How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 9

9. Aim for Moving to the City (2)

“I know you understand well enough!”

“Anyway, I fully understand these risks.”

“And you still want to leave?”

“Of course.”

And to be clear, it’s not like the village is safe either.

If the city is scary because of the people, prices, and lack of kindness, the countryside is scary because of the monsters.

Even a small village like this wouldn’t survive an attack from a horde of goblins.

Recalling Aileon’s memories, there were several incidents where neighbors were attacked by monsters.

“Do you want to go to the city that badly?”

The village chief seemed deeply troubled.

Could he be against it?

‘If he opposes, I’ll just elope, but I’d prefer to leave with his permission if possible.’

Parting with a smile is preferable as it reduces troublesome procedures.

In the end, the village chief, after finishing his contemplation, let out a light breath and…

“Alright, I permit it.”

He uttered the words of permission.

“If you, Aileon, desire it that much, how can this old man stop you?”

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head deeply to express my gratitude.

The subsequent discussions proceeded swiftly.

When I would leave, what I would do afterward, and so on.

Of course, I only gave plausible schedules that I had made up.

“And about the disposal of the field and house I inherited…”

When I mentioned that, I heard the village chief swallow hard.

“Disposal… Do you intend to go that far?”

“There’s no need to leave them if I’m not going to use them. I also need travel expenses.”

I have no intention of farming anyway.

I have no intention of returning to this village.

I plan to sell the field to use as travel expenses.

If it comes to it, I’ll demolish the house.

“I hope the village chief can find someone to buy the field.”

Perhaps there isn’t anyone in the village who is wealthy enough to buy the field with cash all at once.

So, it will probably be a joint purchase.

I’ll leave that process to the village chief.

“…Understood. I will do so.”

The village chief readily agreed.

Well, he probably thinks it would be much more beneficial for the remaining villagers if I sold the field, so there’s no reason to oppose it.

“But Aileon, remember this.”

“…Yes?”

“Even if you leave, you can always come back. No, if anything happens, be sure to return.”

Those words didn’t sound like mere pleasantries.

I simply gave a faint smile and replied.

“I will keep that in mind.”

* * *

About a week passed, and I was preparing to leave while training.

Fortunately, the disposal of the field was resolved without any problems.

As promised, the village chief gathered the villagers who wished to purchase it and promoted the joint purchase of the field.

The money I received from selling the field was 20 gold coins.

It’s definitely not a small amount.

For an ordinary commoner family living in a small rural village like this, if they want to live without starving, they need about two to two and a half gold coins a year for living expenses.

20 gold coins is not bad considering it’s just the price of selling a rural field.

There was also a small profit.

I received 30 silver coins from the village chief after deducting the brokerage fee for selling the wolf hide I hunted last time.

It seems the quality was better than I expected.

So, I put the money I received into a leather pouch and carefully placed it in my bosom.

‘With this, I won’t starve until I arrive in the city and establish some kind of base.’

All that’s left is for things to go well after I go to the city.

* * *

Ten days later, I decided to leave the village.

Coincidentally, another traveling merchant visited the village, and they said they would be leaving tomorrow.

‘I can hitch a ride on their wagon.’

It would be better to hitch a ride on the merchants’ wagon than to walk aimlessly.

More than anything, unnecessary marching is annoying.

Anyway, now that the preparations are complete, it was the perfect time to leave.

I carefully approached the traveling merchants.

First, I checked the name and role of one of the traveling merchants and spoke to him.

“Excuse me… I heard that you merchants are going to the central city?”

“The central city, you say? Hmm! I was planning to go there.”

The traveling merchant named Cowl, who was organizing his luggage, replied to my question without seeming strange.

It is common for travelers to pay merchants to hitch a ride on their wagons.

It’s a small source of income for them.

There’s no reason to dislike it.

“Then, could you give me a ride on your way?”

“Hmm… I don’t think it would be difficult. There should be room. Let’s ask Mr. Rudel first.”

He mentioned someone’s name and stepped back, then talked to a man who came out from inside the luggage compartment.

‘Is that guy the leader?’

Looking at him glancing this way several times while talking, that guy must be the leader-like merchant.

I need to get his permission.

I looked at the faces and above the heads of the traveling merchants, including him.

“…Extra. Extra. Extra. And…”

That word flowed from my mouth as I muttered quietly.

“Supporting Role.”

I pondered what that meant.

Supporting Role is not something to be easily overlooked.

‘Supporting Role means it appeared in the original work, right?’

I can’t say that I have completely grasped the phenomenon of these roles appearing.

But I could guess a little.

I’m guessing that it’s someone who has never appeared in the original work or has never been mentioned.

For example, let’s say a war broke out.

Many soldiers appear in that war.

But they are extras.

Because they have no importance.

That’s where the boundary of an extra would be.

Then what is a supporting role?

It must be someone who appeared in the original work and has at least more importance than an extra, right?

‘…It feels like it has more importance than an extra, right?’

There are lines and at least a minimal role.

Then what is Rudel’s identity?

If he appeared in the original work, I should be able to recall it.

Because everything I read comes to mind specifically.

‘Rudel… Rudel… Rudel… Ah!’

It came to mind!

And just in time, that supporting role, Rudel, was approaching me.

“Are you the boy who wanted to come along?”

“Yes. If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to borrow a corner of the wagon’s luggage compartment.”

“There’s no reason to refuse. However…”

Rudel narrowed his eyes and trailed off.

Yeah, I know what you want to say.

Money, right?

