Gallo

"Four Nalang!"

The person speaking raised his voice at the boy in front of him, who seemed lost in thought.

"Pay the remaining four Nalang in tuition, or don't come back to school starting tomorrow!"

The boy suddenly snapped out of it and stared blankly at the other person. "W-what...?"

The latter flushed red and drove the boy straight out of his office.

Standing outside the teacher's office, the boy shook his head in confusion. Following the route provided by the unfamiliar memories in his mind, he wandered toward the exit.

It wasn't until he stepped outside the school gates that his gaze began to clear.

"I... I've transmigrated!"

He thought that even if he went back to explain to the teacher that he had seemed dazed because his mind was filled with countless fragments of unfamiliar memories, the teacher would surely think he was crazy. There would be even less chance of being allowed to keep studying.

He turned to look back at the school. Two low iron gates stood beside a wall bearing a vertical sign that read "Origa Middle School."

Beyond them lay a relatively level, spacious dirt yard and a three-story red-brick building about forty meters wide.

The building housed six classrooms, the teachers' offices, a storeroom for miscellaneous items, washrooms, and more—all under one roof.

He looked around at the unfamiliar Western-style city, modern but not quite, with no skyscrapers. The buildings nearby were all three- or four-story houses.

Shops along the street displayed their wares behind bright glass windows. A black metal carriage sped past.

In the boy's mind, the memory fragments that had surfaced one after another had now been sorted into order.

His name was "Gallo Channing."

He was from Tin City, the capital of the Iron Glory Empire. He was thirteen, had finished primary school, and was currently in his second year at Origa Middle School.

But given the circumstances, if he didn't pay the remaining four Nalang in tuition, his education would end with his second year of middle school.

Following the route home from his memories, Gallo started walking.

"My father was an army officer, a lieutenant, I think. But he died in a conflict during the colonial war in the Southern Continent.

"I was very young then, and my little sister was only one. After Father died, Mother took us from our village back home and moved to Tin City!"

As he walked, Gallo sorted through the memories in his mind. His father's face was already very hazy; even the original owner couldn't remember what he had looked like clearly.

"Mother's name is Aisha, a very common name. She's frail and works at the Jenny Textile Mill. Her health isn't good, and she's been coughing a lot lately, especially at night.

"My little sister is eight. Her name is Lily Channing, and she hasn't started school yet... because the family can only afford to send me.

"We're so poor."

Gallo arrived at Valen Street. His home was on this street.

More precisely, this was where they rented a place to live.

Number 21, Valen Street. It was a three-story building. The landlord ran a shop on the first floor, selling odds and ends for daily use, and lived with his family on the second.

Strictly speaking, the third floor was an attic. But the landlord had made some renovations, opening a small door in the right-hand wall of the attic and building a narrow staircase that led up directly from the right side of the house.

That way, whenever the third-floor tenants came home, they didn't have to pass through the shop on the first floor and the second floor to reach their rooms.

Whenever Gallo came home and ran into the landlord and his wife minding the shop, he always greeted them.

He didn't want to change that habit, even after transmigrating. But a plump woman was standing outside the shop, and as soon as she saw him, she called out, "Gallo!"

"Mrs. Jell."

Gallo hurried over to her. The woman in front of him was the landlord's wife.

The landlord himself stood behind the shop counter, absorbed in several order forms on the table. Nothing happening outside would catch his attention.

Unless a customer came inside.

"School's out, is it? I figured you'd be back around now. Hurry on home; your mother's waiting for you."

Gallo looked at her in confusion. "Mrs. Jell, my mother doesn't usually get off work and come home this early. The factory closes at seven in the evening, and it's only five now."

Mrs. Jell lowered her voice. "Two of Aisha's coworkers brought her home. Go on, hurry back. They said your mother fainted while she was working."

Gallo froze. Then he noticed someone watching him from the counter. He turned his head toward the shopkeeper, Mr. Jell. The man was looking up, his expression cool and calm.

But Gallo had no doubt that if his mother couldn't pay the rent, Mr. Jell would promptly throw the three of them out.

After saying goodbye to Mrs. Jell, Gallo hurried to the narrow staircase on the right and went home.

"Gallo!"

His little sister came running anxiously and crashed into his arms. He soothed her.

Then a weak voice called him over to an old bed. His mother, Aisha, lay on it, her face deathly pale.

The original owner's memories surged over him like a tide, stamped with deep feelings—the love of family, worry, and an almost despairing sense of helplessness.

The frail woman struggled to sit up on the bed and reached out to stroke Gallo's head, asking affectionately, "How was school today?"

"Uh..." Though another person's soul now inhabited his body, Gallo didn't feel any aversion to her actions.

He was debating whether to tell her that the teacher had demanded he pay his tuition. This poor family couldn't possibly come up with four Nalang.

In the Iron Glory Empire, one Nalang was worth one hundred Copper Nil, and one Copper Nil was worth five Fenso.

Here, two Copper Nil could buy a cup of coffee, letting you sit in a café all day.

A large loaf of rye bread cost only one Copper Nil and three Fenso.

Their attic rental cost just one Nalang and thirty Copper Nil a month.

For their family, four Nalang in tuition was an enormous expense.

After hesitating for a moment, Gallo decided to explain it directly to Aisha.

"My teacher kept me after class today. We talked alone in his office."

Gallo could feel the air grow tense. His mother, Aisha, suddenly started breathing faster, then broke into a violent fit of coughing.

Lily knelt on the bed, distressed, and gently patted her back with her little fists.

"The teacher told me to pay the tuition I owe, along with next semester's fees. It comes to four Nalang in total."

"Four Nalang!"

Mother and daughter cried out almost at the same time.

"So the teacher told me to take a leave of absence for now. I was planning to do that anyway." Gallo had made that part up on the spot.

He knew that if he couldn't pay the four Nalang by tomorrow, he wouldn't be allowed to go back.

"No, I still have some money here. Take it and... and pay what you owe first. Talk to the teacher.

"You can pay the rest bit by bit."

Aisha took a handkerchief bundle from under her pillow and carefully opened it. Under the two children's watchful eyes, it contained one one-Nalang banknote,

seven ten-Copper-Nil banknotes, a few one-Copper-Nil coins, and a few even smaller one-Fenso coins.

Gallo sighed, carefully retied the handkerchief bundle, and looked into his mother's eyes. "I've worked out the dates.

"Mr. Jell will come to collect the rent in two days.

"And you're still sick.

"I've already decided to take a leave of absence. I'll tell the teacher tomorrow.

"I'll... go find an apprenticeship."

"Oh, heavens!" Aisha cried sorrowfully. Lying on the bed, she said weakly, "That'll wear you out!"

Gallo didn't say anything more. Just then, a faintly translucent interface appeared in front of him. He checked that his mother and sister hadn't noticed anything strange.

Only then did he begin reading the contents of the interface.

[Distributable Points: 5]

[Available Paths: Wisdom, Psionic, Physical]

Was this the cheat ability he'd gotten as a transmigrator?