How to Live as a Tyrant’s Spoiled Brat Chapter 61

How to live as a tyrant’s spoiled brat Episode 61

(61)

Joanna was a slum girl who made a living by diving in the canals.

Sometimes, when a strong wind blew and the transport ship shook, things like roughly tied boxes of luggage or the hats of high-ranking officials would fall into the water.

It was Joanna’s job to salvage them, return them, and collect a fine, or to embezzle them and sell them.

The depth of 5m was not shallow, but it was not so deep that I couldn’t go in, and when I heard stories of older siblings who occasionally salvaged valuable items and made a living, I couldn’t stop.

A while ago, one of my coworkers picked up something like a syringe, and the boss of a huge slum gang that had risen to fame bought it for an enormous amount of money.

“Ah. It’s already full.”

Word spread that he had picked it up near the water gate, and dozens of other guys who did the same job were already digging through the mud near the water gate.

Recently, crop failures have occurred and the number of refugees from the West has increased due to the orc hordes’ activity. As a result, the slums have become more chaotic and the competition for this job has become fiercer.

But Joanna had no intention of going there in the first place.

Since water is constantly flowing in and out of the lattice sluice gate, it may have been swept away towards the river or, conversely, pushed into the canal.

If it had been swept away by the river, I wouldn’t be able to find it anyway, so I was planning to definitely search inside the canal.

Before jumping in, she carefully applied the canal water to her heart, dipping her fingertips and toes deep in and out to acclimate her body to the water temperature.

The November wind was as cold as ice, but the excitement of delicious food and syringes was hot enough to make one forget the cold, and the canal water was surprisingly drinkable.

I heard that there is a magic circle that gathers sunlight from the area and heats the water so that the canal does not freeze even in the middle of winter.

‘thank you.’

Joanna jumped into the water, thanking the magician who drew the magic circle, although she didn’t know where it was.

with a splash!

‘uh?’

Was it because the calculations were too accurate?

As soon as Joanna jumped into the water, she discovered a belt with two fat syringes attached to it underneath.

It was shining brightly in the sunlight as if it was asking to be picked up quickly.

Joanna came out of the water and carefully packed the syringe into a small bag so that no one would see it.

He wiped his boyishly short hair and body with the towel he had brought beforehand and tried to return to the slums as if nothing had happened.

I felt possessed.

My heart was beating so fast I thought I might pass out at any moment.

She unconsciously approached the cathedral where the crowd was gathered.

You have to be careful of pickpockets in crowded places like that, but today was an exception.

When I saw the wyvern floating in the sky, it was the procession of a high person.

There is no way that pickpocket boys would come forward knowing that there are plainclothes officers and police officers hiding here and there.

She sat on the bench and tried to think of a way back to the slums without anyone noticing her.

“The Church and the Imperial Family must unite to confront the great evil… … .”

She raised her head at the sudden voice.

Someone high up was speaking difficult words.

From where she was sitting, she couldn’t see the stage very well, but she could roughly make out who was there.

In November, on the stage decorated with fresh flowers, there was a black-haired young man in a black robe, Bishop Hong in a flowing red robe, a tall boy in a white uniform, and someone wearing a gold dress and a crown.

The boy in the white uniform is probably the famous scoundrel Valencianus, and the older sister standing in front of him is probably His Majesty the Emperor.

“awesome.”

Joanna blushed for a moment and muttered.

I knew that His Majesty the Emperor was an incredibly strong and cruel person, but seeing him in person left me with no recollection of it.

There was a dangerous atmosphere flowing through my body, as if I shouldn’t watch it any more, but that made me want to watch it one more time.

“ah.”

She finally let out a gasp of excitement.

In front of the stage, His Majesty the Emperor and the young man in black robes shook hands, and behind them, Grand Duke Mangnani and Bishop Hong shook hands.

His Majesty seemed to have said that, although his voice was not clearly audible over the shouting.

“Jim promises to actively support the church.”

His Majesty the Emperor had neatly tied up his platinum hair, as bright as the noonday sun, and was wearing a black shawl over a yellow dress made of stiff cloth.

When he bowed slightly to greet her, the young man in black robes bowed back.

