Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Is This a Saintess? (3)
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"I'll go out."
At that, Cynthia hurriedly grabbed my arm.
"Ah, no...!"
She shook her head frantically, her face filled with fear.
"He's a scary person...!"
"...A loan shark?"
Cynthia nodded.
"How did you end up borrowing from a loan shark?"
"I-I've never borrowed... But still... they just barge in..."
I see.
I could guess the rough story.
"Understood."
I took hold of Cynthia's hand as she clung to me.
"No, he's really dangerous!"
"We can't just leave it like this."
The loan shark was still causing a commotion at the entrance.
He probably knew this was the duke's residence and was doing it on purpose.
Modern nobles lived and died by their reputation. He figured they'd pay up just to sweep the dirt under the rug.
As for the backlash from angering the duke's family, he planned to slink back into the city's shadows.
In truth, tracking down an ordinary noble would be no easy feat.
Medieval evils were hard to suppress—like armies plundering villages or bandit gangs infesting regions.
But modern evils were hard to catch—like pickpockets vanishing into night alleys or con artists hiding in slums.
"I-I'll go."
Cynthia said it with a face on the verge of tears.
"If I go... he'll leave."
"Miss Cynthia."
Indeed, she had the makings of one.
But for now, I firmly pried her hand away and spoke.
"Leave this to me."
As I came down to the first floor, the loan shark causing the ruckus had come right inside and was eyeing a painting on the wall.
"Hmm? How much would this fetch if I sold it?"
The loan shark was a wolfkin male with silver-gray fur and a tail.
In fact, most loan sharks were beastkin.
The Heavenly God Church's doctrine strictly forbade charging interest on loans, though new interpretations and reforms within the church were gradually softening that stance.
Beastkin, however, weren't followers of the Heavenly God Church to begin with, so they faced no religious pressure on the matter.
That said.
"Hey, aren't you Jesper?"
An familiar face?
"Who the hell's calling my name so casually—Guhk!?"
Sure enough, it was a guy I knew.
Jesper straightened up the moment he saw me.
"J-Jarvis bro? What're you doing here?"
"That's my line, you punk."
He backed away hesitantly, but before he could bolt, I grabbed him by the scruff and locked him in a headlock.
"Aaaagh! Bro, you're killing me!"
"Last time I saw you, didn't you swear you'd stick to honest work? And now you're playing loan shark?"
"Ack! Bro, my neck's gonna snap—It's just helping out a friend of a beastkin bro who's short on hands!"
"Not your own business?"
"C'mon, a loser like me doesn't have the guts for moneylending!"
Fair enough.
Starting a loan shark operation required massive capital. Money itself was the product being lent out.
No way this guy—who'd just left the orphanage and been scraping by as a lowlife thug—had that kind of startup cash.
"Does Emily know you're doing this crap?"
"Gasp...!"
If his blood weren't rushing to his head from the headlock, his face would've gone ghost-white.
"S-Spare me, bro! If this gets to Emily, I'm dead for real...!"
"Damn it, she went through all the trouble of beating some sense into you..."
"Have mercy! I swear I've avoided the really shady collections! Kek... kek..."
"...Sigh."
I loosened the headlock a bit.
"Hey, Jesper."
"Y-Yes, bro...?"
"So that 'beastkin bro's friend' is a legit shady loan shark, right?"
"...Yes, bro."
"What's his name."
"Name's Patrick, a pigkin. He's running District 8 in D-6 right now."
"And the friend who dragged you into this?"
"...A pigkin named Yanson."
"Partners?"
"Yeah."
I released the headlock and smacked Jesper on the back.
"Eek...! Kek... kek..."
"You two gotten hitched yet?"
"Kekhekhek... Actually, that's why..."
"Helping loan sharks to buy her a gem ring?"
"..."
Another smack.
"Ow!"
"You idiot. With Emily's temper, you think she'd be happy with a ring bought like that?"
"...No."
"How much you made so far?"
"300 imperial thalers."
"You got it on you?"
"Yes...?"
"Hand it over."
"Aw, bro—"
"Shut up and empty your pockets."
Jesper pulled out his grimy wallet.
I took out all the silver coins, then swapped them for a slightly larger amount from my own wallet.
"Bro...!"
"Buy the ring with clean money—a gift, not dirty cash. Got it?"
"Bro!!"
Jesper slammed his forehead to the floor and started sobbing.
"Quiet down, you punk. And stay out of the capital with Emily for at least half a year. Your hometown sounds good."
"You gonna flip 'em over? Like last time!?"
Flip them over? Who'd misunderstand that?
"Say hi to Emily for me."
"Yes, sir!"
I escorted Jesper out, and when I came back in, Tiona and Cynthia were staring down from the staircase.
"Sorry for the delay. I'll prepare afternoon tea now."
"..."
"..."
The rest of the day passed relatively quietly.
We enjoyed afternoon tea, had study time, read her some poetry after dinner, then bedtime.
One thing different from usual: assigning Cynthia a room.
"This way, please."
I led her to the empty room across from Tiona's.
The maids had cleaned it spotless, and Cynthia's scant belongings were neatly arranged in one corner.
"Feel free to rearrange the furniture, change the curtains, whatever you like."
"Thank you..."
I waited a moment. Ready to grant any request.
But Cynthia brought up something else.
"Um... thank you so much for helping earlier."
She bowed deeply.
"It wasn't even a real debt—it was extortion, and I should've handled it properly... But I'm such a coward, I ended up troubling you, sir..."
"A coward, huh..."
Exactly.
This girl had potential.
"Miss Cynthia, you definitely have courage."
"Y-Yes...?"
She looked at me, face saying what on earth?
"You grabbed me earlier and told me not to go out, right?"
"Well... I was worried you'd get hurt because of me..."
"That's exactly it."
I explained her own quality—one she didn't even realize she had.
"You had no idea if I could take him on. Even so, maybe if I'd gone out, I could've helped you somehow."
I gestured around. The house itself.
Velvet wallpaper without a care, gold-rimmed teacups.
"If you were scared, you must've wanted to borrow the duke's authority somehow. Prayed for a miracle. Maybe even imagined me stepping out and telling him to scram in the duke's name."
Cynthia's face flushed red. Nailed it.
"But you stopped me. Not for yourself—for fear I'd get hurt."
That's precisely why she was remarkable.
"You chose a path where you thought you would get hurt, for someone else's sake."
A courage she didn't even know she had.
"Miss Cynthia, courage isn't the absence of fear. That's just stupidity—a brain-damaged patient, literally."
A great shard of emotion she wasn't aware of.
"True courage is doing what must be done, even when afraid."
And you'd shown exactly that courage.
So don't be ashamed.
"Sir..."
Cynthia murmured blankly, as if she didn't know what to say.
"It's fine. Some words can only be found after resting and thinking slowly. For now, get some rest."
I lit the bedside lamp and stepped out.
"Breakfast is at 8 a.m. every day. Good night."
"G-Good night...!"
Good.
With the two ladies of the house tucked in.
'Patrick running District 8 in D-6, and his partner Yanson.'
Jesper and Emily were probably already out of the capital by now.
I didn't need to check.
Obvious as day.
Jesper goes home, sharp Emily senses something's up, grills him, and he spills everything from start to finish.
Then she smacks his back and packs their bags on the spot.
'When a rabbitkin and wolfkin pair up, folks usually worry about the latter.'
Should check on Emily next time, see if she's doing well.
Anyway.
Time to head out into the night, so I changed clothes. Something thicker, better insulated.
'Black's a bit much...'
I grabbed a long wooden staff that could double as a walking stick.
Perfect for pig herding.