Jobless Reincarnation: The King with a Mental Problem

The candlelight flickered.

Loki sat cross-legged on the bed opposite me, holding the deposit she had brought from Philip—a full ten Asura gold coins—with a slight frown on her face.

I leaned against the headboard, my hands behind my head, staring blankly at a crack in the ceiling.

"So—what exactly did Lord Philip assign you? Isn't that too much as a deposit?" she finally couldn't help but ask.

"It wasn't a commission," I corrected. "It was a request. And it was a request he offered himself up."

"Okay, okay, the request is here. What are the details?"

I took out some cookies that Senis had baked from my bag, broke off a piece and put it in my mouth, chewing slowly, deliberately whetting my appetite for a while.

"Donadi territory." I swallowed a biscuit. "An old nobleman has died."

"……Then what?"

"Then his will stated that the entire estate would be left to his illegitimate daughter—provided she could arrive at the territory within the stipulated time and complete the inheritance procedures."

Luo Qixi blinked: "An illegitimate daughter? Doesn't that old nobleman have any other children?"

"Yes. He has three sons, born to the legal wife." I broke off a second cookie. "So they definitely won't just stand by and do nothing."

"You mean—they'll send someone..." Luo Qixi lowered her voice.

"Kill her." I chewed on a biscuit, my tone flat. "As long as the illegitimate daughter 'dies accidentally' before they arrive, the inheritance goes to them. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

Luo Qixi was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"So your mission—is to escort that girl?"

"Yes." I nodded. "She's in the orphanage in Roya right now. Lord Philip said that she had been living as an ordinary orphan until recently when the old nobleman's lawyer found her and told her about her background."

"What's your name? How old are you?"

"Emily Barnes. About six or seven years old." I shrugged. "A Cinderella who's about to be transformed into a princess by magic."

Luo Qixi stared at me for a long time.

"Isn't it too dangerous to start with such a difficult task?"

"It's on the way." I said without batting an eye. "We're heading west, and Donadi is on the way to the beach. Plus, someone's offering us a ride, with food and lodging included, and the pay's good—why refuse?"

"That's all?"

"And another thing," I paused, "that Philip guy just wants to watch the show. He just wants to find a good spot to sit and watch the nobles fight it out. And I want to watch too."

Luo Qixi frowned: "Then why did he give you this task?"

"Because he finds me interesting." I spread my hands. "And he probably wants to test me—to see just how capable this 'Lord of Shadows' really is."

"So you agreed?"

"Um."

"Aren't you afraid of the danger?"

"Danger?" I chuckled. "Witch, we're heading west, do you expect us to just lie on cotton and roll around? Besides—"

I sat up in bed, stood with my hands behind my back, and lowered my voice:

"A Cinderella, abandoned by fate, awaits help in the darkness. And I—am the one who reaches out in the shadows. This is an intertwining of destinies, the opening chapter of an epic. My 'Shadow Epic,' with its story of 'rescuing a princess in distress' as the starting point of this adventure, is perfectly fitting!"

Luo Qixi remained silent for three seconds.

"...You only accepted the job because there might be danger, right?"

"Hmph." I lay back down on the bed. "Think what you want."

Luo Qixi shook her head, her gaze returning to the parchment.

"The mission says to pick someone up from the orphanage first thing tomorrow morning. The escort route is along the main road, and it's expected to take five days to reach Donadi. The reward... is really generous."

"Then it's settled." I turned over, my back to her. "Tomorrow morning, we'll pick up that Cinderella."

Aren't you curious about what she looks like?

"I only care whether she can walk or whether she'll be a burden." I closed my eyes. "We'll talk about the rest when we meet."

Luo Qixi chuckled softly and blew out the candle.

In the darkness, her voice was soft: "Treff."

"Um?"

"What you just said—'Cinderella abandoned by fate' and 'reaching out a helping hand'—were you serious?"

Moonlight streamed through the sheer curtains, casting a pale silvery-white glow on the floor.

"Of course I'm serious. Just like the story Rudy told—who knows, a wicked stepmother and sister might jump out on the way."

Luo Qixi did not ask any further questions.

I heard her lie down, the blankets rustling, and then silence.

Day 2, early morning

The Atlanta orphanage was located at the end of a quiet alley, its gray stone walls covered with ivy. The courtyard was small, the iron gate ajar, and the sounds of children playing could be heard from inside.

