"An… ATM…?"
Lawrence stroked his beard in curiosity and confusion as he stared at the sprawled papers on his desk as the curtains gently swayed in the study.
Lucius had worked on his business plan last night when they were done at the market yesterday and now, he was presenting it to his father who seemed to be taken aback by his actions.
Especially when Lucius' neat handwriting turned into a messy modern structure that Lawrence was trying to comprehend and Lawrence just brushed it off as an aftereffect of Lucius hitting his head.
Well, at least his son was a genius now who's willing to help them earn money with a business, not a lazy and spoiled bum anymore.
But the entail of his business plan was too… complex for Lawrence, too modernized and some questionable details.
Come to think of it, his son had been too informal and laid-back lately, most of the time — Lucius would be stealing a few coins from Lawrence secretly and going to a tavern to drink and make connections that would put him into danger.
Though Lawrence didn't mind the change, in fact, it was better that his son acted that way. Less worries and frustrations to deal with.
"Would you be so kind as to explain it in simpler terms?" Lawrence requested, eyeing at Lucius who was standing in front of him.
"Of course."
Lucius cleared his throat, preparing himself for the big moment to state the very problem and solution of his business idea.
"Have you ever seen someone get robbed by a thief? Because I stopped one yesterday!"
"W…What?!"
"You can ask Astor, he saw everything for himself."
Lawrence turned his head to the doorway where Astor had been standing at for the entire time as he nodded in confirmation.
"Young master had indeed tackled down the thief and he was running like his life depended on it."
Astor almost laughed while saying those words as he held it in professionally — who knew a noble like Lucius would chase after a thief? It was like telling an absurd tale.
Lawrence just stared at the butler and then at his son, before bursting into a joyous laughter like they had just said the joke of the year.
"Is that so? I didn't know the heir of Von Hastings could chase after a commoner – This shall be recorded in our history!"
Lucius almost cringed at Lawrence's joke as he just nodded, trying to laugh it off with him before clearing his throat once more.
"I did it because the… commoner is doing something bad and no one noticed it except for me–"
"I didn't realize my son had become perceptive of everything, your mother was right about the miracle that hitting your head is the best thing that has happened to us…"
Lucius watched as his father dramatically wept and Astor nodded along with his antics. What even is happening anymore? This was supposed to be a business plan, not a dramatic family reunion!
He thought Lawrence had figured it out already but no… he's blinded by paternal love for his son it's almost concerning. No wonder why Lucius was so useless in the novel!
"...Father, may I continue?"
"You may!" Lawrence sobbed as Astor quickly handed him a clean handkerchief and wiped his tears.
"I want to explain how thievery is the main problem nowadays and I want to solve it."
Lucius took out a small pouch filled with coins and spread it across Lawrence's desk that made Lawrence stand up from his chair, "A lot of people are being robbed and I have an exact solution to solve it."
"To… solve it?"
"Yes and it is simpler than you think!"
"How exactly…?"
Lucius picked up one gold coin and held it up to his father, "Think of it like this, instead of carrying gold,"
Then he picked up a piece of blank paper spilled with ink, "you carry a piece of paper."
"A… piece of paper." Lawrence tried to be understanding of the plan so far but the idea of transferring coins into paper was alarming.
"Son, I don't think—"
"I'm not done yet," Lucius said smoothly, maintaining eye contact until Lawrence settled back into his chair.
"That paper can be transferred back into coins, they can retrieve it from us once they reach the destination they stopped at and we'll get paid for keeping it safe."
Lawrence looked almost convinced by Lucius' words, but he knew that he had to ask more questions about Lucius' business idea before offering his full help and support to it.
"But how do we know the paper won't be forged?"
Thankfully, Lucius already had an answer for that, he was already several steps ahead of everyone here anyway.
"Logs, records, signature of the depositor…" he trailed off, thinking deeply.
"And we'll stamp it with our insignia."
That was convincing enough for Lawrence since Lucius had a good point, but… He's aware of the reputation that Lucius' had built before he had hit his head — He's known as the infamous unworthy heir of Von Hastings and they were on the verge of bankruptcy because of how they've spoiled their son but… seeing Lucius find a way to earn some money had made his heart melt.
Lucius had always cared for them. That thought alone moved Lawrence but stopped his sobbing, he simply let the tears flow.
Little did he know, Lucius was just doing all this to save himself from poverty.
"Enough with the crying, please,"
"I'm not crying."
Lucius glanced at Astor, nodding to his father as the butler immediately assisted Lawrence, wiping the proud tears.
