1 Chapter 1: The Girl who fall from the sky

One snowy night.

"Make a Promise…"

I held her hand tightly while crying on her shoulder. At the last moment, she held my face and wiped my tears. Together with her final sweet smile —

"Promise me that you'll live your life to the fullest."

Blood gushes down from her wounds tainting the white snow.

All I could do was cry from her side. There is nothing I can do to save her.

♦♦♦♦♦

"?!"

My eyes woke up wide. Turning my head around, I realized that everything was just a dream. Busy streets with people walking to their destination. The Earth dragon, pulling a carriage, ran on the high road. As for myself, I'm currently sitting on the cold staircase next to a general store.

It's not just a dream. That event was something that happened in my past. In the past, when I lost something very important to me.

I'm trying my best to forget and move on. But…

"How can I forget about her?"

I asked myself, unsure of the answer. Turning my glance to my palm. I saw droplets of tears falling.

I sure missed her so much. Life is so fun with her after all.

"What's wrong, Mister?"

A little girl asked me, tilting her head. She made a gasp and immediately took something from her small bag.

"Mister! Here is a bookmark I made myself. Please take this!"

She cutely presented the bookmark with flower markings on it.

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome." She said and grinned.

"Why all of a sudden? Didn't your mom tell you that you should not talk to strangers?"

"My mom told me… But… Umm, Mister looks so sad."

I wiped out my tears and took the present.

After that, she runs back to her mother. Looking at the mother's expression, I can tell that she was suspicious of me. She glared at me for a second. The little girl whispered something to her. The mother's expression shifted and she gave me a smile and nod. Not long after they left, the little girl waved her hand to me.

Little kids should not approach strangers like me. Gazing at the flower bookmark. I would be lying if I said that I'm not moved by the little girl's actions.

The world is cruel, but there are still hints of kindness around.

"Ren… Are you still there? I took lots of time checking my inventory. I'm sorry for making you wait so long."

The general store owner said.

"Don't worry about that… I'm happy that I get a little rest."

"You must've been really tired… That's to be expected. You travel from another country, right? Traversing the border alone is a feat. I admire hard-working fellows like you… Here this is the list of wine I'm buying."

He gives me the list and I immediately go to fetch the wine crates from my carriage.

My name is Ren the merchant. To be exact, I'm a traveling merchant. I travel across countries selling stuff that can only be found in other countries. Traveling sounds great, but trust me, it's not. Traversing across countries will lead you to many unsavory encounters. For example, monsters, bandits, terrible weather, etc.

My instinct sharpens in my journey, sometimes I can tell if the trail was a bandit-prone area. Better to take another route if that's the case. I also avoid paths filled with strong monsters.

For average people like me, using magic is impossible. Only those who had royal blood and talent can use magic in this world. Those types of people are always called the born winners. And we peasants who can't are losers.

In my case, I'm worse than a loser. I don't have anything that an average person has after all. Like family, lover, companion, shelter, stable income, etc.

It's getting depressing just thinking about it.

But as much as possible, I don't want my negative thoughts to get the best of me.

I have a dream. I want to save lots of money and become wealthy. I'll open a small general store. In the future, I'll marry a cute girl. I want a girl from a rural area. I mean, maidens from rural areas are not choosily compared to the maidens in urban areas. Showing them that you love them very much is enough for them. They'll love you in return. After that, I'll live happily ever after.

Very noble living indeed.

To achieve that dream, I have to continue working hard. I will work harder than anybody. Even if I met the scythe of death many times. I will never give up.

My dream always keeps me moving forward.

Everything is temporary. Someday, I know that I will find happiness.

Her last words came across my mind again…

"I have to live my life to the fullest… I made a promise after all.

♦♦♦♦♦

If you ever ask me what is the most important thing in this world? I would definitely tell you that was wealth.

I'm not a greedy man, I want that to be clear. I only want to say that wealth is something every man in this world should achieve. Money is very important. It will not make you happy, but money will give you what will make you happy.

Wealth solves many things in this world after all. Don't deny it. In this day and age, money is as important as water and air. Having lots of money is not evil.

I don't know who started the quote "Money is evil", but I'm sure that man is wrong. Money is not evil. It was that greedy men who wouldn't hesitate to step on others to gain more wealth were the evil ones.

And I will make sure not to become one of them…

Because just now…

"This is great… This is great…"

I have my glimmering eyes gazing at the small chest in my hand. I can't believe that I have finally made it. I'm in disbelief, but I'm sure this is reality.

The small chest contains 33 Platinum holy coins. A single platinum holy coin is equivalent to 10,000 gold. 1 gold coin is equivalent to 1000 silver.

A man having 100,000 gold with him can already be called wealthy. I have 330,000 gold with me.

Does that mean I'm three times wealthier than your average wealth!?

I plan to only have 30 platinum holy coins. But I managed to sell some magic ores at a high price. But this is not just dumb luck. I worked hard to earn this money.

I can't help but shed tears.

Finally, I can settle down in a city and open my shop. I can finally escape a hellish journey and live a safe, peaceful life. I won't be running away from monsters, bandits, and suspicious cults.

The grinding is finally over.

My blood and sweat. It all worked out.

I placed the chest in my hidden inventory. I ride in the front of the carriage and go to the next phase of my dream. (Searching for a city to settle down.)

…

After weeks of searching around the continent, I concluded.

That's when things got rough.

