Price of Management

“Now that I think about it, you didn't mention the terms of my defeat. Can I have 1,000 ducks?" ”

“No.”

“So what do you want? I admit I lost the bet, but I will not accept your ridiculous demands. ”

“My demands are simple. ”

“I'm listening. ”

“Drink and enjoy. ”

I was smiling and saying something to Richard who was embarrassed.

“And tell me your story. ”

Richard grins.

“Very well.”

So we poured a drink and started to bloom. As requested, Richard begins to reveal his past history.

He was the second son of a small family called Baron Buck.

Since I was a child, I was told I had a talent for swordsmanship and that I would help my family shine.

But when he was 16 years old, Baron Buck was doomed.

It was funny because an iron ore mine appeared on his territory.

Less than three months after discovering the Iron Ore was buried, Baron Buck was destroyed by his neighbor, Baron Staden.

Both my parents and my brother died and only he escaped alive.

Even the writer of Staden said he didn't track down the stabbing to kill him.

Richard, who had advanced user skills at the time, honed his sword only to live and die. I became a mercenary and worked my way into battle.

And when I came to the heights of Expert, I decided to take revenge.

Revenge was simpler than I thought.

The Baron Bug was forcibly annihilated and pillaged from the Iron Ore Mine, but this time the Baron Staden was a target for everyone. They started targeting their iron ore mines in the surrounding territories.

Stadenian writers looted the Iron Ore Mine at their own pace, giving them a sense of humor.

Richard has decided to go after the writer of Staden. I decided to fight only until I defeated the writer of Staden.

Eventually, a territorial war broke out with the writer Staden, and Richard fought harder than anyone and raised the ball.

No matter how hard I fought, I even set foot in the middle of the process.

In the end, the writer of Staden is doomed.

Richard succeeded in his revenge and became a mercenary again, leading a free life.

I took a long nap, drank and hugged a woman. Sometimes when money ran out, I was asked by the mercenary guild to do it.

I refused many offers to be considered a knight.

It's because I don't want to get involved with the nobles anymore.

It has come to this day over and over again.

“Revenge was futile. Why do the enemies who killed my family look so pitiful in the death squad...? I didn't even feel the sword swing. I had the opportunity to execute myself, but I gave up. ”

“Well done. ”

“I think so. I don't have any grudges from the past now, but I feel good about it. If I had hit them in the neck with my own hands, I wouldn't have forgotten them all my life. ”

“So, how do you plan to live now? ”

“How do I buy what? This is how I live my life. ”

I was able to get Richard's heart.

I got everything I wanted at such a young age. Revenge, skill, money, and a certain degree of reputation.

I want nothing more than to drink every day, embrace women, and indulge in physical pleasures.

Usually, people who succeed at a young age react like that.

I said something to Richard.

“You have no dreams. ”

“Dream... That's what you wear when you're a kid. ”

“I don't think so.”

“Then what is the baron's dream? ”

“I wanted to be special when I was a kid. ”

“Someone special? ”

“I have no talent compared to my brothers. So I wanted to have something special to show for it. ”

“Is that why you're so special? ”

“Yes. I realized there was no one in the world that wasn't special. So I decided to have a new dream. Making my family and those around me live happily ever after without any threat. That's my dream now. ”

Richard grins.

“No threats. What an ambitious dream. ”

“I see.”

I laughed, too.

Richard says it's lonely.

“I have no dreams. Nothing you want, nothing you lack in your current life. ”

Is that so?

Humans are creatures that are naturally desirable and live endlessly.

An adult who realizes the truth can live empty-handed. Not satisfaction, but a deeper thirst.

My mental age is also 93 years old.

It's not a job to raise a young man as vain as you.

I opened my mouth.

“Sometimes I think people are so strange. Everyone dreams when they're young, and they forget when they're old. She's not a child anymore, she's an adult, so she volunteers to give up the dream she had when she was purest in her life. ”

“ ……. ”

“You're looking at what you can see right now, and you're looking at the reality. Giving up his future possibilities, turning it into an accessory to society, endlessly spinning the wheels of meaningless life. And then I hate those guys who say they're adults. You talk like you shouldn't live like that. ”

I looked at Richard and calmed him down.

