Chapter 14: Collecting Unpaid Debts (2)
The sun blazed in the clear midday sky, deep inside a silent, desolate forest.
Swoooosh!
A waterfall cascaded refreshingly down as birds chirped, completing a picturesque scene where a solitary cabin stood still.
At the center of that house, a middle-aged man with a face resembling a toad sat in a rocking chair, gulping down alcohol.
“Keeeh… This is great, really great. The air is good, the scenery is good.”
The man’s na was Vinter.
Until a few months ago, he had been the owner of the Vinter rchant Guild, the main trading partner of the Daphne Viscounty.
He wore a blissful smile as he gazed out the window.
“If I’d known it’d be like this, I’d have switched allegiances much sooner.”
Recently, he had accepted an offer from the Calpion Viscounty and joined in a certain sche.
It would take too long to explain in detail, so to put it simply… it was about crushing the Daphne Viscounty, the main client of the Vinter rchant Guild.
It was the sort of thing that ought to prick his conscience—betraying a lifelong custor—but the reward was simply too sweet to pass up.
“Keeeh. From now on, I’ve got nothing ahead but success.”
He had secured a promise of a lifeti appointnt as an administrator in the Calpion Viscounty’s main estate.
As long as he completed this job properly, he could spend the rest of his days enjoying power and flaunting his status.
“The pathetic past… it’s over now.”
How many years had he wasted in misery, groveling with those Daphne bastards?
He couldn’t make any money, which stressed him out; the stress made his hair fall out; losing hair ant he couldn’t even get married…
But if he could just beco an administrator?
“It’d all be solved.”
…After all, won were always weak for n who worked a pen.
Nothing seed difficult anymore.
He just needed to hide out here, keep his head down for a few months without getting caught by those Daphne bastards, and it would be over.
According to the man who periodically brought him supplies, the Daphne lot hadn’t the faintest clue.
Well, of course.
During his disappearance, the Calpion Viscounty erased every trace of him.
Vinter let out a hearty laugh.
“Ohohohoho! This really is like swimming with your feet on the ground!”
All I have to do is drink here and enjoy the view while raking in the honey!
Just then.
“Hmm? Did I finish it all?”
When Vinter tipped the bottle over, only a few drops fell out.
“Tch, mood killer.”
He got up and tore open a few crates stacked in the corner, but every single one was empty bottles.
“Bah, whatever. They’ll co soon enough.”
Every ten days, the Calpion people brought supplies regularly, so the alcohol would be restocked before long.
“Maybe I’ll take a nap…”
Vinter scratched his belly as he started to lie down.
Knock knock knock!
Soone knocked on the cabin door.
“Keeeh, they say even a lion appears when you speak of it.”
Vinter’s face lit up as he spoke.
“Who’s there?”
“I’ve brought the supplies.”
Tap tap.
Vinter stepped lightly over and flung the door wide open.
“Why’d you co so early this ti—huh…?”
And there… two unexpected figures were standing.
The one in front was Hardin Daphne, the Eldest Young Master of the Daphne Viscounty.
“Gadolph, this is Vinter, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
Next to Hardin, who wore a sly smile, Gadolph, his attendant, nodded.
“W-what the hell! Damn it!”
Thud!
Startled, Vinter slamd the door shut and tried to steady his breath.
‘What…? Why, why is that bastard here?’
Sweat beaded on Vinter’s forehead at the sudden crisis, and his face turned deathly pale.
Hardin knocked on the door again.
Knock knock knock!
“Open the door.”
“…J-just a mont!”
What should I do? Should I jump out the window?
But then where would I go? Calpion?
Or maybe…
As Vinter’s eyes darted around in panic,
Craaaack!
“Hiiiiiik!”
A fist smashed through the door, punching into the room.
“Trying to run?”
N-no! I can’t get caught now!
If I’m caught… What about the administrator post? My marriage?
Vinter trembled all over, then bolted straight toward the window.
Creak!
He flung it open and was about to leap out when—
Wham!
“Aaaagh!”
The door, torn off behind him, flew into his back, slamming him to the floor.
“Argh! It hurts!”
Collapsed on the ground, Vinter writhed in agony, screaming. Hardin approached and spoke coldly.
“You bastard. Trying to run off after pocketing money.”
“Just thinking about all the shit I went through because of him makes tremble with rage.”
“Yeah, it was filthy hard work.”
As annoyance and fury mingled on Hardin and Gadolph’s faces, Vinter quickly dropped to his knees.
“T-that is… I wasn’t trying to steal—”
“Don’t give that shit. Anyone can see that you planned to bolt.”
At the unyielding, knife-like tone that didn’t allow even a chance to explain, Vinter looked up as if he’d seen a ghost and asked in a quivering voice.
“…H-how did you even find this place?”
Calpion was supposed to have erased all traces.
