Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 104



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 104

21-Arthur Hurt, Baron

What was most absurd about Arthur was that he had been classified as a member of a faction without even knowing it, but when he thought about it calmly, it wasn’t all that strange.

From starting with the Ridis Salon to providing total care services, Arthur’s actions were clearly beneficial to the royal family.

“So now you know what to wear?”

“I don’t think it matters what clothes you wear?”

Arthur said as Jarani, who had been listening, interrupted with a dark expression.

“First of all, I must dress modestly.”

The first priority is not to make enemies. The king may protect Arthur because of the music box business, but it will never last long. It is essentially a business that the king cannot monopolize even if he wants to.

Now, we cannot remain just a tool of the king, because those who hold the king in check will not see us that way.

But it would be foolish to become a true pro-royalist. A nail that sticks out is bound to get hit by a hammer.

Jarani comforted Arthur.

“Um… … . If you have any difficulties, please let me know anytime.”

“I will never let anyone become a burden to Mato Company.”

Rather, even at Arthur’s words of concern, Jaran’s expression did not brighten.

* * *

On the day of the award ceremony, Arthur had to arrive at the palace on time.

He got up early, got into his carriage, got off just before the upper-class aristocratic district, and walked toward the palace.

As he walked along the cobbled and well-maintained street, a passing guard glanced at Arthur with a thoughtful expression on his face.

He had an expression on his face as if he was debating whether to catch that kid or not, because Arthur’s attire was like that of a poor bourgeois.

Poor bourgeoisie… … . It seemed like a contradiction, but Arthur ended up dressing like that. He wore an expensive but worn-out jacket, and worn-out shoes that he had bought from the common people after buying new clothes. The only thing that looked bourgeois about his outfit was his expensive-looking top hat.

Arthur planned to appeal to everyone through his attire that ‘I am just a lowly commoner’.

“Who are you?”

In response to the sharp question posed by the soldier standing at the entrance to the palace, Arthur answered that he was the one who would receive the title of baron today, and the clerk sitting behind the soldier approached Arthur.

“What’s your name?”

“This is Arthur Hurt.”

The clerk checked Arthur’s name on the paperwork and let him in. He glanced at Arthur’s attire and gave him a hint, but being quiet was not an option in court life.

Arthur arrived at a well-kept vacant lot. The edges of the vacant lot were lined with trimmed trees, bushes, flowerbeds, and lawns, so beautiful that it could have been a garden if it weren’t for the stone pavement and the soldiers and officials milling about.

And there were those who had arrived before Arthur. Judging by the uniforms they were wearing, they seemed to be officers who would receive the award this time.

In front of them, a man who appeared to be a courtier was holding a folder, and when he noticed Arthur, he asked him.

“What is your name?”

When he said his name this time, he studied Arthur’s face carefully, then clicked his tongue after seeing his attire. But without saying anything more, he instructed him to stand behind the officer who was waiting in line.

As Arthur followed the instructions obediently, several officers who had been watching him approached him and spoke to him.

“who?”

“This time, I will be the winner.”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

Why can’t you understand that I’m saying I don’t want to introduce myself again?

Arthur felt frustrated, but he had to protect himself, so he ended up saying his name again.

“As I told you earlier, my name is Arthur Hurt.”

The other person’s eyebrows twitched, as if he understood what I said indirectly, since his ear holes were somewhat open.

“So what do you do?”

Oh, that’s not it. It seemed like he was curious as to why Arthur was given a title.

Only then did Arthur realize his own ignorance and become aware of his own attire. Looking at his shabby attire, it was natural to wonder what kind of person this man was that deserved a title.

He wondered how to answer, and decided to convince the other person. Wouldn’t it be a loss if he were to act humble for no reason and end up making the other person feel bad, thinking, “I worked hard to earn this title, but some idiot who doesn’t even know where he came from is getting it?”

“I am the developer of the music box.”

“music box?”

“A device that plays music. Don’t you know?”

“Ah! That!”

Only then did the officer nod in admiration. Another officer who had heard the conversation between the two intervened.

“They say the developer of the music box was a genius craftsman and a medical doctor. Is that you?”

What is this?

“The engineer is right, but what does the doctor say?”

“Are you the one who discovered sweet addiction?”

It was impossible to predict how rumors would change.

Arthur decided to clear up the misunderstanding.

“I just raised a suspicion to the medical experts, wondering if there might be such a thing. I don’t know much about medicine.”

“aha.”

One by one, the officers began to show interest in Arthur and approached him.

They were all officers of commoner origin. Some of them had fathers or grandfathers who were nobles, but since a title was not inherited equally by two sons, those who did not inherit the title became members of the gentry, the ‘wealthy’ commoners whose parents were nobles.

They were lumped in with the self-made bourgeoisie, but their circumstances were somewhat different. They were connected by blood to noble families.

Of course, as generations went by and they lost their connections to the aristocratic families, they often remained as bourgeoisie. There were also cases where they fell into decline and simply became commoners, but in recent years, most of them maintained their wealth and status by marrying commoners who had become wealthy due to industrialization.

