Ch.143Family Request – 4

“With the money from selling the treasures I took from the church storage, plus the platinum coins I received from my employer, I could pay off all my debts and live comfortably for ten years without worry.”

The influence wielded by the Starlight Church was truly overwhelming. If one had taken whatever they wanted from such a church’s storage, even after accounting for the fence’s commission, they could have gotten their hands on a considerable sum.

What I was curious about was what happened next.

“I went to the organization I owed money to and paid back the full amount. To be safe, I even confirmed with their boss multiple times that the debt was fully repaid, and got their seal on the promissory note, but…”

“But what?”

“They had played a trick with the promissory note. When they handed it to me as evidence, saying I should take it just in case, I should have been suspicious since I hadn’t even asked for it.”

“What do you mean they played a trick? How?”

“There was a clause inserted stating that I also had to pay for the paper and ink used to issue the promissory note as part of my debt. I naturally paid that too, but it turned out the promissory note they issued as ‘evidence’ had to be calculated separately, playing word games with me.”

I heard the sound of teeth grinding.

“So when I went back to confront them, saying they had clearly stated everything was paid off, they said that was true at that time. The amount for the promissory note issued as evidence would only convert to debt after a certain period, so at that moment, it wasn’t considered part of the debt.”

“Just because of that one thing, your accumulated debt became 20 platinum coins? How is that a legitimate debt?”

“The new contract had a clause stating that I had to prioritize their requests until full repayment. So when I accepted a request and set out, the subordinates they forcibly sent along would deliberately cause accidents, pretending it was a mistake, to make me fail. Since I failed the request, my share of the money would turn into debt. With interest piling up on that additional debt, it eventually reached that amount.”

Io glanced briefly at the secret door where her siblings were hiding.

“If it were just me, I would have ignored it and run away. But I have my siblings. No matter how skilled I am, I can’t flee with all 14 of them. And if I openly rebelled, my siblings would be sold off to those bastards as payment for the debt. I absolutely cannot let that happen.”

After trembling for a while, Io took a sip of the tea-scented plain water with a somewhat resigned look.

It probably went similarly in the original story. She would have endured to the bitter end until her siblings died, and then, having nothing left to lose, she gave up and defected to the Demon King’s army.

“So it was that bastard who ordered you to attack my eldest sister’s merchant caravan?”

“That’s right. Originally, the order I received wasn’t as cute as what I did.”

A bitter smile appeared on her face.

“The order was to completely destroy the carriages, kill everyone without exception, and burn all the goods. But… it was Crate Trading Company’s carriage. The family your employer belongs to. I clearly remember how well my employer treated me, so how could I possibly do such a thing to the Crate Trading Company?”

Her bitter smile deepened.

“So I just damaged the carriages enough to block passage. Since that was all I could do that day after receiving the order, and I couldn’t let my siblings starve, I took a little money. At least with that, I could feed them something.”

“So that’s why he was so angry?”

“Usually, I go to them after completing a mission. They rarely come here, but this time I was too exhausted from being chased by your employer… I think he came in person because I sent the people and goods back intact again and hadn’t returned for hours.”

I had thought she caused this troublesome situation because she wanted to interfere with my eldest sister without escalating things too much, but it turns out it was a decision Io made on her own because of the kindness she received from me.

I had given her that request thinking I should recruit her early before she defected to the Demon King’s army and became a headache, but I didn’t expect it to come back to me like this. It gave me mixed feelings.

“I’m sorry for making you come all this way. I’ve caused you trouble, haven’t I?”

Io rose weakly. Her bitter smile had changed to a look of complicated emotions.

“I can’t continue to trouble you and your family’s trading company anymore, so I’ll handle this somehow. From now on, even if orders come, I won’t attack the carriages. And I’ll definitely repay the money I took someday. With all the interest.”

I watched Io for a moment as she forced a smile, pretending to be fine, then stopped her as she was about to return to the kitchen with the wooden cup.

“Io.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you think I came here?”

“Um… aren’t you here to catch the person who damaged the carriages?”

“More precisely, my eldest sister hired me to capture the culprit. The carriages you damaged belong to her. She wanted to know why someone would do such a thing.”

“I… see…”

Io’s expression darkened rapidly.

“Then you’ll have to take me in.”

“That’s right. But after hearing your story, I think taking just you won’t be enough.”

I glanced at the secret door. They were probably listening to this conversation right now.

“I’m planning to take everyone involved. Is that okay?”

“Well, I see there were such circumstances…”

Diana nodded her head. Io sat across from her, completely frozen.

The siblings I had brought along with Io were probably sound asleep in their assigned beds after gorging themselves on a feast they had never seen before and taking thorough baths.

“See, little brother? You never know how life will turn out.”

Diana tapped her pipe and smiled brightly. Whether it was because all the problems had been solved or because she found the reason quite admirable, her mood seemed considerably higher than usual.

“Originally, all the carriages should have been destroyed, all our people killed, and all the goods smashed or burned. But only the carriages were damaged. This is why people should live kindly. Did you expect her to show up like this?”

“Of course not.”