Surely there shouldn’t have been any way for the Daphne bastards to track him down… so how on earth did this bastard—
Vinter’s eyes filled with disbelief.
Hardin gave him a faint smile and answered curtly.
“Trade secret.”
“…What?”
“You think I’m going to tell you that?”
“….”
What kind of nonsense…
As Vinter flapped his lips wordlessly, too shocked to speak, Hardin turned his head aside and said.
“Gadolph.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Tie him up.”
“Yes, sir!”
Gadolph snapped a salute, then deftly pulled out a rope and began binding Vinter’s hands and feet tight.
“Aaaagh! It hurts! Aagh! Take it easy—”
“Shut it, you bastard. Acting like you’re innocent, you damn—”
Each ti Vinter struggled, Gadolph smashed a fist into the top of his skull.
‘Good, good. He’s learned very well.’
Hardin nodded in satisfaction, a pleased smile on his lips.
A little while later.
“Uuuuuuh…”
Vinter, tied up with rope, knelt on the floor, tears streaming down his face.
His eyes were swollen shut, and lumps had sprouted all over his scalp—an impressive sight.
Then Hardin squatted down in front of him, grinning broadly as he asked.
“Hey, where’s the money?”
“Money? What…?”
“The 300,000 gold you embezzled—where is it?”
“I-it’s… it’s in that crate over there…”
Hardin began opening the crates piled in the corner one by one.
Empty bottles, rations, chivalric novels, and so on.
They were all items that made it painfully obvious he planned to hole up here for good.
And then—
“Found it.”
When he opened the fourth or fifth crate, two promissory notes worth 100,000 gold each and a chest filled with gold coins appeared.
It was undoubtedly the money he had borrowed from Calpion.
‘Good, good.’
Hardin couldn’t hold back the smile that slipped from his lips as he began gathering the items from the chest.
Then Vinter spoke up with a thoroughly aggrieved expression.
“S-sorry, but that money is still legally mine. If you take that without proper—”
At that, Hardin jerked his chin.
“Gadolph.”
“Yes!”
Gadolph snapped a salute.
Thud! Thump-thump-thump!
“Aagh! Aaaaagh!”
He started beating Vinter without rcy.
A mont later, Hardin squatted down in front of Vinter, who now lay sprawled on the floor, his eyes swollen and puffy.
“You bastard. This isn’t yours anymore.”
“I-it is, though? The Daphne lot were only my guarantors. The ownership of the money—”
“We paid off all your debts on your behalf. So now it’s our money.”
“W-what? What are you saying? Paid it off? Daphne did?”
“That’s right.”
How could that be? The Daphne lot paid it off? That enormous sum?
Vinter’s eyes brimd with disbelief, and Hardin spoke as he t the gaze.
“What, you think we can’t pay debts?”
“N-no, that’s not what I ant.”
“Enough. Just know that’s how it is.”
Looks like I’ve taken everything worth taking. Maybe I should… head out now.
Hardin dusted off his clothes and was about to leave when—
“Hmm?”
Thud!
One crate, sitting just out of his sight, bumped lightly against his foot.
It had a lock on it and looked suspicious at a glance.
“What’s this, then?”
As Hardin tilted his head, eyeing it, Vinter’s eyes flew wide open and he shrieked.
“D-don’t touch that! You’ve already taken the money! That’s my personal property!”
“Oh, really? Well… I suppose.”
Hardin stared intently and jerked his chin again. Gadolph grinned broadly.
“You bastard, if the Young Master wants to check, he checks!”
Thunk!
“Ugh!”
He cracked Vinter on the top of the head again.
“This is fine, right, Young Master?”
“…You didn’t really need to hit him, though.”
“Co on now, better to be thorough.”
That guy… he’s surprisingly rough around the edges.
Hardin shook his head with a sigh.
‘Well, let’s have a look.’
While Gadolph pinned Vinter down—
Clack!
Hardin pulled out two lockpicks from inside his coat and quickly inserted them into the lock.
Click, clack, clunk!
It took less than ten seconds for the lock to open.
“N-no, don’t!”
“I will.”
Leaving the struggling Vinter behind, Hardin opened the crate.
“Hmmm…”
Inside, it wasn’t treasure or money.
It was bundles upon bundles of parchnt stacked neatly.
As Hardin lifted one in his hand, he thought—
‘…Ledgers?’
Why was he treating these like sacred relics…
Rustle! Rustle-rustle!
As Hardin flipped rapidly through them, Vinter cried out.
“I told you, those are just personal papers!”
How many pages had he turned by then?
Flip!
From between the bundles, a single sheet of parchnt slipped out.
“What’s this…”
Hardin picked it up, and Vinter shrieked like he was having a seizure.
“I-it’s nothing important! Don’t read that!”
You think telling not to read it is going to stop ?
Ignoring the screaming Vinter, Hardin began to read.
