How to survive as a beggar count

Chapter 14

“Are you talking about the splint? I just… found a suitable one on the hillside and brought it back.”

I hurriedly cast the healing spell on his leg.

‘Heal.’

Boom!

As the recovery magic hit the injured leg, the twisted leg returned to its original position.

It wasn’t perfect, but the rest could be healed with time.

What I wanted to check now wasn’t Hans’s leg.

It was the splint.

“Just be careful for about a week, and your leg will be back to normal.”

“Sniff! Thank you! My lord!”

“You won’t need the splint anymore, so give it to me.”

“Huh? The splint… well… here it is.”

Hans, still dazed, handed me the splint he had been using.

I took the splint like it was a sacred relic.

Though it seemed strange to him, I didn’t have the time to care.

“Village chief.”

“Yes, my lord!”

“What’s this mushroom?”

“Mushroom? Where…?”

The village chief squinted his eyes and looked closely at the splint.

On the end of the splint, a small mushroom that looked like a white pebble had grown.

“Hmmm… This is the Snowfinger Mushroom.”

‘Just as I thought.’

“Is it edible?”

“Yes. Sometimes it’s eaten with meat, but its scent is so strong that it’s not eaten often.”

“…Crunch!”

Hearing that it was edible, I bit into the mushroom.

The Snowfinger Mushroom… The naming sense was rather unpleasant.

Despite being white and blunt, it didn’t resemble a toe at all, yet it was named so.

“Hmm.”

As I slowly savored the taste, I recalled a passage from the novel.

[Diya chopped a piece of white, blunt mushroom and dropped it into the soup. The soup, which had been bland until then, now gained a unique flavor.

She took a spoonful, tasted it, and thought that, if it weren’t for the name, it wouldn’t be a bad mushroom.]

I didn’t know exactly what kind of mushroom it was, but there was one I had eaten before that seemed similar in flavor.

Shiitake mushrooms.

Just a spoonful of shiitake powder could intensify the flavor of any dish. The taste wasn’t much different from that.

“Does it grow well around here?”

“Yes, it mainly grows next to dead pine trees.”

It was a perfect match.

“Perfect. From now on, instead of paying taxes in gold, bring Redpin, Bluepin, and this Snowfinger Mushroom. If you bring them with the roots still attached, I’ll pay double the price for them.”

“Wow! Double! Yes, my lord! Leave it to me!”

“Good. Keep up the good work.”

“Hehehe! With this…!”

What’s the most important thing when making a broth?

Obviously, it’s the stock.

Though I had been making do with boar meat to flavor the broth, it was far from the real thing.

I could use pepper, but I had learned that pepper in this area was almost as expensive as gold.

I was just thinking about what I could use to make the broth better when I came across the shiitake mushrooms.

A new spice appearing among the expensive seasonings?

It had far more potential than fruit.

I had originally planned to get a few fruits, but I ended up getting a much better return.

***

A few days after returning from Erovel.

“Hehe.”

In the backyard of the Impera Estate. Despite being a count’s mansion, it was disgustingly large.

“What’s the point? There are only three people living here, including the maid.”

I had just come to realize how much work Ilea must do.

Anyway, thanks to the mansion being so large, there were plenty of spaces to relax.

Like this cool, shaded area.

“This is perfect for mushrooms to grow.”

The morning after.

Ram, who had come back from Erovel, brought a cart full of fruit and mushrooms.

Though it was a bit bigger than the cart I had mentioned, it was probably because it was the first day.

“How much will I get for this?”

“About… 1 gold.”

“This?”

“Yes, my lord. Hehe.”

The fresh, direct delivery was indeed cheap.

Even though the cart was full, it only cost 1 gold.

It was probably worth at least 5 gold if I had bought it at the market.

For the time being, I wouldn’t have to worry about running out of food.

“You brought this too.”

A white and blunt mushroom was delicately placed on a log about the size of a forearm.

I patted Ram on the back for his hard work, and he grinned before returning to his village.

