The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– The Suspicious Old Man’s Offer

It was not easy for a child to live without the protection of parents.

“Get that little punk!”

“Just you wait ’til I catch that little brat! I’m selling him to the slavers!”

Two grown men were chasing after me.

A tense situation.

I weaved through the alleys, dodging them left and right.

Only after a chase lasting what felt like ages, was I barely able to shake them.

To catch my breath, I ducked into a narrow passage, curling myself into a tight ball.

“Just for lifting a wallet… tch!”

A grown man chases after a small child just for a bit of pickpocketing.

It was almost laughable.

Besides, those guys were members of a group notorious for their vile nature.

And I had just lifted their wallet.

“Well, I’m no saint either!”

Of course, pickpocketing was a crime.

Bad deeds were just a given.

Even if I stole from those of ill repute.

“Still, can’t be helped, I guess.”

For a kid with no parents, no home, crime was the only answer for survival.

And so, the crime I chose was pickpocketing.

Just had the bad luck of getting caught red-handed.

That’s why they chased me, and why I ran.

Even so…

“I did get the wallet.”

I was caught, but the pickpocketing was a success.

A wallet pouch that felt heavy with promise.

The corners of my mouth tugged upwards.

Brimming with anticipation, I opened the pouch.

Contrary to my expectations, inside was just an ordinary stone.

“…Did I see it wrong?”

I looked around; it was just a stone.

There was no way a simple stone could hold any value.

In short, this wallet was a fake, meant for pickpocketing defense.

“What, they chased me that hard even though it was a fake wallet?”

I felt a slight anger towards the guys who chased me.

I went through all that effort to shake them, but there was no real reason for them to pursue me like that if it was fake.

“Haa… I should probably leave this place soon.”

It was time to leave this town.

Getting caught pickpocketing was a natural consequence.

I couldn’t afford even a single mistake.

If I made even one slip-up, I had no choice but to move to another town.

It was all because of how I looked.

‘Having black hair isn’t always a good thing, you know.’

Black hair, black eyes.

It was said that black hair possessed a mystique, an ethereal quality.

And rightly so, for black hair was the color of warriors, of those who had achieved great deeds.

Thus, black hair was often the object of envy for others-.

But for a vagrant, a pickpocket, it held no advantage whatsoever.

Being caught meant easy identification.

A pickpocket with black hair, once discovered, was destined to move to another village.

“Haah… In a fantasy world, I thought I’d learn magic, swordsmanship, all that.”

He wished to live grandly, like the protagonists in stories.

But…

“Such tales are far removed from a vagrant like me.”

Be it past life or present, fantasy novels and their ilk were simply stories, distant and unattainable.

*

A man with a large scar bisecting his forehead was gathering his underlings, berating them fiercely.

“…You dare speak such nonsense?”

“No, it’s just… that boy was too quick….”

The subordinate stammered, recounting the events of the day to the scarred man.

A black-haired boy had pickpocketed him.

And escaped.

The scarred man had emphasized repeatedly to his men.

That the pebble within that pouch was of utmost importance, never to be lost.

Alas, his emphasis had been in vain.

Because of the black-haired boy.

“Alright…, I understand you were pickpocketed by a black-haired boy. But you let him go? How can you, you simpletons, fail to apprehend a mere child!”

The scarred man kicked the stammering subordinate in the gut.

“Gerk!”

The subordinate released a short groan, clutching at his kicked abdomen.

“What kind of item was it that you allowed to be stolen!!!”

“B-but… Wasn’t it just an ordinary stone?”

The underlings had believed the stolen item to be a plain stone.

Only the scarred man knew its true nature.

“It’s a mana stone.”

Upon hearing the true identity of the stone, the underlings widened their eyes in surprise.

Seemingly a common pebble, it emitted a faint, azure light.

This was the characteristic of a mana stone.

A mana stone was a rock imbued with mana, of exceptionally high value.

Because of its value, the scarred man had told his underlings it was merely a stone, so they wouldn’t become greedy.

“But… it was very different from the mana stones I know. It didn’t emit any azure light.”

One of the underlings voiced an obvious question.

The pebble had truly appeared to be an ordinary stone.

