chapter_0146

“The money you got from cashing in the treasure from the church’s warehouse, plus the platinum coins you received from me, was enough to pay off the debt and live comfortably for at least ten years.”

The power of the Starlight Church was overwhelming, and if she had taken as much as she wanted from their warehouse, she would have made a considerable amount of money, even after taking into account the middleman’s fee.

What I was curious about was what happened next.

“I went to the organization I owed money to and paid it off in full, and to be safe, I even got the boss to confirm that it was fully paid off, and I got a seal on the promissory note… But…”

“But?”

“They played a trick on the promissory note. I should have noticed when they gave me something I didn’t ask for as evidence, saying that the paper and ink used to issue the promissory note should also be repaid as part of the debt.”

The sound of teeth grinding could be heard.

“So when I went to confront them, saying that you had clearly said that it was fully paid off, they said that at that point, it was indeed fully paid off. The promissory note they gave me as evidence had a separate calculation for the amount, and at that point, it wasn’t considered a debt.”

“Did you end up with a debt of 20 platinum coins just because of that one thing?”

“There’s a clause in the new contract that says that all requests from them must be prioritized until the full amount is repaid. So when I take on a request and leave, the subordinates they send with me deliberately cause accidents to make me fail. The request fails, so my share of the money becomes a debt, and the interest on that additional debt just keeps piling up.”

Ibrante glanced at the secret door where her siblings were hiding.

“If it was just me, I would have ignored them and run away. But I have my siblings to think about. No matter how skilled I am, I can’t run away with all 14 of them. And if I openly rebel, they’ll sell my siblings to those guys as a replacement for the debt. I can’t let that happen.”

Ibrante trembled for a while, then sighed and drank the water that smelled like tea.

In the original work, it probably would have gone something like this. She would have persevered and persevered, but eventually, when her siblings died, she would have given up and joined the Demon King’s army.

“So you were ordered to attack my sister’s caravan, too?”

“Yes. The original order was not as cute as this one.”

A bitter smile appeared on her lips.

“The order was to destroy the carriages, kill everyone without leaving a single person alive, and burn all the goods. But… It’s the carriage of the Crate family, the family you belong to. I remember how well you treated me, so how could I possibly do such a thing to your family’s carriage?”

The bitter smile became even more bitter.

“So I stopped at destroying the carriages and obstructing the passage. Since the order I received that day was to destroy the carriages, I had to feed my siblings, so I took a few fairy tales. With that money, at least I can feed them something.”

“That’s why they were so angry?”

“Usually, after completing a mission, I go to them. They rarely come here, but this time, I think they came because they were so angry at me being chased by you. They probably got angry because I didn’t come back for hours after letting the people and goods go.”

I had intended to prevent her from joining the Demon King’s army and causing trouble, so I gave her a request to keep her on my side. But it came back to me in a very different way. I felt strange.

“I’m sorry for making you come all this way. I must have caused you trouble.”

Ibrante stood up weakly. The bitter smile turned into a resigned expression.

“I can’t bother you and your family any more, so I’ll take care of this myself. From now on, I won’t attack your sister’s carriages, even if I receive an order. I’ll definitely pay back the fairy tales I took, with interest.”

I watched Ibrante, who was trying to put on a brave face, for a while, then stopped her as she turned to go back to the kitchen with the wooden cup.

“Ibrante.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you think I came here?”

“Um… Didn’t you come to catch the person who destroyed the carriages?”

“Exactly, my sister wanted me to capture the culprit alive, so I had to. The carriages you destroyed belong to my sister. She wants to know why you did it.”

“So… you did.”

Ibrante’s expression darkened.

“Then you’ll have to take me away.”

“Yes. But, from what I’ve heard, it seems that just taking you away won’t be enough.”

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

.

.

.

“Oh, so that’s what happened…”

Diana nodded. Ibrante sat across from her, frozen.

The siblings Ibrante had brought with her were enjoying a feast they had never tasted before, and after a thorough wash, they were each assigned a bed and were sleeping soundly.

“See, little brother. You never know what life will bring.”

Diana smiled brightly as she tapped her pipe. The problem was completely solved, and the reason was quite commendable, so her tension was much higher than usual.

“Usually, the carriages would be completely destroyed, our people would be killed, and the goods would be either destroyed or burned. But this time, only the carriages were destroyed. Life is unpredictable, isn’t it? Did you expect her to show up like this?”

“Of course not.”

In terms of actual age, Diana was old enough to be Ibrante’s mother, but I ignored that and called her by her name. I didn’t expect to meet her again, and I didn’t expect her to be in such a situation.

“The six subordinates you captured also said the same thing, so there’s no need to ask any further.”

The six men I had tied up and questioned before coming here all gave the same answer.

