Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy – Chapter 61

It’s not me!

Festivals are always a place where noise and commotion blossom.

Especially, a grand festival that everyone eagerly awaits can be said to be a setup for noise and commotion.

The loud revelries of people fired up by the festival’s passion, the cries of those intoxicated with the pleasures of the shadows, the dancing of those thrilled by drinking and singing, the fervent promotional activities of merchants trying to make a solid profit, the beggars loudly begging, and so on.

All those intoxicated by whether it be fervor, pleasure, or drinking roam the streets day and night, causing clashes that make the streets noisy and bustling.

All the guards, mercenaries, and knights near the northern territory patrol with their eyes open wide to prevent any mishaps during the festival, but of course, there aren’t enough of them to suppress and prevent all disturbances.

Therefore, noises arise here and there.

One such noise was fiercely erupting between the 6th and 7th streets at the outskirts of the city center.

“You damn woman! You couldn’t even get a single penny from begging? You bitch, you must have been hiding money behind my back! You thieving woman-!”

Thwack!

“Ahh-!”

A man as big as a bear, living in poverty, front-kicked a woman who seemed to be his wife in the stomach.

Crash!

The woman, who flew back and tumbled after breaking a flimsy wooden door, finally came to a stop.

“Ugh…!”

Curled on the ground like a shrimp, the woman couldn’t even catch her breath.

And a child, who seemed to be her son, hurriedly ran to check on her safety.

Just as filthy as his mother, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he rolled through dirty water.

“M-Mom! Are you alright?!”

“Ahh…! M-my baby….”

“You bastard! Who do you think you are, hitting my mom-!”

A boy looking around ten years old ran at the approaching man, but it was just a kitten ineffectively hissing at a bear.

Whoosh, whack-whack!

“This brat also takes after his mother, having no respect for the great head of the family.”

Grip!

“Argh! Let go of me-!”

The child, grabbed by the hair and lifted into the air by his tyrant of a father, began to see the world upside down and felt it start shaking violently.

The man shook the child roughly, like shaking out laundry.

“If any money falls out, I’ll consider sparing you. If not, you and your mother will join each other on the path to the heavens today.”

In the hyena’s other hand was a bottle of liquor, and the man’s face was already fully red from intoxication.

Heehaw.

The man laughed while harshly shaking his son.

The woman, barely managing to get up, had to limp over and cling to the man’s trouser leg, begging pathetically.

“P-Please! Don’t touch the child! I’ll find a way to get the money somehow!”

“Heh, get lost! You bitch!”

Thwack!

However, the brutal kick to the woman’s stomach sent her flying far away again.

And she collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

“M-Mommy-!”

The boy, who had to watch his mother faint upside down, screamed in near agony, but his fallen mother couldn’t even move a finger.

“Heeheehee. Useless woman indeed. Now, it’s your turn.”

There was no chance a small boy would have any money hidden in his pockets.

The man, waiting for this moment, raised his fist the size of the child’s face, and the boy could only feel the looming massive blow that would prevent him from even screaming.

The crowded street was full of people, even a guard was present, but no one showed the will to stop the brute.

“Today, you’ll die because of a single coin! Hah!”

The man’s malicious laughter echoed as his fist swung.

Though it was clear the boy’s internal organs would burst and bones would break if that fist struck his belly, no one stepped in to prevent it.

Bang-!!

With a loud explosion, the man was flung back and crashed into the wall of his shabby house.

The wall collapsed, and dust rose up.

Additionally, the child, released from the man’s grip, soared into the air as the man had promised to send him to the heavens.

Since it was quite high, it was evident the child would be injured upon falling.

But it was already too late.

People observing the disturbance from afar screamed, and just before the child hit the ground, the screams stopped.

A temporary stillness like fainting halted time, and the one who restarted it was a man deeply hooded, mirroring the child’s dangling stance by grabbing his ankle.

Black magic emanated from one of the man’s hands, and the child in the other hand could only look up at the shadowed face within the hood.

“Wow-!!”

“Ah-!!”

Soon, a thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd.

**

“I-It’s not the child’s fault! Stop hitting him! I’ll repay the money, as I said!”

“How can he be blameless? He’s at fault for having a deadbeat father!”

Thwack!

“Here’s the promissory note. Either revive your deadbeat of a father or bring the money. One or the other, get it?”

The loan shark’s size was probably around that of the brute.

The loan shark who pressed for interest by beating my mother and me every day had about the same physique.

Back then, his size seemed so immense, like a towering mountain, and standing before him felt like being engulfed by a massive tidal wave of hopelessness, capable of doing nothing but enduring.

