Reincarnation with AI (Unemployment-Free)

Chapter 74 Pocket Money

The teaching progresses very quickly.

Faced with an adult who genuinely wants to learn, and a young lady who already has some basic knowledge.

The mathematical knowledge taught in the early stages is indeed not difficult.

Now that we have the most basic computing ability...

It's like learning to say, "Hello!"

The next step, naturally, is to say hello.

The scenario where simple calculations are used is naturally when it comes to spending money.

This is arguably the only time an average person will use their mathematical skills.

Before arriving in Roya, Paul had discussed money management with Rudius. Recalling Paul's expression at the time, he seemed to regret not being able to teach Rudius how to spend money.

Rudius's salary was essentially obtained by Paul to encourage Rudius to spend money on learning.

However, Rudius has only been here for a few days, and it's still a long way off before he gets paid.

Sword King may have a lot of money, but we can't use Gilead's money to complete Alice's education here.

This money should obviously be paid by dear Uncle Philip.

So Rudius approached Philip and said, "Uncle Philip, could you give Miss Alice some pocket money?"

"Oh?" Philip looked at Rudius with slight surprise, thought for a moment, and replied, "Is this your idea?"

"That's right, I think going directly to buy items is a great learning process."

"I see," Philip didn't refuse, but instead asked, "How much money are you planning to make me give Alice?"

Rudius was taken aback. "Right, I don't know the price level here either. I don't know what I can buy outside, or how much it would cost."

Philip must have a lot of money, so we can't ask for too little, but we also can't ask for too much.

Moreover, there might be a significant difference in spending power between myself and Philip. What if I think it's an outrageous amount, but he just thinks I'm a silly kid?

That's so shameful!

It would be better to state the actual needs directly, so that Philip knows what he intends to do.

After a moment's thought, Rudius replied, "That should be enough for three people to have lunch, plus some money for snacks."

"Okay, I understand," Philip replied with a smile without much hesitation.

Having received an affirmative reply, Rudius politely took his leave.

As for whether the money Philip gave him was enough for a meal at a fancy restaurant or for a loaf of bread on the street, Rudius had no idea.

The next day, during the usual class time, Rudius and his two friends were already on their way to sightsee in Roa.

Alice's attire clearly identifies her as a noblewoman.

He wore an aristocratic hat, styled much like the beret Rudeus had seen in his previous life, elegantly tilted at the back of his head.

Two black ribbons were tied into a bow on her chin.

The hat was entirely black, with white, serrated decorations along the edges, making it look very luxurious.

Because it's worn on the back of the head and the front part of the hat is upturned, it looks a lot like a tea party hat, so it doesn't provide any sun protection.

It serves a decorative purpose.

Alice usually keeps her hair tied up with a simple hairband; this hat is just a more glamorous accessory when she goes out.

Besides the hat, Alice also wore a small red shawl with a fluffy collar and a red flower as an embellishment at the fixed button.

It's clear that the outfits are all meticulously designed, and they match Alice's red hair very well.

It is said that clothes make the man.

Alice looks adorable the moment she puts on this outfit.

However, given Alice's volume, the moment she opened her mouth, she was no longer considered a lady.

Rudyus did indeed prefer the image of a delicate, frail girl, wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat and a white dress.

However, Rudeus doesn't dislike Alice either—she's energetic, boisterous, and possesses a healthy and vibrant beauty.

Alice would also cooperate actively when getting dressed up.

Nobles still value face, and Rudius didn't see any rejection on Alice's face.

On the contrary, once Alice knows she needs to go out, she immediately understands that she needs to dress up.

This child is actually very obedient, isn't he?

Because his expectations were low enough, Rudius felt that it was already great that the child knew he needed to wear shoes when going out.

"Let's go, Rudeus!" Alice pulled Rudeus along and headed into the city.

That excitement reminded Rudius of a dog being taken for a walk.

Once they actually set off, Alice did indeed behave like a dog.

Rudius and Kyrianu walked behind, while Alice kept jogging, turning back to look at the two of them every now and then.

Rudius turned to Girenius and said, "Girenius, you need to keep an eye on Alice. If she runs off, you don't need to worry about me, just follow her."

"Okay," Kyrie Irvine agreed, then paused and said, "If you find yourself lost, you can call out my name."

