Beast's Paradise! (5)
After jotting down the crimes those bastards confessed to, I let everyone inside the building go and called the soldiers. Luckily, aside from the bar, there were only the rooms used for prostitution, so there weren't many people. The bar staff were just the women tangled up in the loan sharking—no one else. It seemed like they'd been running the bar using those women caught in their debt scheme... Those fuckers. How the hell do you even manage a bar like that... Anyway, after reporting it all to the Lord's Castle, a few days later, the lord—who looked even skinnier than before—welcomed me overly warmly and let out a deep sigh.
"Truly... I can't thank you and Saintess enough. Haah..."
He must've been really shocked. His appearance was a total mess.
"I never imagined Baron Brandy was tangled up in something like this... One wrong move, and it could've been seen as all of Radia's nobles hiding criminals. It wouldn't have been strange at all. Thank you so much."
"Haha. I had my own beef with those guys, so no big deal."
Even though I said it was fine, seeing the lord keep bowing his head made it clear it had been a razor-close situation for him as a lord.
"We arrested Baron Brandy immediately and sent him, his family, and those criminals to the Royal Capital... Haah. I have no defense if they call me an unfit lord. To think I didn't know about something like this..."
"...Baron Brandy was in charge of all of Radia's entertainment businesses, right? Doesn't the lord have oversight on that?"
"Hm? Ah, you wouldn't know. The nobles in each city have permitting rights over specific business sectors there and take a cut of the taxes from those businesses. In Baron Brandy's case, he got 15% of the profits from entertainment permits and taxes."
Whoa. 15% of taxes just for sitting there? And the nobles issue the business permits? No wonder they're nobles. Plus, it's a perfect setup for backroom bribes.
"The lord oversees the city overall, but can't meddle much in the business sectors held by the city's nobles. We can adjust rates, reorganize, or investigate crimes, but unless we catch a trail like this time, even the lord can't know if they're secretly hiding criminals."
With that, the lord sighed again.
"Lately, there've been so many monster and dungeon incidents around the city that I was focused on those... I never dreamed something like this would happen... Hoo... I can't even face His Majesty the King..."
As if trying to catch his breath, the lord took a sip of tea, closed his eyes for a moment, then composed himself and spoke to me again.
"Radia's nobles plan to thoroughly investigate if there are any other cases like Baron Brandy's this time. Please convey my deepest apologies to the Saintess for causing her worry."
"Got it."
Saintess power is no joke. The lord's tiptoeing around her like that. I thought about bringing her along but let it go since he said he'd soothe the staff. Should've dragged her here anyway?
"...I should thank you properly too... Hmm..."
The lord stroked his chin for a bit, then started pondering deeply. Yeah, yeah. That's why I came today. Come on, toss me some decent reward.
"...You said you were going to adventure with the Saintess, right?"
"Yes. That's the plan."
"And she appointed you as the Saintess's Guardian?"
"Yeah."
"And you're running your own guild now... You got a reward from His Majesty in the Royal Capital... Hm, hm..."
After mulling it over, the lord made a sound like "mm" and offered me not a reward, but a proposal.
"How about starting a business?"
"...A business, you say?"
"If you're interested, I'd like to hand over the building and business rights confiscated from those criminals."
A building! Business rights! Wait... am I becoming a landlord?
But the surrounding area's kinda iffy, so it's not that tempting...
"Actually, that southern area of Radia where those criminals were holed up is quite a headache for me as lord."
Reading my expression, the lord began explaining slowly.
"Radia's a big city, so income gaps between citizens are inevitable, even for a lord. That area's where the poorer folks gather. Not as bad as right by the southern walls, of course."
Yeah, the gloomy vibe fit that.
"I've tried all sorts of improvements, but no real effect... It's truly regrettable."
What... With hundreds of thousands in Radia, you think it'll fix easy?
"If you're planning to grow your guild big, you'll need a base, right? And a stable income source."
Hm... Stable income does sound appealing, at least.
"So, how about taking over that building and bar as-is and running it? ...If you can, keep an eye on security and hiring around there too."
For some reason, the lord's eyes sparkled with expectation as he said it.
"Heh... The lord's sharper than I thought. Pretending it's a reward while dumping work on me."
"Yeah. But it seemed pretty good, so I said yes."
On the top floor—the empty 8th—of the building, Lizbet and Klea nodded with satisfied looks as they looked around the spacious room. I was worried about the location turning them off, but they both seemed to like it. Phew.
"You did well, Master. Even if the lord said that, it's just relatively worse than other spots—not actually bad."
Klea, inspecting the walls, said that to reassure me.
Yeah, true. The entertainment district vibe is off-putting, but it's still in Radia, so no real problems. At worst, some drunks at night... Lianna could come buy adult toys alone, after all.
Actually, walking around in daylight, it didn't feel that different from the inn district where adventurers' lodgings cluster.
So, this is basically a free building? Puhuhu. Damn, me—a landlord! It's a bar and adult shop, but still, I'm the boss!
"Heh. That's why I took it. Getting a building and business rights ain't everyday. Even if it's a bar and sex shop."
"Yeah. Considering the location, it'd cost over 1,000 gold coins easy."
Gasp... Harsher than I thought. Over 1,000 gold? Well, 8 floors plus management rights... yeah, maybe.
"Might as well use one floor as our home. We can decorate however, right?"
"Better to knock down walls and take the whole floor. Luckily the building's sturdy, so if we demo here and here..."
The two were already discussing renovations like it was decided.
Our house here... 8th floor connects to the roof too. Wait, penthouse? Not super high, but rooftop level—deck it out and it could pass for one. Suddenly fulfilling my dream of living in a penthouse. Scored big time.
"But... what about the staff, Master?"
"Oh, the staff's debt is cleared. After stripping out that insane interest those bastards tacked on, the principal was peanuts. I paid it off while I was at the Lord's Castle."
I thought it'd just vanish, but there were official loan records, so it wasn't that simple. Good thing the crazy rates were gone, leaving just principal... Total for all of them barely topped 10 gold. I covered it on the spot.
Insane, holding people over that... Thug bastards. Should've beaten 'em more.
"Since it's like this, how about keeping them on? No prostitution or rough stuff—just normal pay."
From what they said, instead of hiking interest, the criminals paid them just enough to scrape by, slowly paying down debt. Even debt-free, they'd struggle. Better to pay properly and keep 'em. They got experience running the place.
"Perfect. I already had them prepare, actually."
"Huh? Prepare? For what?"
"Hehe...♡ Let's go down, Master♡"
Lizbet and Klea grabbed my arms with sly smiles, leading me. On the 2nd-floor bar they took me to...
...a truly bewildering sight awaited me.