Chapter 39. Pyramid Scheme (1)

As Yurii had guessed, the black sword soldiers who had spread throughout the Forest of Beginnings distributed pouches to all the cadet candidates.

A few of them, like Yurii, immediately understood the meaning of the items they received, while some of the majority racked their brains to figure out their significance.

However, most of the cadet candidates didn't give it much thought.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say they had no mental capacity to think about anything else.

One day passed since the pouches were distributed...

At the edge of the forest.

A boy was staggering along a snow-covered forest path.

"I can't... I can't hold on any longer..."

His hair, matted with sweat, oil, and water.

His sunken cheeks and dark, hollow eyes.

His ashen face and chapped, cracked lips.

His clothes, riddled with holes from the ordeal of the past ten days.

He truly looked worse than a beggar.

His appearance was even more wretched than when Yurii first boarded the Black Line.

Of course, the boy hadn't always looked this way.

Before the test began, he had been pampered like any other rich kid.

But after wandering the forest nonstop for just 11 days, he had transformed into this terrible state.

"I'm... I'm so hungry..."

The boy, with half-dilated pupils, stumbled forward.

He was heading to the clearing where the test had begun.

"The... the bell..."

The boy's mind, though dazed, moved with a single purpose: to ring the bell.

However, his mind was flooded with various thoughts.

I'm so hungry.

I want to sleep.

I want to lie down somewhere warm.

I want to go home, and so on.

But above all, his mind was filled with a defense mechanism justifying his surrender.

"I've done enough."

"I didn't come here to spend so much money on this ridiculous test. Something is definitely wrong with this!"

"Besides, someone has already rung the bell, right?"

"Yeah! I've lasted long enough."

"I must have done pretty well for the Cradle's test, right?"

The boy kept rationalizing as he walked.

Just as he was about to leave the forest.

"Hey, that's not right."

A sudden voice stopped the boy in his tracks.

"......?!"

The boy's dazed eyes regained a glint of alertness.

Though he might be weak-willed, he was still a genius who had entered the Cradle.

The boy quickly drew his sword and pointed it in the direction of the voice.

The person he saw made his eyes widen slightly.

"...Who are you?"

There was someone there.

A boy with long black hair hanging down, partially obscuring his face.

The owner of the voice, squatting nonchalantly next to a thick tree trunk.

It was none other than Yurii.

"Who are you?!"

Yurii was quite famous within the Black Line, but the boy didn't recognize him due to his cleaner appearance over the past ten days.

Meanwhile, Yurii remained unperturbed by the wary gaze.

"Does it matter? Of course it does. I have a very compassionate nature; I can't just walk past someone in trouble."

"......?"

"What does that mean! I'm here to help you! ...That's what I'm saying!"

"Help... me? You?"

The boy's eyes were full of disbelief.

After all, the newcomer's demeanor was very casual.

Though the boy wasn't particularly good at reading people, this guy seemed far from someone who would do volunteer work.

Who would believe such a claim from someone like him?

Yurii seemed to understand the boy's skepticism.

"Wow, you must have had a thorough early education, being from a wealthy family. Yeah, that's right! If a suspicious person offers you something tasty, you should be suspicious, right? But don't worry, I'm not suspicious."

"...You look very suspicious right now."

"Alright, before we get into the serious talk, let's see..."

Did this guy just dismiss what I said?

Is that it?

The boy's eyes became even more wary.

Meanwhile, Yurii, sounding like an old man, reached behind the tree trunk.

He seemed to be rummaging around for something.

"Don't move!"

Startled by Yurii's sudden action, the boy became even more vigilant, ready to pounce at any moment.

But the item that soon appeared from behind the tree trunk made the boy's caution seem unwarranted.

"What? That's...?!"

What Yurii pulled out from behind the tree trunk was a well-roasted, finger-sized sweet potato.

"Ah, it's hot."

Yurii carefully peeled the skin off the still-warm sweet potato.

Squish, squish.

The bright yellow flesh was revealed, steaming hot.

"Ah..."

For the boy, who had only eaten cold snow and chewed on coniferous leaves for the past ten days, the warm sweet potato was like a devil's temptation.

He couldn't take his eyes off the sweet potato Yurii was peeling.

It was only natural that his mouth was watering.

"Swallow."

He had once tasted a sweet potato before, but he hadn't paid it much attention since then.

Now, even the white steam rising from the sweet potato seemed delicious.

Swallow, swallow.

Seeing the boy's throat convulse wildly, Yurii grinned and beckoned him.

"Come on, come over here and try this."

A suspicious person was tempting him with food.

According to his early education, he shouldn't follow.

