"Claude has changed a lot since he recovered. I often see him reading quietly in a corner. His grades in school have improved as well. The last time I bumped into Teacher Wickham on the streets, he praised Claude quite a bit.
"He's a lot more mature now. He helps me with the housework and takes care of his siblings. Anna and Bloweyk like him a lot and often pesters him for stories.
"Yet, you look at him with your old eyes and hate him. He's your brother, not your enemy.
"Abel, you're an adult now and have a job, but that doesn't mean you have the right to scold your siblings at home.
"Also, you treat your home like a hotel. Apart from coming back to eat and sleep, I don't see you at all. You even make Anna wash your underwear and socks for you. She's only twelve.
"As a mother, I don't want to know where you spend your monthly salary, nor will I ask you to subsidize the family. But can you at least spend some money to hire a laundry maid?
Anna is weak and you're her elder brother, so she won't refuse your request. But if Claude finds out about this, I'm sure you won't feel good about it. "
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Morssen interrupted his wife and turned to his eldest son.
Mr. Morssen interrupted his wife's complaint and turned to his eldest son. "Abel, I think you should hire a permanent washerwoman to solve your problems. Do you understand me?"
Arbeit nodded stiffly. "Got it."
Mr. Morssen fished out his beloved black mulberry pipe from his pocket, and then took out a pouch of tobacco. After stuffing some tobacco into the butt, he lit it with a match. After taking a deep puff, he leaned back in his chair and decided to have a serious talk with his eldest son.
"Abel, the path I've chosen for you is to become a civil official.
"You weren't an adult before you turned eighteen and could enjoy the benefits of being a citizen. But now that you're twenty, you're legally an adult. My citizenship is no longer of any use to you.
"You're just a civil servant now. You'll have to work hard and persevere if you want to change that.
"I recommended you to Sir Fux because I don't want you to end up like me, a father who spent decades as a civil servant before becoming a citizen.
"Sir Fux, on the other hand, can cut that in half. But that's only if you gain his trust and support. I can't help you much in that. But I can't.
I've pointed you in the right direction, but whether or not you can reach your destination depends on your own two feet … "
Morssen took another puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaled, letting the smoke curl around his face. "Claude isn't like you. He's a physical sciences student. His body is strong and his reflexes are quick.
He was sixteen years old this year and would graduate at the end of next year. There were still two more years before he would regain his civilian status at the age of eighteen.
"Your mother and I have decided to send him to Nubissia after he graduates next year.
"Viscount Jerryhausen van Cruz is the viceroy of the Tyrrsim region there. He's Claude's godfather in name, so Claude will enlist in the army and receive his support.
"Abel, you don't have to worry about Claude taking your family's assets. Enlisting in the army is a glorious path, but it's also filled with danger. You can lose your life in battle at any moment.
"I'm the same as you. I don't have the spirit to take risks, nor do I have the courage to face cannon fire on the battlefield. That's why we both chose to become civil officials.
"However, enlisting in the army is filled with opportunities. If you can make contributions on the battlefield, you'll quickly become a citizen and might even be granted a title.
Compared to the civil service, it's much faster to rise through the ranks. Perhaps House Ferd will still need Claude's help in the future. So long as he's lucky.
"That's why I sent him to Viscount Cruz. Tyrrsim is a newly conquered territory. Although there's a lot of fighting going on there, there aren't many casualties. Claude shouldn't be in too much danger.
"The situation at our borders has been getting more and more tense in the past two years. Nasri has formed another anti-Auerian alliance. Almost all the kingdoms and duchies in the eastern part of the continent have joined the alliance. I suspect another regional war will break out in a year or two. Sending Claude to Nubissia is to avoid that war."
Mr. Morssen took out his pipe and sighed. According to the unwritten rule of the kingdom, every junior high school physical education student was actually a reserve member of the army. The Act of the Rights and Interests of the Four Classes stipulated that regardless of whether these students' families were citizens or not, once they reached adulthood at the age of eighteen, they would automatically become citizens. The citizenship of their parents would no longer have any effect on them, and they would have to serve in the army and work hard to earn their citizenship.
Hurried footsteps could be heard on the stairs. Claude rushed down with a leather backpack on his back.
"Father, mother, I'm leaving."
He ignored Arbeit, who was sitting at the dining table, and pinched Bloweyk's chubby cheeks before rushing out of the house.
Bloweyk's cheeks were pinched and he looked like he was about to cry. Mrs. Ferd hurriedly shoved the fried egg in her spoon into his mouth. The moment he tasted something off, he spat it out and forgot about his brother pinching him.
