I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 24

The woman caressing her swollen cheeks and her son holding a guitar looking at her with vain eyes. The cold and heavy air, which contrasted with the warm feeling of the entire store due to the wooden interior, began to weigh on my thin shoulders.

Lir and I put down the cups we were holding and looked at the young Yeong-ae and the store owner’s wife. What on earth happened between the two that made Yeong-ae slap the woman’s cheek without mercy?

“... ... I’m sorry!”

Surprisingly, those words came out of the woman’s mouth as she staggered after being slapped. She kept bowing her head as if she were a criminal and kept bowing her waist.

“I’ll definitely be able to prepare the rent this week! So please... ... .”

“Do you know what my brother said to me because of you? He said, ‘You’re an incompetent woman who can’t even collect money properly from your subordinates.’ Do I have to live with such humiliating words because of your mistake?”

“I’m sorry! The price of wheat is so high these days that my income is not very good. However, the number of customers visiting our store every week is steadily increasing, and word of mouth is starting to spread, so our business will definitely... ... .”

Clap!

The wife stumbled as her cheeks turned bright red again.

“I will definitely be able to pay the rent this week... ... ! I’m sorry!”

The wife bowed her head and repeated the same words while staggering.

From what I heard, it seemed that the one who was at fault first was the one running the store. Not paying the rent on the agreed date was clearly a failure as a business owner. Of course, the punishment for that was harsh and barbaric... ... .

“Isn’t it just a day or two that the rent is late? Anyway, these commoners... ... can’t be educated by just talking about it. If you see that education is achieved by giving pain and instilling fear, then you are no different from an animal.”

The world I am currently living in is a medieval fantasy world where the caste system is alive and well.

No one would punish a noble for hitting a commoner a few times.

Even more so if the commoner was the first to commit a crime such as ‘not paying the monthly rent’.

“No, Miss... ... ! What are you doing here... ... .”

“You come here too. What are you doing?”

Youngae spoke in a cold voice as she looked at the owner of the café who had just run out of the kitchen.

No matter what, Lir wanted to say something to Youngae, who was abusing her parents in front of her child, and she repeatedly got up from her chair and sat back down, unable to muster up the courage.

It seems that Lir’s ethics are a little different from the ordinary medieval people of this world. She was an elf who had spent most of her life isolated from society and only interacted with the magicians and teachers of the magic tower.

Since magicians are intellectuals, they usually don’t use violence or insult others’ personalities... ... This kind of barbaric behavior was unfamiliar to her and uncomfortable to see.

She soon chanted the spell ‘I can do it, I can do it’ in a small voice several times, and slowly stood up from her seat as if she had really made up her mind.

Then, I grabbed her thin arm, who had finally made up her mind, and made her sit back down.

“It’s a bit harsh, but it’s clearly the store’s fault for not paying the rent on the agreed date. What excuse do we have for stopping that person?”

“... ... That’s true, but.”

Lir couldn’t give a clear answer to my question.

You shouldn’t use violence recklessly.

Such a proposition is only true when everyone is ‘equal.’

“... ... It’s hard to see, so let’s just sort things out and leave the store. There’s nothing we can do.”

And now, even though they have to suffer humiliation, this store will soon be free from these difficulties.

Now that the young dragon of the Enker Plateau has died, the price of wheat will soon stabilize, and then the store’s profits will increase and there will be no more overdue rent.

In addition, word of mouth is spreading, and the number of customers visiting the store will increase... ... They just have to grit their teeth and wait for this storm to pass.

It would be bad for either them or us for us, who are not even related parties, to interfere and make trouble.

“Yes, Miss... ... Why did you come here yourself... ... .”

Clap!

Yeong-ae slapped the chef who jumped out of the counter in the same way.

“I’m sorry, Miss. This week... ... no, I will prepare the rent by tomorrow, so please be a little generous... ... .”

