Ⅲ
Jimte's words came out of nowhere.
But they carried an enormous amount of information.
Everyone who lived in South County knew that nobles could not be trusted. Beyond that, their private lives were a mess.
After all, they were born wealthy and powerful, often starting life at a finish line others could not reach even after three generations of hard work.
Added to that was their "lack of prospects," especially for those without any real right of succession-in noble circles, anyone outside the first five in line was considered to have no meaningful inheritance rights. Most merely played along with the heir, and once the heir claimed the inheritance, they would be cast out to become wandering knights or the like.
Some had it worse and had to become wandering knights as soon as they came of age.
Of course, even then, these wandering knights remained far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
After all, not everyone received roughly 500 gold coins in starting funds upon coming of age-at the beginning of the silver age, the nobles who had reaped the fruits of victory were generous toward their descendants. But as time passed, especially after the pioneer age began, this generally accepted "wandering fund" shrank considerably, gradually dropping from 500 to 450, then 400. Once new sea routes were discovered and awakening the old noble bloodlines became increasingly difficult, the amount dwindled to around 200 gold coins.
Far too many young nobles found this unacceptable.
And so they became the very embodiment of "hedonism."
Before becoming "wandering knights," they recklessly squandered wealth that did not belong to them, which inevitably doubled the pleasure.
The worst of them ruined their families before they even became "wandering knights."
Thus, in recent decades, many noble families had begun telling members destined to