Before Lucius could forget to ask his father, he remembered where they could get the investment money for this business.
"Father, who could invest in this business?"
Lawrence wiped his tears in the handkerchief and looked at his son, "Who? Let me recall…"
After a few seconds, Lawrence thought of someone. But that someone… he's not fond of.
"Your uncle,"
"My… uncle?"
"Yes, Elijah Von Hastings. A foolish man who married a Marchioness to get the dowry and title of Marquess." Lawrence scoffed at the thought of his own sibling as he sighed.
Elijah Von Hastings. A minor character in the novel, easily overlooked — which meant he was either completely irrelevant or exactly the kind of person Lucius could work with. Though he knew that man died from natural causes in the novel.
So he was Lucius' uncle.
"He's not to be reckoned with."
"I can convince him."
"You need to do more than convincing him. That man holds no fondness for you whatsoever."
Lucius shook his head as he began picking things up from the desk, "I know what to do, father. Trust me on this,"
His father looked at him for a moment, seeing the determination burn in his eyes… Lawrence reluctantly agreed.
"Just right on time, son. He'll be visiting us in two days,"
Elijah was going to visit them in two days? That gives Lucius some time to prepare his most convincing script to him then.
"I'll be looking forward to his visit."
Before Lucius could turn and leave the study, he glanced back at Lawrence, "I'll be sure to build my reputation to the top, I can't start a business with a bad one now, right?"
With a nod, Lucius left and Lawrence was just staring at the thin air where his son had been before he let out a proud chuckle. "I've never seen Lucius put effort into anything at all, makes me wonder if he's still really my son." he muttered to himself as Astor nodded.
"Indeed, the young master has become… sharp, observant, and very direct, Master."
"Observe him for me, would you? I have to know if he's up to something else other than building a business."
"As you wish, Master."
***
Two days. That was more than enough time for Lucius.
Lucius wanted to explore more parts of town before waiting for the days to pass and start planning his next move to convince his uncle since apparently Elijah was richer than all of them combined, which meant there was an entire mine worth of gold just waiting to be dug.
This time, Astor wasn't accompanying him since he had escaped from the house without telling anyone. He had simply jumped out of the window and no one noticed him.
Lucius was wearing a worn-out cape he had found from under the bed of his own room — the old Lucius probably wore it to deal with dirty businesses in the past.
Lucius had soon realized he needed a good beer to wash down the pressure on his shoulders after a very long day and being transmigrated to the other world.
Besides, the old Lucius frequented taverns apparently. What better place to start building a reputation than somewhere familiar?
He went to the nearest tavern in town and inside, it reeked sweat and the sharp tang of spilled wine. Lucius observed his surroundings, more people were drunk than usual and almost all of them seemed to be bandits and adventurers — why were bandits even allowed to be in the public space? they were bonding together with some of the adventurers too who seemed to have finished or slacked off from their responsibilities…
"What a messy place," Lucius mumbled under his breath as he sat down at the wooden chair at the bar counter.
"Any good beer will do." He placed silver coins he had received from the merchant on the table as the bartender eyed him before taking the offered amount.
Lucius turned his head slightly to look around once more, his focus was broken when the barmaid handed him a wooden beer mug filled with beer foam and alcohol.
"Thank–"
Suddenly, a man was thrown from behind, a commotion was starting as the injured man spit his teeth and backed away in fear. "I-SWORE TO YOU! I DON'T HAVE THE–"
"I'm just doing my job and you tried to kill me," the other man attempted to sound convincing and nice even after throwing a man against the wall with surprising strength.
Finally, Lucius turned around from his seat and watched as the tall man who looked like from the Adventurers' Guild grabbed the injured fellow by the tunic, "Please just tell me you've got the thing that my client wanted."
"I-I told you I don't!"
"Please stop lying."
How could a man like him be so… respectful and concerned?!
"I can't believe that man ranked E as an adventurer, he's strong!" one of the slightly drunkards said to his drinking mate.
The adventurer was ranked E?
…Right, Lucius could try the system ability that was granted to him before.
'View the characters' profiles? Could that man have been shown before in the novel?' Lucius thought to himself as he squinted his eyes to focus then before he could, he was interrupted by a sudden headache from his injury. The worst time to be experiencing it is now.
That man had already captured Lucius' interest, he knew that man… would be a great asset for him.
Before anyone else could react, Lucius found himself standing up and striding towards the adventurer, prying his large hands away from the poor man.
"Follow me before before his guys chase you,"
"W-what?"
With no more time to react, Lucius dragged the adventurer and him out of the tavern immediately.
This was going to be a very long day indeed.