Joanna clutched the sack tightly.

I thought it would just flow away without a trace.

Even from this distance, I could see the smile on his lips, and I thought it would remain in my memory for the rest of my life.

A life full of such confidence must be something only someone like that can live.

* * *

Jaylilith’s office was on the upper floor of the throne room, and was decorated with red carpets and gold chandeliers.

There was only one desk in the large room with its back to the window. It was too expensive to be called frugal, as the carpet and the chandelier were decorated with large jewels, but it was too sparse to be called luxurious.

She spent most of her days here and in the gym, signing papers to cut someone’s throat or practicing cutting someone’s throat.

I grabbed the shawl that Jaylilith had thrown at me after returning from the event and handed it over to the attendant.

… … It had been quite some time since I had come here before returning, so it was a new experience.

“Those damn church guys. They call us in and make us pray for three hours under a cold, windy sky?”

“Excuse me, Your Majesty, haven’t you reached the state of invincibility in Hanseo?”

“It’s a matter of mood and basics! Yes. You, the great Duke, speak out. Why on earth did they set up their schedule like this? I have absolutely no idea, and I have no desire to know.”

Why are you asking if you don’t want to know?

Of course, I had no intention of saying that out loud.

“Perhaps they thought that His Majesty wanted to show his faithfulness to the people and win their hearts. So they must have shown themselves praying and praying with the saint.”

“You misunderstand. I just wanted a comrade to lend a helping hand to the Encroachers.”

She sat on the chair and looked out the glass window, mumbling a sigh of relief.

I continued, clearing my throat.

“And they also needed a big event to put an end to the rumors of the recent chaos at the Hongui Bishops’ Conference. They would want to show their close relationship with His Majesty the Emperor and suppress any opposition.”

Jaylilith’s golden eyes glowed with weariness.

“I don’t think the faithful will like Jim that much. What good does it do the church to seem friendly with him? Didn’t they cooperate with him to avoid being hit by a meteor?”

I couldn’t bring myself to shake my head.

Jaylilith was smart, but at the same time, she didn’t need to use that smartness.

If your body is good, your head doesn’t need to worry.

“… … It will seem to the believers that the church has edified His Majesty.”

I secretly thought that Jaylilith would get upset, but fortunately, she just laughed.

“Ha, let them think as they please. Illusion is freedom.”

“You are wise.”

Jaylilith smiled faintly.

“Oh, Jim made a big mistake.”

I stated it as if it were an age-old truth.

“Your Majesty, you are a man who does not make mistakes.”

“That’s good to hear. However, the mistake I made was forgetting to give you the reward, Your Highness.”

“… … You almost made a huge mistake. Now that you remembered, it didn’t lead to a real mistake.”

She burst into hearty laughter.

“Sometimes I wonder what’s in your head. But trying to see that would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. I won’t make that mistake.”

Jaylilith turned around and pushed the wooden box on the desk towards me.

“Open it and see.”

What was inside was a slime-like liquid made of metal.

It was about the size of two fists put together, and it sparkled like mercury.

“You can’t always wear armor because you never know when you’ll have to fight. But you can’t let your precious blood spill anywhere.”

She looked at me with shining golden eyes.

“This time, the new technique that Jim and your half-sister developed has motivated many magic workshop owners. A land wizard worked day and night to create something like this. Try it out and leave a review.”

Isn’t this something that could be developed already?

I took the box in confusion.

This was ‘Aqua-Teg’, a magical armor that allowed the wearer to wear liquid metal permeating their clothes.

Its strength was superior to that of tightly-woven chainmail, and it could easily block small and medium-sized crossbows.

When clothes needed to be washed, they could be separated again, turned into a liquid, and soaked into new clothes.

For me, who goes to all kinds of dangerous places in uniform, this was a must-have item.

“No, Sister. I am glad that the Grand Duke of Sereraji has become a fair rival to the magicians of the Imperial Magic Workshop. The grace of His Majesty the Emperor who has given me this item is like heaven. I will wear it every day.”

Jaylilith smiled with satisfaction.

“Do so.”

“Your Majesty. Could you please tell me how to wear this armor?”