"Baby, be good and eat the egg. You'll grow faster if you eat it," Mrs. Ferd coaxed.
"I don't want eggs if they're not sweet." Bloweyk shook his head like a rattle.
"Eggs are salted. How can they be sweet?" Mrs. Ferd was dumbfounded.
"Forget it. Just put honey on him. Make sure he brushes his teeth again," Morssen said as he stood up. "I'm done too. Time to go to the town hall."
"Oh, Pani."
Mr. Morssen took down his hat from the coat rack, turned around, and called his wife by her nickname. "I've already spoken to Raul at the health center yesterday. He'll send someone to clean up the cesspool in the morning. When the time comes, just give the cleaners three sunars as a tip.
Also, I'm having a feast tonight. Someone will send something over before noon. Just put it on the tab.
Even though the feast will be held at home, all you have to do is set up the place. I've talked to Pjard at the tavern. He'll bring someone to cook in the afternoon. You don't have to do anything. "
Mrs. Ferd nodded. "Alright, I understand. Don't worry."
Morssen went to Mrs. Ferd and kissed her and Bloweyk before turning to Arbeit. "You'll have to be there for the feast tonight, Arbeit. Even though everyone here is someone you know, you have to show some modesty and caution. That way, you'll get a better impression of you. Understand?"
The moment Claude rushed out of the house, he saw two youths in middle school uniforms waving at him from a shop across the street.
"You're here. Where's Boa?" Claude rushed across the street and stopped in front of them.
The tall Welikro Fonseca was the second son of Kubrik the hunter. His father was a veteran who participated in two of the kingdom's foreign wars. Although he was lucky enough to escape unscathed, he didn't make much of a contribution on the battlefield.
After 15 years of service, he was granted citizenship and retired. He returned to his hometown and married a daughter. Two years later, his wife gave birth to a son, Welikro.
Even though Alison Altroni was slightly shorter, he was rather sturdy. His father was a captain and owned a long-distance fishing boat called Shark of the Red Sea. Sometimes, his family's fishing boat also served as a cargo ship and he was quite famous in Whitestag.
"Boa might be a little late. Did you get the money?" Erik asked.
Boa was a nickname, just like how Eriksson was called Erik and Welikro was called Wero.
He was the son of a famous merchant in Whitestag, Rubwill Boderman. His full name was Borkal Boderman.
The three of them were Claude's classmates and good friends from the national high school.
The transmigrator's previous owner's illness was related to the three of them.
It happened last winter when the four of them decided to dig a hole in the frozen Whitestag Lake for fish. Claude accidentally fell into the hole.
Fortunately, the three of them managed to get him out of the lake and send him home. Claude fell ill with a high fever and his body was taken over by the transmigrator.
Because of that, the three of them didn't dare to go to Claude's house for fear of meeting his parents.
"Yes, I did. My father gave me a thale. What about you?" asked Claude.
"Yeah, I got it too. My father tossed me a thale right after I told him," Eriksson replied gleefully.
"What about you?
Wero? "
"My sister said that we don't have much money at home, so she gave me two antelope pelts and told me to sell them at the general store. She didn't care how much I sold them for," Welikro replied in a muffled voice, clearly dissatisfied with his sister's actions.
Only then did Claude notice that there was a bag beside Welikro's feet. It was probably the two antelope pelts his sister had tossed over.
"It's fine, Wero," Claude consoled.
"No matter how much these two pelts are worth, you won't have to worry about the cost of training with the three of us here.
Besides, we planned to have two people take on one training horse. We actually paid half the extra. "
One person taking on one training horse would cost one thale.
So, the four of them decided to take on two horses. That way, not only would they save money, but they wouldn't leave the training horses empty. After all, no one could sit on a horse all day.
They could also use the extra money for other plans.
"Hey, I'm here."
The slightly chubby Borkal ran over and greeted them as he turned towards a stall selling lamb pancakes. "Give me a pancake. I want that …"
"Cut it into four pieces," Eriksson hurriedly said.
Claude walked to Borkal's side and poked his slightly chubby belly. "You didn't eat anything in the morning?
I think it's time for you to go on a diet. It's fine to starve. "
"What?" Borkal slapped Claude's paw away. "I woke up late in the morning and only had a cup of red tea. I'm starving after running all the way here."
"Two sunars, thanks," said the stall owner as he handed over the four pieces of lamb pancake.
So, everyone took a piece without hesitation. Only Borkal grumbled as he paid, "You guys are too much. You're stealing my breakfast."