Belsus’s expression was grim. In that moment, a myriad of thoughts flashed through my mind. Did I do something wrong?
"Why decline?"
"......"
The feeling of a catch I had painstakingly coaxed slipping right through my fingers made my stomach drop. Belsus was endlessly walking on eggshells around me, avoiding my gaze.
Of course, I knew it was strange for a guy who had been wandering for 20 years to accept an offer like this right off the bat. But wasn't the current Belsus someone who had just been lying there, fully intending to starve to death?
Why did a guy who would accept anything over dying... suddenly develop a will of his own?
Because I was untrustworthy? Was it because I looked like a pauper myself?
"Is it because the facilities are shabby? I'm going to level up soon! Do you think I won't be able to feed a single person or something?"
I fired off the words rapidly, as if my own insecurities had been pricked. Belsus shook his head vigorously.
"No... This place is far too good for someone like me."
I didn't even need to use Reading to know he was speaking from the bottom of his heart. As Belsus lowered his head, my frustration fizzled out on its own.
"Or is it that you can't trust me?"
At my casually tossed words, Belsus lifted his gaze. I found myself gently captivated by the gleam in his eyes, which looked like dark rays of light.
After holding my gaze for a moment, Belsus gave a slight shake of his head again.
He was saying no, but that didn't necessarily mean he trusted me either.
Being a pushover just meant he was nice to everyone, not that he would blindly trust just anyone.
More accurately, he had the kind of nature where he would willingly let himself be deceived, even when he knew better.
"You... You think you don't even have the right to decide whether to trust me or not, don't you? Because you're a beggar. Because you have no way to repay me. Am I right?"
The corners of Belsus's eyes twitched slightly before returning to normal. He shut his mouth tight once more.
It felt like a massive dog was sitting across from me. The kind of dog that subtly dodges your hand when you try to pet it and cowers away again.
'Even on the verge of starvation, that personality of his hasn't gone anywhere.'
It was obvious without even looking how frustrated I was going to be with this guy in the future. I'd have to constantly suppress the urge to tell him to stop worrying about useless things.
Fine. We're both still strangers to each other, so I'll let it slide.
I'll tell you as many times as it takes.
"Too good for you? Why? This trashy old farm? Anyone else would refuse to buy it even if you paid them to."
"It's not... trash. I mean, it must be tough enough for you to survive on your own."
So, in the end, he just didn't want to be a burden to a pauper like me.
"What if the food you gave me was all the wealth you had left?"
A face full of genuine worry, or rather, a face that was carefully scrutinizing me out of fear of offending me, caught my eye.
He's been hurting my pride for a while now. To think I, the #1 ranked Farmer on the server, would be looked down upon like this.
Belsus was the first person to treat me this way.
I decided to drop some harsh truths.
"You know it too, right? That other people aren't like you. No, that you're the only dumbass in this world who would give away their entire fortune to feed someone else."
Belsus's lips pressed into a neat line.
Caught completely off guard, Belsus didn't look too pleased. If he hadn't been the 'dumbass who gave away his entire fortune to feed others,' wouldn't he have punched me just now?
I completely wiped the expression off my face and flashed a bright smile.
"You're the type who only feels at ease when treated roughly, aren't you?"
Belsus looked as if he didn't know how to respond. I continued speaking.
"I'm doing charity work. I got this kick-ass subspace ability, and figured it wouldn't hurt to have one more person living here. So I picked you out of that slum, thinking you'd be the one most likely to properly repay the favor."
Putting it like that made it far from charity, really. But neither I nor Belsus, who was listening to me, cared about such contradictions.
"Just watch. Watch how prosperous this farm becomes."
I offered Belsus a boarding arrangement on a postpaid basis.
I would provide lodging and four meals a day; in return, he would pay rent every month.
I knew full well he was penniless right now, so he could stay on credit for the time being and pay me back with the money he earned over the month.
"I don't care what you do to earn the money. Just one thing."
I did care, actually, but Belsus was in the palm of my hand anyway.
"Don't die, and don't get hurt."
Belsus's expression turned peculiar.
Because if he died, it would be a problem, and if he got hurt, it would be a problem too.
Who knew how many levels the other guys would gain while he was stuck recovering from an injury? We'd fall behind in the competition.
Exactly one year from today, the person with the highest level and combat power will be invited as the challenger to the Tower. Since I lack the strength to become the Tower's challenger myself, Belsus must become the strongest in the continent in my stead.
