81. Beggar Siblings – A Gold Coin

Leo jumped up and readied his sword again. But Katrina, whose eyes were still rolling, sheathed it.

She looked Leo up and down and clicked her tongue.

“I thought you were just a skinny guy, but you’re something else. Are you sick or something? A guy who’s…”

– Grumble

At that moment, Leo’s stomach rumbled.

“…”

“Seriously, this is too much.”

Leo’s face turned red, becoming like a ripe tomato. His original plan was to show off his swordsmanship to Katrina, to build rapport and use that to get closer to her… but how embarrassing.

He confidently approached her to show his sword skills and ended up making a fool of himself.

Leo had only eaten a few pieces of chicken today. Having given most of it to his younger sister, he had spent the whole day loitering in front of the castle where the knights were staying, not knowing when Katrina would come out.

“I should’ve eaten something before coming.”

A late regret washed over him. Even if he had eaten, the Leo in the beggar siblings scenario wouldn’t have had enough muscle to win in a duel, but at least he wouldn’t have to show off this embarrassing state.

“Hey. Follow me.”

Katrina observed Leo for a moment, bewildered, before waving her finger.

She led Leo to a modest restaurant.

“What kind of guy can’t even eat properly despite that level of skill? What do you like?”

“I-I’m fine with anything…”

“I’ll treat you, so just eat. What’s your name? I’m Katrina.”

“I’m Leo. Thank you. I’ll eat well.”

“Alright.”

As Leo munched on the generously served bread, he kept stealing glances at her.

It looked silly, but at least it was the situation he wanted. He needed Katrina’s help.

This Katrina had never been to war before. She was also the Katrina who would not ‘meet’ Leo Dexter in the imminent war next year.

He had seen it in the last ending.

[ The ending of the Beggar Siblings scenario has changed. ]

+ Born in Rutina Castle, Leo had an unfortunate childhood… (omitted) … and while being pursued, Leo was killed by Irene, the knight of Marquis Benard Tatian in Oberg. +

The crucial thing to note here was the phrase “killed by Irene.” Previously, due to Katrina coming back from war, he had escaped Irene’s pursuit.

But that had changed. In the previous engagement scenario, he had caught the Old Phantom Fox and avoided the {war} event, while the meeting he had had with Katrina on the battlefield had been eliminated.

This made it clear that each scenario was being overwritten by newly started ones. The past beggar siblings scenario had probably been overwritten too.

No, since it is currently ongoing, should I say it’s being overwritten ‘in progress’? Anyway, that’s not the important part.

The important part was the system.

As the beggar siblings scenario was overridden, everything that had happened before vanished. Nevertheless, the {Tracking Skill} remained intact. It was a skill earned as an achievement from desperately searching for Lena.

In other words, any achievements or rewards once obtained still remained even after the ending had changed.

Although it might seem obvious at first glance, deducing it backward leads to the question, “If I intervene in a failed scenario and make it successful, will the rewards not change? Can I not clear that scenario?”

Leo had no way of knowing for sure, so he had to leave this question alongside numerous others.

Chewing on a piece of bread, Katrina looked at Leo with interest and asked.

“You had some decent skills, huh? You couldn’t have possibly failed that knight exam… Did you come on the wrong date or run out of money?”

She had made a good first impression. Perhaps it was because of his handsome appearance, but if it had been just that, she wouldn’t have bothered to bring him in for a meal.

She couldn’t wait for his answer and bluntly expressed her desires.

“Wanna join our Knights Order? I’ll recommend you. You’ve got a good sense, so maybe after you work on your body a bit more, we can see how you do?”

Surely, he would be much better than that dense Deros.

Katrina wasn’t too happy with the junior knight who recently attached himself to her. If she could just recommend this guy to the order and swap them, that would be great.

“Thank you. I appreciate it… but there’s something I need to tell you first.”

Leo started to spin a lie.

He had become so accustomed to weaving tales that it felt second nature to him now.

Katrina furrowed her brow and asked back.

“You came from the Conrad Kingdom and got robbed? Lost your identification too?”

“Yes… I got distracted for a moment…”

This time, he was planning to challenge the {Bloodline} event.

Making Lena a princess in the Kingdom of Belita would be difficult because of Count Peter. He had instinctively figured out that they were a runaway prince and princess and whispered that the existence of the siblings would harm ‘our’ Conrad Kingdom.

How a noble of count rank could think like that, he couldn’t tell, but he was surely akin to a spy.

