Chapter 7

"Me..." Xie Ouna opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But she felt her throat was terribly dry, and she couldn't utter a word.

"Little sister, step back. As the head of the Freeman family, I will handle this matter." Gaodeng appeared behind Xie Ouna.

The black-haired girl felt as if she had a solid wall to lean on and immediately felt relieved.

"Hmph!" Dengwei spat out a syllable from his throat, his disdain evident. He knew that Gaodeng was always buried in the study and practice of magic, almost never managing the family affairs. The independent and strong Xie Ouna was the true pillar of the family.

However, since this poor mage is stepping forward to take charge, it's fine to negotiate with him.

"As you can see, Baron Gaodeng Freeman. I, Dengwei Ritter, son of Lord Longge, am formally proposing to Miss Xie Ouna. I have brought the dowry and a priest to witness the engagement ceremony. If you agree, we can hold the engagement ceremony immediately." Dengwei looked at Gaodeng's pale face, which was still recovering from his injuries, and smiled.

His chin was held high, waiting for Gaodeng to make a decision with the air of a victor.

Dengwei had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Long-term pursuit failures had already made Dengwei restless. But when he heard that Gaodeng was severely injured in an adventure and was on the brink of death, he knew his opportunity had come.

What's wrong with taking advantage of someone's weakness? This is the best time to buy at the bottom, to gain the maximum profit.

His information was very reliable. When he learned that Xie Ouna had mortgaged the house left by her parents to treat Gaodeng's injuries, he immediately came to the door. To pressure the other party and show his determination, Dengwei even brought a large dowry and invited a priest of the Love Goddess to accompany him.

"Agree! Bow to the pressure of reality!" Dengwei shouted in his heart. He seemed to already see a beautiful future: on their wedding night, he would press Xie Ouna's delicate and fair body under him, indulging himself.

Gaodeng looked at Dengwei, squinting his eyes slightly, as if dazzled by the wealth on the three-horse carriage.

Dengwei almost thought the other party was about to nod.

"I refuse to marry my sister to you." Gaodeng said.

"What? You refused me?" Unbelieving what he heard, Dengwei repeated, "You refused me?"

"Yes."

"On what grounds do you refuse me? Xie Ouna's marriage should be decided by her!"

"An elder brother is like a father. I am the head of the Freeman family, and my sister's marriage is my decision."

Compared to the agitated Dengwei, Gaodeng remained calm. But his words were firm and left no room for doubt.

"Mr. Dengwei," a priest of the Love Goddess said, "Love should be mutual. Since the lady does not favor you, and her brother disagrees, it means that Lady Ainesha has not woven you and Miss Xie Ouna together with a pink thread. Let it go. There are many beautiful girls in the world waiting for you to discover."

The Love Goddess Ainesha is a deity of chaotic good. Her priests encourage true love and even incite young people to break traditional norms for true love. However, the priests of the Love Goddess also advocate resolving conflicts with love and beauty. So they stepped forward to persuade Dengwei.

"Mr. Dengwei, we don't have servants, so we can't see you out. Please leave slowly." Gaodeng said. He gently supported the stunned Xie Ouna and walked into the house together.

Watching the siblings disappear behind the door, Dengwei finally calmed down. Today, he had mobilized such a grand array, but was still rejected. He knew that tomorrow he would become the latest laughingstock of the upper class in Bluewater City, spreading widely in various salons.

"Let's go!" Dengwei ordered his attendants and sat in the carriage with a gloomy face.

...

"Little sister, how much did you owe to save me?" After sending away the impure suitor, Gaodeng shifted his attention to the family's debt.

Xie Ouna took out a loan contract from her pocket.

Mortgaging the house for 1000 gold coins. In three months, the principal and interest must be repaid with 3000 gold coins.

"This interest..." Gaodeng was speechless. However, he knew that in this world, there was no concept of usury being illegal. As long as the contract was signed voluntarily by both parties, it would be protected by law.

"Did it really cost 1000 gold coins to heal you?"

Xie Ouna smiled bitterly. "Brother, you don't know. When the adventurers brought you back that day, your condition was terrible. Your body was infected by the toxins and rust left on the arrowheads, negative energy had eroded all your internal organs, you were severely bleeding, and in a deep coma. To save you, the priests of the Platinum Temple cast a 7th-level divine spell, 'Greater Restoration,' to remove the negative energy from your body. Then they cast a 6th-level divine spell, 'Heal,' to detoxify you. But that wasn't enough. The priests had to use three 4th-level divine spells, 'Cure Critical Wounds,' to stabilize your condition. For the next four days, you had to receive a 3rd-level divine spell, 'Cure Serious Wounds,' every day, along with various herbs, to recover."

"To save me, you really went all out, little sister." Gaodeng smiled self-deprecatingly.