There were some minor differences in the details, but the big picture, as well as the smaller parts, were all consistent, so it could be treated as a minor memory error.

Even if it was a lie, it wasn’t a problem at all.

Especially the one who cursed at me and had his thing cut off, he was so passionate that he even told me things I didn’t ask about. He cried tears of gratitude when I reattached it, saying that he would be grateful if I let him go.

Now, they were all locked up in the basement of my sister’s mansion. I had told them that if they lied, I would cut them, not that I would let them go if they answered truthfully.

“Yes. Do you know why that boss did it? Or why he did such a thing to you, when he doesn’t even live in the city where you deliver the goods?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“I know. Do you want me to tell you?”

The information came from the guy who had a high position and was cut off by me.

“Really? What is it?”

Diana’s eyes lit up.

“It’s because he asked my sister out on a date and got rejected, so he wanted revenge.”

“What the fuck?”

The curse came out of my mouth.

Diana, with her thin and frail image, didn’t suit the vulgar curse, but honestly, I understood and sympathized with it. I had asked her several times if that was really the reason, because I couldn’t believe it myself.

Ibrante, on the other hand, was sitting there with her mouth hanging open, as if she couldn’t believe that such an insect-like reason could be the cause.

“It’s because he asked my sister out in Craft City or something, and she rejected him, so he wanted revenge. That’s what the guy who was cut off by you told me, so you can trust it.”

“Wow… What a fucking…”

Diana covered her face with her hands and leaned on the desk. A low, rapid muttering escaped her lips.

“It’s not because a competing caravan is trying to bring me down… It’s not because of some grand reason I don’t know about… It’s because one of the idiots who confessed to me couldn’t accept that he was an idiot and did this…”

She slowly raised her head, and her eyes were filled with rage.

“Little brother. I have one more request for you.”

“I know what it is. I’ll do it.”

“But, bring that bastard who confessed to me alive. I want to torture him myself.”

I nodded. Diana, who was smoking a pipe, suddenly stopped and started chewing on ice. She exhaled the cold breath and looked at Ibrante.

“You, Ibrante, right?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Can you handle a sword? No, you must be good at it since you did such a thing. It was a pointless question. Let me be blunt. Are you interested in working as my bodyguard?”

“……As your bodyguard?”

Ibrante’s eyes widened.

“Yes. The salary is… I’ll give you about this much per month.”

Diana scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Ibrante. Ibrante trembled as if she had been struck by lightning.

“That’s… that’s too much…”

“I don’t skimp on money when it comes to skilled people, unlike the riff-raff. If it’s not enough, tell me. I’ll raise it.”

Ibrante was so shocked that she froze, and Diana whispered to me.

“What about my little sister? Do you need two bodyguards?”

“No. I’m going to fire her. Instead of that drunkard who does nothing but drink all day, it’s better to hire this kid and put her to use.”

Trisha would probably get her butt kicked by her mother again.

I immediately pestered Diana about the guy who confessed to her and was rejected, and ended up planning this whole thing. I headed to the city where the guy was, the city where his business was located.

‘A gambling den.’

Yes, a gambling den. It was a huge gambling den, so huge that it was hard to find even in a fairly large city. The name itself was ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, which was quite unusual.

“Welcome to Kingdom of Heaven. We welcome you to our establishment.”

As I arrived at the entrance, the guards bowed at a 90-degree angle. Their clothes were so neat and tidy that it was hard to believe they were guards.

“The best in Havart City…”

“I don’t need your greetings. I didn’t come here to listen to that kind of crap.”

“I apologize for the rudeness. Is there a specific location you would like to visit? I will guide you there immediately.”

I had never had any connection with gambling in my previous life, but according to what I had heard from my sister and Ibrante, this place was even more treacherous than the gambling dens on Earth.

On Earth, illegal gambling dens were monitored by CCTV cameras everywhere, but here, the detection barriers and mana detectors were the only security measures.

It was on the borderline between legal and illegal, and if you wanted to, you could always use mana-free sleight of hand to manipulate the customers without them noticing.

“The place with the biggest stakes.”

But that also meant that if they tried to cheat me, I could do the same without them noticing.

I manipulated the mana detector at the entrance to make myself exempt from detection, and as I walked through the silent alarm, I smiled to myself.

If they were on the borderline between legal and illegal, I could do the same. If they tried to skin me, I could just as easily skin them.

“Yes, this way. Follow me.”

I wanted them to connect the fact that I came here because of Ibrante, who should have gone to see them, but didn’t come back, and that I was Diana Crate’s little brother.

That bastard, with his ridiculously high self-esteem, wouldn’t be afraid if I went to his territory, so he wouldn’t run away.