Tetsuya returned to his room, locked the door, and began examining the assets.
At that moment, the old man was already outside, pounding furiously on the door.
BAAANG! BANG! BANG…
"You little bastard, get out here!
…You unfilial brat, your parents' bodies aren't even cold yet!"
The old man was screaming hoarsely.
Tetsuya remained completely indifferent. Thankfully, he had all the keys inside the room with him, so he confidently opened the two Property Certificates.
'In the last life, you ruined me so badly. In this one, I'll let you scream all you want! It won't hurt me…'
One of the properties was a 120-square-meter apartment in downtown Ecruteak City, the one he was currently living in.
The other was a lakeside mansion in Hearthome City.
Tetsuya nodded with satisfaction. It seemed his parents had done well in business. After all, real estate in this world had been expensive until League Year 700.
◓---
Wild Pokémon often came into villages and towns to steal food, destroy crops, and even injure people.
But cities had Rangers on patrol. As long as there wasn't a large-scale Pokémon raids, any trouble could be handled easily. That's why so many people sought the peace of city life and chose to buy property there, causing city housing prices to remain high and rise year after year.
In his previous life, he had never even seen these assets.
No wonder those bastards at the orphanage had pressured him so hard to go there. Clearly, they had been eyeing this inheritance all along.
However, in this life, he planned to sell both properties in [Year 699], when housing prices would reach their historic peak.
A major reform in [League Year 700] would then cause housing prices to begin a steady decline.
Tetsuya's plan in this life would also revolve around [League Year 700] as the dividing line; that would be when he turned 23.
Before that point, he needed to accumulate enough funds. More importantly, he needed strength.
High risk, high reward.
With twenty years of experience as a Pokémon Hunter in his previous life, he was already familiar with the path.
Before [League Year 700], the League only officially "banned" Pokémon Hunters. In secret, they turned a blind eye…
In fact, they welcomed Hunters clearing out big and violent Pokémon in the wilderness. That made things safer for their "Official League Trainers".
But being a Pokémon Hunter was no easy task. Without sufficient strength and planning, venturing into forests and mountains was a death sentence.
In this era, was there any forest without a dozen or more skeletons lying around?
It was the massive events of [League Year 700] that made the wilderness relatively safer. Afterward, the League began brutally cracking down on Pokémon Hunters. In his previous life, Tetsuya had stumbled through the dark, nearly killed numerous times by League Investigators.
That was the darkness of the League's system. When they needed you, they ignored your existence; when they didn't, they tried to obliterate you completely.
So he had only thirteen years…
Not a single mistake could be afforded!
---◓
Then there were the two bank cards. Right now, he didn't know the passwords or how much money was in them. It looked like he was in for a long battle with the old man…
His currently available assets would directly determine the next steps of his plan and the training of his Pokémon.
Tetsuya hid everything close to his body.
Fully focused on the assets, Tetsuya paid no attention to what was happening outside. The old man's banging on the door had already stopped.
'That old man finally gave it a rest~'
Tetsuya scoffed. Still, he feared it might be a trick to lure him out.
He mapped out an escape route in his mind. Then, Tetsuya suddenly flung open the door, ready to bolt for the front entrance!
…But the sight that met him gave him quite a shock.
The old man had collapsed on the floor, his eyes vacant.
Tetsuya panicked and kicked at him. "H-hey, don't scare me like that!"
He kicked him five or six times, each time harder than the last, but the old man remained unresponsive…
A bad thought surged into his mind. 'Could he be dead?
That can't be right… The old man wasn't supposed to die for another year!
I never thought he'd die now…'
Tetsuya couldn't believe it. He reached out to check his breathing.
Gone!
He checked his pulse…
Gone too!
Pressed against his chest…
No response!
"Damn it, I actually forgot he had a heart condition."
Tetsuya wished he could slap himself.
Although the old man had wronged him, he really couldn't afford for him to die right now.
The old man's death would bring him tremendous trouble.
First were the passwords to the two bank cards. Sure, he could go to the bank counter and apply to have the passwords reset, but that would require piles of documents and waste a lot of time.
More importantly, it would expose his wealth. Did he really think the bank was such a safe place? That it would keep secrets for him?
Naive!
A child holding that much wealth would inevitably draw attention and become the subject of gossip among the bank staff. Rumors would spread -first ten people, then a hundred- and eventually the news would reach the wrong ears.
His experience from the previous life had shaped his current cautious nature. Only by avoiding mistakes could he keep moving forward.
He was just a seven year old kid. If too many people found out he had that kind of money, it was only a matter of time before someone with ill intent came after him.
Deception, scams, and abductions were child's play to Tetsuya… but what if someone took a more extreme route?
That was why he would never go to the bank counter unless absolutely necessary!
And now, with the old man dying so suddenly, he hadn't been even remotely prepared.
If word of the old man's death got out -and of course, it couldn't be kept secret forever- the orphanage would come knocking in no time!
Just for the house alone, those bastards would come running faster than Arcanine on Extreme Speed. And right now, he still didn't have a Work ID, which meant he'd be forced into the orphanage.
Unless he became an unregistered citizen and ran away from here. But that would seriously affect his future plans.
The bank cards and other assets would be frozen temporarily. And with his limited strength, the wilderness was too dangerous right now. It wouldn't be much better than going to the orphanage.
"No… haaahh. I can't just sit around and wait to die."
Tetsuya took a deep breath and began to strategize. He really hadn't wanted the old man to die, but…
Now he had no choice but to quickly go out and find work.
He needed a Work ID.
Fortunately, he lived in a city where the neighbors didn't really know each other. He could still hide the old man's death for two days.Three days, at most.
Any longer would arouse suspicion from the coroner. And worse, it was summer… corpses decayed and started to smell even faster!
So he had only three days.
Having made up his mind, Tetsuya hurried to shut all the windows, drew the curtains, and turned off every light in the house.
Then he dragged the old man to the bathroom, washed him thoroughly from head to toe, and dried him completely with towels and a hair dryer.
Finally, he dragged the old man's corpse into the smallest guest room, laid him on a mat, turned the air conditioner to the lowest possible temperature, and shut the door.
Just to be safe, Tetsuya set every air conditioner in the house to the lowest setting, making sure the indoor temperature stayed as cold as possible.
After finishing all of this, Tetsuya didn't even dare to breathe too hard.
It was still dangerous outside. He hid the Property Certificates and bank cards in his room, took five thousand Pokédollars in cash along with his ID card and household register, and left.
All the experience from his past life had turned into invisible wealth. Faced with such a sudden change, Tetsuya was still able to handle everything methodically. He hadn't forgotten to bring a single essential item.
Fortunately, he still had a name-brand Bicycle…
At least his speed was guaranteed.
Tetsuya racked his brain for kind-hearted people in Ecruteak City. Or even someone just decent enough. Right now, he'd shamelessly beg and grovel just to earn a Work ID as a free volunteer.
First stop: Ecruteak Gym!
•.
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◓⃙ +50 chapters on my 🅿️🅰️✝️🆁 🅴🅾️🅽 /Romeloff (ง ˘ ³ ˘)ว ⁼◓⃙₌◓⃙⁼◓⃙