Rudius meant that Gilead didn't need to expend any effort on himself.

"Hmm." Rudeus smiled politely, sensing that Kyrie Irvine still hadn't understood.

Roya, as the largest city in the vicinity, is full of vitality.

The city has designated commercial areas.

Since they came from inside the city, Rudius and his party first arrived at the residential area of ​​the wealthy.

This area is close to the aristocratic district, so there are more shops here, and many of them are high-end stores, while there are only a few stalls scattered around.

After browsing around, Rudius discovered that most of the items were relatively expensive.

"Welcome, young master and young lady."

Upon seeing Rudeus and Alice's attire, the stall owners would politely greet them.

Since they had all said that, Rudius naturally began to examine the goods without any hesitation, and then left gracefully after looking at them.

Rudeus's true nature remains that of the poor boy from his previous life.

When it comes to spending money, necessity is a key consideration.

Besides, he has no money at all right now.

I observed the various buildings along the way, and looked at the bed sheets drying in the sun and the potted plants on the balconies.

He studied the city wall for a bit, then kicked the floor tiles a couple of times.

Listen to how the stall owner promotes fruits you've never seen before, and then take a look at that specialty aphrodisiac that costs ten gold coins a bottle.

"Rudeus, why are you asking so many questions?" Alice asked, puzzled.

"what?"

Rudius looked at Alice in surprise, clearly not expecting her to ask a question.

To say that intelligence gathering is too difficult to understand.

Is it interesting, or useful?

That's obviously interesting.

"Because it's very interesting," Rudius replied.

"What's interesting about that?"

"It's always more fun to know more," Rudeus said matter-of-factly.

"I don't understand!" Alice shouted, striking her signature pose with her arms crossed.

"I'm just doing what I find interesting," Rudeus continued to explain, "like the fruit that Lady Alice was just looking at."

"Is Rudius interested in everything?"

"Everything?" Rudius stroked his chin, as if he had asked too many questions. Was there external pressure?

Yes or no.

Since his mindset changed, Rudius has lost his bearings and can only say that, in terms of the outcome, it was indeed purely out of curiosity.

"I'm from the countryside, so there are many things I've never seen before," Rudius said, choosing a more realistic explanation.

"Oh, I see."

"Um."

After answering Alice's question, Rudeus also felt a little hungry. He looked up at the sun and saw that it was around ten o'clock.

It's a bit early, but it shouldn't be a problem to have lunch yet.

"Let's go have lunch," Rudius said.

"What! Rudeus, are you already hungry?" Alice said, then continued to accuse, "If you knew this was the case, shouldn't you have eaten breakfast properly?"

"What breakfast?" Rudeus asked, puzzled, looking at Alice. "Did you have breakfast?"

"Of course!" Alice said matter-of-factly.

"Huh?!" Rudeus exclaimed in surprise. "I thought there wouldn't be any breakfast!"

Kyrie Irvine interjected in surprise, "I thought you didn't like eating breakfast."

Rudius began to reminisce about his life after arriving in Roja.

Aside from being led to the restaurant to familiarize myself with the area during dinner on the first day, I went to lunch with Alice and the others on the second day.

I thought I didn't go because I didn't have breakfast, so I was assumed to be someone who doesn't like to eat breakfast?

He was a retainer, but also a relative of Philip. In addition, he was a child, which made him quite special in this mansion.

No servant will take responsibility for Rudeus, nor will any servant bully him.

Rudius's kinship was a deterrent to the servants.

It brought him protection, but also added to his fear.

This means that no servant will see Rudius as a companion and guide him in learning common sense.

So nobody came to call Rudius for breakfast!

And no one reminded Rudius about such a trivial matter.

Rudius, with his preconceived notions, never once asked when breakfast was served.

By the way, isn't Kyrie Irvine my colleague?

Aren't we companions?

Why didn't you remind me!

Why wouldn't you take a free meal?

Isn't this big glutton the most knowledgeable?

"I feel like a clown for tricking people into giving me jerky," Rudeus thought to himself.

So nobles eat breakfast?

"People in our village don't eat breakfast," Rudius said, on the verge of tears.

Seeing Rudeus's tearful expression, Kyrie Irvine's tail flicked again, adding:

'

Should I call you tomorrow?

