I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 48

“…!?”

The rapidly connected magic spread under the feet of the fighting thieves.

In an instant, the friction coefficient of the ground decreased dramatically, like an ice rink.

But surprisingly, none of them fell. The three bandits, having some experience, managed to stay upright despite staggering.

The problem was that their opponent was a knight.

“Hiyaah!”

The knight didn’t miss the opportunity and drew out a long aura.

Judging by the length of the aura, it seemed he thought this attack would be the last and put all his strength into it.

Wooong―

The brilliant golden aura momentarily illuminated the sunset-lit pass.

Squelch.

Thud.

The process was beautiful, but the result was horrific.

One had his head severed, and another was cut in half, his upper body rolling away in two pieces.

But it wasn’t enough.

One bandit, barely outside the range of the aura, charged with eyes rolled back.

“Since it’s come to this, you die too!”

“……!”

The knight tried to move his sword, but he was a step too late.

His body had stiffened from the aftereffects of using all his mana to draw out the aura.

Just as the bandit’s sword was about to pierce the knight’s neck.

“Light.”

Bang.

“Argh!”

“Ah!”

A high-intensity light burst between them.

Both the bandit and the knight screamed and closed their eyes.

The difference was that the startled bandit’s sword slashed through empty air.

And the knight, even in that moment, sensed his opponent’s presence and punched him as he approached.

Crack.

The mana-infused gauntlet struck the bandit’s face.

With a terrible sound, the bandit’s neck broke, and he died instantly on the spot.

“Huff, huff…”

The knight confirmed that all the bandits were dead and took a deep breath.

But there was no time to rest yet.

The knight, who was trying to calm his trembling legs by leaning on his sword, shouted.

“Thank you for your help! Who are you?”

At those words, Randell emerged from the bushes.

“…A boy?”

The knight was surprised by the younger-than-expected appearance.

Instead of answering, Randell once again conjured fire magic on his palm.

“Phew! So you’re a magician.”

“I was just passing by and saw you were in trouble, so I intervened. Was it unnecessary?”

“No, it was very much appreciated.”

With those words, the knight sat down on a tree stump, looking relieved.

Then, as if waiting for this moment, someone appeared.

“Oh! Thank you, magician.”

It was the boy the knight was protecting.

Although he seemed older than Randell, the boy’s casual speech made Randell’s face stiffen.

But he soon nodded.

Nobles were always like that, so it wasn’t surprising.

However, there was one thing that had changed from the past.

“Yes, that’s right. We should help each other.”

Now, Randell was also capable of speaking informally.

“Yes, that sentiment is commendable. Although, I could have won even without your interference.”

Randell looked back at the knight and said.

“Sir Knight? Didn’t you say it wasn’t unnecessary?”

“No, no! It was indeed a timely help. My lord, please!”

“Why? Did I say something wrong? Clark, are you saying you couldn’t have defeated those lowly bandits on your own?”

“Well… it’s not that I couldn’t.”

“Yes, even though you were on the verge of being expelled from the knight order for not training daily and just chasing after women…”

“Please, my lord!”

The knight named Clark pleaded with a tearful face.

It was truly impressive that the boy could make a knight, who had just sliced through four people, wear such an expression.

And the boy, or rather the noble, still looked at the knight as if he couldn’t understand him.

“Sigh.”

Randell shook his head inwardly.

Sometimes, there are people who are just impossible to deal with.

The noble had no intention of mocking anyone. He was just being sincere.

Knowing that, the knight must have been even more driven mad.

‘I can roughly guess why the bandits attacked.’

Bandits usually don’t kill people on the main roads.

If the number of missing people increases, a punitive force will come, and they need to instill the perception that you can pass safely as long as you pay the toll to make more money in the long run.

Despite that, the reason they attacked those two was probably because the bandits lost their minds.

It’s easy to endure insults meant to mock or criticize you.

Because you understand the other person’s intention.

If you react exactly as they want when they say something to upset you, they get even more satisfaction.

But what about this noble?

He has no intention of criticizing; he just sincerely thinks that way.

Saying it seems like you strangled your mother and buried her?

That’s not even an insult.

As a bandit, you wouldn’t care about your parents, and living a life of bloodshed would give you anger management issues.

Becoming a bandit might have stemmed from family discord, so it’s possible you could have done that to a mother who worries but doesn’t know how to give affectionate advice!

This is the sincere conclusion reached after such a strict deduction.

So, you can’t ignore it, and the more you try to endure it, the more damage it does.

That’s probably why the bandits went wild.

“But it’s suspicious, wizard.”

At the sudden remark, Randell turned his head to see the noble looking at him with narrowed eyes.

“What’s suspicious?”

“How could you appear just as if you were waiting for the right moment?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“The timing was too perfect. You showed up right in the middle of the fight, just to finish it off and strike a pose.”

“So, you’re saying I’m in cahoots with these thieves? That I pretended to save you just to get close to you?”

“Yes.”

Randell was dumbfounded.

This wasn’t some third-rate romance scam, and he didn’t even know who they were, so why would he do such a thing?

When he looked at the knight with a glimmer of hope, the knight also shook his head with a wry smile.

This must mean it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

“How many novels have you read?”

“Novels? I’ve read a lot. Our family has a large library, and I’ve read all the books there—”

“Enough. I’m leaving.”

With those words, Randell turned his head.

He hadn’t done it expecting anything in return anyway.

Besides, those two didn’t seem like they would pose any threat to Randell’s sleep tonight.

