LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 39 - Multi-Level Marketing (1)
Chapter 39. Multi-Level Marketing (1)
As Yuri had suspected, the Black Sword Corps members spread out throughout the Forest of Beginnings and distributed pouches to all the cadets.
Among them, a few individuals quickly understood the significance of the items they received, just like Yuri. However, many others struggled to figure out their meaning.
The majority of the cadets, however, had no particular thoughts.
No, to be precise, they didn’t have the capacity to think about anything else.
A day had passed since the pouches were distributed…
At the outskirts of the forest,
A boy stumbled along the snow-covered forest path.
“I… can’t… hold on… any longer.”
His hair was matted with sweat, oil, and water.
Sunken cheeks and dark shadows under his eyes.
A haggard face and cracked lips.
And his clothes, full of holes from whatever he had endured for just over ten days.
No beggar could look as wretched as he did.
He looked even worse than Yuri had when he first boarded the Black Ship, if not more so.
Of course, the boy hadn’t looked like this from the beginning.
Before the test began, the boy was as well-dressed as any child of a wealthy family.
But after endlessly wandering the forest, he had turned into this pitiful sight in just 11 days.
“So… hungry…”
The boy, with his dilated pupils, trudged forward, barely keeping his balance.
He was heading towards the clearing where the test had initially started.
“The… bell…”
The boy, whose mind had almost given out, moved like a zombie with the sole purpose of ringing the bell.
However, his mind was flooded with various thoughts.
He was hungry.
He wanted to sleep.
He wanted to lie down in a warm place.
He wanted to go home, and so on.
But most of all, his mind was filled with a defense mechanism to justify giving up.
“I’ve done my best.”
“I didn’t spend all that money just to take a test as absurd as this! Something must be wrong!”
“Someone has already rung the bell anyway, right?”
“Yeah! I’ve lasted a long time.”
“I’ve done pretty well in the Dragon’s Cradle test, haven’t I?”
The boy kept rationalizing as he walked.
When he reached the edge of the forest, where the bell was just a little further, he stopped.
His eyes, regaining a bit of vitality, trembled violently.
“Is this… really the end?”
It was the last thread of rationality left in the boy.
But the rational conflict was very brief.
Having already reached the end of his self-justification, the boy only wanted to get out of the miserable forest as soon as possible.
“Yes… let’s go! I’ve done enough!”
The boy muttered softly and took a step forward.
Just as he was about to leave the forest…
“Hey, that’s not right.”
A sudden voice forcibly halted the boy’s steps.
“…?!”
Alarm flickered in the boy’s once-dull eyes.
Though weak-willed, he was still a talented individual who had entered the Dragon’s Cradle.
He quickly drew his sword and pointed it towards the direction of the voice.
The boy’s eyes widened slightly as he saw where the sword was pointed.
“…You?”
There stood a person.
A boy with black hair hanging halfway down his face.
Sitting nonchalantly next to a thick tree trunk was the owner of the voice.
It was none other than Yuri.
“Who… who are you?!”
Yuri was quite famous on the Black Ship, but in the past ten days, his appearance had become so much cleaner that the boy did not recognize him.
Meanwhile, Yuri remained indifferent to the wary gaze directed at him.
With a very relaxed face, he wagged his index finger side to side.
“Tsk tsk, that’s not right, my friend.”
“…?”
“I can tell just by looking at you. You got in through a donation, right?”
“So what?”
“The money that goes into a donation recommendation is no joke, and you paid all that money just to give up now?”
As Yuri dragged out the fact the boy had been desperately ignoring, his pupils trembled violently.
He shouted desperately, as if lashing out.
“What does it matter to you if I give up or not?!”
Though the boy spewed out anger and annoyance, Yuri remained unperturbed.
“Matter? Of course, it does. I’m someone who just can’t walk past people in need, especially those who are struggling.”
“…?”
“What I mean is, I’ll help you! …That’s what I’m saying!”
“You… help me?”
The boy’s eyes were full of distrust.
It was understandable; the atmosphere of the suddenly appearing boy was very laid-back.
Even though the boy wasn’t great at judging people, this guy didn’t look like the type to do volunteer work at a glance.
Who would believe it when someone like that said they would help?
Yuri made a face that showed he understood the boy’s suspicious gaze.
“Wow, as expected of a wealthy kid, you’ve been well-educated from an early age? That’s it! When a suspicious person offers you something delicious, you should be wary first, of course! But don’t worry. I’m not a suspicious person.”
“…You look very suspicious right now.”
“Alright, before we have a proper talk, let’s see…”
This guy just ignored what I said, didn’t he?
He did, right?
The boy’s eyes narrowed.
Meanwhile, Yuri, who sounded like an old man, slipped his hand behind the tree trunk.
It seemed like he was searching for something.
“Don’t move!”
The boy, startled by Yuri’s sudden action, became even more alert, ready to pounce at any moment.
But the object that emerged from behind the tree trunk made the boy’s vigilance seem absurd.
“What? That’s?!”
What Yuri had picked up from behind the tree trunk was a well-roasted Tosaba, the size of an index finger.
“Ouch, hot.”
Yuri carefully peeled off the skin of the still-warm Tosaba.
Ssskk-
Steam rose as the yellow flesh was revealed.
“Ah…”
For a boy who had only consumed cold snow and the needles of coniferous trees for the past ten days, the warm Tosaba was a temptation akin to the devil.