A young Lee Jun-woo, who hadn’t even considered the idea of resistance, was always at the mercy of the world’s injustices.

It must be a cruel joke.

Wandering the streets in search of a monster chef, only to find a brute resembling that loan shark exactly.

Witnessing the brute beating a woman and child.

Encountering garbage that encompassed all the factors I despise on the street.

Back then, that brute seemed so big, but now he looked pathetically small.

“If he is bothering you, I will eliminate him.”

Rachel, who was standing behind me, delivered a chilling message, with a small nod answering her suggestion.

Suddenly, I wanted to test what I had learned from my teacher up until now.

That brute might have a decent amount of street fighting experience, making him a somewhat fitting opponent.

Though in Elden’s original memory, he fought many such brutes, that’s merely a memory I didn’t experience firsthand.

“What…are you planning to do?”

Concerned, Randler old man asked, but I had already decided what to do.

Saving Lee Jun-woo of that day, who had to suffer under injustice without being able to resist.

The best scenario would be finding a single penny in the child’s pocket, resolving the situation, but it had already escalated to its conclusion.

The brute was about to swing his fist at the child’s abdomen when—

Crackle!

Energizing my right fist and leg with magic and mustered appropriate strength before launching towards the brute.

Bang-!!

The shock transmitted clearly through my right fist.

It struck precisely at the brute’s defenseless face, and at that moment, I exploded the magic I had consolidated in my fist, intensifying the impact.

The brute was forced against the collapsing wall without even having time to scream, and witnessing the wall crumble over him, I almost set a ‘was it finished?’ flag.

It was such a decisive and potent blow.

Rumble…..

The wall completely collapsed, and no presence could be felt amidst the rising dust.

Even though I hadn’t used maximum strength, the magic underpinning it greatly elevated both speed and destructive force.

First, I caught the child who had been sent soaring.

The conclusion should be tidy.

“Wow-!!”

“Ah-!!”

Surrounded by the resonating cheers, I set the child upright.

The child’s face was covered in grime as he stared blankly, then hurriedly bowed.

“Th-Thank you.”

That was all.

The boy urgently ran to his fallen mother.

What mattered most to him was probably his mother’s survival.

Although it would have been good to rescue her quickly, I could do nothing as I had only witnessed the final blow striking the woman’s body.

“M-Mom! Are you alright?! Are you okay?!”

“Uh…”

The mother barely breathed out, weakly opening her eyes.

Touching her son’s back with hands full of wounds, she consoled him as he wept.

As I approached, both the child and the mother hurriedly knelt.

…There was no need for that.

“T-Thank you. Truly, thank you for helping us…!”

“Thank you for saving my child…!”

Looking at them, I crouched down.

I took two silver coins from my pocket and placed them in the mother’s hand. Making sure it wasn’t visible to others.

In an age of barbarism, looting is common.

Surprised, the woman stared blankly.

“Take care of it.”

“H-Huh…?”

“With this, you should be able to break free from that brute’s clutches and start anew in a sunny place.”

“Huh…?”

“Hide it well, where it can’t be seen.”

Saying so, I stood up and began walking in the direction I had intended.

If the child hadn’t called me.

“E-Excuse me!”

“?”

Turning only my head slightly to respond.

“Please tell me your name and face! I will definitely repay this kindness!”

Oh.

Despite thinking the boy had learned curses before proper speech, his vocabulary was impressive

.

In a place where learning opportunities are scarce, for a young child to have this level of vocabulary.

Perhaps, I might have saved a future renowned bard.

Willingly, I removed my hood and turned around.

There was no reason to hide.

Covering my head was solely to conceal my notoriety.

Disclosing it now, I wondered if the job search for the monster chef made difficult by Elden’s infamy might be somewhat resolved through this commotion.

Though that would be an exaggerated hope.

Now, I wanted to show.

That I am not a drunkard, a scoundrel, or a troublemaker.

Invoking fear in someone just by face-to-face meeting is utterly unpleasant.

Thus, I smiled warmly, kindly, and benevolently at the child and mother.

“Elden Rapelion.”

“…Huh?”

“I am Elden Rapelion from the House of Count Rapelion.”

The boy and mother’s faces were filled with admiration.

Next, I saw astonishment on the faces around me.

In this, the only differing faces were the old man Randler and Rachel.

The old man dabbing his tears with a handkerchief.

And the teacher, who was smiling contentedly.

“Not me.”

“I’m sorry, but please cooperate for a moment.”

Although the guards who arrived late saw the boy and mother kneeling before me, and I had to explain several times that I was not the main culprit of the commotion.

“It’s not me, I said!”