Chapter 83 – 083. Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
083. Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated into the Baek Family
I stood at the main entrance of the Plun Knights training grounds.
A young squire, who was acting as a gatekeeper at the entrance, saw me and rushed over. It was the same impudent squire I had seen when I first came here.
“Young Master Eugene! You’ve arrived!”
The squire bowed his head towards me and greeted me loudly. There was no trace of his previous arrogant attitude.
“I’ve come to see Sir Embis. Guide me.”
I said the exact same line as before.
The squire’s back bent even further.
“Yes, sir! I will guide you right away!”
Two weeks had passed since Lexi’s attempted rape incident. During that time, I had consistently visited the Plun Knights. It was to improve my relationship with the Knight Commander, Hent, and to make him support me.
‘I’ve almost got him. I didn’t expect it to be this effective so quickly.’
What I had overlooked was that entertainment did not exist in this world. There was no TV, of course, and the literary world was also narrow.
Commoners were too busy making a living to be interested in literature. Even if they were interested, they would quickly get bored. Most of the books in this world were for knowledge, not for entertainment.
The typical forms of entertainment in this world were plays and circuses.
‘Should I sell novels at this point…? No, that’s too much of a hassle.’
Books don’t just appear out of thin air, and how many commoners would actually buy books at the high cost of paper? Above all, the text would have to be translated into the language of this world. The effort required was too much compared to the potential profit.
Moreover, the majority of commoners were illiterate.
“Um… Young Master Eugene.”
The squire, who was walking ahead, spoke to me.
“Yes?”
“Can I buy cigarettes right now?”
I chuckled. It seemed that the entire Plun Knights had become addicted to cigarettes, and the squire had also learned the taste.
“Of course. You know the price, right?”
There was no reason not to sell if he was going to buy them.
“Hehe. Of course.”
The squire took out a black silver coin from his pocket. It was worth 100,000 Ner.
“You’re buying two packs at once?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“No, it’s fine. Don’t you need a lighter?”
“N-no, it’s okay.”
I nodded. It wasn’t difficult to get fire anyway.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you!”
“By the way, what’s your monthly salary?”
“1 million Ner!”
I nodded.
Compared to ordinary commoners, it was definitely a small income. However, considering that he was a squire, it wasn’t that little. As a squire, he lived in the training ground’s dormitory, so he didn’t need to spend money on living expenses.
‘Once he becomes a full knight from a squire, he’ll receive treatment that’s incomparable to what he gets now.’
I looked at the squire, who was happily putting the cigarettes in his pocket. This guy would also become one of my main customers in the future.
***
“Young Master Eugene! You’ve arrived!”
Hent greeted me with a bright face. The metal watch on his left wrist was gleaming. It was a gift I had given him.
I had been consistently visiting Hent and giving him bribes in the name of gifts. The amount of money I had spent on Hent was almost 3 million won.
“I’m here again today. I’m not being a nuisance, am I?”
“Of course not, Young Master. Please, please, have a seat.”
It was fortunate that Hent was a mercenary. He didn’t have that damn knightly spirit, and he was materialistic, so the gifts were very effective.
“Sir Embis, have you had lunch?”
“I have not. The menu today was not very good.”
He probably hadn’t eaten lunch on purpose because he knew I would come. I had visited at this time yesterday as well.
“Then why don’t we eat together? I haven’t had lunch either.”
“How can I refuse when Young Master Eugene is offering?”
Hent gulped.
Most of the things I brought were modern foods. The taste was stimulating and amazing. It was on a different level from the bland food of this era.
“Today it’s chicken. I saw you enjoyed it last time. Of course, I brought beer too. German beer.”
“Chicken and beer! Chimaek!”
Hent’s eyes were sparkling so much that it was almost overwhelming. I understood. This combination was a guaranteed success.
“Ugh. This golden, crispy fried food! How on earth do you make it?”
Hent asked while tearing into a piece of fried chicken.