[Contract]
[Vinter Pello, Master of the Vinter rchant Guild, and the Calpion Viscounty, before God Faeron, enter into the following agreent. The detailed terms of this contract are as follows…]
‘What the hell is this?’
The contents were simple.
If Vinter Pello carried out the Calpion Viscounty’s request, they would hire him as an administrator.
And the date of the contract was…
‘…Right before he disappeared.’
This stank—stank to high heaven.
Hardin pressed his fingers firmly into his forehead and muttered.
“Hey, you. This whole thing—you set it up with the Calpion bastards, didn’t you?”
“Wh-what? Wh-what are you talking about?”
Vinter feigned ignorance, trying desperately to hide his wavering gaze.
But even then, his teeth clattered together, and his pupils quivered.
Hardin’s expression turned stone cold.
Screeech.
He drew the sword at his hip and held it to Vinter’s throat.
“Hiiiiiik! Wh-why are you doing this…”
“If you don’t want to die, you better tell everything. I already know the truth.”
Slick.
The blade’s tip grazed Vinter’s neck, and bright red drops of blood began to drip down.
‘It was obvious.’
He’d suspected it from the mont Donfel himself had shown up to pull that little stunt.
The situation, the timing—it all lined up too neatly.
When sothing like this happened, nine tis out of ten, it was because soone orchestrated it.
“Wh-what do you want to say! I really don’t know anything! I swear!”
“Gadolph, step aside.”
“B-but…”
“If you don’t, you’re getting sliced with him.”
“…What?”
As Hardin raised the sword, Gadolph turned pale and quickly backed away.
Vwoooom!
At that mont, the sword swung down with a fierce whoosh.
“I-it’s true!”
Thunk!
Vinter squeezed his eyes shut and scread. The blade stopped right above his head.
“What’s true? Speak precisely.”
“C-Calpion… they said… if I took part in this, they’d hire as an administrator! That’s why… why I made Daphne the guarantor and disappeared!”
Grit.
Hardin clenched his teeth hard.
“So that’s it…”
For a petty rchant, he’d covered his tracks far too cleanly.
But if an entire noble house had helped him—
It finally made sense.
‘Calpion.’
They’d used the promise of an administrator’s seat as bait to make this rat stab us in the back.
Between what Donfel pulled and this whole situation, every piece clicked perfectly into place.
Most likely, their real target was…
‘The territory itself.’
People who already lived in luxury wouldn’t go this far just to steal a bit of gold.
No, this reeked of an intent to swallow up the whole domain.
But—
‘Why our domain, of all places?’
Fine, so they set this up. But why us?
We don’t have any special local products, no valuable minerals…
No strategic advantages or any real profit to be had.
Hardin tilted his head slightly and asked.
“Hey, Vinter.”
“Y-yes…?”
“Why do those Calpion bastards want our land?”
“…The land?”
“They’re aiming for our territory, aren’t they? Or am I wrong?”
“I… I wasn’t told anything about that.”
“You think I’m just going to let that be the end of it?”
Hardin gave a small smile as he lifted his sword again.
“Hiiiiiik! I’m sorry! But I really don’t know!”
“Then I’ll just finish this right here. Slice.”
“N-no, please don’t!”
“I will.”
‘I—I’m going to die! This is really the end!’
Cold sweat poured down Vinter’s face as he desperately wracked his brain.
As Hardin waved the sword back and forth like he’d spill blood any second, Vinter suddenly widened his eyes as if he’d rembered sothing and shouted frantically.
“T-they… Calpion said sothing strange!”
“Sothing strange? Like what?”
“Th-they told when we were making the deal that Daphne was destined to fall anyway, so I should just cooperate obediently!”
“Destined to fall?”
“Yes, that even if they didn’t use thods like this, Daphne would end up theirs in the end. So I shouldn’t waste energy resisting and should switch allegiances in advance!”
“You’re not lying?”
“No! It’s true! I… I only went along with it because I was trying to survive…”
…What in the world do they know?
Hardin fell silent for a mont, considering, then nodded slowly.
‘A territorial war.’
He didn’t know the reason, but those bastards wanted Daphne’s land.
And the final asure they’d resort to was surely a territorial war.
But… if things escalated to that point, it would cost a fortune and make the political situation complicated in countless ways.
‘Before that, they must have tried to set up a sche with this Vinter bastard.’
Donfel showing up personally was likely part of that sa plan.
At any rate, one thing was now certain.
‘Those Calpion bastards aren’t going to give up.’
Hardin pressed his forehead with his palm and let out a long sigh.
Slick.
He sheathed his sword again, then tossed the contract and the money to Gadolph.
“Pack it up, Gadolph. We’re going back right away.”
“Ah, yes! Understood!”
He’d expected it, but now that he realized he truly had to prepare for all of this…
‘This is turning into such a damn hassle.’
Annoyance crept across Hardin’s face.
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