— — — — — —
BAM!!
Back at the [No-Name] base, Black Rabbit finally exploded during dinner after stewing all day, slamming her hands on the table as she glared at Ryo.
"Why did you bet against Lady Shiroyasha like that?!"
"And you bet on earning a whole year's worth of supplies in just seven days! Ryo, do you have any idea how much our community spends in a year?!"
"Even on the bare minimum, keeping everyone fed and alive takes at least five hundred gold coins!"
Ryo, who was quietly munching on some black bread, blinked in surprise and replied:
"Oh? So it's 500 gold, huh? Thanks for the info, Black Rabbit. I was just wondering about the cost of living here."
He wasn't joking—Ryo had been racking his brain trying to figure out how much it would cost to sustain their community of 200 kids for a year.
What he did know was that one gold coin here had the same purchasing power as about 200,000¥ (Japanese Yen) back in his old world—he'd used them before, after all.
So doing the math, he'd need to make around 100 million Yen's worth in seven days.
Way easier than he'd expected.
(A/N: Right now, 100M¥≈ 700K$)
"Ahhhhh—!"
Black Rabbit clutched her head in frustration, nearly pulling her ears off.
"Are you an idiot?! You make it sound like money just falls from the sky!"
"I could ask you the same thing," Ryo said nonchalantly, finishing the last of his bread. "Shouldn't earning gold be easy for someone rated in the four-digit tier?"
"Uhh…"
Black Rabbit instantly froze.
In Little Garden, people are ranked by digits—both for their community zones and their power levels.
The strongest lived in the one-digit districts (Circle number 1), followed by the two-digits and so on.
The lowest ranked areas were seven-digits, and there were even rumors of an eighth digit being planned.
The lower the number, the stronger the communities.
Simple Math. Right?
And Three-digit zones and above? Those were basically reserved for divine beings and gods—a magical realm where only the ultra-powerful could survive.
Naturally, Ryo and his community weren't living in one of those. They were holed up in the seven-digit district of [2105380]—the outermost fringes.
Most people here were average "gifted" individuals at best. The really special ones might make it into the six-digits.
But somehow, in this mess of seven-digit nobodies, a four-digit powerhouse like Black Rabbit had shown up—a being on par with gods.
With that kind of power, she should've been thriving.
Even if she had to look after 200 kids, things shouldn't have gotten so bad that they were all stuck eating black bread every day.
But… life has a way of throwing curveballs.
"Jobs in the outer districts never come looking for me. The only time I get called is when they need a judge for some big event…"
"...I'm just a bunny..."
"Why are you sulking in the corner now?"
Ryo stared blankly as Black Rabbit crouched in the corner, drawing sad circles on the ground with her finger.
You'd think he was the one bullying her.
He stacked his empty dishes neatly for the younger kids to clear and clapped his hands.
"Well, I get it now. You really are useless, huh, Black Rabbit."
She followed rules too strictly. No wonder she couldn't make money, Ryo thought, his inner cynic smiling darkly.
Then again, maybe that was part of her charm. A Moon Rabbit who believed so deeply in fairness and justice—that kind of innocence could be… oddly endearing.
"Ryo!" Black Rabbit stared at him seriously.
"Yep, right here."
"No one ever told you that honesty makes a guy totally unlikeable?"
"..."
Ryo stood, pushed his chair in, and called out to the green-haired boy cleaning up the table.
"Perfect timing. Jin, come with me."
Jin Russell—eight years old, second oldest male in the community after Ryo, and one of the few who helped manage the place.
No-Name might've looked like it was barely hanging on, but keeping two hundred kids organized was no small feat.
Back when Ryo was still recovering in bed, Jin had handled most of the day-to-day work based on his instructions.
Now, Ryo needed some intel from him directly.
"Okay, Ryo-nii."
As Ryo grabbed Jin and began walking out, Black Rabbit called after them, worried.
"Wait, Ryo! Jin's just a kid—he can't protect himself!"
Ryo just waved a hand behind his back.
"Relax. I'm basically a five-digit pseudo-god now. No way I'm dragging a kid into anything dangerous."
"B-But—!"
Black Rabbit could only glare at Ryo's retreating figure and bite angrily into her bread.
Crunch!
"Ugh—so hard!"
— — —
A while later, Jin returned, looking a bit confused.
Black Rabbit, who had just managed to swallow her last bite, immediately pounced with a question:
"Jin, what did Ryo ask you just now?"
She paused, realizing she might be prying a little too much into Ryo's business. She glanced around and, seeing that Ryo was nowhere nearby, gave Jin a sweet, suspicious smile.
"Of course, if you don't want to tell me, that's~ totally~ fine~ too~."
Jin shivered like a cat dumped in cold water.
"H-He just asked about the water-fetching routes…"
"WAIT... Sister Black Rabbit, what are you doing with that feather duster??! I swear, that's all he asked!"
"Really?" she asked, waving the duster threateningly.
Jin nodded frantically.
"Hm... Weird. What exactly is Ryo planning to do to earn those 500 gold coins?"
Black Rabbit stared off into space, feather duster in hand, completely lost in thought.
Jin quietly tiptoed out of the room.
He figured it was better to stay away from her for now, especially with that feather duster—seriously, it was too scary.
— — —
In Little Garden, everyone had to work—adult or child, didn't matter.
Child protection laws only existed in powerful, well-established communities.
For Jin, one of his jobs was to lead the younger kids to fetch water and help with repairs around their base.
What Ryo had asked for earlier was simple: detailed info on the water-fetching route.
Jin and the kids usually drew water from a communal well near the edge of the [2105380] outer city district.
It was about three kilometers from their base. Still a hike, but way better than trekking ten kilometers to the nearest river.
Plus, wild monsters rarely appeared there.
But Ryo knew: danger didn't always come with claws.
Now walking alone down a dusty, yellow-brown road, Ryo carried an empty bucket as he approached the well.
Once he got close, he finally let out a quiet sigh of relief and muttered to himself:
"Crap… Black Rabbit-nee got hurt, and the wound's getting worse. Gotta fetch some clean water fast…"
He struggled to fill a bucket, panting as he set the full container on the ground like it had taken everything he had.
Then, just as he packed up to leave, a few beastmen blocked his way.
"Well, well. Out here all by yourself, kid?"
"We've got a couple of questions for you. Be a good boy and answer… or else~"
Ryo's eyes widened. His grip loosened, and the bucket clattered to the ground, water spilling across the dirt.
Reflected in the puddle was not his own face…
…but Jin Russell's.
The beastmen leered down at him, grinning like they'd already won.
And Ryo—disguised as Jin for his first-ever sting operation—was absolutely stunned.
He hadn't expected it to actually work.
Like, really?!
It actually worked on the first try?!
…Are beastmen just this dumb?!
.
.
.