Episode 8. Building the Foundation (4)

“Juliet!”

A warm afternoon sun was shining down.

With a cheerful smile, I approached my long-lost friend, basking in the sunlight.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought and didn’t even notice you called me!”

“…Huh?”

“Long time no see, buddy! How’ve you been?”

I casually slung my arm around Juliet, who looked flustered.

“…Hey.”

“Sorry to ask right after meeting, but can you lend me 1 million gold? I need it urgently.”

“What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you rich? Come on, 1 million gold shouldn’t be a big deal for you, right?”

Juliet’s face twisted in anger.

“You crazy bastard!”

“Ouch.”

Without hesitation, Juliet swung her fist at me, the “rug,” who was spouting nonsense.

Even though it was a casual punch, the natural flow of magic power showed that Juliet had quite a high level of skill.

But, well.

She’s still just a rookie.

“Ha, really. Making a fuss over a few coins.”

The rich are always stingier.

-Thud!

I lightly caught the fist aimed at my face and twisted her wrist with force.

“Ahhh!”

A scream of pain erupted from Juliet.

Thanks to the magic power, her wrist didn’t break, but the pain must’ve been intense.

“You… you bastard!”

Juliet drew the rapier from her waist and charged at me.

A fierce light from the Holy Mark gathered at the tip of the sword, blazing fiercely.

It was even more intense than when I dueled Felix.

“Move aside, punk.”

Berald Martial Arts.

Sword Breaker.

-Crash!

I dodged the sword that shot like an arrow and struck the blade with the edge of my hand.

The magic power condensed at the edge of my hand made it stronger than steel.

“Huh…?”

The sword broke like a twig.

I kicked between Juliet’s legs as if kicking a ball.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!”

Juliet screamed horrifically, clutching her groin and collapsing.

“Ahhh!”

“What are you doing to our senior?!”

“Senior Juliet!”

The female candidates gathered in the distance screamed.

I smirked at them.

“I have something to discuss with my friend… Could you give us some space?”

“Why are you friends with our senior?!”

“Get away from Senior Juliet right now!”

“I’m calling the professor…!”

“Sigh.”

Seriously.

They’re so annoying.

“You really don’t get it, huh?”

I glared at them with a hint of killing intent.

“Get lost.”

“…!”

“Eek!”

The chattering candidates froze like frogs facing a snake.

Their faces turned pale, and their legs trembled pitifully.

Some even had their skirts soaked.

‘What the…’

I didn’t expect them to wet themselves.

‘Are they overreacting just because I let out a bit of killing intent?’

I wondered if they were really hero candidates.

‘Well, I guess it’s a natural reaction.’

Judging by their badges, they seemed like freshmen who hadn’t even experienced sparring, let alone real combat.

They’ve probably never felt killing intent before.

Not the fake kind, but the kind forged through thousands of deaths.

‘Dealing with kids is tough.’

I smiled bitterly and withdrew my killing intent.

“Sniff. Sob.”

“Waaaaah!”

The candidates burst into tears and ran away.

“Now that the distractions are gone.”

I looked down at Juliet, who was clutching her groin and groaning, and smirked.

“Shall we finish our conversation, friend?”

* * *

“Y-you want to borrow money?”

Juliet, barely recovering from the pain, asked in a trembling voice.

“Yeah.”

“H-how much?”

The confident demeanor from earlier was gone. Juliet, despite his handsome looks, now had a pitiful expression.

“Huh? Didn’t I say earlier?”

“Don’t tell me… you really want to borrow 1 million gold?”

“Would I ask for fake money?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! How can I lend you 1 million gold?!”

Juliet shouted, the amount far beyond common sense.

I smiled and waved my clenched fist in front of Juliet.

Juliet’s face turned pale.

“S-sorry! I was wrong! Don’t hit me!”

“Hey, why so cold between friends? Who said anything about hitting?”

I chuckled and lowered my raised fist.

Juliet bit his lip and spoke in a trembling voice.

“…Sorry. Even I don’t have 1 million gold.”

“Hmm.”

Well.

Even for a rich kid, 1 million gold isn’t easy to come by.

“You might not have the money, but your father does, right?”