“It’s just chicken fried in oil, as the name suggests?”
“Actually, I couldn’t forget the taste from the last time I ate it, so I pestered the chef at home to make chicken.”
“Oh, did they succeed?”
I asked while chugging down beer. I had already had my coming-of-age ceremony, so no one would interfere even if I drank beer.
“They failed. It was too greasy. It was just a waste of expensive oil and chicken. Could you teach me the secret recipe?”
“Hmm. I’m not planning on revealing the Korean Secret Chicken Recipe yet. I’m sorry, but please bear with it, Sir.”
“Hoo. It’s a shame, but there’s nothing I can do. I’ll be counting the days until that Korean Secret Chicken Recipe is revealed.”
“How is this seasoned chicken?”
“It’s amazing. It doesn’t need words. It’s slightly spicy and sweet… I almost had it all taken away by Lexi when I tried to take it home last time.”
“What about the soy sauce chicken?”
“The salty taste is superb. I think it’s just as good as the seasoned chicken. However, my preference is fried. The outside is crispy and the inside is juicy… It’s perfect for my taste. Above all, it seems to go best with beer.”
“What if I opened a chicken restaurant in the city?”
“Are you serious?!”
Hent’s voice rose.
“I’m just asking. I don’t have any plans right now.”
“…I got too excited. Of course, I would welcome it. If a restaurant that sells chicken of this quality opened, I might go there every day.”
“Is that so.”
Certainly, chicken was a business item that couldn’t fail. In reality, there were so many competitors, but in this world, there were no competitors. Judging from Hent’s reaction, he would buy it even if the quality of the chicken was low.
‘I need to start a business too. I can’t just keep bringing things from reality forever.’
Chickens were common livestock in this world as well. However, they seemed a bit different from the chickens we eat. They tasted worse, I should say.
‘The chicken problem is easy. I can bring fertilized eggs and hatch them.’
The age-old question. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In this world, the egg comes first.
‘There are plenty of chicken recipes on the internet… Hmm. I just need to properly train people, right?’
I wasn’t planning on doing it right away just because it was possible. I couldn’t do it alone, and it was hard to think that it would be more profitable than cigarettes.
The meal was over. Hent had eaten most of it. As a knight who worked his body, he had devoured three chickens in no time.
“Sir Embis.”
I called him in a serious tone.
“Yes, Young Master Eugene. Please speak.”
“Could you teach me the swordsmanship of the Plun Knights?”
“Ah. Are you also interested in swordsmanship, Young Master Eugene?”
I smiled wryly. Certainly, looking at my frail body now, swordsmanship didn’t suit me.
“Even though I look like this, I’m a member of the Prucus family.”
“Oh dear. I misspoke.”
“It’s okay.”
I recalled Jin Woosung’s words.
He had said that putting aside the Yeongcheon Style for a while and learning other swordsmanship to improve my skills was also a method.
‘And I’m interested in the swordsmanship of this world. It wouldn’t be bad to learn it.’
The more, the better.
I liked that saying. If I learned various swordsmanship, it would definitely be helpful someday.
“Since your heart condition has also improved recently… it should be okay for a short time.”
“Hmm. I’m really healthy these days. I do have seizures sometimes… well, the cycle is about once a week.”
It was a lie. The seizures were just acting that I did occasionally. I had to let people know about my frailty so that I could use it.
“……This. I can’t take my eyes off you. I will teach you myself.”
“Don’t worry. My body is really fine these days.”
“Young Master, have you learned the mana breathing technique?”
Mana breathing technique. As the name suggests, it was a breathing technique that drew mana into the body. If you kept repeating it, you would be able to feel and use mana.
It was a top-tier secret technique that ordinary commoners could not obtain.
As the son of a great lord, I had easy access to the mana breathing technique.
“……I’ve tried it, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect.”
I said with a hint of depression. I had done the mana breathing technique properly. I had even called the head butler, Hasent, to check. But it had no effect. There was no difference between doing the mana breathing technique and just breathing.