Divine spells, though astonishingly effective, were also astonishingly expensive. The services of a priest were not something ordinary people could afford. A 7th-level divine spell cost 500 gold coins on the market. To save Gaodeng, the cost of these divine spells was naturally enormous.

"Brother, what are you talking about!" Xie Ouna rolled her eyes at Gaodeng. "You are the head of the Freeman family, my brother. To save you, I would do anything."

Seeing the determined look in her sister's eyes, Gaodeng felt a warm feeling rise in his heart.

"But, brother, was it really right to reject Dengwei?" Xie Ouna's expression suddenly darkened. "This might be the last hope for the revival of the Freeman family."

"My silly little sister," Gaodeng gently patted Xie Ouna's head. "Do you really think marrying Dengwei will restore our family's former glory?"

He continued, "Dengwei is not a philanthropist. His ultimate goal is just to obtain the baron title of the Freeman family. I bet that if you really married him, I would die in an 'accident' within a year."

"How could that be?" Xie Ouna opened her mouth wide, looking incredulous.

After all, she was just a sixteen-year-old girl, still naive about the world's dangers.

"How couldn't it be?" Gaodeng explained. "If I die, you will inherit the noble title and become a baroness. Your child with Dengwei will become the first in line to inherit the baron title. In a few decades, there will be no more Baron Freeman, only Baron Ritter. See, what a perfect plan."

"I'm sorry, I was too naive." Xie Ouna lowered her head, feeling ashamed of her naivety.

"I should be the one to apologize." Gaodeng said softly. "After our parents passed away, I always focused on the world of magic, leaving all the burdens of life on you. Noble girls of your age wear beautiful clothes, frequent salons, taste delicious food, and share secrets with their best friends, enjoying their youth. But you, to support my huge expenses for magic studies, had to fight alongside those rough adventurers and dangerous monsters, earning gold with your blood and sweat."

"Brother..." Xie Ouna's eyes were misty with tears. She pressed her face against Gaodeng's chest, letting herself be embraced.

The warmth in her chest, the sound of her brother's heartbeat, it all felt so nostalgic.

Since their parents passed away, Gaodeng had become increasingly silent and withdrawn, often spending weeks in his small study.

Now, the recovered Gaodeng seemed to have finally awakened, returning to the spirited and passionate brother she remembered from when their parents were still alive.

At this moment, Xie Ouna felt like the happiest girl in the world, and everything seemed full of hope. But heavy worries soon filled her heart.

"Brother, by rejecting Dengwei today, he won't let it go. We need to be careful. And how are we going to repay the 3000 gold coins we owe?"

"Isn't it still not time to repay? Three months can change a lot." Gaodeng's eyes sparkled with confidence...

The first day after the穿越 (穿越 means "穿越" in Chinese, which can be translated as "transmigration" or "reincarnation") was over.

The next morning, Xie Ouna, dressed in armor, appeared before Gaodeng. Her casual shirt and pants had been replaced by a set of leather armor. Although the armor was not new, it was well-maintained, with the metal plates polished to a shine.

A dagger and a water flask were attached to the belt around her waist, and two long swords were on her back—she was clearly a dual-wielder.

"Brother, there's stewed venison in the kitchen, to help you recover." The armored girl instructed. "I've joined an adventure team to hunt frost gray bears in the Cold Fog Mountains. The reward is good. You'll have to take care of yourself for a few days."

"I understand, be careful." Gaodeng nodded.

Because of Gaodeng's injuries, not only had all their savings been exhausted, but they also owed a large debt. If Xie Ouna didn't find something to do, the family would be in dire straits.

Although Gaodeng had a strong desire to change their situation, for now, the family still needed Xie Ouna to support it.

"An elder brother should protect his sister carefully, making her life ten times happier than a princess. Even if the entire crystal sphere collapses, the brother cannot let his sister be harmed!"

Gaodeng recalled a famous quote from a brother complex member in his guild in "The Ancient Era." By his standards, he was a complete failure as a brother.

After Xie Ouna left, the large house was left with Gaodeng alone.

Last night, Gaodeng spent the entire night thinking about a very practical question: what was his goal in life as a transmigrant?

Undoubtedly, his current situation was terrible. He had a noble title but was destitute and in debt, and he might lose his home if he wasn't careful.

In any world, pursuing a better life is a human instinct. So Gaodeng decided he would make money, a lot of money, to live a wealthy life with his sister.

However, unlike the civilized world he came from, in this world called Telos, intelligent beings could possess extremely powerful abilities, which meant that violence could solve most problems. Therefore, to protect his wealth and happy life, he needed to be powerful.

Strengthening his power, making money; then strengthening his power again, making more money. Ultimately, becoming a hero admired by all, living a shameless and happy life in a different world.

See, how simple and pure the ideal is, much more reliable than slaying gods and demons.

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