Master Kongming, I’ve Finally Caught Up to You!

I told Gonz and the others that I had been injured and wouldn’t be able to work for a while. I apologized, saying I felt bad because I had just started looking for a job since my wallet was getting light, only to end up getting hurt.

Al gave me his usual line, “good thing you didn’t die.” I expected Gonz to complain or try to squeeze money out of me, but he simply worried about my injury.

It left me a bit off balance, but honestly I was happy.

The swelling in my shoulder went down and Ms. Cleiarne set the bone for me, which hurt like a demon. I yelped without thinking and she told me I was pathetic for a man.

There is a theory that men are weaker to pain, ma’am. I almost said it, but she would definitely get mad so I held my tongue.

Apparently it was good that I put strength into my shoulder and charged in on my own. Since the bone broke cleanly, there would be no lasting damage. I was relieved to hear that.

If the joint had been crushed or the bone shattered, I might have been left with aftereffects.

She told me that fixing it had been difficult because I kept pushing myself while the bone was still broken. Any regular bush doctor wouldn’t have been able to treat it. She scolded me and told me to rest as much as possible when I am injured.

Given the situation, I think it couldn’t be helped, but I am grateful she worried about me. I answered with a straightforward yes.

It seemed she did not want me meeting the village girl, because she kicked me out of the clinic. After leaving, I headed to the clothing shop.

Until now, clothes only needed to fit and be durable. But apparently if you go to the church looking too shabby, they might cut corners with your treatment.

On the other hand, if your clothes are too fine, they will overcharge you. They told me to wear something in between, but I had no idea where that line was.

When I told the shopkeeper I was buying clothes because I was going to the church for treatment, they picked out an outfit that was just right. Apparently it is a common church thing.

I would prefer not to go to the church at all, but who knows how long it would take for a broken bone to heal naturally.

I had no choice. With heavy steps, I made my way to the church.

When I arrived, some older women were cleaning and tending the flowerbeds. I wasn’t sure if they were volunteers or church staff.

The church was not at all what I imagined. I expected gaudy stained glass and gold decorations, something that screamed we live in luxury thanks to the believers’ money. Instead, it was a plain and modest church.

I went inside and told a nearby sister what I needed. After waiting a bit, a fat priest with dull eyes came out from the back wearing flashy vestments.

He looked me up and down and, realizing I wasn’t a wealthy patron, did not bother to hide his displeasure. He jerked his chin at the sister.

I had no idea what he meant and stood there blinking. The priest clicked his tongue in irritation. This pig bastard is really getting on my nerves. Should I send him right now to meet his god?

The thought flashed across my mind for a moment, but picking a fight with the church would be bad. While I was swallowing my anger, the sister whispered to me to please make a donation.

Normally, I figured I would express my gratitude with a donation after being treated. But it seemed he did not want to cast healing magic unless he confirmed I would pay.

I donated the amount Ms. Cleiarne had told me was standard. The pig priest lazily held his hand over my shoulder.

“O great and mighty God, grant healing to the injured. Heal.”

The pig priest chanted the spell.

When I heard healing spell, I imagined a gentle green light and a pleasant warmth that mended wounds. Something like that.

But there was no light and nothing seemed to happen on the surface.

Inside me though, my metabolism suddenly accelerated and I felt my bone knitting together at high speed. And it hurt like hell.

If I were not standing in front of this infuriating pig priest, I probably would have been writhing on the floor screaming.

I endured the strange sensation of my wounds regenerating rapidly along with the intense pain. After some time the treatment ended. The pig priest said nothing and just went back inside.

I bowed my head to the sister and left the church.

This was completely unexpected. Ms. Cleiarne had said nothing about this. I never imagined it would hurt so much.

It was nothing like what I had pictured. Instead of a soothing power, it felt like they were forcefully healing me by accelerating my body’s metabolism to a dangerous level.

This is definitely going to age my body faster, right? My lifespan is probably getting shorter. What is this, at least make healing magic more like the usual template. Do I have to go through that again?

Filled with despair, I trudged back to the inn.

Three days had passed since I had received healing magic, so I had Ms. Cleiarne check my shoulder to make sure the bone hadn’t healed in an odd shape.

There were no abnormalities, so I went ahead and had the church perform the treatment again.

A few days passed after the church’s treatment. As I practiced throwing shurikens in the forest and fields, I checked my movements to make sure there was no lingering discomfort.

The bone was perfectly healed, and for the amount of money I had paid and the pain I endured, it was worth it.

If it weren’t for Ms. Cleiarne, I might have ended up with my bone connected in a weird way by that pig priest. I owe her a lot; I could never turn my back on her Originally あの人には足を向けて寝られないな (I could never sleep with my feet facing her) which is a Japanese idiom meaning that you owe the person so much that you cannot show disrespect to them in any way. .

