Chapter 100

★The Exiled Saint's Climbing Life - Book Release on October 11th★

I was sent flying by a full-force punch to the cheek. Literally, full force, no holding back.

Stars scattered before my eyes, and a metallic liquid overflowed in my nose and mouth. My nose was probably broken.

Eider, who had thrown the punch, looked down at me with a cold gaze and slowly approached.

I pressed my wobbly head and struggled to get up. My master had a look of exasperation, Gray had an amused expression, and behind them, Lois was desperately trying to hold Eider back.

"Your Highness! Your Highness, please calm down! If you go any further, Lord Rolf will die!"

"Don't stop me, Lois. This guy doesn't understand what he was trying to do."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Oh, Eider, don't kill him."

It was the usual three: the quiet master, the logical Eider, and the rough Gray.

But it was different from usual.

The master was dressed in a knight's formal attire.

Gray, instead of his usual worn and dirty clothes, was dressed up like a noble's son.

And Eider... was being called "Your Highness."

My head was spinning, and the blood in my mouth fell down my throat, making me cough uncontrollably.

Yus and Bain ran to me with pale faces.

In my rapidly narrowing field of vision, for some reason, I remembered my mother's face, calm yet sad.

◇◇◇

After mourning Michelle, we secretly investigated her new family.

I used my connections as an adventurer, Bain and the others used their connections with the merchants they usually dealt with, and Lois helped gather information.

We couldn't help but investigate. We needed to know what situation Michelle was in and who had driven her to this.

From the Udos Trading Company, Michelle's ex-husband didn't even attend her funeral. Not only that, but a pregnant woman was already acting as if she had always been the wife, standing at the front of the store.

Originally, Michelle, an orphan, was not welcomed by the Udos family. Even though her husband had married her against everyone's objections, once the honeymoon was over, he quickly grew tired of Michelle and took other women. The other woman, a daughter of another merchant, despite being a mistress, boldly insulted Michelle. Michelle's husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and employees did nothing to support her.

However, the Udos family couldn't easily get rid of Michelle. If they had dismissed the legitimate wife just because the mistress was pregnant, it would have been bad for their reputation as a merchant. So, they did nothing overtly but repeatedly harassed her in secret.

As time went on, the mistress became pregnant. Michelle, who had no place to go, was increasingly driven to the brink. A young servant girl in the Udos household, who was the only one who looked up to Michelle, told me that Michelle had often cried, saying, "I don't want to lose my family again. If I lose this place, I have nowhere to go."

Michelle had protected the young servant girl, who was harshly scolded by the employees for minor mistakes. Hearing this, I realized that Michelle hadn't changed. She was kind, motherly, and good at taking care of others. Even in the orphanage, she was beloved by the younger children.

Why did such a kind Michelle die? Who hurt her?

I'm not that kind to let those who hurt Michelle go unpunished. I will make sure they pay for taking Michelle from us.

It was easy to corner the Udos family.

The most important thing for a merchant is trust. Without it, business cannot survive. The Udos family seemed to have taken lightly the implications of introducing a pregnant mistress right after Michelle's death.

We didn't have to do much to the Udos family. We just complained about the situation in various places. I did it in front of the ladies I knew, and Bain and the others did it at the merchants where they worked.

There were people who would be even more furious than us.

"Have you heard about the Udos Trading Company?"

"Yes, I have. It seems they brought a mistress into the store even though they had a wife."

"Oh my, when did this country allow multiple wives?"

"Even in high-ranking noble families, mistresses are kept secret. It's common knowledge. Yet, this mistress openly insulted the wife during the day."

"How audacious. And the mistress is the daughter of the Belster Trading Company. It seems they lack common sense."

"How could they treat a wife, who had taken a vow to the goddess, so lightly? What kind of education do they have? I heard there are still other unmarried daughters in the Belster family. It's terrifying. What will they do if their husbands are attracted to them?"

The scandal of the Udos family was whispered about with contempt by the ladies of the lower nobility and wealthy merchants.

