You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

As he spoke, he snapped his thumb, and a gold coin flew through the air, leaving a trail of light between his fingers. It clattered and bounced a few times on the floor before finally landing at Sherlock's feet.

The cold gleam of the metal was particularly dazzling under the lamplight.

Sherlock slowly bent down and picked up the gold coin.

He frowned, staring at it, his lips barely moving: "This is..."

“You probably haven’t seen this before, have you?” Louis scoffed. “This is a gold coin. A poor person like you could never come across this much money, even if you worked your whole life.”

"You should be grateful."

G-chan took a big bite out of her straw, her voice turning cold: "This is too insulting... This isn't a condolence payment, it's hush money, isn't it?"

Holy crap...who can stand this?

Gold coins are worth less than dog bones.

This isn't a game, it's a blood pressure simulator.

[Sherlock, retaliate now! You're so strong!]

Louis narrowed his eyes and, expressionless, uttered his final command:

“Listen to me carefully, you are not allowed to tell anyone that you, a poor man, once joined this group.”

"do you understand?"

Sherlock gripped the gold coin tightly, his knuckles turning white, and a cool sensation spread through his palm.

At that moment, he understood—the so-called "companions," the so-called "belonging," the so-called "adventure party"—to him, it had always been nothing but a joke.

"……I see."

He spoke softly, his eyes dim, but he did not cry.

"Since you've put it that way, I'll leave the team."

A system notification pops up on the side of the screen:
[Story milestone achieved: Expelled from the team]

[Item obtained: Gold Coin x1 (Louis's Insult)]

[Current Mission Update: Finding a New Path]

The live stream room fell silent, with the chat messages scrolling slowly:

This game is too cruel...it's really too cruel.

My heart aches for Sherlock...

[This gold coin is actually called "Louis's Insult"? The production team did a really meticulous job!]

I'm willing to start over with him.

G-chan's voice also lowered: "I really didn't expect that a game could portray 'betrayal' so realistically."

"All I want now is to see Sherlock's triumphant return."

The scene shifts, and night falls.

Sherlock walked alone on the edge of the capital's slums. The streets were dilapidated, moss grew between the cracks in the stone bricks, and the dim streetlights emitted a buzzing electrical sound.

He pulled his black coat collar tighter, walked slowly, and looked away.

This was the first time he had been alone since leaving the team, and it was also the first time he realized that he had nothing.

"Continuing the adventure... seems difficult too."

He murmured softly, as if afraid the wind would hear him.

No license, no team, no backing.

He walked past a small stall selling grilled fish, the aroma wafting towards him, but he only glanced at it before silently walking away.

He didn't spend that gold coin.

That was not an honor for him, but a humiliation.

Just then, an argument broke out in the alley ahead.

"You bastard, why are you shooting at merchandise? I need to sell this thing for money!"

"I'm...I'm sorry, it's all because this guy wanted to run away, that's why I..."

Sherlock stopped in his tracks, frowned slightly, and walked towards the sound.

The alley was narrow and dark, with old wooden boxes and rotten vegetable scraps piled on both sides, and the air was filled with the stench and dampness.

He walked toward the source of the sound, dodging the dirty water and dead rats on the ground.

At the edge of his vision, in the dim light, he saw two burly men, one holding a short bow and the other holding shackles, standing beside a figure lying on the black earth.

That's a girl.

She looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in tattered clothes, the hems of which were already stained with blood and mud. She lay on her side on the ground, her body twitching slightly, her ears long and thin, a characteristic of elves.

Her skin, which should have been as white as snow, was now pale to the point of being almost transparent, her lips were chapped, and there were dried tear stains at the corners of her eyes.

G-chan gasped, "She's an elf? And so young... Where is this plot going?"

[An elf girl! My favorite concept!]

Save her, Sherlock! What are you waiting for?!

[Peach Blossom Spring, please stop!]

This game is no longer an RPG; it's an emotional destruction simulator.

"Tch... This guy's hopeless." The man in shackles spat, then turned and roared angrily, "I finally managed to get my hands on this precious elf, how are you going to compensate me?"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I just... I just wanted to scare her, I didn't expect her to actually bleed..."

