"Finnian, let me discuss something with you..."
At dinnertime, Fintan consulted his brother, "I'll get you a transfer."
"What are you talking about silly again, brother."
Finnian smiled slightly and placed two peeled potatoes on his dinner plate.
He squared his face when he saw his brother trying to say something else.
"No discussion of serious matters during dinner!"
Fintan's face fell at once, and he just stifled a quick solution to his food.
Their dinner today was five boiled potatoes, three hard-boiled eggs, and a tub of lettuce with pepper to taste.
He very skillfully forked a potato and egg onto his plate, sprinkled some more pepper on it, cut a piece of the potato with his fork, tossed another piece of the egg, and finally forked a handful of lettuce and brought it to his mouth.
"Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah."
Finnian looked up angrily, "Brother, you can't make such rude noises at dinner!"
Fintan: "..."
"Finnian, do you know any of Eleazar's classmates?"
"Well, there was a meeting, and the other day he popped into our department classroom to listen to a lesson and asked to borrow my textbook to read."
"But I feel like he's here to peek at the schoolgirl, but then again, he seems to be listening to the class attentively, and he's able to answer the questions when the teacher picks them out."
Fintan bit his fork in hatred at once.
What kind of monster-level memory was it to associate them with just their names after meeting their brother just once!
But it could also be the ability to inspire.
What exactly is the sequence he...
Fintan's face clouded over as he quickly said, "Finnian, he's a very dangerous man, you must stay away from him!"
"Hm? Yeah, but he was very kind to send his brother back today, so he's obviously very enthusiastic."
"He ..."
Fintan stumbled over his words for a moment, and finally couldn't face telling his brother that he'd planted himself.
After finishing dinner, Fintan, who still remembered the beginning, said in a hurry, "Finnian, transferring ..."
"Brother, go take a shower or you'll be wasting your gas bill again."
In the family's living room, Finnian was all smiles as he handed his brother a change of clothes to change into.
Fintan gritted his teeth and went for another quick rinse.
"Finnian, the transfer school..."
"Brother, I need to take a bath too, or the water will get cold."
Coiled outside the bathroom, listening to the sound of water inside, Fintan attempted, "Finnian, transferring to school ...."
"Can you help me with my towel, brother?"
By the time he'd rummaged through the closet and managed to find a towel to bring over, his brother was already showered and back in his room.
Fintan persevered and knocked on the door of the room, saying:
"Finnian, the transfer school..."
"Brother, I need to study, I did poorly on the quarterly exams this time, if I don't work hard I'm going to repeat the year."
"That's just as well I'll get you a transfer!"
"Brother, where do we have the money."
Fintan blushed and subconsciously looked around.
The unlit, hundred-meter-long corridor, with its white-washed curtains fluttering and the blurred glass of the sheets of windows half a meter above the ground behind it, hadn't been cleaned by servants for a long time, and the cobwebs were still faintly visible on the ceiling.
A three-story villa covering hundreds of meters, with a withered courtyard, rusted and mottled fences, and an empty house, with only the beams hanging high above the room, poorly furnished, as everything of value was being sold off.
Both parents are dead, a broken noble family.
Fintan gritted his teeth and said, "Just wait, I'll get the money now."
After that, he rushed off to the villa.
By now it was dark and the sky was drizzling.
Fintan hoofed it all the way to the resident church a dozen kilometers away.
It was a bright white building with a tall vaulted ceiling of grandeur and majesty, except that inside it was equally empty, the prayer hall devoid of anyone, the dense seating on either side empty and silent.
Fintan stepped skillfully into the confessional and waited patiently for a few moments after pulling on the brass bell at the window.
"What is your business, knight?"
A moment later, the boards of the window were pulled open, and inside sat a white priestly-robed cleric.
Like he was doing business at a bank, Fintan took out the damaged copy and handed it over, saying, "Turn in cursed item, level unknown, effect is that reciting a prayer will corrupt the person."
The Magus took the ancient text and flipped through it, then after sensing it for a moment with his holy light and looking at the sword marks on the page for a long time, he nodded.
"What do you want in exchange?"
Without hesitation, Fintan said, "I want money!"
The cleric gave him a deep look, bent over and took out a bunch of bills and handed them out.
Fintan took the money, said thanks, and got up to leave.
After another dozen kilometers, he returned home panting.
Coming to the door of his brother's room, which had its lights out, Fintan knocked on the door and said, "Finnian, hoo... I've got the money... I'll go get you a transfer tomorrow."
Only after a long time did a ghostly voice come from the room, "Brother, I'm ready to rest..."
Fintan blushed and could only turn away, intending to discuss the matter tomorrow.
But then the door to the room behind her bursts open and Finnian walks out barefoot.
"Did brother just say that there is money?"
Fintan gleefully said, "Yes, Finnian, we have the money, let's go get you a transfer tomorrow."
"How many~"
"I haven't counted yet."
Fintan pulled out the pile of bills and was about to count them when he saw his brother reach out and take the money.
Finnian dabbed at his tongue and did a quick count.
"Wow, 20,000 dollars ah, brother you completed another big commission?"
"Yeah, we can get you a transfer tomorrow..."
"Alright, brother, go rest, I'm sleepy too."
Finnian interrupted his brother with a smile on his face as he put the money away and nudged his elder sibling to rest.
....
The next day, Fintan is awakened by a cacophony of noise; he opens his eyes, walks to the window, and notices that a number of people have come to mow the lawn outside the courtyard.
Sensing something bad, he hastily opened the door to the room.
The hallways were equally full of people cleaning up after themselves.
"Hiss!"
Fintan rushed to find his brother, only to find him gleefully directing workers to bring in a refrigerator.
"Finnian!"
"You're awake, brother~"
Finnian happily pulled him along and said, "I bought a refrigerator, so we can store food now, and I had the garden outside cleared for a vegetable garden, so we can grow our own fruits and vegetables from now on!"
"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to listen to an agronomy course, I'm going to learn how to grow vegetables!" Looking at his brother's innocent and flawless happy smile, Fintan opened his mouth and couldn't get the words of reproach out of his heart.
The money for my brother's school transfer is gone...
Fintan arrived at the school with a heavy heart and upon seeing the figure, lunged over and grabbed him through gritted teeth:
"You pay for my silver sword!"