The Price of the Remaining 100 Gold

Teacups were placed one by one on the table. The warm, sweet scent of cocoa and the fragrant aroma of coffee helped calm our minds and bodies.

“This is on the house. Please enjoy your drinks.”

The employee placed cookies on the table and withdrew. I silently picked up my cocoa. Inis immediately followed suit.

Sip-

I brought the teacup close to my lips and drank slowly. The moderate sweetness entered and moistened my tongue. A taste that calmed my mind.

“Wow….”

“Delicious, right?”

Inis, who drank after me, let out a small exclamation. She nodded at my question. Judging by the light in her eyes, she seemed to like the cocoa.

Sip-

Isabella, sitting across from us, quietly lifted her teacup.

“Sniff, hiccup….”

Drip, drip, falling teardrops. A heavy silence descended upon us. For a while, only the sound of teacups being lifted and set down, along with Isabella’s crying, echoed softly.

“So what were you about to say earlier?”

Feeling like this could go on indefinitely, I gently asked Isabella. At times like this, breaking the ice should help. She seemed to have composed her emotions somewhat.

“You’re worried about my brothers and sisters from my family causing trouble, right?”

I neither confirmed nor denied it. To be honest, it was ambiguous. I also thought that if I answered carelessly here, I might hurt her feelings.

“I won’t deny it.”

So I gave a vague response.

“But you don’t need to worry about that. Because as of yesterday… I’ve been expelled from my family….”

“…Expelled?”

Isabella’s voice trembled. I looked at her in surprise. Tears welled up in her eyes. They looked precarious, as if they might overflow at any moment.

“Why on earth? What’s the reason? That’s not something that happens easily.”

“Because I acted on my own, going against the family’s wishes. Coming to this Labyrinth City was my own decision. They already didn’t like me, and after causing this trouble….”

“So you were expelled from the family? Just for causing a bit of trouble? Do you think that makes sense?”

“…I know. I know how little sense it makes. Perhaps my brothers and sisters had something to do with it.”

But Isabella tearfully said there was nothing she could do.

“From the moment I was born, there was no place for me in the family. Even my mother left the family after receiving money after giving birth to me. So perhaps this outcome was predetermined….”

She took out another pouch from her bag and placed it on the table. It was the pouch she had said contained 200 gold coins.

“The 100 gold reward for my rescue. The other 100 gold is the price for giving up all my rights to the family.”

“Does Count Etly know about this? That you’ve been so unjustly expelled?”

“He probably knows. I was told that everything that happens in the family reaches the Count’s ears….”

I sighed in exasperation at her words. That means he knew everything but did nothing about it.

‘That so-called father….’

I clenched my fist and then released it. Feeling the anger rising inside me, I gulped down the cocoa. Of course, it didn’t help much.

“B-but now I feel more at ease. It means I can be with you, right? Plus, I don’t have to worry about what the family thinks! Also, also….”

Isabella rambled on. She forcibly listed the positives, but it was obvious from the way she spoke. That she had been deeply hurt.

“And also like… Oh! I don’t have to worry about news of me reaching them! I don’t have to be afraid that my brothers and sisters might kill me! S-so… so… I, really….”

Teary, blurry eyes. Reddened eye rims. Her chin and lips trembled. She pressed her fist against her chest as she spoke, her voice shaking.

“Sniff, hiccup….”

In the end, she hung her head and tears dripped down. I quietly got up from my seat and approached the employee.

“Do you need something?”

“Do you happen to have something to wipe tears with?”

“We have handkerchiefs prepared for ladies.”

The employee pointed to a display with a bright smile.

“How much are they?”

“20 silver each. Would you like one?”

I sighed deeply and took out a silver coin.

“Thank you for your patronage!”

A cheerful voice echoed throughout the shop. I covered my face with my hands. If I ever come back here, I’m a bastard. A real bastard.

“Are you feeling a bit better now?”

I worried about Isabella as we walked down the street.

I thought she would need more time to heal, but I never dreamed she would suggest going to the labyrinth today.

“Yes… I’m fine….”

A lifeless, monotonous voice. She forced a smile as she answered.

“Looking at your condition, it seems unwise to go to the labyrinth today. So for the time being, let’s look around the city and find a house where we can live together.”

“A house to live together?”

“Yes. Originally, I was planning to buy a house with the 100 gold you brought, Isabella. But now that we have an additional 100 gold, we should look for an even better place.”

The 100 gold received as compensation for being expelled from the family. I had originally planned not to use it. But since Isabella said she’d rather have it spent, I eventually included it in the spending plan.