Sherlock stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the elven girl lying on the ground, his body trembling slightly.

He knew what that look meant.

That was the despair reflected in his eyes every time he saw his reflection being kicked down in the mud during his childhood in the slums.

He took a deep breath and slowly walked forward.

"stop."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unprecedented firmness.

The two men turned around abruptly, frowning as they sized up the seemingly harmless brown-haired youth.

"Who are you?"

“She’s still alive,” Sherlock said softly. “I can save her.”

……

Night fell, and the streets of the slums seemed to be swallowed by darkness. Sherlock walked into the dead-end alley, his steps slow, but his gaze turned cold.

In the dim light, at the end of the alley, a silver arrow was deeply embedded in the back of a thin girl. She was curled up like a wounded animal, her cheek pressed against the dirt, her golden hair disheveled and covered in dust and blood.

"Hey, you didn't shoot that child with an arrow, did you?" Sherlock's voice wasn't loud, but it was chillingly cold.

Upon hearing the sound, the two men turned around simultaneously, their expressions instantly shifting from surprise to wariness and disdain.

"Huh? Who are you?" One of them frowned. "This woman is our slave. What's wrong with shooting her with an arrow? You're an outsider and have no right to interfere."

He was a burly man with a face full of scars, and he still held a short bow in his hand, the remaining bends on the string testifying to what had just happened.

“…A slave?” Sherlock frowned, his gaze falling on the girl who had collapsed to the ground.

Her face was as pale as paper, her lips trembled slightly, and she seemed about to lose consciousness.

And at this moment——

The chat room was exploding with comments.

[What's going on? The elf girl got shot?!]

This game is so damn realistic...

[Slavery setting + violence? Peach Blossom Spring is being revamped again]

[G-chan, please save her! My heart is breaking!]

G-chan's voice deepened into the microphone: "This plot... I thought Louis and his gang were the most ruthless, but I didn't expect there to be even more despicable ones."

Her tone unusually carried a hint of anger.

"I don't want to let either of these guys get away."

In the scene, Sherlock slowly pulls a gold coin out of his pocket, which gleams with a dark golden luster under the light.

That was—the "compensation" he received from Louis. "Then I'll buy her," Sherlock said calmly. "Is this enough?"

"What did you say?" The archer's eyes widened. "Are you an idiot? This guy is already—"

“Hey, shut up.” Another lean man suddenly interrupted him, his eyes gleaming with greed. “He said he wanted to buy it, so why not? This guy is about to die anyway, so why not sell it for money?”

After saying that, he snatched the gold coin and ran away before Sherlock could say another word.

"Hey—you!" The archer tried to stop him, but the man had already disappeared into the alley.

“…Damn it.” He cursed through gritted teeth, then glared at Sherlock one last time. “You win.”

After he finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving behind the elven girl on the ground and Sherlock.

G-chan breathed a sigh of relief: "Buying a life with gold coins... Although it's very annoying, at least the person was saved."

Sherlock really is an angel...

They even used the compensation money to save lives, I'm speechless.

This is what a real man is like.

Those teammates weren't worthy of even a hair on his head.

Sherlock knelt down and gently placed his hand on the girl's back.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The girl opened her eyes with a trembling motion. They were a pair of watery, emerald-green eyes, her gaze unfocused, and her lips twitching slightly.

"Waaah...am I...going to die?"

“No.” Sherlock’s voice was gentle yet firm. “Minor injuries like this can be treated. You don’t need to worry.”

"I feel...it seems a bit...difficult..."

"Actually, your injury has healed, and you should be able to speak normally."

"……what?"

The girl blinked, looked confused, and slowly sat up from the ground, her hands supporting her weight, her movements a little sluggish.

She looked down at the spot to her side, where the silver arrow had been pulled out, and there wasn't even a trace of blood left in the wound.

"Strange? It doesn't hurt anymore, and the bleeding has stopped... Why?"

“Because I am a healer,” Sherlock smiled. “I have already pulled out that arrow for you and healed your wound with healing magic.”