The injury was completely healed. Now, it was time for the much-anticipated hustle time! I asked Al about high-class brothels at the tavern.

That’s when I learned the shocking truth: without a letter of introduction, you couldn’t even get in! Even if you paid, the prostitute would decide whether she would sleep with you or not! And despite thinking I was a newly rich man, I learned that even using all my savings, I’d only be able to visit a few times!

According to Al, regular prostitutes and high-class prostitutes are completely different things.

High-class prostitutes aren’t just beautiful, but well-educated, polite, and possess perfect night skills. They’re the ideal woman for a man, it seems.

Buying sex with money is considered crass, and the true gentleman is one who seduces with his own charm.

Once you’ve paid for the brothel and bought the high-class prostitute’s time, you have to seduce her yourself.

It’s about enjoying the process of seducing the ultimate woman, a pastime for wealthy gentlemen who can afford it. You need to go many times and of course, bring gifts.

I had been holding off on buying a prostitute for so long. If I was going to do it, I might as well sleep with the best woman.

It was the worst, but right now, I had money! My instincts were roaring! There was no time like the present!! But those burning thoughts of desire were instantly extinguished.

Somehow, I just felt deflated. My little buddy was also slouching. I thought, “Forget it, I’m not some newly rich man, I was just happy with pocket change.”

I could never get a top-tier woman. I’m sorry for being a poor, lowly guy who was aiming too high.

I tried to excuse myself by telling myself I was just trying to buy the best woman for one night, but in so many ways, I was utterly crushed.

The gap between me and those gentlemen who could afford the luxury of enjoying the process of seducing the ultimate woman, their grandeur, their nobility as men was too much to bear.

That night, I cried myself to sleep.

After a night had passed and I had calmed down, I headed to the weapons shop. This wasn’t the usual armor and weapon shop I frequented, but a specialty weapons store.

To a rich person, the amount of money I had wasn’t much, but to a commoner, it was a large sum. With this much, it would be enough to cover the cost of moving to another location.

Even though there weren’t any signs of guards moving around, staying in Rock Cliff still carried the risk of being arrested.

I could just head to another place, but I didn’t feel like I could form a party with adventurers like Gonz and the others anymore.

If possible, I wanted to move with them.

But Gonz and the others had already established a position in Rock Cliff, so there was no reason for them to leave. That’s when I had an idea. I just needed to break through the level wall.

Rock Cliff thrived as a trading city because it was in a region with relatively few dangerous monsters.

The third-generation head of the Megan family, who governed Rock Cliff, noticed that the mountain range marking the border had a lower elevation compared to other regions.

Further investigation confirmed that there weren’t any strong monsters near the border mountains.

Using his personal wealth, Baron Megan started to improve the roads. At first, people mocked him, but the completed roads brought prosperity to Rock Cliff.

Salt and seafood were brought in from the western countries, while mineral resources came from the eastern countries, and Rock Cliff prospered as a trading city.

With this background, the town had relatively few high-ranking monsters in the surrounding areas. For the people living there, it was easy to live, and adventurers could earn money relatively safely.

On the other hand, adventurers who had surpassed the level wall would find themselves at a loss for opponents.

If they wanted to fight monsters that matched their level, they would have to venture deep into forests far from Rock Cliff.

Thus, adventurers who broke through the level wall tended to leave Rock Cliff.

While humans could be the worst of the worst, Rock Cliff, with its lack of strong monsters, was an ideal town for beginner adventurers in terms of monster hunting.

With the money I had earned, I planned to buy black steel weapons for my party members. If we used those weapons and surpassed the level wall, there was a good chance that we would move to a town with stronger monsters to hunt.

It was a perfect plan that would allow us to move without disbanding the party.

Gonz and the others were highly capable. Even though they couldn’t break through the level 15 wall, I was sure they felt frustrated by it.

Especially Gonz, who had exceptionally high base stats. I was certain that he was thinking that if only he could break through that level wall.

It would be such a waste if people like them continued to stagnate. I also had a selfish desire to improve my relationship with them by giving them weapons as a gift.

I’d be appreciated by my talented comrades, the party wouldn’t disband, and we could leave Rock Cliff. It was the perfect plan. What a brilliant strategy I had come up with.

Hahaha. Master Kongming Master Kongming (孔明), more commonly known as Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), is known for his role as a strategist and statesman during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. , I’ve come to stand beside you3. With such thoughts, I entered the weapons store.

I quickly went to the black steel weapons section of the store, but in an instant, my so-called perfect plan crumbled.

The prices were ridiculously high.