These classes had enough wealth to focus on their studies and self-improvement, and could even receive titles of nobility if they worked hard enough. Strictly speaking, could they be considered a class between the bourgeoisie and the nobility?

So they were even more interested in Arthur, because as far as they knew, the genius craftsman from Tsuraz was not exactly of bourgeois or gentry origin, but rather a poor self-employed farmer.

But, at such a young age, he was given a title, even though it was only a single victory. They took it to mean that Arthur’s talent was incredibly great.

They may have been lucky, but luck alone is not enough. They also worked hard to get to where they are, so they knew that if they didn’t have the inherent ability, they wouldn’t be able to grab the luck that came to them.

“Are you married?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. If you hadn’t done that, I would have introduced you to my cousin.”

“Haha. Thank you for your words.”

Arthur laughed off the other person’s suggestion and joined in the conversation.

Among the officers of commoner origin, there were none who had been enlisted as regular soldiers; they were all graduates of military academies.

It may be hard to understand why a military academy that trains soldiers to protect the country charges such high tuition, but from another perspective, you could say that it is impossible to place someone of lowly means with unknown education in an officer position that carries such great responsibility, or that they are not worthy of paying such high tuition if they do not contribute to the country.

Anyway, it was difficult to even think about becoming an officer unless you were from a fairly wealthy family.

Of course, there were letters of recommendation and the support of nobles, but in the end, obtaining such means was more advantageous for the bourgeoisie or the gentry whose parents were nobles, so it was not competitive for poor commoners.

“Wow! That’s really amazing.”

“As expected, you are full of patriotism.”

“Aren’t you burdened by the increased taxes these days? Isn’t it because patriots like you protect me that I can work with peace of mind? I should be happy to pay it.”

As Arthur was listening to the officers’ stories, with honey on his tongue and a drummer’s voice, another group of people came in.

They appeared to be from the wealthy merchant class. When they saw the officers, they approached them with friendly smiles and shook hands.

Arthur couldn’t sense anything like the proxy war Balan had mentioned in their friendly appearance. Was it because this was a public place that they were holding back?

They were obviously wearing expensive clothes, and when they saw Arthur, they frowned. From Arthur’s perspective, they seemed to be thinking, ‘What is this?’

“Who are you?”

“My name is Arthur Hurt.”

“So why are you here?”

So, when asked what he was doing wearing such clothes and why he came to receive a title, Arthur, feeling the same sense of awkwardness as before, introduced himself as a music box developer.

Then, as if they had never frowned before, they came closer to surround Arthur. They were so focused on Arthur that the officers who had been pushed away in an instant didn’t even notice the frowns.

“You’re the developer of the music box?!”

“You look so young and you’ve achieved great success!”

“Where did you get your product idea stolen from that Mato Company?!”

Arthur praised Samuel and Jaran of the Mato Trading Company as trustworthy people. He was so absorbed in the praise of the merchants that he did not allow any room for conflict with the Mato Trading Company.

“If you grow up, you are selling that total care service, right?”

“Samuel, I heard you’re running a department store these days. Have you been there? There’s nothing you can’t find there.”

Those who were discussing the two men looked at Arthur and their eyes lit up. Are they connected to the people who are currently raising the stock price of Mato Trading Company?

As merchants and entrepreneurs, they had a good nose for money and wanted to befriend Arthur.

If we do it right, wouldn’t it be possible to manufacture and sell music boxes that are not just copies of the ones circulating in the market, but rather with official permission? If we do that, we can drive out those who have been recklessly using inventions worthy of the title of Dansung by the king, and take away their profits.

Arthur told them that he would have to talk to his business partners and that he would send them invitations later, showing that his promise was not just a ploy to get out of the way.

Then, there were those who gave Arthur their business cards directly. The business cards introduced themselves as the owner of such-and-such factory or such-and-such company.

It wasn’t a bad idea for Arthur. If the king wanted to expand his finances by exporting music boxes anyway, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to secure a lot of export comrades and aggro totems for shifting responsibility.

When I had written down the names of about fifteen people who were quietly waiting for the right time to introduce themselves in a notebook and had them carefully put away with their business cards, a courtier appeared and had them practice the inauguration ceremony.

They also conducted a body search while giving instructions such as how to behave and to come out one by one when called and not to get closer than a few steps from His Majesty the King.

In Arthur’s case, his pencil was confiscated. He was prohibited from carrying anything sharp or long that could be used as a weapon.

After the rehearsal, he called for silence. After a while of silence, the courtier called out:

“Bring His Majesty the King!”

At that shout, they all knelt down on one knee.

There was a knock-knock sound of footsteps, and then a courtier shouted something. The gist of it was that Ly Ponidia Pableck, who had been entrusted with the sacred kingship by the gods, was awarding titles to the talented people of the kingdom.

Then he called out their names one by one. Instead of the king himself handing them anything, another courtier came forward and gave each of them a ring for their title and had them sign a certificate of nobility.

Arthur was one of them. When he came forward, the courtier frowned slightly at his attire, but did not point it out.