So, it was more profitable to go back and heat up some stew before the sun completely set.

But the nobleman grabbed Randell.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“I still have my doubts.”

“So what.”

“But I can’t deny that you were of some help. This is your reward.”

With that, the nobleman tossed a money pouch.

Randell caught it deftly and waved his hand silently.

He thought it had been a while since he’d met such a troublesome client.

* * *

“Huh, this guy is really crazy.”

Back at the campsite, Randell looked inside the pouch and let out a sigh.

Inside were not copper coins, nor silver coins, but gold coins clinking together.

Fifty of them, no less.

‘Even if I did help, giving me this much?’

Moreover, the guy seriously thought Randell had just lent a hand.

And yet, he tossed fifty gold coins as if it were lunch money.

‘Still, he was a madman with manners.’

Randell thought as he tucked the pouch into his bosom.

50 gold was an amount that would have taken Randell more than half a year to earn even when he was working as a mercenary.

Of course, now he could make that much money by selling just a fingernail-sized piece of mithril from his subspace.

But perhaps because he had lived his whole life without it?

The heaviness of the money pouch suddenly lifted his spirits.

“Hmm, if I ever meet him again, I should treat him better.”

Randell muttered to himself as he savored the stew.

* * *

“Finally, I’ve arrived.”

Randell murmured as he looked at the castle wall in front of him.

In fact, this stone wall, which was only 3 meters high, was hardly worthy of being called a castle wall.

Instead, it was long. From this entrance, it stretched so far to both ends that it couldn’t be seen at a glance.

Seeing that, he could guess the scale of the city.

‘As expected of the largest commercial city in the mid-north.’

Molbeth was the largest city in the mid-north.

Of course, it was smaller than the capital, but it was nine times larger than Endis Castle, where Randell had been.

Moreover, Molbeth was a commercial city. The taxes collected here were more than nine times those of Endis.

And with that money, they could equip knights and soldiers, resulting in a large number of strong soldiers.

Naturally, the lord who ruled Molbeth could be said to be the strongest in the mid-north.

‘It’s a place where causing trouble would be a headache.’

Randell had visited Molbeth before as an escort for a merchant group.

Perhaps because it was a commercial city, merchants were treated better than other professions.

Even for the same offense, merchants received lighter punishments and various conveniences.

Especially on days when mercenaries got drunk and caused trouble for merchants, there was no mercy.

So he remembered staying quietly at the inn like a mouse and then leaving.

‘But it’s different now.’

Why does the lord favor merchants?

Naturally, because this is a commercial city.

But if you were to point out a more fundamental reason, it would be the lord’s greed.

The lord’s family loved money, so a commercial city was created, and naturally, they favored merchants who brought in that money.

It was only natural that the lower classes followed the example of the upper classes.

So here, not only the lord but also the soldiers and residents were obsessed with money.

In both good and bad ways.

Of course, when Randell visited this place in the past, it came across in a bad way. He was a poor mercenary, after all.

But now that he had money?

‘It’s good. A good town indeed.’

Randell walked leisurely towards the castle gate.

The castle wall was long, and there were three gates on the north side where Randell had come.

Despite the fact that carriages, peddlers, and nobles used other entrances, and even though it was the less frequented northern entrance, the line of people waiting for inspection was very long.

As Randell was assessing the people, Aris spoke.

―It will take a long time.

‘How long do you think we’ll have to wait?’

―Inspection, 1 minute 28 seconds per person.

‘So how long do I have to wait?’

―There are 217 people, so at least 5 hours and 30 minutes.

‘I see.’

―Still, the second line is the fastest. 4 hours and 50 minutes.

No matter which line he stood in, it meant he wouldn’t be able to enter before sunset.

And by then, the lodgings where Randell could stay would already be empty.

But as mentioned earlier, this place, Molbet, loved money more than anywhere else.

In both good and bad ways.

Randell fearlessly headed towards the entrance reserved for nobles.

As Randell, who was clearly a commoner in a dusty robe without any escort, approached, the guard glared and blocked his way.

“Don’t be like that, let’s shake hands.”

Randell, showing the pouch at his waist, extended his hand as if he was pleased to meet the guard.

The guard gladly took Randell’s hand and shook it.

Of course, the guard also discreetly took the 1 gold coin that Randell had in his palm.

“Welcome to Molbet.”

The city that used to take all day to enter, this time he passed through in less than a minute, even receiving a greeting.

Randell couldn’t hide his sense of pride.

‘Money really is the best.’

Who said that?

That there’s nothing you can’t do if you have enough money.

If you encounter something you can’t solve even with a lot of money, it means you still don’t have enough money.

* * *

“What kind of inn is this?”

Randell muttered in the comfort that money brought him.

With his face submerged in the water, bubbles of air rose to the surface every time he spoke.

Randell was now soaking in a large wooden bath, looking up at the ceiling.

When he raised his hand, smooth, scented water flowed down between his fingers.

The bath was even larger than the room he had newly acquired in the lord’s castle.

His whole body felt languid in the hot water.

‘When was the last time I enjoyed such luxury?’

Suddenly, he remembered staying in a village with hot springs long ago.

It was a place where hot water gushed out if you dug near the stream, and they had built a makeshift hot spring by stacking stones.

The romance of lying in that hot spring, having taken off his armor and weapons, and seeing the Milky Way glittering like a sprinkle of sparkling salt.

“No, this is better. There were so many mosquitoes there, and this is a 50-gold-a-night place.”

Randell smiled as he looked at the luxurious wooden ceiling.