Ch.6363. Debt

“Chloe.”

The heavy silence was broken by Rex’s voice. Chloe, who had been biting her lips tightly, flinched. Blue eyes were gazing at her calmly. Meeting his gaze helped calm her trembling heart somewhat.

“Erica. Explain in detail.”

But her anxiety hadn’t completely disappeared. Chloe bit her lip hard as she spoke. The little girl sniffled as she answered.

“Just now, scary people suddenly barged in and were talking with Uncle Lucas. The door closed in the middle, so I couldn’t see well. Then, the atmosphere turned hostile, people started shouting, and they took Sister Alisa away. Just like the other sisters they took before…”

“Are those men still here?”

“Just one is still talking with Uncle Lucas in his room.”

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut. In the end, her uneasy premonition had become reality. There should have been plenty of time left, so why? She barely managed to suppress her confused emotions. That wasn’t what mattered right now.

“Does this mean I won’t be able to see Sister Alisa anymore? Huh?”

The girl grabbed Chloe’s arm, tears streaming down her face. Chloe was just as frightened, but she couldn’t show it in front of such a young child. Ignoring her throbbing headache, Chloe forced a smile.

“It’s okay. I’ll fix this. You know me, right? I fight scary monsters. Alisa… I’ll bring her back, so don’t worry and just wait, Erica.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Now go outside and play with your friends. Don’t mention anything about Alisa because the others might worry. Understand?”

“Yes… I understand.”

After hesitating briefly, the girl nodded and scurried out of the kitchen.

“I have to go.”

As soon as the girl was completely gone, Chloe’s face contorted with distress.

“I’m sorry. Please wait a little. I’ll be back soon.”

“No, I’m coming with you.”

Rex firmly shook his head. He had remained silent until now because it was awkward to interject, but he vaguely understood the situation.

Taken away.

There was no way to interpret those words positively. Judging by the girl’s reaction, this was clearly an abduction-like extortion.

He didn’t consider it unnecessary meddling. Since Chloe was involved, he was no longer an outsider. Above all, Chloe’s current state was so unstable that sending her alone seemed like a recipe for disaster.

“…Alright.”

After brief consideration, Chloe nodded.

Having made the decision, there was no time to waste. They immediately left the kitchen and passed through a long corridor. Upon reaching the end of the building, they found a room that looked like an office, unlike the other dormitory-style rooms.

Through a small hole, two men could be glimpsed. Chloe paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

Creak.

Following Chloe into the room, Rex narrowed his eyes and surveyed the surroundings. A man with a fierce expression and a relatively genteel middle-aged man were conversing.

“This is different from what we agreed before!”

“Are those ears just for decoration? It’s clearly written in the contract. You can read, so why do you keep spouting nonsense…”

The atmosphere was far from pleasant. The two were arguing so intensely that they hadn’t even noticed Chloe and Rex entering the room. In fact, only the middle-aged man was ranting passionately; the other man seemed to be dismissing him nonchalantly.

Rex instinctively realized that the man shouting with an aggrieved tone was Lucas, the director of this orphanage. From the context of the conversation, he was repeatedly protesting that this was an unjust action.

“Even so, taking away a child who has barely become an adult is not what a decent person would do!”

“Repaying borrowed money on time is also what a decent person should do, isn’t it? You should have only taken what you could handle. Anyway, begging me won’t help. You know that, right? If you’re that unhappy, bring the ransom.”

“What’s going on here?”

Chloe interrupted the conversation. The man turned around, widening his eyes in apparent delight.

“Oh, if it isn’t Chloe. It’s been a while.”

“…Uncle Lucas. Please explain.”

“How cold. We’ve known each other since you were little. Shouldn’t we be closer by now?”

When Chloe ignored his greeting, the man sneered with a crooked smile. His claim of familiarity seemed one-sided, as Chloe’s expression remained consistently cold.

‘This is…’

Rex stared at the man with a hardened face. —He’s strong. There was no need to activate a warrior’s gaze. His developed senses were telling him the man’s level. At least Seong-yeom. The same realm as Rex. Of course, even within the same realm, levels could vary drastically, but it was still surprising.

The Seong-yeom stage was equivalent to an apprentice knight with years of experience. Even in the knighthood under Baron Lindenbach, there were only four or five such talents. Yet the man before him seemed to have achieved quite a mature accomplishment within the Seong-yeom realm.

“Hmm…”

The man, catching Rex’s gaze, waved his hand with a friendly expression.

“You’re a boy I haven’t seen before. Chloe’s boyfriend?”

“……”

“Everyone here is so taciturn. Would it hurt to respond? Well, never mind. My business is done, so it’s time for the uninvited guests to disappear.”

The man shrugged and stood up. Chloe clenched her fists and glared at him.

“Where did Alisa go?”