I ignored the fact that she was referring to Io, who was old enough to be her mother in actual age, in such a way. It was true that I hadn’t expected to reunite with her like this, nor had I known she was in such a situation.

“Those bastard subordinates you caught said the same thing, so there’s nothing more to check.”

Before coming here, we had interrogated the six men I had tied up, and they all gave the same answer.

There were slight differences in details, but the overall framework and even smaller parts all matched, so any minor memory discrepancies could be overlooked.

Even if it were a lie, it wasn’t a problematic part anyway.

Especially the one who had cursed at me and had his genitals cut off—he enthusiastically spilled everything, even information that wasn’t asked for. The fact that he shed tears of gratitude when I reattached what had been cut off was just a bonus.

Now they were all locked up in the basement of my eldest sister’s trading company building. I had only threatened to cut them if they lied, not promised to release them if they answered well.

“By the way, do you know why that boss did this? I mean, why would he target me specifically when he doesn’t even live in the city where I deliver goods?”

“I, I don’t really…”

“I know. Want me to tell you?”

It’s information from the guy who had his genitals cut off—he was quite high-ranking.

“Really? What is it?”

Diana’s eyes lit up.

“He asked my eldest sister out on a date and got rejected.”

“What the fuck?”

A curse burst from her mouth.

The profanity didn’t suit Diana’s skinny, sickly image at all, but honestly, it was understandable. I was so dumbfounded when I heard it that I asked several times if that was really the reason.

Io sat beside her with her mouth hanging open, as if she couldn’t believe such a pathetic reason was behind it all.

“Apparently, he hit on my eldest sister in Kraft City or somewhere, got rejected, and did this for revenge? That’s what the guy who had his genitals cut off told me, so it should be reliable.”

“Wow… this fucking… hah…”

Diana clutched her head and slumped onto the desk. Low, rapid muttering escaped her lips.

“It wasn’t a competing trading company trying to bring me down… It wasn’t some grand reason I didn’t know about… It was just one of those pathetic idiots who confessed to me and couldn’t accept his own patheticness…”

Then she slowly raised her head, revealing eyes filled with rage.

“Little brother. Let me hire you for one more job.”

“I know what it is. Sure.”

“But make sure to bring that bastard who got rejected by me alive. I need to crush him myself.”

I nodded. Diana, who had been smoking her pipe and crunching ice in her mouth as if boiling with anger, exhaled a long, cold breath and looked at Io.

“You, Io Brante, right?”

“Y-yes!”

“Can you handle a blade? No, never mind, of course you can, considering what you did. I’ll be direct. Would you consider being hired as my bodyguard?”

“…Bodyguard? Me?”

Io’s eyes widened.

“Yes. I’ll pay you about… this much per month.”

Diana scribbled something on a memo and handed it over. Io, who received the paper, trembled as if struck by lightning.

“T-this is… too much…”

“I don’t mind spending money on skilled people, even if I might be stingy with random folks. If it’s not enough, just say so. I’ll increase it.”

While Io seemed to have frozen in shock at an amount beyond her comprehension, I whispered to Diana.

“What about little sister? Are you going to have two bodyguards?”

“No, I’m firing her. Rather than giving that money to a parasite who just drinks all day, I’d rather hire this girl and put her to good use.”

It seemed that Trisha was going to get a good beating from mother again.

I immediately headed to the city where the man who had planned such a thing because he was rejected after hitting on Diana lived. It was also where his business was located.

‘A gambling house, huh.’

Yes, a gambling house. And not just any gambling house, but one so large it would be hard to find even in a fairly big city. With a name like “Kingdom of Heaven,” it was quite extraordinary.

“Welcome to Kingdom of Heaven, sir.”

As I arrived at the entrance, the guards bowed respectfully at a 90-degree angle. Perhaps to create a good outward image, their attire was so neat it was hard to believe they were guards.

“The finest in Havart City—”

“Skip the greetings. I didn’t come here to listen to that kind of talk.”

“I deeply apologize. Is there a specific area you’d like to visit? I’ll guide you right away.”

Having lived without any connection to gambling, I had received a few precautions from my eldest sister and Io, and from what I gathered, this place was even more deceptive than Earth’s gambling houses.

While Earth’s gambling houses have CCTVs watching from every angle unless they’re illegal, this place only had detection barriers and mana detectors.

That means it straddles the boundary between legal and illegal, and if desired, they could manipulate customers with sleight of hand that doesn’t use mana.

“Take me to where the stakes are highest.”

But that also means that if I cheat in reverse, as long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine.

I slightly manipulated the mana detector at the entrance to make myself an exception, and I inwardly smiled as the alarm remained silent despite my use of physical enhancement.

If they’re straddling the boundary between legal and illegal, then I’ll do the same. As I systematically fleece those who come looking to fleece me, someone is bound to show up.

“Yes, this way. Please follow me.”

It would be even better if they connected the dots between the fact that Io’s men haven’t returned and that I am Diana Crate’s brother, figuring out why I’m here.

Given that bastard’s seemingly excessive pride, he’s unlikely to avoid someone who walked into his territory of his own accord.