But the boy's body moved as if enchanted by Yurii's gesture.

Thud, thud, thud.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Finally, the boy stood in front of Yurii, unable to take his eyes off the sweet potato.

"Is... is this... for me?"

"Of course, of course! Eat it before it gets cold!"

Seeing the bright yellow flesh of the sweet potato wavering before his eyes, the boy couldn't maintain his wariness.

'Y-Yeah... if it gets cold... it won't be good!'

Instead, his mind was consumed by the thought of eating the warm, well-cooked sweet potato before it cooled.

The boy took the sweet potato with a trembling hand.

Swallow.

Then he quickly swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth and slowly brought the sweet potato to his lips.

Squish.

Finally, he took a bite of the sweet potato.

The warm, soft sweet potato spread through his mouth.

At the same time, a storm of flavors assaulted his taste buds.

Boom!

The boy felt a thunderous sensation.

'W-What is this taste?'

Sweet potatoes weren't usually very sweet.

But the boy's brain, starved for over ten days, amplified the sweetness to an extreme.

At the same time, he was certain.

'This is heavenly sweetness!'

It was truly a beautiful taste.

Drip.

So moved was he that a tear streamed down the boy's face.

But such emotion didn't last long.

"Ah..."

The sweet potato Yurii gave him was only as big as a finger.

The roasted sweet potato melted in his mouth and disappeared down his throat in an instant.

Finally, the boy, who had been in a heavenly state, looked at Yurii with pleading eyes.

"Is... is there more?"

"Do you want more?"

Nod, nod.

The boy nodded vigorously.

Yurii smiled and this time pulled out a larger roasted sweet potato from his pocket.

Why it was there didn't matter to the boy.

He was just happy that the sweet potato Yurii pulled out was five times larger than the previous one.

"Come on, hurry up!"

The boy flailed his arms toward the sweet potato.

But he couldn't reach it.

Yurii had skillfully moved the sweet potato out of the boy's reach.

"What are you doing?!"

"Hey, you're being too greedy, aren't you?"

"...What?"

"That was a sample, and this one is for sale."

"For sale?"

The boy's eyes filled with confusion.

Yurii started to explain.

"Think about it! On such a cold day! I risked my life to get this sweet potato!"

He had indeed worked hard to gather it.

"And I cooked it to perfection!"

The sweet potato was slightly burnt because he had dozed off while roasting it.

"And you want to eat it for free? A person should have some conscience."

Though something seemed off, the boy, overwhelmed by the sweetness he hadn't tasted in a long time, couldn't think clearly.

"Then...?"

"I'll just take the cost of materials, and you can pay me for my labor."

"...I don't have any money."

Not just the boy, but all the candidates had to return their personal belongings to the Cradle when they boarded the Black Line.

The Cradle had taken all their clothes and money, except for a few important accessories.

'Wait... accessories?'

The boy's eyes widened as he thought about it.

"No way! This can't be!"

He clutched the ring on his hand and took a slight step back.

'No matter how hungry I am, I can't trade the family crest for just a sweet potato!'

As the boy regained a bit of his sanity and became wary, Yurii shrugged.

"Ah, of course, I'd love to have it, but..."

He reined in his true thoughts and stated his real purpose.

"Besides that, did you get something from the black sword soldier yesterday?"

"From the black sword soldier?"

The boy blinked, recalling yesterday's events.

'Ah, right...'

When he was struggling with hunger, fatigue, and the cold, the black sword soldier had indeed visited.

'The item I received then...'

Clunk.

The boy pulled a small cloth pouch from his pocket.

"This?"

Yurii's eyes sparkled at the sight.

'As I thought!'

Yurii was confident his guess was correct.

'If even this useless-looking guy got a pouch, it means all the cadet candidates received one.'

Yurii smiled slightly and shook the roasted sweet potato.

"Right, that one. Let's trade this sweet potato for that pouch."

"What do you need it for? It's just some strange silver coins."

Yurii avoided the question and shook the sweet potato.

"So, do you want to trade? The longer you hesitate, the colder the sweet potato gets."

"That... that can't be!"

The boy's eyes became urgent.

Since it wasn't the family crest, just some strange silver coins, he could easily trade them for the sweet potato.

He quickly handed over the pouch and reached for the sweet potato.

This time, Yurii didn't dodge.

The boy quickly peeled the skin off the sweet potato, blowing on it, and took a careful bite.

Chomp.

"Ah..."

While the boy was distracted by the taste of the sweet potato, Yurii opened the pouch.

Clunk.

Inside, as expected, were perforated silver coins.

The shape and the engraving on the coins were the same, and there were ten of them.

'Hmm...?'

But not everything was the same.