Why didn't you do this sooner?

"I want meat skewers!" Rudius, channeling his grief and anger into his appetite, said to Girenius, "Girenius, go buy three meat skewers!"

"Okay."

The three of them went to a meat skewer stall and ordered three servings of meat skewers.

The stall owner grilled meat skewers while observing Rudius and his two companions.

The two children, clearly from a noble family, were accompanied by an orc—the vendor's hands didn't stop, his gaze lingered on Rudeus and Alice for a moment, then fell more heavily on Kyrie Ian.

Only after making eye contact with Rudeus and realizing that Rudeus was also observing him did he smile and lower his head.

Rudeus was looking at the roast meat, but he noticed that the stall owner seemed to be observing Girenau, so Rudeus turned his attention to the stall owner.

That doesn't look like someone looking at bikinis—what kind of wicked thoughts is this guy up to?

The skewers were quickly grilled, and Gilead paid the bill. The vendor gave him his change, and Gilead started counting his money.

Rudius handed one of his meat skewers to Alice, glanced at the change in Girenau's hand to confirm it was correct, and then gave the stall owner another look.

Their eyes met again, and the stall owner said with an awkward smile, "Young master, welcome back next time!"

Ignoring the stall owner, Rudius said to Gilead, who was still counting his money but keeping his eyes on the meat skewers, "I'll only let you eat after I've finished counting."

This guy was staring at the meat the whole time; it would be a miracle if you didn't get scammed.

Sure enough, after Rudius finished speaking, Gilead began counting on his fingers—

While eating her meat skewers, Alice followed Gilead's finger movements to count, her small hand, which wasn't holding a skewer, unconsciously gesturing for the name.

Rudius, however, began to consider other issues.

Whether the stall owner thought the noble children had no concept of money, or that the orc swordsman couldn't do math.

In the end, he did nothing.

Then Rudius cannot launch an attack.

Rudius couldn't even say the stall owner did anything wrong; catering to different people is a kind of survival wisdom.

The core skill for navigating society is nothing more than deception.

The idea that Alice was protected by Philip inside a glass dome can actually be interpreted as protecting her from the deception.

Do I need to teach her these things?

This is clearly beyond the scope of a private tutor's teaching.

But for Rudius, this is just his teaching method.

Rudius had thought things through before coming to Roya.

Rudius was not simply teaching mathematics or literacy.

Buying meat skewers can actually be a chance to learn and exchange ideas, observe people's expressions and demeanor, investigate prices, and so on.

With just a little guidance, you can get her to notice.

After watching Gilead finish counting his change, Rudius handed her the skewers, and the three of them walked away into the distance, watched by the stall owner.

Rudius, as the instructor, was controlling the direction.

Let's continue using the example of counting on your fingers.

Some people might think that using fingers can create a path dependency, requiring more effort to break free from it later.

For someone starting from scratch, for Kyrie Irvine, letting her "build the concept of numbers with her fingers" is a million times more important than worrying that she "will rely on her fingers in the future".

The educational methods pursued in the previous life, such as cramming, were indeed effective when faced with a massive number of students.

But that's exactly what Rudius is opposing.

Rudius wasn't teaching "everyone"; he was teaching two specific individuals, Kyrie and Iris.

His strategy was also one-on-one customized education.

The purpose of your fingers is not to calculate for you, but to help you visualize abstract numbers so that you can "see" the numbers.

The brain is working.

The essence of this behavior is the same as checking calculations on scratch paper.

If Rudius were asked to mentally calculate a three-digit multiplication problem, he would mentally simulate the calculation process on the scratch paper.

So, after internalizing the act of counting on fingers, Rudeus didn't mind that when Kyrie or Iris were doing arithmetic, there was a hand in their minds counting on their fingers.

If an abacus or a computer were used, Rudius would certainly have stopped it, because that would be a tool replacing thought, and the brain wouldn't be functioning.

The finger is too simple a tool, so simple that it is difficult to separate the process, and this inefficient tool has its limitations.

When Rudius was teaching the two how to calculate three-digit numbers, their fingers would naturally be discarded.

It wasn't because anyone forced them to quit; it was simply because they didn't have enough fingers.

Ultimately, the finger is just a bridge, not the destination.

Once they've crossed the bridge, they naturally won't look back.