“…You want me to ask my dad for money?”

Juliet looked at me like I was crazy.

“Are you insane?”

“Your dad loves you, right?”

“Even so, how can I ask for 1 million gold?!”

Juliet shook his head, saying it was nonsense.

I looked at Juliet and recalled a memory from my past life.

‘Juliet Kang.’

Even after so much time, his name came to mind easily, not just because he bullied me.

There were many candidates who bullied me, an orphan and perpetual underdog.

‘Actually, he wasn’t the worst.’

He only bullied me to show off in front of junior female candidates.

But the reason his name stuck was because of one incident.

Once, the name Juliet Kang shook the entire school.

‘He had a unique hobby.’

His “hobby” would be exposed about half a year later, but he was probably still indulging in it now.

The secret hobby he hid was…

“Juliet. Let me see your Hero Watch.”

“…What?”

Juliet’s face turned even paler than before.

Hero Watch.

A magical tool created through the combined efforts of the Republic’s engineering, the Empire’s alchemy, and the Holy Kingdom’s magic stone purification.

Originally called the “Multi-Functional Watch,” it became known as the Hero Watch because only those with magic power could use it.

“W-why do you want my Hero Watch?”

Juliet hugged the watch on his wrist, looking at me with suspicion.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his pure reaction.

“Why? Is there something you can’t show others?”

“N-no, of course not!”

“Then it’s fine to show me, right?”

“Eek…!”

Juliet hesitated, taking a step back.

Just as he was about to turn and run.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“Ahhh!”

-Smack!

I kicked Juliet’s shin as he tried to escape.

I took the Hero Watch from his fallen wrist.

“G-give it back!”

“Wait a sec.”

I tried to activate the watch by channeling magic, and a lock symbol appeared.

‘Of course, he put a lock on it.’

Probably a lock that only Juliet’s magic could open.

‘Well, breaking this lock is easy.’

I had learned from Senior Sophia how to temporarily alter the nature of magic.

-Ding.

I mimicked Juliet’s magic, and the lock on the Hero Watch opened, revealing a hologram screen.

I searched through the hologram and found…

Photos of Juliet dressed in women’s clothing, striking all sorts of seductive poses.

“Ugh, my eyes.”

Juliet’s natural looks weren’t bad, so even in drag, it wasn’t unbearable.

But the sight of a hairy man in a frilly skirt posing provocatively was enough to torment my eyes.

“H-how did you…?”

“Let’s see. First, I’ll transfer these photos to my Hero Watch… Okay.”

After transferring all the photos from Juliet’s Hero Watch, I handed it back to him, who was trembling and pale.

“1 million gold. Can you get it?”

“W-what are you going to do with those photos…?”

“Answer.”

“…Y-yes.”

Tears welled up in Juliet’s eyes.

He put the Hero Watch back on his wrist and sobbed.

“I-it’s not possible right away…”

“I’ll give you a week. Get it by then.”

“Sob…”

“Hey, why the tears? I’m not taking it, I’m borrowing it. I’ll pay you back, buddy.”

Don’t you trust your friend?

“Waaaaah!”

“Tsk tsk.”

I clicked my tongue lightly, looking down at Juliet, who was crying pitifully.

‘Money problem solved.’

I didn’t expect to secure research funds so easily.

But hey, good things are good.

“Ugh!”

I stretched and looked up at the sun.

With the money issue resolved, I felt lighter.

‘Come to think of it, I’m a bit hungry.’

I’d been running around since morning, and lunchtime had long passed.

‘The cafeteria’s probably closed.’

I kicked Juliet, who was still sitting and crying.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes?”

“Here’s 500 shillings. Go to the store and buy two breads and a large milk.”

“…500 shillings isn’t enough.”

Even though the school store is cheap, two breads and a large milk would cost at least 3 gold and 500 shillings.

“So?”

Are you asking me for more money?

“N-no! I’ll get it right away! Just wait a bit!”

“Ah, wait.”

I grabbed Juliet’s shoulder as he was about to run to the store.

“Eek… What? Do you want more?”

“No, nothing more.”

I smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Bring back 5 gold as change.”

“……”

I won’t need to worry about money for a while.