“Oh my— I spotted you as soon as you fell backward. So clueless…”

Katrina’s eyes narrowed in disappointment.

While it wasn’t impossible for someone from another kingdom to join the Knights, the way he was speaking made it seem like he wanted to go back home.

She asked bluntly.

“Then why did you come to me? If that’s the case, you should go to the government office. I’m not someone who resolves civilian complaints as a knight.”

“I’m sorry. But the government usually doesn’t take complaints from foreign nationals whose identities can’t be confirmed. So I thought…”

Before Leo could blurt out, “Hey. Stop eating and get lost,” he quickly continued.

Given his high favorability achievement, he didn’t think she would go that far, but he knew that the Katrina he was familiar with had a really impatient personality.

It would be more natural to think the last time she helped him was less about paying off a ‘debt’ and more because she was just ‘pissed off’ at Irene who’d been chasing him.

“Becoming a knight in the strongest Knights Order of the continent has been my lifelong dream. That’s why I traveled all the way here.”

“So just join the order. What’s the problem?”

“Well, I have my younger sister with me. I need to somehow send her back home, but is there a way to do that?”

“She can just be sent back by entrusting her to a merchant group after you’ve joined the order, can’t she?”

“She’s a bit cute, you see.”

“Oh, you have a younger sister? How old is she?”

Leo mentioned his sister’s age. She would become an adult in two years.

Katrina responded nonchalantly.

“What? She’s all grown up, huh? Hey, I came to Oberg all by myself at that age. On my way here, bandits attacked, and I took them down. That’s when I killed someone for the first time… wow- that feels like a long time ago now. Was it seven years ago?”

Leo watched Katrina reminisce with a not-so-good expression on his face.

This woman clearly wasn’t entirely normal either.

“I’m sorry. My younger sister has never trained in self-defense. So, what I’m asking is… can I take her back home after joining the order and then come back? That way her identity is confirmed, and I could manage the travel expenses with my salary…”

“Not happening. Once you join the order, there’s no time for trips abroad. It will take at least half a year to go back home, won’t it? Wait, did you really travel here with your younger sister?”

Oh no, I’m about to get caught in my lies.

“I stopped by a relative’s place in the Toddler region before heading back.”

The Toddler region was a place north of Oberg, known as the birthplace of ‘Todler Akiunen’, the first kingdom founded on the continent that later developed into the empire called Achaia.

“It feels awkward to go back there… I thought I’d gather some money here.”

Leo was doubling up lies with lies. There would be no way to provide proof anyway. He would leave for the Conrad Kingdom as soon as he could gather some coins.

In fact, saying he wanted to join the order was just a way to win Katrina’s favor; it was a lie. If he became a knight, it could create problems when he tried to leave for the Conrad Kingdom.

What he wanted was an identification to cross the border.

He needed to bring his younger sister with him, but he couldn’t cross illegally. So, he thought of obtaining a certificate issued by royal knights as he had done last time when he received a token as an ‘retired knight’ from Katrina.

“Really? You’ve come quite a way for that. You’re not a noble but I guess your house isn’t too shabby?”

Thanks to his favorability, Katrina took his lies at face value. She slapped her cheek lightly to think before speaking.

“Hm… So, you want to be a knight but need to find a way to take your sister home, right?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately, knights can’t travel abroad for personal reasons. They probably won’t grant you permission. They won’t give long vacations either.”

“That makes sense. Well, I can’t help it then. I’ll have to find a way to deal with it. Sorry for coming just in case there was a way.”

Leo took a step back.

That was enough for today. He needed time to save up money, and he didn’t intend to ask someone he just met for a certificate on the first day.

Katrina seemed rueful and licked her lips.

“Whew. I’d love to lend you some money, but honestly, I’m not in a good position to just give cash to someone I just met.”

“Not at all, just your words mean a lot to me. I can find a way to earn the money. By the way… can I visit you from time to time?”

“Why?”

“Just because. I’ll be coming back later to take the knight exam anyway, and it’d be nice to know someone. You seem like a really good person.”

“Oh? Hey. Don’t try to get close to me. I have a boyfriend.”

When they had met last time, Katrina had talked a lot about her boyfriend, Ellen, so Leo knew but pretended otherwise.

“Oh? You have a boyfriend?”

“Yes, we’re living together. Just because I have a pretty face doesn’t mean you can hit on me. Do you want to die?”

