Such a Future
Such a Future
"Jerad, what is this?"
Jerad took an item from his pocket and placed it in the hand of the man in front of him.
The item, small enough to be taken directly from his pocket, looked quite intricate, suggesting a high price at first glance.
And, naturally, such intricacy meant it couldn't be handled carelessly.
That's because the item's true identity was—
"It's a Video Magic Tool."
"Wha—what?!"
The Thug-like Man was startled by Jerad's words.
He felt a dizzying fear at the thought of accidentally dropping the item in his hand.
A Video Magic Tool was treated entirely differently from other Magic Tools.
Even though its only function was to record for a few tens of minutes, the Magic Circle and materials required for it could easily exceed hundreds of Gold.
Just the Video Magic Tools sold on the market alone were expensive, ranging from 800 to 1,000 Gold.
So, for such a Magic Tool to be in his hand right now, how could he not be surprised?
The Thug-like Man's first thought was to wonder about Jerad's intentions in giving it to him.
Were they supposed to capture someone's weakness?
Many thoughts ran through the Thug-like Man's mind, but what came out of Jerad's mouth was unexpected.
"There's a video inside."
It was a truly unexpected answer.
It wasn't an order to film another scene, nor was it an intention to make them suffer.
'··········Is this a new kind of blackmail?'
Could it be?
After hearing Jerad's words, if they were to play this Video Magic Tool, would it suddenly show all the evil deeds they had committed so far...?
Or was it to let them know that he had their weaknesses?
Would they suddenly have to obey Jerad's commands unconditionally from now on, even committing murder without hesitation...?
"Ahem."
Honestly, that seemed too much like his own delusion.
No matter what, Jerad wasn't the type to betray them first.
If he were to try to end this kind of life from now on, he would quietly distance himself from them.
"You can check the Magic Tool."
Anyway.
His absurd delusions lasted only a moment.
Jerad then told the three of them that they could play the video.
What kind of content would it be?
As the saying goes, "never say never," had Jerad really caught them with their weaknesses?
Even if not, Jerad must have something he wanted from them.
That's why he had called them, and the three of them were too curious about the reason.
-Click.
He opened the lid of the Video Magic Tool.
Then, carefully holding the precious Magic Tool, he pressed the play button.
A small light leaked out from the small cube-shaped Magic Tool, and then—
-Flash!
A small screen floated in the air like a hologram, and from within it—
-Aah?! Ah! Hngh!
Suddenly, a woman's moans burst out.
"Whoa?!"
The Thug-like Man was startled and almost let his hand slip, but he quickly regained his grip and began to focus on the video.
-Thump! Thump! Thump!
-Ugh, hngh! Hoooh?!
The video's true identity was not some form of blackmail, but the utterly lewd and desperate moans of a woman.
And the three thugs, excluding Jerad, began to get engrossed in this video from some point on.
Then, suddenly,
A man watching the video from the very back raised his head as if he had realized something.
"··········I-isn't this Lunia, that bitch?"
Perhaps even if they had noticed, they shouldn't have said it out loud.
They also knew that Jerad and Lunia were in an abnormal relationship, and they themselves had once tried to get Lunia into bed somehow.
Of course, they had given up after hearing the news that Jerad had taken Lunia.
Even if the three of them shared women among themselves, they never touched a woman Jerad had claimed.
Jerad hated it when other men touched his woman.
The Thug-like Man holding the Magic Tool began to rack his brain frantically.
Of all people, the guy behind him had blurted out that the woman in the video was Lunia.
Naturally, he knew it too.
That the bitch moaning in the video was Lunia.
So why was Jerad showing them this video?
It was already a known fact that Jerad and Lunia were not in a normal relationship.
Then, did Lunia already have a boyfriend?
Or did she sleep with another man secretly from Jerad?
As he pondered such things, he instinctively glanced at Jerad.
Were they supposed to threaten the man in the video?
If Jerad was truly angry, they might have no choice but to take action.
And if that man was a noble's child, it would become even more troublesome.
Then, suddenly, the guy behind him had blurted out those words.
He wanted to sew up the guy's mouth, fearing Jerad's wrath might fall upon them.
But that thought lasted only a moment, as unbelievable words flowed from Jerad's lips.
"It's me and Lunia."
Thanks to Jerad's words, the Thug-like Man could breathe a sigh of relief, but doubts quickly began to fill his mind.
According to Jerad, the protagonists of this video were Jerad and Lunia.
Then what was Jerad's reason for showing them this video?
Was he trying to boast that he had finally screwed Lunia?
That didn't seem right, as Jerad wasn't the type to blab or boast about his affairs to anyone.
Then was it a silent pressure for them not to touch Lunia?
For that, Jerad would surely know that they wouldn't touch Lunia.
Just as a pure question, beyond mere displeasure, began to arise about why he was showing them this video—
Jerad opened his mouth.
"10 Gold per session. Anyone who pays me will get to screw Lunia."
"···············What?"
"Tell everyone in the academy. If they have enough money, they can have Lunia."
The thugs were so stunned by Jerad's words that they momentarily lost their minds.
It was as if they were desperately holding back the urge to ask if what they had heard was true.
The three thugs quickly put their heads together.
"W-what if Lunia reports it··········?"
"Just make the Faculty part of it too."
That meant he intended to take money from the professors as well.
Moreover, 10 Gold was not a small sum.
It wasn't enough to buy a house or live comfortably for a lifetime, but it was still enough for commoners to live idly for three months.
However, for nobles, it was surprisingly easy money to gather.
Well, if a commoner's family ran a business, they might be able to gather 10 Gold if they were clever.
At that point, the three thugs once again put their heads together and began to calculate.
It was strange how well they communicated only in such situations; they wanted to curse at each other, but they knew this wasn't the time for that.
So, the three of them earnestly tried to communicate by exchanging glances, and fortunately, they reached a unanimous agreement.
The most proactive among the three thugs spoke first.
"H-hey, Jerad."
"What is it?"
"Do you need money?"
"··················."
Jerad began to ponder his words.
In conclusion, there were two things he wanted.
To be honest, he did need money.
He had heard from the Vice-Principal, who had been supplying him with money through their 'deal,' that the deal was completely off.
Of course, the Vice-Principal hadn't wanted to stop the deal, but there was a risk of being caught if he embezzled any more money, so he had to stop.
Because of that, the money he could use naturally became insufficient.
Although he did receive a decent allowance from his family, including dignity maintenance fees.
All of that was recorded in the family's ledger, so he couldn't use that money freely.
At most, he could use it to buy clothes or for food expenses.
Anyway.
He did intend to earn money by using Lunia as collateral.
And the other thing was Lunia's persuasion.
No matter how hurtful Lunia's words to him had been, they couldn't have been sincere.
Jerad believed she had definitely spoken those harsh words in a fit of anger.
Therefore, just as Lunia had said, he would make her situation the worst, or desperate, to make her realize his importance, and ultimately, he envisioned a future where she would return to him.
To make Lunia return to him, even if his woman slept with other men, if she chose him in the end, he was willing to forgive Lunia.
After all, as a noble, he would have to forgive and embrace her.
For that, he could overlook his future wife having a brief affair.
Thus, Jerad, anticipating Lunia's return to his arms, handed Lunia's video to The Trio who followed him.
And they began to act exactly as he intended.
"J-Jerad. If you need money anyway, can we pay more and keep her for a bit longer...?"
"··········Do as you please."
From Jerad's perspective, it was also unpleasant for Lunia to sleep with too many men, so he was actually waiting for them to say that.
And so, in a place where Lunia was not present, another contract was being concluded.