Chapter 51: Two options

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Rewen violently coughed before opening his eyes. He found himself in a dark room. He tried moving his arms but felt a severe pain on his neck.

"Don't move recklessly. Rest for a while." A blonde haired middle-aged man who sat beside him said in a low voice.

Rewen had no idea who this person was but guessed that the man treated him. "Umm, where is this place?" It didn't seem like he was in the Academy. 

"Are you a student from the academy?" Before the man could answer his question, a little boy suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

Rewen nodded. "Are you also from the-"

"Yes! I am a genius from the academy. Big Brother, what is your name?"

"Ryu, let him rest. You go and eat something. I have to have a private chat with this brother."

Ryu showed a dissatisfied face but left without another word.

Rewen awkwardly laughed, then turned to the middle-aged man. "Thanks for saving me. If there's something I could do, you can ask me."

"I was not the one who saved you. Most likely, a couple saved you. Do you know them?"

"They should be my relatives." He had an idea to whom the man was referring to. 'Luna and Tanizaki? What is this place though?'

"I see. Well, I can see that you are not in a very good situation to answer some questions but it's very urgent."

"No, it's fine."

"Alright. You must at first understand your situation. This is a ship headed towards the Mainland."

"This is a ship? Where in the mainland?"

"North-west of Nation of Bandits, the main port of Zcan State."

"Nation of Bandits, huh. I have heard of the nation before." 

Sakura Garden Academy is located on an island. Naturally, to leave or come to the academy, one must use ships. Airplanes were not developed in the world yet. As for the continents, there is only a single continent - the Mainland. There are other small nations spread across the world in islands but the technological developments of the island nations are far too low.

There are six Mainland Nations - Jordnia of West, Olpio of East, Avim of Extreme North, Windbane of North, Nus of South and the Central Nation. The Nation of Bandits, also known as Avim of Extreme North, is a moderately developed nation. It is called the 'Nation of Bandits' because it is founded by a group of rogues and bandits. It is also a relatively "calm" nation.

"Why?" He had a lot of questions bottled up.

"Why, you ask? I live there." 

"No, I understand that but why am I in this ship? Did I get kidnapped or something?"

"You don't know? Don't tell me you are unknowingly boarding the ship."

"I am. I was in my academy, then I got my neck sliced by an unknown person and lost my consciousness. How am I supposed to know?"

The middle-aged man was stunned for a while before he eventually let out a sigh. "Now, I understand what they meant…"

"Excuse me? Do you know something?" Rewen frowned.

"The couple said to give you food and shelter…"

"What?"

"You really don't know why you are here?"

"I don't." Rewen shook his head with a bitter face.

"It's difficult." The middle-aged man fell into thoughts. Although he is rich, he just can't take any random person into his house. "Hnn, do you have any relatives in the nation?"

"I live in the Central."

"In the Central? Hah…"

Rewen also became a bit depressed. He had just come to this world and was already homeless. "Can I not go back to the academy?"

"Not for the time being. You aren't prohibited from going to the academy but I advise you to not."

"Then… is your house recruiting servants?"

The middle-aged man received quite a shock. "Aren't you a Noble?"

"I am but what other option do I have?"

The middle-aged man didn't answer immediately. 'I don't know if this would be a good idea. If his family finds out that he is working as a servant, they would definitely not swallow the fact in a polite manner. They are from the Central after all…' After thinking for a minute, he reached his conclusion.

"You have two options."

Rewen became attentive. "What are the options?"

The middle-aged man stared at him sharply. "You can become a servant in charge of my son's academics. Your position in the family would be neither high nor low but you aren't allowed to go outside of my villa until I take you back to the academy. You would be given a room and three meals a day."

"What is the other option?"

"Assist my nephew in his shop. You would have no position in the family but you would be given a room. You have to take care of your daily meals on your own. Here, you have freedom. You can leave anytime."

"If I choose the second option, how am I supposed to take care of my meals?"

"You would be paid daily depending on how much time you worked in the shop."

"I choose the second option." 

"Good." The middle-aged man nodded with a smile. "I have some work to do. If you need anything, my son would be there."

"Sure and thank you!"

***

"Wah, Big Brother looks so ugly…" Ryu spread Rewen's fat cheeks and grinned happily.

'Are all rich kids like these?'

"Little Brother, my neck is hurting."

"Ah! Sorry!"

"It's okay. What is your name?"

"Terio Ryu. Big Brother, what about yours?"

"You can call me Big Brother Rewen."

"Big Brother Ruwen?"

"It's Rewen."

"Rewun?"

"Fine, whatever."

"Hehehe, I'll call you Big Brother Piggy. You are so fat." Ryu laughed and rolled on the ground.

*Baam* 

*Baam*

*Baam*

"Terio! Open the door!" A young voice came outside from the door.

"I-I am not here." Ryu replied timidly.

*Baam*

*Baam*

"Terio, you b*stard! You better open up!"

"Alright, fine. I'm opening but you have to promise to not hit me."

"I promise!"

"What do you promise?"

"To not hit you."

"Say it properly."

"I promise to not hit you! Now, unlock the door."

For some reason, Ryu was still dissatisfied. "Promise in the name of your mother."

"Little sh*t! Are you playing with me!? Are you going to open or not? I'll count to three."

Ryu panicked. Not knowing what to do, he looked in Rewen's direction. "W-what should I do?"

"Do you want to hear my advice?"

"Three!"

Ryu nodded. "Hn!"

"Play fire with fire. Just say what's on your mind."

"B-but…"

"Two!"

"Do you want to get bullied for the rest of your life? If so, you can do as you like."

Ryu vehemently shook his head as if someone had struck his soft part. He looked towards the door with a determined look. 

"One! Get out unless you want to get pummeled into the ground!"

"Keep barking!! Eri-chan would never like someone like you!"

Rewen couldn't hold back a laugh. 

No more sound came from outside.

Ryu patted his chest which was beating fast and sat down beside Rewen. "Big Brother Piggy, will he come for me again?" His tone was extremely pitiful.

"Of course, he would. Prepare some medicines in advance."

"Then why-"

"Did that not feel good?"

"Yes but-"

"That's what matters the most, right?"

"No…"

"Ah… have more spirit. When I was your age, I used to tussle with men in their 20s."

"You talk like an old man."

"Listen. Do you really not want to fight back?"

"I want to… but they will hit me harder if I do that."

"Think after you act. Fight back and don't care about the consequences or are you still willing to look like a loser in front of your Eri-chan?"

When he said that, Ryu didn't appear bashful. He had a new pair of eyes which looked forward to the future. 

Rewen thought that the world was really interesting. 'My thoughts and actions directly affect a person. If this was Earth, I don't know how much of this is possible but to change a person's outlook with just words is something extremely uncommon. It's not to say that people here are somehow less intelligent or are unreal to an extreme degree, it's just… the closest word would be 'dramatic' but not exactly. I guess some drama is necessary in life else it's just boring.'

[Keep the tough act. You were on your death's door a few hours ago.]

Rewen ignored the system's snide comment. 'How many Alter Points do I have?'

---

Alter Points: 32

---

A grin formed on his face making him look even more hideous than he already was.

***

"Ryu, don't run off! Stay with this Big Brother."

"Where are you going?"

"The driver should have arrived by now. I'm going to look for him. Both of you stay here."

Ryu held Rewen's hands as his father disappeared in the crowd. 

Rewen was casually looking around when he spotted a suspicious-looking figure amidst the dense crowd and smiled helplessly. 'I'm truly a damned protagonist.'