“The mana breathing technique must be practiced consistently. The change doesn’t happen immediately.”
“Is that so.”
I replied weakly. My mood sank whenever I thought about the mana breathing technique. I might be mana-blind.
Thinking about it again, I desperately needed a mana awakening potion.
“You will be able to feel it if you keep practicing the mana breathing technique.”
Hent got up from his seat. He headed towards the wall. His swords were arranged on the wall. A total of 13. They looked similar.
Hent picked up the sword I had given him recently.
“That sword. It’s the one I gave you as a gift, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I feel happy every time I see this sword these days. It’s not a famous sword, but it’s a very excellent one. Where did you get a sword like this?”
It was a sword worth about 2 million won.
It was a mass-produced item sold at a hunter shop. It was made with modern technology, so it was superior to most swords in this world. In particular, its appearance was simple yet stylish.
“I just happened to find it. It suits you well.”
“Haha. Managing this sword is my daily routine these days. It’s a very cool sword.”
Like all knights, Hent was also crazy about swords.
“Then, Young Master Eugene, let’s go to the training ground.”
“Let’s do that.”
I followed Hent.
‘…I can smell cigarettes everywhere.’
It was quite severe. I knew that the entire Plun Knights smoked, but I didn’t know they would become such chain smokers in just two weeks.
I glanced out the window. Six knights were huddled together, smoking. When I turned my gaze a little more, I saw a knight leaning against the window, smoking.
‘It’s the scene I imagined, but… what the hell. How can knights have so little self-control?’
Seeing it with my own eyes, the popularity of cigarettes was much higher than I had thought.
“Sir Embis, how popular are the cigarettes?”
“They’re so popular that we can’t get enough of them. These days, everyone smokes during break time. Of course, I do too.”
“……It’s not very pleasing to the eye. How about making a separate smoking area?”
“I was worried about that too. I’ll try to make a smoking area in a suitable place.”
***
I learned the basic Prucus swordsmanship from Hent for about an hour. I was holding a wooden sword in my hand.
It was said to be basic swordsmanship that any knight or soldier belonging to Prucus could do.
“Your posture is good, but it’s not smooth.”
It was simply a matter of skill.
The basic Prucus swordsmanship was closer to physical training. It didn’t require any special talent like the Yeongcheon Style.
“It’s quite difficult.”
“The purpose of basic training is to build the muscles needed to wield a sword. If you continue to practice swordsmanship, Young Master Eugene, you must train in basic swordsmanship for at least three hours every day.”
“Three hours every day… It seems difficult for my frail body.”
“It can’t be helped since you were born with a weak body.”
I didn’t have a real interest in the Prucus family’s swordsmanship. I had the Yeongcheon Style.
“I heard that my older brothers, Gent and Kyle, have outstanding talent in swordsmanship. What about my talent?”
The eldest and second sons of the Prucus family were even called geniuses of the sword. Currently, Gent, the eldest son, was considered more outstanding, but the evaluation would change later when Kyle revealed his skills.
Hent smiled awkwardly at my question, then spoke to me with a serious face.
“This could be a matter of your future, Young Master Eugene… so I will be honest.”
“That’s what I want.”
I expected what he would say next.
“You have no talent, Young Master Eugene. If you keep practicing the mana breathing technique… you might become a knight… but your talent in swordsmanship is at the level of an ordinary soldier. Even if I look at it favorably, it’s at the level of an elite soldier. It seems impossible to go beyond that.”
It was quite a harsh statement.
“Is that so.”
“……Aren’t you angry?”
“I don’t feel like getting angry about something I don’t have. The world isn’t all about swords. Isn’t that right?”
“You are right, Young Master. There are limits to what you can do with a sword. You are wise.”
It was just a random thing I said.
I wasn’t angry because I didn’t have high expectations in the first place. I already knew my talent.
‘I have the game-like system and the Yeongcheon Style.’