The chef, who was wearing an apron covered in coffee powder and flour, asked Young-ae with a look that remained unwavering even after getting slapped in the face.

“... ... .”

And the young Young-ae watched him with cold eyes.

The owner of this store was a tall man, over 190 cm tall. His arms and chest were covered with muscles that had been built up from kneading flour and baking bread for a long time, and his finger joints were covered with burn marks and calluses.

Young-ae looked back and forth between her own flushed hands and the face of the owner with his large body, then clicked her tongue in annoyance and said.

“It doesn’t hurt much, does it?”

The chef’s spine, which had been engulfed in the sweltering heat of the kitchen, felt a chill at the incomparably cold tone of voice.

“Huh? No, miss.”

The owner shook his head and bowed deeply.

He seemed to be just lowering his head like other commoners, quietly waiting for the storm to pass.

Watching this whole scene, I couldn’t understand what part of ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Yeong-ae was angry about.

I could only make the ridiculous guess that her pride was hurt by the way she didn’t stumble even after being slapped.

“Hey! Come in!”

The next moment, she let the guard warriors waiting outside in.

Three large men with swords on their waists squeezed through the narrow door and stood next to Yeong-ae, looking at the store owner.

“Even if one of my legs is cut off, it won’t affect my work, right?”

“... ... Yes?”

The store owner responded with a puzzled expression to Yeong-ae’s fierce question.

“I don’t like it. It’s as if I’ve become a nobody. If I hit a commoner like that, I’ll just fall down.”

Yeong-ae clicked her tongue as if she was annoyed at her own hand that had turned red from slapping her cheek.

“If I lose one leg, I won’t be able to stand up as arrogantly as I did just now.”

As she nodded, the guards rushed in all at once, dragging the shop owner out of the counter and laying him on the floor. Judging from the fact that one of them had his leg caught and the other two had his shoulders and arms held down, it seemed like this wasn’t the first or second time they had done this.

“Miss, what is this... ... Miss! I’ll prepare the money by tomorrow... ... no, by this evening, please give me just one more chance!”

A desperate voice hit the ceiling of the shop and fell back to the floor. The shop owner didn’t dare to attack the guards who were using their huge size to threaten him.

All he could do was look at Yeong-ae and beg, and beg again.

“You still don’t know what you did wrong. The reason I’m giving you this punishment isn’t because you paid your rent late. It’s because you made me feel like I was nothing. You made fun of me. Even if I cut off all your limbs, it wouldn’t be enough, but since you have to work to pay your rent regularly, I’m giving you one ankle, right?”

Yeong-ae was even crazier than I thought.

“... ... .”

While I was speechless, the guards pulled out their swords and held them to the shop owner’s ankles. Despite the sudden situation, the shop owner clenched his fists and clenched his molars.

However, he had no choice but to accept the fate that had come to him.

This is what the Middle Ages were like. Western historians didn’t call the Middle Ages the Dark Ages of Humanity for nothing.

“At least, the location... ... Couldn’t you change the location!”

“No. Let’s do it here. Your family should see and learn from it too. What happens if you break a promise with our family?”

Yeong-ae approached her son, who was sitting in the corner of the store, holding his guitar tightly with a cold smile.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

The young son, who looked to be no more than thirteen or fourteen, was blaming himself for not being able to do anything and was holding back tears.

“... ... Close your eyes.”

Faced with the inevitable reality, the owner took a deep breath and told his son in a desperate voice.

Yeong-ae went to her son’s side and brought a chair from the store and sat next to the boy. She snuggled close to him and put her arm around his small shoulder.

“If you close your eyes, I think your father will not end up with just his ankles cut off.”

The boy who heard Yeong-ae’s whisper probably felt like a poisonous snake’s tongue was piercing his ear and tearing his brain apart.

“Watch carefully. And know this. You stupid beasts have to have something taken away in order to learn something.”

The son trembled, holding the neck of the guitar tightly with his terrified hands.

“I don’t want to do this either, but what can I do about you commoners being so stupid? Huh?”

