Isaac seemed to have a talent for finding people.
Not much time had passed, yet he had somehow managed to track down the building manager inside this enormous Fence.
“You are the one? The person interested in the ground-floor storefront?”
The building manager was a middle-aged man. Befitting someone who managed a prosperous building in the heart of the main commercial district, he looked rather affluent. Apparently, he took some pride in that fact as well, judging by the way he held his shoulders high.
“Just from looking at it, this seems like one of the most profitable commercial buildings in the area. I found it strange that only one unit on the ground floor had been vacant for so long. Is there some particular reason?”
“There is a reason. But do not tell me you are actually thinking of doing business here?”
“If the terms are reasonable.”
“Ahem! Well, I suppose anyone can see that the location is good, so you probably stopped by on a whim after getting curious. But the rent for a place like this is not nearly as cheap as you seem to think.”
The building manager looked me up and down with a faint sneer.
It felt as though he were subtly looking down on me. The greatest reason for his dismissive attitude was probably the way Isaac and I were dressed.
Anyone could see that we looked shabby.
For reference, Count Edwell, my father, was the reason I was dressed like this. Apparently, he had deliberately given his wastrel son nothing but worn-out clothes in an attempt to correct his behavior. Supposedly, he wanted me to realize that nothing belonging to the family could be obtained easily without effort.
“Anyway, you clearly came here just to test the waters. Stop bothering me and go on your way. I have people asking to see me about the same thing every single day. I have no intention of wasting my time here with someone like you—”
Before the building manager could finish speaking, Isaac cut in from beside me in a low voice.
“I would ask that you show the proper respect to our Young Master. I will assume that you spoke out of ignorance and let this end with a warning, but I will not tolerate it a second time.”
“Puhahaha! Young Master? Good grief. Listen here. You two look like you crawled in from some backwater village where that sort of act might work. Did you really think it would work here?”
“Hmm. I believe I just warned you.”
“This is the Duchy of Arnia. The Duchy of Arnia! Do you think I have only seen people like you once or twice? I have seen countless fools calling each other ‘Young Master’ while trying to bargain down the rent by any means they can—”
Isaac cut the building manager off again.
This time, however, it was not his voice that interrupted him.
SHING—!
It was the sound of Isaac drawing his sword.
Apparently, this bastard had a habit of drawing his blade.
“You insolent cur! Do you have any idea who stands before you, that you dare utter such disrespectful words? Our Young Master appeared unwilling to cause a disturbance, so I intended to restrain myself as well, but I can no longer stand by and watch this!”
“S-So what if you draw a sword?! Are you really going to cut off my head?”
“The Young Master standing before you is Lord Maxim Edwell, the third son of Count Edwell, a founding contributor to the Empire and a war hero!”
“H-House E-Edwell?”
“A mere commoner has dared insult a noble. Naturally, you must pay for your offense. As his guard knight, what reason would I have not to cut off the head of a man like you?”
“Y-You truly belong to House Edwell...?”
The building manager looked at me in bewilderment.
Well, I understood.
Even to my own eyes, I was dressed more miserably than a commoner. Just how much had the Count hated me to send me out wearing clothes like these?
Isaac gave me a meaningful look.
More precisely, he seemed to be signaling for me to take out the necklace hanging around my neck.
Come to think of it, nobles in this world carried necklaces bearing their family crests to prove their identities.
“Here.”
“Eeeeeek! This lowly fool failed to recognize House Edwell and has committed a terrible offense! Please, I beg you, spare my life!”
The moment I revealed the necklace, the building manager threw himself flat before me.
The influence carried by a single necklace was far greater than I had expected.
I had briefly forgotten.
This was a society ruled by nobles.
“Young Master! Give me the order, and I will cut this man down immediately.”
“Isaac. That is enough. Put the sword away.”
“I cannot! He dared insult House Edwell!”
“I said I am fine.”
“That is unacceptable! To disgrace House Edwell is the same as disgracing the Count, the head of the family! How could I possibly allow such a man to live?”
“Oh. So this was not for my sake?”
“No. It was for the Count.”
Ha.
Look at this bastard.
And here I had nearly been touched for nothing.
So you did all that for your lord, my father.
“Fine. Just put the sword away.”
“Only this once. If something like this happens again, then—”
“Stop irritating me and put the damn sword away already. And you, over there.”
After confirming that Isaac had sheathed his sword, I helped the prostrate building manager back to his feet. Then, after roughly brushing the dust from his clothes, I asked him a question.
“So why exactly is this storefront vacant?”
.
.
.
.
.
.
I had considered all sorts of possibilities as to why the storefront had remained empty.
I had assumed the answer would fall somewhere within the range of what I expected.
The building manager’s explanation, however, went far beyond anything I would have considered reasonable.
—As you know, this is the territory of the Duke of Arnia. Most of the land and buildings within the territory belong to His Grace, and this commercial building is no exception. I merely manage the building under orders from an administrator of House Arnia.
—And?
—His Grace has always been concerned that the commercial activity inside the Fence might become concentrated in a limited number of areas. He wished for everyone to share the profits fairly. That is why there is still a vacant unit in this building despite all the famous establishments gathered around it.
—Get to the point.
—Businesses of the same type are prohibited from operating within a designated distance of one another.
From my perspective, it was complete nonsense.
I had expected the lease terms to be terrible, but there was actually no security deposit and no key money. There was rent, of course, but even that was fairly reasonable.
If I had to compare it to something, it was around the level of rent charged in a prime commercial district in the Seoul metropolitan area for a space of similar size.
‘No wonder there were almost no duplicate types of businesses despite this district having practically everything.’
I had never noticed it while playing the game.
Back then, I had been too busy clearing the game to wonder about details like this. I certainly had never imagined that I would be sucked into this world and forced to earn a living here.
