Ch.16Chapter 16: Choice.

Looking around, I notice there aren’t many people in the area.

I must have wandered into a strange place while walking aimlessly.

Lisa, who reacts first, shouts out.

“Over here!”

Lisa is a professional adventurer.

There’s no way she could stay still after hearing such a scream.

But Valt and Arias look at Lisa with expressions that seem to say, “Do we really have to?”

Valt is no knight in shining armor.

There’s a reason for this attitude.

Even in Korea, how many times had men been falsely accused of sexual harassment after trying to help unknown women?

Regrettably, since then, he doesn’t even spare a glance at women in danger.

Arias seems to think that elves getting involved in human affairs is unnecessary in itself.

With both of them remaining unmoved, Lisa shouts.

“What are you two doing!? I said over here!”

Valt and Arias reluctantly move their feet, not because of the screaming woman, but because of their newly made friend Lisa’s insistence.

‘This area looks like a slum… this is going to be troublesome.’

Sure enough, five rough-looking men are harassing a woman holding a baby.

The woman appears to have been selling various herbs at a stall, but everything is now scattered across the street.

Those thugs must have kicked it over.

“Damn it, you borrowed money, so why aren’t you paying it back!? Would we be doing this if you just paid up?”

The woman trembles, clutching her baby tightly to her chest.

“If… if you demand double the interest in just one week… you’re telling me and my daughter to die. What kind of interest rate is that in this world?”

A skinny man with a scar on his face and a shaved head licks his lips and snickers.

“We explained everything clearly! And you’re the one who signed the contract! Did we force you to borrow money? You came to us begging for it, didn’t you?”

The literacy rate is high in this era.

These guys are pressuring a woman who can’t read with an unspeakable interest rate.

Predictable… but effective.

In this era without legal interest rate caps like in Korea, loan sharks definitely exist.

“I… I can’t pay that much. Please! Please show mercy!”

The scarred man licks his lips again and says.

“Can’t pay? So that’s it? Ha, this lady is even more brazen than us? Then you’ll have to pay with your body!!”

Though he calls her “lady,” she’s actually quite young.

Whatever her circumstances, she seems to be raising the child alone.

After quickly assessing the situation, Lisa steps forward.

“Stop right there!!”

All eyes turn to Lisa as she appears with her small frame.

“Hey, thug uncles, I get the situation, but aren’t you going too far?”

The thugs slowly approach Lisa as she speaks boldly.

“What’s this tiny thing saying? Don’t get involved and scram.”

But Lisa doesn’t back down.

“Grown men harassing a woman and child! As a noble, I cannot allow this.”

Even after hearing she’s a noble, the men don’t seem intimidated.

“Oh, so you’re some noble? Just go on your way. Don’t make things complicated. From the looks of it, you’re new to the Imperial City, aren’t you?”

Hmm… such attitude toward a noble? They must have some backing.

“What does it matter if I’m new! From what I can see, you’re squeezing people with ridiculous interest rates. In my domain, people like you would be thrown into the underground prison!”

The men snicker at Lisa’s threats.

“Save that for your own domain, miss. This is the Imperial City, so please just leave… Tch! This is why country bumpkins are so…”

At those words, Lisa draws her sword.

*Shing!*

“If you won’t listen to reason, I’ll make you understand by force!”

The men remain composed even as Lisa gathers her aura.

“Pfft… what? Floor 2? Listen, noble miss, you’re not seriously thinking you can do anything to us with just that level, are you?”

The men also begin to raise their auras.

Lisa looks shocked when she sees this.

“W-what?”

‘Huh? Local thugs at Floor 3? Who are these guys?’

Sensing the men’s strength, Arias tries to stop Lisa.

“Lisa! It’s dangerous! Come back!”

Only then do the men notice Arias, and their expressions change to surprise.

“Ohhh!! An elf!? This is our lucky day!!”

Hearing that, Valt gets a sense of what these men really are.

They’re human traffickers posing as loan sharks.

They trap people with debt and sell them as slaves.

Even the Imperial City has its problems, huh?

He was skeptical at first, but seeing their reaction to Arias confirms it.

“Hahaha. You came to this district without proper guards… well, there’s one big lump over there. But still, you came here with such meager skills?”

