TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 101

Calling someone a villain was going too far.

Albin couldn’t understand why the White Apostles’ name had appeared in the manga, so he continued reading with a huff.

After completing a series of preliminary quests, the protagonist’s party gradually drew closer to the creator of the two humanoid monsters and uncovered some information about him.

According to the rumors, he was a man consumed by greed, secretly controlling multiple kingdoms. In pursuit of ever greater personal profit, he would stop at nothing—even colluding with monsters.

Albin: Huh? Is there someone like that among the White Apostles?

As the protagonists continued their investigation, they suddenly woke up one day to find themselves heavily restrained inside an unfamiliar yet luxurious castle.

The temple priest who had sheltered them the night before was bowing and scraping before a blond man seated on the throne-like main seat.

Only then did they realize:

They had been betrayed.

The priests had tied them up and delivered them to their enemy in exchange for a bounty.

The sharp-eyed blond man sitting above them was none other than the Greed Lord among the White Apostles—

Gold.

Arthur, a young man with light-brown curls, glared at the priest who had betrayed them.

“As priests, you’re actually working with someone like him? Don’t you know he’s creating monsters? He’s letting monsters run rampant!”

Arthur worshipped the Shepherd God. In his eyes, priests were noble and sacred figures. He found their actions impossible to accept.

But the priests ignored him completely and continued flattering Gold.

Gold curled his lips into a mocking grin, his expression practically saying, What are you going to do about it?

“That’s right. I’m colluding with monsters. So what?” he said. “Sometimes monsters are more useful than humans.”

Even though he admitted it openly, the priests pretended not to hear him.

“You’ll be punished by the gods someday!” Arthur shouted.

At this, Gold burst out laughing.

“Divine punishment?”

He sneered, casually grabbed two handfuls of gold coins from a tray beside his seat, and tossed them to the priests.

“Go buy some indulgences.”

The priests happily accepted the money and immediately showered him with praise.

According to them, Gold was pure, generous, and practically a saint unmatched even by the gods themselves.

Arthur clenched his teeth in fury.

Gold swept his gaze across the naive teenage captives before him and scoffed.

“Do you see now? As long as you have money, you can make people worship you the same way they worship gods.”

Arthur shot back angrily,

“You’re nowhere near a god!”

“You’re right.”

Gold crossed his legs and tilted his chin upward, casually spinning a gold coin between his fingers. The reflected light flashed in Arthur’s eyes.

“I can give them wealth. Can the gods do that? If not, why shouldn’t they worship me instead?”

The more he spoke, the more arrogant his laughter became.

Arthur had never met anyone who held the gods in such contempt.

He was stunned.

Lina, the brown-haired girl, glanced at her companion before speaking.

“That’s enough. You’ve only bought their loyalty with money. What happens if you lose that wealth? No matter what, the temples give knowledge to the people, and they allow commoners to gain power. The gods protect us—”

Gold’s expression darkened the moment she mentioned losing his wealth.

He cut her off.

“Time is money. I have no interest in wasting either on a bunch of brats like you.”

His face was expressionless.

“You’ve interfered with my business, and you’ll pay the price.”

Then his sharp gaze swept over them.

“But before that…”

“Who has been asking about the dragon and the man with the crimson-lined cloak?”

Black, who had remained silent and uninterested in the conversation up until now, suddenly looked up.

“You know something?”

Gold stared deeply at him.

His eyes widened slightly.

For two entire panels, there wasn’t a single speech bubble.

Afterward, further arguments broke out. Arthur and Lina were captured by Gold’s subordinates, while Black broke free of his restraints and launched a counterattack.

The two sides, who already had old grudges against each other, clashed.

---

After Gold’s appearance, Albin actually felt relieved.

This wasn’t the Gold he knew at all.

Thank goodness.

The Gold he knew was a genuinely good person who had funded countless projects for him. He wasn’t greedy and deceitful like the manga version.

Using a phrase he’d learned from the comment section:

This version of Gold was completely out of character.

And what was this nonsense about a Greed Lord?

That sounded like the title of a villain.

Albin had never heard anyone call Gold that before.

It had to be slander.

This manga was definitely drawn by someone who knew Gold and wanted to smear his reputation.

