Re:Incarnation System

Chapter 60: The Price of Freedom

"This is it, William," said Herman, giving the young man a grilled fish.

“Thank you, Uncle Herman,” replied William while happily accepting the food offered to him.

After the three Mountain Trolls left the open, the group decided to have lunch by the river. Est kept glancing at William as the boy happily ate the grilled fish with pleasure. His eyes were often fixed on the mithril collar hanging around the boy's neck from time to time.

Of course, William noticed his gaze, but he paid no heed to it. Everyone in Lont looked at him with the same inquisitive gaze when they saw his slave collar for the first time. Contrary to William's expectations, no one made a big deal at Lont.

They just looked at him with interest and thought that the collar around his neck looked cool. Even the adults who realized that it was a slave necklace felt that it was just a joke by Celine to reduce William's mischief.

Of course, this mentality was only limited in Lont city. For those people who did not know, they would only think that William was a pitiful Half-Elf who had been sold by slave traders.

“By the way, William, Thank you for saving us earlier,” Est said with a serious expression. "I swear on my behalf that I will return this favor."

"Call me, Will, please" William replied with a smile. “Also, you don't have to pay me. I just do what I think is right. I'm sure if you were the one who was in my position, you'd do the same.”

"But."

“Nothing but. You don't need a reason to help someone who needs.”

Herman watched the conversation of the two children and nodded his head as a sign of appreciation. He loved William very much and felt sorry for not having a grandson like him.

Est can say that William was resolute in not receiving any reward from saving his life, so he decided to avenge him in the future whether his savior liked him or not. For now, he wanted to know more about this shepherd which gave him a mysterious yet pleasant feeling.

"You said that you were heading for the Holy Temple, right?" Est asked. “What's your reason for going there?”

“I will go to the Holy Temple to meet Dewa– I mean, I want to pray to the Gods that they protect Lont and keep the townspeople from harm.” William made excuses to cover up his earlier tongue mistakes.

“Lot?” Est glanced at Herman. His eyes clearly asked, "Do you know anything about Lont?"

Herman closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. “If I don't remember wrong.. Lont is a small town located on the edge of the Western Region. Uh! Are you possibly related to that old bastard James? ”

William smiled and nodded his head. “My full name is William Von Ainsworth. However, just call me Will, Uncle Herman.”

"Ainsworth," Nana curled her lips. “So, that shameless old man is your grandfather.”

“Nana? Do you know grandfather William?” Est asked.

"Of course." Nana nodded her head. “He is a shameless bastard who took advantage of the chaos during the battle of Windkeep Fortress. He and his comrades were the ones who defeated the Flood Dragon, Oroubro, and Amphisbaena.

“The old man even dared to announce to everyone on the battlefield that the combined forces of Hellan Kingdom had only won because he had lured the Flood Dragon and cut the chain of command of the Monster Army.

“Currently, all the nobles in the capital are cursing his name. Even the King dizzy thinking of the best way to deal after the battle because of his antics.”

Herman chuckled while looking at William. “Your grandfather is a very cunning man. When all the royal forces were dealing with the Monster Army, he lured the three Great Bosses and managed to subdue them. Basically, he used the alliance as cannon fodder to gain the greatest advantage in that battle. Your grandfather really had guts!”

William had heard the story from his grandfather because the old man loved to boast of his heroism. Even so, William was still very impressed with how their small group was able to become the big winners in the war against the monster army.

Ian snorted at Nana and Herman's comments about William's grandfather.

“Although he managed to reap the most profit in that battle, his grandson remains a slave,” Ian sneer. "Isn't this what you call Karma?"

"Don't be rude!" Est reprimands his retainer. “William, I'm sorry for my retainer words. He's just a straightforward person.”

"It's okay." William sighed. “I guess, you could also call it Karma that this happened to me. My grandfather went crazy when he found out that I became a slave after he returned to Lont. ”

Currently, there was a wave of slave entry in the capital and most of them were survivors of villages and towns that had been destroyed by the monster army. At first, they thought William was one of the survivors.

“Mm.” William nodded his head.

"Then why didn't he buy you back?" Est asked.

"He can't afford it."

“Eh?”

William stroked a mithril collar around his neck. “A handsome and talented Half-Elf like me is worth it. Even the profit Grandfather gained during his short expedition was not enough to buy me back my freedom.”

"Of course, are you exaggerating?" Este. “How much does your Grandpa have to pay to win back your freedom?”

"Consider that even if the Hellan Royal Family empties their entire treasury, they will still not be able to afford me," William replied with a satisfied expression. “Even the Emperor's ransom pales in comparison to my net worth.”

Est, Nana, Herman, Isaac: “..”.

“Can I punch you in the face?” ask Ian. “My hands are feeling very itchy now.”

The boy looked at William with disdain. Although Half-Elf slaves were expensive, they cost at most ten to fifteen thousand gold coins. Even if you kill him, he won't believe that the shepherd in front of him deserves the Emperor's ransom.

“Your hands are itchy? You must be suffering from water fleas,” William sneer. "Happy."

"I said hands, not feet!"

“You stupid? Congrats! No cure for stupidity.”

"You-you!"

Isaac hurriedly grabbed his twin as the latter was about to leave with William. Nana and Herman exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.

William rolled his eyes towards the beautiful boy in front of him. He did not lie when he said that the Emperor Ransom was nothing compared to the ingredients Celine lost during her experiment. Some of the items that are missing from it cannot be purchased even if you have money. That was how rare and precious those materials were.

He simply did not understand why the boy named Ian was suddenly eyeing him.

'Could he be jealous because I'm three times more handsome than him?' thought William. 'Hah~ Being handsome is truly a sin.'

If Ian could only hear William's thoughts, he would probably fight desperately with his twin brother to get the chance to beat him to the ground.

“What about you all? Why go so far to visit the Holy Temple?” William asked after he finished eating. “Although your clothes do not look expensive, the design is very different from the ones commonly worn in the Western Region. Are you all probably from the capital?”

The gazes of Nana, Herman, Ian, and Isaac landed on Est.

William noticed the subtle changes in their expressions and looked expectantly at the soft-looking boy with light brown hair and eyes.

“Our reason for going to the temple is the same,” Est replied. “I also went there to pray and ask for the mercy of the Gods.”

William nodded in understanding. Everyone visited the temple to pray to the Gods, so the reason Est was not a strange thing.

After that, the group started talking about random things that made the atmosphere even more lively. Half an hour later, they left the open and continued on their way towards the Sacred Temple.