The next stop was right here.

The optimal place for cultivating mushrooms.

“Hehe~”

Humming, I spread out the mushroom-inoculated logs in a shady spot.

I planned to monitor the progress carefully and experiment with various things—such as whether the taste was similar to shiitake mushrooms, whether it could be used the same way, and if eating too much would cause any issues.

“First, I’ll ask Ilea to add a piece to the soup…”

“Hmm…? Oh, there you are, my son.”

While I was busy planting the mushrooms with dirt on my hands, Aemon quietly appeared.

I had been concerned about my son fussing around since early morning.

“Good morning, Father.”

“Hmm… Yes. By the way, what’s the cart in front of the mansion? Why is it full of fruit?”

“It’s from Erovel village.”

“Erovel?”

“Yes. As payment for taxes.”

“Wha-what? Payment for taxes? Why do such a thing…?”

“The money we’re getting isn’t much, and most importantly, we don’t have enough food. Don’t you agree?”

“Hmmm… That’s true, but…”

Aemon hesitated to speak at first.

He was human, after all.

Of course, it was natural to want something delicious. He had been living on grain porridge to save money, but he was probably tired of it by now.

“Honestly, whether the debt is 100,000 gold or 100,001 gold, it’s the same.”

“You said you’d give me a gift last time, right? Well, I’d like to request the authority to collect taxes from Erovel village as a gift.”

Aemon seemed surprised by my words.

If this had been before, he would have told me not to speak nonsense, but since his recent change of heart, I felt he could be trusted now.

Aemon added his thoughts.

“Hmmm. Eventually, you’ll have to take over after me. It’s not a big deal, but… Erovel isn’t exactly a place with good harvests…”

“As you said, Father. I’ll have to take over someday, but I still feel inexperienced. I should start small with a village like this to get a feel for it.”

“Haha! You’ve been thinking that way?”

Aemon laughed loudly, as though impressed with his son.

Then, after nodding to himself, he happily agreed to my request.

“Alright, then. From today, I’ll leave the management of Erovel to you. You can collect taxes in money or anything else, it’s up to you. There’s a ledger in my study, so use it if you need it.”

“Thank you, Father. And while we’re on the topic, here, try this.”

“Hmmm? Mmm!”

Aemon, who had been uncertain at first, widened his eyes in surprise when he tasted the Bluepin fruit I gave him.

Ram had told me that Bluepin was a rare fruit not often found outside this area.

It was extremely sweet but spoiled quickly.

It had been a problem in my initial plan, but now there might be a solution, so there was no need to give up just yet.

If we kept them in cold storage, they should be fine, though I didn’t have the luxury to use ice magic just for freezing fruit.

“Mmm. It’s good.”

“Isn’t it? Then, that’s good.”

“Haha… Alright, keep up the good work.”

Thanks to the sweetness of the Bluepin, Aemon returned with a faint smile on his face.

‘Something seems off.’

There was a subtle bitterness in Aemon’s smile.

If it was something important, he would speak up later, so I decided not to think too much about it.

“Grow well, my little ones.”

As I gently moistened the mushroom spores, I gave them a loving gaze.

Shiitake mushrooms were quite versatile.

They could be added to stews or grilled with meat.

“Hehe…”

I was already salivating at the thought.

“My lord! Something’s wrong!”

As I was about to start my breakfast with the mushroom soup, Ilea rushed in, holding a letter.

I stopped handing her the mushrooms and waited for her to speak.

“What’s going on?”

“Th-this…”

The letter Ilea was holding had a familiar emblem: the front paw of a wolf with sharp claws.

It was a letter from the judges of the Kingdom of Aisoter.

“Let me see.”

Ilea tried to speak, but Aemon stopped her.

As Aemon read the letter, his expression remained unchanged, though it was clear that it wasn’t good news.

“Read it.”

The letter in Count Aemon’s hand was handed to me. I took it and began reading it carefully.