I'm currently at Silkdawn city hall. Sitting opposite me was what seemed to be the lord. He was rather younger-looking than I expected. I always think all lords are pigs with fat bellies and weird mustaches. This one is different; he's well-groomed and handsome for someone in his thirties. This is the type of look I aspire to be in the future.

He inspects my documents and takes a look at the fee.

To become a resident of one country, someone must pay some sort of fee. It's called the Permanent residence fee. This is normal since I come from afar, far away land. I'm a foreigner. (I may not look like it.)

The fee is about 100,000 gold. I had already thought about this before having this meeting. This is one of the reasons I save 300,000 gold. 100,000 gold will be used for the Permanent resident fee. 100,000 gold is for my shop's capital. 50,000 gold is for the house. Lastly, 50,000 gold is for savings for my retirement.

Silkdawn City resembles the capital city. Silkdawn was one of the cities located near the border of the Lunatear Kingdom and Belzerg Kingdom. Most travelers and merchants usually come to stop by. There are also tourists since this city is popular for gambling and entertainment establishments.

As a future shop owner. This would be a great place to start my business.

Everything is well planned.

Well, that's how it's supposed to be…

"I apologize, but I can't approve of your proposal."

The Lord told me.

"Eh? Why? I fulfilled each requirement, right? If it's money, I can pay up to 150,000 gold for my permanent residence fee."

I said.

"That's not about money, young man… This city is still under the power of the Belzerg Kingdom. And according to the new law. A foreigner like you cannot be a resident here unless you stay here for five years. That's the minimum requirement."

"Wait… Not being a resident means I'm unable to get a business permit, right?"

"That's true… Foreigners cannot be business owners in this country."

"Then, is there a way for me to become a resident while staying in business as a merchant?"

"That is hard… Traveling merchants are allowed to sell, but they can't stay in one city for a maximum of three days or else you'll be charged an overstaying fee. Three overstaying tickets will result in you being kicked out of the city. Except if there's a calamity on the road or they have permission from the royals… Being a resident here is impossible… simply impossible for you. Unless you have a lover here."

"Lover?"

"When you get married to someone in this kingdom, you're immediately a resident. Do you have a lover living in this kingdom?"

"No sir."

I exited the city hall and made my way back to my carriage feeling disappointed.

The only fast way to have my residence was to marry someone. Where in the world will I get someone?

Being alone for a very long time does make my heart numb. Or maybe I gave my heart to someone. That special someone is not going back. She's already happy in heaven.

I lifted my glance at the clear blue sky and took a deep breath.

"It's not like a girl will come falling from the sky to be my wife."

Walking down the streets, I heard some commotion. Sounds like some thief is running away. There is a huge crowd in the street and the main road is busy with speeding carriages. Knight brushes the crowd as if they are nothing.

But with the crowd of people, I believe that the thief is going to escape easily.

I continue strolling, heading back to my carriage. The route in the main street is chaos, so I chose to walk in an alley.

Thinking about my conversation with the lord over and over again will do nothing. I have to find something. I believe that every rule has its loopholes. I have a good amount of wealth with me. I guess I can find something that will help me achieve my dream in a few months.

For now, I'll continue traveling as a broken merchant.

"Look out!"

I heard a feminine voice from above.

"Huh?"

I lifted my head and then saw this girl falling down from the sky.

"Help! Help me!"

She shouted. She's falling exactly where I'm standing. By instinct, I raised my arms and caught her. She's surprisingly light like a feather. More importantly, this girl is super cute… Light golden hair that reaches her shoulders, pale porcelain skin, pinkish cheeks that show health and beautiful eyes resembling the blue sky.

"T-Thank you."

She said while her arms around my neck.

"You're welcome…"

"That girl she leaps from this overpass! Get her!"

We heard shouting men above. The girl on my arm looks annoyed.

"Hurry up! Please help me escape. Those uglies are chasing me! Please help me!"

This girl seems sketchy. Is this girl a criminal?

She raised her face right next to mine and begged.

"Please help me! I'm in big trouble. I don't want to go with them. Please help me, handsome kind mister."

I don't know what to do. But for some reason, my instinct tells me to save her no matter what.

I turned my back with the girl on my arm and ran into the dark alley. The city's dark alleyways are like a giant maze. There was one time I visited this place and used this maze-like alley to escape some thugs chasing me. During that time, I couldn't use my sword. I don't have any choice but to run during that time. The girl whose most important to me was still alive.

"Hey, can you tell me why they're chasing you?"

I asked.

"They want me to marry their fat-ass boss. I hate it, that's why I ran away."

"I kinda understand you. You want to marry the one you love after all."

"Not really."

"Eh?"

"Well, I suppose you are correct. But I think that wealth is very important. Love can't fill my stomach."

I see, she is one of those girls.

She continues. "… He has money, but I can't stomach being flirty with him… Anyways, my name is Yusa. How about you?"

"My name?"

"Is there another man here?"

This girl is blunt.

"My name is Ren."

"Ren… Ren… Ren…" After repeatedly saying my name, she shifts her beautiful sapphire eyes back on me and says, "Nice to meet you."

How can I describe it? The way she looks at me feels different from many other way people look at me. Her eyes looked so direct and genuine. I would like to continue staring, but that would be plain creepy if I did.

I continued my look at the path I was running and replied.

"Same here."

This is the first time I met her.

The girl that falls from the sky. At that moment, I still didn't know how much effect she'd have on my entire life. For good and worse…