How to survive as a beggar count

Chapter 11

The training with recovery magic was simple, but the results were undeniable.

In just a few days, I could feel my shoulders widening and my limbs becoming more muscular.

On top of that, with three meals a day of gukbap, my nutrition was well taken care of, so it wasn’t just fat or bloating.

Although the recovery magic increased the mana in my body, there was no noticeable rank increase yet.

I hadn’t been one to train seriously, so I couldn’t expect a huge rank jump overnight.

‘Still, I should be able to handle low-rank opponents easily.’

Low-rank.

The massive wall that stood between rank 3 and rank 4.

Before this, the difference between ranks wasn’t that significant.

In swordsmanship, for example, you couldn’t even pull out aura, and in magic, the casting time was long enough that it wasn’t very threatening.

With just strength and estimation, it was enough to cover the gap.

Crack.

I clenched my fist, and the tendons on my firm hand bulged. The difference in strength was clear.

“Seems like you’ve been busy lately.”

“Ah. Yes. I have.”

Aimon, sitting across from me, spoke in a somewhat weak voice.

Today, since the timing was a bit off, we had breakfast together, not in the training ground but at the dining table.

Of course, it was the same gukbap that had been made in a large pot.

‘This is just right for my taste. Is this bad?’

Aimon, curious, tried some, and his reaction was no different from Irene’s.

Still, there was plenty of meat in his soup as well.

“…You’ve had a lot of trouble, huh.”

Hearing Aimon’s words, I momentarily questioned my ears.

Since being trapped in Ian’s body, I hadn’t heard a gentle tone like that.

But beneath his words, there was a hint of unspoken regret.

He probably thought his son had finally decided to turn over a new leaf.

At the same time, I felt a sense of loss.

Why now?

At a time when the family’s future seemed as fragile as a candle in the wind, was he suddenly changing his mind? Was he thinking that the Impera family might fall, and now was the time for his son to change?

Even so, as a parent, it was unthinkable to scold a son who had decided to turn his life around.

It wasn’t too late now, no, maybe it was already late, but I should help my son rise again.

Aimon’s brief words conveyed the complexity of his feelings.

“Is there anything you need? I will help as much as I can.”

Aimon smiled warmly at his son.

The middle-aged father, whose hair had turned half-gray, looked even more pitiful because of the porridge he was eating.

Even though it had meat, it was still just porridge.

It wasn’t my intention, but what he was clinging to was his only comfort.

To an outsider, the visual of the gukbap would probably look no different from the porridge.

‘Even if you’re poor, at least take care of your food. Is there nothing other than porridge and bread?’

That’s the most painful thing.

Not living in a good house? Wearing shabby clothes? That’s all sad enough, but the real sorrow comes from something else.

Living miserably, struggling to get by because of food.

If you were to argue, all three of the things I just mentioned are things the Count’s family can’t do.

But for a nobleman like a Count to be eating porridge and bread just to save a few coins—it wasn’t exactly a cheerful life.

“There’s nothing I need yet. I’ll let you know if anything comes up later.”

‘I wish I could get some elixir for him… but that’s a bit much for our territory.’

“Hm…? Alright. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Yes, Father.”

Aimon flinched slightly at his son’s unexpected response.

Ian had been a reckless brat, but to Aimon, Ian was just his young son.

It seemed that Aimon, now that Ian had finally come to his senses, wanted to do something for him.

Aimon quietly ate his porridge, looking a bit disappointed.

Slurp.

Without saying much, I finished my bowl of gukbap cleanly.

It tasted the same as always, but for some reason, today the aftertaste felt strangely empty. Maybe it was because I ate with Aimon?

‘Hmm… something sweet and sour sounds good right now.’

No matter how delicious a dish is, eating the same thing every day gets tiring.

It was time to look for something new to eat.

“Something sweet and sour….”

***

I remembered from my childhood.

When we visited the country house, my grandmother would always peel fruit for us even after we had eaten our fill.

At the time, I didn’t understand why, but now, as I grew older, I got it.

Once you finish your meal, you should have dessert too.

With enough meat for now, it was time to go get some dessert.

Whirr…!

“Good job.”

Thanks to riding a horse, I arrived just after lunch.

The horse, which had been running for hours, was now laboring with its tired steps.

The Impera family had only one horse. It was strange that a Count’s territory could be this poor.

The horse was so malnourished that its bones were visible, and it seemed frail as though it hadn’t eaten enough hay.

If the people can’t even eat properly, there’s no way the animals are doing better.

It was a small miracle that it managed to carry me all the way here.

“Hah!”

“You’re the son of Count Impera, right?”

“Why is someone like you here, suddenly…?”

Because I was wearing the splendid clothes I usually wore, the villagers quickly recognized me.

“G-Gongja-nim!”

As soon as I appeared without warning, the village chief of Eruvel rushed toward me in a hurry.

He was an elderly man, over seventy, with stark white hair.

He looked like he could barely lie down, but he seemed to have just been working as his hands were covered in dirt.

The village chief immediately prostrated himself on the ground next to the horse.

It seemed that in the past, Ian had used the village chief as a stepping stone when prostrated like this.

That shouldn’t be the case, though.

“Hmm…?”

As I jumped off the horse, the village chief tilted his head but didn’t say anything further.

“Is this Eruvel?”

“Yes! It is!”

“I’ve found it correctly, then.”

The path wasn’t properly marked, so it had been quite the challenge to get here.

“Then, Your Highness Gongja… What brings you to such a humble place…?”