Luo Qixi walked ahead and pushed open the door.

A woman who looked like a nun approached and asked, "Excuse me... who are you?"

"Sent by Lord Philip," Loki showed the parchment. "To pick up Emily Barnes."

The nun's expression changed slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she nodded.

"Please wait a moment."

She turned and went into the house, and a little while later she came out with a little girl.

—Emily Barnes

She was even smaller than I had imagined.

She was wearing the orphanage's uniform gray dress, the hem of which was faded from washing. Although it was shabby, it was very clean.

Her brown hair was somewhat dry, and it was casually tied into two braids that hung down in front of her chest.

Her face was pale, but her eyes were large, with gray-blue pupils that held a... how to put it, like a frightened little animal—but that vulnerability only flashed for a moment, and the next second she straightened her back and put on a "don't mess with me" expression.

Yes, a standard Cinderella story.

"You're Emily?" Loki crouched down, trying to make her voice sound gentle.

"……Um."

"My name is Loki. This is Trevor." Loki pointed at me. "We'll take you to Donadi."

Emily's gaze fell on me, and she looked me up and down.

I stood with my hands behind my back and said in the calmest voice, "I am the King of Shadows. On this journey, you only need to stick close to me, and I will ensure your safety."

Emily blinked.

Are you an orphan too?

"..."

My Shadow King aura shattered instantly.

Luo Qixi covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

"No." I said expressionlessly, "I have parents, a house, a home, and siblings."

"Why do you call yourself 'King'?"

"Because a king is a king."

"But you don't have a crown."

"A true king needs no such falsehood."

"..." She tilted her head and looked at me for two seconds, then said expressionlessly, "So you're a lunatic."

Luo Qixi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This girl has a sharp tongue.

"Alright, alright." Luo Qixi stood up, clapped her hands, and suppressed a laugh. "Emily, is everything packed?"

"Hmm." Emily lifted a large suitcase, which looked big enough to fit herself inside. "It's all here."

All my possessions? Better than I imagined.

"Let's go." I turned around and walked towards the courtyard gate. "The carriage is waiting at the gate."

Horse-drawn carriage at the entrance of the orphanage

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the orphanage, and the driver was leaning against the carriage, yawning.

Emily, carrying her suitcase, walked to the carriage but didn't get in immediately. She turned back and stared at the gray iron gate for a long while.

"What's wrong?" Luo Qixi asked softly.

Emily didn't answer. She put down her suitcase, ran to the iron gate, put her hands on her hips, and shouted loudly into the yard:

"I'm leaving!"

The children in the yard stopped playing and all looked over.

"I'll definitely come back when I become a young lady! And I'll bring each and every one of you a gift!"

A brief silence.

A little girl ran over, tilting her head to look at her: "Emily, if you go outside, will you become one of those... arrogant young ladies? Like Alice?"

Alice is really famous...

"Of course not!" Emily snorted. "If I became like that, you wouldn't talk to me anymore."

"It's a deal then!"

"It's a promise!"

The nun came out of the door, clutching a handkerchief in her hand, her eyes red-rimmed. She didn't speak, but simply nodded to Emily.

Emily pursed her lips, loosened her grip on the railing, and turned to run back to the carriage.

She didn't wave.

She simply lowered her head, quickly climbed onto the carriage, squeezed into the compartment, and huddled in a corner, clutching her small cloth bag to her chest.

"...Let's go." Her voice was muffled.

Luo Qixi glanced at me.

I pretended not to see it and waved to the driver.

The carriage slowly drove away from the orphanage.

The carriage headed towards the city gate.

Loki sat in the carriage, flipping through the mission sheet. Emily huddled in the corner, clutching her small cloth bag, her eyes fixed on the window—in the direction of the orphanage.

I sat in the middle, arms crossed, eyes closed, resting.

Donadi collar.

Five days' journey. What might they encounter along the way? Bandits? Assassins? Or people sent by the old nobleman's sons?

—Whatever it is, I will accept it.

"Hey, you're crazy," Emily suddenly said.

I opened my eyes.

"I have a name."

"Fine, Trevor," she scoffed, "I'm the one who's going to inherit a noble name, and you expect me to ride in this beat-up carriage? You know, the journey is more important than the destination. How can you enjoy a trip in this kind of carriage?"