It lacked the potent characteristic of mana stones: their azure glow.

But even that, the Scarred Man had anticipated.

He’d drained the azure light from it, making it seem no more than a common stone.

“No matter what, we have to catch that brat.”

“““Yes, sir!”””

*

The sun, sunk away, left a dark mountain.

Only torches illuminated this darkened slope.

“There he is!!! After him, quickly!!!”

Damn it-.

I’ve been spotted.

A chase scene in the dead of night.

I sighed and, once more, busied my legs.

‘Could it be that it’s no ordinary stone?’

I’d already sized up the faces of the men pursuing me.

Five in total.

Two of them were from when I was pickpocketing earlier today.

Which meant the reason they were chasing me was that very act of petty theft.

It seemed the stone I’d lifted was anything but ordinary.

I reached into my coat and pulled out the pouch.

‘Good thing I didn’t throw it away.’

Even now, it looked nothing more than a common pebble.

But judging by their reaction, it was undoubtedly a valuable item.

Knowing this now, if I could just survive this crisis, a chance for a better life opened up.

‘If I just had enough money, I could truly enjoy this fantasy world.’

Clutching that hope, I moved without pause.

Being nimble, I was slowly widening the distance between them and myself.

The darkness of the night also played its part.

I was beginning to feel certain I could escape them.

*Fwhoosh* – *Thud*-.

I heard something whistling through the air, and at the same time, a searing sensation bloomed in my thigh.

My leg buckled, and I tumbled to the ground.

Amidst the chaotic roll, I understood the cause of the burning in my thigh.

An arrow.

An arrow was lodged in my thigh.

Recognizing it, the pain followed.

“Ughhh!!!”

I screamed without realizing it.

I quickly clapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late.

“There!!!”

“Seize him at once!!!”

I was surrounded in an instant, five figures converging at my scream.

The throbbing in my thigh made escape impossible.

And so, I took stock of the faces encircling me.

“You miserable little punk! Give back what you stole, now!”

The big-nosed man I’d pickpocketed.

“A rat through and through, aren’t you?”

The man who resembled a rat himself, calling *me* the rat.

“…”

The bald man, glaring in silence.

“Annoying, making me exercise at this hour.”

The man with the bow, the one I suspected had landed a shot.

“…Did you really think you could get away?”

And lastly, the muscular man with the long scar slashing across his forehead.

Since I was caught anyway, I refused to show them I was cowed.

Instead, I mocked them.

“Five grown men ganging up on one kid in the dead of night. Don’t you have any shame?”

From my pocket, I tossed the rock-filled wallet at their feet.

“Now that you’re returning it, you think we’ll spare y-“

Big-nose started, but the scarred man cut him off.

“He’s got the makings of something big, this kid. To show that kind of spirit even now.”

“That’s what the fortune teller said. Said I have the face of someone destined for greatness. So, how about this… I returned what I stole, why not let me live?”

I knew full well those words were useless.

Just a gamble, nothing to lose.

“Indeed. If a fortune teller said it, there might be some truth to it. Showing such insolence in this situation, you certainly *seem* destined for something grand. But alas… seems fortune-telling isn’t always accurate.”

I understood the meaning behind the scarred man’s words.

Fortunes aren’t always accurate.

Therefore, I wasn’t destined for greatness.

In other words, he was saying he’d kill me here, in a roundabout way.

*‘Ah…should I have just groveled from the start?’*

But I didn’t want to live that way.

Besides, there was no guarantee they would have spared me.

I reinterpreted a famous saying from my past life, adapting it to this place.

“A dragon leaves its scales when it dies, a man leaves his name.”

“What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden?”

“Just saying I’ll die leaving my name behind.”

Living the life of a street urchin, I’d faced death countless times.

Living so close to death, I always knew this kind of end awaited me.

Perhaps that’s why, even facing death now, my mind was calm.

*‘Fantasy world… the start was rough, but I should at least go out with style.’*

I wanted to end things on a magnificent note, at least for the final moment.

It would be far more dignified to die without begging for pity from the enemy than to tumble down these stairs and perish pathetically.

“Arthas. My name is Arthas. Surname? Alas, I have none.”

An orphan could hardly claim a lineage, hence no surname.