I asked as if I didn’t know anything, and luckily she was kind enough to teach me.

It was the same as in the previous life, where it recognized its owner by feeding it blood and then detached itself using the starting word.

As I muttered softly, “Aqua-Teg,” the liquid metal spread out and seeped into my uniform.

For a moment, my jacket, shirt, and pants felt wet, but then they quickly returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

The weight did increase a little, but it was nothing special.

“Thank you for your hard work, trying to mediate between me and the church.”

Jaylilith hummed as she looked at me like that.

It was a voice that did not expect an answer.

“No one did anything to punish Bishop Paul An Hong and his followers. I guess they were afraid that they would be stoned by the citizens of the capital. After all, purges are inherently self-destructive.”

I listened to her without saying anything.

“They will fight against the invaders who roam the provinces, and the saint will close the demon realm and purify it. Not a single one has been abandoned.”

She laughed, undoing the ribbon that held her platinum hair back.

Her voluminous hair flowed down in thick strands, covering the nape of her neck, back, and shoulders.

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I am at a loss for words at the unexpected compliment.”

“On the way back, I heard a report from the police chiefs. They say that serial killings are rampant in the slums again. We just signed an agreement with the church, so shouldn’t we make a show of it? At least show your face before you come back.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

* * *

The next day, I headed to the slums with Sir Tentia and Rudy.

This liquid armor has not been mass-produced yet, so I couldn’t prepare Rudy’s share, but fortunately, thanks to the red belt I was given, I could now buy magic tools with open arms.

So I went to a good magic weapon shop through Sir Tentia and bought some leather armor to wear under my maid outfit.

It was made by oiling and drying oak leather and engraving the ‘stone skin’ magic in silver, and was priced at 120 gold coins.

It was a lot of money, but it was easy to live off of when you combined the reward money from Jaylilith, the bribes from the red-light district, and the bail money embezzled from Wyvernpit.

“120 coins? Why don’t you give me that money and let me survive on my own? I wouldn’t be able to die from resentment with that amount of money. It’s more expensive than my, my, my body! Oh, Valen. Are you… angry?”

“Rudy. Don’t say that again. It makes me mad. How can you put a price on a person’s life?”

Rudy and Sir Tentia both looked as if they were seeing something strange.

I realized that what he said was inconsistent with my actions.

They would have known the rumors that Grand Duke Valen was brutally murdering innocent prisoners and extorting bail money from rich prisoners.

“That was strange. Your life is not worth money. If your life serving me is cheap, my dignity is cheap too. I know that the budget I’ve been handling has been… … a mistake due to my poverty. Don’t say that anymore. From now on, I’ll let you handle a lot more of the budget.”

“yes yes.”

“Oh, I am surprised that Your Majesty spoke so sensibly.”

This was one of the side effects of being a jerk.

Sometimes, when I reacted sensibly, everyone was surprised.

“I guess you’re still a little drunk. You’re talking nonsense. Forget it.”

While chatting like that, we headed towards the slums.

But as soon as we entered there, we both shut our mouths at the same time.

“Kill him!”

“Hit!”

The poor were fighting all around with daggers made from scrap metal.

The alley was filled with corpses, many of them missing parts of their organs or with circles of blood and strange phrases or patterns carved into them.

Anyone who looked at it could tell that it was a sign of an eroder.

We were left speechless for a moment at the sight of even the most minimal order disappearing.

“Your Highness, what should we do first?”

“I don’t think I can just show my face and go back?”

I took a look around.

A fierce fight was taking place, with hundreds fighting each other.

“I think so too. Let’s approach them first. They’re probably the biggest organization.”

“How did you find out about that?”

“Isn’t one side wearing all necklaces and the other side wearing all bracelets? It’s not common for a gang to be so large as to mobilize hundreds of people.”

Rudy took out his pistol and Sir Tentia grabbed the hilt of his sword.

I stopped them both with a look of bewilderment.

“Why are you trying to come out already?”

The two looked at me in confusion.

“Don’t you need to hear the circumstances and gather information?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Let’s ask him after the fight is over. Why would he get in there and bleed?”