"I agree with you," I said without changing my expression, "but this time I don't want to waste time."

"I don't mean to discourage you—but at your age, with your somewhat troubled mind, can you really protect me? My life is very precious; I can't just die so easily."

"Lord Philip specifically asked us to do this." I pointed to Lokishi. "Although I'm just a child, this is a Water Saint-level mage. You should be glad you got a great deal."

"Okay, okay." Emily shrugged. "Even if they were a con artist, they wouldn't hire someone as mentally unstable as you to scam me."

...I won't stoop to the level of a brat; I'll tolerate it.

The carriage passed through the city gates of Roja and onto the main road leading west.

The fields stretched out outside the window, golden waves of wheat undulating in the wind.

"Trevor." After a while, Emily lifted her head out of the cloth bag again.

"What's wrong now?"

"You just said you have magic?"

"meeting."

"Can you perform a magic trick for me?"

"I am the King of Shadows, and I must conceal my strength in secret to deliver a fatal blow when the enemy is careless."

"Oh." She nodded. "Still a fraud."

……

It's decided. I will not take action unless absolutely necessary, unless this little girl is frightened to tears.

Luo Qixi looked at me from the side, a helpless yet gentle smile on her lips.

The carriage gradually drove along the main road into the distance.

[Currently Available Information: Money]

Asura gold coins, 100,000 yen

Asura silver coin, 10,000 yen

Asura Large Copper Coin, 1000 Japanese Yen

Asura copper coin, 100 yen

Green mine money 1,000 yen

Iron coin 100 yen

Iron scraps, 10 yen

One kilo coin per yen

[Author's Casual Chat]

I did this analysis because I plan to work on this topic in the future.

1 copper coin ≈ 100 yen.

The author won't directly convert the currency to RMB here, for reasons you understand.

In the medieval fantasy world, the price should be anchored by food.

The main food crop of the Kingdom of Asura was wheat, which was then processed into flour, and the flour became bread, which became a staple food.

Moreover, Asura is a major grain-producing country with a large population, so the food it produces must be cheap for its own people, right?

Modern wheat prices are certainly not comparable to those in the Middle Ages, but it is still a staple food in the local area, so we use the staple food of the original Japanese work as an analogy.

14年日本米价大概是1500-2000日元5公斤。大约要三到四枚阿斯拉铜币，这里就取中位数，3.5铜币。

The author is also a rice-lover whose staple food is almost exclusively rice. Wuchang rice is very expensive in our local chain supermarkets. A 5-kilogram bag costs almost 50 yuan (the author deliberately calculated the price to be expensive, since the cost of food in the Middle Ages must have been higher than it is now).

3.5 copper coins are roughly equivalent to 50 yuan. If we go even higher, 1 copper coin is roughly equivalent to 15 yuan.

In other words, based on the amount of food, a monthly salary of two gold coins for a Gilead is roughly equivalent to 3 RMB.

It sounds like a lot, but it's too little for the only Sword King of the Sword God style at the time, right?

Rudy's salary is 2 silver coins, so that's a monthly salary of 3,000, including room and board...

In the original story, when Rudy and Alice were kidnapped, they had five large copper coins hidden in their underwear, worth approximately 750 RMB. This was barely enough for transportation, yet Rudy claimed it was a very unreliable amount...

A bottle of aphrodisiac costs 10 gold coins, a total of 15...

Senis gave Rudy a book worth 7 gold coins, totaling 10.5...

The more I think about it, the harder it gets...

That's outrageous, isn't it?

The author also thought about it for a long time before coming up with some explanations.

Just like a dual-track economy in a game, nobles are those who use points to enjoy different types of services and privileged experiences.

For example, weapons, armor, knowledge, magical items, luxury goods, and even travel expenses are all high-end consumption.

Especially knowledge, the price of which is practically a monopoly.

Ordinary people rely on food prices for their livelihood and consumption, such as bread, vegetables, rent, and clothing.

This both restricted the migration of the lower-class population and prevented upward mobility.

What is the way out?

Those are adventurers.

Of course, you need to have real skills. Only the strong can live to save money, buy knowledge, and buy high-level equipment.

Most of the other adventurers are just lowly laborers...