Yeong-ae smiled kindly, smoothing the boy’s bangs with her thin fingers as he trembled all over.

“... ... .”

Rir, sitting across from him, was rarely hiding his emotions on his face.

The emotion she was showing right now was extreme anger.

“After all, you can’t just leave the store after seeing this, right?”

I slowly got up from my seat and asked.

“... ... But I don’t know how.”

An unexpected answer came out of Rir.

She was hesitating.

Hesitating?

Just a moment ago, didn’t the nobleman just slap the commoner on the face a few times and try to stop him? And you hesitate in this situation where your father's ankle is about to be cut off in front of your son?

"Why?"

"There's quite a distance between here and the castle.

It’s impossible for me to protect these people for the rest of my life, and deploying elite soldiers here doesn’t make sense. If I intervene to protect them as Bin-nim said, I might be able to get through today. But what about tomorrow? And... ... the day after that?”

Sure, if we help them right now, we can avoid trouble right away. But in the long run, this could only lead to a bigger disaster.

I hit her on the cheek, but she didn’t fall.

The kind of people who try to cut off someone’s ankle for reasons that don’t seem like such a reason are probably that young-ae and the family that raised her.

“Next time, maybe it won’t end with just one leg. Those people’s lives might really be in danger... ... .”

While we are just passing acquaintances, they and young-ae have to see each other constantly as they do business and make a living here.

If we were to humiliate Youngae and her escort warriors now, they might be met with a vengeance that would be too great for a commoner to handle.

“So are you saying we should just leave?”

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“No! It’s just, just... ... I don’t know how.”

Defeating those escort warriors and humiliating Youngae now would be nothing more than mere self-satisfaction.

And it would be self-satisfaction that would bring great disaster to the family that runs this store.

“Then, wait a moment.”

I got up from the table and gave Lir a faint smile.

She looked a little gloomy on the outside, so much so that she was introverted... ... but inside, she seemed much more upright than I thought.

“I’ll change the situation a little.”

I slowly walked out of the sunny window seat and dug into the group led by Youngae.

The guards with swords on their waists and the large shop owner looked dumbfounded when I, with my frail body, suddenly got in between them.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

“Don’t you have any sense? Can’t you see the current mood?”

I ignored the guards who were hurling words at me one by one and walked straight to the counter.

“Payment.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

I held out my purse to the woman who was standing blankly at the counter with her cheeks swollen and blue, and a sharp voice came from my right ear.

“Please pay quickly. There are bugs in the cafe, so my appetite has really decreased.”

I looked at Yeong-ae in disbelief and muttered in a low voice.

Yeong-ae’s face distorted for a moment.

“... ... Hey. Are you saying that for me to hear?”

“No.”

I answered Youngae without even looking at her.

“This brat is sitting there looking at people as if they were his own? Don’t you have any idea who I am? I’m Binnen Gwynne, the eldest daughter of the Gwynne family! Do you think you’ll get away with this kind of behavior toward me?”

Originally, I was planning on just putting a little more money on the table and quietly leaving the store.

After all, it was the store that made the mistake first, and there was even a class gap... ... . I didn’t want to waste my first holiday by getting involved in this conflict.

But that Youngae crossed the line.

No matter how much she made the mistake first, and even though they were commoners, she ordered her son to cut off his father’s leg in front of him.

Lir was an upright elf who couldn’t just sit by and let this situation pass, and I, too, still had some common sense and ethics that modern people have.

“... ... Even if you say no, it’s still bullshit. If you don’t believe me, why did you ask?”

“What the hell is this kid?!”

“Those who don’t even appear in the setting book, and they’re called nobles... ... .”

I looked at the girl of the Guiner family who was screaming loudly and grumbled with a crumpled expression.

It was a bonus that she pretended to pick at her ear with her pinky finger even though it didn’t even tickle her ear.

And then, the next moment, my vision was turned upside down.