"Good thing the address was written on the letter..."
Seth smiled when he saw that the address was written in a corner of the letter as he received it. At least he wouldn’t have to spend two hours searching.
"They live on Saint Auren Street in the northern part of the city. Isn’t this really the loan sharks’ neighborhood?" Seth narrowed his eyes; he knew the place. In the ga, it was the location of a minor boss fight.
The loan sharks were run by a famous real estate agent nad Hanson. Even Simon had likely signed a contract with this man.
Hanson’s contracts were usually long and detailed. Even though they weren’t actually that long, Hanson intentionally made them seem longer, giving his tenants a false sense of security, making them think they had struck a good, reliable deal.
But in reality, it was a bad deal. At first, they would demand 3 gold every two months, but this price would increase year after year, putting the tenants at risk.
The loan sharks first gave their tenants cheap hos to make them comfortable, then would point to certain clauses in the contracts they signed and raise the rent.
For example, the house Simon rented started at 1 gold and 30 silver every two months, but in a year and a half, it had risen to 3 gold. That was an incredible amount, especially in a place like the Holy Mary Kingdom.
Usually, the rent averaged around 1 to 2 gold. So even charged just 3 gold for six months. Still, the loan sharks were so greedy that they swindled the ignorant, those who couldn’t read or write.
In the mission with Alice, our goal was to help an elderly couple catch the loan sharks with the Prince’s help, upon Alice’s request. Of course, that only happened if your relationship with the Prince was high enough.
It was just a typical thing...
Seth donned a cloak and moved swiftly through the streets. It was his first ti wandering the capital in human form.
Honestly, he was impressed. Even though he had seen it from a bird’s-eye view before, it was still fascinating. The happy faces of people, the liveliness as they talked with each other, enjoying themselves—it was sothing Seth liked.
Everyone seed so social.
"I’ve arrived..."
Walking quickly, Seth finally arrived and examined the house. It wasn’t a high-class place. A two-story building made of wood and stone. It looked simple and clean. To be fair, it should have been dirty since there was no one to clean it.
Seth inspected the place and knocked on the wooden door. People didn’t even bother to pay attention...
What disturbed Seth the most was how narrow the streets were and how tightly packed the houses were. If Seth had lived here, he would surely beco paranoid and loathe his ho.
Before he could think further, the door opened, revealing a woman with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and dark circles under her eyes from exhaustion. Despite looking worn down by illness, she was very beautiful.
"Yes, how may I help you?" the woman asked politely. Without saying a word, Seth handed over Simon’s letter. "You have a letter, ma’am. Here, please take it."
The woman suddenly smiled with joy and took the letter, studying Seth for a mont. "Are you the new postman? Did the previous one get fired?"
Even though Seth wasn’t a postman, he had to play along. The woman smiled and looked kindly at Seth. "Well then, let’s introduce ourselves. My na is Bertha, and yours, sir?"
Looking at Bertha’s positivity, Seth wondered how Simon had married her. They were as different as night and day.
Simon was gloomy, while Bertha was positive despite being deathly ill. Still, knowing that Simon would do anything to support his family, Seth was impressed by their compatibility.
"My na is Jack." Using his real na, Seth smiled gently from behind his cloak. Bertha nodded, her eyes looking at the cloak that covered Seth’s face and body. "Why are you wearing a cloak? Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to take it off?"
Seth shook his head and quickly ca up with an excuse. "I’m wearing this because I have a skin condition causing large blemishes on my face."
Bertha gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Blemishes! Oh, Great Goddess! Is it serious?"
Seth chuckled. "It’s temporary, don’t worry."
Bertha cald down and nodded. "I hope you recover soon."
Seth nodded, accepting her kind words.
Bertha stood there for a mont as if expecting sothing. An awkward silence followed.
"What are you waiting for?" Seth asked curiously. Normally, he would have left by now, but Bertha’s expression stopped him.
For a mont, Bertha’s face lit up with hope. Then she seed surprised that Seth hadn’t done anything yet. "Simon always sends us money. As you can see, I can’t work. So we can only hope that Simon sends us money at the end of each month."
Seth nodded, adding a temporary excuse. "I don’t know much about the money, ma’am, but I’ll check it for you."
Bertha nodded hopefully. "I would be so grateful if you did, Mr. Jack."
Seth added a new task to his plans: sending money to Simon’s family. "I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. If there’s nothing else—"
"Bertha, are you here?"
Seth turned toward the voice and saw a man approaching, holding a large book. He wore glasses and a suit, a thin smile on his lips.
"Is that you, Sir Aristo?" For so reason, Bertha looked pale, and Seth noticed. He narrowed his eyes and studied the man nad Aristo.
Aristo approached with a thin smile. He glanced at Bertha, then at Seth, raising one eyebrow. "Are you available, Bertha?"
Bertha quickly nodded. Then she looked at Seth. "Don’t worry, I’m available."
Seth continued to watch Aristo. Outwardly, he seed like a gentleman and an intelligent man. But appearances could be deceiving.
