To the Golda Plateau (3)
011 To the Golda Plateau (3)
2022.04.23.
Gerard Millers's first impression was that of an intelligent criminal, or a loan shark from whom not a single drop of blood would spill even if stabbed.
'Maybe that's because the Szczecin County owes this bastard a fortune.'
Calix grimaced inwardly.
He suppressed the faint hostility rising within him by plastering on an even thicker smile.
"A pleasure to meet you, Young Master Calix. I am Gerard Millers, who leads a modest merchant company."
"I've heard the Millers Company isn't large, but it's rock-solid. A merchant with real savvy is always welcome."
"You're too kind."
"So what brings a thriving merchant like you to my door? You might not know this, but I hold no official position. No authority at all. If it's business, you'd be better off talking to Viscount Regent Russell."
"Haha, Szczecin County has merely been entrusted to Viscount Russell for now—it's yours in the end. Who would dare defy your decisions?"
"I'm still just one of two heirs. I'd appreciate it if you didn't overhype me."
"If anything, you're too humble, young master. It's only a matter of formal approval, but as far as I know, the succession contest is already over. My heartfelt congratulations."
Gerard lavished him with oily flattery. But the response that came back was ice-cold.
"Oh? And where'd you hear that? We haven't made any official announcement to the public yet."
At that moment, cold sweat beaded on Gerard's back as panic flickered through him.
"Hahaha... If I've inadvertently upset you, young master, I apologize. But I'm a merchant—one very capable, at that. If I didn't have this level of information network, I couldn't claim to be capable."
"Hmph! Looks like I need to tighten up our security protocols. For a lowly merchant to sniff out the county's deepest secrets in just a few days..."
Gerard was flustered. The rumors he'd heard about the eldest son of House Szczecin were twofold.
One: a 'pretty boy' so beautiful he could make even men swoon.
The other: a naive 'fool' clueless about the ways of the world.
The first rumor checked out.
It hit his 'tastes' right on the mark.
But the second? Not even close.
From their conversation, the boy was sharply cynical and clever.
'He's nothing like the rumors. Has he been hiding his true self until now? No way... An uninitiated kid who hasn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony fooling the world for over ten years? That'd mean hiding since he was five... Nah, couldn't be.'
One thought led to another, chaining endlessly.
But it didn't last long.
"This is unpleasant. You requested this meeting first. If there's no business, may I go? I'm not exactly idle, you know."
Calix was cunning and relentless.
He pressed the flustered opponent, stripping away any composure.
Now Gerard was the desperate one.
If this meeting ended like this, his plans would suffer a major setback.
He had to keep Calix hooked somehow.
He racked his brains, scraping together whatever came to mind.
"My apologies. Seeing you for the first time today, young master, your beauty far exceeded my expectations—I lost my wits."
Calix let out a hollow chuckle at the sudden compliment on his looks.
"Heh! Whether you really think so is beside the point—flattering me won't get you anywhere."
Gerard sighed in relief at the smiling Calix.
He forced a relaxed facade, slipping back into his signature oily expression.
"Haha! A joke, of course. If I'd been born a woman, I'd have fallen for you at first sight and slipped you my handkerchief in secret."
Calix's face twisted slightly. Back on Earth, he'd often been called a real man's man.
So this delicate appearance didn't sit well with him now. Compliments on his looks from others made his skin crawl.
And here was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline gazing at him with cloying eyes. In a low tone, his mood soured, Calix said,
"Enough chit-chat. Get to the point."
As the boy's brow furrowed deeply, Gerard swiftly cut to the chase.
"Ahem. The reason I asked to see you, Young Master Calix... is the massive debt the late Count Collin owed me."
Even at the mention of a massive debt, Calix merely picked at his nose.
A gesture of utter disinterest.
"Massive debt, huh... Never heard of it. You might not know, but our chief treasurer was just locked up on criminal charges."
Calix played dumb, stonewalling.
But Gerard had dealt with countless debtors as head of his company.
The world was full of deadbeats who wouldn't pay even what they owed fair and square. To a battle-hardened loan shark like him, this young heir's reaction was laughable.
"Ahem! Well, it's been five years, so you might not know."
He deliberately paused. This was always his favorite moment.
Watching the pretty boy realize the debt he couldn't handle and despair.
Observing it up close was one of his hobbies—and life's greatest pleasures.
'Finally...!'
He bowed his head to hide the ecstasy threatening to show on his face and spoke.
"Per the contract, we can demand full repayment of the principal after three years. My regrets, but please settle the full principal and interest before the end of the Month of Offerings, Imperial Year 288—two weeks from now. Total: 60,000 gold."
