Chapter 235.2: (Heinrich’s POV) Living by One’s Own Skills

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After leaving Keigo Okuda’s house, I put the things he had given to me onto the handcart and headed toward Tairant.

By stopping at nearby settlements to procure enough food, I somehow managed to reach Tairant.

Goblins, kobold fighters, giant spiders…. Multiple kinds of monsters came attacking one after another. However, thanks to the swordsmanship and archery skills that Keigo had taught me, I managed to defeat them.

Now, I found myself thinking that it was alright even if I couldn’t return to being a noble anymore. 

I suppose, I was able to think like this thanks to that mysterious man too. Seeing how he was living without getting tied up by any ‘obligations’ made me reconsider my way of living. Fundamentally speaking, humans were beings who could become stronger through unity. Yet, humans were also the kind of being that constantly pulled each other down through said unity.

When one became too immersed by the organization’s ideology for far too long, they were bound to become trapped by the chains of obligations. Oftentimes, they wouldn’t even realize that their way of thinking had been influenced by those chains, preventing them from having free will of their own.

That guy, he changed my way. He freed me from my greed and pride.

Even though I had lost everything and Keigo Okuda, he…

“First, you need to try to live by relying on your own skill. If after that, you still crave for power then go for it.”

So he said.

When he told me that, I was frustrated. However, I also knew that he was the one who so graciously provided me with lodging and food. Someone in my position talking back to him? How laughable.

After that, despite how vexed I was at Keigo’s words, I decided to learn the skill I needed so I could live on my own. Just like what he had advised.

I persevered, I did my best and as a result, I obtained the ability to survive by relying on my own skill. Something that my past self wouldn’t even think about. The me right now, I have the knowledge and skill on how to defeat monsters, how to acquire food and how to manage on my own.

Once I gained the said power, my obsession with power and wealth started to change. Well of course. Up until now, I believed only death would await me the moment I lost my power and wealth. So it was only natural I was so deeply fixated on wealth and power.

But now? Things were different now. I could live even without such things. In fact, living without having to worry about pleasing other people brought me so much joy. I felt liberated.

Yes, I hadn’t only gained physical freedom but I also gained my freedom of thought. My way of thinking wasn’t constricted by anyone’s chain anymore.

With this newly acquired freedom, I decided to go to Tairant, to make a name for myself by becoming an adventurer. I would be living by relying only on my own abilities.

For that, I needed to acquire weapons and armor to stand against monsters. Since these would be one of the most important tools required to protect my life, I decided to splurge my money on them.

For that reason, I decided to get money from Rufus, a noble from Tairant that I was acquainted with. This Rufus, he was a noble who took supreme pleasure by indulging himself with gourmet food and women. He was rumored to have made multiple women cry. Recently, he had been worrying about his thinning hair. At first, he treated me with disrespect since I had lost my power but when I told him about the potion I had mentioned before, his demeanor suddenly changed. His eyes practically lit up.

“Heinrich! That potion! I will pay any amount you ask for that potion! You HAVE to get your hands on it! Here, this is an advance payment for you!”

Stop talking while spitting out your dirty saliva everywhere…

Well, it was good that I was able to get money without having to say anything. In that bag, there were 500 gold coins.

With that money, I bought weapons and armor. I continued living by hunting monsters in the hunting grounds near Tairant. Then I delivered the monsters I had defeated back to the adventurers’ guild.

I also learned new sword and archery skills, along with some magic. I was able to raise my adventurer rank to Noble Iron rank.

However, Rufus’ obsession with that damaged body part recovery potion was getting intense. After all, he was the type of man who found the supreme bliss from being popular with women. His thinning hair was definitely a major problem for him. But still, the constant demand for it started to irritate me. It was like I was having an arrow shot at me one after another.

“Well, since I’ve received the payment for it, I better fulfill his request. Keigo said he doesn’t have any problem as long as I procure the necessary ingredients myself.”

I believed the main ingredient for that potion was the testicles of a red grizzly bear. Red grizzly was a rare monster that only appeared in autumn. However, there had been reports of adventurers hunting them while the bear was hibernating in Resta Forest during winter.

Hunting in Resta Forest as part of training sounded nice. I could imagine his surprised face when he looked at me now. 

“I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

I smiled from ear to ear as I maneuvered the carriage to the south.

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T/N: Okay it’s not clear yet if Heinrich knows the recipe or not. But man… Keigo is really not afraid that his secret recipe is going to get leaked… At this point, Keigo should make his own recipe book and sell it. At least he can get revenue from book sales.