“Inis and I know nothing about this sort of thing. So you’ll need to take charge here. Understood?”

“Yes. You can count on me. Although I’m an illegitimate daughter, I did receive some education from the family.”

That was certainly fortunate. Honestly, just the two of us would have been at a loss about how to proceed.

“Master. Wouldn’t it be better to get your equipment first?”

Inis spoke up as we walked side by side.

“My equipment?”

“Yes. We’ve been putting off your equipment while focusing on mine.”

“That’s true.”

Since I wasn’t someone who stood at the front lines, my equipment was inevitably pushed to the back of the queue. It was more efficient that way.

“I think it would be good to get that now. How about buying a magic staff that mages carry?”

“A magic staff….”

I had occasionally seen people carrying staffs. But even citizens and adventurers openly avoided them, so I wasn’t sure if that would be good.

“I’m not sure if it would have an effect on Egun’s divine power.”

While I was expressing doubt, flames rose up before my eyes. After a moment of surprise, I was relieved to see that no commotion occurred.

『No effect.』

I nodded at the words drawn in flame.

“It seems we don’t need to buy a magic staff. Egun says it’s not necessary.”

Originally, a magic staff was, as the name suggests, an item used by people who had contracted with demons of magic. What Egun had given me was divine power, not magic, so it made sense that it would have no effect.

“I think I should buy a sword instead.”

“You want to use a sword?”

“Yes. I often use divine power with just one hand. It might be good to have a sword as a secondary weapon for those times.”

“Wouldn’t a shield be better in that case?”

“Maybe so.”

But right now, I was more drawn to a sword than a shield.

“Let’s go to the blacksmith and ask first. Isabella, don’t you need equipment?”

“Oh, yes. I have a bow and armor that I brought when I left the family. I think I’ll be fine with just some arrows.”

Inis beside me pouted her lips. I smiled slightly and stroked her head.

“Then we just need a sword for me and one for Inis.”

“Ah. It would also be good to have potions and bandages soaked in herbs. We might need antidotes too.”

“Yes, yes.”

She had said this so often that I had memorized it by now.

“Then that’s the plan.”

We moved on to the street where the blacksmith was located.

“Are you happy with your equipment?”

Inis nodded with a bright smile. Being able to choose weapons without being constrained by price, she was able to get a good sword.

“I could have bought you a more expensive one.”

Of course, it wasn’t that expensive. At most, it was twice the price of what we’d bought before. Just a bit more valuable than the handkerchief we bought at the tea house.

“That would make hunting easier now, but it would make me dependent on equipment. When I improve my skills more and go to deeper places, that’s when I want to get better equipment.”

“If that’s what you want, then okay.”

Isabella, walking beside us, flinched. Well, even at a glance, the bow she carried was no ordinary item.

“Ah, I, I think bows are different. I wasn’t targeting you, Miss Isabella!”

“Yeees….”

Isabella became sullen. Inis flustered beside her. The sight was quite heartwarming. At first, I was worried they might quarrel, but seeing this, it seems my concerns were unfounded.

“Now we need to look for a house. Do you happen to know how to acquire a house in the Labyrinth City?”

“I’ve heard something vaguely, but I’m not sure enough to tell you.”

I nodded at Inis’s words.

“Isabella, what about you?”

“As far as I know, you need to find the land manager in charge of the area and inquire.”

“Find the land manager?”

“Yes. After telling the land manager the conditions for the building or land you want, you need to state the amount you can pay. Then they’ll find and introduce buildings in that area.”

It was similar to modern times. The land manager essentially played the same role as a real estate agent.

“It seems the land manager receives a commission when a contract is successfully completed?”

“That’s right. In the past, the merchant guild handled everything, but due to numerous problems, the city decided to manage it directly.”

“Got it. Then let’s go see the land manager.”

As they say, strike while the iron is hot. I should look for a house right away.

While we were walking together, Isabella glanced at me cautiously. She seemed to have something she wanted to say.

“Isabella. Do you have something you want to say?”

“Oh, yes.”

“What is it?”

Despite my question, she mumbled. This left me no choice but to urge her.

“I’m completely ignorant in these matters. The same goes for Inis. So you’ll need to help us a lot. Do you understand what that means?”

“Yes. I’ll tell you.”

Isabella nodded and opened her mouth.

“I wasn’t going to say this because it might seem like meddling.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“I would prefer if you didn’t purchase a house, Master.”

“…What?”