The Saber Tiger's hide was spread out long in the lord's mansion's reception room. And Patrick spoke.
"So, how much do you think this will go for?"
The man who received the question was Butler Lawrence, who had been managing the Schneider family's finances. Lawrence was aghast upon seeing the Saber Tiger's hide spread across the reception room.
"This… did the young master catch this?"
"Of course."
"Isn't this a Saber Tiger?"
"I know. It's expensive, right?"
"How could this be… hahaha…"
Lawrence knew that Patrick was no ordinary genius. After all, he knew the facts: that he had crushed Brian and beaten two hundred of the fief's soldiers as if they were dogs. But this was a matter on a different level.
To think he had caught a Saber Tiger… He barely managed to compose himself and spoke.
"The condition of the hide is truly the best. I don't know what you used to catch it, but there isn't a single hole or torn part."
"I beat it to death with my fists."
"Hahaha. A pleasant jest."
‘Right. Don't believe me. Don't believe me.’
In any case, what was important was the item's condition and price.
"So, how much can I get for it?"
At Patrick's question, Lawrence made a troubled expression and spoke.
"There are merchants who periodically visit our fief to purchase monster byproducts. However…"
"However?"
"We have never sold an item of such high value. Usually, it's just Kobold hides or the crude iron weapons that Goblins carry."
"Hmm…"
"The exact price will only be known after negotiating with a merchant. This is not an item I can appraise."
"Can't you at least give a rough estimate of the price?"
"No. The item itself is not something commonly found on the market."
"I see. So that's how it is."
The Saber Tiger's hide and fangs were far more valuable than Patrick had expected. In that case, it would be a waste to simply dispose of such an item.
‘To sell an expensive item for a high price, you have to create the right situation for it.’
As Patrick was thinking this, the door opened and someone entered.
"Patrick! You scouuundrel!"
"Fath…er and Mother?"
The moment he saw the two people who entered, Patrick flinched. He knew Baron Schneider would come. But he didn't expect his mother to come as well.
At that moment, Baron Schneider, his face full of anger, spoke.
"You scouuundrel!"
"Ah, what is it? Why are you angry right from the start?"
"Are you saying you don't know what you've done wrong?"
"Yes."
At Patrick, who had a perfectly calm expression that said 'I really don't know,' Baron Schneider ground his teeth. Then, he pointed at the Saber Tiger hide in front of the butler and spoke.
"That thing. That!"
"What about it?"
"Are you really asking because you don't know?"
"Ah, I'm telling you I don't know. Just say it plainly. Berating me with 'You know what you did' without getting to the point is the twenty-fifth thing I hate most."
My child sure has a lot of things he hates. Baron Schneider thought, clenching his jaw as he spoke.
"How could you even think of fighting a Saber Tiger unless you were mad? For the fief's heir to not know the value of his own life and go on a dangerous monster hunt!?"
"Ah! That? You were worried about that?"
Patrick casually picked at one of his ears with his pinky finger and spoke with a calm expression.
"You don't need to worry about that at all, Father."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Think about it. Why is monster hunting dangerous?"
"Do you ask because you don't know? That's obviously…"
"It's because people are weaker than monsters, right?"
"... That is true."
"Right. But I'm strong, aren't I?"
"Uhm…"
"I caught the monster because I'm stronger than it. What's the problem?"
For a moment, at Patrick's words, Baron Schneider thought, 'Is that so?' but he soon came to his senses and spoke.
"No. No. That's not it."
"What is it now?"
"You are still young."
"But I'm strong."
"Even a skilled knight can die fighting a monster."
"That's because they are pathetic weaklings."
"Keeuk…"
At his son's words, who retorted without yielding a single word, Baron Schneider finally grabbed the back of his neck. How could the only heir to the fief speak and act no differently than a back-alley thug? I swear I never taught him such words, so where in the world did he learn them?
As a parent, he couldn't help but feel a sense of self-loathing, thinking, 'Did I really raise my child like this?' To such a baron, Patrick spoke with perfect composure.
"So please don't worry. I'll take care of everything."
"Patrick Schneiderrrr!!!"
"Whaaaaat!!!"
Here was a son who wouldn't yield a single word. Just then, an elegant lady with a slender figure stepped in between the father and son who were shouting.
"Now, both of you, please calm down. Calm down."
A woman of such beautiful features one would believe her to be a goddess. Snow-white skin and luscious brown hair. A woman who, despite not wearing an expensive dress, radiated a jewel-like brilliance.
Who would think of her as a child's mother and the wife of a rural barony? Patrick's mother, Ava Schneider, was truly dazzlingly beautiful. And above all…
‘She's healthy now.’
Thanks to consistently practicing the Aura Blessing Patrick had taught her, she had become completely healthy. Thanks to that, her beauty blossomed even more. Such a woman stepped between her husband and son.
"Dear."
"Hmph, what is it, wife."
"I understand your heart worries for our child, but please don't be so angry. We already know that Patrick is a special child, don't we?"
