Re:Incarnation System

Chapter 54: A Man Should Learn How to Pay His Debt

"Celine, what does this mean?!" James roared as he looked at the mithril collar around William's neck. "How dare you enslave my granddaughter?"

When James arrived at Celine's house, the first thing he saw was William sweeping the terrace with a resigned expression. For a man of his caliber, it was very easy for him to identify that the collar around William's neck was a slave collar.

He barged into the house while carrying his granddaughter with an angry face as he called out to the host.

“Celine, out! Otherwise, I will tear your house to pieces!” James threatened.

“Hmp, I want to see you trying to do anything in my house, Old Man,” Celine replied as she descended the stairs.

James glared at the beautiful woman and pointed at William's neck, “What does this mean? Young Miss, if you don't give me a proper explanation, I have no choice but to punish you for bullying my granddaughter. ”

"The right explanation?" Celline smiled. "Well, here's your proper explanation."

Celine walked towards James and thrust the scroll across his face.

James resentfully took the scroll from Celine's hand and read the contents.

“One dragon heart, three horns of a Great Unicorn, Spirit Core of a Fighting Djinn, Six Scales of a Kun Peng, One Taotite Tooth…” James' eyes widened as he continued to read the rest of the contents written on the scroll.

"These are the ingredients?" James asked.

"Yes." "I replied Celine. “It was the ingredients I lost while doing my experiments. Do you know, Old Man? I'm only one step away from succeeding when your granddaughter peddles, nags, and begs me to save Lont City?”

“Save Lot?” James frowned. "Did something happen while I was gone?"

The corners of Celine's lips curved into a grin. "Little Will, tell your grandfather about the incident that happened while he was away for profit."

William sighed as he was required by the slave collar to tell the truth. He told the story to his grandfather and told everything about the attack of the Black Hawk Crocodile during his absence.

James's face turned from red to green when he learned that Lont City was almost wiped off the map due to his negligence.

If not for Celine's intervention, she and her comrades would have returned to the place of the ruins.

"Old Sister, if you can replace me with my loss, I will remove the collar from William's neck" Celine said with a sweet smile. "Uhuk, give me the stuff and we can all pretend that this never happened."

James coughed awkwardly while patting William on the shoulder.

"William, remember, a man must learn how to pay his debt."

"Grandfather, why don't you pay my debt as my daughter."

“Foolish boy, how can you ask your grandfather to do the hard work? Didn't you know that I have arthritis ?! ”

“B*llsh*t! I'm not seeing you suffer from arthritis when you fight against the Wolf Tide! You are as healthy and fit as a teenager!”

“Ungrateful grandson!” James grabbed William's clothes and raised them with one hand. "Have you forgotten that I was the one who gave you milk when you were a baby ?!"

"What empty mouth are you spouting, old man ?!" William roaring. “The one who gave me milk when I was a baby was Mama Ella!”

"You fool! The one who raised your Mama Ellamu was me! Since he gave you milk, it is equivalent to me giving you milk! Ungrateful grandson!”

"Fool old man, if you have the guts, fight me for two hundred rounds!"

"You asked for it, son!"

The foolish grandfather and grandson were wrestling with each other like two apes. Even Oliver, the Parrot Monkey, must admit that the two do have a kinship with each other.

Five minutes later, the two fools gasped for breath as they glared at each other. James then reluctantly averted his eyes and looked at Celine.

"How many years will he be your slave?"

"Four years. Of course, if you can pay me in advance then I can free him at any time. ”

“Only four years?” James asked.

"Yes. Only four years.” Celline nodded.

James stood up and fixed his clothes. "Okay, we have a deal."

James grabbed William and took him outside to talk. When the old man assumed no one could hear their conversation, he looked at William seriously.

"Listen, William. I understand that this may be difficult for you now, but be patient, ” James said with a serious expression. “Your master, Celine has saved Lont City. You may not realize it, but he did suffer a huge loss when he went to war against the Golden Scales Crocodile and his minions.”

"Is that really bad?" ask William.

