Who Does That Business? (2)
There’s a way to make money that’s actually the easiest.
Just exploit the naivety of other people.
It doesn’t have to be some grand scam. There are endless methods within the legal framework, in those clever little gaps where the law can’t reach. Taking blind money under the pretext of investment, squeezing blood from monopoly contracts that sound completely absurd.
Yeah.
Skirting the rules.
If you use that sweet temptation, reaching economic freedom will be way easier. Honestly, you’re dealing with primitive medieval types here. With my knowledge and magic, I could rip them limb from limb.
But I swore I wouldn’t.
I already knew I could succeed without any of that shortcut nonsense, and above all, I just didn’t want to.
‘…I don’t want to live that disgustingly.’
In my previous life, I was one of those naive people.
During university, I studied harder than anyone else, but some classmate who just partied all day got way better grades. Turned out it was thanks to the test paper guide handed over by a senior I met at a drinking party.
Honest effort and you became the fool; the guy who just glanced at the shortcuts sailed through. The injustice of it.
Same thing in the army. I did every assigned task dutifully, but the officers kept glaring at me like I’d personally offended them. Later I found out the guy right above me had been playing politics; everything I did right was credited to him, and every screw-up he made was called mine.
And in my job, in society, it was always the same. People everywhere trying to cut corners, and they always laughed at those who actually tried hard.
Anyone who’s been on the receiving end knows.
How it turns you bitter.
How it eats away at your soul.
So I swore.
I would never live like them.
Of course, even that vow had one problem: just being nice to everyone yourself won’t change the world. There will always be people like that, just like here.
But there was a crystal-clear solution to that problem too.
‘…I’ll hunt every single one of them down.’
Find every last person doing those shady tricks and crush them.
In my old life, that would have been impossible. I didn’t have the ability or the reach for it. But now? I do.
So there was no reason not to.
Right here.
—Kwaaang!
I shoved the top door open with a bang. The guards and staff jumped in surprise, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t slacked off on my magic studies enough to get caught in a place like this.
“What the hell are you doing here—?!”
“Eh, eh…?”
The guards reached out with ugly hands, trying to grab me, but they couldn’t touch a single strand of my fur. The invisible magic barrier around me sent them flying.
I didn’t stop there. I pulled out my staff—the one I hadn’t used in ages. I poured in mana until it swirled visibly at the tip.
—Hweeeing!
The jet-black mana flowed in a vicious circle, turning the first-floor lobby into absolute chaos in an instant.
“Eh, eh eh eh eh…?”
“S-s-stop!”
Everyone gawked and stumbled back. I glanced at them for a moment, then aimed the staff straight at the building’s central pillar instead of them. They hadn’t done anything wrong anyway.
“Tell the manager to come here.”
“…Yes?”
“If you don’t want to see this disgusting sight—”
“Eh, eh eh…”
I’d give you exactly thirty seconds.
If you don’t come down… then what?
***
—Hrrrp.
“…How do you find the tea?”
On the third floor of the tower building. I sat on the fancy manager’s couch and sipped the tea the tower lord had offered. He stared at me with awkward eyes. He looked almost pathetic.
—Hrrrp.
“The tea’s all the same, you know.”
“…Yes, yes, of course. Haha…”
The chubby tower lord chuckled awkwardly, sneaking glances at me before finally moving on to the real topic with careful caution.
“So, Mister Mage, what brings you all the way here? Our tower does honest business… but…”
It seemed like he thought I had the wrong impression.
We are truly honest tower!
The tower lord puffed out his chest like a victim of injustice, but the way he was acting told me this was no ordinary merchant. He had to be really good at acting to pull it off.
I let him play out the act for a second, then reached into my pocket and pulled out a copy of the contract I’d gotten from Karif.
“Isn’t this your contract?”
“…It looks like it.”
“But you’re still acting all high and mighty?”
“Huh? What are you talking about…?”
Even after the evidence was right in front of him, he kept playing dumb. Watching that shameless performance, I finally decided to show my magic.
—Hwaaarrk!
“The contract has a magic reagent hidden in it. It changes the wording over time, right?”
Their method was stupidly simple.
They’d hidden a poison clause inside the magic reagent. When enough time passed, the words would flow out like silk.
