"
"..."
"Think carefully. Think veeeery carefully."
"I will track it."
Brian had no choice but to lead the way, tears streaming down his face.
In any time or place, violence was truly convenient.