“See this list.” James sighed as he gave the scroll to William. “Everything written here is a treasure. When we joined the Kingdom to fight the Beast Horde, we managed to defeat the Flood Dragon. One of the materials on that list is Dragon's Heart.

“Although we have the heart we have, it is not my own. It was the reward that the group decided to give to Trent for his help in killing the Flood Dragon at such a crucial moment. All listed there are SS-Class materials. That means you have to hunt Centennial, Millennial, and Myriad Beasts to get it.”

William pouted as he looked at the scroll in his hand. There were over twenty-five ingredients listed on that scroll. If what his grandfather said was true then it meant that getting everything in a short period of time was impossible.

"Tell me, William, is Celine holding you?" James asked. “Since you became his slave. Did he do anything to you?”

"Grandfather, listen, Master torments me every day" whined William.

He told her all the bad experiences he had under Celine's hands. James listened to his grievances with a calm expression. His expression did not change even though William made the incident more terrifying than the original.

"Is that so?" James said in an unperturbed manner. "Then, William, tell me, did you really get nothing out of the experience?"

“I-That.” William wanted to say he got nothing, but if he really did, he would be lying.

"That's what?" James looked straight into the boy's eyes. "Are you really not getting anything?"

William lowered his gaze and sighed. “I did get something. But, grandfather, it hurts a lot.”

"Have you ever heard the saying, What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?" James grinned. “This is what happened to you now. Even though you are suffering, you are also getting stronger. In the end, isn't that a good thing?”

Seeing his grandson finally calm down, James chuckled and lifted him off the ground. He then placed it on his shoulder as he carried it to a hill overlooking Lont.

“A-What is it?!” William flinched as he pointed at Ourobro in the distance. "How big is that monkey!"

"Ape, not a monkey" James corrects. “It was Ourobro, one of the advantages we gained when we went to Windkeep Fortress to fight against Beast Tide.”

"I want one too!" William said with sparkling eyes. “It looks so cool!”

“It does look cool.” James agreed.

It was at that moment that Ella arrived beside the two of them. He does not find William at Celine's house, so he decides to follow their lead, which leads him to a hill overlooking Lont.

After admiring the coolness of the Golden Ape in the distance, James brought William back to the Ainsworth Residence for lunch. A party was waiting for them when they arrived and William ate with gusto.

Mordred, Anna, Leah, Cedric, and Helen are shocked to see the necklace around William's neck. They all became angry, but James explained the situation correctly. Although Mordred, Anna, and Helen still had not resigned, they decided to trust James and let the matter pass.

However, that did not stop Anna and Hellen from spoiling William by piling a lot of meat on his plate.

After lunch ended, James decided to take William back to Celine's house.

"Will, I know this may sound cruel to me, but four years as a Celine slave is a small price to pay for the lives of the people in Lont City," james said as he walked beside his grandson. “If he does not offer his help, many people will die.”

"I know" replied William. “Grandfather, no need to say anything more. I've understood. Although Master can sometimes be a little crazy, he's a good person.”

“That's him.” James nodded. “He's someone who knows what suffering means. His whole life was filled with suffering. Even now, he still suffers. William, take good care of him. At least, here in Lont City, I hope he does not suffer too much.”

William really did not understand what James was trying to say, but he still nodded his head. "I'll do my best, Grandpa."

“Meeeeh.”

“Ah, I almost forgot you, Ella. Be sure to keep William as you always do.”

“Meeeeh.”

William would be lying if he said that he didn't hate Celine. How not? However, aside from "training" his teacher did not order him to do anything unreasonable. He could only sigh in his heart and tell himself that his slavery would end after he turned fourteen.

Since that was the case, he would only focus on his training and increase his resistance to Black Magic. Oliver often gives him sharp comments that Dark Witches who are exposed to curses from the same field have no right to call themselves Dark Witches.

After thinking about it, William felt that he had a point. If he could be immune to curses, it could be used as a trump card in the future when he fought against a Dark Witch of the same rank.