The scarred man scoffed at my declaration.

“A futile gesture. I’ve slain scores, and some, like you, declared their names. But I’ve forgotten them all. Yours, too, will soon be lost to me.”

“Forgotten or not, it matters little.”

Truly, it mattered not.

It was, after all, merely self-satisfaction.

And…

‘There’s always the chance of another transmigration.’

If it happened once, why not twice?

Knowing that death wasn’t the end, I held no fear of it.

Besides, I harbored no regrets about this life.

I awaited death’s embrace, now so close.

“Well now, aren’t you a fascinating little one.”

A white-haired old man emerged suddenly from behind the scarred man.

‘An old man in the mountains at this hour? What is this?’

At least, I could tell that this elder was unconnected to the five, judging by their expressions.

The scarred man looked thoroughly taken aback by this sudden arrival.

He demanded of the old man, “Wh-who are you?!”

“Hmm? Me, you ask? Well, I’m known by many names, but here, I’d prefer to be introduced as Hans.”

Hans.

Quite a common name for an old man.

Almost like a ‘Michael’ or ‘Jessica’ if one were to consider a past life.

The old man strolled leisurely past the scarred man and stood before me.

“A nasty arrow wound in the thigh, I see.”

“Had I avoided that, I would have escaped them easily enough.”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak informally to the old man, so I maintained a respectful tone.

The old man surveyed the five men and continued, “Now then, what’s caused you to chase this lad so relentlessly?”

His hand reached for the pouch I had cast aside.

At the same moment, the scarred man shouted, “D-don’t touch it if you value your life!”

Judging by his stammer, the scarred man was clearly unnerved by the mysterious elder.

The old man blithely ignored the scarred man’s warning.

He opened the pouch, an expression of interest spreading across his face.

“Oh ho, Mana stones, are they?”

Mana stones?

“The stone in the wallet I pilfered was… a Magic Stone?”

It felt like a lie.

From the start, I knew what a Magic Stone *was*.

But to my eyes, it was just a plain old rock.

I shot a glance at the man with the scar.

“Seems… it wasn’t a lie.”

The way the scarred man looked utterly dumbfounded seemed to confirm it.

“Hah… of all the things to steal, I steal a Magic Stone.”

No wonder they were chasing me with fire in their eyes.

The old man tossed the wallet in his hand back to me.

An action I couldn’t quite fathom.

“What’s this?”

“Well, you stole it, so isn’t it yours? And from what I hear, those thugs are notoriously bad sorts. If the news reached even my ears, well, that says it all.”

The old man nodded a few times.

“They undoubtedly acquired it illegally anyway. So there shouldn’t be any issue if the one who stole it becomes its owner.”

The scarred man howled at the old man’s words.

“What kind of dogshit nonsense is that!”

“Now, now, be patient! I am in the middle of a conversation with this young one.”

The old man chastised the scarred man, then locked eyes with me, offering a proposition.

“Wouldn’t you like to buy your life with that Magic Stone? No, your life is probably worth more than just one Magic Stone. It just so happens that I’ve been feeling rather lonely lately. How about serving me?”

A suspicious old man, in a bizarre situation, making a strange offer.

I had no choice.

If I didn’t accept the old man’s proposal, I would surely die here.

I had braced myself for death, but I didn’t truly want to die.

Therefore, there was only one choice I could make.

“I’ll give you the Magic Stone, and I’ll serve you.”

“A wise decision.”

But the scarred man wasn’t about to let the situation stand.

“Have you ever seen such a crazy old coot? That Magic Stone was mine to begin with! I can’t take it anymore! Just rush him!!!”

Almost simultaneously, the five of them charged at the old man.

A fight between five young men and one old man.

The outcome was obvious.

However…

“To launch a preemptive strike against an elder, kids these days really have no manners.”

A sword was suddenly in the old man’s hand.

And when had he made his move?

A red line was etched across the necks of all five men.

Without so much as a short scream, the five of them collapsed, their heads separated from their bodies.

The situation ended far too quickly.

I couldn’t utter a word, couldn’t even react.

“Still, this one thing feels certain.”

I knew, appearance aside, that the old man was no ordinary being.