They say light and darkness coexist in the Imperial City, and this must be the dark side.

Mere loan shark thugs at Floor 3? The Imperial City really is different. Lisa’s expression hardens at this absurd situation.

“D-damn it…”

‘Arias is… similar to Lisa, Floor 2? But with spirit magic, so probably stronger.’

Still, there are five of them.

It seems difficult for Lisa and Arias to handle them alone.

The two sides face off.

Arias, being soft-hearted, stands beside Lisa, drawing her sword to confront the thugs.

Lisa gives Valt a pleading look, but honestly, Valt wants to use this opportunity to teach Lisa a lesson.

This is exactly the kind of situation that could get her killed.

It’s fine now since Valt is with them, but what if she acts like this when he’s not around?

That would be a pointless death.

“This is what you chose. You must take responsibility.”

At Valt’s words, Lisa gives up on his help and steels herself.

“F-fine! I can do this like Valt!”

But different words come from Arias’s mouth.

“You filthy barbarian, seeing this and still…”

Valt thinks it’s not a bad idea to let the noble lady and elf princess learn how scary the world can be.

But then.

A familiar notification rings in Valt’s ears.

*Ding!*

‘Of course.’

【Sudden Quest: Life of the Weak】

<Description>

You were enjoying the Imperial City! But what’s this? You’ve encountered a mother and child in obvious distress. What will your choice be?

<Completion Condition>

User’s choice.

<Reward>

5 Bonus Points, plus other random rewards depending on the user’s choice.

This quest is quite different from previous ones.

The reward changes depending on the choice?

‘Hmm… interesting…’

The battle between the thugs, Lisa, and Arias has already begun.

“Haah!”

“Hehehe! Is that all you’ve got, noble miss?”

As expected, Lisa and Arias are being pushed back.

Lisa’s swordsmanship is superior to the thugs’, and Arias’s spirit magic helps maintain some balance.

But at this rate, their defeat is inevitable.

If there’s any consolation, the thugs have no intention of killing Lisa and Arias.

They’re human traffickers after all.

As they fight back and forth,

Valt checks the quest and walks steadily toward the woman to ask her something.

He intends to gather minimal information for his choice.

“Why did you borrow money?”

Though startled by the enormous man suddenly asking such a question, the woman answers through her tears.

“M-my child was very sick and needed treatment.”

As someone abandoned by his parents at a young age, Valt appreciates the woman’s answer.

“Didn’t you know this would happen?”

The mother bursts into tears and says.

“*Sob*… It was an emergency! I thought my child was dying! I would do the same thing again if I had to go back. *Hic*…”

“I understand.”

Having said that, Valt steps between Lisa and the thugs.

“*Huff* *Huff* *Gasp* V-Valt?”

Valt interrupts the momentary lull in the fight and says.

“Just leave. Take only the principal. How much was the debt?”

The thugs are dumbfounded by Valt’s words.

“What are you saying…? You bear-like man?”

The enormous man before them.

They thought he was a guard, but he didn’t step in until now.

They can’t sense any proper mana from him, so he’s not an aura user.

A mage? With that build? Absolutely not.

He must be just for show, to intimidate people.

Ordinary people might have run away from his threatening size, but they are Floor 3 experts.

Yet more nonsense comes from the clueless giant’s mouth.

“I said I’ll give you the money, so just leave. You didn’t want to make this a big deal, right?”

The scarred thug laughed loudly.

“Hahaha! Money, yes! That debt has just become 1,000 gold.”

That’s enough money to get if they sell an elf as a slave.

The thug smiles sinisterly, eyeing Arias and licking his lips.

‘Hehehe, what a windfall. The noble girl next to her will fetch a high price too!’

Valt asks the child’s mother again.

“Did you borrow such a large sum?”

The woman shakes her head vigorously at Valt’s question.

“H-how could that be! I only borrowed 10 silver!”

Just enough to pay for a doctor’s visit and buy food.

Valt takes out two 10-silver coins from his money pouch and flicks them toward the thugs.

*Ping!*

*Ping ping tidididing*

*Thud!*

“20 silver should be enough. You’ve got your money, now leave.”

The thug’s expression sours as he looks at the coins on the ground.

“You son of a bitch!! Who are you calling a beggar! Kill him!!”