"Sixty—sixty thousand? And that's not silver, but gold?"
The one responding to Gerard wasn't the pretty boy, but the hulking knight.
Calix, who had seemed so frail, remained calmly impassive.
Disappointed by the unexpected reaction, Gerard smacked his lips and sank deeper into the parlor sofa.
His gaze toward them naturally turned condescending.
He took his time, drawing it out before answering Krout's question.
"That's right."
"Preposterous!"
Gerard found the burly knight, who kept butting in, annoying.
He was handsome enough, but that bear-like bulk wasn't his type.
His tone grew curt.
"We hold a promissory note stamped clearly with the seal of Szczecin County. Happy to show it anytime."
"O-Of course. We'll need to verify it soon."
Krout stammered, flustered.
Gerard watched him with an odd expression, then smirked faintly.
"But it'll be with witnesses present. Necessary procedure when a lowly merchant like me deals with nobles. Of course, you wouldn't, young master, but too many try to welch using their status. Heh heh heh."
In essence, Gerard's words meant:
'So don't even dream of causing a scene.'
Krout's face darkened sharply, the point hitting home.
"I... I see."
Meanwhile, watching his subordinate's shoulders slump with that reply, Calix was dumbfounded.
'No way he was seriously thinking of causing a scene? Steal the note, rip it up, and go down in flames? This guy's military stats are really A-rank?'
Oblivious to his lord's thoughts, Krout—realizing there was no way out—mumbled dejectedly.
"Couldn't you extend the deadline a bit?"
He'd swallowed his pride to ask, but it fell on deaf ears with a hardened loan shark like Gerard.
"My regrets, but when Count Collin passed, Szczecin County's credit plummeted. I wanted repayment a year ago, but waited out of good faith. Now it's time for you, the next count, to make it right."
Even as he spoke to Krout, Gerard couldn't tear his eyes from Calix.
The boy's feigned nonchalance was so adorably ripe for ruin.
Calix, for his part, merely inwardly scorned the greedy lowlife—despair was the last thing on his mind.
'Notifying extension denial two weeks before due date and acting generous...'
Contrary to Gerard's expectations, Calix brimmed with confidence.
"You might not know, but the county's annual revenue tops 6,000 gold. Finding a loan for 60,000 should be easy—no need to worry."
"Oh, splendid."
Gerard sneered inwardly to his heart's content.
60,000 gold wasn't pocket change for someone without power backing.
It meant no one would lend to this brat while his own backers pulled strings.
Soon, the county would be his.
Sure, the hyenas would devour most, leaving baron-level scraps—but still.
A noble inheritance, no less.
His lifelong wish was nearly fulfilled.
This naive heir was just clueless prey, ignorant of the world's dangers.
'In three months, I'll savor a noble groveling to a lowly merchant. Pretty face—sell him at the slave market? No, educate him first for some fun...'
A screaming noble-born pretty boy? His legs tingled with blissful fantasy.
"Thank you, young master. Best of luck."
Gerard bowed politely, a lecherous smile creeping across his face.
But Calix, looking down at him, had gone cold as ice.
After Gerard left the parlor, Krout paced the room, muttering.
"60,000—sixty thousand gold coins... My pay's two silver a week... Fifty-three weeks a year..."
"Stop straining that weak brain of yours and sit down. You're making me dizzy."
Krout was baffled by Calix's utter calm—did his lord not grasp the gravity?
"Aren't you worried at all, young master? We could lose the whole county!"
Even at his desperate plea, Calix tossed an off-topic question.
"By the way, were you seriously planning to cause a scene earlier? Snatch the note, tear it up, self-destruct or something?"
Krout replied to his lord's query with grim resolve.
"If bearing the disgrace could save the county, I'd be ready anytime."
Calix sighed.
"Sigh. Read more books. Please."
"Huh? Young master! Where are you going? Young master!"
Ignoring Krout's frantic calls, Calix strolled the inner castle gardens.
Gidrus's secret vault on the Golda Plateau came to mind.
'Golda Plateau... Check the marker there, and his secret vault seems to be that ruin? Hmm, so if I just get there, no big issues... The problem's a guide?'
On the Eren Continent, beyond the castle walls wasn't some casual picnic spot.
Plus, the Golda Plateau was high-difficulty territory.
Full of tricky monsters like sasquatches—it was a place he'd avoided in the game when possible.
'Need a guide who knows the Golda Plateau well... Hm?'
Before he knew it, he'd arrived at a small annex in the inner castle.
Originally the chief treasurer's quarters, now Laila's confinement spot.
'Heh, maybe even a cowardly assassin has her uses.'