Poor Gold.

As he watched Gold and Black fight, Albin felt miserable whenever either of them got hurt.

He could barely focus on the battle scenes.

Even so, he forced himself to keep reading.

The story might be complete fiction, but the artist had captured some of Gold’s essence surprisingly well, and Albin couldn’t stop worrying.

After staying up all night to finish the Greed Arc, he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the image of Gold dying alone among the ruins and heard his final words of self-mockery.

The manga never explicitly showed Gold’s corpse.

But all the spoiler comments floating past insisted:

Gold was definitely dead.

Apparently, in the original version, Gold had died as well—just in a different manner.

The commenters guessed that the author simply didn’t want to redraw the same storyline and had shortened it.

“Ughhhh, that stupid author!”

Albin angrily jabbed at his pillow.

He simply couldn’t fall asleep.

Before he knew it, he had wandered all the way to Gold’s bedroom door.

Even though he knew it wasn’t polite to bother someone in the middle of the night, he still wanted to see Gold.

He wanted to make sure Gold was breathing.

Albin was terrified that something might really happen to Gold.

He knocked on the door.

A moment later, Gold opened it with a gloomy expression. But the instant he saw that it was Albin, his face immediately changed.

Looking at Albin’s dispirited appearance and reddened eyes, Gold couldn’t understand what had happened.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Albin nodded.

In a muffled voice, he said, “I dreamed that something happened to you…”

He wrapped his arms around Gold.

Feeling the warmth and life in Gold’s body, the tension that had gripped him finally eased.

Thank goodness.

Gold was fine.

That manga really was complete nonsense.

Albin let out a sigh of relief.

Gold stared in surprise at the boy who had come looking for him in the middle of the night because of a bad dream.

He felt as though he were being wrapped in something soft and warm.

Perhaps not everyone would leave him after all.

Perhaps he wouldn’t die abandoned and uncared for.

At the very least—

Albin cared about him.

Gold could easily imagine it.

If Albin had been there that day, he would have rushed into the collapsing castle without hesitation to save him.

Gold lightly stroked the metal charm hanging around his neck, rubbing it between his fingers the way he usually played with gold coins.

After resting against his skin for so long, the once-cold metal had become pleasantly warm.

Even though Albin knew nothing about what had happened back then, he had still brought Gold a miracle.

Albin suddenly muttered,

“Gold, I think golden chandeliers are really ugly.”

The fingers of the man who had nearly been crushed to death by a golden chandelier froze for a moment.

For an instant, Gold almost thought Albin somehow knew.

But if Albin truly knew, his reaction wouldn’t be this mild.

Maybe it really was just a nightmare.

Keeping his composure, Gold replied,

“I agree. My castle’s been undergoing renovations lately. I already had the golden chandeliers removed. What do you think about a more natural decorating style?”

Albin nodded vigorously.

As long as there weren’t any golden chandeliers, anything was fine.

Seeing that Albin was still in poor spirits, Gold decided to keep him there for the night.

---

Gold’s room didn’t contain a normal bed.

When he slept, he preferred returning to his monster form. It was easier, more comfortable, and consumed less energy.

Gold transformed.

A sleek leopard lightly leaped into a giant “cat bed” spread across the floor, stretched lazily, and rolled over to expose his belly toward Albin.

A cat belly!

Albin’s eyes lit up.

With a delighted sound, he collapsed onto the big cat’s soft, warm stomach.

Sleepiness immediately washed over him.

---

The next morning, Albin slept in.

By the time he woke up, he had fully recovered.

He spent the day running errands with Gold.

At one point, one of Gold’s subordinates requested an advance on his wages, explaining that his daughter had been ill for several days.

“That serious? Have you called a doctor?” Albin asked, gathering a few details.

He quickly wrote several lines on a piece of paper and handed it over.

“Take this. The castle’s alchemist can examine your daughter.”

Gold, who had originally been frowning, watched Albin’s actions and then waved a hand.

Not only did he approve the advance, he also lent the man additional money and granted him leave to stay home and care for his child.

“Thank you, Lord Ross! Thank you, Lord Gold!”

The subordinate left with endless gratitude.

“Gold really is such a good person!”

Albin smiled brightly at him, resting his cheek in one hand.