"That is…"
He knew.
A ten-year-old kid beat up a two-star knight, so of course he had to be special. But he didn't know his personality would be this 'special' too. To the sullen-faced Baron Schneider, she spoke in a gentle voice.
"Patrick must have his own thoughts. For now, let's trust the child and listen to what he has to say."
At his wife's calm and logical words, Baron Schneider's anger subsided for the moment. And then, she turned to her son with a gentle smile and spoke.
"Patrick."
"... Yes, Mother."
Unlike his father, who resembled his Master from his past life and whom he had grown quite used to, his mother, who poured unconditional love and devotion onto him, was still difficult for Patrick to deal with. To the carefully replying Patrick, she said.
"Since it's you doing it, there must be a reason for everything."
"That's right."
"But don't you think it's wrong to handle things on your own without even telling your father, the lord and person in charge of this fief, what it is?"
"That's because Father is…"
"Father is?"
"…Well… because he is Father."
He wanted to say, 'Because he's a pushover,' but looking at his mother's loving face, he couldn't bring himself to say it. And even without Patrick saying it, the baroness Schneider already seemed to have guessed what he meant. She smiled gently and said.
"I'm sorry that we are such unreliable parents."
"Ah… no, Mother."
If you feel sorry about that too, it makes me the bad guy, doesn't it? To Patrick who was thinking this, the baroness delivered an additional blow to his tiny little conscience.
"But my son. Can't you trust us just a little? We are your parents."
"Yes. I know."
"No matter how great you are, you are still just a ten-year-old child, aren't you?"
"Well, about that…"
"Are you saying we are so unreliable that our young son cannot even be spoiled, let alone open his heart to us?"
"No, that's not it…"
"Then can you tell me your inner thoughts honestly?"
Patrick bit his lip firmly. This is why the severed meridians constitution is a cheat. Once it's cured, one's appearance becomes beautiful, their perception greatly matures, and their mind becomes sharp.
As she pointed things out one by one logically from a parent's standpoint, Patrick also found her difficult to deal with.
‘Haaah. It can't be helped. I was planning to proceed without Father knowing.’
I have no choice but to confess everything…
"So, you see. First, the primary reason I hunt monsters is for the safety of the fief."
"The fief's safety?"
"Yes. The biggest headache for our fief is, after all, the monsters that attack the residents. I believe that by regularly patrolling the area around the fief and dealing with monsters in advance, we can reduce the damage to the fief's people."
"Hmm… But isn't that a job for the soldiers? It's not something you should do alone."
At Baron Schneider's words, Patrick sighed and spoke.
"Father, in your eyes, do you really think the soldiers can do that job? The soldiers who can't even catch the weakest of the large-type monsters, the Troll, and can only manage to chase it away."
"That is…"
"If the Saber Tiger I caught this time had entered the village, what could the soldiers have done?"
Baron Schneider closed his mouth. It was a Saber Tiger. Even if he mobilized all the fief's forces, including the demoted Brian, he had no confidence they could stop it.
Patrick looked at Baron Schneider and spoke.
"As you know, Father, I am training the soldiers right now. And if they complete my training, the soldiers will undoubtedly become stronger."
"I know that."
It was the lord, Baron Schneider, who had given Patrick permission to train the soldiers. It might be strange for a ten-year-old to train soldiers, but at the point where he had beaten the knight Brian to a pulp, such things were meaningless. And Patrick said.
"The soldiers will get stronger, but it will take time. And during that time, there's a high chance the soldiers won't be able to properly guard the fief's borders. Therefore, it's most efficient for me to patrol the fief's surroundings alone and hunt monsters."
"In that case… wouldn't it be better to take at least a few soldiers with you? They'd be more helpful than nothing, wouldn't they?"
"No. At their current level, our soldiers would only get in the way."
At Patrick's words, which cut him off and denied him firmly, Baron Schneider was slightly hurt. What lord would be happy to hear that the soldiers of his own fief were pathetically weak? Just then, the baroness standing beside him spoke.
"But my son. The fact that you skinned that Saber Tiger and brought it back doesn't seem like it was just for the safety of the fief's people, does it?"
"Yes. Just as you predicted, Mother, I plan to earn some money with the byproducts from catching monsters."
"I see. I thought so."
The baroness spoke as if she had expected it to some extent. And Baron Schneider, who was beside her, spoke.
"My son. Our fief isn't so poor that you need to worry about money."
"No, Father. We must grasp the situation calmly and accurately."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we need to see reality for what it is. To put it bluntly, our fief is filthy poor."
"Filthy is a bit…"
"Then should I say we're dirt poor?"
Isn't that the same thing? As the Baron was thinking this, the baroness beside him smiled and said.
"Hmm, he's not wrong."
"As expected of you, Mother. You grasp the situation accurately."
Unlike my pushover father? He wanted to say that too but stopped, afraid he'd be scolded for being rude.
‘Ah, I'm too kind.’
It was an absurd remark that would make several people cough up blood if he said it out loud.