“Why ask when you already know? The answer is obvious anyway, isn’t it?”

“…Tell me!”

“My, my, you look like you’re going to eat me alive. How frightening.”

The man feigned fear with a face that showed no trace of actual fear. Then, as casually as if describing a picnic, he blurted out:

“Alisa has become one of our family members from today. She’ll be working hard in the pleasure district. Until she repays the debt. Though it won’t be enough even if she works her entire life, but anyway. Has your curiosity been satisfied? If so, good; if not, too bad. Don’t make a fuss with me. It’s all that man’s fault. I hate troublesome things.”

“W-what are you saying…”

“Chloe, every time I see you, I think what a waste. Instead of playing adventurer, if you had debuted in our business, you would have earned dozens of gold coins by now, and that would be nothing. It’s such a waste of talent.”

Though he spoke in circles, the man’s meaning was simple. Working in the pleasure district meant literally becoming a prostitute and selling her body. Despite the clear insult, Chloe stood with a blank face, unable to say anything. When faced with such a shock, one often can’t think at all.

But there weren’t just Chloe and the man in this space; there were two others as well.

“Hey.”

When Rex came to his senses, he was gripping the man’s collar. He didn’t regret it. His blood felt ice-cold. Rex glared at him.

“Do you want to die?”

A golden light gleamed in his blue eyes. The flames flickered violently as if about to burn everything. This wasn’t just an empty threat. The killing intent (살기) of a spiritual cultivator who had reached a certain level carried a pressure that made one’s skin tingle.

The air instantly turned cold.

The smile disappeared from the man’s face.

“No. I want to live as long as possible.”

His response was surprisingly light. Though it sounded like a joke, the man’s voice was dead serious. The man slowly removed Rex’s hand from his collar.

“You seem to be mistaken, but I was sincere just now. I admit my expression might have been offensive to some. But in the end, isn’t it just a difference in perspective? Some might want to become prostitutes to earn large sums and escape a miserable life. From my perspective, Chloe’s beauty is excellent. I just felt it was a waste to see it being squandered uselessly.”

“You’re insane.”

“If I offended you, I apologize. But suddenly asking if I want to die was a bit much. Such actions, you know, can only be done by those who can handle the consequences. Understand?”

Rex felt anger boiling inside him for the first time in a long while. Handle the consequences? The man apparently hadn’t noticed Rex’s level. If he had, he couldn’t have maintained such an arrogant attitude. Though Rex had left his zweihander behind, he was confident he could kill the man right here if he wanted to.

“Young man. Value your life. Take the advice of someone who’s lived longer than you.”

“I return those words to you.”

The aftermath was a separate issue. If he killed that damned man here, the situation would spiral uncontrollably toward ruin. Murder is a serious crime. For a moment, Berger’s face flashed in his mind. If it were Berger… No, acting so impulsively would be wrong.

“Get out.”

In the end, Rex stepped back.

The man smirked as if he had expected this and left the room.

“You were the one who stopped me when I was about to leave. Well… good luck.”

Bang. Even after the door closed, the silence remained unbroken for a long time.

Rex stared at the closed door with cold eyes. For a moment, he struggled with whether to chase after the man, but soon gave up. He couldn’t leave Chloe alone.

Chloe was staring at the floor with a hollow face, as if her soul had been extracted. Rex couldn’t bring himself to approach her. It seemed like she might collapse at the slightest touch.

That’s when it happened.

“I’m sorry.”

The man Chloe had called Lucas heaved a heavy sigh. He appeared to have been roughed up earlier; his lip was split, and there was a dark bruise on his cheek.

“It’s all my fault. I should have refused from the beginning… My past mistakes have come back to haunt me.”

Chloe’s body twitched at those words.

“I asked what happened.”

Chloe continued with a tired voice.

“I don’t want… to hear apologies. I want to know why that man came when it wasn’t time yet… why he took Alisa, that’s what I’m curious about.”

“There was a debt.”

Lucas covered his haggard face with his palm and bowed his head. Chloe gritted her teeth and shouted.

“That! Instead of stating the obvious, give me a reason I can accept! Wasn’t the debt… almost resolved? Wasn’t I paying it off with the money I earned from the dungeon… So why is another person being sold off? Huh?”

Rex furrowed his brow. Paying off debt? Earning money from the dungeon? There were many puzzling points, but it wasn’t the time to interject, so he swallowed his questions.

“Where did all the money I gave you go? Please, just tell me.”

Chloe breathed heavily, seething with rising indignation. Lucas, who had been looking at Chloe with a sorrowful face, finally pulled out a piece of paper from a drawer.

“Chloe. First, I must say I’m deeply ashamed.”

“What do you—”

“The debt hasn’t decreased. It’s actually increased. The debt we have left now is… 300 gold.”

The light disappeared from Chloe’s pupils.