That journey starts right now.
To pay my boarding fees, Belsus would have to lean on his one and only talent.
Returning as a Hunter.
But for that to happen... Belsus first needed to get plenty of rest and recover his strength.
"You must be exhausted, go get some sleep."
Belsus glanced around slightly, took a quick peek at my face, and carefully lay down right where he was. The afternoon sunlight fell upon his pale skin.
...Is that really where you're going to sleep?
Obviously, I couldn't let him sleep like this. It was sunny now, but depending on the real-world weather, it could rain or get windy.
But having resolved myself this far, one glaring issue remained.
'Where do I let him sleep?'
I looked at my cabin.
It was my hard-earned home; having to share it with some other guy felt a bit...
It absolutely wasn't that I felt stingy.
It absolutely wasn't stinginess, but...
I had never lived under the same roof with anyone else. Furthermore, the cabin was still basically a studio room. How were two people supposed to fit into that cramped space?
I scanned the yard. A shed, smaller than the cabin, caught my eye.
I opened the shed's door. Creaaak... A thoroughly wrong sound came from the hinges. Sunlight from outside poured into the old, dusty space.
But regardless, the door opened and closed well enough.
Ignoring the door that didn't quite fit its frame, I looked around the inside of the starter-state shed, a sight I hadn't seen in a very long time.
It was bigger than a tiny rented room. Let's put Belsus in here.
Belsus, who had followed me, looked inside. I puffed out my chest, lifted my chin proudly, and waited for his reaction.
...No. I couldn't act any more shameless than this. Even I have my pride.
"Within a few weeks, I'll expand this room, get you a bed, and build you a private bathroom."
While sheds weren't typically meant for this, the system's high degree of freedom meant it shouldn't be impossible. Worst case scenario, I could just build a separate annex.
Wait, no. Looking closely, it wasn't that Belsus had no reaction.
'This guy is so moved right now he can't even speak.'
His large frame, standing in the doorway, was trembling faintly. He even shuddered as he audibly swallowed.
I was a fool for underestimating this guy's pushover energy, even for a moment.
Let's just say the probability of my sole boarder being dissatisfied and filing a complaint about the facilities was roughly 0.001%.
---
Belsus laid his exhausted body down and fell asleep.
I slightly opened the shed door and watched him sleep through the crack.
The yard was filled with plump, raised furrows, leaving no room to step. I tiptoed around, stepping only in the trenches. The "seed" named Belsus that I had planted in the shed, and the actual seeds I had beautifully planted in every furrow, these were currently my only assets.
Even if I wanted to plant more seeds, the starter pack only contained this much.
I needed to go buy more, but since I didn't know if the Archer and Calain were still lingering in the slums outside, I intended to be as careful as possible for today.
'Besides, if I plant them any closer together, there won't be enough space for the roots to spread, which drops efficiency.'
Because the degree of freedom was so high, there was a lot to pay attention to. Most players found life skills annoying, so they usually did a half-hearted job just to raise their enhancement success rates.
Which made this all the more regrettable.
'If this was a competition based on life-skill levels, I'd win by a landslide even without bringing Belsus along.'
I checked the time. It was 5 minutes to 8:00 PM.
While prying off a creaky wooden plank on the cabin and replacing it with a new one, I pulled up the yellow status window.
8:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The operating hours for the transmigrator chat.
[Thief]: Test
[Thief]: Oh, it sends
[Thief]: Hello
A person named 'Thief' fired off messages like lightning the very second it hit 8 o'clock.
[Bard]: Hello.
[Alchemist]: Hi
[Puppeteer]: Hello
Bard, Alchemist, Puppeteer. Combat classes that existed in the game.
[Fighter]: !!!
[Fighter]: Hello
[Paladin]: Hello
[Wizard]: Hello
I glared at the screen seriously, as if every single printed letter hid some profound secret.
A lineup of prominent combat classes appeared one after another, and the person I was waiting for barely managed to greet us at the very end.
[Archer]: Hi hi
One, two... Eight people.
It seemed all of them had been waiting for 8 PM. The moment the status window clock struck 8, messages flooded in, starting with the Thief.
Even if they were competitors, they were the only comrades in this unfamiliar world, so it seemed everyone was willing to talk.
I also moved the status window to quickly send my first greeting.
"...?"
Wait a minute.
'Why don't I have a keypad to send chats?'
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