"Healing magic?" The girl's eyes widened as she touched her back. "The wound... it's really gone? I thought I was going to die..."

"Haha, it's not that bad," Sherlock chuckled. "That's just a minor scratch."

"A minor scratch? You're amazing..."

She looked at him in surprise, then her eyes reddened, and she grasped Sherlock's hand with her small hand, tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you... big brother, thank you for saving me."

At that moment, Sherlock's heart was also gently touched by a tender emotion.

He hadn't heard the word "thank you" in a long time.

From being kicked out of the team to being stripped of everything, his efforts, talents, and kindness were all ignored. But now, a simple "thank you" seems to wash away all that pain.

He looked down at the girl, a long-lost warmth welling up in his heart.

"……You're welcome."

He responded softly, as if bidding farewell to a heavy memory from the past.

G-chan was also somewhat moved: "This...this is so healing...I really want to cry."

[The protagonist was finally treated kindly for once, sob sob]

I hereby declare that the elf sister must accompany me throughout the entire race.

Sherlock, you deserve a better life.

The gentle warmth of Peach Blossom Spring always offers a ray of light in your most desperate moments.

"Let's not talk about that now." Sherlock withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on the two vanished slave traders. "Were those two slave traders?"

“Yes,” the girl said softly, “I was caught by them yesterday. Although I managed to escape once, I was still discovered.”

"What's your name?"

“…Fufu.” She lowered her head and answered softly.

Then, as if summoning a great deal of courage, she looked up at him and timidly said, "Um... your money..."

"You mean the gold coins I paid those two guys?" Sherlock shook his head with a smile. "It was just a small amount of money, you don't need to worry about it."

In any case, that gold coin was nothing more than a symbol of humiliation.

If it can be exchanged for a life or a trust, then it is truly valuable.

A hint of surprise flashed in Fufu's eyes, then she asked softly, "Um... big brother, what's your name?"

"My name is Sherlock."

Are you a famous therapist?

“You’re overthinking it.” Sherlock smiled wryly. “I don’t have a healing license, and I taught myself healing magic.”

He paused, his tone calm but revealing a hint of weariness: "I'm not an adventurer, I'm not registered, and nobody knows who I am."

Fufu stared at him blankly.

In this rigidly hierarchical capital, the person who could disregard her background and race and unhesitatingly save her didn't even have a decent "identity".

“Speaking of which, you’re really unlucky.” Sherlock stood up, dusting himself off. “To think you’d be caught by slave traders. Where do you live? I’ll take you back.”

Fufu paused for a moment, then gently shook her head.

"...Fou has no home."

At that moment, the wind blew through the night alley, lifting her dusty long hair and fluttering the tattered threads of her clothes.

Sherlock stood in front of her, watching all of this silently.

He suddenly understood.

I am not the only one who has been abandoned by the world.

“…I’m homeless.” He sighed softly, his voice tinged with an undeniable weariness.

That's really... a real headache.

His lips twitched, revealing a somewhat self-deprecating bitter smile.

Because he himself is now homeless.

The elven girl beside her, Fou, sat curled up against the wall, hugging her knees. She didn't speak, only kept her head slightly lowered.

Just then, my stomach started rumbling.

"Gu..."

Fufu raised her head instantly, her cheeks quickly flushing a light red, like flower petals blown by the wind.

"Uh……"

She lowered her head in a panic, clutching her stomach tightly with both hands, and mumbled softly, "I'm sorry..."

Sherlock blinked, then stood up and said in a light tone, "Are you hungry? Let's go eat first."

"Eh……"

Fufu looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

“Let’s go.” Sherlock extended his hand.

She hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her hand on it.

In the live stream, G-chan's voice was much softer: "This is so healing... I was just heartbroken, and now I'm starting to smile like a doting aunt."

The comments section quickly filled in:

Sherlock's hands are so gentle.

【Fufu is so well-behaved! I declare her my sister】

The game's pace is so satisfying... it's like being hurt, then you get a treat right away.

[The line "I'm homeless" really broke my heart.] (End of Chapter)