Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: The Island. Galliante (3)
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“Hey there, welcome to Galliante. On vacation?”
Jis raised a hand with a friendly tone. It was the manual for this line of work not to use honorifics with suckers, even if they were nobles.
In a way, they were risking their lives to make money, but even if trouble arose, they could just hide for a month.
Those who came to play from across the sea rarely returned home only to come back looking for revenge.
“Yes, we came to have fun with friends.”
Shirone greeted him with a smile. Amy, on the other hand, frowned openly. Having ruled the back alleys in her youth and experienced the darker side of the world, she knew exactly why they were approaching.
“You all look like students. What school are you from? A prestigious one, I bet.”
“Alpheas Magic Academy.”
“Aha! I know that place. It’s close, so a lot of students come here to have fun.”
Amy winced. Not only should they not have revealed they were students, but giving away their school was like serving themselves up on a platter.
“But these folks are pretty well-built for mages.”
“What? We’re from Kaizen Sword Academy! We’re tall because we’re swordsmen, you moron!”
Just as Jis expected, Tess flared up. While she was proud of her physique, she had no desire to be lumped in with Rian and called “well-built.”
“Haha! My bad. I’m not good with words. I meant it as a compliment, but you must have taken it the wrong way.”
Jis thought this was it. The reason the dregs of society could stand tall even before nobles was that they weren't bound by the world's rules.
Nobles, on the other hand, were in a position with quite a few restrictions. Alpheas Magic Academy and Kaizen Sword Academy were famous for their strict discipline. If they caused any trouble at a tourist spot, they wouldn't be able to avoid disciplinary action.
“Anyway, welcome. I’m Jis, a local guide. If you hire me, I can take care of everything from sightseeing to food and lodging.”
“We haven’t finished talking amongst ourselves yet. We’ll think about it.”
Shirone repeated the same words he had used with the other touts who had approached them.
But Jis's gang was different. Now that they had a weakness to exploit, they clung on persistently, forcing their employment.
“Hey, what’s with this? You go to a good school, so you must have a lot of money, right? We’re really pitiful people. You came here to spend money anyway, didn’t you?”
Only then did Shirone realize they weren't just simple touts. Rian and Tess, sensing the same thing, had their gazes turn cold.
Jis’s friends flinched and stepped back when they met the swordsmen's eyes. But Jis didn't even blink.
‘Heh heh, they can’t do anything to us anyway.’
Having been a tout since he was old enough to know better, he was well-versed in the affairs of the mainland.
Alpheas Magic Academy strictly forbade the use of magic outside its grounds. If that was the case for the magic academy, there was no need to even mention the sword academy, which emphasized chivalry.
Of course, he had been beaten up by ill-tempered students before, but wasn't that a risk he had to take to make a living? Besides, based on such experiences, Jis's tightrope-walking skills had already reached a master's level.
“Don’t worry and just trust me. I’ll show you the most fun way to enjoy Galliante Island. Now, let’s go. What kind of man has no backbone? Go on and splash some cash in front of these pretty ladies. Huh? You’re coming, right? Then I’ll carry your bags.”
“Wait a minute! Let us discuss it one last time.”
“Hoo, fine. But it’d be really mean of you to refuse after coming all this way.”
Jis was already holding their heavy luggage in both hands.
Shirone looked back at his friends, troubled. It was the first time this had happened, and Jis's attitude was walking a fine line that made it difficult to get angry, so he couldn't be harsh.
“What should we do? Should we just let him guide us?”
“It’s because he knows our school names. They’re acting so bold because they know we can’t do anything reckless.”
Hearing Amy's words, Tess grew annoyed. It was a cowardly method, but it was certainly effective. Her personality was such that her fists would have flown long ago, which proved she was reining in her anger even now.
Rian, on the other hand, showed little interest. The only standard fixed in his mind was Shirone’s safety.
“I don’t really care. I’ll just follow whatever Shirone wants. If he says no and they still insist, I’ll just beat them up.”
To Rian, this trip was not a simple vacation. It was his first outing with Shirone after taking his knightly oath. He would encounter countless situations like this in the future, so it was good to experience various scenarios beforehand for what was to come.
“Ah, my arms hurt. Can’t you decide quickly? This is costing me money, you know.”
“That bastard, really!”
Shirone stopped Tess as she tried to approach Jis. With the school's honor on the line, he wanted to avoid any unnecessary violence.
“Alright. We’ll hire you. How much is it?”
“Haha! Good thinking. Since it’s you guys, I’ll give you a special discount. Just give me 5 gold.”
“What? 5 gold?”
Shirone’s eyes went wide. 5 gold just to hire a guide? It was an outrageous rip-off. He didn't know the island's prices, but he was sure it wouldn't exceed 1 gold, no matter how expensive.
“Isn’t that too expensive?”
“Hey, what are you talking about? You pay 5 gold and you don’t have to do a thing. I’ll rent a carriage, find you food and lodging, and show you the sights. This is cheap for all that.”
Amy was getting irritated. She had stayed quiet because she didn't want to cause a scene right from the start, but now she saw they were planning to strip them down to their underwear after finding a single weakness.
They probably wouldn't even guide them properly anyway. And even if they did, 5 gold was at least ten times the market price.
‘Hah, this is why I should have cut them off at the start.’
Amy regretted it, recalling her past. How could she have forgotten? That if you don't stomp on this type of person hard, they have a habit of climbing all over you.
“But still, 5 gold is a bit…”
“This is a tourist spot. Of course it’s more expensive than the market rate.”
“Um, even so…”
“Forget it. Just give it to him and let’s go somewhere else.”
Amy rummaged through her pocket. Having people like them tag along would only backfire. It was clear that if they gave in once, they would use that weakness to demand more and more money.