Among them were those whose family positions were weak or whose status was low. Even though they were protected by their husbands' love, their positions were not secure. If they overlooked actions that threatened the status of a legitimate wife, it could happen to them tomorrow. In this country, which practices monogamy, having a second wife is not allowed, and even if one has a mistress, it is not right to neglect the legitimate wife.

The Udos family and the Belster family, who were mid-level merchants, saw their customers dwindle and their trading partners withdraw, and they quickly declined. With the ladies' opposition, it was impossible for the merchants to survive. Managing the household and handling the daily affairs of the house was the wife's job. If the wives turned their backs on a merchant, a mid-level merchant would quickly decline.

Within half a year, the Udos Trading Company and then the Belster Trading Company went bankrupt. They were left with many debts, and it was unclear what would happen to both families, but it wouldn't be good.

Those who had oppressed Michelle were dealt with. But this wasn't the end.

The drug that claimed Michelle's life, which was falsely sold as a fertility drug. I found the drug among the few belongings returned to me from Michelle's new family. A pharmacist friend examined it and found it to be a highly addictive drug mixed with banned substances. It was used in brothels as an aphrodisiac, but it had been banned due to the many women who became incapacitated. There were also rumors that it was used as a toy for nobles' bad tastes.

I was puzzled as to why such a drug was sold to Michelle as a fertility drug, but Michelle, though gaunt, was still beautiful. Perhaps she had been targeted by some villain. Many people drugged beautiful girls and sold them to brothels. If Michelle had gone mad, the Udos family would have been happy to divorce her.

The lower town was so lawless that such crimes were allowed. The lord had little interest in the affairs of his territory and left everything to the bailiff. The bailiff took bribes from the town's leaders and turned a blind eye to their crimes. A town where soldiers spent their days in taverns was clearly in a sorry state.

So, if I complained to the guards about the dangerous drugs, I would end up in jail. A direct approach was impossible. The opponents were lawless people with power, and we were just orphanage-raised apprentice adventurers. We had no chance from the start.

Even if the town's leaders were involved, our connections wouldn't help. The nobles and merchants were weak when it came to those of higher status. Even if we consulted them, no one would help us. They would just turn a blind eye to the lawlessness and try to avoid getting involved.

There was no way to solve this. But I couldn't just let the people who sold such drugs to Michelle go unpunished.

"So, what are you going to do? Brother Lo?"

Bain, with a scowl, asked me, frustrated that I hadn't taken action even though we knew who had sold the drugs.

"You're not planning to do nothing, right?"

Yus asked in a firm tone. Since losing Michelle, Yus had become like a 2-year-old, with a lack of expression. At just under 10 years old, he seemed to have stripped away his emotions, appearing expressionless.

"Of course not. I will definitely avenge Michelle."

But I had no time to worry about these two. I was solely focused on how to punish those who had killed Michelle. Otherwise, I felt she would never rest in peace.

I picked up the sword I had carried since becoming an apprentice adventurer.

In the end, the only thing I could rely on was my own strength.

I didn't know how far I could go, but I had to settle this with this sword, with my own hands.

I had no chance of winning. I had some confidence in my strength, but I was outnumbered. I intended to go as far as I could on my own.

But I had a trump card. A last resort that might crush them all at once. I might be able to throw a stone into this town where lawlessness was the norm, using my own life.

Bain, sensing my resolve, brought a kitchen knife from the kitchen. Yus stood by my side with a small knife.

They would follow me no matter what. What I was about to do was a completely hopeless fight. I knew it would end in a futile death. But I couldn't bring myself to stop them. If I were in their position, I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't go with them.

"Sorry, but I can't protect you. I want to go to the head of those guys."

"I can at least hold off the lower ranks."

"They're the ones who hurt my Michelle. I'm definitely going."

Bain and Yus, despite going to their deaths, smiled defiantly.

Going to die, but at least we wouldn't leave Michelle alone, crying by herself.

Without any plan, just on a whim, we decided to go to the town's leaders.

And as we were about to leave the orphanage with our weapons, Master and his adventurer companions, Eider and Gray, appeared out of nowhere and punched me so hard my nose broke.

☆☆On October 11, 2022, "The Exiled Saint's Climbing Life" will be released in book form.☆☆

The convenience store print original short story is already available.

Please pick it up.