“A good life without regret is not revenge, money, fame, a stable life, or even a family. A life where you can live your own dreams little by little. That's a good life you don't regret when you die. ”

When I finished, I followed the wine glasses and asked.

“Come on, tell me. What did you dream when you were a child? ”

Richard also filled half the glasses.

Then he put a sip in his mouth, rolled his tongue to taste it, and opened his mouth.

“I used to think about it when I was very young. I want to be a great article in the history books when I grow up. ”

That said, I laughed.

“What, it's a dream come true enough? ”

“ ……. ”

“As I suspected, I came to make you a knight of our family. ”

“Are you saying my dream will come true? ”

“You're welcome.”

I shook my head.

“I can't promise you that I'll make your dream come true. But I can take you to a good place to make your dreams come true. I can assure you, with all your efforts, you'll be able to live a good life. ”

When I finished, I waited for Richard's answer.

If you've talked about it this far, it's only normal to talk about something. I had an intuition that my persuasion would have worked quite well.

But Richard shakes his head.

“I appreciate the offer, but I refuse. ”

“Why?”

“What did you dream about, but there's also a life where you just enjoy it every day without thinking like me. ”

“Fun? You'll realize someday it wasn't a fun life at all. ”

In his past life, Richard would have realized that life should no longer be meaningless.

That's why he gave up his free life and became a knight of Earl Lindell, a member of the after school.

“I don't know.”

Richard shrugs.

I sighed because I couldn't.

It would be a shame to give up that Richard Buck, but it was pointless to persuade him.

“Thank you for the drink. It was the best drink of my life. ”

After saying good-bye, Richard gets up first.

“I'm leaving tomorrow. If you change your mind, I'll see you at the West Gate tomorrow morning. ”

“Please don't wait for me. ”

As he speaks, Richard sneaks away.

I, too, had to return to the Tupperware after I finished the calculations.

Perhaps Richard Buck has spent his time in vain, as he has so far.

Then one day you realize you've been living a meaningful life.

That's when I wanted him to remember me.

Wouldn't they come to our family instead of the aftermath?

Anyway, let's settle for Hadin the future.

* * *

The morning sun comes in through the open window.

When I opened my eyes, I saw two women sleeping in the same bed, naked and white. It was the women who paid me last night.

Richard gets up from his seat.

‘Baron Caroc Kunt.... ’

Yesterday, when I heard about his life and dreams, I thought he was right, but I kept getting rebellious.

So I hugged a woman to deny his words.

I like it the way it is!

This is how I will enjoy life and die.

What could be better than this?

Everyone's jealous of me!

Richard carried two women around seven times a night to prove it.

However, after a brief moment of dull pleasures, there was more profound emptiness than ever before.

“Tsk.”

Richard wakes the women up and lets them go.

I picked up my clothes lying flat on the floor and went out.

For a change of mood, he went to a regular bar he visited yesterday.

The moustached middle-aged bartender greets Richard with a smile.

“You've been here all morning. ”

“Ahh, a bottle of Lace Britain! ”

“Wait a moment. ”

The bartender brought the wine from the wine cellar.

As soon as the glass bottle with Duke Britain's crest was engraved on it, Richard picked up the bottle and blew his head off.

The bartender was furious at the lack of dignity in the treatment of the precious silk.

Richard closes his eyes and tastes the dark flavors of wine rushing like a flood from his tongue and throat.

But somehow it's not enough.

Compared to the fantastic taste I tasted yesterday, I couldn't find cheap white wine for cooking.

Boom!

“Damn it!”

I abandoned my appetite.

If I hadn't tasted it yesterday, my favorite race Britain wouldn't have tasted so bad.

I only increased my appetite because I tasted the fantasy.

“I'll see you around. ”

I didn't feel like drinking anymore. Richard makes a rough calculation and leaves the bar.

The crowded streets felt lonely and empty today. What kind of joy do we have to live with now?

At that moment, I remembered Caroc's face.

“I can't promise you that I'll make your dream come true. But I can take you to a good place to make your dreams come true. I can assure you, with all your efforts, you'll be able to live a good life. ”

Richard trembles. You clench your fist so that the tendon protrudes.

Baron Caroc Kunt.

Did you say Seo Mun? I'm sure he left this morning.

“Damn it! You're not just going to ruin my life! ”

I didn't have anything else to pack. Richard runs crazily toward the opening of Orien.