“Here, 5 gold. Take it and get lost.”
Amy tossed the gold coins at Jis’s feet. The brilliant golden coins bounced at his feet.
“Wow! Gold coins! Real gold coins!”
Jis’s friends scrambled to pick up the coins that had fallen on the ground. Jis, however, remained frozen in place.
If someone else had thrown the money, he might have joined his friends in picking it up and running away. But under her gaze, which was like she was looking at an insect, he couldn't bring himself to grovel on the ground.
“…What do you think you’re doing? What are we, beggars?”
“Didn’t you ask for it? We don’t need a guide or anything, so just disappear from my sight.”
“You little! Have you said your piece?”
“Hey, just a moment. Let’s not get heated…”
Shirone tried to mediate with a troubled expression. He was angry about being ripped off, but he hadn't expected Amy to react this way either.
“Shirone, it’s fine. Let them try something. What can they do? These guys are just scammers. They’ll use the excuse of showing us around to bleed us for more money. They’re irredeemable human trash.”
Jis's friends flinched. That was exactly their business model.
Shirone frowned and turned away.
“Amy, stop.”
“Stop what? They think we’re scared of them because we’re being nice. We should just teach them a lesson here and…”
“Still, stop.”
Only then did Amy shut her mouth. Shirone wasn't a noble either, so he might have been uncomfortable seeing what had just happened.
But if she didn't do this, they would cling to them like leeches and suck them dry.
Jis gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger. He had lived his life on pride alone. No matter how much he was insulted by nobles, his spirit had never once been broken.
“J-Jis, let’s just go. We got the money.”
“Give it to me.”
“Huh? What?”
“Give me the gold coins. You want to live being treated like this? Have you no pride as men of the island?”
Jis snatched the gold coins from each of his friends. The heavy weight was thrilling just to hold.
But he clenched his fist as if to suppress his desire. Then, he turned to Amy with cold eyes.
“Hmph, arrogant nobles. It must be nice, tossing around 5 gold like that. I wonder what that feels like? I can’t even imagine, can I?”
Jis defiantly lifted his chin and scattered the gold coins at Amy’s feet. The coins rolled around, glinting brilliantly.
“Aha? So this is what it feels like? Awesome. Let’s go, guys.”
Jis led his friends and disappeared into an alley.
Amy was dumbfounded by their audacity. But the target of her fight was already gone.
“Ugh, those punks. Shirone, why did you stop me? Guys like that need to be taught a lesson.”
“I know. But if you really don't want something, you can just get angry or refuse. I don't think you needed to go that far.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying I look down on people because I have money?”
“I don’t think that. But the situation ended up looking that way, didn't it?”
“Are you saying that even after knowing what kind of people they are? You’ve been through it too when you were young, haven’t you?”
Shirone bit his lip. Maybe Amy was right. But no matter how much of a scoundrel the other person was, he didn't want to see her do something that insulted another person's dignity.
“Forget it. Let’s just go. Let’s find a carriage first.”
When Shirone remained silent, Amy turned and walked away first. Tess, watching them, scratched her head in a bind.
“Man. This got awkward.”
* * *
After entering an alley in Dock 3, Jis bickered with his friends. They were supposed to make a haul when a ship came in, but now that the passengers were all gone, all they could do was argue.
“Jis! Why did you give that money back?! With 5 gold, we wouldn't have had to pay the protection money for days!”
“Have you no pride? She threw money in our faces, and you want me to take it like a beggar?”
“So what? Money is money.”
“I can’t do that. Damn girl! The nerve of her to look down on me!”
Jis clenched his fists and trembled. But his friends couldn't understand him. What was there to be so upset about?
Of course, the woman’s act of throwing the money was a great humiliation for them too, but the arrogant attitude of nobles was nothing new.
“Jis, be honest. You fell for that girl, didn’t you?”
“What? Why would I like a girl like that?”
“You always get all prideful in front of a girl you like. But she’s a noble. It can’t happen anyway, and seeing how easily she threw away 5 gold, she must be really high-ranking.”
“So what? So what if she’s a noble? I’m Jis. The man who will become the ruler of this port!”
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from a dark corner of the alley. The distinctive sound of metal taps on shoe soles striking the ground made Jis’s hair stand on end.
His friends felt the same. There was only one person in the port who walked like that.
“Hey, Jis.”
It was a middle-aged man of medium height. A harsh face and sharp, viper-like eyes. It was Falcoa, an enforcer for the Freeman organization that Jis's crew belonged to.
Jis’s shoulders trembled. Falcoa was cruel. Befitting his violent tendencies, he didn't mind getting hit either. If things went south, he would charge in and beat up everyone in sight, whether it was 10 people or 100. He wasn't called the madman of Galliante for nothing.
“Ah, Brother Falcoa. Hello.”
Falcoa worked his jaw and slung an arm around Jis’s shoulder. A disgusting smell hit Jis’s nose. He was a drug addict who never took the Loop from his mouth.
“Hand it over. You got paid, right?”
“Ah, about that… uh, we don't have it.”
“You don’t have it?”
A cold light glinted in Falcoa’s eyes. Thinking they were in for it, Jis’s friends prostrated themselves on the ground.
“P-Please spare us! Those kids said they wouldn’t take our carriage! We stuck to them until the end, but they threatened us…”
“Is that so? Then what was that you threw earlier? Was that not money? Was it shit?”
Jis’s heart sank. He had pretended not to know, but it seemed he had been watching from the very beginning.
Was this what a frog caught by a viper’s fangs felt like? He couldn't breathe properly due to the fear.
“Hah, now what should I do with you adorable little things?”