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Young Lichter displayed a talent for swords¹. To say he was ‘talented’ was only scratching the surface. It felt like the phrase, one in a million, was made specially for him.

He was a scrawny boy with no teacher, no decent food, but he possessed more than enough potential. With just one rusty knife picked up from the trash heap, the young boy could accomplish anything.

That single knife gave the boy wings. However, he never used his natural talents to kill or steal. His brother had repeatedly scolded him to stop, fearing the consequences of being caught and executed.

If not, their nominal parents would have killed him the day Lichter committed a crime.

Lower Rank Demons posed no threat, and the same was true for untrained adults. None were his match.

Hypothetically, if the boy named Lichter had been taught the fundamentals of swordsmanship directly by a master from an early age, and had been given proper training, the right diet, and the right environment, he would surely have grown up to stand alongside, or even surpass, the greats who left their mark on history. He would’ve become an unparalleled existence.

However, that was all a what-if scenario.

In this cruel world, only a handful of people were born in an environment suited to their needs.

“Fuu…” Lichter exhaled slowly.

Absent-mindedly he looked out over the empty plains and repeated the process. The leaves he was crunching and chewing on only had a smell to accompany them and did not fill his stomach.

However, it did prompt his body to secrete saliva, so it did slightly give him the impression that his empty stomach was full. Although it wasn’t a good replacement, Lichter had to chew something so that his hunger wouldn’t drive him crazy.

Lichter carefully chewed down each hard vein of the leaf.

“They’re here.”

Just as he was beginning to lose his consciousness from the hunger, the people Lichter was waiting for showed up. Four heavily armed men appeared on the empty plain. Their figures gave them out to be adventurers straight away.

Lichter made his way down the rock he was standing on and hurried to the adventurers.

“Hey guys! How about making a deal with me?” Lichter called out to the four men, prompting their surprise.
“Why is there a child here?! We’re already inside the Contaminated Zone, aren’t we?!”
“We are. Just why is he here… Boy, are you lost? This area is inhabited by Demons, you know? It’s not safe. Where did you come from?” One of the men asked to which Lichter shook his head.
“I’m not lost.”

“…?”
“So, will you make a deal with me?” Lichter asked.
“What’s up with you? This isn’t the place for selling cookies, you know?”
“No, no. It’s that. Look over there.” Lichter cowered his shoulders and pointed in the direction he had just been.
“What? What in the-”

A black mountain had formed at the place Lichter was pointing at.

The pile, which was as tall as Lichter, had already begun to emit a peculiar rotten smell.

“Those are Demon carcasses!”
“Aren’t those the brat-like Lower Rank Demons we were sent to slay?”
“One, two, three… What is going on here? There’s 15 of them!”
“What is it boy?”

As the four men were trying to figure out what was going on, one of them turned to look at Lichter, who was pointing repeatedly at himself.

“It was me, it was me!” He was trying to convey using his good-natured smile.
“Are you saying you did all this?”
“That’s right. It’s an adventurer’s job to kill Demons, right? So how about you buy these off of me and I’ll give you the credit for killing them?”

The men exchanged looks with each other after hearing Lichter’s proposal.

Pity and skepticism filled their eyes.

First of all, they determined that it was impossible for a child as young as Lichter to kill a Demon.

Based on this decision, they presumed that Lichter was a misfortunate youngster who was forced to enter the Contaminated Zone in an attempt to con his way into getting food. They were positive that this boy had been sent by the group who had hunted the Demons in order to use him for financial gain.

“……”

The man who seemed to be the leader took a step forward and bent down so that he was eye level with the boy.

“Boy, do you always do this?” he asked.
“Yea. Though today I got a bit less.”
“How much?” He asked.

Lichter, on the other hand, was looking at all of the men, trying to evaluate them. For him, encountering adventurers he’d never met before was valuable. Unlike his regulars, who bought Lichter’s hunt at a discount, these newcomers still had room to be negotiated with.

Lichter would normally charge a copper coin at most for a pile of Demons, but today…

“Four coppers. I’ll give them to you for four coppers. What do you say?”

That offer was a gamble for Lichter. He was also ready to eventually get punched in the face, for trying to take advantage of the men. However, Lichter believed that now was the time to bet it all.

The savings he and Tieck had diligently stashed away were close to running out.

Both brothers were aware that they would eventually starve to death on salt soup and small sweet potatoes. As such they had to somehow procure money for food.

It was not every day that new adventurers came to this area. As such, Lichter believed that now was the time to be a little adventurous and raise the price.

(What are they thinking?) Lichter thought while stealing glances at the man.

The man, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded.

(Four coppers?)

He was shocked at how cheap it was. If they were to report these killings to the Adventurer Association they would be rewarded with at least ten silver coins. Four copper coins were far too cheap, no matter how outrageous the situation.

Children were not allowed to register as adventurers.

As such, Lichter had never been taught the proper rate for a Demon carcass and as such had been constantly selling them at a discount. He had no idea how much the mountains he’d piled up were actually worth.

“……”

Lichter kept a serious look on his face and stuck out four fingers.

The man hesitated for a while.

“Boy, I’ll give you this much, so please don’t come here anymore. Understood?” The man said, handing Lichter a single silver coin.
“What? What? Can I really take this?!”

Lichter’s joyful and florid expression was exactly that of an innocent child of appropriate age. The man nodded his head.

“Of course. However, promise me that you won’t come to the Contaminated Zone anymore, okay?”
“Yes, of course! I promise! Thank you, old man.” Lichter exclaimed.
“I’m not an old man! Big brother sounds better!” The man chuckled.
“That’s fine. I’ll be going now! I don’t want to keep my little brother waiting!”

With that, Lichter left the place like a flash.

Clutching the sparkling silver coin in his hand, he was already thinking about what food he would buy for his brother to surprise him with on the way home because that was all he could think about.

“Well then, let’s go men.”
“What about these carcasses?”
“Leave them be. Given that there might be someone behind that kid, it’s best that we stay out of it. We’ll hunt some on our own.”
“Then why did you give him a silver coin?”

“I don’t want to see kids come to this s̲h̲i̲t̲ hole no matter how desperate or strapped for money they are. It’s fine if it’s only us, s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y adventurers and the Demons that come to the Contaminated Zone.” the leader said.
“Still, I can bet that kid will come back here again.”
“That doesn’t concern me. I simply cannot bear to watch something I detest occur in front of me. I could care less whether that brat lives or dies as long as he’s out of my sight.”
“Are you good or bad? Pick one, would you?”

1. Silva: I hate this author, why so many side stories in the middle of the battle arc? I just want Seletina to meet up with Imitia already!