Venturing into Gold Hunting (Part 1)
As the head of the family and the eldest brother, Rockefeller, who had imparted another family motto to his younger siblings yesterday, gathered his young brothers before dawn had even broken.
The third brother, Joshua, rubbing his eyes, appeared and spat out resentful words to Rockefeller, who had summoned them so early in the morning.
"Why so early, I'm sleepy……"
The youngest, holding the hand of the fourth child, also appeared, yawning continuously with sleepy eyes.
It was indeed a very early time to start the day for the younger brothers who loved their sleep, but to Rockefeller, the head of the family who needed to find a way to make a living, the whining of his brothers was falling on deaf ears.
Just as he, the eldest, was about to say something sharp, the second brother, who was the most quick-witted among the siblings, began to raise his voice towards the displeased younger brothers.
"If our eldest brother tells us to gather, we should do so quickly! Why are you so sluggish? Are you going to keep on like this?"
The second brother clearly remembered what Rockefeller had said yesterday.
Even if they set aside the new family motto about sticking together as brothers, starting today, the eldest brother was going to look for ways to earn money.
"Rockefeller hyung, we're going to make money now, right?"
Despite his young age, Andrew, who clearly knew that money was their immediate concern, asked Rockefeller with sparkling eyes. Rockefeller nodded lightly in response, meeting his expectation.
"Really? We're going to make money now?"
Joshua, the third brother, quickly regained his focus upon hearing they were going to make money.
Filled with determination, Rockefeller spoke to his younger brothers.
"Yes, remember what I said yesterday? Let's start looking for something that can make money from today. We need to earn to survive."
At those words, the third brother let out a small cheer, and the mood of the second brother brightened a bit as well.
But the good mood was short-lived.
The third brother began to express his concerns.
It wasn't as easy as they had thought.
"But how are we going to make money? Earning money isn't that easy..."
The third brother's voice trailed off, to which the second brother sharply retorted.
"Idiot! Who doesn't know that? That's why we're starting to look now!"
Upon the second child's scolding, the third one, who had been watching, once again sought out Rockefeller.
"Didn't you have something in mind?"
At their age, the sudden demand to earn money would have indeed been overwhelming.
They didn't have any longstanding jobs, nor were they considering the positions offered by the lord.
Rockefeller, too, would have felt the same sense of dread if he hadn't thought of anything the day before.
"I do have one idea in mind. But I'm not sure about it. Still, I'm thinking of giving it a try. What do you say, want to join me?"
Not a single sibling refused his offer.
In fact, excited by the prospect, they followed Rockefeller's lead without complaint, and soon, they were able to step outside, taking their younger sister with them.
It was early dawn.
The sleepless adults of the village were already outside, starting their daily routines, and Beekeeper, who kept bees in the village, was no exception.
Beekeeper looked on with curiosity as he saw Hans' children from the neighboring house all pouring out.
They weren't empty-handed, but rather came out carrying various tools, looking much like children on their way to do something.
"Where are you kids going so early in the morning?"
hee too, was a commoner bearing the surname Honeywax.
In response to that question, Rockefeller remained silent, but the youngest, who had been smiling the most brightly, shouted back.
"We're going out to make money!"
Just yesterday, these were the children who had lost their father and held a funeral.
Bikkep couldn't help but harbor strong doubts about these children suddenly going out early in the morning to make money.
'What? Going out to make money? How?'
"Exactly where are you going to make money?"
The one who answered his question was the second child, who was passing by his side.
"We'll have to go and find out! We haven't decided how we'll make it yet."
"Is that so?"
Bikkep couldn't stop the children next door from going out to make money.
It would be sticking his nose in where it didn't belong if he wasn't going to help them himself.
However, he was somewhat worried to see the underage children from next door moving about in a group so early in the morning.
‘Is there anything wrong... there shouldn't be, right?’
"Be careful! A man named Hops in the next village was attacked by an orc the day before yesterday. Don't stray too far from the village, and if anything happens, run back to the village at once. There are elders in the village. You understand what I'm saying, right?"
The two younger children energetically responded to his worried voice.
"Yes, we'll be careful!"
"Don't worry! We'll run away at the mere sight of an orc's shadow!"
Despite hearing their vigorous responses, he somehow felt uneasy.
But since there was nothing he could immediately do for them, he decided not to interfere further in their affairs.
If they got tired, they would eventually return home, as they were just children.
After parting ways with him and some time later.
"There's a mistake you guys made earlier."
Rockefeller began to point out the mistake his younger siblings had made after they had walked a fair distance from the village.
"We shouldn't talk too much about us going out to make money."
The youngest expressed his confusion at this statement.
"Why is that? It's not a bad thing for us to earn money, right?"
The second also seemed to empathize, muttering quietly to himself.
"It's not like we're stealing from anyone..."
Rockefeller did not scold his younger brothers, but calmly explained the reason to them.
"That's because you two are thinking too simply about the world. What would happen if we start making money right away? Do you think the world will just turn a blind eye and let it go? No. They will invariably question where we earned that money and whether it’s problematic or not. That's how the world works."
The third still looked puzzled.
"Why is that? It's our hard-earned money. I don’t see how it concerns anyone else."
The second, sharing the same confused expression as the third, waited for Rockefeller’s response, and Rockefeller explained further for his young brothers.
"Everything we earn in the Montefeltro territory is, in principle, not ours. Even if we work hard and reap the results, ultimately, it belongs to the lord of this land. So, the money we earn on this land can't fully become ours."