“I’m not expecting irresponsible favors. If it’s two silver coins to the city, wouldn’t that be worth my butt’s weight?” [A lighthearted way of saying it’s worth the cost of transporting him].

“Hmm, that’s enough.”

How blatant.

Well, two silver coins is a reasonable price.

I didn’t lose out.

‘Originally, I wanted to try to haggle once.’

I gave up on the trivial haggling.

What’s more important is his identity.

‘Rudel… Yeah, there was a guy like that.’

It’s around the middle of Volume 1.

It’s when the protagonist, Sylvester, takes the advice of Lord Melenast and starts his journey to the royal capital of the Selvas Kingdom.

He hitches a ride on a merchant’s wagon in the first village he passes through.

However, there’s no reason to make an issue of it just because of that.

‘The problem is that guy was an antagonist who got a taste of justice from the protagonist.’

He pretends to be an ordinary merchant on the surface, and in reality, most of his activities are no different from other merchants.

However, if he thinks that the travelers who accompany him have good looks or valuable luggage or a large sum of money, he takes the opportunity to rob them.

The victims who were harmed by them were either murdered or sold as slaves to criminal guilds.

He’s an evil guy.

‘In the end, he tried to do that to the protagonist and got caught and was crushed.’

He coveted Sylvester’s magic sword and other items and ambushed him at night, but the opponent happened to be the protagonist.

He was severely punished.

Half of his accomplices died, and Rudel barely survived while begging for his life.

In return, he donated his money and wagon.

‘If you think about it, he’s an angel investor?’ [A humorous take on Rudel inadvertently helping the protagonist].

An existence that donates money, food, and rides so that the protagonist doesn’t starve.

That’s what a villain like him is.

‘To think that as soon as I decided to leave the village, a guy like that was waiting for me.’

That’s why the outside world is scary.

But I chose to ride his wagon.

‘There’s no reason to back down against a petty villain, right?’

More than anything, I thought it was a good opportunity.

I wanted to observe their actions.

If they are the villains, they will attack me, and if they are not, they will not attack me.

If they attack?

Then I can just punish them enough. It’s simple.

“Then, please take care of me, Mr. Rudel.”

I even showed myself taking out the two silver coins, which was the fare, from my money pouch and handed them over.

I don’t know if it’s a delusion or not, but at that moment, I felt a strangely sticky gaze.

Rudel laughed loudly as he received the silver coins I handed over.

“It’s fate that we’re going together like this! Let’s travel together with peace of mind!”

On the surface, he’s just a generous traveling merchant.

Now, how are you going to come out?

Will you play the role of a supporting character or not?

Either way, I don’t care.

* * *

Before leaving, I exchanged light farewells with the villagers.

“Are you really going to leave, Aileon?”

“Yes. Because there’s something I want to do.”

“To think you were dreaming of going to the city. I wish you had consulted me before. Anyway, I hope you become great.”

Mr. Kelman also showed considerable regret, but he couldn’t oppose it because my will was firm.

I heard that the village chief had already told the villagers not to interfere.

After finishing the greetings, I got on the wagon’s luggage compartment.

“Then, let’s depart.”

As the merchants sitting in the driver’s seat pulled the reins, the wagon rattled and started to move.

“Ugh?!”

What a terrible ride.

Maddeningly, my new start was accompanied by a dull pain in my pelvis.

I carefully poked my head out of the wagon’s luggage compartment and looked at the receding village.

Somehow, it’s a bit emotional.

‘I shouldn’t have any feelings for that village…’

Aileon’s memories that remained in me naturally make me fall into sentimentality.

Okay, I’ll feel it now.

Instead, I’ll succeed as I please when I go to the city.

‘Now, nothing should happen until I arrive in the city…’

I turned my head towards the driver’s seat and thought.

‘That won’t happen, right?’

I wonder what will happen?

* * *

Rudel and his fellow merchants were smoothly driving the wagon forward.

“Mr. Rudel?”

“What is it? Hold the reins properly.”

Rudel replied, slightly annoyed, when his fellow merchant called him.

“What were you asking…”

He was talking about the brat named Aileon who was riding in the wagon’s luggage compartment now.

The merchant gave a slightly frivolous smile and pointed to the back.

“Did you see? That brat had quite a heavy money pouch earlier, didn’t he?”

“I can hear you. Be quiet.”

“The wagon is shaking like this, there’s no way he can hear us.”

“…Yeah, I saw it too. He probably prepared it dreaming of going to the city.”

How careless.

To show the evidence of his entire fortune in front of others.

He held back the laughter that was unknowingly leaking out.

“Aside from the money, he’s quite handsome. Unlike a guy who’s been rolling around in such a village.”

“That’s what I’m saying. You’d call a guy like that a sucker.”

Their eyes finally began to take on a dangerous light.

Perfect.

That’s what they thought.

Aileon, with that brat’s appearance, would surely fetch a price that wouldn’t be disappointing.

“Should we attack him today?”

“Hmm…”

However, Rudel was agonizing.

It’s not like he’s feeling a pang of conscience.

He’s worried for other reasons.

“…Mr. Rudel, is it because of what happened last time?”

“Yeah. Because of that monster.”

Rudel spat out, grinding his teeth.

“It would be troublesome if that brat was like that monster.”

About a month ago, there was a boy who wanted to ride Rudel’s wagon.

He said he was heading to the royal capital and wanted to go to a nearby city that was a stopover.

“…That monster.”

His hand trembled reflexively.

“If I had known he was such a monster, I wouldn’t have touched him.”

“That’s true.”