He couldn’t take his eyes off the Tosaba that Yuri was peeling.
It was only natural for his mouth to water.
“Gulp-”
He had tasted Tosaba once before, but had ignored it since then.
But now, even the white steam coming off the Tosaba looked delicious.
Gulp gulp-
As the boy’s throat moved hungrily, Yuri grinned.
He gestured for the boy to come closer.
“Come on, come here and try this.”
A suspicious person was tempting him with food.
According to the early education he had received, he should never follow.
But the boy’s body moved as if entranced by Yuri’s gesture.
Step, step, step.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Finally, the boy arrived in front of Yuri, unable to take his eyes off the Tosaba.
“You’re giving… this to me?”
“Of course, of course! Eat it before it gets cold!”
Seeing the yellow flesh of the Tosaba right in front of him, the boy couldn’t maintain his vigilance any longer.
‘Yes… I can’t let it get cold!’
Instead, the only thought in his mind was to eat the well-cooked Tosaba before it got cold.
With trembling hands, the boy took the Tosaba.
Gulp-
Then, quickly swallowing the saliva that filled his mouth, he slowly brought the Tosaba to his lips.
Ssskk-
Finally, he took a bite of the Tosaba.
The warm, tender flesh of the Tosaba spread throughout his mouth.
Simultaneously, a storm of flavor struck his brain through his taste buds.
Boom!
The boy felt an intense sensation, like thunder.
‘This… this taste?!’
Tosaba wasn’t originally very sweet.
But after over ten days of starvation, the boy’s brain, having forgotten the intense flavors of society, amplified the sweetness of the Tosaba to an extreme level.
At the same time, the boy was sure.
‘This is the sweetness of heaven!’
It was truly a beautiful taste.
Tears of emotion rolled down the boy’s cheeks.
But such emotion didn’t last long.
“Ah…”
What Yuri had given was just a small Tosaba, the size of an index finger.
The roasted Tosaba melted in his mouth and quickly disappeared down his throat.
Only after waking from the sensation of floating in the heavens did the boy look at Yuri with desperate eyes.
“Is… is there more?”
“Do you want more?”
Nodding furiously,
The boy nodded intensely.
Yuri laughed and this time, pulled out a roasted Tosaba from his pants pocket.
The fact that it came from there didn’t matter to the boy.
He was just happy that this Tosaba was five times larger than the previous one.
“Hurry!”
The boy flailed his arms towards the Tosaba.
But he couldn’t grasp it.
Yuri skillfully evaded the boy’s hands with the Tosaba.
“What are you doing?!”
“Oh my, you have no conscience, do you?”
“…What?”
“That was a sample. This is for sale.”
“For sale?”
Doubt filled the boy’s eyes.
Then Yuri’s mouth began to move.
“Think about it! On this cold day! I risked my life to get this Tosaba!”
He did risk his life, collecting them diligently.
“And perfectly cooked it, too!”
Although it got a bit overcooked in the process.
“And you want to eat it for free? If you have a conscience, you shouldn’t do that.”
Something felt off, but the boy, who had tasted sweetness after a long time, couldn’t think straight.
“Then?”
“Since you’re my first customer, I’ll just charge for the labor, not the materials.”
“…I don’t have any money.”
Not only the boy, but everyone had handed over their possessions when boarding the Black Ship.
The Dragon’s Cradle had collected all clothing and money except for some important accessories.
‘Wait… accessories?’
Realizing something, the boy’s eyes widened.
“No way! This is not possible!”
He covered his hand with a ring and took a step back.
‘No matter how hungry I am, I can’t trade the family crest for a mere Tosaba!’
Regaining a bit of reason, the boy was full of vigilance. Yuri shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, I do want that, but…”
Putting aside his slight slip of true intentions, Yuri stated his real purpose.
“Not that, but what you got from the Black Sword Corps yesterday.”
“From the Black Sword Corps?”
The boy blinked as he recalled the events of the previous day.
‘Ah, definitely…’
Despite his hunger, fatigue, and cold, a Black Sword Corps member had indeed visited.
‘And the item I received…’
Clang-
The boy took out a small cloth pouch from his pants pocket.
“This?”
Yuri’s eyes gleamed with interest.
‘As expected!’
Yuri was certain his guess was right.
‘Even someone as unremarkable as this kid has a pouch, which means… all the cadets must have received one.’
With a slight smile, Yuri shook the roasted Tosaba.
“Yes, that. Let’s trade the pouch for this Tosaba.”
“What will you do with it? It looks like a strange silver coin.”
Yuri avoided answering the boy’s question and continued to shake the Tosaba.
“So, do you want to trade or not? The longer you wait, the colder the Tosaba gets.”
“No, I can’t let it get cold!”
The boy’s eyes grew urgent.
It wasn’t the family crest, just a strange silver coin, so he could easily trade it for the Tosaba.
The boy quickly handed over the pouch and reached for the Tosaba.
This time, Yuri didn’t evade his hand.
After quickly exchanging the two items, the boy carefully peeled the Tosaba’s skin, blowing on it as he went, and took a bite.
Nom-
“Ah…”
As the taste of the Tosaba filled his mouth, the boy lost himself in the sensation while Yuri opened the pouch.
Clang-
Inside the pouch were indeed the silver coins with holes in them.
The shape and engraving on the coins were identical, and there were ten of them in total.
‘Hmm…?’
However, not everything was the same.