Since it was just one tiny clause, even if it came out later, the other party would have no choice but to blame their own carelessness. It was too insignificant, and even the contract copy had been tampered with.
“Only the easy marks would fall for that.”
And of course they wouldn’t try it on anyone actually dangerous. Mercenaries without a guild. Mercenaries who couldn’t read well. Mercenaries with almost no magic knowledge.
They’d only picked on the ones who had nowhere to complain. Once I exposed their whole method, the guy finally broke.
“How many times have you done this?”
“Haha… this…”
The tower lord stopped pretending. It looked like he’d finally realized his pathetic act was useless. Instead he pulled a small box from under the desk and slid it over to me.
—Kkiik.
Inside was a small gold ingot that gleamed with a yellow light. Judging by the purity, it was worth at least fifty gold coins.
“…Is this enough?”
The tower lord asked gently. He’d obviously chosen bribery. Pay up and shut your mouth. Even if I accepted, I’d still have a decent margin left.
But I shook my head.
“I don’t want it.”
“…If the amount’s not enough—”
“No, it’s not that.”
“…Then what exactly are you asking for?”
Money doesn’t matter no matter how much I offer. I don’t want to earn it this way. Instead, what I want is simple.
“Confess. Go get punished, go to prison, repay every forfeit you took.”
“…”
Principle.
Law and order.
A system that was already in place.
Step inside and receive the punishment.
It’s that simple, right? It’s common sense.
But apparently my common sense and the tower lord’s common sense were oceans apart. When I said that, the entire room went deathly quiet and his face twisted into something ugly.
“…Hah, you bastard.”
And only then did the mask he’d been wearing finally drop. The pathetic politeness vanished; he started muttering angry curses.
“Fucking idiot doesn’t know what ‘moderation’ means. Moderation.”
“…”
The tower lord called over another staff member for a quick check, then switched back to his arrogant expression and looked down at me. He glanced at the paper in the staff member’s hand and spoke.
“Name: Kyle. Commoner. Age: twenty. Arrived here about two months ago. Currently staying and working at the Levina Inn…”
It looked like he’d finished my background check in record time.
As he went through each point, he sneered.
“…Hah, you’re a laughingstock.”
“…”
“Some peasant kid learning magic from where? A nobody like you… I thought maybe you were some noble’s second son.”
As if he already knew everything, the tower lord leaned back on the couch casually. He looked like he had no more problems to worry about. A staff member ran over and whispered something in his ear. When he heard it, the corner of his mouth curled up.
“You don’t even know who I am, do you? Or who’s behind my tower?”
That was when—clack, clack—sounds of heavy iron boots echoed from the first floor of the inn, growing louder as they climbed the stairs.
The door swung open. Soldiers in silver plate armor marched into the office.
—Chwarararack!
They kicked the door wide, raised their halberds, and formed a circle around me. These were the official garrison soldiers of the Estel Countship that owned Raman City.
“I don’t know how good you are at magic, but you’d better behave yourself in front of these people. Any resistance and it’s automatic imperial law violation.”
The guards stepped forward with ugly faces, looking ready to bind me and drag me away. It looked like a normal arrest, but I had seen the silent exchange between the tower lord and the man who entered.
‘…They bribed the guards too.’
If I got taken like this, it would be over.
The trial would never be fair, and even if someone knew about my grievance, they’d probably stay silent out of blackmail or money.
Ah, of course…
“Well, everyone called me? I called one too… but when are they coming? Oh, there they are.”
Of course, that was only if I actually got arrested.
“…What? Who?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
—Hrrrp.
I took another sip of tea and looked toward the door.
Right on cue, light footsteps sounded from the first floor of the inn. They had none of the rough clatter of the guards’ boots. They were cheerful.
A moment later.
The moment the owner of those footsteps reached the third floor, everyone’s faces turned pale. Some stumbled back with a clatter, others stared in disbelief.
“H-heh…!”
“E-Erin…?”
The eldest daughter of the Estel Countship that owned Raman City. Florin de Estel. She swept into the room in a light, cheerful dress and scanned the surroundings.
Then she spotted me and smiled brightly.
“Kyle, long time no see?”
It had been ages since we met as academy classmates.