The letter was filled with meaningless words about the Goddess of Duel and her judgment. It claimed that the great Goddess of Duel would decide the right from the wrong.

[The judgment should be made through a duel.]

In short, it was telling us to settle the matter through a fight.

It was exactly the letter I had expected, just like the plot in the story.

‘Here it comes.’

I had anticipated this, but receiving the letter made it feel real.

“What should we do?”

Ilea looked at me with worried eyes. If things went as they were, either my father or I would have to participate in the duel.

Given my reputation as a magic Rank 1 and the notorious troublemaker I was, it was more likely that Count Aemon, with his Rank 4 magic, would have to fight.

If that happened, the outcome would follow the fated course.

‘That can’t happen.’

Just like this morning, I found my gaze drawn to my left hand. Looking at my wide-open left hand, my current ranks came to mind.

[Name: Ian Impera.]
Rank: 2 (Magic), 2 (Swordsmanship)

‘This won’t be enough.’

In just a few days, someone who had never ranked up before had managed to raise both magic and swordsmanship to Rank 2.

This might sound impressive, but that’s as far as it goes.

I could never defeat the one who would be sent as a representative from the Bener family.

“I’ll participate in the duel.”

Aemon spoke in a firm tone, as if he had made up his mind.

“…Father will fight?”

“Yes. In my younger days, I reached Rank 4 in magic. Though my skills may have rusted a bit, it’s still a fight I can handle. Count Bener is known to be Rank 4 in swordsmanship. I won’t just stand by and lose.”

Though Aemon spoke confidently, I could hear a slight tremor in his voice.

Unfortunately, the chance of him winning was zero.

Even if he had reached Rank 4 in magic decades ago, he had spent years sitting at a desk, dealing with work. There was no way he could perform at his best.

Moreover, the opponent wasn’t Count Bener himself, but a monster who had been brought in from outside with Rank 5 in swordsmanship.

If Aemon fought, his left arm would likely be severed, and he’d end up as a blank.

Though I appreciated his concern as a father, this wasn’t something that could be solved that way.

“It’s fine, Father.”

“Hmm? What?”

“If it’s a duel, there’s no problem. I’ll either fight or find a representative. I’ll handle it.”

“W-what are you talking about?!”

Aemon was furious at my bold statement.

“You, who barely managed to reach magic Rank 1! What do you think you can do in a duel?”

“Well, actually, my magic Rank is 2 now. I just raised it recently.”

“What?!… Are you mocking your father now? You who’s always been drinking away your days, how did you raise your rank?!”

“Here.”

Instead of saying more, I cast a skill.

Whoosh!

A fireball, glowing red, formed above my hand.

Fireball.

The skill I used to catch the horned pig was Fire Bolt, a tiny fire summon. On the other hand, Fireball was the size of a fist.

“Ugh!”

Ilea’s eyes widened as she looked at the fireball in my hand.

Despite being holed up in the training grounds all the time, she hadn’t expected such a result in such a short period.

Count Aemon was just as surprised.

“H-how… did you…?”

Seeing Aemon flustered made me feel strangely embarrassed.

It was embarrassing because he was so astonished by such a simple Fireball.

My expectations for Ian were so low that it was natural for him to be surprised.

“H-however, it’s still Rank 2! That’s not enough!”

“How many days until the duel?”

“Well… about a month.”

“Then, I’ll raise it by then. I’ll make sure it’s Rank 5.”

“There’s no way that’s possible…”

“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll find a representative.”

“……”

Aemon was speechless, his thoughts clearly racing.

Where was I going to find a representative? And even if I did, where would the money come from to pay them?

And raising my rank to Rank 5 in a month? That seemed impossible.

But, seeing my bold confidence, Aemon couldn’t bring himself to argue further.

After a while, he sighed deeply and reached a conclusion.

“You must be completely crazy.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Ha!”

“Well, just think of it that way.”

With that, I left the room.

Behind me, Aemon still stared at me in silence, his mouth hanging open.