“I bet everyone thinks you’re a wonderful boss.”

A good person?

That description suited Albin far more than it suited Gold.

Gold didn’t think of himself that way at all.

The truth was simple.

He merely wanted to look a little better in front of Albin and earn a word of praise.

Even his investments in orphanages and magic schools existed solely because of Albin.

Whether those projects succeeded or failed didn’t actually matter to him.

They were simply large toys he had given to Albin.

If this had happened in the past, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to that subordinate.

Maybe helping would earn loyalty.

But why would he bother earning the loyalty of an ordinary employee?

What profit was there in that?

As long as he had money, he could always hire capable people.

Yet when he saw Albin’s approving smile and the subordinate’s sincere gratitude, something in his heart trembled.

He could buy a person’s attitude.

Their abilities.

Their time.

But he couldn’t buy loyalty.

When he spent his life squeezing benefits from others, perhaps those people were thinking exactly the same thing—trying to squeeze more gold from him.

The moment he lost his wealth, they would leave without hesitation.

That was why, when he had stood at death’s door, not a single person had tried to save him.

But if Albin had been in the same situation?

Things would have been completely different.

At the very least, Gold knew he himself would have done everything possible to save Albin.

Why?

Because from the very beginning, Albin had helped him without expecting anything in return.

That kindness wasn’t a transaction.

Yet it had earned Gold’s unwavering devotion.

Kindness…

What a distant word.

Gold casually asked,

“Albin, what would you do if I lost all my money someday?”

“Hm?”

Albin looked at him in confusion.

“Then I’d support you, of course.”

He said it as though the answer were obvious.

“You’ve helped me so much. If you were in trouble, I’d definitely help too.”

Gold smiled.

He couldn’t be as selfless as Albin.

But perhaps if he did a few more kind things—if he helped others whenever it cost him little—then the next time death came for him, he wouldn’t have to face it alone.

After all, helping someone like that today had barely cost him anything.

---

After a full day of work, it was finally time for Albin to read manga again.

The protagonists had spent some time recovering from their injuries.

Afterward, they discovered that they were now wanted criminals and had no choice but to spend their days hiding from authorities.

Fortunately, when their identities were exposed in the Kingdom of Tulip, they were rescued by a mysterious group.

After speaking with them, the protagonists learned that these people were rebels opposed to the king of Tulip.

That was why they had saved fugitives wanted by the kingdom.

And after witnessing the party’s abilities, the rebels made a request:

They wanted the protagonists to participate in an assassination plot.

Their target was none other than the tyrant currently ruling the Kingdom of Tulip—

Sutanlai.

Albin: ???

What was this?

First it was Gold.

Now it was Sutanlai?

This author just wouldn’t quit!

Did they have some kind of blood feud with the White Apostles?

Anxiously, Albin flipped ahead—

Only to discover he had caught up to the latest chapter.

The newest release ended immediately after the assassination plan was proposed.

The protagonists hadn’t even given their answer yet.

Damn it!

Let me see the outcome!

Judging from how long the Greed Arc had taken, it would probably be quite a while before the boss battle happened.

Who knew what would happen to manga-Sutanlai in the end?

Even though he knew the story was fictional, Albin still couldn’t help sending Sutanlai a routine message just to check in.

---

Kingdom of Tulip.

A broken sword and a longsword clashed fiercely.

The ringing of metal echoed through the air.

Sutanlai’s gaze was as sharp and imposing as a lion’s.

He stared at the black-haired youth who had come to assassinate him.

Within those deep blue eyes burned determination and cold resolve.

The two exchanged blows amidst overwhelming killing intent.

The battle grew increasingly fierce.

It was approaching its climax.

Both were preparing to unleash even stronger techniques.

Suddenly, Sutanlai stepped back and said,

“Pause for a moment. I need to reply to a message.”

As if to reassure his opponent, he added,

“Don’t worry. Since I’ve agreed to our wager, I won’t go back on my word.”

“If I lose, I’ll tell you what I know about the dragon.”

He paused.

“But first, you have to defeat me.”

Black stared blankly.

This was the first time in his life he had seen someone pause a deadly battle halfway through to answer a message.

Still, he lowered his weapon and withdrew his attack.

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