“Haha. No, please spare me. After all, a beauty like you…”

“Huh- look at you? But I don’t mind hearing it, so keep at it.”

The two shared some lazy small talk before parting ways.

Leo suggested to escort her home since she had treated him to a meal, but she refused.

“What do you think a knight is? Looking at you, I feel like I should be the one to escort you. Haha. By the way, did I tell you where I live? It’s on Rosalyn Street. It’s a blue-roofed place on the second alley; I probably won’t be home if you come during the day, so come in the evening.”

Katrina decisively cut off any further conversation and walked away briskly.

Leo watched her retreating figure for a moment before turning around with a sigh.

‘Did I solve everything…?’

Now, he just had to spend time getting closer and then request a certificate to cross the border before leaving.

With her affection towards him, and being straightforward, Katrina likely wouldn’t refuse.

That left him needing the money to travel to the Conrad Kingdom.

‘No, there’s still one more thing I need to do.’

Leo unconsciously fiddled with his sword sheath. Gilbert Forte. He had to kill that guy before leaving.

This was because of the childhood friend scenario.

He was planning to send his childhood friend Lena to the {Priest} event through the Monastery Church, but if Gilbert Forte was around, Lena would get kicked out.

The only way to make a princess in that scenario was to become a ‘king’.

Not only did he no longer want Lena to meet the prince, but that Lena moved too quickly, making it hard to travel with her.

‘This works out. Lena always wanted to be a priest.’

Moreover, the childhood friend scenario was the only one where he could wander off after sending Lena away without any issues.

Leo would make his move to challenge the throne before Lena decided on her ‘job’.

If successful, he would crown her as a princess, and even if he failed, Lena would still be happy.

Technically, the better option would be to just let her get expelled so there wouldn’t be a time limit, but he didn’t want that.

Anyone who had seen Lena’s devastated expression after being expelled would think the same.

Also, Minseo reflected on the past engagement scenario and made a resolution.

She would try to make Lena as happy as possible while aiming for a clear outcome. If the two goals clashed, she would leave it to Lena’s choice…

Though it was already challenging to manage, raising the difficulty wasn’t much different.

As he stepped through the familiar but now gloomy streets of Oberg, he thought of his next steps.

After gathering the travel expenses, he would kill Gilbert Forte and then leave for the Conrad Kingdom.

He had already thought about how to earn the money.

In two months, the Prince of Austin Kingdom was set to arrive here. But he would face an unprecedented humiliation when he saw Princess Tatalia kissing Gilbert Forte right before his eyes.

After that, Oberg would be shrouded in the doom of war, causing weapon prices to skyrocket, leading to a clash between the large Rauno and Berzha families of Oberg.

Thus, the events would unfold as they always did.

If he utilized this knowledge well, there was a chance to earn some money.

‘Should I approach the Rauno family and suggest they buy weapons in bulk? I could get a reward for providing the information? The Rauno family deals in information, so maybe it would work…’

Leo’s thoughts spiraled.

‘I’ll kill Gilbert Forte after the prince gets humiliated.’

If he killed him beforehand, it might prevent a {war}, but that would make earning money problematic.

Preventing the war was a dilemma he had once wrestled with. But after capturing the Old Phantom Fox in the previous engagement scenario, it became unnecessary to stop it anymore. He felt sorry for those participating in the war… but his own issues took precedence.

However, Leo still hadn’t met Gilbert Forte, and since he wasn’t mentioned in the {Noble Society} information, he couldn’t use {Tracking Skill}, which was a minor problem.

‘That’s just a trivial issue.’

He had the time to locate him. The notorious guy would be easy to find.

With thoughts of how to earn money and a sense of urgency, Leo returned to Kasia’s shoe store. Inside, Kasia was grunting as she crafted shoes, while Lena was helping her from the side.

Everything was running smoothly.

Leo greeted Kasia, who was looking at him with wide eyes, and returned to the room, flopping down on the bed.

Lena quickly followed in after him.

‘It feels like I’ve made a good plan. If I just keep going like this. I’m not sure how things will go in the Conrad Kingdom, but I’ve considered everything I can do here.’

Feeling satisfied that he had handled the complicated matters in order, he listened to his younger sister’s bright chatter. It was warming.

However, his plans would undergo an unexpected change just ten days later.

That variable was what Kasia presented to him.

“Um… Sir Leo, could you please accept this?”

It wasn’t a shoe.

In her hand was a single gold coin.