“I was looking for something, so I stopped by for a bit.”

“Aha… I see. If you need anything, just let me know, and I will immediately obey.”

The villagers glanced at me cautiously, but no one approached.

Since Ian’s reckless actions had already become notorious, no one seemed eager to get involved.

However, among them, there was one person who stood out.

“Hah!”

A young man who was pulling a cart full of fruit.

As soon as he saw my face, he turned pale, almost as white as paper, and even made a strange, gasping sound.

He was the drunken man who had been loudly cursing me at the tavern.

Unlike last time, when he was drunk, he didn’t seem intoxicated now, but his face was completely drained of color.

“It’s been a while, huh?”

“Ugh…!”

“Your name was… Ram, right?”

Just then, I heard the village chief’s voice, sounding somewhat flustered.

“Do you… know my grandson?”

“Oh! He’s the village chief’s grandson? What a small world.”

Ram froze right where he stood, not moving an inch.

If he tried to run, he’d be caught; if he approached, he’d be stopped.

‘Not that I have any intention of chasing him down.’

It’s common to gossip about those above you, especially when it’s someone like Ian, so it would be odd not to curse him.

“I-I have committed a grave sin! Your Highness!”

As I approached Ram, he immediately collapsed to the ground, trembling.

“A grave sin? Could it be…?”

The village chief furrowed his brow in surprise at Ram’s words.

“Did my grandson make some mistake? I’ll make sure to discipline him properly! I cannot allow your noble hands to be sullied!”

The village chief seemed to be defending me, but his true intentions were different.

Given Ian’s disfavor, it would be hard for Ram to escape unscathed. So, the village chief was trying to convince me to forgive him by saying he would deal with it himself.

“It’s nothing major. Some guy was drunkenly cursing me while I was trying to have a drink. I couldn’t even drink a glass of water because of it.”

“Th-that…”

The village chief’s complexion turned dark. Insulting a noble was a serious crime. And if the target was Ian… there would be no hope for him.

In a hurry, the village chief’s voice grew frantic.

“It’s all my fault for not teaching him properly! If you’d rather…!”

“Enough.”

“Yes! If you’re satisfied with just my old neck… then…?”

“No. Seriously, why is everyone here so extreme? Enough, now go. I can talk to my grandson for a while, right?”

“Eh? Ah… yes.”

The village chief squinted his eyes as though he suspected something but reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll send him back right after we talk, so don’t worry.”

“Really…?”

“Come over here.”

“Yes, yes!”

The village chief, still uncertain, sent me off and called Ram over.

It was better to talk to the younger man than to be constantly addressed as ‘Your Highness’ by an elderly man.

“Ram.”

“Ah! Your Highness!”

“Could you explain more about Eruvel? As you know, I’m not very familiar with the situation in the territory.”

“Ugh…”

“Hurry.”

“Yes! Then…”

Ram spoke quickly, explaining everything about Eruvel in detail to survive.

He covered everything from the main sources of income to how taxes were collected in the village. It seemed that, being the village chief’s grandson, he knew these things well.

“Hm. Where do you mainly gather the fruit?”

“T-the fruit is mostly gathered from the mountain over there. There’s a place where fruit trees grow together, and we regularly trim the branches.”

The gathering process was going smoothly without much trouble.

Though wild animals or monsters occasionally appeared, there was a hunter in the village, so it didn’t cause major issues for the gathering.

However, there were two major problems.

First, aside from the harvest, it was hard to sell the fruit.

They had to go to the village to sell it, but the price would naturally be low because it was a poor territory like Count Impera’s.

It would be difficult to go to a neighboring territory to sell it.

In the 21st century, with the internet and well-paved roads, there wouldn’t be much of an issue.

But this was a world where swords and magic ruled.

There was no internet, and no way a remote village like this would have a paved road.

‘No wonder taxes don’t bring in much money.’

I’d also heard there were bandits around.

Naturally, there wasn’t much money circulating in Eruvel village.

‘A total mess.’

Collecting taxes in the form of money would be convenient, but it seemed like it was time for a change.

As I walked, lost in thought, I spotted a fruit tree.

Red fruit had ripened nicely, showing that someone had taken good care of it.

“Is this it?”

“Yes! This is Eruvel’s specialty, Redpin.”

“Redpin.”

That’s a strange name. It looked red on the outside, but the inside was soft and squishy—didn’t seem like an apple…

“Can I eat it?”

“Eh? Well… of course, you can. This land belongs to Your Highness, after all. Hahaha…”

He seemed to have misunderstood something, but I decided not to correct him.

Crunch!

I bit into the Redpin, skin and all, and a fragrant juice burst out.

The taste was sweet and tart, tangy like an orange.

‘Wow… this is delicious.’

The soup was tasty, but after eating it every day, I was starting to feel a bit bored.

But with just one bite of this refreshing fruit, my taste buds and even my mood felt revived.

This fruit was good enough to be used in place of money for taxes.

‘The problem is whether Aimon will approve…’

He probably would. After all, the tax wouldn’t bring in much money anyway.

“So, does Redpin grow all around here?”

“Well…”

“What is it?”

“Further in, there’s a place where Bluepins grow. They’re sweeter and have a stronger fragrance than Redpins. But this deeper area is where those guys appear often…”

“‘Those guys’?”

Ram nodded grimly.

For them, who were powerless, it was an unavoidable situation.

But it was different for me.

If the Redpin tasted this good, then if there was something even better…

“Let’s go.”

“Eh?”

“I said, let’s go. Let’s go taste this Bluepin.”