"Then, that’s it. Goodbye, Mrs. Bertha."
Bertha nodded and turned back to Aristo. "Please, Mr. Aristo, co in."
Instead of leaving, Seth suddenly transford into his raven form, leaving his cloak in a hidden place, and perched on a window to observe Aristo and Bertha.
"Where are your children, Mrs. Bertha? We haven’t t in a long ti," Aristo said, stroking his chin. Bertha quickly responded, forcing a smile. "They’re sleeping, thank you for asking."
"Good, good..."
Aristo opened his book and, after flipping through it for about 20 seconds, stopped on a page. Adjusting his glasses, he calmly said, "Today was the rent paynt due date. You’re three days late, and according to the contract, there’s a 500 copper penalty. Altogether, you owe us 4 gold."
Bertha froze in shock. She interrupted in a panic. "But you told 3 gold the other day!"
Aristo cleared his throat and looked at Bertha calmly. "You might not be aware, but there’s been a rent increase today. Surely you’ve noticed the economic situation is tough. It’s affecting us too."
He continued, "The economy hit us as well. The market is in turmoil, and war is on the horizon. We understand the rents are steep, but we have no choice. I hope you understand."
Seth narrowed his eyes in disdain, his Karma Eye revealing that Aristo was lying. Yet Bertha seed to believe him.
She nervously bit her nails and fidgeted. "I-I’ll definitely pay today! Simon sent us money. The postman went to get it!"
At the ntion of Simon’s na, a flash of mockery passed through Aristo’s eyes. "Good, but this is the last day. If you don’t pay, my offer from a week ago still stands."
Bertha flinched, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself, her face showing an expression of fear that made Seth frown. Aristo smirked and continued. "You could easily make a living in one of our brothels. After all, there are plenty of fools in this land."
He chuckled at his joke and adjusted his glasses. Admiring her beauty, a look of approval appeared on his face. "Even at 30, you’re still as beautiful as a young girl. You could make a lot of money."
Bertha imdiately refused, the thought of betraying Simon causing her heart to ache. "I-I’m sick, I can’t work. How could you make such an offer?"
Aristo chuckled, smiling with amusent. "Don’t worry, with your earnings, you’ll be able to afford treatnt in no ti. It’s just a matter of ti."
After finishing his words, Aristo stood up and walked toward the door. Before leaving, he looked back at Bertha one last ti. "I hope you give it serious thought, Mrs. Bertha. My offer is valid for another two weeks."
Then he closed the door gently and left.
"Can I really endure this any longer…?"
Bertha’s voice trembled as her eyes welled up with tears. Unable to hold back her cough, she let out a harsh one. Seth only noticed now that her throat was red, probably from excessive coughing.
Seth’s eyes followed Aristo as he left, narrowing in disdain. "Looks like I’ll have to beco the God of Justice now, too."
Without waiting any longer, Seth followed after Aristo.
******
Morrigan felt pleased as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple yet elegant dress, just as she had wanted. While Maria was doing her hair, Thomas stood in front of her.
"Today, you’ll et Maxwell. I’m really curious to know what kind of man he is..."
Morrigan glanced at Maria. "They’ve been saying a lot about him. Especially Marcus..."
Thomas chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "Typical nobles, my Lady. It’s almost impossible for them to praise soone like Maxwell."
Thomas’ usual sarcastic tone brought a faint smile to Maria’s lips. "Sotis, you talk as if you hate the nobles."
"I do," Thomas replied calmly. He glanced at Morrigan for a second. "Except for you, of course, my Lady."
"Let’s hope my father doesn’t hear that." Morrigan’s comnt was t with nothing but mockery from Thomas. Despite Duke Alfred’s power in the eyes of many, he seed insignificant next to people like Thomas.
"Seth has been missing again for 2-3 days," Morrigan said with a slight frown. Thomas imdiately replied, "He should be in the city right now."
Maria was imdiately shocked. "Since when have you known where the crow is?! When I asked for your help, you told you didn’t know!"
Thomas chuckled and looked at Maria. "Honestly, I found it amusing to watch you wander around worried."
"How can you sense where Seth is?" Morrigan asked curiously. Thomas turned to her. "You haven’t yet learned how to sense Mana. That crow constantly releases an incredible amount of Mana."
Thomas spoke in an impressed tone. "It’s probably a legendary type of crow. Or rather, a magical crow."
"Knowing this, why didn’t you tell earlier?"
"You didn’t ask, my Lady."
Morrigan simply sighed, then gave Thomas a warning look. "From now on, if you know sothing, tell . Don’t hide anything."
Thomas nodded, smiling faintly as he said, "As you wish, my Lady."
Then, with Maria stepping back, Morrigan stood up. "We’ll discuss this later. For now, let’s go et Mr. Maxwell."
Thomas nodded and followed Morrigan and Maria as they descended the stairs. The carriage was ready. They would be there by noon.
"Let’s go," Morrigan said as the carriage started to move and they set off.
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