More importantly, none of this had appeared in the strategy guides either.
Naturally, there had been no reason to record details that had little effect on clearing the game.
Perhaps even the game company itself had forgotten that it had established such a setting.
“Isaac. Does this make any sense to you?”
“I do not see why it would not. Most territories use an economic system similar to the Duke of Arnia’s.”
“What?”
“It is thanks to that system that most commercial districts inside the Fence remain at roughly similar levels of prosperity. There are hardly any people starving to death here either, so I do not think it is a bad arrangement.”
“Hmm. I suppose you could see it that way.”
I kept forgetting without realizing it.
This was not modern-day Seoul, where I used to live.
It was a fictional world based on the medieval era.
‘So this kind of thing is considered normal in this age?’
I had no intention of resenting Isaac for disagreeing with me.
The game’s world had simply been designed this way. Who could I blame for that?
If I wanted to blame anyone, I would have to blame the developers.
In any case, I slowly organized my thoughts.
Businesses of the same type could not operate within a certain distance of one another, which meant there should be no problem with me selling coffee there.
There was no café in that commercial building.
I was a barista, but I was also a businessman. I simply could not stand seeing such an excellent location without a café.
In the modern world, dozens of café brands would have fought fiercely for the right to occupy a spot like that.
‘Then the next problem is capital....’
Fortunately, there was no security deposit or key money.
I could not say I particularly liked the laws of this world designed to prevent excessive competition between businesses, but being able to start a business simply by paying rent without putting down a large amount of capital was one benefit I could appreciate.
‘Do I have any money?’
My gaze naturally drifted toward Isaac.
I did not particularly like it, but he was the only person around me who could offer any help.
“Young Master. There is something unsettling about your eyes.”
“Is there?”
“They remind me of how you looked until recently, when you spent your days wandering through entertainment districts and gambling away your fortune.”
“Then I suppose I do not have any money?”
“Money? You, Young Master? Hahaha. It would sound more believable if someone told me a skeleton had flesh on its bones.”
“Not even a single coin? No hidden assets or anything?”
“No. None.”
“I used to have some, did I not?”
“No. You do not.”
“As far as I remember, Father once gave me some land and other assets. Surely there must be something left.”
“You lost all of that ages ago. According to the senior knights who served the family in the past, your fortune had already begun disappearing by the time you learned to walk on two feet....”
“Come on. How exaggerated can a rumor get?”
“In any case, you have nothing. Aside from this semester’s academy tuition.”
Wait.
Academy tuition?
My eyes lit up before I could stop myself.
Fortunately, Isaac happened to be looking elsewhere at that moment.
If he had seen my eyes just then, he might have drawn his sword immediately.
‘So there is at least money for tuition?’
Even though Count Edwell had sent me off with nothing but miserable clothes, it seemed he had at least provided enough money for his son’s education.
Apparently, because he did not trust me, he had entrusted the money to Isaac.
That was actually fortunate for me.
I calmly set my mind to work.
Just in case Isaac could somehow hear the gears turning in my head, I even took a small step away from him....
‘I am destined to be expelled from the academy anyway. Even if I pay the tuition and return to school, it will all be for nothing once I am expelled. At that point, I might as well consider the tuition gone along with everything else.’
But what if I was not expelled?
What if I withdrew voluntarily instead?
Whatever else happened, would I not at least be able to recover the tuition?
‘As far as I know, Arnia Academy’s tuition is expensive even compared to academies in other regions.’
I could not ask Isaac exactly how much it was.
Of all people, he was someone I had deceived countless times in the past. He became suspicious over even the smallest thing I did.
‘I do not know the exact amount, but if it is tuition for Arnia Academy, which is considered the finest academy in the Empire, it should at least cover three or four months of rent for that storefront.’
I quietly closed my eyes.
Then I ran through various scenarios in my head, trying to determine how I could survive in this world.
When I slowly opened my eyes again, Isaac was standing before me with a peculiar look on his face.
“Isaac. Is there any chance I could become the head of the family?”
“Your jokes are especially excessive today. Would it not be more likely for me to become a Swordmaster?”
“If one of my siblings becomes the head of the family instead, what are the chances they would support me?”
“For now, at least the Count is still barely willing to put up with you. But if any one of your elder brothers becomes the head of the family, they will undoubtedly cast you out.”
“Why?”
“Because not all of the assets you squandered necessarily belonged to you in the first place.”
“Oh, Lord.”
This was driving me insane.
The main scenario had not even begun yet.
Just what kind of life had Maxim Edwell lived before the start of the game to end up in a situation this terrible?
‘Then there really is only one answer.’
The simulations in my head and my conversation with Isaac had made it clear.
‘Coffee is what I am best at, so it is also my only real way to survive here.’
I was certain now.
All that remained was to act.
I gestured to Isaac.
“Let us go, Isaac.”
“Where are you planning to go this time?”
“Where else? To the academy, of course.”
“Oh! You have finally returned to us, Young Master!”
“Returned?”
“To the intelligent and diligent Young Master you were when you were a child! You have finally decided on your future! You have made the right choice! The Count will be overjoyed!”
“Really?”
“Of course! I hate to admit it, but I have felt for some time now that you somehow seem more intelligent than before. So I was not imagining it after all. You have been studying in secret without telling me because you intended to return to the academy! Is that not right?”
“Right. I absolutely have to go to the academy.”
Isaac’s expression was brighter than I had ever seen it.
That probably meant he was genuinely happy with my decision this time.
I had not dared tell him that I intended to withdraw from the academy because I was afraid he might draw his sword again.
It seemed I had made the right choice by keeping quiet.
“Climb onto my back, Young Master! I will take you there at once!”
“Then pardon me for a moment.”
Sorry, Isaac.
Please forgive your worthless young master.